85Sub4WD

I am trying to convince my dad to chuck his Dodge Caravan and get a Brat - nice vehicles - if I had to replace mine I would consiter it, but I need the extra passenger space! ditto on the brake turning - a variety of tools may be employed, but I prefer a lineman's pliers dragonwing - update - have you fixed it?

I'll consiter that - It is actually getting better with use - I think there was just that much gunk in it, and it is taking time to free up - or I am also shifting differently and don't know it I have no peddle play in my clutch - in fact my friction point is very high because my clutch is about due for replacement (no adjustment left - argh) - I will wait until the summer for that though! Thanks for the advice.

Well, that depends - on an item like that I decide how much I want it - in the case of the digi dash, I would say about $40 (US), make an offer, and bargain it to the lowest price I can get it - a lot depends on the junkyard - If I don't KNOW it works, I usually go for a VERY low price - Digi Dashes are supposedly more prone to failure, though I have no personal knowledge about them - other than that they are neat!

unfortunately you seem to have the early gen (for us) style bumper (US safety reg. changed and caused all 1987 - later models to have bigger, uglier bumpers) - I had damage to my rear one and ended up chucking it and putting on a later one (and after a severe front end collision, I had to ditch the front one too) - it is a REAL pain to even try to bend the plastic back into shape - been there - heat doesn't even help much (though I used it spareingly because I did not want to ignite anything) However if the metal is damaged it may be manageable - unbolting the bumper is not hard - two 14 or 16 mm (can't remember) bolts on each side (4 in all) - look below the charcoal canister (if you have one) on the right side, and the battery on the left - it is relatively quick and straitfoward just out of curiosity - do you know the Subaru letter designation for you engine? I noticed it is a 1.6 Liter in (what we refer to) an EA82 series body - is your engine overhead cam (with timing belts)? Sorry, but I find it interesting, as they were never offered over here. - I know they were offered in Europe, but that's all I know.

not a Brat person, but ... I know the brats from beginning thru '81 are all gen 1, so yes, they should interchange, but no gurantees

ummm...... its an '82 - EA71/EA81 body ... so 4 headlights means GL - DL's had two sealed beams (one per side - no seperate high beam lights) - was not sure if intermittent wipe was even an option back then - as it has the option, it is definately a GL

Great job - looks like fun looking at the difference in the cars - I think yours has the lowest CG - you have done a really good job of modding that car - the STi seems to have a lot of body roll ...

I think there was another thread on this a while back - but my favorite movie-soob was in the bond film "You Only Live Twice" which had a white soob 360 in the background of one of the chase scenes. (it was moving very slowly )

The dates I gave are for US imports - I know they vary country-to-country. I genuinely wish (as many others do) that the brat had continued as long here as it did there - it was a nice vehicle. I kinda wish subaru had updated it to the EA82 series body, but that never happened. The EA82 is not a bad engine nor are most any others that subaru has made - though I do like the valve timing mechanism on the EA81 for its reliability and serviceability. It is a very good car!

yes they are that expensive over here - you can get cheap knock-off ones that are "MADE IN CHINA" that last about 10 min on the expressway before they start to moan and vibrate for about $10-$15 US (or more - I haven't really priced them) - had a friend try some on his '93 BMW - took about three sets before he realized the real problem

you're right - been there, done that - great MacGyver fix that'll get you home, but not much farther make sure your windows work too it would be a VERY good idea to keep it for emergency cooling since you do live in texas where it is hot, and where things are a good distance apart so if you overheat due to a bad thermostat/clogged radiator, you are not stranded someplace with a blown headgasket

I get slightly better gas mileage, around 25-28mpg - I have the same kind of lead foot - but I live in a warmer (but hilly) environment.

I actually noticed it when I saw "The Truman Show" several years ago - I am glad someone else noticed it. I think it is a GL with Digidash or a Turbo - I saw enough of the dash to know - the headlights also reminded me of a Soob The only other car I know of that is anything like that is a honda/toyota (don't remember which) of a few years later. However I don't think they had a digital dash available, and if they did, I doubt it looked like a Soob's.

A Weber DGV or DGAV would be very good choices if you want to stay with a carb. DGV = Manual Choke DGAV = Automatic Electric Choke you can find the adaptor kit here http://www.webercarbsdirect.com/subaru it is pro'lly as cheap as a new hitachi, but more reliable and easier to rebuild it should work on your engine though it does not say so because the bolt pattern is the same for those cars

I had a friend who owned a tranny shop made the recommendation to me that I should add an LSD additive (for posi-track & similar ones) to my transaxle to improve shifting. Changing oil and using Mobil 1 75w-90 helped upshift from 1-2 and 2-3 but downshifts for those gears is still very difficult - I don't care about 2-1, but I need to downshift from 3-2. Any thoughts on this notion of LSD additive? I kinda tried it before I changed my gear oil and noticed a very slight improvement, but any other thoughts would be good too. My friend with the tranny shop mainly did automatics, so I don't know how good he is with manuals. I am a little worried about it eating my synchros, as I have no idea as to how it is supposed to work, chemically speaking My car is a 1985 Subaru GL Wagon 4WD 5 speed D/R, originally carbed (now spfi). yes a tranny rebuild is the surest way to solve the prob, but I don't have time or $ to do it

That should solve your mileage probs. I would also suggest changing your tranny oil, it is easier than an oil change (no filter). Old oil = extra resistance = more tranny heat = more wear & less fuel mileage I JUST changed mine last night for the first time since the car was new - put in Mobil 1 75w-90 (synthetic anything is good for gear oil - less carbon deposits) - LOTSA GUNK in the tranny 10000000x better driving - I noticed an improvement even in my steering (I guess my front diff had been binding) I will say mine is probably an exception to the rule, because I do a lot of heavy-duty stuff with my car, and a family member grinds the gears hard when shifting I try to keep him out of the driver's seat of my car for that reason. I got that once right after a carb rebuild (mine is 4WD, but not lifter probs) - lasted about 2 months before the carb wore and my mileage dropped to the mid 20's - I have been in the low teens with a bad carb before too - I am getting about mid 20's now with an SPFI conversion

I vote bad CV joint b/c of the clicking - but I don't know for sure Did you check your steering linkage? is something hitting something when you turn?

I have toyed with the idea of making a direct ignition system for the car, it would not be hard to make a logic board and use a dummy cam-rotor with LEDs and photoeyes - and it would eliminate the high-tension ignition wires altogether. It would also be virtually maitnence-free. I have not had time/$ to persue it though. My current ignition system is crap, in fact I am embarassed to say what is on it right now :-\ That is my next point of work

US vs. Int'l = BIG DIFFERENCE besides, I have at least half a dozen shops and JY's that know subarus - none sells N/A heads on a frequent basis because they don't crack (or at least in a way that affects performance) - I have enough hard miles on mine to know if it would have cracked yet - warp if overheated, yes - but cracking is not a problem here when it comes to performance none of the cars I've seen in the JY with over 170k miles on them had unuseable heads either - their piston rings were just worn out, they had blown a head gasket, or (most common reason) their owner's got tired of them - I started one up with over 250k miles on the engine - know it was orig. engine because I had a connection to the last owner - burnt some oil at startup, but ran fine otherwise Ross also has a point - all of 'em crack a bit - most of the cracks are negledgeable, turbos can be the exception

I heartily agree - $900 if all is still in good repair, and has been replaced recently, but with that much stuff ready to go - and the miles - $900 is VERY high how about rust - any rust through the rocker panels, and that car is not something you want to mess with

Elucidate please. Sorry - that was stupidly vague - what I meant was that it uses a similar engine control system - hot wire MAF (though I think it is different than the SPFI system) and the CAS is the same - so at least a part is interchangeable - also your timing advance is controlled by the computer (like with SPFI), so you get better performance (the advances - mechanical and vacuum used to get stuck all the time on my distibuitor) Basically, if you go MPFI N/A, go with a later version.

I assume you dropped the 5-speed D/R in? If so then you should be cranking about 2500 for 55, and just under 3k for 65 - 5th gear is a bit hard to approximate, the others are easier. The cable is easy to get at on the tranny side (at least in EA82 cars) - fix it and forget it.

I would use carbed cams - lower peak torque and HP I would also go with N/A MPFI - found on many 1985 cars that were non-carb (no SPFI in 1985) and all non-turbo XT4's - more power than SPFI - and if it is an 1987/later XT4, it has the later gen MPFI, which is a lot like SPFI However, SPFI is much easier to find parts for, so you might be just as well off with an SPFI setup. I currently have a carb block and heads, with SPFI intake & exhaust manifolds - very good combination, makes the car run well your compression ratio is 9:1 if it is a carbed block - so I would use a SPFI or N/A MPFI block for a higher ratio (actually all you need is the pistons - they adjust CR for these cars) - higher CR ratio = more power

If I were you, I would go with any Subaru that is fuel injected - Hitachi carbueration has a nasty habbit of biting you when you least expect it - been there 4WD is a good idea - if I were you, I would look south and in a flat area for a 4WD wagon - those can be had for a song, even if they have been cared for - 4WD is a VERY good idea, given where you live - pushbutton works, but is undesireable as it is not as reliable as the good 'ol dual range btw dual range was only offered through 1989 - so you would be looking for a GL at that point STAY AWAY from automatics - they are a bit finicky and tempermental, in your position I would also recommend avoiding turbos - they use more gas and are not as reliable whatever you get, the CV joints and T-belts (timing belts) will need to be checked - they are the things that are most prone to failure - check for oil leaks too - these engines tend to leak oil after about 90k-100k, and they get bad as early as 130k (when I did my seals) - fixing them is not a big deal for a mechanic, he could replace all front oil seals/oil pump seals when he does the T-belts The EA82 wagons (Loyale and all post-1984 80's wagons) are very good cars overall. However, I think an early 90's Legacy would probably be a better option if you can afford it , though I don't know how the 4WD systems compare, as the Legacy's is AWD and won't lock on driver demand. However the EJ22 engine (the Legacy's) is probably one of the most reliable engines Subaru has ever produced, and it does not have as much of a tendency to leak oil. The Legacy would probably be better in a car accident too. That is something to consider especially since you have a young child. Either choice is a good one, both are safe and reliable cars.