85Sub4WD

I agree with SUBARU3 on not modifying, though just for the heck of it I would run the 14000cc engine This car is more of a museum piece than a potiential hot-rod. If you want to start modding, then get a newer one with a better front end (late EA71/EA81/EA82) cars would be a better choice. You will probably start tearing up the drivetrain if you drop too big an engine in there. I don't blame you if you do decide to go for an EA71, because you may need the power and if the EA63 has head gasket issues (I am not aware of any). Have Fun - that is the biggest upside to car restoration; you can drive the final product!!

If you call SOA, they can tell you who/what/where to contact. However, that will be your most expensive option. Keep an eye on ebay too - probably your cheapest option.

The biggest problem with most american manufacturers is the reliability of the transversly mouted automatic transmission. And yes, there are a number of instances where american cars have blown their trannies at or before 70,000 - the Dodge Caravan is an excellent example (particularly on or after the 1996 model year). Blown headgaskets at similar mileages are not uncommon either. And yes many american cars do have head gasket issues. Particularly ones made in the late 80's and early '90s. I personally avoid Chevy anyway because of issues members of my extended family have had with them. I know someone who blew a head gasket at 30,000 with regular driving. The point is, that no manufacturer is perfect, but Subaru is far better than most. As an example, how many early '90s american cars do you see on the road? How many japanese/european cars do you see? Also, compare the overall condition of the two cars. Cop cars have super-robust everything. They are built to take all of the abuse of a city bus and still go as fast as possible. In other words, I would expect to get 500,000 miles out of a cop car without any massive failures. (Idling does not hurt an engine, so the reading on the odometer is really what you should be concerned about.)

Just get one used from the junkyard, they are way too expensive to get from the dealership.

It is actually not that difficult to prove someone destroyed your tranny by improper towing, and yes the tow truck company is responsible for every penny of it. It is not uncommon nor uheard of for tow trucks to screw trannies, so it should not be a difficult case to make in court. Having a friend who ran a tranny shop, even the MT vechiles should be put on a flatbed, though they are not that suceptable to damage. I have an old-style dual range 4WD MT and it can be towed however, but it's always been flatbeded (AAA is the only one who has towed it - which has only been about 3 times in the 20 years we have owned the car.). Most tow-truck companies will send a flatbed out anyway if it is a Subaru, and most will anyway if it is 4WD/AWD period.

A solenoid (technically speaking) is a coil of wire, but for cars it refers to some sort of electrical actuator. The coil of wire is charged and magnetically moves a center rod of some sort causing something to happen. You are in the wrong forum for finding about duty solenoids and such because this is for older cars (pre-1990 or Loyales, not Legacys), not later ones. The VSS 2 is located on/in the transmission and would have to be checked by a professional. (VSS 1 is in the dash) The ECU uses it to compute the optimum advance curve for timing and other things, such as load. I do not know later trannies, just earlier ones, so I can't give you any advice on how to fix/replace it.

PS fluid is usually red or white/yellow, not orange, so I think moisture is a possibility. Sometimes there are also simply bad casts, albeit very unusual, it does happen. It was probably just bad luck more than anything else. I would be careful to keep the engine warm anyway at that low a temp, because the temp diff between outside and inside the pump can cause it to crack too. (though that is unusual too)

It is very unusual for a Soob to be repeatedly poping a fuse. The owner's manual and fuse panel cover both have info as to what is on which fuse. I would thing that it is quite likely somebody put the wrong size bulb in for something or added on something improperly. Check those first. I have not seen many soobs with damaged wiring, they do a LOT to protect the harness, my best bet is that it is some modification or mistake that was made; check all the items on the circuit before checking for bad wiring. Sorry, I don't have any documentation for a 1987 Soob.

Those are for the "clear memory" mode. Both are different things for the same system - your service manual should detail proceedures for reading codes and clearing them too.

I have a friend who owned a transmission shop and he has made a lot of money by fixing automatics that were towed with their wheels on the ground, so I KNOW you cannot tow an automatic (even in neutral) if the wheels are on the ground. If you have the AWD you cannot tow with the wheels on the ground either because it will overload the center diff (even a MT in neutral), and you will not have much left (plus there can be stability issues). You CAN tow a 4WD MT car with its wheels on the ground because you can completely disconnect the driveaxels by putting it in 2WD mode and by putting it in neutral, so yes you can do that, but ONLY with that type of drivetrain. (On certain late 80's automatics yoy can insert a fuse so that you can tow it with the rear wheels on the ground, but there are specific instructions for those cars.) In general, eventhough I have a 4WD MT car, I still put it on a flatbed tow truck if it has to be towed anywhere.

You will definately need the battery connector from the ECU to be connected to the battery all the time unless you want it to run like crap, but that is basically all you need. (Don't Forget the fuel pump)

You guys are really scaring me. ATF fluid should NEVER NEVER NEVER go in the rear diff in ANY car unless SPECIFICALLY requested by the manufacturer. It does not matter what the heck BMW calls for, ATF has NO hypoid component in it (sulfur). Now for a Chemistry Lesson: A specific chemical reaction takes place between the steel and the hypoid oil when it is warmed that hardens and strengthens all components involved. For those of you who know your Chemistry, when the temp on certain reactions drops below a certain pt., the reaction "undoes itself" i.e. when your diff cools off. So in very short order your back end will begin (quite literally) to come apart. Beause there is no component in there to harden the gears in it. All the force of the engine has to go through a surface area not much larger than your thumb, it needs all the help it can get. Change it now. And yes, some cars (CERTAIN BMW's and other manufacturers - not all). Do require ATF in the GEARCASE, not the diff (I say this as someone who had BMW expierence as well as with a variety of other auto manufacturers). In fact if you read your haynes/FSM/chilton's manual, you will find certain proceedures on FWD trannies to drain/refill the front diff embedded in them. This is perhaps the stupidest mistake for a mechanic to make other than not putting oil in the engine. He should be beaten over the head with a monkey wrench. If you have an LSD (Limited Slip Differential) in the rear then there is a special oil from Subaru that should be used. I don't know if newer subarus have them or not.

Check/replace your sway bar bushings too, if there are issues with them you will have a LOT of body roll (I test-drove mine w/o the sway bar - never again)!! I personally don't think shocks are too hard to replace, only thing is you have to disconnect the brake line for the front shocks.

Thanks for the offer dptyrob, but I am going to have to *temporarily* go with an aftermarket b/c we need the car now b/c of a bad storm coming (on a NC scale of weather), and b/c both my parents cars are acting up (non-Soobs of course). I will say that eventhough they eat alts, the EA82 alt. is REALLY easy to get at. Are XT6 alts. any more reliable than the standard ones? I might bother to do the upgrade if they are.

I think if you had replaced the porportioning valve you would have had the same/similar result, but I still like the mod, and may do it myself after I put rear discs on.

Just out of curiosity, where are you in NC? My alternator went out unexpectedly and I need it fixed, obviously the shop you went to did good work at a very fair price, so I may use them too.

The Loyale series of cars (EA82 are a LOT of fun to drive because they are VERY stable, even at a fairly high speed. Once when I was in a BIG hurry and not paying attention to the speed I was going at, I realized I was going twice the speed limit (70mph) on a small windy road - and it didn't even feel like it!! Another really nice thing is snow capeability especially with 4x4 cars. Enjoy it!

Anti-seize is probably a better choice. Actually you can get different tightnesses of a bolt whether you don't lube it, lube it with motor oil (or 3-in-1) or with grease. If you don't lube it you will undertighten it and blow the gasket again. If you use grease you will overtighten it and crack the head. Most all torque values for all cars assume the components are lightly coated in motor oil. That gives you the right amount of torque (and in this instance anti-seize is an even better idea).

If you did an SPFI conversion on an EA81 engine, you could probably get the power and the fit. Have you thought about putting a weber carb on the Samauri engine?? Be careful because I know there are stability issues with the Samauri anyway, and putting an engine even higher is not going to help. If the Samauri has a Hitachi carb, then the same kit used to convert Soobs would probably work on it. Japanese cars are almost always undercarbed, and the Weber would definately provide a boost. Just a thought.

I have not found that MMO is good at breaking down grime unless it is at a fairly high temp, in fact I had it grunge-up a carb on me once, so I would not recomend soaking it in that or anything. Carb soaking is usually done before a rebuild to break all of the old seals loose (You do not want that to happen!!!) Techron is probably the best fuel additive, run a tank through and you should be fine.

I actually use MMO in the crankcase and only put in gas for decarbonizing the heads, and cylinders. Too much will clog a carb (found out the hard way). I use Techron in the gas tank, and with a good abount of sucess for cleaning injectors and intake valves. It depends on what you want to clean as to what you should use. Running MMO and then Techron would probably give you the best cleaning combination (do not mix in same gas tank at same time).

If you are doing a lot of engine work anyway, you could convert it to SPFI. That would provide all the luxuries of fuel injection (big power boost and better fuel economy) with your current engine. There is info on it in the "repair manual" section.

Welcome fellow NC resident. I'd probably convert it to Full Time 4WD, but that's just me. I have no expierence with the XT or turbo setup, but in my expierence most engine rattling is caused by the exhaust system. Good luck and enjoy the car!!

I am glad you have it all off, I thought if you got it off you could spin the bolt off - that's EXACTALLY what I would have done hope all goes well, that's the first time I have heard of a bolt seizing in that way!

Post a request in the market forum here, or I use Hal's Parts and Service at www.halspartsandservice.com Soob only, and he has used CV axels at a good price. Email him for a quote. (As you're west cost, you can probably find something closer - a number of the board members live in Oregon)