subynut

Welcome! Great to see another Suby owner from AZ on the board. I live about an hour and a half south of Tucson.

Awesome shots, Scoobyclimbs! And just to keep things on topic: Carr Canyon by subynut, on Flickr

Oh yes, watching the laws of physics at work is great fun!

It's rather interesting to watch the two temp gauges - During warmup, the coolant warms up first, then the oil temp follows. But once warmed up, the oil temp is more sensitive to load changes than the coolant temp.

You'll need the sending unit from the vehicle that you pulled that gauge cluster from.

Three ways: 1: Replace the idiot light and put an adapter in the port to feed the line to the gauge. 2: There's another port at the back of the engine near the PCV port - with an adapter, you can then plumb the gauge. 3: Get a filter sandwich adapter and feed the guage from there. This also gives you the option to add an oil temp gauge too. This is what I did.

Thanks, now to see if it will fit my GL.

Yes, do tell. My sister's GL does the same thing with the front forward facing marker light - lasts 3 months at the most.

Your Suby looks cold...

Yeah, that V8 should like having a 4bbl on it. We just don't want to go too big, otherwise it's mileage won't change.

cal_look_zero: Intersting, my 2002 F350 gets 11 mpg with the V10, 6sp manual and 4WD. The PandaWagon gets good milage, but not as good as it could be with my lead foot and non-operational cruise control. I really gotta work on that. eulogious: Even though there may not be that much of a difference in MPG since the rear driveline is still rotating, I still would like to see how running the AWD tranny in FWD would effect the amount of energy used.

I was looking at the owner's manual for the PandaWagon (87 Wagon) and the 2WD does have a slightly taller final drive, but the tires (175/70R13) are shorter than the 4WD tires. So, I wonder how much of a difference is there in RPM? Anybody know what their RPM at say, 65 is in a 2WD? I know it was about 3K in my 86 carbed wagon with a PT 4WD manual. What's more interesting, I was looking at the gear ratios in the XT/XT6 FSM and the 4WD auto has a 3.7 final with a 205/60R14, but the 2wd auto has a 3.9 final with a 195/60R14. I also found (somewhere on nasioc) the 2WD impreza has a taller 5th gear with, I think, was a 3.9 final. Whereas the 2WD Legacy has a 5th and final cloaser to the 2WD EA82. Now, I did not check tire sizes, could be the Impreza has a shorter tire than the Legacy. Hmmmmm... "Lefou, I'm afraid I've been thinking," "A dangerous pastime.." "I know."

Vibrations at speed can also be from a CV joint going. I have had a few CVs that still had a good boot, but would give quite the shake in the steering wheel above 30 mph.

Yep. I used a oil cooler kit from PepBoys back when I had a EA82 - really helped keep it cooler while buzzing down the highway in the desert heat. I think it's a nissan maxima will fit with a little fabbing. A number a people have done it - a quick search will find it.

Ah, kinda wondered what the mileage of Subarus outside the US were. Just as I suspected, the AWD really eats into the mileage. Those 1.5s and 1.6s certainly get screaming mileage. Although, they probably have the power of the old ea81s and ea82s. Not fast, but they get great mileage! Just out of curiosity, whats the average speed limits over there? Turbo diesels certainly help the the mileage department and their torque is awesome! Subaru seems to keep the RPMs between peak torque and peak hp. Which probably allows best mileage for the wide range of speeds we have in the States. The PandaWagon could certainly do 55 at 2000 rpm, but I don't think it could hold 75 at 3000 rpm - not without alot of throttle.

A suburban will never see 50 mpg, the laws of physics won't let it at the speeds and acceleration rates most Americans drive at. You're talking a 6000lb brick you're shoving through a fluid that does not want move out of the way. Now, with a small six, CVT, lowered, removed mirrors and roof rack, belly pan, and do no more than 50mph, you might see 40 mpg with a tail wind. However, do you really want to be the slowest SUV on the road? With the technology we currently have, Mars is about the distance we can go. Just as the Moon was the farthest we could go back in the sixties. This is the bleeding edge of technology, which takes over the top funding to supply the equipment, knowledge, personnel, and time needed to do projects like these. Ever calculated the difference .1 degrees makes of where you end up at a distance of a million miles? Until (or if) scientists figure out how to get to and beyond the speed of light, we are stuck with go fast and use more fuel or go slow and use less fuel. We Americans are speed demons. We want to go fast, turn fast, go anywhere, and haul anything all a the same time while spending as little as possible at the pump. It doesn't work that way. If we want good mileage, we first must slow down. Our Subarus are all weather vehicles - We sacrifice mileage for traction and stability. If you are a Subaru freak, like myself, then you must build a high mileage Subaru by sacrificing the all wheel drive for FWD, use the most efficient Suby engine out there with a tranny that has a good overdrive, and put it into the lightest and most aerodynamic shell Subaru built. The reality question is: If you are getting an average of 10 mpg more than a stock Subaru, how many miles will you need to drive that car to make up the cost of building such a high mileage Subaru? Is it cost effective? Probably not, but it would be a fun project!

Thanks Frank B, answers quite a few questions I've had with gas stations.

Hauled stuff to the storage unit. One trip with the PandaWagon, the other with the Blue Wagon. I do believe the PandaWagon has softer springs in the back - it was hanging more with less stuff in it than the Blue Wagon.

Replaced heater core and cleaned out inside of the Blue Wagon. Cleaned out the inside of PandaWagon and put tools/spare parts back in the cubby holes after removing them for the autocross at SubieFest.

I'll be sure to check those. Thanks!

Yeah, the AWD certainly cuts into the MPGs. Best thing to do is change your driving habits - don't be the first across the intersection and do 70 instead of 80 on the interstate. My blue 87 gets 30-35 on the highway, but 75mph can be a chore with any hills or headwinds. The PandaWagon in all it's swapped glory gets an average of 28mpg. I've gotten up to 34mpg cruising at 55-60. The 2012 Impeza with the 2L and CVT will be interesting to see what the average mileage will be. My biggest gripe driving slower than the speed limit is that most people on the interstate are doing 5-10 above the speed limit. So, if I am doing 5 under, that means they are doing 10-15 faster than me - I could be putting myself in danger with all the distracted drivers out there on the interstates as they approach my "slow moving vehicle" while reading they're latest text message.

Greetings fellow Suby friends! I am going to look at a 2002 Legacy Outback with a 2.5 and an Auto. It's got 117K miles on it. I already know what to look for as far as engine, drive train, undercarriage, and things of the sort. However, this will be the first Suby with an auto that will be a daily driver. Are there any particular things I should look for besides maintenance records, do the tight circle test for torque bind, how it shifts, and check for the delayed shift from park to drive? Anything else to look out for? Thanks!

Does that mean your Suby was even that day?

That's funny! My father had that happen in his F250. The ignition temporarily went out and when it came back, BANG! The mega backfire blew the seams on both mufflers just like that. What was worse, we were 3 hours from home. 400 cubic inches of straight pipe exiting under the cabin made for one very noisy drive home.

First I would have the alternator checked. Make sure it's putting out the proper voltage. If the regulator in the alternator went bad and spiked, that could one reason why the first ECU fried. As far as the O2 sensor goes, sounds like the o2 sensor was replaced with a BOSCH universal instead of the BOSCH OEM replacement. The wiring from the ECU to the connector under the hood is a shielded cable. The center wire (white) is the signal and the outer (black) is shielding that is only connected at the ECU end (prevents ground loops and reduces noise). The BOSCH o2 sensors may not have a shielded cable going to the sensor itself, which is ok since it is a short length of wiring. All you need to connect it up is the signal wire from the O2 sensor and connect it to the center wire (white) on the harness. Do not use the outer wiring. Hope this helps.