heartless

Isnt your call??? Is it not your car? Are you not the one paying for these repairs? potentially more than once? My car - My call - regardless of who is doing the actual labor. A shop does not dictate to me what parts will/wont be used - that is MY decision, not theirs. They can offer thier advice, different options, pricing, etc, but it is still MY decision on which way to go. Used parts are fine in some situations - but a high wear item like this, ummm....no, not in my car. As broke as I am, and have been for the last couple of years, I would find the money for the new part (and future peace of mind), somehow, somewhere. Sure, you might have saved a couple of bucks immediately, but probably not for the long haul this is kind of like stuffing a used timing belt on an interference engine, and expecting/hoping it will last as long as a new one? Are the immediate $ savings really worth the potential failure to go used on something like this? Not to me...

Gas in the tank (between 1/4 & 1/2 full) should only be a few months old (have no idea on grade, ethanol mix, or where it came from tho) - car was being driven until engine failure - around late May, early June. And yeah, still smells like gas - nice and strong, LOL Will do on the retesting of power & ground at the pump.... something that came up in another conversation recently - cam and/or crank sensors not sending proper signals to the ECU possibly causing the no start situation? anyone have any testing procedures/specs for those? Both sensors came off the trashed 2.5 (dont forget about the fire here) because of the connector differences in the engine harness swap - the original 2.2 sensors wouldnt work with the newer harness... Would really like to get this running, if at all possible, before winter hits...and that is coming fast!

Buy a used, broken down, old '89 Subaru GL = $150 New front axles & clutch - installed = $600 Misc other things the car needed to put it on the road, including alternator & tires = $400 Drive the car, nearly trouble free*, for 8 years, and over 125,000 miles - priceless * Aside from normal oil changes and tune ups, and a couple more sets of tires - two timing belt changes, a couple of wheel bearings, and the ignition amplifier dohicky on the coil bracket...

No one was suggesting you should buy cheap chinese iffy aftermarket junk... I do believe that Fairtax was referring to Subaru Dealers in the above statement... I personally would have gone with the brand new, $35 genuine Subaru clutch fork and been done with it for a very long time. Dont know what you spent on the used one, but it is already partially worn - how long will it hold up? Pretty hard to say...

Haha - yeah, forgot - you wont find it searching by part name because it isnt listed correctly - I punched in the Subaru OE part number and it came up under "Engine: Oil Cooler Line" (??) Direct out of my shopping cart: DORMAN Part # 917034 {#11831AA210} Picture with the listing IS indeed the oil separator plate...I even called them to make sure that is really what it is...The guy I talked to was a little puzzled about the way it was listed too...this was over labor day weekend... as for other places carrying it... Advance Auto: $29.99 Amazon.com: $17.46 Autozone: $49.99 Rockauto still has the best price at $15.13, but no screws... So yeah, seems to be readily available in multiple places...But seeing as how there is not a lot of call for Subaru parts in my area, it is not going to a "stock" item at any of my local parts stores, so I cant go physically see & touch it without paying for it in advance & waiting a couple of days for it to get to the store - then, if I decide for some reason it isnt of good enough quality or whatever, I get stuck with a restocking fee. You are probably right, johnc. So the screws just need to be of the correct thread pitch and length, and add threadlock to the one? I am sure I could get something that would work at our local hardware store then...so it is basically just the plate that I need. Anyone know the length/thread pitch off the top of their heads?

They might guarantee the work, but I doubt they guarantee the parts - especially used parts.....just sayin...

+1 - and look for cracks too - cracked and/or shiny belt = needs replacing.

pin 18 on connector F47 - white wire, does indeed go to the select monitor connector (B51 - pin 7) on the 1st gen - per 1990 FSM (91 should be the same)

engine wiring harness is also different and would need to be swapped. 91 connects near the under-hood fuse box. 96 connects at the passenger side of the tranny. If you have emissions testing it would be best to go with a more compatible year engine (especially if your car has EGR) If you dont have emissions testing, and can live with a constant CEL, then yeah, the 91 is do-able with a little bit of effort.

the big difference in shipping between those 2 online dealers appears to be in the method chosen - one uses UPS Ground, the other FedEx... So here is a question: Would the Dorman plate be OK to use, or is this something that I should stick with OEM for? Rockauto Dorman plate = $15 (+ $3.15 est. shipping - would arrive in 2 to 3 days) Online Genuine Subaru plate = $27 (+ $9.95 est. shipping - could take a week or more) that is a pretty big difference in cost & shipping charges....

Anyone have any thoughts on what could possibly be killing the fuel pump on this thing? the replacement pump unit was tested before installing and it did work. after installing, apparently it only worked very briefly (there was some fuel in the lines when I pulled them off, but not as much as there should have been) Beginning to think we may be further ahead to strip this sucker for parts and call it a day...I start a new job on monday, so wont have as much time to mess with it...

If the car itself is in relatively good condition, with no major problems going on - like transmission or electrical issues - I would be looking at the first 2 options myself - and with either of those, if the headgasket issue is of major concern to you, do those as well as the timing and reseal before installation. BTW, the costs listed above are for doing the work yourself - if you are having someone else do the work, add labor to those at the going rate for your area/mechanic.

Rooster - I use AdvanceAuto quite often, and sometimes CarQuest (we happen to have a CarQuest warehouse in town, so I can frequently get lucky getting a part from them). It is fairly rare that I need to get something from a dealer, but when I do need something, the best course is usually online, simply for availablity and cost. So I might have to wait a few days - I usually end up having to wait for Advance to get something in, too... Of the 2 online dealers posted earlier - the only difference in cost is in shipping - one wants $15.95 to ship, the other only $9.95... Still need to make that phone call, see what Jason can do.

ok, back to this one momentarily... Fuel pump has been swapped. Coil has been swapped for a known good one Battery has been charged Still no start. Started pulling fuel lines to make sure it was getting fuel (pump tested good before install) not getting fuel up to the engine - even behind the fuel filter there is no flow.

johnc & Olnick - thank you both for the info! It is much appreciated. Most of the time I like living where I do, but there are times when it kind of sucks...this kind of situation is one of those times. There is a really small dealer about an hour away, but everytime I have contacted them for parts (of any kind), they never have anything in stock - they would have to order, and then want to charge ridiculous prices for doing so - so I have given up on them. There nearest dealer of any size is a good 3-3.5 hours away...not exactly local.

That would be great if I had a dealer nearby...unfortunately, not so. Appreciate the info - so it would be better to separate in car, pull motor, then tranny - reinstall in reverse order.

Thank you! not sure how I missed that one, but I did. As heavily varnished as the dipstick is on this car, I think it could use a good cleaning out. I would never try using any more than 1/2 quart of ATF - I might be crazy, but.... so - 1/2 qt of ATF, run/drive for 50-100 miles - oil/filter change - straight oil - run drive for another 1-200 miles, oil/filter change again - should be much cleaner internally. Sound about right? Not gonna do the tranny swap until I have the new separator plate on hand - dont want to have to pull the motor twice if I dont have to - do it all at once and be done. for the plate and screws - anyone have a "favorite" supplier they would care to recommend? And about how much should I expect to pay? Looked on fleabay - price is all over the place (even found one person trying to sell one of the plastic ones! LOL) Rockauto has a Dorman plate (quality?) for $15, but no hardware... Would really like to order plate and hardware from one place

you do not need to "buy" one - they are almost all (lacking some of the early stuff) available here: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/ select model, select year, select the section you are interested in. I have saved the files for each of the vehicle model years that we have on my computer for easy access. (simple right click, "save link as")

Check in the phone book - any place that does driveshafts (especially custom work) - should be able to rebuild yours.

not a legacy, but a Forester... 364,000 plus miles on the odo when the 2nd owner blew the 2.5...original owner was supposedly a traveling salesman...

short answer - yes. You will probably want to use the 2.5 flex-plate / flywheel - depending on which tranny you have, but other than that, it should be pretty easy swap.

johnc - thanks for the info on the separator plate - will see about getting a metal one, with new screws, ordered up as I doubt that it has been replaced. BTW - where exactly does the "special" screw get placed? I have read a lot of threads with people talking about it, but no one ever seems to mention where, specifically, it goes... Fairtax - so running a half a quart of ATF for a 100-200 miles, then doing a fresh oil change should help clean the varnish out? Cool! I happen to have plenty of ATF on hand, but no MMO...

I think for the seats, I am going to try swapping in the seats from my 90 LS - they are still in good shape and I am used to them. the color should even work ok. hehe. and I do like the height adjustment on the drivers seat. I have read somewhere that adding a small amount of ATF to the oil (1/2 quart or so) and running that for a breif time (couple hundred miles) would clean out a lot of gunk - anyone have any thoughts on that?

pretty much everything from 97 on is interference in the Subaru lineup. the old 86 you mentioned should have been an EA82, 1.8 liter - and yeah, pretty gutless at a whopping 89 horse! LOL I like the older non-interference engines as well - just a little added peace of mind in case something does happen.

I am aware of the torque converter seating issue, and the rear separator plate, but reminders never hurt! Thanks. Planned on doing a full timing service on the 95's engine as well, since the po doesnt recall when it was done last and at 205K it is probably overdue, and if it is gonna be out for the tranny swap, that rear plate is definitely on the agenda. Is 95 one of those with the plastic plates? if so, I will probably need to order up a metal one, with screws...