heartless

just for the sake of knowledge, I would take it to your local autoparts store - most of them will do a battery/alternator test for you with the stuff still in the car - no need to remove anything. at least then you would have peace of mind knowing you dont have an alternator or battery on its way out... ps: once your charging system dies completely you wont be able to "roll start" it - sorry - but it needs electricty to run.

yupper - sometimes having a heart-to-heart is the only thing you can do. Most of the time it works, sometimes however, it doesnt, and one must dig deeper... The Dude Abides - I hope things get back on track for you real soon, and the Mrs is doing better & home soon, too.

yeah, that was kind of my reaction at first too, Connie. Seems the spot I park in (outside) is directly across from the corner of the house and when it gets real windy (which it did Sat night thru Sunday - 30-40mph winds) the wind comes whipping around the side of the house, across the driveway and up the left side of MY car...now, it had snowed on friday as well, only an inch or so, but that was enough to cause some serious drifting - especially considering we live in farm country - LOTS of open space & no trees to speak of to slow things down! just one of them things, ya know....

took several hours to get this mess cleared out, and even at that it isnt completely clear - would say around 90% for anyone else that may ever have to deal with something like this (hopefully not), here's how I did it... #1 top priority - disconnect and remove the battery! I started at the bottom - cleared out the wheel wells, around the steering, axles, and suspension parts. Using a flat bar - carefully! - poked and dug snow out as far up as i could around exhaust, tranny, etc, breaking up icey chunks as i went. finally moved topside to break up snow and get it to drop down thru the areas I had cleared from below. careful use of the flatbar again, along with a long flatblade screwdriver and a plastic putty knife for delicate areas... unbolting and moving washer bottle, coolant overflow bottle, and both radiator fans (had a lot of snow in them as well) helped with the process - a little more room to work Once i had the majority of the snow broken up and cleared out, i used compressed air to blow out areas that I coudnt get my fingers into - like around spark plugs, under the intake, etc. all the electrical connectors got a blast of air as well. Oh yeah - a good turbo type heater is essential!!! - keeps you warm and helps to melt away that white chit! next step at this point is to take her for a good drive and get everything good & warmed up & whatever is left melted away...

here's a few more pics for those pic hounds of the snow carnage. again, I had already started the de-snowing process, but you get the idea.... and one more for kicks...

Because a Subaru is the only car I know of that will start and run in the condition shown in the following thread... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=85098

here's a new way to keep mice out of your engine bay!! http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=85098 just kidding - wouldnt wish this on anyone else...what a mess!

ROFLMAO yeah, keeps out the mice, voles, and other unsavory critters without the smell of mothballs! only problem is, it's kinda hard to go anywhere once she does warm up and stalls out cause stuff is getting wet from the melting snow!

pictures wont help a great deal, but accurate measurements would. outside diameter, inside diameter, and depth of bearing race are the important #'s front bearings are different from rears...not sure but i think 4wd is different from 2wd as well...i know they are on the rears anyway, not sure of the fronts. part numbers would help immensly if you had them

I have to say I have never really had a problem with any Subaru starting, even in the coldest of winter weather. And there was no real problem starting it on Sunday, Feb 10, 2008 either - a little sluggish at first crank, but was VERY cold, with severe wind chill warnings (winds 30-40 mph) but she did fire up and idled fine, left her to warm up a bit while the other half was clearing a path thru the drifts so he could get out & go to work. About 15 minutes later he came in from the cold - said something to the affect of "i was hoping you would have left it running so it would be warm" - I said I had left it running....uh-oh...sure enough, she was no longer running.... popped the hood and was dumbfounded by what I saw - there was so much snow packed up under the hood you could see the imprint of the hood under-structure in the snow!!! the following picture was snapped AFTER i had cleared a LOT of snow out of there - it was simply amazing that the car had even started in the first place!!! Everything - and i do mean EVERYTHING, was packed with snow - in every little nook and cranny - and we are talking hard packed snow. this stuff was fine, wind blown, packed into bricks snow. I have no idea how long it will take to get it cleared out, but it is gonna take a while I think! LOL Oh, and here is the best part - after cooling off - she did start again, so I was able to get her into the garage - under her own power - for the "de-snowing" process!!! was kind of hard to steer with all that snow packed in, but we did manage. Subaru's ROCK!!

and again, the question gets asked: What kind of "upgrades" are you looking for???? granted, there is no real "aftermarket" for these cars, but there are things that can be done. If your car is in good shape, don't just give up on it - spend a little quality time with it and really get to know it. now, if it is in so-so shape, then GD has hit the nail on the head for "upgrading" to a newer model. I am loving my 90 Legacy LS wagon! got it on the cheap due to blown air struts which resulted in torn up exhaust. swapped out the air struts for standard coilovers, fabbed up exhaust from a parts car and store bought parts, and down the road she goes! I think we have about $600 total invested in this car, including purchase price, parts, and gas to go get it. oh, and the 4 spd auto's in the Legacy's are MUCH more durable than the old 3 spd versions ever thought of being, but yeah, if you can find one, & like a manual, then that would be the way to go (i do kind of miss having the manual tranny...) and one of these days i really need to update my avatar picture! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pay it forward!

I found the USMB via Google back when I got my first Subaru (back in the EZboard days) It wasnt anything special as far as Subaru's go - just a FWD 5spd GL wagon, but that $150 car quickly became a tried and true freind with the helpful knowledge of the folks here. for 6 1/2 years I managed to keep her going, in spite of the disapproving looks of others that just didnt understand (she does have quite a bit of salt cancer & isnt pretty). whenever I needed help with something, someone here was more than willing to lend their expertise - even had one person helping me diagnose a difficult problem via email - not an easy task when you are 1000 miles away and cant actually see/hear the car! The old GL has finally been retired, even tho she still runs great with 225K on the clock, and I have "upgraded" to a gen 1 Legacy that I am quickly becoming very attached to, and the help and information is still there for the asking. I may not have delved as deeply into my Subaru's as others here have (some of the builds are awesome!), but I am not afraid to tackle pretty much anything - with a little help from my friends here. And that is what keeps me coming back! And yeah, if somone needs something that I can help with, I will help, whether it be information, or parts, or just moral support. Pay it forward!

hmmm -waterpump not replaced you say?? and slight overheating issues that go away with acceleration? hmmm....Waterpump going south perhaps? if she is running on her original pump, that would get my vote... as for the emissions - I would find out what the numbers need to be for Cali, then find a shop somewhere local to you that can test it for you - would give you a general idea of what, if anything, needs to be done. would toss my hat in the ring for that hatch, but too far away - yet again....:-\

an old wire clothes hanger works pretty well for the template... takes a little practice with the tubing bender, too - just so ya know... not sure on what the size the tube is, but should be the double flare - at least all the ends I have seen on our Subies were...if you can, take out a chunk of the bad line & take it in to the parts store with you (preferably with a fitting), you should be able to match it up just fine.

Porc - the link to the instructions you posted look great. I do recommend you practice on a couple of pieces first tho!! (ie: buy an extra piece of line for practice purposes - it's cheap enough) I had never flared lines before either until this past summer when I had to replace some lines on my mom's car - practicing a couple of times is a MUST!!! the first one came out pretty bad. took 3-4 tries to really get the hang of it. Also, I got a cheap flaring kit (under $20) from the auto parts store - worked ok for me... Also, if you dont already have a set - get a set of the wrenches for doing brakes...makes life much easier. You may also want to have a "hot" wrench handy as well to help break loose any existing fittings without damaging things. Good Luck!

Thanks for the props, Skip, does an ego good!! and yeah, the pads do tend to "hang up" in the brackets if said brackets don't get a good cleaning at pad change time. I also use antiseize in this area. doesnt requier gobs of it, just a light coating is sufficient. DO NOT use antisieze on the caliper pins however - it will damage the rubber boots. Get some of the caliper "grease" specifically made for doing these items. should be able to get it at any parts store. again, not necessary to use gobs of the stuff, just a light coating. The wheels will not spin freely and easily on an AWD - they will seem stiff, but as porcupine said, they will turn a bit themselves after a good shove around. Listen closely as you turn the wheels - if you can hear a rubbing sound then you need to investigate further. if the rubbing only occurs at a certain point in the turn, then chances are you have a warped rotor. If it is pretty consistant throughout the complete turn of the wheel, then you have other problems. um, just how did you inspect the pads?? did you pull the caliper up out of the way?? or did you just try to see them thru the top of the caliper?? Pull the caliper up and get a GOOD look at those pads - the suggestion of a few years ago makes me think it may be needing new pads again.... Also, compare the wear on the pads inner to outer - if one is worn more than the other, the caliper is not moving freely on it's pins.

FWD or AWD car??? Need more info!!! AWD will give more resistance than a FWD will.... That said - an easy 'test' if you will is to pull the pads and try spinning again - if it spins easier, then check your rotors for warping. I have an AWD that has a bad caliper - right rear - completely trashed a new set of pads in just a few months - pulled the caliper and completely disassembled because I couldnt get the piston to press back in for new pads...nasty....lots of gunk had built up and the piston is pitted - looking for a replacement caliper now....

my old GL wagon has 225K+ on her - as far as i know nothing major has been replaced - just typical tuneup type stuff....hard to say for certain tho since i am at least the third or fourth owner. She still runs great, but has been retired due to salt cancer eating away her undersides. The other half has a 90 Legacy L with over 201K and still going strong - is his daily driver. Technically speaking he is 3rd owner, but 2nd never really drove it - was saved from the crusher....

Wow - i guess i missed this one earlier... Congrats on the Superb find, Connie!!! Looks super sweet! and I know you will take VERY good care of it for the rest of it's life! (or yours - whichever comes first! lol)

this is a Subaru "quirk". there is nothing you can do about it, no changes can be made, short of completely rewiring the lock system....it is kind of a "failsafe" setup to hopefully prevent you from locking your keys in the car if you do not wish to use the key to lock your car (which by the way, the drivers side controls ALL locks if it is working properly) you can try this... once everyone is out of the car and all other doors are closed, depress the lock switch on the drivers door to "lock" the doors, hold the outside door handle in the "up" (open) position and shut the door. doors "should" remain locked. this little trick worked on my 89 GL, also works on the 90 Legacy...not sure if it will work on your 86, but worth a try if you are so inclined.

the lever on the left side of the steering column is just a release for ease of exit/entry as Connie stated. very useful for those that like the steering wheel in thier laps, like me. the lever to actually adjust the position is along the bottom of the steering column. it may be a bit difficult to release, as mentioned, due to disuse, but it will move with enough effort. it pulls down towards the pedals... once you get it released (make sure column is in the locked position before you do this!) you adjust the column to where you are comfortable, and lock it back in by pushing the lever back up into the column.

+10 on the cropping!!! I have used photobucket for several years with no problems - have stuff on there that has been there from when I opened the account - still works fine. I have avatars that I use on other sites loaded there, as well as pics for Ebay use (it is VERY popular for Ebay use) Also allows videos - but havent tried that yet...

hey thanks guys! the other half's 90 Leggy sedan started ticking the other day which brought up the question...he is due for an oil change, so that should clear it up... I knew the newer models had changed to solid, but wasnt sure about the early ones - still learning about these cars!

quickie question for those that know.... 1990 Legacy EJ22 - do they have hydralic or solid lifters?? thanks in advance!

check the lines that run to the radiator as well...our 88 coupe had a loose line and leaked there...