heartless

NAPA is ok, but Advance has better prices IMHO. you can also look up the parts you need at http://www.partsamerica.com/ (affiliated with several chain parts stores) I have gone there, found the part i wanted, printed out the page and taken it to the local Advance Auto Parts store, (sometimes the parts are priced cheaper online, sometimes not) if it was cheaper at the website i got the cheaper price at the store by printing it out. one other note...check your struts/shocks after replacing front end parts (tierod ends, ball joints, etc) take it in for an alignment - your tires (and wallet) will thank you.

had mine fail some time ago - had to get a used coil bracket to fix the car - they dont fail often, but it does happen. cannot be "bypassed" to my knowledge - altho i think there have been "homemade" versions...do a search for ignition amplifier or "ig amp" or some other such variation...might find something useful

huh, just went thru a similar problem with mine - got harder and harder to open...and would have to pull the little pin back out with a pair of needlenose pliers to latch the door again.... here is how I solved my problem latch on my 89 wagon... first, get the fuel door open next, pull the interior panel back enough to get at the filler neck area. (requires removing a few screws and raising the trim around the window...on an XT, coupe, or sedan, it may be a little different) Then, pull the latch mechanism out of the area so you can get to it with some PB Blaster, or your favorite lubricant. Mine was rusted up pretty bad and would barely move - after a couple shots of PB and working the latch back and forth manually a few times it works like new again. Reverse steps to re-install... you should also be able to open the fuel door from the inside this way - for those that cant get the latch to work at all....

hey, welcome to the insanity!! Love the paintjob on your new toy!! LOL:headbang: with only 150k on the clock, she has a looonnnngg life ahead of her if you can manage to keep the rust gremlins at bay - my 89 wagon has 232k and counting, and there are others that have hit well over 300k... Find out when the timing belts were last done, if possible - that seems to be an item that is frequently overlooked. If it is in need of them, they are pretty easy to do...and plenty of good info here. Enjoy the new wagon!!

P.B. Blaster - soak it couple times a day, for a day or two...if that still doesnt work, might need to use a little heat, just be careful of where you point it...

Actually, i check mine about once a month.... but then again - i'm not the "average"! also check my oil with every fillup, and check tire pressure regularly too...:cool: I am a certifiable female gearhead!

did you check the main crank pulley?? that darn bolt has a bad habit of coming loose.

i buy from advance regularly and so far the only thing i have had an issue with was the tierod ends - but stuff does happen....got ones for manual steering the first time - got the right ones the second time - with a big discount! the guys at my local advance store know me when i come in...about the only old gen Subaru customer they have!! LOL (and i know thier system well enough to tell them where to look when i get the "new guy")

i have had a right/passenger side belt break...so it does happen, but 9 times out of 10 it will be the left/drivers side belt....

just a suggestion - if you have a college/tech school near you that offers auto body classes, go talk to them - they may be able to do the repair for next to nothing. possibly even paint too. I used to take my car to the local community college yrs ago - they would do the work for the cost of parts to give the students the experience. The instructors (if they are any good) will not let second rate work go out the door. it should be done right - thats the whole idea of the class, right??

well, my 89 GL wagon, spfi, 5 spd, fwd, just turned over 230,000 miles on Sunday. I am putting about 100 miles a day/5 days a week on this car driving to and from a new job. car had 142,700 when I bought it 4 1/2 yrs ago. the first couple of years of ownership, I was driving truck long haul so the car sat around a lot and didnt get all that many miles racked up - maybe 500 a month back then...now it is more like 5-600 a week. the best part is, I am getting around 32-33 mpg!!! hard to beat that with a 17 yr old car! I figure that sometime around October, I, personally, will have put 100,000 miles on this car since I bought it. Could happen sooner if I take any longish trips with it... I can honestly say I have NEVER owned a car that has held up as well as the Subaru has. (and to think that I used to be against owning foreign cars! what a dummy i was!) I want to put out a heartfelt thank you to all of those that have helped me keep this ol' girl going. Without all the great folks here I would have given up on her long ago. I am really glad that I havent done that, I really like my old Subaru. It will be a sad day when the time comes to take her off the road (she has cancer) but I hope to be able to replace her with another Subaru when that time comes. Drive safe everyone. Long Live the Subaru!!!

have had that darn pulley come loose before - altho i wasnt running at speed when it did it. (and i hadnt done any work on it either) was just plain weird. thank goodness these motors are relatively tough!

just did all of this on my 89 GL wagon....not even a month ago. 1. the cheap ($10) tierod ends were "unavailable" to purchase - checked several locations - nobody could get them. 2. the mid priced tierod ends were NOT the right ones for my car - got them and had to take them back. make darn sure you are getting the right ones for your application. the mid priced ones were for manual steering - i have power steering - and yes, it does make a difference. 3. i did both sides at once...if one is gone you can bet the other isnt far behind. I usually do this sort of stuff in sets (ball joints, tierod ends, bearings, etc) - others will argue that it isnt necessary, but i figure it saves me time and effort down the road not having to do the same job again on the other side. do both sides and get it over with. 4. ALWAYS get it aligned after this kind of work. you will be much happier with the handling and your tires will thank you. I was very careful to count the # turns taking the old ones off, put the new ones back on the same # of turns - was so far out of alignment it handled like crap on anything but dry road. Good luck

i have one of those double adjustable cup holders mounted on the passenger side of the dash - the flat part....also has a little center compartment for holding stuff like pens, napkins etc. only thing that sucks about the placement is cold drinks tend to get warm pretty quick in the summer time. but it works.

get as much of a maintenance history as you can - stuff like timing belts, axles, brakes, wheel bearings, oil changes, etc...the more you know about it's history, the better. what is the milage? dont need to be too worried about high mileage if the car has been cared for (my 89 GL wagon is just about to hit 230K), but if it hasnt - beware. places to physically look at the car - wheel wells - front fenders have a bad habit of rusting out (being near the bay you may have issues with that) rear wheel wells and the portion just behind them are also very prone to rust damage. looking under the hood, try to get a look at the axle boots closest to the tranny - rt side especially is prone to being damaged/torn. check the oil, is it full, clean or dirty?? also look for obvious oil leaks. these cars tend to "mark thier territory" with oil. inside - make sure everything works - heater fan, lights, turn signals, radio, windows, door locks, any other power accessorys. how does it look inside? clean, dirty - overly worn upholstery, are there any "wet" looking spots on the carpet - could be an indicator of problems underneath. if at all possible, take it for a teat drive. does it handle well, any vibrations, clunks or other noises. is tranny shifting smoothly? how does the engine sound? a slight ticking noise usually isnt too worrisome - commonly called the "tick of death" but really isnt - can usually be cleared up with little effort. is there any smoke coming from the exhaust - blueish smoke generally means it is burning oil and would need a rebuild, whiteish smoke is generally burning antifreeze - never a good thing. this is my basic check list when looking at a used car - generally works for just about ANY used car. Good Luck.

Welcome to the insanity!! i personally dont know much about the turbo cars, but lots of info available here - just use the search function and you will find answers to your questions. most of the guys/gals with the air suspensions have replaced them with the strut/coil setup. there should be plenty of info available on that subject. Not going to get any huge hp gains out of these cars - they just dont have the aftermarket stuff available. but for all around fun - they are great!! Enjoy your Subaru. :cool:

There was one other car that did - many, many, many years ago - the Tucker. but it wasnt a hide-away like the Subaru version. http://www.tuckerclub.org/car_gallery/1028_1.jpg what feature is my favorite?? Everything!!!!!

miles - she has a 2 whl drive car - no driveshaft or u-joints.... cynthia - only time the oil becomes an issue with the timing belts is if the leak is pretty bad. replaced my belts once without doing the seals - drove it for over a year that way before the drivers side belt become saturated enough that it sheared a few teeth off the belt - and my oil leaks were pretty darn bad - and i had the covers in place, so it had nowhere else to go. lesson learned. that was the one and only time this car has left me stranded miles from home. second timing belt job included doing the cam and crank seals. no problems since. for what it is worth, you should be fine with your car till it is due for new belts in 20 - 25000 miles, just get the seals done at the same time since the belts need to be off to get to them. all three seals should cost in the range of about 20 to 25 bucks. (2 cam and 1 crank seal) 150K on your engine is barely broken in - mine currently has 229K+ and counting!! putting close to 100 miles a day on the ol girl going back and forth to work. should see 230k by late next week! long live the SUBARU!!

figured I would chime in here as I am a female also. working on a Subaru is NOT hard at all, all you need is a decent set of metric wrenches & sockets, a couple of screwdrivers, perhaps a good set of vicegrips and a good set of directions for whatever it is you are trying to do. smaller hands are better at getting into tight spots... Timing belts are a common fix on these cars. have done it several times myself now, on both my car (twice) and the other half's car. Miles Fox has done a very nice job of writing up the procedure - with pictures - in the USRM (ultimate subaru repair manual) found via the link at upper right. As the others have mentioned - wouldnt worry too much about a small amount of oil leakage - very common with these cars. the "burnt" oil smell you are smelling is probably caused by oil droplets hitting the exhaust as you are driving down the road and burning off. a quart of oil per say 4-500 miles (or more) really isnt anything to worry about. more than that, then yeah, would be looking for where it is leaking the worst from and start resealing. Subarus run thier best at higher rpms - downshift when going up hill - keep the rpms up in the 3500+ range - if you get down under 3000, downshift again, you wont hurt it! I have an 89 GL wagon, 5 spd, FWD (same drivetrain as yours), with 228,700 miles on it - have hit 70mph in third gear with it a few times - you will NOT blow your engine running higher revs unless it has been seriously abused in the past (overheated, run dangerously low on oil, etc) have pushed my car to over 90mph in the past (going downhill with a tailwind! ) these cars are not powerhouses by any means. I live in Wisconsin - we get pretty cold around here too - i run 10/30 in the winter, and 10/40 in the summer altho I am considering going a little heavier this summer, thats just my personal choice tho. vibrations could be caused by a number of different things - first thing I would check would be wheel/tire balance - go for the cheapest thing first. a slightly bent wheel can cause problems as well, that can be found when getting wheels/tires balanced - if they cant get it to balance properly it should be replaced. mechanics/shops have a tendancy to attempt to rip women off - most dont think we know anything about cars, or repair work. also, many of them dont know much about the older Subarus and want to charge more for working on a "foreign" car. If I were you, and I didnt want to do it myself (or didnt have time to), I would do some shopping around for a good shop/mechanic. go to as many as you can - get estimates, see how you are treated. being treated decently is just about as important as getting the work done right in my book. As for asking your freind to do the work - most of the guys i know will do stuff for a case of beer and/or a home cooked meal...best advice i could give you on that one is ask him what he would charge you. Good luck with the Subaru - oh yeah - and welcome to the insanity!!!

a breaker bar is longer than a ratchet, does not ratchet, and is used for just what the name implies - breaking bolts loose - use one of these to avoid damaging a ratchet. generally found in the same area of the store that the sockets and ratchets are. they come in the same size ranges as ratchets - 3/8, 1/2, 3/4, etc... no, you do not need a timing light as long as you follow the directions that can be found on this site. using the search function for timing belt replacement will turn up a LOT of info. here is a very nice write up in the USRM complete with pictures. (nice job Miles) http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=50768 one item that you may need to make to do this job properly is for adjusting the tension on the belts. I made one using a piece of scrap metal about 1" wide and about 5" long - in the center drilled a hole and used a large bolt with the threads cut way down, welded on - on either end, mark locations to line up with 2 of the 4 holes in the cam sprocket (diagonal from each other), drill holes and use 2 smaller bolts w/nuts that will fit into the holes on the sprockets...you now have a tensioner tool. will draw up a diagram to show what it looks like and post it shortly... others have used a spare cam sprocket to create a similar tool - i didnt have one, so had to go another route. if you are going to do the belts, highly recommend doing the seals as well - learned this lesson the hard way! you would need to remove the cam sprockets to get to the cam seals, but that is relatively easy to do and well worth the time spent if you have any oil leakage in that area. need to replace the seal behind the crank pulley at the same time. Good luck, happy wrenching! here's the diagram i promised...

could not have said it better myself - dogs, especially young dogs, need attention & training. Chaining a dog outside and forgetting about him/her is not responsible pet "ownership". This poor fella is more than likely bored to death. sure he never bothered the soob before, cause there wasnt anything he could "sink his teeth into" on the outside...the damage caused within looks to me like a definite case of boredom chewing - nothing else to do, nothing else within reach, havent been taught anything.... I see people nearly everyday that i would like to "treat" them the way they are treating thier animals..... anyone ever watch Animal Planet's "Animal Cops"???

bought my car over 4 yrs ago - first few items were just to get it on the road... purchased car - $150.00 Cheap set of 4 tires - $180.00 1st new/rebuilt alternator - $126.00 New Battery - $45.00 Clutch and both front axles installed - $628.00 (didnt have the time to try doing this one myself and had to get done asap) Tax, title, license fees - around $60.00 ok, so spent approx $1189.00 just to get her on the road. second set of cheap tires - $180.00 second new/rebuilt alt - $85.00 1st set of timing belts (ebay) - $20 2nd set of T-belts (also ebay) - $20 cam and crank seals (lesson learned) - $22 coil bracket (from a board member) $ 10 (dont recall the exact price, but that should be pretty close) 1st exhaust repair - bad section of pipe - $40 2nd exhaust repair - new flange gaskets - $50 1st cherry bomb muffler/misc pieces - $45 3rd set of not quite so cheap tires - $225 tierod ends - $65 wheels bearings (all 4 corners) $100 (approx) left front axle - $85 after core exchange new front brake pads - $25 NOS rear brakes (includes new backing plate, hardware and shoes, & new drums - ebay) - $125 Balljoints (both sides) - $40 2nd cherry bomb muffler/misc pieces - $35 3 yrs of license renewal @ $50 yr - $150 front end alignment - $65 ok - total so far - $2576.00 - and that doesnt include basic maintenance items such as oil changes, plugs, cap, rotor, etc that would be required on any vehicle. Nor does it include the time and effort that went into installing most of the stuff. My car has been into a shop exactly 4 times for work since i bought it- once for the clutch/axles, twice for exhaust repairs, once for the front end alignment. everything else I have done myself with the help of the great folks here at the USMB. oh yeah - that total doesnt include some other stuff like aftermarket stereos (2), new speakers & wiring, window tint, fog lights, and stuff like that. and this car has a bad case of salt cancer happening...front fenders are ragged out, rear wheel wells have rotted out, all the usual places...she is NOT pretty by any means - but i still love my Subaru!! Divide that total by 4.5 yrs of ownership = roughly $573 a year to keep her going - not bad in my book for a 17 yr old car.

yupper!! doncha just love it! Long Live the Subaru!!!! my daily driver sat for a while before i bought it - not for 13 years - but it also started right up with a battery and fresh gas.

if you have access to a good scanner, try this... print out the pic at it's normal size. place in scanner, set scanner to ridiculously high resolution, (600dpi or better) get a preview of the pic in scanner software and crop to scan JUST the pic...scan that should give you a better resolution to work with - not gonna be perfect, but far better than trying to blow it up in image program. if you dont have a scanner, let me know, maybe i can help ya with this...

the oil leakage can be resolved fairly easily on the passenger side, just needs a reseal - drivers side is a little harder to get at, but still fairly easy. the plate you are looking at is a great catch all for oil, dirt and other crud - took mine off when i did timing belts and never put them back on. havent had them on there in over 2 years, no problems. if most of the oil leakage is landing on that plate, i would be looking at the cam & crank seals ...if the seals were not replaced at the time the T-belts were done, (or done improperly) well...asking for problems down the road in the form of trashed belts (know from experience here) get as much of the excess oil off of the engine as you possibly can, then run it for a little while... then check to see where the oil is dripping from. the location of the drips will tell you where you need to focus your attention.