wagonist

Send me a PM to remind me & I'll post up a picture of the cover from my 88 model. A few years ago I redrew the panel from my RX I JDM import in Autocad. After you've worked out if there are extra fuses in your JDM vs my Aus version, I could do you something up that you could print out & stick over the top.

So the clutch cable has some kind of pivot mech off the pedal to bring it further across? Obviously, I've never to worry about it, but yeah, usually unbolt compressor from engine & hang off to the side, but don't have to worry about contacting the AC lines with the gearbox when removing the engine/gearbox as a complete unit.

Having that A/C line across the back of the engine bay must make things hard to work on... On the RHD models, that line comes out of the compressor & in through the firewall where your brake master is (ours is the other side), but this means that the A/C pipes all run the LHS of the engine bay, instead of doing a circuit. One thing I've got to ask. Where does the clutch cable come out? The pedal positions for LHD & RHD are the same, so this means our clutch cable come out over near the transmission tunnel with no wheel arch/strut tower in the way.

Another one?:-\ That's the only one I've ever seen too. Bought it sight unseen from a wrecker mate & thought it would complement the ground effects kit I bought (for less money) from over there. Seeing the only other kit in Aus is on an imported JDM coupe I thought it would complement it. I'm aiming to keep this car maybe a year after I've got the project completed (you've got to enjoy them), so maybe hit me up (I prefer things go to people who appreciate them)

You hit that nail on the head. I think as cars have gotten better, the standard of driving has gotten worse. I've noted now that in Europe all cars must now be sold with ABS. Pity the kids learning to drive now when the ABS fails & they don't know how to deal with locked up brakes...:-\

There's actually something to be said about "underpowered" vehicles in poor conditions.

Yep, sounds like good fuel supply then. Have you pulled the distributor cap off? Starting to sound like corroded contacts in there as that's really the only part that sends spark to just one side. I'd also swap the left & right spark plugs & see if the problem changes "sides"

Just to make you jealous then:-p plus i've managed to find a factory Subaru rear spoiler for it as well.

I still want one of these hatchbacks. They were never sold here. But I'd need 2 (one for spares). And yes, the RX turbo hatchback with full time, dual range, centre diff lock 4wd is the best. And that's not a laptop, its an early calculator watch. I don't know why you'd want to wreck it with that stupid EJ22T you guys got, install a proper DOHC EJ20T (or even better EJ25T)

I had a quick look through a Chiltons manual in the state library (they weren't sold here) once & thought it wasn't bad. Injector servicing needs to be done by a professional. Removing them from the car yourself will save a lot in labour. You need to unplug the loom from the injectors (a real bugger of a job), using a very fine screwdriver to "lever" the retaining clip out. These plugs will most likely be brittle from 20 years of engine heat, so be very careful. Unscrew the clamps that secure the fuel rail to the injectors Unscrew the injectors themselves (2 long, small bolts each) find the bolts that hold the fuel rail down & undo these. Again be very careful, I think at least one of these is the bolt that holds down the inlet manifold. These bolt screw down into the water jacket in the head, so the end of the bolt gets rusty.

EFI cars with the Black computer (-87.5) here had an issue with the earthing circuit for the fuel pump. Power to the pump comes from a relay activated by the ECU, but the earth was back through the ECU itself. This had a tendancy to burn out. The syptoms on my car were at first occasional cutting out until one it stopped altogther (when my car was full of stuff as I was moving house, in peak hour, first morning in a new city:mad:). Anyway, the fix is to simply run the earth wire of the pump directly to the car chassis. Very simple to try. Other problems I've had are clogged injectors. When were the last time they were serviced? EFI cars have their standard filter in the engine bay. If a non genuine pump is being used, an additional filter may be installed between the tank & the pump to stop the pump being destroyed (the factory pump has a small screen mesh inserted into the inlet side of it). TPS is a black box with some wires hanging off it to the LHS of the throttle body. On the early models this only had a idle switch & a full throttle switch so I doubt this is your problem. Later models had a full potentiometer for the full throttle range.

I was starting to wonder whether the Touring wagon was sold in the US. We only got DL flat roof or GL touring wagon, plus DL, GL, RX turbo (86 & 87 only) sedans. Thing I don't like about the high roof is no sunroof availability. Over here 90 Touring wagon was the best. Last year of any GL, manual, dual range, MPFI You guys got better spec'd cars, GL-10, turbos, but got dudded on the transmissions. Everything here after 90 that was manual was dual range, and only for 85 & 86 was single range 4wd offered.

I got my re-trimmed interior back this morning. Early checkered sedan interior changed to suit the wagon. Front seats reboltered & covered, rear seat cut up & re-sown to suit the wagon rear seat. Seatbelts changed over new carpet for the cargo area hood lining trimmed

I'm just about to tackle removing the original drums off my 88, so at least I know what to use now if they don't come off.

I know is probably a little off topic, but do people in the southern states get rust issues from dust buildup? Nearly all the cars I've known (especially those that do wheeling) have a buildup of dust in the bottom of the rear 3/4 panels, the bottom of the doors & the rear lower front guard (fenders). When some water gets in, causes the dust to turn to mud, blocking the drain holes & then the cycle gets worse.

Test fitted the factory Subaru rubber roof spoiler onto my wagon. I've never seen another, and once the RX "ground effects" kit is on, this will definitely be the most unique wagon in Aus. Should be getting the re-trimming interior back at the end of the week:slobber:

I sympathise with you guys. I had no idea how it effects the cars until I saw pics of some of the wrecks. The worst we get over here is rust around the windscreen (a very common problem) from poorly installed replacements. My wagon has a small spot in the rear behind the bumper about the size of half of my hand palm.

The Aus turbo models also got the 3.545 rear diff with the 1:1.1 centre transfer, but I don't think the US got any turbo models between the "turbo" first Gen Legacy & the 01 bugeyed WRX.

Most car nowadays have airbags which usually means that the whole dashboard, wiring and all, is not removable in one unit. Also, a lot more things are standardised now. The best option is to replace the entire dashboard loom.

or ft/lbs with Nm, that's not a multiplication of 30, its more like 150 times

The dashboard wiring is completely different. I was able to install the body harness from an 89DL into my 88 GL & the GL dashboard plugged straight in & everything worked, including the central locking. You could both clusters out & draw a diagram of where the pins on the back of the cluster differ so they can be changed. You will need to add a tacho wire to the dash. RHD models run to the LHS side of the car to the negative side of the coil, which I know is still in the same place for LHD & RHD. Low fuel light wire is also missing from at least the dash. I think after 90, Subaru started making different looms for the different models to save model (there's a lot of extra wires in a GL). Engine sensor is different, but after it is installed, you just unplug the oil wire & switch it. You will also need to remove the wire from the light & extend it so it reaches the cluster. Warning: this is from experience with Japanese built RHD cars sold by Subaru Australia.

None of the bolts are reverse thread, the trick is to use your spanner or bar aimed towards the crank, it helps to stop the engine spinning whilst undoing them. If they've been in a while, they can take a bit of force, but the torque to do them up isn't that much.

Sorry, I'll fix that up. by "L" I meant "L" series, which is what we call that body shape from 84 - 94.

I think the earliest EFI engine in a Subie was 1981, and I'll bet even the US emissions laws weren't that tough back then, so most likely you won't have a space for a CE light. I've never seen a factory MY/Brat/Brumby EFI car (Aus never got the EA81T), first we saw of EFI was a handful of 85 RX turbos imported for rallying.

Another option is to use the EJ inner CV, the L shaft & an L inner CV as the outer. From my understanding the L series shaft spline is the same as the EJ so it should fit into the inner CV One of the cars I bought already had this done for the inners, but I didn't check it because I changed to a S1 Legacy turbo LSD because the car used to pop a shaft out under real heavy acceleration. It was only later that I figured out the rear suspension was too soft so it squatted too much, plus he'd used the L series fixed outer CVs, so the shafts were just too short. By using an L series inner CV as the outer, it gives you the extra length needed because the later EJ inner CVs sit closer to the diff. Personally, I prefer the earlier style, because when you need to remove the shaft, the diff doesn't need to be emptied.