DerFahrer

And this one needs to be more than 3 people Anyway, discussions are arising about doing a second FL USMB meet in Orlando or somewhere in that vicinity. Our last meet was just a meet-and-greet, we did lunch and a little shop talk. Nothing fancy, but fun nonetheless. I'm open to suggestions for dates, locations, etc. Phaedras? shortbus? RavenTBK? Let's make this happen guys

Personally I think it's about money. The society we live in doesn't care about talent anymore, all they care about is money. Take one look at the music industry and you'll see what I mean. Will, I think I can assume, with all due respect, that you can't afford an STi. Therein lies the problem. They don't care how much faster your car is than theirs, they don't care that you used actual automotive knowledge to make it fast, and they don't care that you have the driving talent that they could only dream of, which just makes you even faster. All they care about is MONEY! They are ricers, every last one of them. It disgusts me to know that probably 75% of WRX owners have absolutely no idea what Subarus came before the WRX. And when you give them an opportunity to at least learn by showing some old-sk00l spirit, they shrug it off because you don't have money falling out your @$$hole. If it makes you feel any better, when the XT6 people were at the Dragon last year and I was there in my Legacy, the FIRST car I checked out was your wagon

It's my understanding that ALL 97-up Subaru engines are interference.

Welcome to the brighter-than-you-think side, where lifters are a little quieter and rust is a little less lethal If I remember correctly, your Impreza doesn't have a rear swaybar. If you find one from a yard that fits, you can help out your car's handling immensely with just that swaybar.

For clarification, torque the crank pulley bolt to 110 ft-lbs. The FSM asks for 80 lb-fts I believe and that is incorrect.

Couple questions: 1) Did the car overheat significantly when you blew the headgaskets? 2) Did a lot of coolant get into the cylinders (i.e. billowing white smoke) when you blew the headgaskets? 1) If so, you could have warped the block or even slightly cracked it, which will allow all kinds of fluids to get in places they're not supposed to be. 2) If my understanding of Subaru engines is correct, they are all a wet-sleeve design, which means that the piston sleeves are coated with a thin layer of oil which helps the rings seal. If a large amount of coolant goes through those cylinders, it could wash away that oil seal causing your rings to no longer seal properly. This is what I've gathered from various sources with little credibility. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me.

Really? More inaccurate than a Ford oil pressure gauge which does one of 3 things: goes to Low, Normal or High, nowhere in between? Or some GM oil pressure gauges I've seen that stay pegged at 50psi no matter what the engine is doing?

You want some more proof that the B9X is losing its Subaru-ness? Look at the doors and windows, anything about those framed windows piss you off as much as it does me? It's these two things that perturb me: 1) Subaru is jumping on the SUV bandwagon and 2) Subaru is tossing out its characteristic front end. Subaru has had the same overall front-end design for decades: The 80's cars: The 90's cars: The current cars: Now all of a sudden, they want to do stuff like this??? I guess they want to lose their loyal customers, because I might be one of them.

Subaru is selling out if you ask me. I will never understand the need for an SUV for 90% of the US population. But since it's such a hot thing right now, Subaru has to jump on the bandwagon and make their own. Most will say that's marketing, I say it's BS. Subaru has never paid much attention to what's hot in the marketplace, they have always catered almost exclusively to their loyalists who appreciate their quirky engineering and unsurpassed reliability. I feel as part of an exclusive group owning Subarus, because they're a different, more focused car than a Toyota, Honda, or Ford or Chevy. But someone must have gotten greedy in SOA, because they're now willing to forget their loyalists and go for the status quo, and Subaru isn't a company who can really afford to lose their loyalists. So, everyone, say goodbye to the tried-and-true FHI tradition we've grown to love over the past 37 years and get ready for the new, less unique and innovative, more bland and everyday, Subaru! It's starting with this dastardly creation, and will spread throughout the rest of the Subaru line, starting with that nauseating grill. I'm seriously considering buying an 06 Legacy GT, because I think that will be the last year that the Legacy has a proper Subaru grill, I think it's going to get the new one for 07. Or maybe that new Forester redesign I saw in the other thread. One of those will probably be the one and only new Subaru I ever buy. I'm very strange for my age to be so stuck in tradition and the old way of doing things, but I take pride in my dedication to Subarus and to see the things I love about them disappear right before my eyes just to stay with the trend is very, very disappointing to me.

Please forgive my skepticism, but doing some calculations, if he bought the car on November 1st, 1999, 1553 days will have passed up to this very moment. 438,367.5 miles, divided by 1553 is roughly 282 miles a day. If it's all highway mileage, that's driving 4.7 hours a day at an average speed of 60 mph. That's by no means impossible, but this would have to be done EVERY SINGLE DAY in that time period, weekends and holidays included...

Very cool! Put plenty of coverage in the magazine!

I wasn't hating, I just said they only have 90 hp I'd love to have one, I almost bought a Loyale wagon about 6 months ago but it was too rusted out...

Yeah, it doesn't look major, but it is still very freshened, and I like it!!! I was 95% expecting this to be an article about how the Forester was getting the new ugly Subaru corporate grill... I actually have to liken the front end to a new 4Runner a bit though...

So you guys think that if I squeeze one of my bellows, I could see a whole bunch of ATF squirt out in many directions???

My 91 Legacy has 140k miles on it, and I say this with 100% honesty and confidence, with no exaggeration, that it runs like new. The car still has every last bit of power, performance, fuel economy, and smoothness as a new car. And I only do regular maintenance and don't beat the crap out of it.

I agree with this 100%.

I have to disagree. My XT had its bellows literally in pieces when I got it, it was leaking ATF all over the exhaust manifold to the extent that smoke would emanate from it when it would sit for a while and I would need to pour more ATF in it about once every week when the pump would start moaning. I replaced the bellows and it hasn't leaked a drop since.

First off, I've never removed a tie-rod end to do an axle. You should have the whole front of the car off the ground, and then you can turn the wheels effortlessly anyway you want. It sounds to me like the car has seen some snow, because the balljoint is slightly rusted into the knuckle. Take a breaker bar, wedge it in between the control arm and the spot under the knuckle where the bolt that you mentioned goes through to clamp down on the balljoint, and then beat the s#!t out of it with a hammer until it pops out. You won't damage anything, I've done this numerous times. Definitely lube up the balljoint before you put it back in the knuckle though.

I think I'd be up for that, I want a couple things to change for the next meet though: 1) More people show up 2) My Legacy's battery doesn't die again

Filler, not filter There is no possible way the EA oil filler will bolt up to an EJ. Not only is the bolt pattern wrong, but it's kinked in the wrong direction since it is on the other side of the engine. It will hit the A/C lines on your car.

Wow, I'm shocked! At least you're okay...

Nope, your valves are fine. 2.2's weren't interference till 1997. Use the marks on the timing belt when setting timing on these engines. It takes out all the guesswork and headaches.

In your fairly new Subaru, it should be fine. In my 14-year-old Subaru, it got into my cylinders and out my tailpipe.

I don't know for sure, but that's what I understood. I know for sure it starts above $30k...

I have yet to drive a car with a more perfect steering wheel than my XT. Regardless of what people think it looks like, it works so well and feels so good I wouldn't dare change it.