DerFahrer

I plan on getting one of those ads off of eBay. They're on there all the time. Does anyone know if they're real? When I won the auction for my XT, I showed it to everyone I could , and the most common reaction was either "Why???" or as Trogdor stated "The hell is that thing?"

I have adapted to the jerkiness, I guess. I do occasionally make a very smooth transition from decel to accel, but maybe it's because my car isn't as bad, or I'm that good of a driver I always claimed it was the good ole boxer engine torque at its finest...

Trogdor, very nice. I'm new to the old Subies. I bought an XT GL about 3 weeks ago, it's in a lot better condition than your new one, but I paid a lot more . Although I'm in love with it already, I'm still new to it. What does my GL have that your DL doesn't? Mine only has a radio, but it has power everything, 4WD pushbutton, and air suspension (which is all-new BTW!). Is that what yours is lacking? I found an XT Turbo for sale by me, but it's an auto and there is so much moisture in the interior that weeds are growing in the carpet (:cornfuzz: )

Very cool, although I agree to downsize the pics next time, I grew impatient of waiting for my 56k to DL them...:madder: The only Justy I've seen with any display of interest in Subarus was a completely riced-out one. He put a fart can on it, painted the rear drums orange and did a whole bunch of interior stuff... :brolleye: Keep up good work, looks like it will be quite a car when you're done!

I would check the motor mounts first. The car is 12 years old now, and rubber isn't in its best condition after that long. The tell-tale sign: When you turn the engine off, on its last cycle, does it jerk hard? Mine did, and I've talked to someone else who had the same problem. Was solved completely by new mounts. My personal recommendation is to get new OEM mounts from the dealer. Anywhere my engine mounts to the chassis, it is supported by new OEM "liquid-filled" mounts. They cost a pretty penny, but my car runs so smooth it's scary

I ran 87 when I first got my Legacy, never knocked or pinged. Feeling cheap, I ran 93 for about 2 years, thinking I was doing my car a favor. Upon Legacy777's suggestion, I switched to 89 octane. My Legacy has never run better than on 89 octane gas. As a result, I put 89 in my XT. So I guess that's 4 examples (including yours) that normally-aspirated Subarus seem to run best on 89 octane gas...

Depends on what time period you're looking at. With the older models, like the 80's models, those were all made in Japan. My XT was made in Japan. The Legacies, when they first came out, were mixed. The plant in Indiana was built around this time, so there are some first-gen Legacies that were made in both. Legacy777's 90 Legacy was made in Japan, my 91 Legacy was made in the US. You can tell this from the VIN, by the way. If your VIN starts with a J, then it's a Japanese made car. If it's a 4S, then it's Indiana. Today, any Legacy-based model (Legacy, big Outbacks, Baja) are made in Indiana. Anything Impreza-based (Impreza, WRX, STi, Forester, OBS) are all made in Japan.

70 hp in a 360 would be disgusting! The 360 doesn't even weigh 1000 lbs, people! Brian is exactly right. 500 hp is absolutely nothing if it's moving 12,000 lbs... The only way to truly measure a car's potential is to find out its power-to-weight ratio... If I had $20k to throw away, I would buy that without question. It's local to me too :santa:

My method is to drain the radiator, leave the plug out, stick a garden hose in the top of the radiator, and then turn the engine on. Keep the hose in there, and wait until the engine warms up and the T-stat opens. Then give it some gas so the water pump will circulate the water from the hose through at a good speed. You should have the whole system flushed in about 20 minutes (clear water comes out the drain plug...) Now DON'T do this if your coolant has been neglected (i.e. brown-looking). I did that with a friend's Jeep. A few days later, he was leaking coolant by the quart. We had washed out all the crap that was clogging the MANY leaks the radiator already had! In that case, just bite the bullet and get a new radiator:boohoo:

This is correct. If you were to get platinums or iridiums, get NGK's. The reason is they are at leats the correct heat range... Anyway, copper is the best conductor of electricity there is. If you want performance and fuel economy, get NGK V-powers. No question. If you want your plugs to actually last long , then get NGK platinums or iridiums. They won't perform as good as the V-powers, but they'll be adequate... This is the final word, you heard it here, boys and girls...

Gotcha. Thanks a bunch, Caleb and Ratty...

Okay, so an OHC 1800 is automatically an EA82? Regardless of induction (turbo/not, FI/carb)? Then what is an EA71? Thanks for quick response, caleb...

Okay, I bought the Haynes for the 1600 and 1800 Subarus. While browsing through it, I found that there was an OHV Subaru engine that had the cam right below the crank, and the pushrods below the con rods. There was no timing belt, the cam was gear-driven by the crank. What engine code is this? The EA71? And what cars had this engine? Remember, I've been a `80s-Subaru owner now for about 2 weeks .

Good read! My manager at my old job had a 80 Wagonner that she got for free (!). She needed a car real bad, and someone she knew wanted rid of it... Anyway, she knew absolutely nothing about cars, and so I did a slight amount of tinkering and test-driving. I actually found it to be a nice vehicle. Plently of power, and surprising handling. But it was simply too big to tickle my fancy... In this comparo, I would go Subaru all the way, and not just because I'm biased. Even though it's down on power a little, the engine is very durable and willing. And I would definitely appreciate the nimbleness of the smaller car too...

While I'm glad to hear it runs good again, I can't help but be curious as to why it was running like that in the first place. You never got a CEL? The symptoms would have me checking the TPS thoroughly...

Everyone is absolutely correct. As far as Subarus go anyway, platinum and iridium plugs are pointless. I put platinum plugs in my Legacy for about 3 months. Those 3 months were the worst I could ever recall it running. Go to Autozone or Discount Auto Parts, get a set of NGK V-powers, spend about $6, gap them correctly, and you will have the best spark plugs money can buy for s Subaru. Stephen is also correct in saying that a car that calls for such fancy plugs will indeed benefit from them and should have them. It's just a matter of engine design.

I have Haynes manuals for the Legacy and all 1600s and 1800s. I find them to be helpful for diagrams, and that's just about it. I was just discussing in another thread about replacing my XT's axles in the Old forum, the manual said that the axle was pressed into the hub and a shop had to separate the two!!!:madder: An example for the Legacy manual is that it says you have to remove the intake manifold to replace the knock sensor... Or you have to remove the left cam sprocket and rear timing cover to remove the water pump... :temper: My personal opinion is that these manuals should be only used as a supplement to basic car knowledge. In other words, if you don't know how to do it, for Pete's sake DON'T use these manuals as your only source of info!!!

Thanks, Snowman. Damn Haynes manuals!!!! I figured that since I was able to get it to move quite a bit that this pressed-in business was a pile o' BS. I did this on my Legacy without any hiccups, but the Legacy doesn't have air suspension Well, it started raining, that's what stopped me today, so now I just hafta figure out how to get the suspension to allow me enough room to get the axle out completely :temper:

Okay, I tried to do it ignoring your advice. I tried to leave the air suspension alone completely. I just jacked up the car, pulled the balljoint bolt, and tried to pull the balljoint out of the knuckle. The control arm wouldn't go any lower, therefore the balljoint would not come out of the knuckle... Two questions: 1) If I were to remove the cap as you suggest (which is the one you can see in the top mount when you take the mount cover off, itt has the solenoid wire running through it right? ) this would let all the air out of that strut, then theoretically it should not push as far down as possible, leaving me room to pull the control arm farther down, and the balljoint out of the knuckle??? 2) I bought a Haynes for the Subaru 1600-1800's which covers pretty much all 4cyl models between 80-94. It said that the axle was pressed into the knuckle in between a set of bearings, meaning the only thing I could do would be to remove the knuckle and axle together and then I would have to take them to a shop to have them separated... Is this true??? I did bop the end of the axle and it did start coming out of the hub, but since I didn't get the balljoint undone, I couldn't hit it all the way out. I didn't damage the bearings, did I? If I hafta take the axle/knuckle somewhere else, forget it. I'll let the dealer do this :madder: Thanx in advance... and remember, I'm an older-generation n00b... :boohoo:

Subaruarnie, if you're talking to my subyluvr2212 ID who started this thread, the ID is hidden because I started that thread when we were still on ezBoard. Since I wasn't a member here the moment we transferred, that ID was registered as a guest. Anyway, enough of that... Look at my avatar and signature. I'm building up a nice older Subie collection, with the Legacy being my first Subaru ever and almost my first car ever. Then the XT I've had for not even 2 weeks yet. It's got a few things that need attention (I'm putting new axles in the front tomorrow) and then I will start driving it regularly... Anyway, let's make this thread a place where us FL people will come to arrange meets. I can meet with WRX people all day long, time to find some old-school people to meet

Dang it, too far away As always, start cheap first. New plugs and wires, and maybe an engine cleaner of some sort, worry about expensive stuff if the cheap doesn't solve the problem...

As promised

Hehe, when I get home, I'll try to remember to attach some pics I took of the car the next morning... People gawked at me in amazement driving down the road!!!

When I did a compression test on my N/A Legacy, I got between 180-190 for all 4 cylinders. That might be a bit high, carbon buildup perhaps. But, yeah the 110 cylinder probably has a very minute leak which isn't affecting driveability just yet. But trust me, it will

The only O2 sensor I ever replaced was on my friend's 92 Cherokee. That took all of 10 minutes. You'll need a O2 sensor removal tool, which is basically a 5/8 (that right?:eh: ) socket with about a third cut out so you don't damage the pigtail. Do it when the exhaust is cold. If it's hot, it will not only increase the risk of getting burned, but the expanded metal will make loosening it harder. I understand your concern for the Y-pipe on Subarus, however, I would think if you drove the car up on ramps that it wouldn't be too hard.