Huapakechi

My suggestion is to get the book, but be careful. I once told a customer I could fix about anything with the manuals. He gave me one printed in Japanese.

One thing you should check is timing. If the spark is not arriving at the right time, it will backfire. I've seen sheared flywheel keys cause this, usually because the flywheel nut wasn't tight enough.

The performance and range drop precipitously when the weather is below freezing. Ya can't even charge 'em when it gets below zero. Using the heater and defroster drains the battery even faster. They are a spendy status symbol toy that is both delicate and impractical, almost as bad as steam powered vehicles when the winter turns cold. Leave 'em outside and they freeze solid.

You know more about this than I do. Only idiots would use electrics up here. Temps of -40 kills 'em quick.

You refer to the 2WD right hand drive AMC jeep? They can't handle the roads and the climate up here.

The Subaru is a favorite of the mail route delivery people up here, and they drive 'em until the doors fall off. I'm glad to hear that the brand has not fallen to the quality rot that comes with success.

Working on cars and industrial equipment through the years has me less than trusting of anything computerized, having had very unhappy experiences with everything from fuel injected sawmill engines to a Bobcat skid steer that had more issues than my most recent ex wife to a year old Dodge one ton pickup that has permanently soured the owner on anything made by Dodge for the remainder of his life . All of these examples couldn't be fixed by the dealer shops. Then there's a heat/passenger door lock/window/seat adjust/right mirror/light problem on a GMC that requires a thousand dollar computer replacement. All due to putting too many computers where they don't belong. Sometimes I think I should show up to one of these repair jobs in a witch doctor's costume to chase out the little demons and pixies.

Just one of the things to investigate when ya look to put too damned much money in purchasing a vehicle. Just purchased a 2010 Chevrolet 3/4 ton 4WD. The cost to replace the transmission is twice what I paid for the truck. If the trans starts to go soft I'll leave the keys in the ignition and a dollar on the seat, hoping I don't come back to find two dollars on the seat.

And it gets damned expensive when ya don't change 'em.

Decisions like this should be made after careful consideration. I'm skeptical of the CVT transmission myself, but time will tell. Historically, Subaru have been tough little cars. The mail route drivers up here like 'em. Do pay attention to tightening the cylinder head bolts and changing the timing belts on schedule. Good luck!

I haven't been following the small SUV market, and don't even know who has what models for sale. I buy used and abused, fixing what's broke and driving like I have no cares and all the time in the world. It's cheaper that way.

Have you looked at the Suzuki or Nissan lines? They have a decent reputation.

The "cornbinders" are not all that common, and their neat trick of timing the V8s on #8 cylinder makes 'em less than favored. Another problem is the lack of performance parts, prompting those that do have 'em to swap out those near bulletproof engines for something sexier.

They are fun, but as with too many 4WD toys most have been beat to death by former owners. One of the best I've seen was a 1960 International Scout. It had sliding windows, a slant 4 cylinder, and was short and narrow. Like every other manufacturer, they went for bigger, wider and more plush over the years, but they still had the "farm truck" style. The best I can hope for is a "barn find" like my 87 F150 with 47K miles that cost me $50.

Was this a swap or did it come factory with the V8? It's been quite a while but when I worked for an AMC dealer in Colorado back in the late 70s all I saw were 4s and 6s. The V8 has much too much power for a CJ, but if you're towing something they'll do it.