4rsnduction
New member
+1 to that brotherunderscore":ns5qv37e said:It's not us, it's the previous owners
I had to do a full rebuild when i got my ST185
How does the alltrac hold up to modern times?
- Thread starter ellover009
- Start date
I had to do a full rebuild when i got my ST185
No. I had my car running up to 15 degrees off both ways and AFR's above 17:1 when things were not reading correctly while tuning. It still started like a champ and idled ok. Of course it had no power but it never stalled. Stalling could be oxygen sensor, plugs, wires, coil, ignitor, stuffed engine and a whole pile of other stuff. I don't want to sound like a dick but don't buy it unless it is running 100%. Sometimes these things take a lot of time and money to finally correct and you don't want someone else's problem.ellover009":116xhfw6 said:
The easy engine mods for the st185 are downpipe, fuel cut defender, boost controller and thats about it. The next things are intake/battery relocate, intercooler (w2a or fmic) and if you are really keen exhaust also. That might get you 250awhp? maybe someone else can chime in.
After that it gets expensive. I have a custom intake manifold, bigger throttle body, cams, larger turbo with external wastegate, 2.5" exhaust, ecu, injectors, fuel pump, fuel rail, pressure regulator and a whole bunch of other crap I don't remember. It was an interesting process but I would not do it again. I would have liked to have stopped after the intercooler etc and enjoyed it instead of all the downtime waiting for parts and other things to happen. Hope that helps.
underscore
Well-known member
4rsnduction":vcan4y6b said:+1 to that brotherunderscore":vcan4y6b said:It's not us, it's the previous owners
I had to do a full rebuild when i got my ST185
I'm about to cross 15k into my build and I haven't even touched the motor yet
Having read what the others have said and nodding my head most of the time, I think your best bet is the Forester.
GT4's/Alltrac's are projects. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't take on the Celica - and that is taking into account that I still haven't finished yet, spent maybe $35k on tools and parts, it doesn't have much the way of safety and I'll probably crash it a week after its back on the road haha
I own a 1998 Forester turbo and I enjoy it as a daily driver a lot. Sporty enough to have a little fun around some windy roads but does sit higher so there is a fair amount of body roll as I haven't modified the car myself (front GAB suspension, cusco strut brace + underbody brace, braided lines when I bought it) except for the stereo.
Great thing about the car is that its a wagon. I had issues cramming people in the Celica when it was road worthy years ago, but I tell people to jump in the Forester, we load up the back and we're on the road in a flash.
Sure I've had my issues with the Forester - rear bearing, oil/diff leaks, AFM flaking out a couple of times, ticking injectors, but over the 3 years I've owned the car, its been relatively issue free *touch wood.
1. You don't know how to drive a manual - therefore you will have to learn, and the cars you are looking at need work.
Therefore you'll be spending money on top of the money to get the car - costs will rise fast on projects as nothing is ever as simple as you think
2. It does not seem you are mechanically inclined yet. I cut my mechanical teeth on my car and have only been able to do that with the garage that I have, support/knowledge of friends and family, a daily driver (a couple in fact) and money to 'invest' in the car. Ideally you would be learning to take the car apart and put it back together, but without a garage, that is hard to do.
3. If I go with the forester xt I would probably fit the bill completely and I wouldn't need my old car.
You answered your own question - buy the forester, enjoy the car for a couple of years, move on to the next car.
Retro's and project cars are there for you to have fun with and waste money on. They are hobbies and keep us mostly out of trouble except when we spend money buying something which isn't approved by the significant other.
GT4's/Alltrac's are projects. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't take on the Celica - and that is taking into account that I still haven't finished yet, spent maybe $35k on tools and parts, it doesn't have much the way of safety and I'll probably crash it a week after its back on the road haha
I own a 1998 Forester turbo and I enjoy it as a daily driver a lot. Sporty enough to have a little fun around some windy roads but does sit higher so there is a fair amount of body roll as I haven't modified the car myself (front GAB suspension, cusco strut brace + underbody brace, braided lines when I bought it) except for the stereo.
Great thing about the car is that its a wagon. I had issues cramming people in the Celica when it was road worthy years ago, but I tell people to jump in the Forester, we load up the back and we're on the road in a flash.
Sure I've had my issues with the Forester - rear bearing, oil/diff leaks, AFM flaking out a couple of times, ticking injectors, but over the 3 years I've owned the car, its been relatively issue free *touch wood.
1. You don't know how to drive a manual - therefore you will have to learn, and the cars you are looking at need work.
Therefore you'll be spending money on top of the money to get the car - costs will rise fast on projects as nothing is ever as simple as you think
2. It does not seem you are mechanically inclined yet. I cut my mechanical teeth on my car and have only been able to do that with the garage that I have, support/knowledge of friends and family, a daily driver (a couple in fact) and money to 'invest' in the car. Ideally you would be learning to take the car apart and put it back together, but without a garage, that is hard to do.
3. If I go with the forester xt I would probably fit the bill completely and I wouldn't need my old car.
You answered your own question - buy the forester, enjoy the car for a couple of years, move on to the next car.
Retro's and project cars are there for you to have fun with and waste money on. They are hobbies and keep us mostly out of trouble except when we spend money buying something which isn't approved by the significant other.
ellover009
New member
Unfortunately the forester is going, going, gone. Had a busy week, only 2 days since they put it up, had some time off and when I called it was already gone. On the alltrac I am just trying to get as much info as I can out of this one because there has been quite a bit of work already done to it. If I was to go forester route I would have to keep an eye out for the right deal again, I just want to wait till Sunday/Monday to see what ends up happening. Having had a engine rebuild, trans swap, radiator changed among other thing if it's running right I can't imagine being as far away from the goal, I have more realistic expectations from this vehicle, then again I don't own one so I am not in the best position to put my 2 cents in.
Maybe just wait around for the right one if things don't work out or maybe there's a deal on another forester in the future. Only reason I lean towards the all-trac is because I always liked them and it brings back memories from my first car with the exception of being loaded and having a proper engine. First celica St did not have power windows, no a/c, or cassette deck, looked good but summer was a punishment. I love being Ice cold.
Maybe just wait around for the right one if things don't work out or maybe there's a deal on another forester in the future. Only reason I lean towards the all-trac is because I always liked them and it brings back memories from my first car with the exception of being loaded and having a proper engine. First celica St did not have power windows, no a/c, or cassette deck, looked good but summer was a punishment. I love being Ice cold.
I would try and see if any one on the boards is able to take you on a test drive of a alltrac.
Driven unseen is 'interesting' with older cars and isn't always as nice as you romanticise it could be.
Sometimes memories are great because you get to choose the best moments and fleetingly remember the bad ones.
If you have to live through the bad times as you own the car, it isn't that fun.
Driven unseen is 'interesting' with older cars and isn't always as nice as you romanticise it could be.
Sometimes memories are great because you get to choose the best moments and fleetingly remember the bad ones.
If you have to live through the bad times as you own the car, it isn't that fun.
ellover009
New member
Good tip DeeCee.
I am trying to get a hold of a friend that has a manual car, not exactly and all-trac, he has an sti.
It's one of those things where you try to get as much info as you can and try to put things together but if you stand there and just talk about ideas and not attempt to do things you will never do anything. So part 1. get update info after the owner has a chance to adjust timing, mess around with it with his mechanically inclined friend. part 2 if part 1 goes as planned, try to get my friend to come with me if I can track him down and he has time and go see the car, check it out, have him drive it. part 3 go through checklist of things to look at part 4 negotiate if it's the right all-trac, if it's in favorable conditions, maybe have a pre-buy requirement such as having him drive down and have my new mechanic check it out. It's all still a work in progress, plans change, idea's change.
I would appreciate if there was any members in the northern MA area to show me their all-trac and take me on a ride on a proper running vehicle. I have owned a 1990 celica in the past so I can imagine the car would be stiffer, handle quite a bit better since it's awd, be more rwd biased, limiting factor atm would be getting a guetto manual to try.
I am trying to get a hold of a friend that has a manual car, not exactly and all-trac, he has an sti.
It's one of those things where you try to get as much info as you can and try to put things together but if you stand there and just talk about ideas and not attempt to do things you will never do anything. So part 1. get update info after the owner has a chance to adjust timing, mess around with it with his mechanically inclined friend. part 2 if part 1 goes as planned, try to get my friend to come with me if I can track him down and he has time and go see the car, check it out, have him drive it. part 3 go through checklist of things to look at part 4 negotiate if it's the right all-trac, if it's in favorable conditions, maybe have a pre-buy requirement such as having him drive down and have my new mechanic check it out. It's all still a work in progress, plans change, idea's change.
I would appreciate if there was any members in the northern MA area to show me their all-trac and take me on a ride on a proper running vehicle. I have owned a 1990 celica in the past so I can imagine the car would be stiffer, handle quite a bit better since it's awd, be more rwd biased, limiting factor atm would be getting a guetto manual to try.
I bought my alltrac without really being able to drive manual. I knew the theory of it right down to how the transmission worked but I stalled a couple of times on the way home from buying it. I got the previous owner to drive me since they know the car well and if you are passenger you can pay more attention to noises and the feel of the car etc.
ellover009
New member
tw2":37d0q4l0 said:
I think I read the thread a long time ago and remembered your story, reason why In my mind I knew it was something I could try.
By the way guys how does the alltrac split power? is it fwd bias or rwd bias or neutral 50/50?
ellover009
New member
Talked to the guy, he says he keeps adjusting the timing, but that the car keeps loosing it, says it could be anything at this point.
Symptoms include pinging at the high end, wan't to stall out when you stop after 10 mins.
My friend thinks that it could be electrical, dirty mass flow sensor, used bad fuel (lower octane).
I am starting to think that I might be better off walking away from this one, I am going to call my new mechanic to ask for his opinion.
05 Forester XT popped up again, but I think it's sketchy that it sold, transaction cancelled, I called to check it out, it had sold again and now they put it back up, I guess the people that bought it or almost bought it must have found something.
Symptoms include pinging at the high end, wan't to stall out when you stop after 10 mins.
My friend thinks that it could be electrical, dirty mass flow sensor, used bad fuel (lower octane).
I am starting to think that I might be better off walking away from this one, I am going to call my new mechanic to ask for his opinion.
05 Forester XT popped up again, but I think it's sketchy that it sold, transaction cancelled, I called to check it out, it had sold again and now they put it back up, I guess the people that bought it or almost bought it must have found something.
Yes better walk away from that one. It doesn't lose timing. The only way to adjust it is the distributor which has 2 M10 bolts that take 40Nm of torque. Other than that the only way it could change timing is if the guy is not shorting the Te1 and E1 in the diagnostics port (it stops the ecu from being able to adjust the igniton timing when you are setting/measuring the base timing). Air flow meter problems might be happening. If you are looking at subaru's then the legacy is a nice wagon, the twin turbo model 94-96? in good condition is a nice one but hard to mod, the later ones are easier being single turbo.
tw2":337ljlsi said:
I am bias to the Forester considering I own an 04' Forester XT. The weight of the Forester itself is actually the same as an STi. Both are about 3200-3300 depending on options. WRX and Forester are same chassis, except that the Foresters roof line is about 1-2in taller. Mostly everything from STi's are bolt on affair. Suspension is the same as any 02-07 WRX or 04 STi. I know we have better gearing than the wrxs, but we also get shitty gas mileage on highway.
Only dislike i have with my forester is the understeer, but other than that, it is quite the sleeper. 14.3@88mph in the 1/4mile bone stock... I made baseline pulls on a mustang dyno at 185 awhp and after an opensource tune on bone stock and just upped boost from 12psi - 15psi. We ended the day making 235 awhp. I am very pleased with my car and will soon go 6spd when i can gather enough cash.
ellover009
New member
Oh I walked away from it, only way I would probably touch it is if I can get it cheap enough, too much funny business with that car. Even a few months earlier a rusted out 90 sold a lot faster, this one doesn't seem to move, guy wants to try to get his investment back but problem is it only works out if the car is a) properly working or b) excellent condition, mint, sometimes it's worse than some project cars because you have an idea what needs to be replaced, whereas in a semi-functional with a weird problem it could be anything and you could end up replacing a lot of things till you hit the right tune.
I been even looking at wrx wagons too, not in a rush to jump on anything, would have been something nice since it was close enough but some things in just don't seem right.
Saw a listing somewhere of a 2001 wrx wagon, I thought they introduced those in the states as a 2002+ model. Only reason I would look at the wrx wagon over the sedan is insurance coverage, some places it can be up to 2x more.
I been even looking at wrx wagons too, not in a rush to jump on anything, would have been something nice since it was close enough but some things in just don't seem right.
Saw a listing somewhere of a 2001 wrx wagon, I thought they introduced those in the states as a 2002+ model. Only reason I would look at the wrx wagon over the sedan is insurance coverage, some places it can be up to 2x more.