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Same question, different sensor. Does the bucking go away if you unplug the knock sensor?

No, the problem continues when the purge valve is disconnected. I got the car to a mechanic yesterday, and after reviewing the data with his scanner, and doing some research, he thinks the knock signal may be too sensitive. If the knock is sending a false signal to the ECM, it will pull the timing 10 degrees. I had also seen with my reader, with the live data, that the timing would advance 10 or more degrees when throttled up, but considered it normal, and couldn’t see that it corresponded with the misbehavior of the engine. Anyway, he says the service bulletin says to replace the ECM with an updated one and that people in the forums have been placing a resistor before the knock sensor. Anyone heard of this treatment? Or does it sound reasonable?

Current trend is "almost nothing is available, and what is available is usually garbage", alas...

You've all misunderstood the question. The clip at the end of the shaft that gets stuffed into the diff is not the issue. The clip is there and there's nothing to ask about. The question was about the clip that isn't inside the inner CV joint itself to prevent it from coming apart. I just looked at another couple of that type of shaft at a buddy's house, and there's nothing on them either. So I'm just calling it a $h!++y CV design that relies on the boot to keep it together without any positive retention mechanism for the greezy rollers contained within.

I really appreciate the insight. Thank you. I been out of the EA game for a long time and I been trying to get back up to speed on current part-trends.

I've been searching pretty hard over the last few years for a good radiator, and the only option in the US seems to be roughly four varieties of chinese all-aluminum models. There's a company in .au that supposedly still makes a copper-brass one, but they explicitly state they will not ship overseas, and did not respond to an email asking if they'd consider changing that policy. You can get the aluminum ones on ebay, or at o'reilly if you want a warranty. Quality... varies. The o'reilly one isn't terrible. The $90 ebay special is pretty ugly. I haven't tried the "Fenix" one for a higher price. There's a couple middle-priced ebay options. When searching, look for "leone" and "brumby" radiators, since that's what the rest of the word labels them as. If you do find a copper-brass one that's actually available in the US, let me know!

Well, I stand corrected. I swear last time I checked it, it was available in stock. Ding-dang.

"most available".... I haven't seen one of those available in many years.

scooby2 have you determined if it is your fuel pump that needs replacing? There is a way to put your ECU into "learn" (improper nomenclature) mode and when you turn the key to ON, the fuel pump will turn on in pulses. You'll be able to hear the pump, if you don't hear any pulsed buzzing then you know the pump isn't functioning. In my opinion this is the easiest way to test your pump as you don't have to remove anything other than some plastic panels below the steering column. If this vehicle is a single-point fuel injected model, fuel pumps are basically extinct. There are multiple forum posts on others using different non-OEM pumps so there's always a way to MacGyver something. :]

Looks like the most available and cheapest model is the one from RockAuto: https://shorturl.at/IpZnH The one that's installed isn't terrible but it's definitely got a drip from the endtank. Radiator shops don't exist anymore around here or I would have it repaired. I'm sure a splash of stopleak would be great if someone was wanting to half-rump roast it and sell it.

Yep, just pop it back in. It can take a good wack from the end of the axle. If you have the lower ball joint out so it's free, you can use the weight of the brake/hub to give you some weight.

So you don’t have the shaft all the way out, it’s just popped out to be loose? If that’s the case, it’ll have a c clip in there. Shove it back in and it’ll re-engage, it should hold enough that it doesn’t just slip out easily. Cheers Bennie

I completely replaced all of the grounds (wire and ends) for all of the grounds I could find in the engine bay. So far, so good. The windows seem to be moving a little quicker as well.

I have those plastic rings and several old school folks have them. Last I knew just a few years back you could still get them using a west coast dealer through their distributor.

Threw the Brat wheels on last night and cleaned out the massive buildup for road grime on the fuel filler neck. I had this same problem on an 95 Outback and it rusted it out. I also found some wiper pins online so I could replace the originals that said Made in Japan. I assume people just kept doing the refills but I hate those things.

I could not tell you the part number as the sales history is gone now but it is the same type as listed by several eBay drop shippers that pretend to be legitimate parts houses. The radiator had plastic end tanks. Just be sure the radiator cap and filler neck pair together correctly. If the spring in the radiator cap can move a 1/2" when you push on it manually, then make sure when you install it that it isn't being pushed in any further than maybe 1/4". The relief spring needs room to move after the cap is in place and when pushing down and turning to install my cap, I didn't notice that the spring was fully compressed and therefore had no pressure relief at all. I had burped the system really well so with no air trapped in the system, the hydraulic pressure built quickly as the engine heated. If I'd had some big air bubbles in the system, I probably would have been fine.

How long ago did you do that? If recently, there may still be prayer in your future. Depending on the severity and frequency of overheating, you may have compromised the main bearings - they're what goes if you overheat badly enough, often enough. So if you get the death rattle of spun bearings, STOP IMMEDIATELY and overhaul the engine. If this is caught quickly, it can still be salvaged. If not, permanent crank and/or block damage will result.

VERY late response, but yeah, it was a blown head gasket. Got the engine out and swapped them for fresh ones in my bedroom lol. Not bad for a first timer!

Does the bucking go away if you leave the valve unplugged?

Monthly update? Sweet Build!

Great info on the tank inspection, I’m moving the car to an independent mechanic today and will get some oscilloscope readings. I’m hoping to narrow the possibilities to fuel or spark with that help. I’m not using a charcoal canister but am thinking it would be a good thing to try for the vapor smell, unless something else improves the excess fumes when the engine problem is solved. I’ve used the stock 1983-85 fuel separator and piping in both cars (wagon and current brat), which includes the long switchbacking 1/8” pipe that has the diaphragm looking thing you mention. Lightening took out our solar electrics and radio, phone, internet, irrigation controls last week. I hope to get pressure back onto the Suby soon. I appreciate the brain work on everyone’s part meantime. It’s always better for the forum if one gets the final resolution to the story, so I’ll update asap. I keep circling back to the missing in-tank sensors (didn’t have them in the wagon and not in the brat now either) and my thinking is the purge valve on the engine should be helping to reduce vapor pressure in the intake system. The purge in my engine operates mechanically, tests properly electrically, but when I ground it (opens the valve), engine immediately stalls. Then I get kinda stuck trying to figure if the valve ever operates (or if it ever operated when engine was running properly in the wagon body). And how the ecu might be pulsing the ground connection for the purge valve, getting confused with the resulting signals from other sensors, and setting up the on/off that makes car buck.

This is great info, I'm keeping that part number. I remember when old Subarus were pretty common in salvage yards in my area. You could test the EGR solenoid pretty easy, IIRC, but it could test good and fail within weeks. It's good to know that a Toyota version of this can work with not much modification, as those parts aren't going anywhere anytime soon I'm sure. That's a clean looking car the OP has.

I'm hoping it's something more simple and not damage I caused when replacing the HVAC box and had the dash out. I did find some more corrosion on another ground, so I'll get that replaced along with the other wires in the big kit.

Thanks @SuspiciousPizza! The part is supposed to arrive for Thursday. Will update when I get it installed. Following your advice, I also checked the TPS using the process outlined below and all seems to be working there.

Oh - you meant the ignition switch. Okay, no argument there at all. Mechanical contacts like that degrade over time, and (as I proved years ago) that's exactly the reason for you not being able to program for your key fobs anymore. But "the ignition" refers to the whole system, and that would have been a bizarre claim, kind of like "my windshield wore out". "Cracked? Pitted?" "No, just wore out, stopped working, can't see through it anymore."