edrach

As of yesterday (Friday), no pug wheels available at Lynnwood or Everett. There's a place in Ballard that would straighten your rim, but it's not cost effective ($87.50 flat rate per rim); also expect to make a few extra trips until the job is done right.

Mike, sorry for the difficulty. It must be because the car sat for so long; it was always reliable for me when I had it.

Leave it in until the next oil change. One of the proponents of MMO says he needed to include it in oil changes for a year before the lifter noise finally subsided.

Looks like I'm still on with the Brat.

You can easily check the VR. Using a digital voltmeter (I'm sure you can find someone who has one if you don't---or they are pretty cheap at Radio Shack) measure the battery voltage with the ignition off; it should be pretty close to 12 or 13 Volts DC. Start the car and the voltage should be about the same at low idle, maybe a bit higher. Rev the engine to about 1500 rpm and the battery voltage should climb to at least 13.8 VDC. Continue revving the engine to about 2500 rpm. The voltage should not increase past around 14.5 VDC (if that much....13.8 is still okay even if it is a bit low). If the output is below 12 VDC, the alternator is likely bad. If the voltage keeps climbing with engine rpm past 14.5 volts the VR is bad.

Sounds like an alternator problem; could also be a major grounding problem. Have the local autoparts store check out the alternator and battery.

My first one was an '85 Hatch (2WD Standard model) which I bought for the sole purpose of saving on gas for a 60 mile roundtrip commute to work. It came to Washington state with my father-in-law who drove it out from Delaware for us after we moved here in 1988. We sold it shortly thereafter since we didn't need it at the time. I didn't get the bug until my middle son bought an '82 Brat as his first car. After driving it in the snow with bald tires I was hooked and soon replaced my Mazda pickup with an '86 GL wagon (which flowmasteredGL has right now). Since then I've learned to do more repairs/service for myself other than just changing the oil and filter. Currently, the '82 Brat was bought by my oldest son and is his rallycross car. I've replaced the '86 GL with a '91 Legacy wagon and added an '84 Brat as my play car. I will likely be driving a Subaru until they "pry the key out of my cold dead hand."

How much "play" did you leave at the clutch fork; or to put it another way, how much free play is at the clutch pedal?

Two new Legacies in the yard yesterday; an '89 and a '91--both are automatics.

Start from the beginning. Change the oil; check the coolant and flush it if you like--then change the coolant or top it up; unless the thermostat won't open, it isn't the cause of your over heating. With one that old I'd bet on the radiator, but do the basics first before you spend too much. You got it for a good price and you can afford to spend a little more to make a reliable daily driver out of it.

Mary, it's so good to hear. I wish you many years of good luck with the Brat.

If it's the original pump, I'd say it was just old. I found on my '86 wagon that it was a good idea to replace it with every 2nd timing belt change (i.e. every 120K) or sooner if it didn't look okay.

So, did you pull the LSD's out of the RX's?

No, I don't; I wouldn't have thought it necessary down here, but that may be a cheap solution. What do they normally cost?

Interesting, now that we're having a cold snap in Seattle, I've noticed my '91 Legacy (135K miles) has significant lifter noise when I start it up in the morning; noise goes away after 10 to 15 minutes of driving. I noticed the following thread on the Old Gen Forum http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=25389 and wonder if there isn't a better way of treating this problem other than using a "cocktail" of differing grades of oil. I'm currently using Amsoil 10W-30 synthetic year-round if that's useful information. It's been a long time since any significant work has been done on the engine (timing belt service last done at 75K miles) and I'm not aware of any oil pump related service prior to that (original owner kept no records of service work).

I've had poor luck with ARI rebuilts bought at the local autopart store. Considering how little argument I got from the shop when I returned them, I think they weren't the first ones he had returned. I've never bought ARI remans from them again. I won't buy new since they've been too pricey. I've had good success with the axles I've gotten from cvaxles.com--$55 plus shipping plug returnable core charge. I've installed over a dozen of them and only had one failure after the boot let go; they replaced it after inspection with no charge to me other than my cost for shipping the failed axle to them. The current set of cvaxles from them have been on my Brat for over 30K miles and show no signs of failure. My best success has been to carefully inspect axles on wrecks at Pull a Part and use them. They generally cost me $25 each plus the labor to pull them an re-install them. They come with a 30 day warranty and if they last a week they'll last a fairly long time.

No. My BS detector went offscale reading the description.

I've had good experience with cvaxles.com and can vouch for their quality. Wheel bearings I tend to buy OEM or from Smart Service in Shoreline.

Yes, there was a garbage can right next to where I had my canopy set up. Hopefully, the poster knows where your tote is now.

Some pics from the rallycross (thanks Travis): http://www.wintersthorn.com/gallery/albun65

It was still there at 3pm when I left; Open class was still running at that time. I wish I had realized it was yours.

If you only hit a couple of cones you were doing great; I hit seven on my last run alone! More than I've hit in the past three years.

Count me in for a permit; I think I'll be able to make the 27th altho I think the 4th might be better for me.

And for those who are interested today's winners also reflect the season winners in Truck/SUV: 1st: Eric Rachner--80 points 2nd: qman--72 points 3rd: edrach--64 points 4th: 84SOOB--62 points Also FlowmasteredGL was first in the morning session of Time Only competitors.

Richard, I'm out right now, but if I find another set, I'll try to keep you in mind. Feel free to send me a PM if you still don't have a set and don't get a response from anyone else in the next month or so. ---Ed---