edrach

See we told you it could be done. The nice thing about getting a key cut from the code is that it's virgin....no wear at all and you can have duplicates cut from that cheaply rather than from a 20+ year old worn key.

If the severe vibration stops almost instantly when you lift off the gas pedal and comes back again when you get on the throttle again, it could very well be a bad DOJ (on the axle you installed recently). Very characteristic symptom of a bad inner joint on the axle.

Jeanne was thinking about an old school BBQ at our house before winter sets in. Watch for the announcement.

Sorry I couldn't make it. Great sunny day today in Duncan, BC.

AM! No too early! Glad I don't have to get up so soon. Just kidding.

0.56A is 560 milliamps not 56. More than enough to discharge a partially charged battery overnight. Can't believe that the computer said that was normal.

It pays to be fussy. Cost without labor for a new viscous coupler on a manual tranny is around $575. I haven't a clue what it costs on an automatic.

Thanks for reminding me why I moved here from Wilmington, DE!

By ORG in Chehalis, WA on the last Saturday and Sunday of July. Check the http://www.oregonrally.com/ 'site for details. Please note that the 'site has been hacked but all the information is still there. For those wondering about the weather: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Chehalis,%20Washington

Definitely swap the rear diff. Easiest thing to do and not an expensive replacement to try and eliminate the problem. Especially if you do the work yourself. Odd that the rear diff would go. I have to ask (my apologies) but are both tires on the rear the same size, type and air pressure?

I bought one years ago from Fry's. A universal kit that had enough pieces to fab one for my Brat.

Hey, glad to see you finally got past 10 posts. Nice to know you can PM now.

Why would you want to do this?

I've had numberous keys cut for many ea81 vehicles over the years with a W123 code. Your dealer just doesn't/can't do it. Find a decent locksmith that's been in business for more than 20 years and he'll get it done.

Thursday mlorning. Hi from beautiful, SUNNY, Vancouver Island. I thought I'd try to attend this weekend's get-to-gether in spirit if not in person. Keep in touch and send lots of pics. Thanks.

Try NAPA for the bolts; they usually have a good selection. Or if you have a McLendon's.

Thanks, I'll have to look around for that. So far everything I've found doesn't have compatible fittings. That's why I'm thinking of fabbing my own.

My '97 Impreza with 5MT has a two piece speedo cable. I'm looking for damaged, broken cables for the two metal portions where the two part cable is joined. Just the two fittings is all I need. No need for the rest of the cable or the inner portion. I'm trying to fab a pulse generator for the rally computer. Glad to pay postage and a small fee for your trouble if you have a cable you're planning to throw out anyway.

Trust me I've looked. Most of the current crop of TSD rally people are driving newer cars with an electronic VSS. If I had a '98 Impreza instead of '97 I'd be one of those. There are ways around this. I have two magnets epoxied to the inner hub of my rear axle on the passenger side along with a hall effect sensor (i.e. magnetic pickup). Gets me thru most events, but I'd rather have pulses off the transmission since it will average wheelspin/lockup better. In the past, I used a impulse unit that went between the speedometer and cable at the speedo end. Unfortunately I haven't found cable fittings that are workable in my Impreza (besides there may not be enough room back there for such an impulse unit).

Interesting url; I didn't know the speedo was two piece. I'll have to grab one at PAP and see if I can connect an impulse sensor between the two pieces of the cable.

I already have a scan guage. I use it to keep an eye on alternator output as well as water temp. It shows me lots of other stuff if I want it, but I leave the other two slots open for rpm and corrected mph.

Just for laughs, here's the VC from the '99 and newer models.

Since I'm on my third transmission with this car and I thoroughly investigated the source of the VSS in my Impreza when I installed the wiring for my rally computer, yes I'm sure that my speedo is cable driven. Yes, speed sensor and wire driven is better for what I have in mind which is why I'm trying to switch to that.

No real response in the retrofit forum (not quite up to "retrofit" status) so I'm posting it here so more people might see it. I currently have a '97 Impreza with 5MT and a cable driven speedometer. Since I occasionally run TSD rallies with the car, I'm considering swapping the speedometer out with the later LCD version and adding the transmission mounted VSS found on the later Imprezas. Primary reason being that the old VSS in the speedometer head is a reed switch/magnet arrangement which TSD rally computers don't like. Has anyone done this in the past and what issues had to be overcome to make the system work properly?

Very good. I wish you both the best. Smart of him to get you away from the Subaru crowd before he popped the question!