Mac

I'm on the road a lot with my '85 DL Sdn these days and carry equipment with me. With a full tank of fuel and me in it, the tire on the driver's side rear keeps bottoming out, hitting the wheel wheel when I'm on rough roads or taking sharp highway exit turns. I changed the strut and it helped some but not enough. The spring isn't broken but it may have lost tension over the years. I was going to put some coil spring lifters in there but there isn't enough room for the kind you ratchet in. Are there other alternatives available that will work in that tight space? TIA for any assistance on this.

... what do the suckers look like? Narry a picture of an EGR solenoid or purge valve solenoid in any of my books. Or if they're there, I'm dumb and blind enough not to recognize it. On another related note, I've found that the system does not always store trouble codes. I've had the ECS light come on. After I got home and got a few minutes went out to check what code it was giving me, and nothing was stored. To get the code, I had to keep the key on after the ECS light came on and check it. Actually, I pulled off to the side of the road, kept the motor running and got down on my knees to peer into the space under the dash and count the lights. If I turned the key off at all and then back on again. the codes would disappear.

Skipper, was reading one of their old columns (December 1995) that said 98.576% of all Subaru ECS lights for the '80s models was ultimately caused by a failed EGR solenoid. http://cartalk.cars.com/Columns/Archive/1995/December/05.html

Hey TrooperJeep! Saw your post ... good speech. I'm an EMT. Basic. Passed registry a year ago April.

"Thank you for writing regarding CLR® Calcium, Lime, & Rust Remover, and thank you for visiting our website. We at Jelmar always look forward to hearing from customers regarding our products. It is NOT RECOMMENDED you use CLR® on your car radiator. CLR® Calcium, Lime, & Rust Remover is not formulated to clean copper, brass or aluminum. CLR® Calcium, Lime, & Rust Remover will damage these metals. CLR® Calcium, Lime, & Rust Remover should not be allowed to sit on any surface for longer than 2 minutes. CLR® Calcium, Lime, & Rust Remover must be rinsed thoroughly and completely with clean, cool, running water within 2 minutes. Once again, thank you and <clip potboiler advertising of other products including Tarn-X> Please read and follow all instructions carefully, completely and thoroughly before attempting to clean any items. Sincerely, Jamie Adams Customer Service Representative JA:ajr Jelmar 5550 W. Touhy Ave., Suite 200 Skokie, IL 60077-3254 Jelmar@Jelmar.com 800-323-5497" So .... is the heater core aluminum too????

I guess I needed to put a smiley there ... They're probably USMB.mil or USMB.gov anyway, so no need to worry about Marine Recon Units hitting you for domain squatting.

That's the U.S. Marine Band website, right?

I've heard that if the P/S pump boils over for whatever reason, the fluid should be totally replaced. Is this true or an old wive's tale? Where are bleeder screws located for the P/S?

I was driving down the highway and saw someone selling an '83 SW. Probably a DL because it had no power anything. Interior was pretty ratty. Owner said the front brakes were trashed and would need new rotors. Exterior was okay with only slight rust. So I'm thinking parts car. 102K miles on the motor and it runs good but ... the exhaust pipe is loose at the manifold on the driver's side, definite need for gasket, carbon desposits all over the inside of the hood tell me the problem's existed for awhile and I'm thinking that the studs have been stripped from the aluminum, which I think is a BIG problem. $300 is as low as they'll go. Whaddya think?

Yeah, that's what I was writing about ... the reservoir on the pump unit.

I'm pretty sure that's a high side A/C hose going into the power steering reservoir on my '84. If so, what's the logic with that?

The timing belts are fine, not missing any teeth or anything but the distributor isn't turning. What should I be looking for?

I had a thought and wanted to find out if anyone has tried this method: Using the product CLR (Calcium Lime Rust) either directly in the antifreeze (not sure what the chemical reaction would be, if any) or just drain the radiator and add the CLR to straight tap water and run that for a day or so. Perhaps even just circulate it full strength through the heater core somehow, maybe using the wife's best gravy syringe. Just wondering. That stuff works great at clearing calcium, lime and rust deposits from around the faucets in the house. Thoughts, experiences anyone?

Lotsa good news ... Following your directions I found the tach wire (yellow with white stripe) as well as another thin yellow wire loose. There already was one yellow wire on the coil. To make a long story short, I connected the loose tach wire to the coil and found the connection for the thin yellow wire. Now I have a working tach AND a working fuel pump sans jerry-rigged bypass!!!! Killed two birds with one stone! All gauges now working! Thank YOU Jerry! U DA MAN!!!

I'm trying to get my EA-81 84 GL Wagon in operating condition. It's running but someone has totally messed with the wiring. I've gotten most of the stuff back together but not everything. Where is the FPCU in the '84 Wagon? What does it look like? The last owner of my 'Ru had a bypass wire running from the fuel pump through the back door, under the front seat and it was loose on the floor of the passenger side when I got the car. Hook the wire direct to the battery and car runs fine. Also, tach isn't working. Am sure this is result of jerry-rigged wiring job as well. Where does the tach wire go to? And if I clean the grease off it, what color is the wire? Also, where does the vacuum hose for A/C idle advance originate on an EA-81. I know where it is on the EA-82 but can't seem to locate origin point on the EA-81.

Thanks for the assist folk! Yeah, that IPA web site helped a lot. Turns out, according to them, the DL steering is w/o Variable gear ratio (4 turns lock to lock). Of course, it's the more expensive of the three tie rods. Had to be. But good prices on the boots as well as other goodies. Unfortunately, not many junkyards around here have Subarus on 'em. That can be taken as both a good and bad sign. Meaning that the older 'Rus available are running and on the road. But there aren't too many of them to result in some being boneyard material. No tie rods on the shelf at the parts stores here - special order only - so couldn't walk in with one and compare it. Good thought though. Again, thanks for the assist! Gawd, I love this board!

Someone's got to know the answer to this one. I need to replace an inner tie rod on my '85 DL Sdn, manual steering, as well as an inner tie rod on my '85 GL Wagon, power steering as well as the rubber boots for both. According to the parts store, there are two different tie rods available and two different boots. One is for constant gear ratio steering boxes and the other is for variable gear ratio steering boxes. Which is which? Logic says variable is manual but it's a special order and it could be an expensive guess. If it was the same side for both, I'd order both but I need RH side tie rod on the DL and LH side on the GL. BTW, they want $20 for the boots at the parts house and $60 for the tie rods, so if any one has a better source, pls let me know.

Anyone want to chime in on this??

What the heck is that?? Was calling getting quotes on the tie rods and they said there are two different tie rods for my vehicle -- constant gear ratio or variable gear ratio. Huh??? What are they and how do you tell the difference?

Well, took it to a front end specialist. Friend of a friend and supposedly knowledgeable. It needs an inner tie rod (and the boot) on the passenger side, but I'm not sure what came first, the chicken or the egg? Did the bad tie rod cause the oscillations or did the oscillations cause the tie rod to fail? The first alignment guy said front end on the 'ru was tight and mentioned nothing about the tie rod being bad. What do you mean by "adjust the rack?" Thanks for the assist. Anyone with a good source on tie rods and boots that last chime in!

Tie rods on it are solid. I'll give that rack adjustment a shot and let you know. That 22 years towbar experience credential makes me optimistic! I would have thought that something like that would be adjusted when the alignment was done but apparently not ... I'd been worried that the scenario RallyKeith posed was a serious possibility as to the reason.

I need expert help trying to figure this one out. I put a tow bar on my '85 DL Sedan and have started towing it. It has new CVs, front end has been aligned and is tight. When being towed in a straight line, it's fine. And in a wide turn, it's fine. But when I take a hard turn while it's under tow, in the middle and coming out of the turn the front wheels start wobbling like crazy, like some 2-year-old is at the steering wheel thinking it's a "Busy Box." This problem doesn't occur when I'm driving it. I've been towing my '85 GL SW with no problem in this regard. The only difference is that the Wagon has power steering, which isn't on when it's being towed. Some have told me the alignment guy messed up but he claims no. Another has said that because I have no power steering in the front end, the wheels are bouncing too much in the turn and that I'd have to put some kind of shock on the front end to prevent this. Anyone else ever encounter this problem?

My hood latch cable is starting to act up. What's the best way to lubricate it to prevent this poor soul's situation?

As I wrote, the only thing Subaru on their pages was, I think, the oil pump. So web site visit isn't going to help much. And, as I wrote, if it ain't on the list, write 'em or call 'em. I don't work for them and I wouldn't know if they carry anything other than what's on the list. Their e-mail address is awep2@qwest.net

I had checked out NAPA for that tensioner, and they told me I could buy a timing belt "kit" for $300 that included the two tensioners and the two belts. I ordered a front crank seal, cam seal, both tensioners, both belts, cogged idler pulley _and_ oil pump from these folk and it came to around $200. Ed, yeah something sporadic is wrong there. I pulled up their site last Thursday. That price list is current as of Friday, btw. They don't picture anything on their Subaru pages except I think the oil pump. But they can be trusted. Back in Feb or March, I shipped them a m.o. and they turned my order around as soon as they got it. They also take PayPal. For anyone on ebay, this is the same guy who does business as the "Parts Dinosaur."