DaveT

I've had 2 replaced by the services that come out and do it. Never had any problem with the replacements, have no way of knowing if they were better or worse than OEM. I didn't shop by price, just ok you can do this car? Moderate amount of money, good. I have removed one windshield intact successfully.

SPFI or carb? I had the idle air control valve fail on one of my SPFI cars once. Ran hreat, except at zero throttle, it just shut down.

wow, you are a rock magnet? I've only had one windshield crack since 1988, and it was my own stupid move that did it. Not counting the accident that totaled my 86.

Hello, and welcome. This sub group of the forum is for the older models, before legacies. Loyales and gls are quite different.

When I was running the old white Subaru wagon wheels, I had to get them balanced at a dealer. I have had more than one tire suffer a failure of the tread to belts bonding. This makes a slight bulge in the tread. Oddly, it makes a shimmy in the steering that comes and goes at different speeds. The cause of the failure was alignment too far off.

My first check: remove disty cap. Put a wrench on the crank pulley bolt, and see if the rotor turns. If no, timing belt, if yes, shoot some carb cleaner in the intake boot through one of the smaller lines. If it fires momentarily, you have spark, need fuel.

It is for warming the intake air when cold, and avoiding carburetor icing.

A long term leak will get oil everywhere. Around here, it also tends to preserve the underside of the car.

I have used NGK for decades. They last a LONG time, never had any problems with them.

I 'm not an expert on EA81s. But the flywheel is likely different. But you have one. On an EA82, the flywheel for a standard shift is a flywheel. On an automatic, it's only a stamped steel thing that attaches to the torque converter. There might be a few other little differences in the vacuum lines, but I'd think that could also be swapped.

Sounds like it's time to investigate 3D printing.

There should be a wire from battery - to the body.

What Tom wrote.

Sounds more like drive shaft to me. It spins way faster than the wheels.

Most of what you describe sounds normal. I've been driving these models since about 1988. I have noticed that when the voltage drops more, it has been when I've had an older battery. If you are totally stuck in stop & go traffic, with a lot of stuff on, it will drop even a new battery. But if you drive a good distance / time at speed, then pull up to a stop, and it drops rapidly, it might be time for a new battery. This is assuming the alternator is working normally. I always put in the biggest battery I can squeeze into the space, not the dinky one that the cross reference books recommend. Random idle RPM issues and the other running less than well things you describe could be caused by a partially failing CTS [ coolant temperature sensor] It is a 2 wire thermistor that the ECU computer uses to control the engine. It is not the one wire sensor that the meter on the dash uses. It should have an O2 sensor in the Y pipe, before the first Cat. It is used to control the fuel air mixture once the engine is up to temperature. It can fail in a way that burns out the cat, but does not throw a code. I have not had an experience where the O2 sensor effected drive-ability. My 86 carbed 4WD 3 speed auto wagon had a relay in the AC system that would automatically disenguage the AC compressor when you stomp the gas. The 6 newer SPFI ones I've had / have, none had that.

The bolts were over tightened. And or rusty. The brass inserts in the plastic strip out and spin. Anti siese or grease can prevent this. I decided to run one of my cars without covers a long while back, after seeing several other members go coverless without trouble. I have had no trouble either. I keep the back pieces in place.

If you pull a vacuum line, plug the end, otherwise air gets sucked in and throws off the mixture .

It would be extremely unlikely that all 4 spark plug wires failed completely at the same time. How are you testing for spark? If there is no spark from the coil, timing, cap,and rotor have nothing to do with the lack of spark...

The end of the hose looks like it broke off either the EGR solenoid, or the purge solenoid.

I'll add this - if the 2 radiator hoses are due for replacement, replace the other 5 smaller cooling system hoses. They are likely in worse shape.

Measuring high voltage can be done. You need specially built high voltage resistors. Or expensive HV probes. Several hundred megohms total. High voltage resistors are very long so the voltage doesn't just arc around them.

Using 4wd with the lack of power wouldn't hurt anything I can think of.

What kind of transmission? Auto / manual / speeds? Try to find a factory service manual, on ebay for example. There is no substitute for a FSM. There is some information on here. With more details, it's likely someone can give you help with trouble shooting. I've had several of these cars, the alternators pretty much need rebuild at 150,000 miles.

Try this: Drain it, let it set with the plug and dipstick out for a good few days. For drying out. Put in new oil, or if the old oil will separate form the water and gunk, put it in. Take it for a test drive.

Dashboard lights are not controlled by the ECU, except for the check engine light