DaveT

I had that happen one time. It never happened again, so unfortunatly, I don't know specifically what it was. Everyting looked & worked fine after that. I drove that car for years after the incident.

The center of the 3 marks is always the reference. With the flywheel at the mark, one cam chould have it's hole at the notch, up top. Turn the crank one revolution. The other cam should now have it's hole at the notch. The cams should be 180 degrees from each other. You only have to adjust / re set the belt that doesn't match up.

+1 for the Sube mechanic. Here is my fix for the EGR code: http://home.comcast.net/~davidtief/solenoid.html If the O2 sensor was going bad, it can cause the mixture to be off, and kill the cat. I had that happen once. When this partial failure happens, the ECU doesn't recognize it as a failure, and no error code shows.

Iv'e used an LM34CZ with a volt meter as a remote thermometer to monitor engine temperatures. It costs about $6.00 @ Digi-Key. It is accurate +/-1 degree F, also available in C. Since I was only doing testing, I just powered it with a 9V battery. The output is 10mV / degree, so 1.90V = 190 degrees. If you want to get fancy, add a digital panel meter, and a few parts, mount it in the dash. There are a few unused holes in the head, I put some thermal grease in one & pushed the sensor in. The sensor is connected to a piece of thin 2 conductor shielded wire, with heatshrink tubing to insulate the pins from each other and the engine.

The cooling system needs the cap on to let the pressure rise. This raises the boiling point of the coolant. The system operates very close to boiling at atmospheric pressure, so it woudn't take much for it to boil without a cap. It might be a good idea to check that the cap actually holds pressure in addition to the other things mentioned previously.

I am running EA82 4WD wagons. So I probably have a little more time before things get bad. But I have most of the parts from the last 3 cars I have had to retire. Start thinking about rebuilding things like water pumps, alternators, steering racks. Buy a wreck or other dead car similar to yours for parts. About 10 years ago, a guy walked up to me in a parking lot as I was getting into my car. His dad was closing his auto shop, and had 4-5 EA82s out back. He told me I could have anything I wanted, up to & including the whole cars. I tried to arrange for a friend with a trailer to get one of them whole, but that fell through at the last minute, so I spent 2 days removing CVJs, heads, lights and all kinds of small parts.

I always removed the bumper. 4) 14mm bolts, 2 signal lamp plugs. I make adjustments in the position of harness & hoses that are sometimes in the way of the bolts so if there is a next time, it is easier.

Things that help in cold weather: 1. Battery older than 4-5 years? Get a new one. (flooded cell lead acid batteries are at end of life (I think it was 70% of rated capacity) in 5 years under ideal conditions.) (ideal conditions have little to do with those found under the hood of a car) 2. Get the physically biggest battery that will fit in the battery area. A battery at 0 degrees F is about 1/4 of what it was at room temperature. 3. Higher age and lower temperature work together against you in cold weather. 4. Synthetic oil in engine. 5. A battery warmer might be worth considering if you are thinking about or using a block heater. I would do 1,2 & 4 first. 6. Silicon spray on the door gaskets & body where they touch when closed. 7. If the locks freeze, there is a lock lube available at parts stores. 8. Sometimes, it is the levers & linkage in the door. Remove the interior and clean & lube with synthetic grease / oil.

You need to use a 10 watt resistor for reliability. The power dissipated with a 33 ohm is about 6 watts. And the engine compartment is hardly at room temperature, so maybe even a 20 watt. My solution: http://home.comcast.net/~davidtief/solenoid.html I have not had one of my upgrades fail. Almost 20 years of maintaining EA82s.

The 3AT 4WD drive is activated by an electric solenoid. ATF flows through the valve to a clutch pack to transfer power to the rear driveshaft. If the engine isn't turning, there is no ATF pressure to activate the clutch pack. I haven't done much of anything with the standard transmission since I retired my 78. I'm not sure why the 4WD lever wouldn't disengage the rear wheels - unless they happened to be bound up from normal cornering, etc. To release that, all you need to do is jack one rear wheel off the ground, & move the lever.

This is my solution: http://home.comcast.net/~davidtief/solenoid.html

Synthetic engine oil definatly helps cranking in the cold. I also use the biggest battery that will fit in the battery space. My 76 & 78 4X4s (manual) shifted same as warm weather after I started using synthetic gear lube. The 3ATs I drive now all function better cold with synthetic ATF.

A lot of people hate them. Here's my experience with them: I have owned (4) 4WD 3AT wagons. An 86, 88, 90, 92. No, they aren't sports cars. No, they aren't high MPG. They have a 4WD on the fly button. I have had 1 transmission failure in almost 20 years. And that was really the differential, and it failed due to low diff oil. (sneaky slow leak & I wasn't checking often enough) All of them have made it to 150Kmiles or more, one to 205K. I ocasionally tow a 1000Lb trailer, and or heavy loads in the wagon. I don't baby them. I do run synthetic ATF, change at about 100K miles. I put the 3AT from my 86 (wrecked in an accident) into my "new" 87. It also spent a few years in my 88, before it rusted away. (the 88 had the diff failure) The 87 should be around for 10 years or more.

The blower motor case is not part of any electric circuit. The motor has 2 wires for electrical power connection.

My solution has been to put a box end wrench on one of the 4 bolts that holds the tourque converter to the sheet metal that connects to the crankshaft. The wrench stops the rotation when it touches the side of the timing view port. But that probably only works on an AT....

I had a friend push me in my 86 3AT 4WD wagon home (broken timing belt). About 10 miles. The 4WD can not activate if the engine isn't running. We only traveled on streets, no highways. Under 40MPH. The only part of the drivetrain that should be at risk is the automatic transmission output shafts / bearings, since the ATF pump isn't running. But the rear output tail shaft is below the oil level, and the FWD (internal to the case) drive is pretty low in the housing also. That 86 transmission is still working, now in it's 3rd car, my 87. Not sure if it made any difference - I use synthertic ATF. It does help them shift better in winter.

The white plastic devices in your picture labeled "Dashpots:" are actually vacuum servos.

If you look close, near the top of the windshield, you can see 2 cross pieces. The over the hood part of the rack un pins between the 2 cross pieces, and the 2 vertical supports from the bumper un pin, so most of the time I only have the rack roughly the size of the roof. I only put the front part on when I know I need it.

Here's a recent, relativly tame load:

Not resistor. Possibly the contact that feeds power to the switch. There are a few others in the wiring also. Possibly motor. I guess I'd start with a voltmeter check on the 2 leads of the motor. Lead to lead, lead 1 to ground, lead 2 to ground. That will tell a lot. While it is not working properly.

That would be me... Here's my web page: http://home.comcast.net/~davidtief/solenoid.html

I've had EA82 wagons from 86 to 92, all have the same plugs & connectors on the heater blower.

That (#58) was my post. The only non stock resistor is the 1 ohm for the slowest speed. It's close, but just a bit slower than stock for the lowest setting. I have not had one of my modified ones fail. I've been running EA82 wagons since about 1988. I'm not sure why the list / columns got all messed up. I don't remember them that way originally. Probably +- 10% on the values won't make the blower speeds way off. I would bolt those aluminum resistors to a plate (not just the plastic) also. The power ratings assume a heatsink.

This is correct. Also the reason they are air cooled by the blower. Dave

I have found that EA82s have the harness, if not the mirrors. My 1986 originally came with the manual mirrors. The upgrade only required me to add the 2 mirrors and the switch.