DaveT

That makes it sound a bit more like something dirty / corroded in the switch, or the wires and connector right near it.

The intermittent click no crank is almost always a high resistance connection in the wiring to the starter solenoid. Easiest fix is to add a relay. One other possible cause is that one of the contacts in the starter solenoid has eroded down to where it barely touches when the solenoid pulls in.

Your belts are too loose, but that won't cause the running problems. Loose belts are at more risk to skip timing. I do is correct, read and follow the FSM procedure for setting the tension. I add the step of a 5 second run and then reset tension. The belts inevitably move to the location they want to run, and end up loose. You have to connect the green test connectors before setting or checking the timing. If you don't, the ECU will be adjusting the timing and you don't end up with the proper position / angle.

Possibly a loose connection. burned contact. failing relay. Not a common problem, from my experience since 1988, or what I have seen on this forum.

As far as I remember, it just wires in. Power, maybe a signal to the fuel pump shutdown? It still has electronic points. No ECU.

SPFI distributor does not have vacuum advance, so the timing will be fixed. SPFI needs 21PSI fuel pressure, or it will be very unhappy. The CTS main function is to tell the ECU the engine temp so it can act as the choke / fast idle. The ECU will need the MAF and the TPS to function in anything like normal mode.

I am not 100% what year this change happened, but somewhere between 86 and 90, they changed the final ratio in the 3AT. Just a little. My 86 ran at 3600 3700 at 65, my loyales ran at 4000rpm at 65. Makes a big difference, as did the spfi vs Hitachi carb. The ECU running ad you describe is most ikely operating in limp mode, which is less than ideal. When they first switched to the SPFI I worried about the reliability. ... 30 years later I am still running the same parts. Collect some spares..

I had a carbed 86 4wd 3at. It takes a while to get to 65. 4000rpm at 65 is normal. Steeper hills would need close to full throttle. This is with stock tire size. Running bigger diameter tires is like a higher top gear, so slow everything down, especially with the marginal power from a Hitachi carb. Iirc, the SPFI makes a little more than 10 more HP.

That is one of a few coolant hoses that many overlook. There are 7 hoses involved in the cooling system for an EA82 enine. They should all be treated as you would any other radiator hose, they all age similarly.

Every day more parts are nla. Start collecting parts cars, etc. Whenever you see them.

Get a similar thickness piece of wire, splice on to get length, add a 1/4" connector. Splice and use heat shrink on the joint. I clean the Flux off, then put a little rtv on the area, slide the shrink over it. Shrink it, the rtv will set and make it more water tight than just dry. If you have a scrap / spare harness, any of the connectors that use the 1/4" contacts will work. You can make a release tool from one of the metal strips.on the side of windshield wiper refill blades.

They are on the top of the heads. If you have EA82 engine.... Have to at least take off the cam covers to maybe see them. To get at them, might have to remove the carriers also. I have never tested them with cold temps and water. Don't remember reading anyone having to deal with them either. .

The idler bearing is a 6203, the tensioners are 6301. NTN number 6301 LLBC3/5C NSK number 6203DDUC3 the letters after the 4 digit size are how you get contact seals. You don't want the regular seals, or shields, which are what you get with unspecific description parts.

That's pretty much what you have to do.... Or you could try wiring a pot in it's place and manually adjust it to simulate it warming up. When I needed one 5 or so years ago, it was a dealer part, $90. Sounds pricey, but considering they last about 30 years, that's really not much.

If the mickey mouse gasket is from a dealer, it should be viton, or some other beetle than typical oring material. Don't mess with that. If there is a joint in the casting that it crosses, and there is a dip or something not smooth, a tiny dot of rtv is ok . The last time I got the cam orings from a dealer, they were similar better than typical oring material also. They don't get hard.

Back when you could only get them from Subaru, for $90 each, I made replaceable bearing tensioners. The originals, the bearing was welded to the stud / spacer . So now I just replace the bearings with high quality contact seal bearings. About $8 each back then. I can look up the sizes later.

If you don't have coolant dissappearing, I wouldn't touch the headgaskets. They can develop leaks from coolant to the outside. But you will have slow coolant loss for a long time before you have to deal with it, as long as you check the level and air in the upper hose to prevent running it when low. The idler bearings are usually good for about 50k miles, just like the belts. With the new seals - include the o rings behind the small pieces that the cam shaft seals press into. The shaft seal on the oil pump. After much debating and reading what others were doing re timing belt covers, I stopped using them. Years ago. I have had fewer problems since. One time, I even could hear the beginning of an idler bearing failure before it got bad enough to snap the belt.

Within a range. The different engines require different flow rates at different pressures, and the pump has to match the load.

The thing on the OEM pump is a pulsation damper. Not critical. There are 2 more up at the throttle body anyway.

I have also found it good to do this - once the belts are on, but before putting anything else back, run it for 5 seconds. Then put the crank in the proper position, reset the tension, turn 1 revolution, set the other. This lets the belts walk into the position they want to run in, and almost always, they end up a little loose if you don't do it.

Which engine model?

I'm not.sure what year they changed the naming from GL / DL to Loyale. My 88 and earlier were GL, 90 and later Loyale. Same car, with minor differences. The 80s were the fade over years, between the EA81 push rod, no timing belt engine and the EA82 overhead cam with the notrious timing belts.

I never had a squeek caused by the axle nut or bearings. Brakes, could be.

OHC is EA82 engine. Distributor on the back drivers side. Push rod EA81 distributor is up front. The timing belts and idler bearings are typically good for 50k miles, after that, they can fail without warning. Non interference either engine.

Many parts are NLA from dealer or aftermarket, so start collecting. The oem carbs are.very complicated and tricky. Most people running carbed ones seem to put in a weber. These engines do not like to be run low on coolant, if you do that, headgaskets are in you future.