DaveT

It's ok to be new at this. Is it spinning 4000rpm while in gear and not (or slowly ) moving? Means Very different problem/s from spinning 4000 in neutral but not having power to climb hills.

Got a chance to measure. Probably not. The Forester lights are bigger diameter.

Are you saying you can get high rpms in neutral, or that the engine is spinning and the car is not (or barely) moving?

Does anyone know if the fog light kit is the same? At a casual first glance, they seem to be the same. Lights and control stalk for the steering column.

I don't have hard evidence, but it is possible that no covers could extend the life. More air flow, so belts and bearings run cooler?

IF the Helicoil doesn't seem secure, move up to Timserts or similar. I would not go to a bigger bolt. I followed the timing belt cover debate while it was hot a few years back. I've been running them without the front covers for a long time now with no problems. I don't do anything crazy, like rally cross or bashing through snow drifts though. It is a lot easier to monitor condition and tension and idler bearings with them open.

I've never had timing belts or idlers go much past 60,000miles. There are 7 hoses in the cooling system. They all age at the same rate, so any non obvious ones are long overdue. If you can get a waterpump, do that along with the belts, and drive it until something real or unavailable breaks. Also depends on how much you are dependant on the car. I run 2 so when one breaks, I have time to fix it.

These gauges are not calibrated with that sort of accuracy. I have had several similar cars, all same GLs and Loyales. Some read around 1/4, some read around 1/3 of where the red mark starts. I just learned what was normal for each car. If it ever goes much above that car's normal, something was wrong. The temp the fan runs at is controlled only by the thermoswitch, which has a defined range of operation.

hmmm.... That doesn't make sense.. Use the voltmeter. If the threads are clean on the switch and the radiator, that's good connection. Oring has no effect. Solder is not going to stop current flow, it's a good conductor. Connect (-) lead to GND / battery (-). The other to the thermoswitch body. Get the switch to trip, or jumper the fan wire to the switch body to simulate the switch closing. If the voltmeter reads near zero, the GND side is not the problem. Also try the (-) lead to the radiator, same tests. Or simpler - disconnect the wire from the thermoswitch. Use a test wire to GND it - to the body, the battery (-) the radiator tank. Try each one. If the fan runs, the GND at that point is good, and the fan is good. What works and what doesn't?

Sometimes it is a good idea to re check them after a few drives.

It is very common for corroded / bad / dirty connections to do weird intermittent stuff.

Terminal is one contact, the body / threads are the other. Polarity of the meter does not matter, it's a mechanical switch. It's open or closed. Only thing to be careful of with a torch is don't get it too much over boiling temp to avoid damaging it. Connect the ohm meter, it should read open. Heat the switch, the part that would be in contact with the radiator. I don;t recall the set point, but when it gets to that temperature, it should read close to 0 ohms on the meter. Be aware that ohm meters use very small currents, which can occasionally give misleading indications when testing circuits that are designed to carry many amps. A more certain test would be to ground the wire that connects to the sensor, and see the fan run. If it does, then use the fan as the test load- remove the switch, connect it and ground it, then heat it. see the fan run or not.

Yes, for some one with limit funds, and no time for hunting for and repairing or experience making parts, EA82 is a not great choice. Go with the earlier legacies. Check with guys that run them for which are the engines you want to avoide, parts availability, etc. I want nothing to do with all these newer cars with auto everything. That stuff might be fun, for the first decade of the car's life. But I don't buy cars that young.

I would take care of the switch first. Everything may be working normally - you just didn't have it in 4WD long enough to tell. If you hold the button, or tape / tie it down, you could verify if the 4WD engages.

3AT is the number for 3 speed automatic transmission. If the button is like those on my newer ones, 86 and up- they are supposed to be alternate action switches. Press and stay down. Press again, stay up. 4WD active when down.

What czny wrote. Mine have usually only lost the lowest 2 speeds. I just fix the resistor.

I'm not sure if the wire for the rear light is there, it might be. The voltmeter and oil pressure can be done. Think more like putting the GL meter assembly into the loyale. If you want to be fancy, swap the spedometer to keep the milage. Get the FSM schematics. the oil guage wire is the same wire as the switch, just move it to the new sensor.

There are better dealers that didn't throw away their old books. BUT the are likely NLA - but I am only guessing, from seeing a similar thread recently. Some of the guys with EA81s will add info. Used is more likely to be found. Or adapt something from a newer car. This is also discussed in that other thread.

1st choice, replace. MAybe a piece of aluminum could be fabricated that would attach under the bolt to the left, and have a threaded hole. But that's a big maybe. Problem is, it's probably as much work to do that as replacing the carrier. What's left of the casting would have to be cut out so a decent piece of metal could be put there. I wouldn't want to try that with the engine in the car. No "glue" is going to stick to oiled metal. And endure the heat cycles. Welding cast anything is a complex process involving controlled heating of the entire piece, and controlled cooling.

The NGK sets I have bought have always been correct. They last a LONG time also.

You're welcome.

If you don't have pictures, which side, and which bolt tab is broken off?

You are correct, no one took it to the point of sending me one. Someone with lights was closer to, but It's a whole extra level of complicated to do lights. I have clear plastic for the printer, but it's not going to make crystal clear p[prints. Not sure how well it will work. For a whole, it seemed like some could be found as new old stock, in colors needed by the seekers. Unless making these parts gets moderately profitable, I can't invest what it would taker to color match the OEM stuff. Experimentally making some black ones to prove out how satisfactory they are, I can do. They could probably be painted by the end user, using the modern paint systems used for repairing modern plastic exterior parts..

There is a thread I started about this sort of thing. It should not be too far down the list, as it had recent comments. I can make a model of an existing part. I can print one. Or some, depending on all the variables. I can't make a model of no part. Even if a part is broken, I could likely make a model, but enough of it has to be there to interpret what it would have been.

D'oh! yes, of course.