Sonicfrog

I say BUY IT and if nothing else, replace the radiator with a dual core rad. You won't regret it. It would be wise to swap out the timing belts, if the haven't been replaced in the last 60,000 miles.

Here is a pic of an 84 Hatch. Four things to look at: 1) The door handle. Sink-hole car is sunk in on top and bottom, Soobs are on bottom only. 2) Ruffles have ridges, and so do Subie hoods. Almost look Klingon. Sink-hole car, from what we can see, is flat. 3) Sink-hole car has wrap-around front bumper. Soobs don't. 4) Side marker could be an option in Europe we State- siders didn't get. But the bend in the sheet metal that runs along the top from front to back? No Way. Verdict: Sink-hole car = Lada.

Krimeney!!! That's the best worst damage I've seen in a wile!!! PS. Anyone know how to spell Krimeney!!!

Two words -- Buy It! PS. I have had a few Subies, been to many a junk yard, and I gotta say - Man, those interiors seem to hold up well! When I was a teen, my parents bought a 1982 Datsun/Nissan Maxima. It was a fun car to drive. But in the last fifteen years of J-Yard scrounging I have not seen one with interiors seats especially, that haven't dissintegrated.

DO IT. Yes it's a pain-in-the-rear-bumper, and will take a lot more time than you would think. But afterward, every time you drive, you'll look at the dash and say to yourself "I did this! It works 'cause of me!" Here is a post with pics of my digi to analogue dash conversion. You will definitely need the schematics for the dash. Subi81 had some posted on the list a while back and can be found here. Good luck. PS. Before you rewire stuff, make the holes behind the dash where the wires feed through wider. I had a heck of a time getting my A dash to fit because the excess wires took up too much room between the dash and the wall.

Ditto.

Just filled the tank after a week of combo highway / city driving. I am getting an average 22.7 MPG city / highway out of Murphy, the FT4WD, 5 speed, $500 87 T-Wag. This is much better than the 19 ish I averaged when the car had the crappy 3 speed auto tranny. I am happy.:grin: Can't wait for the next San Diego gig. Bass players RULE!!!

I think new rad will do the trick. A clogged cat not only causes hotter temp, but you will start to bog down at highway speeds.

Curious. Why would you do that???

I tell it, but it won't listen:grin::grin:!!!

As most may recall, I swapped the 3 speed auto with a FT4WD 5 speed on the 87 T-Wag. Now the car idles too fast when in neutral, at about 1600 RPMs. Is the idle set higher to compensate for the drag of the torque converter? If so, how do I adjust it

Problem Solved!!!!

So I had a knock in my engine. Well, problems solved!!! Notice I said problems, as in plural? Well sit right down and I'll tell you a tale which demonstrates the advantages of having no timing belt covers. So I had this nasty knocking sound coming from the engine, but the discription didn't quite fit with a piston rod knock. Well, it turned out not to be one problem but was a cacophony of different sounds blending to sound like a knock. The main culprits? A bad timing belt tensioner bearing, and the fan clutch bearing was in the proccess of disintegrating. I now believe both had been going south for quite some time and I didn't know it. On my way home from Atwater on Monday, I suddenly heard a bad squeal coming from the engine. I was still 40 miles from home and would have been very bummed to have a breakdown that far from home. It just so happens that I was thinking about going to the J-Yard in Madera anyway, since I would be passing it on my way home, and luckely I was only a few miles from the yard when the problem got bad. I pulled into the parking lot of the yard, popped the hood, and fired up the engine. Of coarse the squeak dissapeared, but I noticed the driver side timing belt had some disformities. I looked at the timing belt tensioner and saw that it was discolored and had purple score marks consistent with metal getting really hot. I was lucky enough to find a GL with a partialy dissasembled front end, which made getting the tensoiner a breeze. While I was removing the fan, I discovered that the bearing in the fan clitch was also fubar'ed. I had one laying around at the house and figure I install that one when I got home. After I did, the "knock" I had worried about has all but dissapeared. To conclude my adventure, I want to thank myself for leaving the belt covers off the last time I repaired the engine. Because I did, this repair was much easier than it should have been.

That's funny, I was just dealing with the same problem. See my new post "Ditch the timing belt covers". for more info.

Well, I have beaten the problem... mostly. First off, when I timed the ignition, I screwed up. I thought I had read somewhere the ignition timing was different, depending on the type of tranny in the car. The crappy 3 speed was set at about 20 BTC, and I thought that the manual trannys were set at 10'ish. On a whim, I thought I would double check that idea, and I found I was wrong. So now the timing is set to 20. This would certainly explain the lack of power at low RPMs. I cleaned the MAF sensor with spray electric contact cleaner cleaner, and cleaned the terminals and plug on the TPS. The TPS plug had quite a bit of corrosion on it. I still get a bout of hesitation every once in a while, but the acceleration is much smoother. I don't get that surging / accel stepping feeling, the car accelerates evenly now. I do still get that hesitation every once in a while, but otherwise, the car is now driving like a the little rocket I expected when I swapped the crappy 3 speed auto with the FT4WD 5 speed. What a fun car Murphy has become. Now if only I could fix the tranny leaking on the exaust so it would stop smelling.....

Perrrrty!!!:grin:

Cheap stuff on list are replaced, with exception of fuel filter, thought I think I did replace that a couple of years ago. But it doesn't sound like that to me as usually a bad FF will be more evident at higher RPM's when more gas is needed for combustion. The problem is an intermittent dead spot on acceleration just off idle. Sometimes it feels like a nut! Sometimes it don't! (Mounds, Almond Joy commercial). Coolant temp sensor was replaced recently. I'm kinda leaning toward a 1/2 clogged injector, or the TPS. Which leads to my next question. Where is the TPS located on the EA82T, and what is the procedure for checking it? I am quite handy with the multimeter (repair spas) so don't be afraid to get technical.

Lets say I am a $500 87 T-Wag named Murphy and I have a problem. When my driver accelerates lightly, I bog down a bit, but not always. If he gives me more gas the problem goes away. Once I get up to speed, say 2800 RPM, the problem seems to go away. It almost seems like I can't decide what to do. Every once in a while, the problem is pronounced and even flooring it doesn't help. My wonderful owner will let up on the gas to conquer my bout of hesitation. This only happens when the engine is warmed up. What problem do I have???

BUMP - to get back on topic.

Changing my 02 sensor gave me a few extra MPG's on my turbo.

HA!!! I had the crappy 3 speed automatic at the time, so every time I drove on the freeway, I over revved it:grin::grin:. No. the highest RPM was 4300 on the freeway. But that is when I overheated it. I'm passing by the J-Yard today and might get another knock sensor for $7.00 just to check if there is a difference.

OK. I'm not really going recite the naughty pirate shanty. The real question is: "What's that knocking in my engine??". Since I repaired the head gaskets on the overheated 87 T-Wag I've had a persistent knock. When the engine is cold, you almost can't hear it at all. When the enigine is at normal op temp, it is fairely loud, even if the RPM is eqaul to the cold start setting, @ about 1.4 RPMs. The knock is eminating from the engine, but it more pronounced in the cabin. When you stand outside the car you don't hear it as much, unless you pull in to a drive thru and hear it echo off the wall. The engine runs pretty smooth, but normal, non-flooring acceleration seems to develope in mini-surges. The engine isn't throwing any codes. I'm wondering if the khock sensor is damaged enough, due to the overeating, to not prevent knocking, but it is not damaged enough to throw a code. Any thoughts??? PS. As many of you know, I now have the 2 core radiator installed. I've taken two 700+ mile trips, containing steep grades, and the temp has never gone above the 1/8th mark. I highly recommend upgrading to that radiator if you have a turbo.

Feb, March, April, May,... OK. So it took a little longer to post photo's of the new analogue dash than I thought. But, Ladys and Gents, here is the dash at night: Center view. Left view. Right view. The dash face is from an 86, which had a whiteish-yellow ilumination. I used orange turn signal bulbs to get a deeper orange color. The needles on the 86's are white, but I wanted a deeper contrast between the backgroud and the needles, so I used orange neeldes from an 87. I also mounted tiny red LED's behind the base of the needles to get a redish-orange color. I will post more pics of the process soon, but right now I must pack by bags and bass rig into Murphy, the $500 87 T-Wag. I have a Halloween gig tomorrow night in San Diego and must get on the road pronto.

Clogged cat. In college I had a 79 Accord that did the same thing.

OK. That's It! I'm not driving my Subie anywhere:eek:!!! Glad you're OK. Your friend would be wish to take a few days off, JIK.