Sonicfrog

Murphy, the $500 87 T-Wag, is getting great mileage right now. But thats because it blew a head gasket two weeks ago and I haven't been driving it . When running, I was getting about 20 / 21 sucky mileage, but that will change soon for the better when I scrap the 3 speed a/t and replace it with the 5 speed hi / lo manual.

So now I have a gasket job to start this week-end. I figure this is the perfect time to do the 5 speed tranny swap and dump the 3 speed auto for good! Question 1: Have you guys had success with pulling a replacement tranny from the Bone Yard? It would be more work and more time consuming, but I do need to go the yard to get a pedal assembly, gear shift, and rear diff anyway. I save money but I take a chance on pulling a dud. Question 2: How have the RX trannys held up over time. If I buy a pre-used tranny from an engine shop (assuming they can get one) or find one at the yard, should I use this tranny instead of the standard 5 speed hi / lo?

Yep! Murphy, the $500 87 T-Wag, blew another. Second set in six months. This one was my fault. Last week-end I drove from Fresno to San Diego to visit me Mum, a 348 mi drive that also includes a trip through the Grapevine, which cuts through the mountains between the San Joaquin Valley (home of Fresno) to LA and contains some long, steep grades to climb. The plan was to drive her back th Fresno so she could see the new house, and spend some time with the mate, the grand-dog and grand-bird. Murph did fine on Friday heading south to SD. Got a little hot, but it was evening at the time I attacked the big 6 mile hill, so it was cool outside. Coming back to Fresno on Monday proved to be a killer! Going up the mountain I noticed the temp was hotter than normal. The grade is not as steep, but the climb is much longer. There were a few places to pull over, and the little voice in my head was screaming to do just that. But of coarse I ignored it. I figured I could get to the top of the hill and coarst down the rest of the way. I got soooo close! The car sputtered about a mile from the top . The tow back was 130ish mile. THANK GOD FOR AAA PLATNUM!!! This allows 100 miles of free towing. Only had to pay $200 for the last 30 miles (Only????:-\). Sooo, here I am with another blown head gasket. I haven't taken the heads off yet so I don't know if there is any other damage. Assuming not, should I have the heads milled again, as they were just done a few months ago? I changed my mind. It wasn't my fault I blew the head gasket. It was the fault of the crappy 3 speed auto tranny, sucking up gas while pulling 4000 rpms @ 70 miles per hour. THATS WHY my car blowed up again!!! It's time for the crappy 3 speed auto tranny to 5 speed D/R swap I've been wanting to do since I got Murph running. (See "Silver Lining" thread for more info) UPDATE - I may hold off on the tranny swap for now, as I may have found a sweet deal on a 94 Legacy 5 spd wagon. Dead, but going for $200.

I second, and up it to 99.85%.

Mine have been off since my spring head gasket repair. I'm very happy for that as I now wont have to deal with them during my fall head gasket repair:-\ (I blowed up my car last week-end).

Oh. You want the supercharger on the engine and not on the roof???

Did anyone mention velcro... wire ties???

I think that beats this guy!

Second that! Thanks Miles!

Oh!!! My!!! Frigging!!! Crap!!!!!!! I soooooooo want it!!!!

<i>Update #4: Well forgive me, it was the ATF level.</i> Yeah! I Rock!!!!!! What's the prize for getting this one right? <i> when i found out he didnt know, i laughed at him.. but thats because he deserved it.</i> Daeron. You are a bastard! I love it!

Low or bad tranny fluid will do that. That's the first thing I'd check, if you haven't already.

I fixed and converted mine this summer (frozen compressor, change o-rings), and I used the old dryer. This was two months ago and so far so good. I would make sure you change all o-rings and pull a vacuum on the system.

Well, glad you solved that problem!!!! Murphy, the $500 87 T-Wag also got bad mileage. It was a combo of things. O2 sensor, engine coolant temp sensor. At one point I was only getting 16 - 17 mpg. Replacing those helped a tick or two. My temp on the digi-dash (yetch) always read on the very warm side. Turned out my rad was very clogged, causing the engine to work hard to pump coolant 'round, and that also explained why I was popping cooling hoses left and right. My mileage with the 3 spd auto-tranny (more yetch) is now around 20 - 21. Can't wait to swap in the 5 spd hi / lo. That should give me a few more ticks on the gauge - if I can just get the lead out of my accelerator foot, as I find it on the floor way too often!!! .

I've had a few to drink, so I'm not sure if you mentioned the age of you radiator, and forgive any type-o's. I would look into a new one. I just replaced mine and cured my "hot" problem. Muphy, the $500 87 turbo wag had similar problems, where the digi-temp would read hotter when I turned on the fan. I freaked a friend out once doing that. The car got even by blowing coolant hoses, one a month. I replaced the digi-dash with an analogue (a project to say the least) cause I though I might have a ground problem.Though the analogue gauge wasn't as touchy as the digi was, I was still running too hot. A new(er) radiator did the trick. Murphy only runs on the warm side when I'm on the freeway driving at around 70 in the California heat wave that just passed. Part of the probolem there is that I also have the crappy 3 speed Auto Tranny. This fall I'm gonna throw a 5 spd hi / lo manual in the car. I can't wait. As fast as the T-Wag is now, it's gonna be a blast with the manual tranny!

Yeah, I ran down more than one battery trying to start a car with the ciol wire unplugged:lol:

I had a Datsun 810 2dr (rare find) that would do the same thing. It turned out to be a bad relay that controls the fuel pump. On right turns, the coil inside the relay casing would move, if just slightly, and the result was loss of electrical connections. Don't know for sure, but would assume the Subie has a relay controling the fuel pump.

I just converted my 87 T-Wag suspension last month. The air suspention finally crashed. It rides much better now. I got lucky and found an RX at the J-Yard and got the front springs off that, which give the wagon a stiff, sporty feel on the road. I used springs from a regular wagon for the back, though this fall I might try the front springs from an 87 - 89 Accord, as they are supposed to give a wagon an extra inch of lift.

I changed my digi dash to analogue. Got an 85 / 86 series from the J-Yard for $30 and used that to start my mod. I used that year series because the tint behind the speedo / tach numbers is white, while the 87 + are green. The easy way to tell is that the needles on the 85 dash are white. I took the orange tinted needles from an 87 and put them on the 85. My big mod was putting small red LED's behind the base of the needles to give the needles a redish hue. It turned out pretty nice. I played with different bulb colors and ended up using orange, as that turned out to be the easiest to read. I'll post some pics and more details on Monday.

Wow! How do you get into Hovercrafting!!! E-mail me and I'll post it on my blog:grin:!!! Given the comp readings you posted, I second the motion on the head gasket. I had an EA81 and they are very easy to fix.

This is soooo cool (Ha Ha). I fixed it. The J-Yard compressor is working fine. Which is great because the outside temp is fast approaching 107 here in Fresno. The system took about 1 1/2 cans of R134a, plus the little can of Esther Oil I put in. To apply a vacuum to the system, I bought a vacuum device from Harbor Freight that connects to an air compressor for $16.00. I had to make an adapter to attach it to the A/C R143a pressure side nipple that pressed in the schrader valve (1/8 flare fitting ID). I have two little glitches. The belt squeals some. That's the easy fix. The old, frozen compressor had two wires leading to what I believe was the internal pressure switch. The clutch would not engage unless I connected the two lead wires together. But that curuit might not be a pressure switch, because now the clutch stays engaged if I switch from A/C to Heat or Bi-Level or Defrost, but will disengage when I press the Off button on the dash. Anyone have the FSM describing this circuit???

Yea. Been there, did this one. I hate that hose and its location. I have smallish hands and still could not do the job without taking the turbo off. The job will be much quicker if you do. I tend to waste more time trying to find a short-cut around a repair than if I would take the time to do the repair in a normal fashion, turning my short-cuts into long-cuts.

The factory comps varried from car to car.

Make it into a convertible???

Well, the highway test came up aces. The temp stayed steady where it used to approach overheat levels. With the old radiator as clogged as it was, it is no surprise I was blowing radiator hoses. The backpressure at highway speeds must have been very high. Also, the car is running much better, with better acceleration at low speed. I suspect this radiator / heat problem was causing the less than stellar 18 mpg and made passing smog a chore.