stephenw22

+2 Try pouring some water the top of the heads (where the spark plugs are) and checking where it drains out of. I'm pretty sure it's just a drain hole, even though your pictures are just showing up as red 'x's for me. My '92 had an exhaust gasket leak that melted the rear timing cover. In a way, it was a good thing, because it lets out the oil that has leaked from the cam seals.

In Canada, daytime running lights have been required on all cars 1990 and newer. It sounds like yours aren't factory DRLs, at least not the Canadian style. My '92 Loyale has the headlights on all the time. In the 'off' and 'dim' position, the headlights are on, but they are dimmer than when the switch is in the 'on' position. Also, pulling the e-brake with the switch in 'off' or 'dim' will turn the headlights off (good for when you're at the drive-in on a cool night).

This isn't as uncommon as you might think. I've never had a problem myself, but I've heard of others here who have. Maybe try a drop or two of low-strength loctite on the threads when you tighten the crank pulley bolt.

Maybe my old '88 DL was rewired at some point then (or Canadian models are different). It had the 4-light setup, and it was either highs or lows, not both. If I held the switch in just the right spot (in between high and low settings), both sets would come on. Otherwise, it was only 2 bulbs on at a time. EDIT: Didn't see it was an '84 - I don't know anything about the electricals on ea-81 models.

Have you checked the relays? They're up inside the dash. Normally, you either have your 2 driving lights OR 2 high beams on, never 4 at once. If the relay for the high beams was dead, you'd have a similar problem.

My problems have all been from condensation inside the light. It eventually causes the chromed reflector to dull and eventually rust. I've had good luck finding replacement headlight lenses at the junkyard.

From the placement of the EGR valve, it would seem to me that most of the recirculated exhaust would end up in the passenger side cylinders. Wouldn't that lead to problems with a/f ratio and combustion temps between the heads? At any rate, I blocked off my EGR system and removed all the piping. I did it mainly to simplify the engine layout under the hood. I didn't notice any difference in mileage or performance, and yes, the EGR system was functioning properly when it was removed. Maybe on a new car it would make a difference, but on these oldies, I'd doubt it.

Okay, I have a bit of a puzzler. My '88 wagon, the RustBucket, has been sitting around for about 6 months without running. I went to start it up and bomb around the fields a little with it, but when I turned the key, the engine wouldn't turn over. I thought, WTF? I grabbed my 1/2" breaker bar and tried to turn the engine over by hand. I was locked up solid! Even with a 6' pipe on the end of the bar, it wouldn't turn over. I ended up bending the breaker bar, and the engine still wouldn't turn over. Just for kicks, I tried turning the engine backwards - and it worked perfectly! I turned the engine backwards for several revolutions with no problems at all. However, when I started turning it forwards again, it went a little bit and then locked up again. I was planning on dropping this engine into the hornet this summer, along with a MT, and doing the SPFI conversion. Is this engine toasted or what? I can't figure out why it would spin freely in one direction and not the other.

If it's just a little water, it will cook out on its own. Your PCV system is made to get rid of vapour (water, oil, fuel) in the crankcase. After a hundred miles or so, check the oil and filler cap. If the oil is milky then change it for fresh stuff. If all you have is a little gunk on the inside of the filler cap, then just clean it off and you're good to go. Keep a close eye on it for the first few weeks of driving.

I used a piece of wire and permanently 'closed' the choke for winter when I was driving my '86 wagon. The carb was gummed up so the choke would work when the engine was hot, but then it wouldn't close when it cooled down. I sure fixed it good! Gas mileage was bad, but at least it ran and warmed up well. When spring came, I just took the wire off and it was fine. A wire will work in a pinch until you can find a wreck with a replacement carb.

If you can't find the plugs (I couldn't), then you can also pull the dash and unplug the light from there. That's what I did with mine.

Anti-seize isn't much of a lubricant. I've been using it for several years, and I've never had problems with lug nuts coming loose. The only time I've had lug nuts coming loose was the last time I took my car in for new tires. I didn't check and re-torque the lug nuts afterwards, like I normally do. It only took a couple of days on the gravel roads before the lug nuts had started to loosen off. Needless to say, I got myself a discount on my next tire purchase from there.

When I put the wheels on, I use a liberal coat of anti-seize on the face of the hub, and also on the threads of the studs. As far as getting the wheels off, I use a combination of a small 5-lb mini-sledge and a 36" prybar. Works for me.

When I've done axles in the past, I've found that the easiest way is to just pop the ball joint out of the knuckle. With the way things tend to rust together up here, it keeps the frustration level to a minimum. Don't worry, driving a subaru will give you plenty of experience changing axles. You can try lots of different methods and figure out which one is your favorite.

It was a decision based on my climate and the road/offroad condition, just like with the t-belt covers. Ice and rocks aren't a concern where I am. I've never heard of anyone from around here actually hitting their 4x4's skidplate on anything, ever. The only thing hidden in a snowdrift might be a concrete parking curb, and if you're hitting drifts in a parking lot or on a residential street, you might just deserve to find one.

My '92 Loyale has one. My '88 DL didn't. I liked the '88 better... R.I.P. RustBucket

It's a 2-piece driveshaft, so you can take out just the back half of the driveshaft (the section with a u-joint at either end). Leave the front section in place, so the transmission fluid doesn't leak out. I had this done to my '85 wagon for about 2 years, after the rear axles went bad, and I couldn't find any replacement axles. Like it was said before, the subaru is normally a front-wheel drive vehicle. Pressing the 4wd button locks the rear wheels in. Not having the driveshaft in will make it front-only.

I "seized" my engine last winter blasting through drifts with open t-belts. After a few hundred feet of 2'-3' drifts at 40mph or so, the snow had packed so tight into the engine bay that the pulleys couldn't spin any more. A few minutes of digging the engine bay clear, and I was on the road again, no harm done. I thought about modifying the OEM skid plate to make it wider for a 'winter edition', but I ended up actually taking the skid plate completely off. The engine's own heat does a good job of melting away any snow that gets in there. I'm not going to wade into the 'to cover, or not to cover' debate, but I'll just say I made my decision based on my family driving style and habits, the local weather and road/offroad conditions, and the amount of maintenance I do on the car myself. For me, not having covers makes sense. For others, it might not.

my email is steve<dot>williams<at>ualberta<dot>net thanks!

Have you checked out the wiring going to the egr solenoid? That could be the problem. The best way to check it would be to pull the connector off the ecu and short the two wiring harness pins together. Then, measure the resistance of the wire while you move and jiggle the connector and under-hood wiring around.

Any way to post pics again? I can't see them on my comp.

Every car with dual exhaust I've owned blows 'smoke rings' in winter. It has more to do with exhaust flow through the system, and the timing of the exhaust pulses.

I know it's at the carb because I've checked under the hood and that's what is sticking. The pedal moves fine, and the cable glides smoothly. It's a fairly new carb from what I understand, so varnish shouldn't be an issue - the WD-40 will have evaporated by the time anything has a chance to stick to it. It's a goofy problem though. The cable was fine at 30F and -20F, but when it's 10F and snowy, things are sticking. I'm leaning towards an extra spring on the throttle.

So, the throttle has been sticking on the Hornet during snowy (blizzard-y)weather. At first, I figured it was the throttle cable, but there aren't any problems with it. Instead, it's the carburetor that's sticking. I've been brainstorming about it last night, and these are the possible fixes: 1. Lube up the carb with some wd-40 (temporarily) and then with some dry graphite or other non-gummy lube later on, once the weather warms up. 2. Mount a strong(er) return spring on the carburetor to really yank it shut. As an added benefit, this might help me go easier on the gas pedal. Any other suggestions out there? None of my other subes (carb'ed or not) have had this problem before. Probably, because they had already been through 10 or 15 winters when I got them...

Cars without A/C came with only the single electric fan, and no engine fan. You could add a 2nd electric if you needed to, or upgrade to a 2-core radiator. It wouldn't be too hard to wire multiple fans into the radiator thermoswitch.