thealleyboy

Trog: I will be down there later this fall for the WV-Pitt game. please email me the info on the yard thanks, John thealleyboy@yahoo.com

Almost winter project time, and I'm thinking about tackling the 91 xt6. Don't know much about it except the prior owner said it had an internal metallic noise. He gave up on it after getting a professional mechanics opinion. Engines shot...just not sure how bad until I tear it down. Has anyone done one of these recently? Is there anything quirky about these motors? I'm worried about parts availabilty if it needs anything more than a basic overhaul. There are but a handful of these cars in my part of the counrty - and absolutely nothing in the yards. I'm tempted to get one of those "used from Japan" motors, but even those seem VERY hard to come by. Any pointers, or information on parts sources is greatly appreciated. thanks, John

A small pair of needlenose pliers should work. These are good for both removal, and reinstallation. The best thing I've ever used is an old fashioned paint can opener (slightly bent to get the right leverage), but good luck finding one of those... John

Doc: You might want to try your hand at rust contol/body work if you plan on sticking with the older Subes for awhile. Good quality body work is time consuming, and that's why it's so expensive to have it done professionally. You could do a decent job yourself if you are willing to put some time and effort into it. It might be more realistic to attempt to "control" the rust, without doing a full-fledged repair. I'm talking about grinding down rust, and using converter and spot paint or undercoating. This will do almost as much good as a true repair in terms of life to your car, and is fast and cheap. Downside: it wont look nearly as nice as a quality repair. If you decide to go either of these routes, you can get plenty of pointers from people on this Board. good luck, John

Andy: Let me see if I understand what you are trying to do here: "Low" mode - actually 2 possibilities here. The fan will be "off" until the thermoswith actuates. Then it kicks the fan onto "low speed" "High" mode - again two possibilities "off" or "high" fan speed. The LED will only tell you if the fan is "on" in either hi or low, so you only really need one under that scenerio. Hmmm....Maybe the setup you really want is something that cycles from "off" to "lo" to "high" automatically depending upon temp. Do you know if the Tauras had a dual temp thermoswitch or 2nd sensor? Maybe if you are lucky, the Taurus has a dual temp sensor that will thread right into your rad. Even if not, there are other places along the cooling system where you can install a second sensor to get a temp reading. If your Sube came with dual electric fans, you might be able to adapt that setup since there are two temp ranges. Then, its just a matter of sending the signal with the higher temperature threshhold to the "high" terminal on the fan. A little more complex, but it can be done. good luck, John

Looks like it'll work to me. You could even add a second LED for your thermoswitch. That way you'll know if it's running at all times. I'm assuming you want the thermoswitch to actuate in the "low" setting, when it reaches 85F or whatever. Good luck, John

Hatch's are freakin great!! Good score. Good luck!! John

Daniel: Let us know how the Webb conversion goes. I plan to do one on my 86 one of these days... I would document your modifications and keep all the OEM stuff just incase you have to go back. The carb especially, is something you want to hang onto for as long as you own the car. If all else fails, have the original rebuilt professionally. That's your ace in the hole. good luck, John

Stru: That's some excellent insight on the Japanese engines, especially about the parafin oil. It is a very interesting culture. I pick up bits and pieces thru my brother who works for a Honda supplier, and from my interactions with the many Japanese people that work for the Honda plant near Columbus. From what I gather, intentionally neglecting a car, just to save on maintenance costs, would not be looked on too favorably by most Japanese people. In Japan, if a person were offered a low trade-in allowance because the old car was in below-average condition, it would probably be a big-time insult. The incentive would be to keep it in top-notch shape. If an engine were known to be abused, I seriously doubt it would end up in the US. The Japenese are very conscious about how others think of them, especially Americans. They don't like being wrong, and if you are wrong, they'll sure let you know about it. John

I've heard all the theories about why the scrap them out in Japan so early, and that they never change their oil and all that... But what I believe most is what professional mechanics have told me about ones they've installed. Most of what I've heard is positive. I would definitely try one out in a backup/daily driver type of car. The market forces in Japan are to jam new cars down your throat every couple of years (sound familiar?). But instead of 0% financing and rebates, they get you thru regulations and inspections: emissions, safety, and other things that will entice the owner to take cars off the road early. In Japanese culture, people just don't drive old beaters around. Not only is it very embarrassing (this is a biggie in their culture), it's MUCH more expensive to keep an old car legal than to replace it with a new one. Now there is some truth to the bad maintenance theory, but probably not as common as you would think. In Japan, just like everywhere else, they are concerned about trade in value. There is some $$ incentive to keep their cars up - not to mention all the inspections that force them to perform at least basic maintenance. Before cars are scrapped, the engines are evaluated for condition and sold in lots. The best engines from scrapped vehicles will go for the best prices, and fortunatey for us, most of the best ones end up in the US. The ones that are obviously abused will end up in 3rd world countries, or scrapped as well. Again, from everything I heard, these are fine for everyday use, and some mechanics I know will even stand behind them for as long as 36,000 miles. Unless you get a rare lemon, I would think most would be good for 100k or more. good luck, John

Chicks love hoop-t's...They think it's more $$ to spend on them... The farm & fleet stuff is worth looking into, especially if you have access to a compressor and gun. You can paint the car with 2 quarts (and some thinner), under $20 or so. Best of all, you can replace bolt ons when they get bashed. Just paint everything the same color, buff it out etc, and you are good. John

I don't know how easy this stuff is to come by any more, but Sears used to carry a line of oil based high gloss enamel that came in both spray cans and quarts. I used to paint my old Datsuns with it with decent results. Covered well, and the paint was thick without being too runny. Nice durable glossy finish, that can be buffed out even nicer with compound and wax. The downside was that it dried slowly, especially thinned out (shot thru a paint gun), and had a tendency to get the "orange peel" effect. The long dry time also picked up more contaminants which required more rub-out effort. This stuff is not like Rustoleom. Rustoleum is oil based but does not have the intense gloss or leveling qualities that the old oil enamels had. A similar modern day paint is the farm and implement paints found at farmers supply stores. Some interesting colors too if you like solid (non-metallic) colors. John

X-99: Just to clarify... You do mean that the starter would NOT crank, when the ignition module is zapped, right? Just turn the key and "click"? Same symptoms as a weak battery? Doesn't make sense to me intuitively, but I'll take your word for it. John

Ok, I think I gotcha... I beleive it is referred to as the "pickup coil", on the Haynes drawings for the Hitatchi's I was looking at. Integrated into the disty unit just as the Nippendesno model you have. To my knowledge, all of the EA82's came with electronic ignition. John

The car I'll be dealing with is an EA82, with a Hitatchi distributor. I referred to the Haynes drawings and unless I'm badly mistaken, it doesn't appear that the Ignition Module is integrated into the disty on the Hitatchi's, as it is on the Nippondensos. Does anyone know the location of the (external?) Ignition Modules on the EA82's? thanks, John

X: Fortunately. I've got all the goods I'll need in my "stash", so cost is not an issue. Also own a copy of the much-maligned Haynes (less a few ripped out pages). I have not had any disty issues with Subes. They have always seemed to be rock solid. It'll be interesting to dig into this one, and learn some more about troubleshooting these cars. Intermittant problems are such back-breakers. Always helpful to know the shortcuts. John

Good stuff fellas... I will have an opportunity to test out some of these methods on a Sube with an "intermittant start" problem in the next few days. Almost a textbook example of the kinds of symptoms you guys are talking about. I'll share my results, and see if it's the same cure as X99's. John

If maximun power is what you are after, you can advance the timing up to the point that you start to get pinging on hard acceleration. If you are running 93, you'll be able to speed things up considerably. I would keep the disty adjustable, and bump it up a bit gradually (every time you fill up), paying attention to drivability and performance. Back off as soon as you start getting adverse symptoms. Eventually, you'll find a "sweet spot" where the car is running at maximun potential. That's when you lock it down, and record the timing. Don't screw around with other brands of gas, or additives when you get it running just right. High performance ignition upgrades aren't a bad idea either if you want to go the timing advance route. The downside is that fuel economy will drop noticebly. Don't be surprised if it drops to 20 or less. good luck, John

Jack: I've got a pretty nice 85 2wd wagon. 110k only minor rust, and runs GREAT. Had it sold, but the guy couldn't come up with the $$. I had thought about doing a 4wd conversion (ie this car is not your typical Ohio rustbucket). I have got a spare 2wd 5speed if thats your thing. Good "Alleycar" material... Probably less than $500, depending on how you want it set up. John

I wonder if you have some other problem which is causing the alts to go bad early in that car... Might want to take it to an auto electric shop for a checkup now, or soon after you put on a new alt. John

Jon: Very nicely done... How about some more details on your carb setup. John

Stephen, Yes please do follow-up and let us know what it was. This is valuable information to all Sube derelicts!! good luck, John

Miles: I have a couple of 87's that were good when they were on the car. Problem is I cant tell them apart from the 86's I have, cause the model # lettering has worn off all of them. If you can tell them apart, you can have one or both of the 87's. One or both should work out for you. I want to keep the 86's incase I need them for my wagon. John

Red: That's interesting...I'll have to try it and see what happens on my 86 carbed model. I'll study the schematic as well. If the plug dropped out, the alt circuit would no longer be grounded, and maybe thats what shut things down. I don't think the Sube engineers would have intentionally designed the car to quit when an alt goes out "normally", as that would be a serious safety hazard. If anything, the alt dummy light (or guage) would be the warning device to let the driver know there was a problem. John

Stephen: Sounds like you're getting warmer... Cal: Maybe you misunderstood what I meant... When I talked about the car dying while being driven, I was talking about "sudden death" (ie coil, timing belt). Not too many electrical problems I can think of that will shut a car down IMMEDIATELY (while driven), and result in a "click" when you crank the starter. An alt shorting out will give you some warning, just as you described, especially on a fuel injected model where it would become obvious while driving. I suspected that Stepehen had a gradual electrical failure instead of "Sudden Death" and that's why I suggested the jumper cable test to confirm this, (and to eliminate all the other stuff). good luck, John