daeron

The only steering problem I had ever had (until I thwacked my tie rod ends hitting a curb last year) was that some part going out on my Z car... took forever to diagnose, too. i should have thought of that.

Thats out of the 1989 partial FSM that floats around... for the sedan. The wagon averages about 100 pounds lighter across the board? i don't know why. By the way, "gross vehicle weight" is the maximum ALLOWABLE weight of the vehicle, passengers, fule, and cargo.. "curb weight" is the vehicle only, with options installed as noted on the chart. My 87 GL 10 sedan, power everything, has a GVWR of 3430 pounds, and a maximum total cargo weight of 810 pounds. 3430 - 810 == 2620. I was responding with the OP's 79 brat in mind, since thats what he has listed under vehicles...I dont know why I failed to think about it being an 87 lifted wagon, ike he said at the beginning of his first post.. but still, 3400 seems VERY steep, did you weld sixteen new frame rails into that thing??? I mean, thats GVWR!!!! technically, that means you cant put anything in your wagon!

Cool, thanks for the update. the more miles you log, the more peace of mind you earn. Awesome to hear she is still holding up strong. I think the welds are liable to be the primary "concern" point; and it sounds like they havent even made you bat an eye at them.

ANY suggestions for editing, clarity of phrasing, points I missed... GREATLY ENCOURAGED!!! I hardly even read it back through to myself when I wrote it, I figured I would sleep on it before I did that. Also, the few statements in red, I would like to eliminate... so please, critique away! I figured I would write this as a start, and let the community as a whole help me perfect it for inclusion in the repair manual.

Dude, your car weighs like, 2200 poiunds... you dont NEED 300 horse!!! the EJ swap is cheap and easy. 150 horse in 2200 pound vehicle is PLENTY

USRM worthy?? all questions in red I would appreciate answers to, so that I can correct as needed, and edit them out. Like I said, I have been meaning to get around to doing this for a while.

I have been threatening to get around to this for some time, now. Well, I am doing it.. the tell-all expose on how to install a relay into your car for whatever circuit you want: Starter solenoid control, add foglights, radiator fan, fuel pump (although bypassing stock fuel pump wiring on a fuel injected vehicle is a BIG no-no...) WHATEVER. First, go to the junkyard and find a late 80's BMW 3-series. Many BMWs (and other European cars) will have a single plug, and the relays needed, but the box I show here was sourced from the BMW I mentioned. The relays The Full relay BOX (optional, I got it because I have ALOT of wiring to re do on my Datsun) These plugs are found on many vehicles, and slide off this bracket easily to either re configure, or use singly (as I did for my starter relay) The relay box can take up to five relays in total, and the plugs can easily be slid off and moved around. In order to get properly sized wires for my application, I used a tiny "precision" flathead screwdriver (eyeglass size, or nearly) and reached down from the top of the plug, on the bottom of the "U" formed by the female spade terminal. Then you bend down the little retainer clip, and the wire slides out. I cut a handy selection of wires out of the cars in the boneyard so that I can configure them any way I wanted. Some of the relays are rated in amps on the packaging of the relay itself; others are not, but you can generally assume 30 amps or better from what I can see. To be safest, find one that says right on it "30 amp" or "40 amp" If you are unsure what amperage you need, easy math. voltage x amperage = wattage.. so if you are wiring a pair of 55 watt fog lights, thats 110 watts. 110W/12V=~9.2Amps I used a 30 amp relay for my starter circuit and haven't had any problems. It IS best to have a couple of spare relays in the glovebox at all times once you do this conversion... As far as "too big," I am fairly certain that isnt possible. Besides, you can always limit the current flowing through the circuit by installing a smaller fuse in the high-current supply line from the battery to the relay's terminal 30. I originally did this for my starter; I was turning the key and getting a *click*click* but no start. For some time I was using a screwdriver to bridge between the battery cable and the solenoid terminal with the key "on" to start it. I wound up installing the relay to do the job of the screwdriver. This is a simple task, but first you must understand how the relay works. (If you already know, skip this paragraph) It is NOT anything to be intimidated by.. I have heard people make comments to the effect of not wanting to "complicate" things by using a relay.. relays SIMPLIFY things. The relay is a high current switch, with at least four terminals on the bottom. One terminal gets fused 12VDC+, either straight off the battery or from some switched source. Another terminal (or two) goes to your "load" (starter solenoid terminal, pair of foglights, fan.) One terminal gets grounded, so the relay can function. The final terminal is the "signal" terminal, and that goes to your "switch". One VERY common example of a relayed circuit that alot of you folks would be more familiar with, is in your car Amplifier. Most modern stereos have a blue wire coming out of the back of them; you are supposed to use this blue wire to turn your amp on. But wait, this blue wire does not POWER the amp; thats what that huge cable with the gold fuse that cost so much money was for, right?! The Blue Wire activates a relay inside the amplifier.. so that when you turn the stereo on, the blue wire gets voltage, sends it back to the signal terminal on the internal relay of the amp, (trust me, there is one there) and it turns on. Make more sense now?? If you are using this for a lighting circuit, then you could just tap into say, the running lights + circuit I THINK, but I know the headlights have a CONSTANT positive battery voltage connection, and the switching is done on the ground circuit.. so if you were to tap into the headlight positive circuit for your "signal wire," then your relay would always be on. You could certainly switch ground to the relay, and give the relay constant positive voltage (fused of course) if you wanted to turn your foglights on with low beams only, say. For the purposes of the starter conversion, I used the original solenoid wire as my signal wire. The relay requires a miniscule amount of current to operate, so even if your ignition switch can no longer handle the current needed to activate the solenoid, it will still run the relay if the wiring is intact at ALL. This is a diagram that I made on how to wire the relay up for a starter circuit. Skip made a much better one, but I cannot find it right now. (Skip, feel free to respond with your diagram. Please. :-p) This is what the relay looks like as installed in my engine bay. I secured the relay to the spare tire support bar, and grounded it there as well. Note the inline fuse (its the bottom one) for the power supply to the relay. This is what it looks like underneath. Again, note the inline fuse underneath my grubby paw, and the new red wire going to the starter solenoid in the bottom right corner. So now, when I turn my key from "on" to "start," instead of sending fairly high current through the ignition switch and into the solenoid terminal to engage the solenoid, the ignition switch just sends low current to the relay. The relay then does the job of switching high current, obtained directly from the battery through new wiring, straight to the starter solenoid. Now, this same concept can be applied to ANYthing, and you can use the same relays and plugs. Again, these relays can be sourced out of MANY MANY European, Japanese, and Domestic vehicles.. not just BMWs. Some Volvos, Jaguars, Mercedes, Volkswagens, Audis.. NOT difficult to find. Recently another board member was trying to figure out how to wire in his fog lights from an XT6. I drew him a diagram on one way to do this, using a five-pronged relay (the fifth prong is a second "output") and using the running light power as a signal, thus turning the fog lights on whenever the running lights were on... but NOT drawing power off of the same circuit! The ONLY power drawn off of the running light circuit is the power needed to turn and hold the relay "on," less than 0.1 amps. (any better figure on amperage draw for one of these relays?) Now, in the two diagrams that I have posted, I inadvertently transposed terminals 85 and 86; these are the ground and signal terminal that operate the relay. This does NOT, to my knowledge, make a difference; the important thing is that the relay "control circuit" has one signal wire and one ground wire. (Again, anyone want to correct me??) In order to run fog lights off of a switch, rather than piggybacked onto your running lights, all you would need to do is install the switch in your cabin, find a source to supply the switch with 12VDC+, and run a wire out of the switch up to the relay signal terminal. Now, electric fans are usually turned on at a certain threshold temperature... and electric fuel pumps, in a fuel injected vehicle, are already run by a relay, but that relay is controlled by the ECU. However, this relay information can be used, along with a little brain power, to relay ANY circuit on ANY car, ANY time. Some situations, bypassing stock wiring is bad. (read: FI fuel pump) However, this info can also be used to install new relays and wiring for dim headlights. I will say here and now that the headlights on my 87 GL-10, when well adjusted are EXCELLENT so, if youre headlights are too dim, chances are it is a wiring issue. Sure, installing some brighter bulbs will give you more light.. but re wiring is a better option. This should help clear up some confusion; and by all means, feel free to link to this write up for any reason; also, if you have questions feel free to contact me vie PM here on the board. It is FAR from Subaru-specific (outside of the headlight wiring info) and in fact, I was using the Soob as a test mule for work needing to be done on the Z-car. Plus, this sure beats using a screwdriver to start your car!!!!

technically, this belongs in the "newer gen" forum; you might get better answers there. the mods usually move these threads soon enough, but while youre here I'll rty and help you anyhow. I had the same problem on my GL10, and it got to a point where I was frequently using a screwdriver to bridge the positive battery cable over to the solenoid terminal with the key "on" to start the car. I installed a relay to do basically just that, and used the original solenoid wire attached to the ignition switch, to signal the relay. go to advanced search, enter the search term "relay" and enter the user name Skip. on the first page there should be a thread with a subject similar to this, with about 27 or so replies... click on that. skip has a wonderful little diagram, and he and i both made some posts outlining this fix in detail... one of these days im going to make a simple write up with photos for the USRM.. one of these days.....

someone broke into the complex and ripped my dads tools off.. a bit later, someone tried entering when another tenant was there, tenant fired a couple warning shots at him... a week or two later, sunday night (always the worst night for "activity") i was getting set to leave, in my car, foot on brake but still in park talking to my uncle through the window... suddenly, bangbangbangbangbangbangbang!!!! My uncle was in viet nam.. he immediately knew wtf was up. I... didnt... if any of the first few shots had my name on them, I wouldve been a goner; I didnt duck until most of the rounds had gone off. NOW I know better... they were just firing pot shots at us to spook us back... the buggers. I love people of all shapes sizes and colors.. but that doesnt mean that there arent individuals to whom epithets apply very well.

okay, two possibilities 1: there is still some of the bolt protruding out of the hole 2: the bolt has sheared off flush with the block, or recessed inside it Secnario 1: easiest way is to remove the radiator for better access (not an incredibly big deal, the hardest part is likely to be removing the hoses that are on the thing) Then your friend could use a pair of vise grips to remove the bolt. If needs be, take a dremel or grinder of some sort and grind two flat spots on it for the vise grips to hold onto better... Scenario 2: also, remove the radiator for easier access, and get your friend to try drilling it out. do NOT let him use an easy-out, these things are BAD JUJU.. its just that these "easy-outs" frequently bind up, and snap off inside the bolt.. have him center punch the remains of the bolt as best he can, drill it with a small bit first, then gradually step up to larger bits. Worst case scenario in this situation, he cannot successfully get a hole cenetered, and winds up slightly stripping out the threads. In that case, he will need to go get something called a Heli-coil set, which is used to drill an oversized hole, tap it and thread a small insert in there that has thread on the inside of it for your new tensioner bolt. This is a crummy situation, but these are the best ways to proceed in either scenario. Hope this helps...

Man, i tried cryo-treating a set of those pistons once, and the things just shattered!!

nothing like a good old fashioned thread on how to polish a turd hallmark performance mod: EJ series engine install. sorry. if you dont want that, and dont want turbo, then get out the sawzall and start removing weight from your car. You can start by removing the doors and glass, and then any seating you don't need... ..sorry, am I coming off like a jerk? My intent was to convey the fact that really, (and I LOVE the engine) playing performance games with an EA82 IS poloshing a turd. Playing ECONOMY games with an EA82 is NOT polishing a turd.. but trying to turn it into a hi power plant is impossible without spending a good about of cash on a nice turbo setup, and throwing reliability out the window. (at least, throwing GUARANTEED reliability out the window) If you want an NA engine in your soob to give it some oomph, just go for the EJ swap. 140 hp, thats 50% more than you have now, out of the box. if you install Megasquirt along with that, you might even tune in to 150 horse. Unfortunately, these cylinder heads with their siamesed ports just do not flow very freely, and free flowing heads are a prerequisite to NA power. No cam in the world is going to push 180 horsepower out of a pair of siamesed, ~30mm exhaust ports. you need a TURBO to push over 100 horsepower INTO the engine, or you won't ever get it OUT.. the GOOD news is, the EJ swap has been done a thousand times. You aren't likely to run into any problems that haven't been experienced before.

we *can* say rump roast on this forum :-p

now is it just me, or did these people COMPLETELY miss the ENTIRE point of the song?? I always thought that the meaning of "Fortunate Son" was pretty obvious, and it didnt have anything to do with having a crummy or unlucky day.... They managed to notice the line about the silver spoon, and time it so that he got his cereal spoon out just then.. but they somehow failed to grasp the meaning of the line....

lose any weight you can, and drive like there is an egg between your foot and the accelerator. Dont forget to keep your windows rolled up. Electric fans on the radiator. as for brakes, I dunno... but I suspect it doesnt make much of a difference. Your front brakes are the only ones that add unpsrung load onto the engine.. the rears just roll along. You dont have drum brakes up FRONT, do you?! You *might* want to think about adding some vents to the extreme rearward outside corners of the hood, or possibly the front fenders behind the wheel.. to let air out of the engine bay, yanno? i don't REALLY know how much of an effect this would have, though.. just a wild idea that I havent ever looked at, so I wouldnt know the car well enough.

download the FSM files.. if you havent already. Clicky

relax, connnie, we are just quoting the "right" way of doing things for posterity's sake, that is all...... we BOTH said that neither of us have a thermostat in right now, didnt we?? as we say down south, its all gravy

well i dont own a stick, but my guess would be a problem with the linkages, preventing it from properly and fully engaging fifth gear... Take things apart and find areas that wiggle more than you think is ideal. if you have an internal tranny issue, youre gonna have to take all that apart to some degree anyhow, right?

I would like to add agreement to ALL of the above, from another hypocrite running without a thermostat. If I lived 200 miles further north (read: cape cnaveral/daytona beach/orlando area, still well south of most everyone in the US) I would NOT be running without a thermostat. I ONLY do it because "freezing cold" means 45 degree to me, and it takes about 90 degrees at 80 percent humidity to make me say "its hot."

Thanks, I'm beginning to get self conscious on how "on-topic" some of my posts are... I mean, I've been a member for less than a year and already have a post count close to 2000!!

no, I cannot say that I have.. tires are fairly strong bits of rubber and metal, they usually stay in one piece.. they might get SHREDDED, but they usually stay in one piece and just flap all over the place... my brothers bought an ITS 240Z racecar from a guy down in Miami about a year ago, and he had an interesting wheel at his house.. I wish I had photographs of it. The guy works at a high end auto shop, and a woman drove in in a Ferrari once, with a wheel that she had fishtailed into a curb at 80 miles an hour (~120KPH?) The rim was a five spoke wheel, and FOUR of the spokes had been COMPLETELY severed from the rim by the force of the impact!! she DROVE IT IN with the hub connected to the rim by only ONE SPOKE, and it wasn't a very thick spoke, either... I hope its fairly obvious why he KEPT the wheel she broke...

I am having running issues (ie, TOTALLY different from what you actually experienced) but everything seems more or less fine.. the black plastic insulator that covers the transition from colored braided insulation, to the terminal, is cracked on one end of one link. Thanks for reminding me that I hadn't ruled that out yet.. its time for me to step back and start out again from square one, because I must have missed something on my car... but thats irrelevant for the purposes of this thread.

^^^^^^^^BRUTAL!!!

Bucky: Here is a much better idea than simply wiring up a switch.. The thermosensor has two prongs on it, right? wire a switch into those two prongs, so that your switch is masquerading as the thermosensor AND it is a breeze to go back to the factory configuration. I just have a jumper wire in place of my thermosensor, so my fan comes on and goes off with the key.

Yah, some of us dont like being limited to 13" wheels and tires, thats all