Davalos

One of the companies around here (Energy Conversion Devices, Inc.) got virtually bought-out by GM, and then in-turn wholy bought-out Chevron Texaco. It virtually put a halt to that company's battery research.

1990 Wagon SPFI Okay, I was at the carwash yesterday … my mission was to clear-out all the oil from the motor on and around the seals, because I’m about to pull the motor & re-seal the thing. I left the car running & started on the underside – the oil pan, supports, all the lines & joints, and just blasted away. Then I hit the passenger’s side, hit the tranny casing, the valve covers, the boots & axle, oil filler neck, lower supports, wheel arches, etc. Moved over to the front, & hit the power steering reservoir, fan cover, SPFI Casing, intake manifold, brackets for the alternator, A/C Compressor, rubber hoses, spare tire, etc. Then I went around to the drivers’ side. I hit the hoses, the valve cover, the lower supports, and I purposely avoided the distributor. But somewhere in there, BAM!!!!!!!! Right on the rear portion of that valve cover, the car died, and I mean DIED for a good 20 minutes. I mean, it was instant. I have no idea what I might have hit. But it was dead as a doornail for a good 20 minutes (turned but didn’t hit),and ran really rough for about 10 minutes after that. This is the weird part … the ECU light is no longer on. Not at all. It’s been on since I got the car, and I’ve gone thru the whole Code-34 EGR Solenoid RiggaMaRoll, all to no effect. But now the light is OFF. And it hasn’t come back on. The only other way I’ve been able to get the light off is to a) clear the codes using the connectors, when I replace the fusible links, and once when I changed he battery; and in all those times the code comes back on after about 10 minutes of driving. I’ve been driving for at least an hour today. ??????????????????????????

Is this an expansion/contraction thing? ...

Here ya go.

Got before & after pics?

I can copy the pages from the service manual if you want - that's a good start. There are a lot of people who will probably give MUCH better tricks of the procedure than the manual, tho.

I contacted AutoZone's regional distribution center, and they have none system-wide. I called GCK, and they are a few months out from having the 23-spline. If you are calling AutoZone about the axles, make sure they PLACE AN ORDER. Their computers don't show the manufacturer out-of-stock until they attempt it. Otherwise, they will read what the computer tells them and say "We'll have them for you tomorrow". When you go in to pay, you get the bad news.

Thanks for the tips ... and yeah - probbaly a lot of the stuff we do causes Mrs. Problems, hehe.

I'm about to do both axles ... and I got new bearings for like $13 bucks a piece ... didn't make much sense to me to NOT do them ... but how hard are they to get out or in? Does being pressed-in make an huge difference?

Looks like I might be going that route ... 2 more places out of stock of rthe GCKs ... APN and CRs (sigh). but you're right - I did see some raves about those.

Dunno - we didn't get that far. I knew it would have been easier to just route it thru AutoZone. Anyway, I'm not giving-up yet ...

Okay... they say they have 2 "in the system" but they acknowledge that doesn't necessarily mean much when that number is so low ... and they won't sell to me directly, unless I establish an account, etc. So I got on the phone with AutoZone & they'r system won't let them order them unless the computer says the manu. has them ... so I'm gonna try to work a 30way call later in the day to put the 2 together ... whew! We'll see how it goes. ***EDIT*** Well, I just got my answer ... they called me back & told me they're out & it'llbe 2-3 months before they do another run of them, plus another 15-20 days before they actually arrive in the states ... Sucks to be me.

Yeah .. Parts America is out of the 23 splines ... they have thre 25s like AutoZone does ... No word on availability of the Parts Network yet ... Called GCK & got them to answer, but their computers were down ... couldn't look anything up.

By the way ... is it a no-brainer to replace the wheel-bearings at the same time as the axle? Or should I say bearings? Looks like there are 2 per side .. is that right?

Nevermind - got it SB-8004 is the number for the 23 Spline, and SB-8005 is the 25 Spline ... They're not answering their phones yet, but no machine or anything on either the 310 or the 888 number ... Anyone that you know of other than Autozone carry these guys? ...

Looks like they open up in a little while in Cali ... you wouldn't happen to know a part number, would you? ....

I went into AutoZone today to order 2 GCKs for my Loyale, and they said they were discontinued... they have the 25 spline ones, but said the ones I need (23 spline for the 2WD MT Non-Turbo) were now declaared "Obsolete" by the manufacturer, and no longer made ... ack!!! Talk about bad timing!

Interesting ... I drilled a couple too many holes for mounting my satellite - might try that ...

can anything be done under or behind the head unit itself? It woudl require some gutting, but it seems as if there's space there...

Hmm ... How about this? Denny Klein http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obe-5vIHJms And Stanley Meyer's water powered Dune Buggy and It Runs on Water... Granted, they're not soobies ... but...

Okay, not sure what to make of this ... Some Aussies are running an old Subaru on negatively charged water ... http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2739463467621665044 Does this move anyone? ...

Seems like there'd be enough room there to be able to tower-it a bit .. even an inch would do wonders ... as long as you dont have big-ole fat butt like me & squash it. The headliner idea is not bad, either - same concept with some standoff spacers ...

How big is the amp? What are the dimensions?

Well, I finally did it ... Nothing great, but not to shabby either. Got some cleanup to do, trim-wise, as you can see. These 1.5 (kinda) DINs are just WEIRD!! I know, I know - probably WAY overkill for this badboy, but hey - I figure I spend enough time in this guy., I might as well bump a bit. And for some 5s and some 6s, they do pretty well! Anyone ever try 8" subs under the seats? I have some pre-amp outs still available ... Either that, or put some subs in the rear hatch ... but that might rattle too much .. and my struts are already weak in the winter - more weight might not be what they need. Any creative uses for the rear cubbies? Went ahead & drilled-out the pilars to get the wiring in there, not ideal placing, but ... I was almost going to put the S-50 in the center armrest ... to keep prying eyes away. Anyone got some good creative stereo ideas they've done?

Bump - Just thought I'd post a pic ... finally got my old-school Yakimas in there! I had to cut the bars down about 11" ... 5.5" on a side so I wouldn't impale myself (bought some new end-caps for $5 bucks). But the glass clears JUST fine - I put the clamps in between the doors for the front rack, so even if they had protruded down, the rear door swing misses where the bracket hits. and the rear rack is behind the rear door. Didn't have to remove the trim ... which surprised me. I was reeeeally worried about strength, but I can pull the car with these things, I'm tellin' you! I can grab ahold of any of the bars and rock the car bigtime. The day I put these on, I saw an ad on craigslist for some rolling metal shelving units I've been looking for FOREVER. One went into the back - BARELY, and the other ... yep! You got it: on the roof racks! We're talking about 175lbs EACH. I'll bet I looked like the Beverly Hillbillies on the way home - on the Expressway, no less! Man, I should have taken a pic of that! But BOY do they make some noise! I didn't realize it'd be that prevalent! Do those clamp-on deflectors really work? P.S. just ignore the mop, storm window, furnace filters etc. hehe