kodiak1232003

okey-dokey...thanks.

hey, maybe you missed my other post...I'm getting a bumper fabbed pretty soon and wondered if you'd mind putting up a few more shots of yours... All the fabricators down here are used to using tube for the prerunners (think baja 1000) but I haven't seen a setup I liked until I saw yours. I like how it follows the lines of the front end and ties in on the corners. I'm thinking mine will be the front part of a simple/tight exo cage, too.

yeah' date=' thats the one. I thought it was fitting since "Subaru" is japanese for the star cluster Pleiades (seven sisters). After I found that out it opened up a bunch of opportunities for names...lol. here's an action shot. note the ghetto, "made the night before" roof rack. We didn't end up needing the extra fuel, I only burned a 1/4 tank the whole day: [img']http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb64/kodiak1232003/subie1.jpg[/img] it also held an axe/shovel mount, which both went un-used, but I'd never be on the trail without them.

Need to fix a few things. Oil leaks for one. Valves need setting, for another.. Also due for an oil change. all pretty much general maintenence, really. Other than that, Celeste, as my wagon has come to name herself is acting like a good girl. I've been tallying my mpg and i get between 23-25mpg consistantly with a 46 mile(total) commute each day. I fill up on arco 87 cheap stuff, and she still purrs with contentment. I have the stock (what, "hitachi"?) carb and I smogged with very little emissions last month. I wish I could put a bigger gas tank in. How big is my stock one? Even with such good mileage I have to fill up each week with a range of about 220 miles or so. Some days I can't even imagine putting her up for sale, cuz she's such a good runner, but I just can't figure how to get a family of five in a four seater. Good thing we have our van, I guess! Regards, Brian

This story has me laughing at work!! LOL...One question. Where/how did you shift with a girl sitting over your center console? I would think the shifter would be located in an "ahem" interesting spot in front of the girl.

could you take a front-on and above shot of your bumper? i really like it...

lol...mines gonna take a while. it read 68,000 +/- miles right now. its a 1981 ea81 4wd wagon.

talk about spooky. Not sure I'd want to see those in person...

Hey all, thanks for the kind words. Yeah, it was in fact Coyote canyon, a trail we've been on and enjoyed before in a different rig. First time, though, for us in the subaru and also first time for my dad on the trail (lives outa the area). They were hotshoting for the day, and had to make it off the trail at a certain time, hence the abbreviated trip. We woulda gone further if not for the time constraint. Awesome time none-the-less. As for that last water crossing, my very-pregnant wife got a "spooky" feeling @ the last second as I was securing a dry cotton rag over the intake and readying for a swim. Seeing as how she is carrying my child, and possesses secret powers during this transitory state(as I'm sure some of you lads who are fathers have experienced:grin:) I decided to park the subie on this side of the crossing and use good ol' leg power to get across. I'll have to sort out a snorkel/lifted breather system before I go out again. At that point, "its on!" Regards, Brian

thats my dad and stepmom in the FJ80. subaru did great. drove the 90 miles there and back, then ran the trail, with nary an issue.

No way, man, Thanks for the all hands on deck response. Got me thinkin' about what I'd try after I swapped the filter, if it didn't make a difference. I took the car on the same hill on the way out of san diego with my two girls in the back and as much gear as i could muster. that darn car was running up the hill @ 75 in 4th gear @ about 3900 rpm. No stuttering, no loss of power, no stalling, no hesitating. subaru's: they defy logic @ every turn. Love it.

well I don't know if it fixed my fully loaded, road to alpine problem, but swapping out that filter did breathe new life into my rig, nonetheless. feels like a different car. I'm going to try to replicate the drive as best I can up to where It was having trouble on sunday, but at this point I'd say that the old, clogged filter was the problem, as I did have a chance to run it up a BIG hill near me up to Crest. Its about a 3 mile ascent with about the same grade, and though it was just me, I felt like I had power in reserve and NO SPUTTERING at all!

hmmm. here's my fuel pump (silver square-background) and fuel filter (whitish-foreground). For the life of me, I'd say this is my only fuel filter. you can tell its not a vapor seperator cuz in only has an inlet/outlet just like a normal filter. My engine has ea81 cast into the block. and my rig is an '81. So, my question is, can I just swap out this filter which I can't seem to find for a regular in/out tube type filter? purolator 20011 was what they gave me. I don't think there would be a problem updating the filter, i just wanted to check.

Thanks for the great idea's. I'll get on some of those. A mechanically minded gent here @ work also suggested I think about the fuel pump. Anyone have any info on a good replacement? Cost? Location on the vehicle? (i assume near the gas tank) supplier? Preferred brand? Thanks, Brian

I was pretty bummed. Here's the deal. Fired up, gassed up and ready, we left @ 9am in 72 degree weather. I hopped on the 8 freeway out of san diego, and started the climb up into Alpine. Get up to speed and with a full load of supplies and family, I started to get a miss/stumble in 4th gear around 3800-4000 rpm. I down shifted to 3rd as the car eventually slowed down and still couldn't keep it at speed. Coupled with this was an aweful, metallic, throaty sound coming from the exhaust pipe.So i pulled off at the next exit, with nary a problem, and checked everything out.Nothing seemed out of place, so we tried another bit of freeway. NO-GO. We ended up turning around, and darn it if the war-wagon didn't drive perfectly fine down the hill and across the flats to our house. It also drove fine to work this morning, though if i mashed the throttle in 4th, I could get it to stumble a bit, and could also get it to go away if I eased it up to 65 on the shallow hill (8west to 805north interchange) I was on. Here's some speculation: -Its not bad gas, as I realized I've had this problem for a while (at least 5 tankfuls). I've also had it similarly fully-loaded before without any stumbliing/missing, just not the sized hill I did yesterday. -Seems to me like a fuel or spark supply issue. -I'm not going to start throwing obscure parts @ it, but I will change out some major ones. -I'll start with the fuel filters. Could be that they're plugged and just not getting enough fuel to the carb for the load of going up the hill. (I.E. bowls are emptying too quickly, not enough supply) and they came with the rig as extra parts, so I'm not out any money. -Next I'll change out the coil. When a coil is getting old, sometimes is simply doesn't provide enough spark under load, and misses a plug ever few cycles. (This is a $20.00 part locally.) -If those two don't fix it, I may just let it ride. I don't need this rig to take me other than from work to home, and at this it's a great rig. Feel free to post up your thoughts...remember this is a NON-computerized, carbed motor, so think before you post about checking engine codes, as this car doesn't have a computer...lol! -

I ended up pulling the trigger on an entire cooling system refresh, save for the water pump which was just fine. Car is cooling perfectly and I feel great knowing my lovely alumiLump motor will be happy for a long time, cooling-wise. I also took my car in for smog today and it passed with FLYING colors. I had just about ZERO emissions compared to the max and average levels. Awesome. It feels great knowing my subie has emission levels and mpg along the lines of a newer sedans, maybe even some hybrids. I also like that I am certainly keeping my carbon footprint small by recycling an economical, vintage car, utilizing the energy already expended making the car. And it sure is fun, too!!! So I get my stickers and the title in my name (I had been driving it on a temp registration until now) soon, in the mail. I are stoked...just thought I'd share! -Brian EA81 GL 4x4 wagon

thats where I'm at too... thanks for you help so far Bratman...I appreciate it:)...My wife and I have been impressed with the helpfulness of this board (I'm used to Pirate4x4..lol:grin:) I'm Brian, BTW...

here's the update -let car cool down for a few hours last night. -added a bit of coolant cuz it was a bit low -fired up the car and let it warm up (cool night, about 60degrees) -started running hot after i ran it up and down the driveway a few times stopping to pop the hood to see if the fan was on after each run up. I checked the fan and it never turned on -I put 12v to the fan, and it spun right up to speed like there was no problem...hmmm...thermal switch? in line fuse? i checked the fuse box under the dash and all fuses there were fine. -Drove the car to work today(had to, no back-up car) and the sucker had the temp pegged right at the normal mark (again, about 55degrees out) and it NEVER moved during my 22 mile drive, with nice cool air blowing through the radiator. good sign. -once i pulled into my parking lot, I let it idle for a minute while i gathered my briefcase. Sure enough, the temps started to raise ever so slightly. so this makes me think the fan is a big part of the problem, seeing how the car runs fine with airflow through the radiator. My next stop would be the thermostat, though it seems like i'd be having trouble even at speed, once the car was warm. ? oh, and both radiator hoses are in good shape and warm up evenly when the engine is running In any case, its going in to get looked at today...

alright. am i correct in assuming the thermostat is located under the upper radiator hose on the passenger side of the engine? I don't have a service manual, so any pics posted/advice would help.

yup, topped off. not sure on the fan. I'm torn about testing it right now, as I'd like to cool it enough to swap the thermostat.

here's the symptoms.... -no indication of anything till today. engine heats up and stays steady in the middle of the gauge. -got off freeway and came to a stop at a light and steam started billowing from radiator cap. -rad cap hot to touch -hoses intact -steam from under the cap -let it cool and it ran well with temps a bit high, but not damaging-high on the way home from original spot. -oil is clear, fresh and new. no milkshake I might try a thermostat first, just cuz its only 8 dollars and some coolant. thought i would throw a fresh drive belt on there, too in case the pump isn't being spun enough. present one is kind of glazed. any thoughts? new to troubleshooting this motor, but not motors in general...

ah! i heard bearings and got distracted, i forgot that loyale clarified what he meant. I'm not exactly sure on the brand, but I believe they were new cuz we called around to local parts houses and only found reman'd. We then found a parts house in L.A. that had NEW shafts and chose those ones. I'm going to call him today and ask him about the whole issue. any ideas on the "getting warm and no noise" thing?

understood on the shop, guys....i'm not defending them, I simply understood the work being done and observed a complete install, with no wierdness, so I'm just at a loss as to this remaining noise. so would a complete disassembly of the tranny be involved to get the bearings out? at the very least i'd have to pull the axles right?

very cool