scrounge

Hello, I've lurked for a long time but recently my `87 GL wagon was smashed in a rearend accident and now I'm looking to replace the tailgate. I've found one in a junkyard off of a `90 and was wondering how to get the wiring harness free when I remove it. I'm hoping to pull down the headliner and unplug it somewhere. Anyone know how to deal with the harness? I could cut the wires and solder them back together later but I'd rather unplug if I can. Thanks.

That 2GC is probably too much gas for a soob. The smallest engine I know of having one was a Vega 2300cc from GM, the biggest is an olds 455 (7.4 Liter) I have in my garage. They're not the same CFM, but even the Vega carb seems a tad big. Most (If not all) 2GCs have a power valve, which probably opens too soon for a Subaru, though you may find a stiffer spring for it. There's a great book out there called "Rochester Carburetors" by Doug Roe. It has some information on 2bbls as well as the Quadrajets. It's good reading if you're into Rochesters (all my other cars are Oldsmobiles) and has a lot of CFM, jet and rod info. Have you considered an early Rochester dualjet? It's smaller than a 2GC but it's basically a Quadrajet with the secondaries removed and uses the far superior Quadrajet metering system. It's trickier to adjust but worth it IMHO, I get better mileage out of Quadrajets when I keep my foot out of the secondaries. As someone said earlier, you may be better off with a varajet 2bbl. It seems like a staged 2bbl would be better on a Subaru. Good luck.

I had a CV joint puke this evening, never had one fail with such little warning: Only thing that could have been a symptom was some vibration at highway speeds, I thought my tires needed rebalanced. Out of the blue this afternoon the steering wheel started pulsing, the car pulled to the right and it started making noise. Seven miles later ball bearings were on the pavement and it wouldn't move! Pulled the lever for 4wd, and gently drove 35 miles home. Love my Subaru! Now for replacing the axle, is this thread a good guide? http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=75750&highlight=replace+axle I am a bit confused as to what DOJ means. If anyone can tell me or has any other advise I'm all ears. I work on cars all the time but the last axle I removed was in a Nissan and i had the factory service manual. Still don't have one for the Subaru. Thanks.

1987 GL 4wd wagon 1.8 2bbl (stock) 5-speed gentle driving 25 daily driving 29 highway with A/C 18 on the trail

GM cars from the `80s use a low pressure switch that screws onto an extra schrader valve on the evaporator. If nothing else, you may be able to adapt a GM pressure switch to the harness and screw it on to your low pressure port. They're adjustable by a screw located between the spade connectors: I've adjusted at least 3 down to the correct R134a pressure on my old Oldsmobiles. Ask for a low pressure switch for a 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme (RWD) with the 3.8 V6....Or just about any other GM car between 1978-1987 or so.

The engine was out by Saturday afternoon. It just needed more persuasion. Installed the clutch kit, and moved on to timing belts, cam seals, tensioners and an idler. Waiting for the last of the parts to come in tomorrow. Thanks for the helpful suggestions.

I have a 1/8 inch crack between the engine and transmission at the top, and just a tiny little bit at the bottom. (The exhaust is removed from the car, so it's not in the way.) I think I have it started, I just expected things to slide apart more smoothly once the seal is broken. I'm used to popping the motor free and hauling away. Thanks.

That sounds right. In short, there's 4 fasteners holding the engine to the transmission? I've tried wiggling the tranny up and down with a jack, I still have trouble. I don't like prying too hard on the cast aluminum, maybe I need to give it a little more grunt. I'll remove the power steering pump, that may help some. Thanks.

This is an 87 GL 4wd wagon with the overhead cam 1.8 motor. I'm in the midst of pulling my engine to replace a clutch. How hard is it to separate the engine from the transmission? I'm having a bear of a time. I only want to shift it forward to get to the clutch, but the engine and transmission won't separate. I count 2 bolt and two nuts to remove? Is it normal to have the two lower studs bind? That appears to be the trouble. The top pulls free pretty handily but the bottom doesn't like to budge. It also looks like I will need to remove the power steering hoses, but I'm hoping to leave the AC compressor where it's at since there seems to be enough slack in the lines. The motor mounts are clear of the engine cradle. I've pulled my fair share of vintage Oldsmobile Rocket V8s, so I'm not completely new to this, but the little soob is tenacious. Any suggestions are appreciated, thanks.

I'm not sure what you're thinking of here, you mean drill a hole through the trunk pan for the eye bolt, run it through a hole drilled in the lid and put a padlock on it? I'm not a big fan of drilling holes in trunk pans, it's a good place for water (and rust) to seep in. You could buy a hasp from the hardware store (the kind you would use on a shed door, cabinet, etc.) and install that on the lid. It's not pretty but it will just be a lump under the carpet when you're done. If you really want to secure the lid to the trunk pan, and want something slick, you could probably adapt a locking hood pin to work.

I have that picture because I was sizing up how close I was to wiggling under the pole. It's a good thing the windshield couldn't make it under, I would have ended up crowned on the roof rack. I wasn't thinking about the extra 4" of height in the back.

Went looking for a trail this afternoon for an offroad spin but all I found was this sign: . I just thought it made an amusing picture.

Nice project! Good to see there are still some clean wagons around SW VA. The old 'roos have their trouble with rust! Can't help with the D/R Swap parts, I'm still using mine. I've been enjoying my `87 GL wagon (and lurking here) since I bought it almost a year ago.

I may look into the PCV valve later once I feel brave enough to deal with that rat's nest of vacuum hoses under the air cleaner. Thanks.

I run the cheap stuff...87 octane I think? Didn't expect a low-performance non-turbo motor to require more than that.

Well I worked on the EGR valve Sunday afternoon. As it turns out, someone before me blocked off the exhaust tube inlet at the EGR valve with a piece of copper shim stock between the flange and gasket. I also lucked out with the EGR valve; it's not bleeding vacuum, the vacuum hose was. I haven't been able to take it on a decent test drive yet, the engine is shuddering now under part throttle. I replaced the EGR blockoff but still have the shudder, so I must have disturbed a vacuum line somewhere. I'll have a better look at it tomorrow in the daylight, once I find my vacuum leak and cure the shudder I'll get the EGR working again. Thanks for the responses.

Hello. I have been lurking here for awhile since recently buying an `87 GL 4wd wagon. I've worked on my own cars for years and know my way around them very well, though this is my first Subaru. I've been burning up the search button for the last week and haven't come up with much on the EGR valve so I thought I'd ask: The EGR valve moves when I apply vacuum directly to it, but it has a slow vacuum leak. Can anyone tell me if this is typical on Subarus? I can manually move the valve diaphragm by hand but the engine won't stumble when I do this while it's idling, so I think I have a clogged passage somewhere. Is this do-able with a coat hangar and a can of carb cleaner(preferably without breaking bolts? )? I'm hoping to clear up some light mid-throttle pinging. Thanks a bunch.