SubaruBratBoy

Well when i took my rotors to be turned i also took my caliper to see if they could put the rubber gaskets on for me, when i came back they told me that the caliper was junk and that the piston was stripped. So looks like all my hard work to remove the rust and what not was all for not.

Alright so i bought that little brake block thing but i couldn't get enough leverage with it so i went back to the channel locks and a small hammer. I was able to tap and turn and lowered it a little more but it still is just barely catching on the side of the brake pad. Going to send a picture to 86bratman of the piston and see if that is as low as it goes.

I believe ill pick one of those up tomorrow Thanks! Soon, very soon I will be driving this puppy! It is taking me a while for this left side i guess just because this is my first one. I am encountering all of the problems now so when i go to the right side ill have everything i need and should take a day Then i will not be so worried about driving!!

Thanks miles, I'll definitely give that a try. Im going to have to get another one of the rubber things that covers the side of the piston because in the process of trying to twist the piston i caught hold of the rubber and ripped it open really good so i just removed it completely for now.

No I compared the old rotors to the new ones and the old pads to the new ones. The pads fit great inside of the thing that attaches to the caliper. The caliper has a single piston, it will not even get over the brake pads to reach the raised spots on the pads. The pads are completely pressed against the rotor. I just don't know if there's any other way to lower the piston any more. It has the i hour glass shaped piece, which is the best way i could describe it, that is raised outwards. It goes down for maybe | | that much then it goes closer to the center. The bottom of the widest part of the piston is just at the base of the caliper, maybe sticking out a little higher. I don't know how well i am describing this. But it just seems like something is too thick. The old brake pads fit with the new rotors. Can the rotors be ground down professionally to fit the new pads?

Well maybe it's a rotor issue. So i bought brand new rotors, and pads. I have turned the piston on the brake assembly until it doesn't lower any more but it still will not go over the brake pads and rotor. is there something i am not doing? 1986 brat, do the pistons need to be pushed or is it purely twist to lower it? The worn brakes would fit..... but i don't want worn brakes. Does the rotor need to be turned or whatever that's called to remove some of the thickness so the brakes can be put on?

That worked perfectly, I was able to remove the entire thing and clean it really good. I went to bed last night at 3am and woke up at 6am this morning because i couldn't get it off my mind.... I have subaruitis.....

Awesome thanks so much! That's just what i wanted to know. I have some spray paint especially for calipers and rotors and what not. So im going to remove all the rust and coat that puppy good.

alright so i was changing just about everything on my subaru because the rotors and brakes were in real bad shape. I don't know the last time this stuff had been changed but it definitely had time for rust to glue it all together. After breaking a crappy set of wrenches i had to bring out the big guns. I was able to remove the bolts holding the whole caliper assembly to the axle area im not sure the technical name for it. But i am trying to remove the entire assembly so that i can clean it and remove the rust and what not. My problem lies there. There is a hose which i found comes from the emergency brake(it helps to let that off when trying to change brake pads) and i don't know how to detach it. I would just remove the 2 bolts holding the bracket that the hose is on to the caliper but as i mentioned earlier rust gluing everything together and with it hanging free i have no leverage. If i put the bolt back in holding it to the axle area i can no longer reach these two bolts. Reccomendations?

haha well it's 3:33am and i just got off work. Working at an emergency clinic is great money but you get called in at all hours. Yeah when i saw your name Bratman i thought man that'd be a great vanity plate for my subaru. Is it already taken? Cause worse comes to worse i could be Bratboy. But you know Bratboy sounds like a side kick, like robin... ill e-mail you the pics in the mornin so i can go to bed. I really want to keep my four-wheel drive on my brat. Would it be easier to change it into an AWD or have it front wheel drive and be able to put it into the 4wd high and low or whatever.

Alright due to the size of the pictures and my not knowing how to make them smaller i had to post them on my myspace page. http://www.myspace.com/danaanhenry once you get there click on pics and choose the album labeled "my brat" it may take a minute or so for the pictures to load.

Pics shall be taken tomorrow! So about the post earlier for an ej22 engine, you mentioned getting the transmission of a late 80's rx. I am just trying to do some searchinh and reading about all the possibilities and costs. Now i have four wheel drive, that requires a different transmission correct? But is it called the subaru RX transmission? cause i can't find anything about an RX.

Love the hood scoop!

haha already decided on the 4inch lift kit! About the thermostat my car is heating up too quickly so i need a thermostat that regulates faster, a lower temp thermostat. I would love to get some nice tocoma wheels. About the jack, my little jack that comes inside the hood just didn't seem sturdy enough to me on my gravel so i bought a craftsman 2 1/4 ton hydraulic jack with two jack stands. the original jack is supposed to fit in that groove just under the doorframe. I don't know any good spots to put my jack so as not to mess up my car, and i also want to use my jackstands.

brumby what exactly is a brumby? My first real task today was finding a place to put the jack to lift up my car. Man there isn't much for it to rest on but i finally found a semi sturdy place. My second task was getting the nuts off the tire... those things were in super tight!!!! it actually BENT my tire iron, twisted the head of it about 90 degrees. I finally got it off with some lube on the nuts but at a closer looked i noticed the rotors aren't in very good condition so im going to replace those then ill get a lower thermostat so i regulate water faster. The autoparts store has rotors for 33.37 each which shocked me! So anyway things are going great i have been sanding away the dust on the rims and painting some rust proof enamal on them. Things are going great

I understand completely. I have been reading the subaru repair manual but it just isn't the same without actually being able to get in there and see for myself. Bought myself a jack and jackstands so tomorrow im going to raise him up and get up under there and take a look at everything. The rims have a lot of rust on them so im going to work on those first i think. It also came with two snow tires on subaru rims so ive got extra just incase. Unfortunately i can't play with Steve today cause ive got to go to work. Since i have weekdays off ill be spending lots of time outside. He drives great will keep you updated. Someone recommended taking the carb apart first, something simple. So I think once ive got some of the body work done ill start with that. Thanks everyone that posted here. Good to know theres a community for brat people!

!!!!!! Well I am home with my new roo! Named him and everything. The name is Steve in memory of my uncle cause he had always wanted a brat. Unfortunately no pictures today cause my camera requires these weird things called batteries. But I am already in love with the car. It has a roll bar which was inconveniently placed over the spot that the brats have the hereditary problem for rust and was WELDED on. It already had a hole on either wheel well. Not to mention the seats in the back were welded on as well. There was tons of dirt and crap back there and the seats were in piss poor condition so i took a dremel to the welds and ripped the seats off. Unfortunately under those welds were some bad rust spots that ripped up a little squarish section of the bed. But with that out of the way it leaves me room to remove the roll bar, derust it, fix the rust spots on the wheel well, and since i am a blacksmith i figured i could actually forge the end of the roll bar that set on the wheel well to actually conform to fit evenly. As to hold it down i was thinking bolts and make sure no rust can get in. I know it's hard to picture without images but any suggestions? I figure there are tons of seats out there that people are trying to get rid of so i could get a new set and bolt them down instead of having them welded On the drive home i noticed it has a little bit of a problem with heating up, especially on uphills in 4th gear, once it gets hot it starts loosing power i guess due to the expansion. If i was wanting to get that EJ22 would i need a better radiator? What could i do to help it with its cooling for now until i am ready to have the new engine? It was kinda funny because at first i didn't have my dremel, all i had was a cold chisel and a drill hammer and a pry bar. I had half of the seats off before i remembered the dremel. But you still don't get between a boy with a hammer, chisel, prybar and a good understanding of physics....... WHOOA!!

Awesome, thanks for being straight up that's really what i need. Well I will be picking up shortly and will finally get the chance to drive it and see what id like to change about it. Thanks everyone for your posts! I'll be sure to get pictures for you I really want a brush guard too! I saw at subarubrat.com how to make a really tough one but i don't have a welding machine.

Thanks so much! Alright so if i could find a EJ22t what type of tranny would i need? Im guessing it wouldn't be too terribly hard to find the ea81t crossmember. Would lifting the vehicle affect how the engine was placed or anything of that sort? But yeah if you could tell me what type of transmission i would need for that engine im sure i could find it

Yeah i think the Ej22 is what ill go for. I would much rather have reliability. I figured there are other things i can do to add more power as well. This won't require a new transmission will it? I thought it would be a good idea so i purchased a chilton's manual for the 1986 subaru brat. My big thing is this: I have no way of removing or installing a new engine. I could buy the engine have it shipped and probably get the other required materials for installing. But actually lifting to put it in eeehhh. I am very serious about fixing this vehicle up. It's in great condition and is a car that i could really be proud of. Again im not very knowledgeable when it comes to vehicles. An engine must be designed for a turbo correct? I could not just buy an EJ22 and add a turbo to it? If i am correct in that assumption would a turbo EJ22 be just as unreliable as a turbo EA82? I hope i don't get too annoying with my simple questions there's just so much going through my mind. Picking the car up in roughly 12 hours and i know there's not going to be sleep coming to me tonight. I have never been more excited about anything ever. I already have a general repair manual for subarus that i have been reading because i really have nooooo idea whatsoever about all of these different parts and i believe that this manual will help me have a better understanding of what everyone else may have to say. Thanks for your quick responses! If interested ill have photos tomorrow.

okay having read more on the forum im trying to figure out what i want now. EJ22 or EA82 turbo. Ive seen more for the EJ22. Don't know anything about installing engines or wiring them up or the such. I would like to have this car on the road, i want to lift it, i want bigger tires as well. Though I would like to take it off road every now and then but nothing serious like major mud slinging. It's 4wd didn't know if that made a difference in the required engine. So if it's not to o much trouble could you give some pros and cons to each engine? Thanks

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SUBARU-GL-LOYAL-BRAT-ENGINE-1-8-LITER-SOHC-TURBO-EA82_W0QQitemZ140124554357QQihZ004QQcategoryZ33615QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem That's the engine i was looking at to put in my subaru. Is that a possibility? You mentioned rear discs. Do you mean brakes? Or is that something for the transmission? Again im not sure what a lot of this stuff means but i am really interested in learning about it.

I just became the proud owner of a 1986 subaru brat. I want to fix it up but i really don't know where to begin. I have never been real knowledgeable when it comes to fixing cars. But I have an idea of what I would like to do and was wondering the best way to go about it. I will be picking the car up tomorrow and will then be able to get an up close and personal look at it. It's a 1986 subaru brat GL. I want to get some more HP to it. Always wanted a vehicle with a turbo, possible to buy a turbo and install it? Would that require a new tranny? Lifting doesn't seem like it'll be that hard but for shocks if i lifted would that require new shocks? I am just bubbling over with questions. I haven't been sleeping well lately because i have been so excited about getting this car. I don't know much about these definitions such as EA81 and EA82. I have come to understand though that i think my car has an EA81. Would love to have a mentor that could break this jargon down into dummy language Thanks so much! Danaan

I too just became the proud owner of a 1986 subaru brat. I want to fix it up but i really don't know where to begin. I have never been real knowledgeable when it comes to fixing cars. But I have an idea of what I would like to do and was wondering the best way to go about it. I will be picking the car up tomorrow and will then be able to get an up close and personal look at it. It's a 1986 subaru brat GL. I want to get some more HP to it. Always wanted a vehicle with a turbo, possible to buy a turbo and install it? Would that require a new tranny? Lifting doesn't seem like it'll be that hard but for shocks if i lifted would that require new shocks? I am just bubbling over with questions. I haven't been sleeping well lately because i have been so excited about getting this car. I don't know much about these definitions such as EA81 and EA82. I have come to understand though that i think my car has an EA81. Would love to have a mentor that could break this jargon down into dummy language Thanks so much! Danaan