Mendodave

Hey PK! Yes, that is a strong motor. Sure got cooked down there in SD, tho...just about every bit of rubber I've replaced in that engine compartment has been toast. I replaced the front main seal and it fell apart in my hand. Also swapped in a new PS rack. NO LEAKS!!! The new tranny is much tighter, the synchros are all sweet, and the trans mounts are.....better. Not good, but better. I am going to do the window weld idea posted elsewhere and make new ones. The tires are Michelin 185/75/14s. I had them on the old 'Roo, been sitting while I wore out those Walmarts. Unfortunately, I have flat spots on the alloys, if anyone on the board wants them they are available. Apparently I like to bash things more than I realize.... Can't feel them, but they are visible if you look closely. There is about 10k more meat on the tires. I will probably go 205/75/14 next. 186k on the old girl! That NX is a nice light bike. I am leaning towards the R1200G/S, but they are pricey.....still, probably be the last big bike I'll get, so why not? I have a '73 Honda 125 Scrambler to flog in the mud. Mendo

Yippeeee! I FINALLY put my spare '81 transmission in the PKmobile, and also went from the 15" alloy Pugs to the 14" steels. MUCH better gearing now, especially in the 3rd and 4th gears. NVZeno said it would help, and boy oh boy, it does. Now I am smack in the power band, 3200rpm in 4th is about 72mph (GPS) I drove about 25k at 4000rpms in 3rd. Now I can use 4th a LOT more. with the stock '84 trans I couldn't even shift to 4th until about 70 (4500+rpm) thanks for the tips, Dave and Brian! time to go bush bashing! Mendo

I agree, great writeup. Thanks, Pickle! I have a clutch that came with my extra trans. I have a lifted '84 wagon, and my spare trans is the '81, with lower ratio in third and fourth. Better for the bigger wheels, I've heard. When I did the clutch in my old Datsun 510, it was a big pain to align the clutch plate with the inputshaft, etc. I needed to get a clutch alignment tool. It seems to me I can put the clutch in, not tightened all the way, slide the trans part way in, so the input shaft on the trans aligns the clutch plate, then tighten all the clutch bolts. Am I wrong here? I need to get this tranny swap done, and your write up really got me started. I should put the clutch in while there, but need to get all possibly needed tools/parts before, its about 40 miles round trip to the parts store. I have the used clutch that came with the tranny, 110k on both, it looks pretty good, I have tranny mounts, and a new throwout bearing. If I need an alignment tool, can you make one from a broomstick or something else? Thanks! Mendo

Dave, We are getting hammered here in Mendo, we got high wind, we got lotsa rain, we got debris, and we still got power! i drove home in 4wd the wind is so bad. tree parts are everywhere on my road. time to pack the chainsaw yeeeeeeHA let me know when you have some fun snow to romp in. that frozen crap sucks d

Yeah! It is not just me! I keep a spare...but I think I was installing it wrong. Let me know about the snow too, dudes! Mendo

Yes, I had a nice trench in the pulley too, but I also had three pulleys to look at...one from my 245k subiemarine, one from my current engine (deepest)with 200k+, and the one I used was from my 115k spare engine....it had a minor trench...you can also reposition the seal in the housing so that it doesn't wear in the same spot. amazing what a groove rubber can wear in steel!

that was easy. busted the nut loose with a breaker bar and the starter, and it came right out. too easy, i think. the new seal needed to be glued in. the old one broke in pieces as i took it out. that engine got cooked! living in the desert really bakes the rubber out. the wires and hoses in the engine compartment all have been cooked. no more leaks!!! now on to the next project, my '82 tranny install. That will make the bigger wheels easier to spin. thanks again! david

Thanks! it is an EA81, so there ain't no timing cover. I don't think I have an exterior camshaft seal either.... should have specified the engine type.... d'oh! david

Hello all, I have had a persistant leak in front, hard to find where. Seems to be slower when the oil level is low. I thought it might be my highmileage oil pump, so I replaced that, but it still leaks. it seems the seals should be fairly easy to replace with the engine installed, take off the radiator, pulleys, etc...hook that sucker out, and tap in the new one. I am wrong in this? david

OK, fixed. My apologies, Brian, you were correct. Fix the spark, the gas comes later. There was no pulsing on the negative terminal on the coil, as Cougar suggested I check for...so, I yanked the distributor out of my spare engine, stuck it in there, and voila! Spark, Gas, Ignition! reminds me of a t-shirt I saw Suck, squish, bang, blow, that's what makes a thumper go! Thanks for all the support, everyone!

Well, I have voltage (12v) on either side of the coil, but I am off on a motorcycle ride this weekend and the beast will have to sit there. Didn't get a chance to check for the pulsing since it was starting to pour down rain. Back at it tomorrow afternoon thanks, everyone. david

Would this also kill the ignition system? Where is the fuel pump control unit located? Thanks!

I reconnected the battery, no go. I also feel it is something easy, a fuse/link/relay but heck, been wrong before! d

hmmmm the alternator was replaced about 8 months ago with a rebuilt one. would that kill the fuel pump and ignition if the regulator went out? the voltage regulator is built into the alternator on these years. hmmmmm yo Qman, you have a suggestion?

considering that i drove it to where it is, and the fuel/ignition took a dump at the same time, i think troubleshooting the ignition is a waste of time. i do have a spare coil, PK put a hotter one on there which has worked perfectly. The wires, cap, and rotor are less than a year old. It always starts, even after washing the engine off. I can stuff the spare coil in there tomorrow. Brian: I am good to go for all day Tuesday the 19th off, so if the wagon is going I'll stop by then. D

OK, no spark from the coil. No juice to the fuel pump. did my computer just die? The alternator is spinning, it cranks over just fine. I disconnected the battery, and will leave it off for an hour or so. maybe it needs a power recycle. Perplexed in Mendocino :-\

Another symptom? Even if I pour gas straight into the carb it won't fire...so the ignition and fuel systems go out at the same time? When I got home last night, I drove into the drive, parked, shut down the engine, and then noticed the windows weren't up, so I turned the key to ignition to get juice to the electric windows and rolled them up, and then turned off the ignition. Sounds like a fuse somewhere to me, the fusible links all check out, the fuses in the fusebox all check out. what the fsck? if it was a windows computer i'd reboot the peckerhead. sorry PK, not yet!

drove home last night, completely normally. I got up this morning, and no start. Cranks over quite well. I went home at lunch to check it out and there is apparently no fuel reaching the engine, the front fuel filter is dry. The rear one has lots a fuel in it, there is a quarter tank of gas. I pulled the fuel pump off and hooked it up to a spare battery, and it does its thing, so I checked the power at the fuel pump and there is no juice. I had the ignition switch all the way on, there should be power at the pump, yes? no? My BMW bike has a relay that activates the fuel pump when the starter turns, but this thing is a lot older. (1984 GL wagon) Is there a relay? All the fuses look good, is there a fuse somewhere else? any other ideas? Pulllleeeeeeaaase? Thanks for any help, Mendo

Thanks Miles! great idea, and ANOTHER part rescued from my '82 Subimarine! I sank a subie on the beach 3 years ago, and have been pulling bits off of it ever since. It has tilt, and I just got the shaft out of it, and the u-joint is in great shape. You get them from the yoke by grinding the little punches out and pressing in a vise? anyway, a step forward! Thanks again. Mendo

Thanks Brian, those calendars are the bomb great to meet you at the show, too bad i didn't get a photo of you on your rig watching the mud fly if you are ever in the Northern California area, look me up David

Hello Subie lovers, I have a 1984 GL wagon, the original PKmobile. I just replaced the power steering rack with a rebuild (from http://www.carsteering.com) and that nice tight rack made the slop in my steering coupler u-joint stand out like a....well, it is sloppy. I found one at the local PnP, only $10, but it came from a Subie with 197k on it, and has a bit of slop too. I just called the local Subaru store, since both my local parts shops said that they can't replace the u-joint, and SOA says that I have to buy the whole steering column! $400! this blows chunks. Has anyone gotten that u-joint replaced? I have the tighter one installed, so I can take the sloppy one apart, but one shop said the bearing caps are too small to replace. this doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but I thought I would put it out to you all. Thanks, Mendo

OK. That makes sense. I have three radiators, all the same, and I can see two rows of fins in it, but it only takes up about a third/half of the tank width. I could not believe that I had scored three different doublerow radiators. I definitely want to get one, if somebody has a part number. The PKmobile is almost ready for a Baja trip David

Can anyone tell me how you tell if the radiator that is in the car is already a double row? Should have asked this question at the WCSS! David

I just installed my rebuilt PS rack in the PKmobile, 4.5 hours, not a bad job at all. I got the rebuild from http://www.carsteering.com, and they were very good. There are three different racks available, naturally they sent the wrong one first. I have the '84 also. I got a PS rack from another '84 if you are interested, but it was not the right one for my car....may or may not be the right one for yours. I'll sell it for $50. Carsteering.com charged $200 for the rebuild David

hey Ventra my sister lives there, my family has been in HR for 50 years or more love to see those dirt roads, tho! meet you soon! I've got a faded maroon '84 GL wagon, lifted. I should hit the show by early afternoon on Friday. "Dog is my Copilot" and "Don't tread on Me" are my bumperstickers, CB antenna on top toodleooo, gotta pack!