McDave

Could you post part numbers and prices when you get your Maremont stuff? THX

I agree the water pump is not the problem, if indeed he has a problem. If I've been keeping score correctly, he's replaced the thermostat twice recently, but is using aftermarket stats. The better question might be, what brand and does it have a jiggle pin?

If you weren't low on fluid originally, then the MC would have been the most likely suspect. Our shop always changes the MC and slave cyl at the same time. They both seem to fail at about the same time or the other will soon thereafter. A leaking hose is very rare, never seen one go bad otherwise.

When I bought my Subaru a couple months ago I got into a long discussion with the seller over HHO as he was one of these 'affiliates'. After I wore him down I asked him if he wanted to know how I actually doubled my gas mileage? Yes! I waived the papers to the car I just bought from him to replace my truck. I've since cut the miles driven nearly in half too. It's like paying only $1.00 per gallon all over again!

Actually I do. Techron (techrolene). It's the industry standard fuel system cleaner. MMO in the oil and gas tank works wonders for carbon too. It keeps my 5.3 Chevy from doing the dreaded morning lifter tap routine which is actually a carbon build-up knock in the piston quench area. BTW... what the heck is wrong with water injection? Have you ever noticed the cleanest cylinder on tear down is the one that had the blown head gasket? Did you tell that to your buddy before or after he blew up his 305? (in all fairness, it doesn't take much to push a 305 over the edge)

(shaking head) I still don't understand why people want to subject their engines to such harsh treatment.

There was a story on National news a couple months ago about how popular the Geo Metro had become. They showed one on eBay that went for over $14k! Spending a dollar to save a dime...

It's been a long long time since I tuned one with a vg. If memory serves, you would start with the timing retarded a bit, advance it until you reached max vacuum, then retard it a bit until it just starts to drop off. If you left it at max it would ping. To tell you the truth, I quickly learned to time by ear since the vacuum gauge movement was so slight compared to large movements of the distributor. It's too easy to be off by several degrees. It will get you in the ballpark, just fine tune by ear. The best use for a vg besides reminding you to keep your foot out of it, is in diagnosing engine problems. If you develop a misfire, a steady gauge will tell you it's ignition related. A jumping needle indicates a valve train or compression problem. A needle that easily goes to 0 or even + on modest acceleration indicates a stopped up exhaust. So many people are quick to start replacing parts like plugs and wires without doing basic diagnostic tests first. A vacuum gauge check is one of those tests and a true time and money saver if done first. Having one plumbed in to your dash full time should be standard equipment. PS 25-26 hg at idle is too high. It should be right at the yellow/green 20hg line at idle, tranny in neutral. It should also be at zero with the engine off. The gauge needs to be calibrated.

Any chance you're at MIT? http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN3145191020080731?sp=true MIT develops way to bank solar energy at home Thu Jul 31, 2008 2:07pm EDT By Scott Malone CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - A U.S. scientist has developed a new way of powering fuel cells that could make it practical for home owners to store solar energy and produce electricity to run lights and appliances at night. A new catalyst produces the oxygen and hydrogen that fuel cells use to generate electricity, while using far less energy than current methods. With this catalyst, users could rely on electricity produced by photovoltaic solar cells to power the process that produces the fuel, said the Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who developed the new material. "If you can only have energy when the sun is shining, you're in deep trouble. And that's why, in my opinion, photovoltaics haven't penetrated the market," Daniel Nocera, an MIT professor of energy, said in an interview at his Cambridge, Massachusetts, office. "If I could provide a storage mechanism, then I make energy 24/7 and then we can start talking about solar." Solar has been growing as a power source in the United States -- last year the nation's solar capacity rose 45 percent to 750 megawatts. But it is still a tiny power source, producing enough energy to meet the needs of about 600,000 typical homes, and only while the sun is shining, according to data from the Solar Energy Industries Association. Most U.S. homes with solar panels feed electricity into the power grid during the day, but have to draw back from the grid at night. Nocera said his development would allow homeowners to bank solar energy as hydrogen and oxygen, which a fuel cell could use to produce electricity when the sun was not shining. "I can turn sunlight into a chemical fuel, now I can use photovoltaics at night," said Nocera, who explained the discovery in a paper written with Matthew Kanan published on Thursday in the journal Science. Companies including United Technologies Corp produce fuel cells for use in industrial sites and on buses. Automakers including General Motors Corp and Honda Motor Co are testing small fleets of fuel-cell powered vehicles. POTENTIAL FOR CLEAN ENERGY Fuel cells are appealing because they produce electricity without generating the greenhouse gases associated with global climate change. But producing the hydrogen and oxygen they run on typically requires burning fossil fuels. That has prompted researchers to look into cleaner ways of powering fuel cells. Another researcher working at Princeton University last year developed a way of using bacteria that feed on vinegar and waste water to generate hydrogen, with minimal electrical input. James Barber, a biochemistry professor at London's Imperial College, said in a statement Nocera's work "opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production, thus reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem." Nocera's catalyst is made from cobalt, phosphate and an electrode that produces oxygen from water by using 90 percent less electricity than current methods, which use the costly metal platinum. The system still relies on platinum to produce hydrogen -- the other element that makes up water. "On the hydrogen side, platinum works well," Nocera said. "On the oxygen side ... it doesn't work well and you have to put way more energy in than needed to get the (oxygen) out." Current methods of producing hydrogen and oxygen for fuel cells operate in a highly corrosive environment, Nocera said, meaning the entire reaction must be carried out in an expensive highly-engineered container. But at MIT this week, the reaction was going on in an open glass container about the size of two shot glasses that researchers manipulated with their bare hands, with no heavy safety gloves or goggles. "It's cheap, it's efficient, it's highly manufacturable, it's incredibly tolerant of impurity and it's from earth-abundant stuff," Nocera explained. Nocera has not tried to construct a full-sized version of the system, but suggested that the technologies to bring this into a typical home could be ready in less than a decade. The idea, which he has been working on for 25 years, came from reflecting on the way plants store the sun's energy. "For the last six months, driving home, I've been looking at leaves, and saying, 'I own you guys now,'" Nocera said.

+1,000,000 http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=88082

I hadn't seen them until I ordered a new axle from the Honda dealer a couple weeks ago. $60 for an EMPI or $600 for a Honda axle that's not in stock. Um... I'll take the $60 one! Looked like a quality part to me. Just for grins you might see what your local Subaru dealer offers.

Rockauto.com is showing a 2 row copper/brass for an '87 GL. It may be worth a shot as it's a different size radiator than the Loyales.

You might consider doing the Seafoam treatment before bolting the rear pipe back up. That way all the gunk ends up on the ground instead of in the rear cat.

I'm not crazy about those Prestone flush taps. I had a truck in the shop a couple weeks ago with a small coolant leak somewhere. Having a hard time finding it, I finally just drove the truck to get it hot enough and found a slight drip off the tap. When I gave the hose a little twist to get a better look at where the leak actually was, the thing exploded in my hand and sprayed me down with scalding coolant. Fortunately I was right next to a sink. I've had to remove many of those taps as it seems they all eventually start leaking.

Yeah but you had to take the engine out to make room for it!.

Put a vacuum gauge on it. If there's a problem with the valvetrain or compression the needle will be bouncing.

I already replied in the other thread on Seafoam but since it applies here too, here goes. The reason I prefer a 'gentler' treatment is because we are dealing with an older car here that may already have issues with a restricted cat. Now I know Seafoam is perfectly compatable with cats but all the junk you'll be cleaning out of the engine could be too much for a marginal cat to handle all at once. I agree Seafoam, or Techron in the gas tank would be a better, gentler solution than down the intake in this situation. Now lets hear some results cole98!

I've used GM's top end cleaner and I know it's good stuff and I'm sure Seafoam is very similar and as effective. The reason I prefer a 'gentler' treatment is because we are dealing with an older car here that may already have issues with a restricted cat. Now I know Seafoam is perfectly compatable with cats but all the junk you'll be cleaning out of the engine could be too much for a marginal cat to handle all at once. Why not treat it with something that will clean the injector too, like Techron in the gas tank and let it work over a few miles. I noticed a big difference within 25 miles. What's the rush, it took 165k miles to get gunked up in the first place?

DO NOT use A/C stop leak!!!! When it still doesn't work and he has to take it to a pro anyway, that crap can, and will stop up the shop's recycling equipment. Really good way to piss off your mechanic! /soapbox

I got my best mileage yet with a gutted cat - 28mpg SPFI wagon A/C ON. Unfortunately the pipes were springing leaks faster than I could patch them so I had to put the original y-pipe/cat back on. I did take a good look inside the O2 sensor bung with a flashlight first. The honeycomb looked great. I hope it stays there for awhile and I get to keep the good mileage too. /dreaming

Hey I'm glad you figured it out! Whatever the reason, you can't argue with results.

I tried to tell ya in post #7! Originally Posted by Frank B If I can't find one by monday, I'm ordering the 5/8" from JC for $99. The 1 5/16" one was $153 from them, and I got the 5/8" one, so I might as well save myself some cash if that's all I'm going to get right? "I bet you end up with an aluminum one if you do that. If the size is going to be the same, the difference must be in the materials."

Just remember that since you're trying to cure a bog like I did on my Loyale, as per the other thread, that pouring Seafoam down the throttle body or pcv hose will clean the carbon off the valves and out of the cylinders, but it will do nothing for the insides of the injector. I can't be sure if my problem was carbon or a gunked up injector, but I do know that Techron in the gas tank took care of whatever the problem was. Since the improvement happened in such a short amount of time, I'm leaning towards the injector being gunked up. PS Performance continues to improve. I doubt I'll have to change the cat now.

Normally I would agree but I just had excellent results with Techron Injector Cleaner in the gas tank of my Loyale. It cured a bad off-idle bog I've had since I got the car a couple months ago. A fuel rail cleaner is certainly better, but a top brand cleaner like Techron in the tank is certainly worth a shot, imo.

Any auto parts store. I've never used it as I prefer gentler products like Techron in the gas and Marvel Mystery Oil in the oil.