pwjm

Thanks for the info! It's been my experience with VLSD's that they tend to stop working fairly early in their life and don't take abuse well. At least in my nissan and a buddies miata. For my nissan, it's actually not something you can repair as it's a sealed unit.

When comparing Loyal's (4wd) with legacy and impreza's (awd)... how do the awd systems of the early 90's work. since most models didn't have any special diffs in them, was it pretty much just power to one wheel, but it could go to any wheel. I understand that most 4wd systems guarantee that at least 2 wheels (1 front and 1 back) get power to them. if anyone can help clear this up, it'd be greatly appreciated.

got it all done tonight. Had a lot of little issues and basically redid the same side like 3 times. Lol.. its a learning curve that's for sure. We ended up removing the axles from the car so it was easier to work with. then used the castle nut to pull the axle through the bearings. Re-pressed the outside bearing cause it had moved, and made sure things weren't super tight (they were once). Bolted it all up and drove 15km back home with no more howling front end! yay!

Got the wheel assembly's all apart today to replace the bearings and overlooked the fact that each side has TWO bearings. as well the parts guy didn't give me the right inner(or outers?) grease seals. Two of the 4 fit, the other two did not. That left me with enough parts to assembly one side before getting parts tomorrow. I used the press at the shop but it seems like the outer side bearing didn't press in all the way. the seal sticks out about 1/16'th of an inch. Will this be okay to install like that if that is indeed the case? P.S. anyone know the correct part number for the seals? are they the same for inner and outer? For ref: 87 Gl hatch 4wd.

local shop quoted me over 400 to get the job done... not the worst I've heard but I know I can do it dirt cheap if I do it myself. how hard is it? and will i need any special tools beyond wrenches and sockets? for ref its an 87 ea81 4wd.

EA81 hatch, it's been a little harder on gas lately, and is backfiring between shifts and when decelerating. Usually just a quiet Put put put on decel, and occasionally a moderate POP between shifts... although it can sound like a gun shot If I Floor it from the bottom of the gear. I looked over the vac lines a little bit and they all seem attached properly, didn't look to hard for cracks though. The exhaust smells very rich as well. this is the first carbed vehicle I've ever had, so I just need some advice on where to start looking for problems.

K, thanks Yo'J. Looks like there is indeed some play in the steering rack on the passenger side. Anyone know if it's safe to drive like this for a little while? The noise isn't insanely loud or violent sounding and the car still tracks straight. It's Xmas and I need to go see my family on thursday. Can I tighten something up and fix it in car or am I going to need a new steering rack like Yo'j said. Old suby parts like this are a pain to find here, do other models share the same rack as my GL hatch?

I swear, the deeper the snow gets, the more I love this car. Me trying desperately to pull my buddies toyota up the hill... lol.. right. Worth a shot though. Sorry about the craptastic quality... my cell takes terrible videos. Hmm guess you can't embed youtube videos on these forums??

hmm thanks for the input guys! I forsee myself having some problems already though. The nozzles are in the cowl, not on the hood... time to get dirty and just fix it or break it I guess.

the PS one works pretty good, but the DS one barely makes it over the windshield wiper. Do those nozzles come off or anything so I can replace it? Also when its cold out the squirters tend to barely work at all. they have legit bug wash in them so they shouldn't be freezing, but does the motor that power the nozzles stop working in the cold after a while?

Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough but a lot of stuff I found on google relating to how each of these systems work is a lot of marketing BS. I continually hear conflicting ideas from friends and media about how awd systems work. I understand 4wd systems. Both one front tire and one rear tire have power going to the tire with the least amount of traction... Limited slips and lockers fix this, and that's why people install them. On most AWD cars, isn't it safe to say that unless they have at the very least, a center diff with LSD, only one tire on any given corner of the car will get the power, and it's most likely to be the tire with the least traction. Am I missing something here? Who the hell would buy an AWD car with open diffs all the way around? And yet they are advertised as these very capable vehicles... anyone know a good thorough guide that breaks it all down without the marketing hype?

I'm finally starting to get the hang of pitching my 87 Hatch sideways on the snow, but it's a big adjustment not being able to use the E-brake to do it. I do a bit of a Scandinavian flick and steer the wrong way briefly then crank it hard into the corner. It generally throws the back end out, but on occasion I scare the crap out of myself and briefly under-steer dangerously close to a ditch. How do you other 4wd guys do it? Scandinavian flick? Just turn real hard and wait for the front tires to bite? Clutch kicks?

Just had to share that this 7 dollar part was hands down the best part I've ever put on my EA81!!! Car warms up faster and doesn't run nearly as rough when its cold out! Carb heater hose = win. I finally kind of understand why they run coolant lines through the TB's on EFI cars now.

1987 GL hatch, 4wd EA81 The symptom: over 50kph when going straight or during right turns it sounds like my tires are 33" boggers humming down the highway. SLIGHT vibration like an unbalanced tire, but its good to 120 kph so that's not it. If I get on the brakes, or start turning left at all it goes away. I've only got three guesses and enough money to get one fixed. lol Axle Alignment Wheel bearing I think it might be the alignment because the outside edge of my Front Pass tire is balding but I just thought it was because of he positive camber till now. Also when turning all the way to the left the steering tends to lock itself there like it wants to keep turning left. Not so when turning right. The car also pulls slightly to the left while driving, thought not incredibly bad. anyone have experience with this kind of problem?

what color smoke? It might just be condensation in the exhaust, sometimes you'd be surprised how much can come out once it starts getting warm. If its not condensation I think I've had the same thing happen on my EA81. I was just leaving the movies and let the choke rev the motor up to warm it up and suddenly a cloud of white smoke passes by me... I idled it down immediately and assumed the freshly installed headgasket was a failure, but to my suprise there was no more smoke. Even when revving it, still no smoke... just for that couple of seconds did it smoke and then nothing. And nothing since. I chalked it up to condensation and old coolant that dripped in the exhaust from the HG job. If its not that, it must be an emissions thing... I don't think HG's open up and seal themselves randomly like that.