subeman90

85 - 89 5 Speed D/R 4WD tranny into an 80-84 Body Style vehicle... This was out together after conversations with Qman, Eric, Mike, and the many discussions about it on the message board... Be sure to use loctite on all bolts when re-assembling 1. Put vehicle on Jackstands 2. drop exhaust 3. remove center consoles/shifter knobs, etc 4. remove bolts holding tranny to bell housing 5. remove sway bar 6. pull axles off stubs 7. remove drive shaft 8. plug end of tranny, or drain gear oil 9. remove starter 10. unhook speedo cable 11. disconnect any other connections to tranny 12. place jack under tranny and just take the weight off 13. take off tranny crossmember nuts 14. remove tranny mounts from tranny and crossmember 15. remove tranny and tranny crossmember 16. remove ea81 pressure plate/clutch 17. remove ea81 flywheel 18. replace rear crank seal if needed 19. grind edges of opening at bottom of bellhousing so the ea82 flywheel will fit without rubbing 20. transfer timing marks to ea82 flywheel if needed 21. replace pilot bearing in ea82 flywheel 22. install ea82 flywheel 23. install ea82 clutch/pressure plate 24. raise 5 speed D/R tranny into opening 25. install tranny crossmember 26. attach tranny to motor/bell housing 27. attach original tranny mounts to tranny and crossmember 28. prepare ea82 drive shaft. (If mounting into a Brat or Wagon no mods are necessary, if mounting into a hatch, the shaft must be shortened.) 29. weld carrier bearing mount into place 30. install ea82 drive shaft 31. weld carrier bearing mount into place 32. install sway bar 33. install exhaust 34. install axles 35. connect speedo cable 36. install starter 37. re-connect remaining tranny connections 38. intall interior ea82 boots/consoles

Stereo Console

Seat Interchange for Subaru's Thread from Ultimate Subaru Message Board, thanks to those of you that posted. AuthorComment</FONT>Mike W Local user (3/18/00 1:04:04 pm) Reply | Edit | Del AllSeat Interchange "85+ into '80-'84 Ok I know this is an old subject, but... I just grabbed some nice clean front seats out of a 86 wagon at the junkyard. I'm heading out to hopefully swap them into my '83 wagon. The question is: Will the rear seat out of the '86 wagon also fit my '83? Mike W Local user (3/18/00 9:59:57 pm) Reply | Edit | DelRe: Seat Inerchange "85+ into '80-'84 Well my new(er) seats sure are comfy and look good too. Especially after the hassle of making them fit my car. Ok, so I forgot that whoever had done this seat swap previously had said something about minor modifications were needed to make them fit. The seat tracks are a bit different so I had to install my old seat tracks onto the newer seats (I remembered this problem.) And I had to ovalize the holes in the seat track a bit to get them to line up with the holes in the seat (still no problem.) But the issue that had been totally deleted from my memory was that the newer seats are 1.125 inches wider and therefore adaptor plates are needed to move the outboard seat track inboard that amount to line up with the holes in the floor of the car. This hurdle wasn't too difficult to overcome but it did take some time to fabricate the adaptor plates. If installing the rear seat is even more fun, I think I'll just let my passengers ride in old fashion Suby seats. Does anyone know if the newer rear seats will fit my old wagon? Fescenine Local user (3/18/00 10:38:14 pm) Reply | Edit | Delwhat about the WRX ? are the bucket seats out of the WRX interchangeable with the Subaru's of the 80's qman Global user (3/19/00 6:51:06 am) Reply | Edit | Del Re: Seat Interchange "85+ into '80-'84 Hello Mike, I believe you will find that the rear seat is about the same amount wider as the front seats. If you don't have the the new one yet let me know and I'll have my Bro-in-law measure the rear seat in his 86 or 87 wagon and I'll let you know. Jim L Global user (3/19/00 7:08:56 am) Reply | Edit | Del What seats will interchange with an 86 Brat, my drivers seat is all torn up and I would like to swap it out. Thanks. qman Global user (3/19/00 8:06:04 am) Reply | Edit | Del Any seat from a Hatchback will bolt in. Any other seat from a 80-87 Subaru(2nd Gen) will go in but it may not lean forward enough to access rear area like the original seat does. Good luck BTW you may have to swap the seat tracks. McBrat Moderator (3/19/00 8:21:35 am) Reply | Edit | Del \ I believe all ea81 body style seats will interchange okay. I know I've taken a track from an 84 sedan to replace a broken one on an 86 brat... perfect match and ShawnW has put his 84 wagon seats into his 87 brat... Mike W Local user (3/19/00 9:14:00 am)For the rear seat, I think I'll try it before I buy it. It just occurred to me that the junk yard has some old wagons that I could test fit the newer seat in. I may not get back to the junk yard for a few days but I'll post the results in as it helps someone else. scoobydoo Local user (3/19/00 3:31:06 pm)If you're going to put GL/ Loyale seats in a brat, get ones from a 3-door. They have the release to get to the rear seat. ShawnW Moderator (3/19/00 3:53:36 pm)Yep Mick is right I did that and it works great. Jim, head out to the junkyard and find a nice passenger seat (they tend to be less worn out cuz how much time do you spend in your car alone?). If you get a chance look for a set of velour ones, I love mine, and they are much better in my opinion than the brat seats with the vinyl edges. They would also be more durable in my opinion. The 85+ style seats with the height adjuster is pretty cool too. Mike W Local user (3/19/00 9:04:00 pm)Are Hatchbacks supposed to have the automatic-scoot-the-seat-forward mechanism on both seats or just the passenger side? Mine only has it on the passenger side. Switzerland Local user (3/19/00 9:09:58 pm)My hatchback is the same way. I checked my owners manual, and it indicates that this is correct. Mike W Local user (3/21/00 6:38:03 am)Thanks for the heads up on the Hatch seats. I thought that both of the seats were original but wasn't sure. As for the newer seats I put in my wagon, they seem like they sit a little lower than the originals. I'll probably put some spacers between the tracks and seat bottom to give them a boost upwards. Thanks for the help folks. Skip Moderator (3/21/00 7:52:31 am)Shawn there are some really cool tips here. How do we go about getting them in the manual? The "scooch forward" feature would be great in my Brat as being 6'2'' the seat is way back. leaning the seat back-forward, sometimes isn't enough. And I most hard ally agree with you on the seat style. The height adj is a very nice feature, I have one on the GL-10 turbowagon. Along with the much better construction and velour covering, these be the seats I'm shopping for. If you're going to put GL/ Loyale seats in a brat, get ones from a 3-door. They have the release to get to the rear seat.

Dome Light Upgrade Thanks to Billy Clements of the Ultimate Subaru Message Board for this tip! The dome lights in the Early 80's Subaru's are terrible. They are not at all bright. This tip keeps your car all Subaru, while adding a feature of the newer Subaru models. remove dome light from 85+ Subaru (non-BRAT or hatchback). All that is holding it there is 2 holes and a plug on the back. Picture of back of both dome lights is below figure A. Go back home, after paying of course. Take the dome light off of your early 80’s soob… same applies as to step #1.. there is 2 screws and a plug Replace it with the newer dome light… you might have to use longer screws due to the headliner in a BRAT being slanted… That’s it. I told you it was simple! Now you have TONS more light, and it cost you practically nothing but time! ShawnW adds, why not put a brand new bulb in so you don't have to worry about it for a while? Images help don't they? Click on each thumbnail to get the larger picture. As you can see there is some obvious size differences, but the plugs, screw holes, switch orientation, and the shape of the bottom is very very similar. But the you can see that the newer style is going to put out soooo much more light because its not restricting light output in the cover at all. New Style ON Old Style ON Enjoy! Back to main

Tip: Broken Outer Door Handles In the rare event that our exterior door handles should break on your Subaru, I felt that you should know beforehand that they're an absolute pain in the neck to fix. It took me a good 8 hours to replace it in mine (2 hours of which was figuring out how to get the window back in afterwards). Part of the problem lies in the miniscule size of the holes through the door which Subaru left to put your hands to manipulate the locking mechanism. I have long, slender fingers so I was able to fumble around for a while and get it right. However, if your hands are not the smallest in the world, you might consider getting two long pairs of needlenose pliers and manipulating the lock that way. It just might make the job easier. Another possibility on early wagons, submitted by another page viewer, is that there are 3 screws holding in the latch assembly and the latch assembly can be removed and moved to a location where the connecting rod is easier to get to.

Rust Repair Thanks to Mark Howland aka Subeman of the Ultimate Subaru Message board for this! Excellent job of writing up this procedure. Procedure: First step is to be brave! Locate all of the rust. Remove any mud flaps, trim etc. Using tin snips, remove all the affected area. Then use a grinding disc and a wire brush to get the rest of the rust off, and to feather the bare metal into the good paint. Use a small hammer to slightly concave the repair area. Be sure to remove all of the rust or it will come back quickly. Next step is to make some patches out of some scrap sheet metal. I used sheet metal left over from a portable building I put up. It takes some time to cut and bend the pieces to fit well. I used a sanding disc to thin down the edges where the patch fits up near the good paint. Use pop rivets or sheet metal screws to attach them to the car. Next is to use that grinding/sanding disc to grind off the rivet/screw heads and edges of the patch so everything is as smooth as you can make it. Now comes filler time! I used regular Bondo, but I know there are other products out there. Follow the instructions on the can and smear it all over the repair, filling the areas around the edges of the patch, and rivet heads. You will have to let it dry and apply again until you get it all filled. When it is dry, use rough sandpaper to shape it, working up to finer grades of paper until it is all smooth. The next step is to use glazing putty to fill any tiny spots left, and any sandpaper scuffs. This is where patience pays off. Keep applying it, letting it dry, and sanding it down until you have a very, very smooth surface. Last step here is a good wet sanding with 400 or 600 grit paper. Your fingers work better than your eyes to tell when it is all smooth. After all is smooth, it is time to prime. Use a good quality automotive spray primer that is close in color to your car. Prime it and let it dry, this coat of primer will bring out any rough spots that remain. If you find any, hit them with glazing putty again. Keep priming and wet sanding until the surface is perfect. The top coat of paint will not hide any blemishes. Let it all dry and get ready to paint. Now it is time to paint. Wait for a low humidity day, with little breeze if you are working outside. I got my paint from O'Reily Auto parts. It was custom mixed to match my car perfectly, and then they put it in a spray can. Cost about 15 bucks a can, and I need 1 1/2 to do both sides of my car. Use a tack cloth to remove any dust from the surface, and then paint using light coats. A little wet sanding between coats really helps it get smooth. I used about 4 or 5 coats of paint. If you screw up and it runs, just wait till it dries and then sand off the drip and try again. When all is done, you will be proud of your efforts. On the inside of the car, I opened the trunk and got access to the area behind the repair. (near the rear window washer resovoir) I used a spray can of rubberized undercoating to coat this area well. A year has gone by since the repair, and it still looks great, with no rust. Wait a couple of months before you wax the area. Looks great Mark! Nice job :-) -ShawnW Back to Main Page

Adding Hood Vents to older Model Subaru's. Posted by Witte from the Ultimate Subaru Message Board. I first place the passenger side vent on the underside of the drivers side location where I want the vent. I then mark the bolt most to the center of the hood, close to the support. I then drilled the hole for it. Once that is accomplished you can use the driver side to mark the other two holes a drill them. Do the same for the other side. Now you need to shave off the mounting pads around the studs on both vents. They need to be flush with the leading edge on the front, and the back pad flush with the mesh in the back. then you can shave the front edge of the vent until it is flat across the entire front. YOu might want to go slow and d lots of test fits as its much easier to take more off later than to replace. I then marked the holes needing to be cut with a can of black spray paint, since I wanted the mesh painted black anyway. You could make a paper templet to transfer the shape needing to be cut if spary paint doesn't rock your world. I then used a dremel with some cutoff wheels to cut the opening. It was faily quick, and left a nice hole which I was worried that a sawzal might not do. Email Witte:ewitte@nmsu.edu Home

SteelyDel Brushguard Installation Currently the guard is only available for EA81(80-84 style front end) models so until the EA82 model guard is released the instructions will only apply to the older models. The guard ships in two pieces. The smaller bracket replaces the chrome pipe that is under the bottom front edge of the bumper. Then you have the other piece that is of course the guard. Remove the chrome pipe from your vehicle. First remove the skidplate if necessary then along the back of the chrome pipe are black vented metal pieces. Using 10mm socket or wrench remove the bolts that attach these. Use penetrating oil prior to removal or you might not have much left after removal. Then use a 12mm deep socket to remove the nuts on the end of the pipe and it will want to drop off (watch your head if you're under there!). That being removed now its time to attach the new piece that replaces your chrome pipe. Put the 12mm nuts back on and torque fairly hard. Acquire some nuts/bolts or whatever you prefer to use to hold the upper piece to the lower piece of the guard. You need 4 total for the bottom part of your guard and 2 smaller diameter but fairly strong/long bolts for the upper attachment to the top of the edge of your bumper. Loosely torque the bottom 4 nuts and bolts and then tilt the guard to the angle you desire. Now drill a hole thru your bumper (its plastic but there's metal behind the plastic), on each spot and slide the bolt thru those holes. Now you can attach the nut to each small bolt at the top of the guard, and torque the bottom 4 nuts and bolts. Attach your fog/driving lights and you are ready to roll! Below is the first "Iowa Made" SteelyDel Brushguard. Click here for more info on previously made guards.....and a small storyline of them. As you can see the guard does not restrict the light output of your headlights, or block your turn signals. You can still add the center lamp that many of the USMB guys are adding and/or a set of foglights as well. No issues with BYB type liftkits as well as their kit is a body lift and this is attached only to the vehicle body. SPECIAL THANKS TO RODEL FOR THE JIG AND FOR KEEPING THIS POPULAR ACCESSORY ALIVE!!!

This was written, and taken from Brian from Alaska's (USMB NAME :Subaru4wd), which is HERE. Bumper Swap, 80's GL wagon with the chrome bumper to a Brat with the "plastic" front bumper. One of the 1st things I needed to do to my Brat was replace the Front Bumper. The previous owner had hit something and dented the bumper. Plus I had a bumper and brush guard that I took off my '81 GL Wagon that would look perfect on the Brat. <-This is what the Bumper looked like before I replaced it. Looks good and all, but not as good as this Bumper.-> It took about a half hour to remove the bumper from my Wagon. And about an hour to place it on the Brat. The Brat had two small brackets that I needed to bend back, and out of the way. The bumper is only held on by two bolts on each end so its pretty simple to remove and replace. After about an hour, this is the finished project. This Bumper looks absolutely beautiful on my Brat. I have 2 Subaru fog lights that I will install. I'll have pictures when I do it, and you can read about it later.

Canister Purge Solenoid Valve Replacement-Legacy Got a code 35 and don't know if you should take it to the dealer or not? Fear no more, its easy! Part number for a 90 Legacy L is 14774AA350 which is superseded by 14774AA351 now. Estimated costs vary but expect around $81 or so. To find the part on your Legacy look at the intake. Its above the left head to block seam. See pictures for more help. Since its an electrical part I assume you should disconnect the battery. Its a good idea too because it will clear the codes if you disconnect it for approx 45 minutes. You can also clear the codes by plugging the 2 green and 2 black connectors together with ignition off and then switching the key to ignition on momentarily and unplugging them. The above picture should guide you toward the part. See the two alum. intake pipes? It is under the more forward one. I recommend unplugging the sensor first. Having the new part prior to removing the old one will show you what type of plug you are removing. The plug is blue and 2 prong if I recall correctly. Then remove the small vac lines. Might require a good twist to get the lines off. You can remove the solenoid valve by taking a long extension on a 3/8 ratchet with a 12mm socket and from the rear of the motor point the socket toward the front of the car and peek through the edges of the pipes until you get it on the bolt. Remove the bolt and then slide the new part in its place and start the threads while you have the tool in hand. Then plug the electrical connector and vac lines onto the solenoid. Now reconnect the battery and don't touch the gas for around 15 minutes as the car will reset itself (according to many on the USMB). This is optional but it cant hurt.

Valve Adjustment The John Muir how to keep your Subaru Alive book has a great section on this. This subject may be written up someday but for now please reference that book. Email me if you would like the basic details on what the book states.

Shawn, I just checked out your site and board and thought I'd add a "trick" if that applies. While having the motor(EA82) out I realized I could drill into the flywheel cover to make a more plumb hole for my punch to fit in. If you've ever tried to set one in the flywheel using the opening on top you've found out that you have to bend a punch or screwdriver,whatever. This way the punch falls straight in and locks the motor TIGHT. I drilled to the left of the timing opening, near the blot. Drill towards the rear into the flange) then down so you could get it as far rear as possible to line up properly. I'm going to make a plug for it sooner or later but for not duct tape covers it nicely. Paul

Oil Change A few starting remarks. Don't let anybody tell you to skip the oil filter on an oil change. Its a minimal expense, and you just contaminate clean oil with a dirty filter. Also, consult your owners manual for the proper oil capacity for your Subaru. On 82-86 Ea81 engines, this is 4.2 quarts for example. Don't misread the chart and read liters or something either. Don't let the length of the procedure scare you. I am writing every nitty gritty detail so the first timers know what to do. Materials Needed: Oil, Oil Filter, A few paper towels, drain pan, funnel (or really good aim) wrench for drain plug, and an oil filter wrench if your filter is on really super tight or you are more comfortable doing it this way. I highly recommend you buy the drain pan that is of the screw on lid type so you can haul your used oil off to the recycler without making a mess trying to pour the oil into a milk jug or similar container. (If you live in Denver I can take waste oil for you. Email me at shawnw@ultimatesubaru.org for info). If you have a leak around your drain plug you might want to replace the oil drain plug at this time, as its much easier!! Warning: Engine oil is now hot, be careful as a hot motor oil bath is nothing to brag about on the Message board!!!!! Step one: Drive your car to warm it up. This agitates the oil so the crud isn't laying in the bottom of the pan and makes draining the oil much faster. -Thanks Mark. Park Car, set parking brake, and chock a wheel if you feel safer this way. Pop and prop the hood. Now remove the oil filler cap, and dipstick from engine. Wipe out any dirty oil. Position Oil drain pan under Oil Filter. Loosen oil filter from Oil Pump by turning filter counter clockwise until oil begins to leak out bottom edge. Continue this until the filter comes off its threads. Turn filter up if you have a drain pan that doesn't have a screen to lay it on. Turn it down if you do. Let the filter empty and then examine the inside of the filter for anything unusual. The filter should be intact with a metal screen inside. Look for any metal shavings in the filter or edges of the filter that indicate engine damage. Also make sure the rubber gasket on the oil filter is still on the old filter, and not laying on the oil pump. If you forget to check this you will have 2 oil filter gaskets on your pump and likely wont make it to the first stoplight before your oil pressure is at 0. Next clean off the oil pump with a paper towel. Now move your drain pan about a foot back to the drain plug. Your skidplate may be in the way so remove it if you need to. Otherwise use a clawfoot or similar tool to get around taking the plate off to get a wrench in. Loosen the plug until it comes off in your hand (if you are new to changing your own oil dont bother trying this or you will burn yourself), or falls into the drain pan. (The screen on the nice drain pans catches the plug and saves you from fishing through a gallon of oil looking for your plug). Go grab a drink (Beer or Soda), and let every last ounce of old crappy oil out for good. Come back to your roo, and have a look. Still draining slowly? Well then oil your oil filter gasket. Pour some oil into your new filter from one of your quarts of oil. Why? Then the oil pump wont be breathing dry air as long when you start up your roo. You want to minimize this as much as possible. The paper in the oil filter will absorb a great deal of oil, so pour slow until its about 1/4 full. Remember while pouring the oil into the filter to miss a little bit and smear the gasket with oil (use your finger its the best tool for the job). Now put your new filter on the oil pump. Turn the filter on slowly at first so you know you got the threads lined up. Then turn the filter down till its snug and go an additional 1/4 twist on the filter so it is snug but not too tight. Remember the gasket is rubber and if you over tighten rubber you will have a leak. Most oil filter manufacturers have marks on the outside of the filter that help guide you through this. Your more than half way there now, and the messy part is over. Oil done draining yet? Great! Pull your drain pan out, fish out your drain plug, and clean it. Anything gritty on the plug or in the oil? NO? Great :-). Put the drain plug back onto its spot on the oil pan. Use your fingers at first and then a wrench or similar tool. Again, don't over tighten! Snug is great. Don't stop now! You have the fun part left. Put the appropriate amount of oil in your engine oil filler hole. Don't make a mess and use a funnel. This will help you be accurate in getting the right amount in the engine, and not all over the outside of the engine! Don't forget to subtract whatever you poured into the filter from your capacity. Use good estimation skills or a measuring cup to figure partial quarts. Use a good name brand oil. Avoid Kmart, Walmart, or auto store brand oil. My favorites are Mobil, Valvoline, and QuakerState and Amoco Oil. Make sure to not mix brands, oil weights etc. Purchase oil in a case to save a little money. Synthetic oil is good, but is expensive. If you plan on driving normally and changing your oil every 3-5 months or 3000 miles then standard oil should be fine. Now put your oil drain cap on, and clean off your dipstick. Put your dipstick back in the engine and count empty oil containers. Got the right amount in? Clean up any mess you have, Great. Now check under the car for any oil puddles (OOPS), and hop in the car. Fire up the engine, and put the car in Neutral. Is the oil pressure rising, or dummy light shutting off (depends on dash of vehicle type)? Get out and look under the car for any leaking oil. Take it for a test drive and see how she runs. Little quieter? Write down how many miles are currently on the car. Many auto parts stores give away the oil change stickers for your windshield. Myself I am anal and change my oil on the odd thousand miles, so when the odometer reaches an odd # in the thousands mark 201,000, or 3,000 for example. But I also drive hard, and in town with a lot of cold starts. These manuals that say 5000 miles are full of it. I usually drive my car up to the gas station and air up any low tires at this point. Gives you something to do and lets the car idle where you could notice an oil trail too! Another good trip to make is one to the oil recycler with your dead oil. NEVER EVER EVER pour used oil anyplace, like the garbage, sewer ditch, road, etc. Don't let me or anybody else catch you doing it either or you'll have a Subaru enema. Ouch. Congratulations, you are now about 20 bucks richer than the guy that takes it to the shop, and happier because you know the moron that changed your oil put some new back in, replaced the filter, didn't over tighten your drain plug, and didn't burn up your clutch hot rodding out of the repair shop. (not all shops are bad, just a select few have ruined it for others. Teagues, and certain dealers are quite trustworthy :-).) Happy Super rooing.-ShawnW Pictures to follow. Feel free to print this out and take it with you to your car. All you oil changing experts feel free to forward any additions or tips you have. :-)

Oil Leaking Into Coolant This can be easily seen by opening your radiator, and seeing if oil is ontop of the radiator fluid, or if your coolant is a very dark color (if it has been running and has gotten mixed pretty well) What cuases this? 90% of the time, in a Subaru, its a cracked head. Rarely does the actual gasket go out, they just crack =( ( for those who arent into cars, a 'cracked head' is seriouse, should be taken to a repair shop imeidatly, a new one runs almost 400 US Dollars. Rebuilt ones are cheaper, and less reliable. If you plan to do all this yourself, give yourself a 3 month window for a full overhual on the engine, unless you REALLY know what your doing! ) Submitted by: Morgan Mains

Legacy Fuel Sending Units Topic on Ultimate Subaru Message Board is Here.

Weber Carb Installation See all large pics on one page.... The starting point... air box off... carb off... close-up manifold, throttle linkage from hitachi... underside of hitachi carb... put on adapter and set Weber carb in place... hooking up the carb... new choke wire... pretty close to the distributor cap... bottom air filter plate... PCV hook-up... Vacuum caps... Fuel line hooked up... PCV mess... Air filter and top on... shot from passenger side... shot from drivers side... Throttle Spring Mount Throttle Spring Mount

Use a large vise grip of some sort to remove the air pipe nut. Its larger than 22mm and most people don't have wrenches past that size. 12mm bolts hold the valve to its hanger. Remove them. Now pull the valve up and away from the "stove pipe." Swap parts and you are done. One thing I found out when I did this, the hard/easy....was that one Air Suction valve costs $150 and another costs under $20. Ironically the one with more to it costs less. Heres what to do to be able to use the cheap part in place of the expensive one. Pic of my broken internal pieces on my ASV. Bottom half of old valve and top half of new valve. The top half of the new valve isnt used. Here shows the bottom half of the new part and the top half of the old part. The big chunk at the bottom is the old reed valve that broke on mine. Completed assembly of the 2 parts used to make one good one. You need to take the whole middle section out of the new valve and drop it inbetween these two sections to make your $20 valve worth $150. Scan from Factory Parts Book, 1986 and 1987 EA82 cars (Wagon, 3 door, XT) with Carb. Then hook up all the pieces and put a new hose/silencer on and you are done.

Borrowed from Ultimate Subaru Message Board 3.8.00 posted by Zapar If the hole the post is in gets stripped, it isn't a big deal to fix it. At your local auto parts store, you should be able to find what's called a 'Helicoil thread repair kit'. The kit should contain; 1 drill bit, 1 Tap (re-threads), several helicoils, and a helicoil installer. The kit is kind of self-explanatory, but basically you drill the existing hole to clean it out, rethread the hole with the tap, and screw in a helicoil. The hole will be stronger than when it came out of the factory. The size that should fit (EA-81 models) is M-10 by 1.25. M-10 meaning 10 mm. The whole process should take less than a half hour, including taking off the Y-pipe. The Sub mechanic who first told me about it said to be smart and use a post again rather than a bolt. (In case you need to take that damn pipe off again) Should quiet that noise right down. Update:07/24/2001 I recently performed this operation on my 86 HB. I found it to fairly easy but will say this. Drilling into your heads can play games on you mentally. Don't give yourself an ulcer worrying about it and have some faith in your tools and handywork. My HB is QUITE a bit quieter than it ever was before. ANother thing to remember is that it will need at least 2 inserts per hole, and I encountered a couple of inserts that just didnt want to cooperate with the insertion too. The kit was around $60 from Napa. I found this was the only place in town that had the correct bolt and thread kit. Basically take your time, dont make it a 30 minute job the first time, and tell us about your success when you are through.

Troubleshooting Cooling Problems Cooling problems can be traced to three areas: 1) Themo switch mounted in radiator is bad and not turning on the electric fan. 2) Thermostat is ready for replacement. 3) Radiator is partially plugged and wants flushed or replaced. Submitted by Holigans Likeus

Tachometer Jumping Around It seems that every couple weeks I see a post somewhere about someone's tachometer jumping around on the range, possibly reading 0 at times, despite the engine seemingly operating normally. This is actually one of several syptoms that the distributor is starting to fail. I myself have had this happen, and I ignored it for a while. After a couple more weeks, the engine started misfiring badly when I went around corners. A lot of the time, if a distributor is going bad you can grab the shaft and shake it. If there is play, that indicates the distributor is failing. However, from what I've seen of the cases where the tachometer jumps around, there won't be any free play. For those not wanting to spend the money on a new dristributor because they are a bit on the expensive side, I do strongly suggest picking up a used distributor from your local junkyard, or ordering a used one from the junk yards listed in the resources section.

Changing LSD from 3.70 to 3.90 ratio Submitted by QMAN Remove stub axles by removing the two bolts from inside of axle. Then drain and remove rear cover. Check for excessive metal or other chunks. Remove the side bearing caps and mark them(left and right). Keep them with the rear end they came from. You will need to reuse the 3.90 side caps with the 3.90 ring gear. Next remove the diff unit by rotating and pulling towards you. You will see 10 bolts(I think) You can get these apart using a wrench and a breaker bar if you do not have a vice. Remove the 3.70 RG and set it aside. Repeat the procedure for the 3.90 diff. Take the 3.90 RG and place it on the LSD unit. This where it can get tricky. I have run into this a couple of times. The bolts may be a little bigger or a little smaller than the holes in the diff. If they are the ones that are a little bit smaller you will be ok. If they are a little bigger then you will need to open the holes a little bit. If needed do this now. Clean unit again. Now you can start to assemble the "NEW" unit. Be sure to use the "Loc-tite" of your choice, I used the blue stuff. Get these as tight as you can and all will be good. After you have the diff unit removed from the 3.90 case wipe it out. Then place a rag or the like and cover the pinion gear and bearing. Look at the two empty cases and compare both and you will see where it is ground down to accommodate the LSD. You need to replicate this cut-out in the 3.90 case. After you think you have removed enough material do a test fit. Now wipe it out again and use some brake clean to make sure you have all debris out. Use brake clean because it will evaporate. Now install the unit. Now would be a great time to replace the side seals. Also make sure to reinstall the rubber pieces that go over the axle stubs. Make sure that you use the side caps that match the ring gear. Very important as this will maintain your gear mesh. If it isn't the right set you run the risk of getting noise and mismatch. Install the bolts in the side caps and then install the rear cover. Take out the top "fill" plug. I run Kendall limited slip gear oil. Fill to recommended levels and then install it in the car. Go drive and enjoy the new "traction" advantage. See ya', Ken

Changing LSD from 3.70 to 3.90 ratio Submitted by QMAN Remove stub axles by removing the two bolts from inside of axle. Then drain and remove rear cover. Check for excessive metal or other chunks. Remove the side bearing caps and mark them(left and right). Keep them with the rear end they came from. You will need to reuse the 3.90 side caps with the 3.90 ring gear. Next remove the diff unit by rotating and pulling towards you. You will see 10 bolts(I think) You can get these apart using a wrench and a breaker bar if you do not have a vice. Remove the 3.70 RG and set it aside. Repeat the procedure for the 3.90 diff. Take the 3.90 RG and place it on the LSD unit. This where it can get tricky. I have run into this a couple of times. The bolts may be a little bigger or a little smaller than the holes in the diff. If they are the ones that are a little bit smaller you will be ok. If they are a little bigger then you will need to open the holes a little bit. If needed do this now. Clean unit again. Now you can start to assemble the "NEW" unit. Be sure to use the "Loc-tite" of your choice, I used the blue stuff. Get these as tight as you can and all will be good. After you have the diff unit removed from the 3.90 case wipe it out. Then place a rag or the like and cover the pinion gear and bearing. Look at the two empty cases and compare both and you will see where it is ground down to accommodate the LSD. You need to replicate this cut-out in the 3.90 case. After you think you have removed enough material do a test fit. Now wipe it out again and use some brake clean to make sure you have all debris out. Use brake clean because it will evaporate. Now install the unit. Now would be a great time to replace the side seals. Also make sure to reinstall the rubber pieces that go over the axle stubs. Make sure that you use the side caps that match the ring gear. Very important as this will maintain your gear mesh. If it isn't the right set you run the risk of getting noise and mismatch. Install the bolts in the side caps and then install the rear cover. Take out the top "fill" plug. I run Kendall limited slip gear oil. Fill to recommended levels and then install it in the car. Go drive and enjoy the new "traction" advantage. See ya', Ken

thanks for rubbing it in jerk. J/K why can't I ever get free ones????

I really do think it might be running rich.....but I do know for a fact that my right foot is way heavier than the left one. Are we going to have a subaru cookout in Danbury when the weather gets better? PLEASE?

I did a 90 wagon years ago. I wired/tapped into right behind the lights in the wireing and make the trailer connector long enough that I could keep it in the car. When I used the trailer I just tucked the wires out the bottem of the gate so that when they weren't in use they were in the spare tire well. Keeps them clean and always in good condition. Do you know how often I have had to use vehicles to tow with that had crappy wireing b/c it wasn't maintained????? If you can protect it...it will last longer with minimal effort.