Anarch Angel

A remote area in south central Alaska. :-\

Because replacing a head gasket is beyond my ability and resources (I don't even have a garage), and what it costs in labor around here exceeds the cost of getting another Subaru. I only spent $1500 on this car in the first place.

Didn't work; it's still overheating. I finally said "screw it" and took it back to the shop where me and two mechanic friends were treated to the smell of exhaust rising out of the overflow tank. I've got a cracked head gasket. Time to find a new car.

Well I finally got round to flushing this POS. I've got some CLR resting in the radiator right now; I'll flush it out in a while and see what happens. The damn petcock on this thing is so tiny that it takes forever to drain though.

Alright, I'll get a pressure tester and see what happens. I'm hoping on a hose leak; those tend to be a cheap and easy replacement...

It's an EA82.

Right, I've been having a heating problem with my car for about a year. I can compensate by turning my dash heater on all the way, and while that's not a problem during winter (I live in Alaska), it's no fun during the summer. Besides, it's not fixing anything. This is getting to be a problem because sometimes the coolant's getting so hot that it's filling my overflow tank from completely empty to over the "full" line. I had a chat with a mechanic I know from the Subaru shop, and he said I was low on coolant after he had a look. He also said that I probably had a leak. That was six weeks ago, and since, I've probably managed to get a total of another 8oz of fluid into the system (it's full), and I haven't managed to find any leaks at all. I'll go over the bullet points here: -Thermostat is fine -Radiator fan works -There's nothing blocking my grill -There's no indication of any head gasket problems -No leaks in the line -The faster I'm going, the more it heats up. Driving on a street at 35MPH doesn't noticeably heat things up, but when I'm cruising down the highway, the temp starts rising. -The line is circulating (The dash heater wouldn't work otherwise) So, the only thing I can think of is that I've got blockage in my radiator, either from a clog or an air bubble. I'm still open to other possibilities before I try to flush the system and end up throwing away a ton of antifreeze, although I'd like to take care of this before I have to start worrying about the head gaskets.

I pulled a cord off of an old broken down Subaru that I keep for parts; it turned out to be the exact same make. Like paulpicard said, it seems it's just as simple as plugging it in, unlike what I've heard about most block heaters. Now if only I didn't have to roll around in a bunch of snow to get it done, heh...

Alright, I need a guide on removing/replacing the power cord (the one you plug into the wall) for the block heater on an '89 GL. It seems that the "hot" wire finally kicked the bucket, crossed, overheated, and fried the entire cord. Incidentally, it's getting down to -20 degrees F at night here, so the faster I get help, the more I'll be eternally worshipping your knowledgeable generosity...

Heh, figures it wouldn't be something totally easy. Fortunately I just used some sense and disconnected the cord in the steering wheel. I don't know why I didn't do that sooner... Thanks for the tip though.

Right, I'll try to make this simple. The steering wheel on my '89 GL was damaged in an accident and now the horn randomly goes off even when it's sitting still. I just need to disconnect the horn until I get it fixed. Unfortunately, the relays aren't in the locations that the... "omniscient" Haynes repair manual that I have for this series of cars says they are. Basically, all I need to know is where they are and how to disconnect them.