jonlittleford

Maybe someone can help me get to the bottom of this... Car: 84 GL 4 spd 4x4 wagon with 140,000 miles, swapped 140,000 mile engine from 84 GL automatic. Symptom: Acceleration knock, 4 CV axles & 2 rear axles in 1 1/2 year, 6500 miles. History: I bought a nice car with a bad engine about 2 years ago. Had the good hydro lifter engine swapped in. Shortly after, when this knock first appeared, I had both CV axles replaced, along with the rear drive side axle. Drove to Austin & back on what turned out to be bad new-used tires. Replaced tires after trip (now I know). Replaced pass CV axle again 10 months later. I have a repeating knock/grinding grumble coming from somewhere in the drivetrain. Its worse under heavy and/or uphill acceleration, and quieter but still present in 4wd. This (at least I think it's the same knock) was present after the engine swap and a local jobber replaced a cv axle, and then the cv axle on the other side. The sound was gone. Then less than a year later another cv axle was replaced for the same knock (barely still under warranty.) I know the aftermarket cv axles aren't what they used to be, but really? 4 new axles in a year and a half? 5000 of the 6500 miles was the road trip to Austin and back. Also, there isn't the characteristic knock on tight corners, only under acceleration. Although it eventually knocked on corners as well as under acceleration the first time around. I can feel it through my seat and feet, so I'm pretty certain this is from the transaxle on out, and not the engine (which runs great: 30+ mpg hwy, 120psi compression on #2 and 150+ on the others). Also, I felt about 10 degrees of play in the rear pass axle, and replaced it on Saturday, no relief- which makes sense since the back half is disengaged in 2wd. Have I been really unlucky with CV axles (if so can somebody recommend a company or source?), or is there a different problem that's wearing them out so fast? Any advice is appreciated!

Please help me solve this mechanical mystery. This is on an '84 D/R 4WD. When I first start the car (after a couple flutters on the gas and a short 2000 rpm rev) it runs smoothly, with no visible exhaust or smell. Then after about 1 1/2 minutes of idling, with no audible change in the engine, it abruptly starts spewing a thick cloud of whitish smoke and makes the whole yard wreak of 70's-hot-rod concentrate. Over the next 5 minutes or so, the smoke gradually diminishes to "normal." After that (once it's warmed up) I haven't noticed any smoke, driving or parked. History... I bought this car with a bad engine, and had a good 140,000 mile motor put in it. Compression test results on the new engine were "excellent" according to the installer. The engine ran poorly after install. No power and guzzling gas. I drove it about 30 miles over the next couple days. Then upon beginning a backwards roll into its parking spot it abruptly began spewed a thick cloud of white smoke. I quickly shut off the engine and checked the oil. The dipstick read almost to the top. I had to double check, as it was showing literally inches above the full line. I put my 5+ quart oil pan under the engine and pulled the plug to watch black oil quickly fill the pan and overflow all over my driveway. I'd guess that about 6 quarts of dirty oil came out of the engine. I changed the oil and filter. The smoke remained, but only after start-up as I described above. There was no change in the engine performance. I took it back to the shop. After a lot of time and effort it was discovered that the correctly routed vacuum line into the distributor was dead. No vacuum. This, I was told, was the reason for the power loss and poor fuel economy. A line from another source was routed to the dist, making it run much better. (Although still, when I remove the vacuum line from the dist at idle, there is no detectable (finger plug method) vacuum in the line, and no change in the idle. And how can one vacuum line be dead while another one isn't? This seems strange-- either you have vacuum or you don't, right?) All of the vacuum lines, other EGR stuff was removed from the air filter, intake, etc- either during the engine swap or before, as I didn't notice whether they were on the old engine or not. 1. Was my new-old engine ruined when it was run over-filled with oil? 2. What can I do to stop the smoke and how much damage (if any) has been done? 3. Do I have work to do with the vacuum system? It does seem to have normal (or near normal) power and no hesitation that I would normally associate with distributer/ vacuum advance issues. 4. How can I figure out the routing to replace the EGR stuff? I couldn't find it in my Haynes book, but I like the idea of less smog, especially if there is no improvement in power/ fuel efficiency without it. Thanks for any input! -Jon

And isn't it funny how you can spot the Jeep/Subaru/Toyota p/u owners whenever it snows? Just look for the exuberant glow. It still feels like it did when when I was a kid, and my school's name rolled down the screen at 6:30 in the morning. Bombin' down the "steep hill" on radio-flyer at 6:45.

I LOVE the snow shark. It's the kind of personality that demands a "the" before it... I worked with a guy called "The Macker" who was the snow shark of big Scottish will-call receivers. way to love your Subaru. (and thanks for using Ziebart.) cheers

not too difficult, from what I remember. (EA-81) Just get hill holder out of the way, unthread the nut, detach there and above the pedal... of course this was five years ago. But the fact that I was able to do it at all means "not too difficult."

Hmmm. Where is the resistor pack? I've replaced the relay on a turbo before, and I've already pulled a switch (maybe good maybe not) from the local yard. Is this a different part? (I'll search the board...) Also, those mats are up for grabs. They're a little too "blue-flaming-skull" for my taste. Shipping cost gets 'em.

Yeah- it looks like all those allen bolts are the real deal. Eventually I'll have the chrome lips re-chromed (they're still pretty rusty) and blast and repaint the black. They seem to be wider than stock rims-- good for summer tires. Make me feel like I'm fast or something.

Thanks. I just bought an old hard copy online. (Looking at this screen too much as it is!) Good luck with your brat- hard NOT to have fun in one of those!

Type: shadetree On: mostly an 82 subaru wagon and 84 vw convertible. Less than 15 years, or about 20 jobs. Other skills: custom (touring) bicycle builder, painter I did not grow up taking things apart and putting them back together. I was more of a build-and-smasher. My first real repair attempt was a 100 cd changer. I turned it into a 70% chance 35-50 cd changer. I get a good feeling when the car gets fixed, but I mostly do car repairs as a necessity, methodically slogging through some repairs and just surviving others. I like to take care of my own stuff when I'm able, and try to live simply and cheaply. That way I can make a living! I think the ea-81 Subaru wagon is the most practical motor vehicle ever made, and I've liked them since I was a little kid.

Thanks for the welcome! The interior is blue. Velour back seat, some kind of tough, corduroy like material on the front seats... really firm and comfortable. While I'm on here... I'd love some input on details I want to take care of. - The blower fan works only in 3rd & 4th positions. Also a slight thuk-thuk-thuk noise, as if something is barely touching the fan. I haven't taken anything apart, but it seems like it would have to be the switch, since the fan blows in 3 & 4. Right? - Any tips on repairing the rear window defrost wires inside the glass? Only one wire gets warm. It seems like there's got to be a way to patch the broken ones... - Special tools needed to replace a cv axle? How much trouble am I getting into here? - Cautions about rear wheel bearing replacement/ anything tricky there with the 4wd? (The last time I replaced rear bearings it was on my front drive wagon. That was straight forward. - Where are these seats from? They seem to be too firm and, um, comfortable to be EA-81's. Also, there's a pretty big gap between the seat back and bottom when it's up, and the seat belt spindle is digging into the seat top when it's folded down. Anything I can do about this? (I know, some of these are really minor things- just curious.) Thanks for the input- Jon

I've been looking for this car for literally years. My long and convoluted history of attempts for my most perfect ride: -My first Subaru was an '82 front drive GL wagon that I bought for $400. I drove her across country multiple times, putting on 80,000 miles (to 230,000). She was still running like a top when the impound happened (Oh, those rebellious years.) I thought I'd be clever and buy it back at the tow auction rather than pay $600 in impound fees... but I went too low and was outbid!) Since then I've owned... -An '80 4wd wagon with a thrashed interior, enough dents to be called a different body style, and gearing just a little higher than a riding lawnmower. Tenacious little car though, I sold it to my friend 4 years ago for $200 and she's still driving it. -A '77 4wd wagon with terminal cancer. I wasn't up to giving it the hospice care it deserved. Sold it to a guy who had fond memories of bouncing around the back of one just like it as a kid, while his mom nipped bourbon and tore along on mountain back roads in Montana. -A really nice '81 4wd wagon that sat in a barn for 10 years. It was white with brown and tan "Four-Wheel Drive" graphics. That was a score, except I didn't have the know-how and/or money to get it running. Hopefully the next guy did. -A stunning '83 turbo wagon that was (by far) the nicest car I've ever owned. 96,000 miles and so close to flawless that I was literally afraid to drive it. I took it on one 3 hour road trip and a flying rock cracked the windshield on my way home. Never mind that the over-crowded engine compartment intimidated the h-ll out of me. (Maybe if I was a better mechanic I'd have been up to it... but this one was just out of my league.) -And now I've finally found it. A 30 mpg 4wd with (reasonable) highway gearing that I can repair myself, at least most of the time, for the next 20 years. I bought her with an overheated (and ruined) engine, and just had a good used one put in. She's got a near perfect body and interior with comfortable seats, excellent clutch and tranny, about 140,000 miles engine & car both. 4wd works great. The steel wheels (below) are different than anything I've seen. Anyone know something about them? She needs CV axles, rear bearings, front brakes soon, and a half dozen little odds and ends... and I'm in love. (sound of birds singing, poop splatting on roof...)