clunkerbob

guess we are thinking alike Z ....posted the same time

Zack here's a place to start to isolate the circuit thats flattening the battery . Discounect the ground cable and put a 12 volt test lamp between the battery and the ground cable . ANY current draw that amounts to anything will light it . Make sure EVERYTHING is turned off ... remember the door switch will show current flow and the lamp will light up so tape the switch closed or hold it in if you are working with the door open . Pull fuses until the light goes out , your problem is in that circuit . Then sift your way through it until you isolate where the draw is at. If someone has the wiring diagram it will be easier to trace , but you can do it without , unless you have some really weird rump roast problem . It cant be a dead short or you would blow fuses or smoke a wiring harness . Sounds like something is staying on . You say its gutted so I dont know how much is left on the car . Trunk light staying on when shut , glove box lamp ? The alternator can draw too if its got a bad regulator , even though its charging OK . An '85 has a minimum of electronics in it so it shouldnt be too hard to isolate the problem . Are you certain the battery is good and fully charged..... a weak battery can give the same no start symtoms after sitting awhile Bob

Apparently from reading all the complaints on the forum , the gauge readings are a big problem . the oil and temp gauges are dead in mine too . They go up just a tad after running awhile .... but barely over zero . I test grounded the wires to the senders and the gauges pegged , so looks like the transmitters on both are shot . The Sube factory units arent really cheap , but seem to be the only ones that hold up , so in the long run be cheaper than buying aftermarkets . I like the idea of a mechancal oil pressure guage . Somebody had put an underdash one in my Brat but never hooked it up . I'm going to get some 1/8 " plastic tubing and finish the job they started . Overheating the engine wouldnt effect the oil pressure unless you totally fryed it ... and it would be knocking . But like the other guy said ... it might have cooked the guts inside the oil transmitter . ( mine has one of those big clunky things on the oil pump housing too ) aftermarket stuff ... now dead Bob

My old '82 Brat , I did a valve adjustment last week , yesterday I pulled the Carter off and went through it ( throttle base was loose from the carb body , vacuum leaks ) and installed new plug wires . When I first got it a couple weeks ago it was pretty tired ... I rebushed the worn out distributor and replaced the water pump so I could drive it . Then lots of elbow grease scrubbing and cleaning the filth off of it from sitting , and lots of little fiddly things that didnt work so I could drive it . Pulled all the inspection covers off the tailgate and bed to pressure wash all the dirt and crap that had accumulated over the years . Ditto on the undercarriage and engine compartment . And hey ... no rust ! Still lots to do .... shifter , exhaust , some body work , some more electrical etc. Wheels and tires . Suspension needs work as the front sags badly and bushings etc has to be worn at this mileage . Looks like the pass side lower control arm has taken a whack and is back slightly . I just pick away at it when I have time , its now my daily driver to the shop and back home . I'm getting a lot of good ideas from this forum on how I want to set the car up . 285000 miles and it runs pretty good all things considering . Still has 150 # compression and dont believe the engine has been touched . Driveline works good . Tough little cars ! A mechanics special but since I'm a mechanic its no problem . It was on its last legs and would have cost so much for Joe Average to repair , it would have soon wound up in the boneyard waiting for the crusher. I'm putting a lot of sweat into it , but oh well .......I like the thing ! besides , its practical and its a blast to drive . Lots to go , but its fun work Keep 'em running guys ! Bob

oh yeh ! thats exactly what I was looking for guys . actually I had been to that indysworld site , but I didnt see the pug wheels at the top ....... must have had one beer too many that night . Anyway now I'll have an idea what to look for in the junkyard . mucho thanks ! Bob

This has probably been covered b4 multiple times , but just curious any particular years of Pugeot that has the best looking wheels ? Steel ones I guess , or were alloys common on them . Are they all 14 inch ... is that best for a stock '82 Brat ? I may raise it a bit later on but no more than an inch , maybe 2 max . For right now I'm just going to leave it stock height . My tires are getting pretty thin and I might as well upgrade to larger wheels and tires now . Going to scrounge the junkyards after I get some advice here and see if I can get some cheap wheels and tires . I really want to redrill the hubs and do the 6 lugs ..... but right now I feel lazy and I just want to get some good rubber on it . Thanks , or if it's been covered give me the link to it please . Thanks , Bob

To each there own ....... but for me I'd drill the hubs and put the 6 luggers on and forget about it . Why ever go back to 4 lugs again ? Limited selection of tire sizes etc , and it just looks better . If you are building just a thrasher to pound the ************ out of OK .... but if I had a halfway decent car and a drill press I'd drill hubs . Either way works . I think it boils down to whatever tools you have to work with , your mechanical expertice and how much time you want to spend on the project . A drill press and a selection of bits is a handy thing to have . Harbor Freight has sales on these things . Bob

Everything is working fine at the moment ....... there must be a bush at each end and I figured if I ever pulled it down I'd figure a way to lube it externally . Everything wears in time . I'll just leave it alone until it craps out . Bob

could be the core plugged up in the bottom rows . I used to get the radiator shop to pull the tanks and ROD it out ... not just boil it out . Is it cost effective ? I dont know because I dont know the cost of a new Subaru radiator . But it was for the kind of cars I was working on at the time . I'd use a combustion leak tester to check it out before I started pulling heads ( the kind that uses a chemical that turns yellow when you have a leak ) most chronic overheating is a plugged radiator . Thermostats dont give as much trouble as people think . Its the first thing replaced but usually doesnt solve the problem . Electric fans working ? check easy stuff first Bob

I'm new to Subies ... but is there bushings or needle bearings in the rear torsion bar tube in the back of a Brat ? I'd like to be able to grease them but I dont see anything , or any zerks . Anybody ever drill them and put a greaser on each end ? I'm just looking over my ( new to me ) '82 Brat and thinking of ways to improve it for the long haul . If you ever had one apart , whats inside of the tube ? clunkerbob

Its hard getting the oil in the cable . Use some pentrating oil first maybe , then engine oil , tranny fluid , anything , to get it loosened up . At least you'll know if you're on the right track if it seems to help . Then you can order out a new cable if youre sure it needs it . I hate spending money just shooting in the dark and troubleshooting . Good luck ! Bob

whenever you replace a clutch assy , wirebrush or likewise clean the splines on the tranny mainshaft and apply a " light " coat of moly grease . Make sure the disc slides easy on the mainshft . Put a shot in the pilot bushing or bearing . Lots of problems from the disc binding up and making for hard shifting . Been there .. done that . May or may not be your problem but its a thought . Lots of times you can tell the disc is binding because when you try to shift into first from neutral at a stoplight its a *************** getting into 1st gear . Maybe a cable ? adjustment ? ... sometimes you just have to go through process of elimination to find the culprit . wring its neck .... Subaru's seem to like high revs for power Bob

OK coolskater .... heres what I did on my old heap . I was able to squirt some motor oil into the cable and work it in . From both ends .. It was a pain but I got it freed up and the noise and gritty feeling was gone after driving it a day . Just a sugestion , but might work for you . Bob

Pretty much what moped already said . You need to check the free play on the clutch ... it sounds like you dont have enough . Was it a NEW clutch kit ? not a "rebuilt" pressure plate . I have had problems in the past with some of the rebuilt stuff out there . ( not neccesarily Sube but other makes ) Also is the clutch cable working OK ? Its possible the cable might be sticking inside the outer sleeve , rust , dirt or frayed cable . Not likely , but possible . Do some sluething and you'l find the problem but sounds like not enough free play to me . Bob You posted just as I did LOL ....... check the cable

Thats a beautiful Brat Universeman ........

thats a hell of a deal ! I beat you pricewise though ........ my '82 Brat was free moneywise but I traded a brakejob on a VW beetle for it ( he bought all the parts ) I came out WAY ahead on that deal . yours is a lot nicer than mine apperance wise tho . That'll come out real nice for you . Dont be discourraged if you have to throw a few bucks into it to get it up to scratch . Its well worth it ! They are a FUN machine to own and fix up . Bob

yeh ... probably just do the axle (s) . Thats one of those judgement calls how far to go with something . It can never end if you get carried away . I do my own work so I might elect to do the bearings if its got a zillion miles on it just as a preventative . If you are paying someone , then maybe best to save your money and do only whats absolutely necessary . A wheellbearing makes a rumbling sound ...... if you didnt hear that .... shine it on . Bob

Yeh , I do too . My linkage is so bad I can hardly get into reverse . THe exhaust fell off already , so it will be easy to get up there with a drill motor and tap . I'm gonna study the pictures and maybe do the mod to the lever to shorten up the shift patern . I'm not really understanding the procedure on that ........ but I'm certain it'll make sense in a bit . A couple of beers will help Whats that lower pivot ? Is that nylon or rubber ? I wonder if making up a harder bushing like brass would hold up better ? Or would it transmit vibration up through the stick . I guess I'll know better when I get it torn apart this week sometime . I have a mill and all that stuff here at the shop ... I like to mess around with these kinds of things Bob

Hi Ned , I used to run a repair shop over in Huntington Beach 4 years ago thats right in year neck of the woods . But it wasnt Subaru . Anyway ... do you know a good independant you can trust that you can take it to and have them do a precheck on it for cheap ? Its really hard to know if its going to pass even if it runs good . CA has gone crazy anymore with their motor vehicle smog laws . They dont like older cars and honestly I think they want to get them off the roads . CA isnt the only one either as a lot of states are just as bad . ( AZ is still OK no smogs .... except in Phoenix area ) ... its coming though one of these days When you open the gas cap , does it "whoosh " ? That would mean its sealing . Let it set for awhile and try it . The longer it sits and holds the better its sealing and will probably get you through that part of the test . They used to give you a waver if the repairs went over a certain amount ( you had to spend up to that amount , and then they waved it ) . 400 or 500 bucks I think it was back then . See with an old car sometimes it wasnt worth it and it was off the road Good luck ! I'm glad I got out of the car repair busness over there . It was getting impossible towards the end . I felt bad for customers that had older , but really nice cars , and dealing with all that crap . Bob

Thanks GD for setting me straight on that . My Jeep raises hell if I try to put it in 4WD LOW if I'm going anything over a crawl . Sube must use a synchro on the low range or something , although its not really that low compared to the Wrangler . That helps too . I just got this little guy a few days ago and sorting out a lot of TLC stuff from over the years . The more I drive it .. the more I'm falling in love with it ( I hate to admit to this ... but it makes my Jeep feel somewhat crude in comparison . Mostly in the driving department . But I still love her too ) Leaf springs just dont compare to coils for comfort . LOL

Hey thanks guys ... that was exactly the answers I was looking for . The pipe rotted in half about 2 feet behind the catalyst , and it sure sounds sweet when I run it up through the gears ! Not really that loud either , so a Cherry Bomb shouldnt attract the local Gestapo . Speaking of Cherry Bombs I figured they were long out of business ..... We used to put them on our cars when I was in high school , and I'm an old geezer now . And they really were red too . Bob

I'm not sure you will actually break anything ... I never have with my '94 Wrangler with part time 4 WD , but it sure doesnt like it in 4 Low . It binds up and you can hear the tires chirping and hopping on turns . Got factory limited slip in the rear and that probably contributes to it as GD stated . 4H I cant remember if it does it or not . Here in AZ it never rains or snows enough to use 4WD on pavement Not to change the subject , but does the Brat ( 82 ) have the same setup as a Jeep ? Or does it use a viscous coupling in the tranfer box ? I just got this thing and not at all familiar with Subaru 4WD . It seems to me I can feel it bind up a bit in 4Low just like my Jeep on blacktop . Also , correct me if wrong ... but I gather I can shift on the fly into 4H ... but I should stop when going into 4 Low on the Brat ? The owners manual was history years ago LOL Sorry to change the subject a bit ... but since we are talking 4WD Thanks , Bob

My old exhaust system just broke in half and the muffler is shot . I'm just going to take it over to the muffler shop and have him make up a new pipe and muffler from the downpipes on back Question is ... it has a cat or at least the shell of one underneath where it comes together from the downpipes . Its going away , as its not required here in this part of AZ . Should I just have him put in a Y there , or would there be any advantage to having him make up an expansion chamber ( thats not the term I'm looking for but you get the idea , a collector box the size of the catalyst ) where it now lives ? Also the original pipe is 1 7/8 " OD . What size should I go to ? 2 1/8 or 2 1/4 perhaps . EA81 engine with a single carb , 4 speed and hi/lo range transfer . Its just a driver and a toy but I'd like to try to get the exhaust as efficiant as I can for what it is . I doubt if I 'll ever get around to changing out the carb , but you never know on down the line . Probably splitting hairs but thought I'd ask those of you that have been through this before . Thanks , Bob

I noticed 1 ( so far ) of my half shaft boots is split on my new to me Brat . Can you get the boots and clamps reasonable anywhere ? I see rebuilt shafts for 60 some bucks several places online ... ( dont know the quality tho ) but mine arent really clicking or noisy just split open . A good cleaning and regrease with boots would probably do her up l. Dont know if its cost effective though ..... what do you guys generally do when comes time to service the axles ? Replace or repair ? If boots are available cheap I think I'll just pull all four and do 'em all at once ... then I'll know its ready for the back roads Thanks , Bob

Thanks Olnick and Murph, yes it is my first Subaru . I have always heard good things about Subaru reliability over the years . Almost bought one a few years ago but my wife ( ex now ) didnt like the looks of it so I passed . Personally I thought they were a good looking car especially the late ones like the Outback and such. Anyway I got this Brat via a Storage Place that wound up with it payment for unpaid storage on a unit . I'm doing a little horse trading work wise for this truck . Picked it up a couple days ago . I'm finding right away that parts are easy to get and very reasonable too ( or so it seems ) . It looks like used body parts from a Legacy fits the Brat even interior pieces .. am I correct in thinking that ? Eccept for that rear sheet metal section .. best not bang that in LOL . And yes .... the way its put together is very logical and easy to get at . I think I'm going to like the Subaru line . Incidently I worked Jaguars and Land Rovers for almost 30 years .... now talk about engineering and easy access ( kidding of course ! ) Bob