talldude

Either weld a patch on yourself or have a welder do it, and be done with it. Take proper precautions so as not to level your neighborhood if you do weld it.

These caps are repairable; I've fixed 2 now by mig welding the tabs. It is a little tricky and the welds should be dressed (a dremel with a cutting or grinding wheel works well) so the tabs engage properly. A new viton o-ring matched up at NAPA and lubed with castor oil for easy assembly. First repair is now 2 years old, so it appears to be a good fix. Might be worth taking a cracked cap to a welding shop if you don't want to do it yourself. This is a crap design that Subaru should address by making available the small parts to fix.

Narrowed it down to the rear LSD. Low freq harmonic above 60 mph, only in FWD, disappears in 4WD. Just pulled it out to check gear lash- it isn't binding but feels pretty tight.

Turns out the smog techs could care less about the under hood tune up sticker. They have the tune up specs in their books. It was DMV that wanted to see that the stickers matched the year of manufacture and whether it was a CA or Fed vehicle. Fortunately mine was legible enough for that part. Got my plates today! It only took 4 pretests ($20 each), the official smog test ($60), and $107 at DMV. Was it worth the effort? I would say yes because I looked at it as a challenge and a learning experience, but it certainly was a test of patience. Hey, and I don't have a truck payment:clap:

Got a temp registration from DMV, new exhaust aft of the Y pipe, and put an oem EGR valve back on after a good cleaning. That got the NOx down for the 3rd smog pretest, but it failed due to high HC. Back to the shop, advanced timing to 10 deg BTC, tweaked idle mixture and speed again, got it warmed up and got a pass on the 4th smog check. Would have been easier with a cat but I can't legally install one because its a fed truck. A pain in the ^%$ but a good learning experience.

I installed mine the other day. Fits perfectly! Thanks again Paul.

Second trip to the smog tech today. The old exhaust system I patched together has enough leaks to abort the sniffer test. Plus the first test showed high NOx (just before the truck emptied its radiator all over the rollers-bad radiator fan switch!) Everything points to getting a new exhaust system welded up, which I was going to do after all this was finished, but it'll be done this week. Another trip to DMV tomorrow to get more moving permits, or if I'm lucky a temp sticker. vapor recovery system checks good, new gas cap, everything but the NOx in limits. New exhaust should fix her up. Also got the weigh tag- 2260 pounds with a rollbar, HD bumpers, and a 4 inch body lift.

Wondered what you found. My truck is now on the road and I get a weird low freq harmonic from the transaxle under load above about 60mph. Slower than wheel rotation, like maybe one vibe to every 4-6 tire rotations or so. Everything's been apart and either replaced or inspected and greased, except have not split the transaxle case. Anybody want to take a shot?

DMV today, they said I had to have commercial tags to carry stuff in an open bed, even if the BRAT was imported as a passenger vehicle. Fortunately the fees are based on vehicle weight, so I have that going for me! Also, the dealer got the under hood specs in; they were for an '87 because that was the earliest year they had. Apparently the service department no longer has tuneup specs, either, WTF? We truly own orphaned vehicles- Subaru built a great little truck but they have abandoned us! At this point I will take a copy of my tune up specs to the smog check and that will just be good enough. It all makes me wish I was back in Maine, except for the salted roads...

U joints are definitely worth looking at. Remove your driveshaft and check both ends. Both were trashed on my '78. By that I mean corroded and binding up.

Quick tidbit on converting from points to electronic ignition. When the ballast resistor on the coil is removed, there are two wires that must be connected to the coil + side: the black red wire sends 12v from the start position on the ignition switch to the coil for starting, and the black/white wire from the igniter control unit (originally sending 12v to the ballast resistor) which is energized in the ignition switch "run" position. I was reminded while doing my conversion that with a points ignition system, the full 12 volts is sent to the coil for starting and then in the run position the voltage is stepped down via the ballast resistor to 8-10 volts to prevent points arcing. No points = no need for the voltage step down! So far the stock igniter controller on my '78 is playing well with the solid state ignition. Also make sure you install a coil that can handle full system voltage. Coils that say "use with ballast resistor only" will likely get really hot and swell up... I put a Loyale coil in mine- so far so good. Comments?

Good to finally meet you too Brian! DMV next week for initial paperwork, smog after that (I'll do a test first to see where I stand), and then I get to pay a weigh station so I can get commercial plates so I can carry stuff in the open bed! Commercial tags on a BRAT, what a joke...

Just buy an overhauled unit from National Carburetors INC. It will cost a couple hundred and then you're done. I just bought one for my EA71 and I checked all adjustments when I received it. Everything was in spec and the truck runs very well. I am also facing a smog check here in CA and don't anticipate any problems. I finally bought one after rebuilding my sloppy piece of junk and then buying one on ebay that turned out to be very close but not a correct carb. Make sure to tell them it is for a CA vehicle in case there are differences between it and the Fed carb (sometimes very minor). Good luck.

Called dealer today, Tim the parts guy said Subaru actually mails paper copies of the underhood decals, takes a couple weeks. I'm hoping they are actually stickers...The smog man awaiteth...

I will seriously buy you a beer if you send me a gasket by early-mid October.

Used to be a 25 year cutoff, but a few years ago lawmakers decided to use MY '75 as the cutoff. Our smog laws are far from perfect but they are helping with the air quality. Price we pay for living here. Just heard from the smog referee and he told me the truck needs to only pass federal smog standards since it is a 49 state vehicle. In fact, even if I wanted to install a catalytic converter, I couldn't. It would be illegal here in Sunny CA, since the truck is a non catalyst vehicle! I've got everything hooked up per OEM and it actually runs pretty well. Still waiting for Subaru to fax the underhood diagrams to the LD. Wonder what the markup is gonna be on 2 faxed photocopies...

If we assume your joint is ok, check that the output shaft seal plate has not loosened somehow. This threads into the trans and also holds the output bearing in position. It has a locktab to hold the plate in position. If your bearing is loose you can adjust this plate to tighten things up, but careful not to overtighten. Assuming it was adjusted properly to begin with, things are probably getting worn. Might buy some time.

My truck lives! Started and ran for the first time in 18 years! Now I'm really ready for the windshield gasket:burnout:

Local dealer is having copies of the correct labels sent direct from Subaru. We'll go from there.

What do you need to do this? I think I'm needing the tune up spec sticker for under the hood and the non catalyst sticker for the door. The vacuum hose diagram survived.

I'm getting close to finishing the '78 BRAT and am down to stuff like underhood smog decals that show tuning specs and vacuum hose routing. I found out that carb cleaner removes the ink on these decals instantly:mad: Also need the "non catalyst" sticker for the driver's door. Before I go to the dealer and get photocopies and such, does anyone know where I can get the stickers? Fortunately its a non cat fed truck but I have to smog it here in NorCal.

Find the leak yet? I'm about to start and drive mine for the first time in 15 years- should be interesting. I plan on having a few oil leaks from somewhere...

Sweet- I'm just about ready to put in the windshield. Many thanks for your efforts. I'll buy you a beer next time you're in NorCal.

Where exactly is it leaking from? Seals dry out/harden over time and you likely need one or more; no additive I know of will fix time. The front output seals are available from the dealer, I got 2 last year because mine were hard as a rock. They leaked just sitting!

New bushings from local dealer- should be available. They will feel better, but still feel sloppy relative to a new car.