EmmCeeBee

Yeh that's the main steps.... But with ECU's nowadays you have to baby the electronics. Don't forget to connect the "diagnostic connectors" to the ECU first. If you have a service manual, it'll tell you what to do -- also somethin' about disconnecting the throttle body air sensor (I'm at work now and goin' from memory). The diagnostic connectors are either under the dash (driver's side, where the ECU is), or under the hood near the wiper motor. Don't know about an 86 XT, but mine are the green connectors under the hood. I'm sure most of us have forgotten to disconnect 'em after timing, too No ill effects, as far as I could tell, but I believe it eliminates spark advance so the ECU doesn't compensate for moving the timing. -- Mark Edit: Rallyruss is right, no "air valve" involved in adjusting timing. I hate giving out bad information.... even when I 'caveat' it with a disclaimer of bad memory Adjusted the timing last month, and I remembered something in my Chilton's. Just checked again, it was an instruction about "disconnecting vacuum advance hose" for carb models. Doesn't apply here.

Isn't tough, it just takes time.... and cleaning everything is 80% of the work. Have you changed the timing belts before? Doing the oil pump and oil pan gasket are just part of this job. They add about 20 minutes to the T-belt job (plus cleaning....) The secret I found to the oil pan bolts is to get a 1/4" flexible extension drive. Kind of looks like a snake. There's 4 or 5 bolts toward the rear that are tough to get, even with the extension, but all you'll suffer are a few cuss words. After you get the bolts off, to drop the oil pan you have to rotate it 180 degrees, slide it off the pickup tube, and rotate it some more to get it to drop off. Not hard, but don't get frustrated and pull it off with the the pickup tube. Your oil pump might not need replacing, you can get a kit with new O-rings and shaft seal. Either way, you're not gonna do this without pulling the T-belts. So read up on changing the T-belts in any service manual. Lots of questions about changing T-belts have been answered here, use the Search function for free hints.... -- Mark

All your symptoms sound just like what I chased a few months ago. Ended up being a 'clogged' radiator, got a new one and it runs as good as new. If it's a sluggish radiator, your cooling capacity is lowered -- freeway speeds are a heavy load, so the temp climbs. I suspect the sudden fall in temperature could be when a coolant bubble forms and collapses, which somehow gets more coolant through the radiator for a minute or two. My theory anyway, cuz it did exactly this for a couple months before I narrowed it down to the radiator. Might not be the raditor.... but all the right suggestions are in the responses above. In order of cheapest fix: 1. check coolant level 2. replace rad cap 3. replace thermostat 4. flush radiator (even the caustic ones didn't work for me....) 5. new radiator. 216k miles -- is it the original radiator? If so, I might even skip to step #5 directly. -- Mark

One of USMB's best-kept secrets..... These are scanned-in, so not the best quality, but the site is gold mine. Gotta thank the original poster who linked us to them. http://www.finleyweb.net/default.asp?id=142 Is this what you need? -- Mark

Methinks you'll find out the answer to that question within 5 minutes of getting it into the garage. Might as well wait till then to find out what kind of job you've got. It might be obvious when you get it in a warm, dry garage with a light. Anyway, jack it up and try to turn the wheel by hand. If the brake is locked up, you'll have only 1/8" or so of play in the wheel. If it's the CV joint you should have more than 1/2" of play -- besides, it'll probably make appropriate noises. I can't imagine a CV locking up unless the boot's torn and a rock jumped in..... -- Mark

I got a postcard from High Wycombe last year, so I know where it is :-) (Jolly old...) Being as most guys here are from the states, we won't know the best way to advertise and get buyers in your area. Gees, if you found us, you probably can find a Subaru club in England :-\ But there are two USMB members hailing from GB. I hope they excuse me for dropping their names..... (These are from the USMB Who's Who page) Richard Hull richard.hull@lineone.net Michael Juniper juniper@freeuk.com Maybe you can drop them an email and ask about parting out your Justy. Northguy is right, you shouldn't have any problem clearing a profit on it. Anyway, don't go away!!!! Welcome to USMB, get another Subaru and come back. -- Mark

I haven't had that problem in my EA82..... But in my first Sub (1976 wagon), it was something I lived with. The oil filler tube is so long and sits so high above the engine, I figured it collected condensation on the inside of the cap. The design of the engine (at least this mechanical feature) hasn't changed in all these years. It might just be cold-weather condensation..... If there's no other sign of latte (like on the dipstick, inside the PCV hoses, or inside the valve covers), I think I coud live with this explanation. -- Mark

Take along your old/broken one to match the threads. There are at least a dozen different sizes. These plastic draincocks seem to have a max life of 5 years or so. I got one at the "Help" rack to replace the last one that gave up the ghost. It was labeled for a Datsun, I believe. But it was a perfect duplicate, even had the drain hose nipple. That's handy for avoiding a mess while draining the radiator, I tell ya. -- Mark

The one I got at Autozone was a Bosch (3 months ago, about $32 I think). That probably classifies as "generic", since they're carried at most parts stores. But -- correct me if I'm wrong -- I'd put Bosch at pretty reliable quality for most things. Hey, I've got a Blaupunkt stereo (Bosch division), and I'm happy enough :-) -- Mark

I wasn't a true believer until I saw it with my own eyes :-) I spent a few weeks checking/replacing everything in my cooling system: thermostat, radiator cap, etc.... Still chasing the problem. Then one day I reduced the coolant level to about halfway in the radiator. With the Subaru stock radiator, the angle of the filler neck lets you see down into the tank (with a flashlight). I left the cap off, ran the engine till it was hot. Kinda scary, since I knew I had reduced its cooling capacity. Anyway, when the thermostat opened, voila!!! Looking into the radiator, I could see about 8 rows, and only 3 of them were flowing. The other 5 or so were clogged. QED :-p -- Mark

I wouldn't trust a JY radiator, I'd suspect a 10-year-old Sub radiator to be half-clogged or worse. Sure, you could get it for ~$25, then spend $50+ to get it professionally flushed, but now you're in the range for a new one. My original radiator acted clogged up back in July. I went through about $20 of increasingly stronger off-the-shelf flushes which didn't work. Local shops wanted $50-$70 for an acid flush. So I started shopping around. Finally settled on a Silla two-row radiator -- it's heavy-duty brass and looks bulletproof. I had ordered two previous (different brand) but they were so light-guage that they were both damaged in shipment. The Silla seems too solid to suffer that fate. I think I got a great deal: $75 (included shipping). Other two-rows ranged from $110 to $150. Now, the problem: construction was solid, but the holes didn't quite line up. The filler neck had to be bent back a bit for clearance. It took a couple hours of filing and tweaking to get it mounted. Shouldn't have had to do this for a "drop-in" replacement. The good news was that even with my pounding and bending, the radiator held up and didn't spring any leaks If I had to do it again: If I needed to save $40+ bucks, I wouldn't mind doing the Silla again. Otherwise, it would be safer to get a true drop-in. I ordered the Silla from Ron at Radiator Supply House, Sweet Home, OR. 1-877-615-3002. He had it dropped-shipped from the Calif warehouse. Just a happy customer... -- Mark

You're in luck!!! Since it's about time to change the T-belts, you can kill four birds with one stone: T-belts, cam shaft seals, front crankshaft seal, and oil pump seal. You can even make it five birds with the water pump, since it's usually recommended at about 100k miles. A good possibility for the oil leak is the oil pump seal. If you're gonna get into the timing belts, there's no excuse to skip this. You can get an oil pump seal kit (O-ring, Mickey-mouse gasket, and shaft seal) for about $20. You can do all this without pulling the engine. It'll be a bit tight, but the most you'll suffer is skinned knuckles and some extra cuss words. Put a piece of cardboard over the inside surface of the radiator, otherwise you'll end up dinging the fins and cutting your hands. Or better yet, pull the radiator (only 2 bolts) to give yourself twice the clearance. Of course, it's a lot easier to do all this if the engine is out, but pulling the engine itself is a ton of work. Only really necessary if you want to put in a new rear crankshaft seal or clutch, or do head work. -- Mark

Well that would certainly explain his concern..... I'm baffled too. I don't know why I didn't see that in the original post, guess I was lookin' for an easy explanation :-\ -- Mark

That's normal for a differential. There are 3 "terminals" (inputs or outputs) on a differential. If you use any one of them for an input, it will attempt to turn the others as output. Since you were turning the left rear shaft, it was sending "output" to the center drive shaft (until you put it in 4WD and "locked" it to the engine). Once the other 2 outputs were immovable (right rear wheel on ground, drive shaft locked to engine) you could tighten the castle nut. We normally think of the drive shaft for input -- with the two wheels on the ground, there's only one thing that can happen: the differential makes the wheels turn. A good thing :-) 'Course, this doesn't apply to a LSD. And only for a manual 4WD shifter. I'm not all that familiar with the push-button type....... Which do you have? As for the loose castle nut, did you peen it in? Don't want that happening again. It's good you found the cure! -- Mark

The defroster sucks a LOT of power (even with a few rows missing). It sounds normal -- that when you turn it off, the battery voltage goes up. You probably have a weak electrical system, it should hit 13+ volts when you rev it. I'll let someone else help with that, I don't know 'nough 'bout sick alternators or voltage regulators..... Defroster lines (the rows on the rear window) are easy to scratch, and that's what kills a line. A scratch can be all but invisible. I can't imagine anything else causing a few of the lines to drop out. Clean the window (c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y) and inspect them with a magnifying glass. Parts stores have a dab-on fixer, that completes the electrical circuit. Some other thread here today mentioned that fix. -- Mark

Yep, on the back side of the throttle body, just in front of the pitch stopper. Just follow the hoses, they lead right to it.... It's really hard to get a wrench in there for leverage, especially if the PCV is cooked in tight. I ended up buying a special "zero-clearance" adapter for a 3/8" socket. Just an excuse to add to the toolbox -- Mark

Your description sounds exactly like what I chased for 3 months. Only on deceleration, at about 2200 rpm. Like when you rev the engine at curbside and let off the gas. Or when coasting downhill in gear. And only when it was good and hot. The rattling was my catalytic converter. Without opening up the cat, I can't be sure what happened, but either the "brick" cracked, or it just got loose inside the housing. It took a certain frequency and backpressure to set it up in a harmonic rattle. I suspected a rod bearing, timing belt pulley, camshaft, distributor, lifters, etc. (got lots of advice for each of those....) I used a stethoscope to narrow it to the exhaust (hard to do when the rattle was so touchy to reproduce). I put the car up on jacks, ran it till was hot, had my wife hit the accelerator while I slid underneath and isolated it 100%. Ended up with a new Y-pipe. From the dealer, it was only a few dollars more than other options. So, are your symptoms similar? Check your cat.... -- Mark

Really sounds like you need a new radiator. Is it the original? A thermostat is a cheap first try -- in another thread you say you're gonna replace that. But if it's the original radiator, I'm betting that won't fix the overheating problem. I went through similar stuff 6 months ago.... tried new thermostats, several flushes with stronger and stronger chemicals, etc. Eventually put in a new radiator and the temp gauge settles on halfway and never moves now. I never got it heated up to the red zone. That's "blown head gasket" territory! Keep an eye on other symptoms, like white exhaust or frothy oil, or bubbles in the radiator. -- Mark

Yeah, you'd probably lose 3 quarts to a gallon if you just opened up the thermostat housing. Might as well drain it. If all you want to do is replace the thermostat, you can drain the radiator below the hose level. The radiator holds almost a gallon. The petcock is on the passenger side, it comes stock with a short length of tubing so if you're careful you can drain it without a mess. Even re-use the coolant if you want. It's easiest if you take off the small metal side-plate (kind of a mud guard) under that corner of the engine space. If it's been more than a year (you really should do this every 2 or 3 years), you might as well drain, flush, and refill. The way to do this is with the petcock, and the engine drain plugs. They're on each cylinder head underneath, a 14mm bolt. The RHS is up front, the LHS is toward the rear just above the cross member and hard to get to -- but a box end wrench will just fit. I did some engine work over the summer so the cooling system was practically dry before I refilled it. Takes just about 7 quarts total. -- Mark

I shouldn't have let my memory interfere with my notes.... The "2 inches" was from memory :-\ Yeh, the 2" long-headed bolt (I'm calling it a "standoff" bolt for lack of a better name) is for the A/C belt tensioner. There's another standoff bolt directly behind the tensioner -- THAT'S the one I meant, and it's only about 1" long and it bolts the A/C bracket to the engine. The 2" standoff bolt for the tensioner looks like it takes a 12mm socket. The 1" long standoff bolt for the A/C bracket looks like a 14mm. I'm sure you'll have to remove the tensioner pulley itself to get at it. Hope you're getting closer. -- Mark

OK, I checked my notes last night.... First of all, I have the "inboard" A/C, it's a Hitachi compressor. If yours is different, or the "outboard" mount (never seen one of them), then this might not apply. There are only 4 bolts to remove the A/C compressor. There's lots more than that bolted into the compressor, but the extra ones are bracket-only bolts. 1) Into the intake manifold. 2) Under the alternator. 3) Above the water pump. This bolt is weird.... The hex head is about 2" long (if it was a normal head, you'd never be able to fit a wrench in there). 4) Deep under the A/C, between the P/S pump and the water pump. This is the one I mentioned that has the spacer on it. It's tough to see, harder to get to. You need a deep well socket which barely fits through the maze of parts. I haven't worked on an XT, but I gotta believe it's the same -- EA82 mounting points couldn't change. Unless you have a different compressor. Good luck! -- Mark

A bit more memories come out of the haze: The A/C compressor is mounted on a bracket. You don't want to unbolt it from the bracket; you want to remove the compressor/bracket from the engine. I say this cuz, at first look, it seems obvious to remove some bolts under the alternator..... These are in fact just attaching the A/C compressor to the bracket. Make sure you're removing the right bolts. -- Mark

Five bolts sounds right..... I did this in August and made extensive notes, I can check at home tonight and report tomorrow. You did take off the alternator, right? It's gonna be a lot easier to move the A/C if you do. I also built a contraption out of scrap 2x4's, looks like a mini-crane, that I bolted into the spare tire mounting hole. The "crane" part was about 30" long and stuck out over the A/C compressor, so when I had the compressor free I suspended it without kinking the hoses. I do remember the hardest bolt to get to was hidden just above the water pump. This is probably the one "peeking out behind the fan" you mentioned. It has a thick spacer under it (like a 3/4" stack of washers). Make sure you catch this when it falls...... and get it back into position when you're done. The alternator was kind of "press fitted" onto it's swivel mounting. But I don't remember the A/C compressor being hard to budge. I'll check tonight if there's a 6th bolt. -- Mark

I'm doing the same -- installing an aftermarket stereo -- so this caught my eye. The only thing I can think of is that the antenna cable is grounded. Did you re-wire the speakers or anything along the driver's side kick panel? The antenna cable comes in near your left knee, then under the carpet and up into the center console. Slight chance you messed up the antenna cable....?? Or possibly, the extender itself is bad, with an internal ground. If you still have your old radio, plug it back in and test the antenna, WITH and WITHOUT the extender. If it works, then I'm out of ideas :cornfuzz: -- Mark

Lucky I keep this bookmarked This PDF has the entire scoop. It was a Subaru recall for early Loyales. http://home.comcast.net/~c.moe/pvc_mod.pdf -- Mark