EmmCeeBee

A side note.... When I was cleaning out my Dad's stuff from the garage a few years ago, I came across what must have been the first "cruise control contraption" made. It was from the early 1950s, so it was in a cool box right from the Burma Shave era. It was a fancy articulated steel gizmo that you placed on the accelerator pedal, with a grip at ankle level that you could adjust to put varying pressure on the accelarator. Plus a linkage resting on the brake pedal which somehow disengaged it in panic mode, I guess. He never did install it, I wonder why??? I shoulda saved that thing, dangit. What I'm gettin' at is that you could always go the broomstick route. If it was good enough for 1950, it's good enough for a Brat -- Mark

I have an after-market cruise control for my '88 GL 5-speed. I haven't installed it yet, but I've read through the manual. I can't imagine you'll have any trouble with your Justy. One good thing about the kit, after reading the directions: For a manual transmission, you don't need a vehicle speed sensor (VSS). This would be an ECU signal for 1992+, or a couple of magnets you'd attach to a drive shaft. But that's only for an auto transmission. For manual, you only need to tap into an ignition coil lead. This makes sense, since for a manual clutch the engine and vehicle speed are 1:1. I have an Audiovox kit, I'm sure the others are similar. You just tap into a vacuum line, attach a cable to the accelerator linkage (a dozen ways to do this with the kit), mount the switch, and you're done. Theres a bunch of dip switches you have to set, according to whether you're using VSS, auto/manual, etc. One wire taps into the brake light switch; there's no sensor for the clutch pedal 'cuz apparently it cuts out when it senses momentary revving of the engine (this is from the directions; I wouldn't use this method myself). But like I said, I haven't installed it yet. It's still sitting on the garage workbench.... -- Mark

I haven't replaced my clutch, but at 126k miles I'm getting prepared to... So this isn't from experience, just from reading up on it. From what I understand, the 4WD clutch is a 24-tooth spline, 225mm. The 2WD is 21 spline, 200mm. But this is for 1988. Just pulled up my reference for this. See: http://www.clutchman.com/HTML/Catalog/Subaru.htm (I got that link from someone on this board earlier!) -- Mark

Flow -- Yeh, I've done that, a hundred times, both at once. Still no effect. By the way, the light's working properly, it doesn't need fixing. It's just one of those things that I wanta know how it works so I can pounce on it when it eventually breaks..... When opening the tailgate, it's the first 1/2 inch of travel that operates the switch, so even if it's the slide bumpers, it's probably a hair-trigger thing that I'm missing. -- Mark

Yep, what Dennis said Can I hijack this thread???? I've got a third "where-is-it" question for a wagon..... Where's the switch for the tailgate light? When you open the tailgate, the interior light comes on. I've searched the door, the sill, the jambs, the slide bumpers, the hinges, the latch, everything. I've poked and pulled and pushed on anything and everything I can find back there, and I can't make the light go off manually. On each side door, the rubber-covered contact switch is obvious. No such contraption on the tailgate!!!! Where's the switch???? -- Mark

The rubber grommets on those things harden up after a few hundred miles from the heat. So if you remove the valve covers, they're generally never gonna seal again (although a bead of RTV works wonders). Autozone sells the Felpro set for about $12, which included both valve cover seals and the bolt grommets. At that price, there's no reason to skimp on the grommets. I don't know if you've got Autozone in Connecticut, but u should be able to get the same set at a similar price. I've used RTV to re-seal the grommets for a few hundred miles before I a planned gasket change, and it slowed the oil leak down to a few drops. Works, but at $12 it just makes sense to do it right. Extra torque alone won't get a hardened-up grommet to seal, and as Tom says, it could warp something. -- Mark

Congratulations, peirman! Sounds like a lot of love in that family. Your son was born on a 25-hour day! -- Mark

This site has what you're looking for I think -- complete instructions for timing belts and most everything else. http://www.cybrrpartspro.com/Chilton%20Manuals/8797m/8797.HTML -- Mark

Here's another master listing of the SPT ("Subaru Performance Tuning") network. I somehow got this from The End Wrench site, but now I can't figure out how to trace the link. Luck I bookmarked it: http://www.spt.subaru.com/microsites/spt/dealerLookup.sptaction?dealerSearch=all -- Mark

I probably just re-discovered this site -- somebody must have mentioned it before. But today I spent an hour or so surfing through it to get part numbers. It's "The End Wrench", a Subaru tech site. Follow the links to N.E.W Horizons Dealers, there's about 40 listed and most of them have the same OEM parts engine. Part numbers and everything..... Most of them show list price, but I noticed that a few of them are discounted. Nort Park Subaru in Texas was one. http://www.endwrench.com/pages/home.html The End Wrench site has a lot of interesting tech notes, but most of them are for Legacies/Imprezas/Foresters. A few tips for Loyale models. Interesting reading.... -- Mark

I'm wagering it's the water pump. There's a weep hole on the bottom side (stock pump anyway) that's usually the first to go. But, yeah, you gotta isolate it to be sure. It's not major engine work to replace it, just a tad more work than replacing timing belts (which is part of the job, the water pump sits behind the t-belts). If you get into this, ask about other things you should do at the same time.... Whatever you do, don't put any radiator stop-leak in!!!!!! On a 12-year old Subaru, it'll start a chain of events leading up to buying a new radiator. Trust me...... -- Mark

If it's the belts themselves (not the pulleys), then I'd expect the noise to have a frequency to it -- there's always one point on the rubber belt that rubs or squeaks more than the rest. The belts have their own cadence, separate from anything else on the car. Find the lettering on the belts (or paint a white spot on 'em) and stare at it while the engine is running.... That's how I nail the belt noise every time. General's idea works. Or they have spray cans of "Belt Dressing" at auto part stores that fix 'em up good. On the subject of belts, the timing belts can make a whirring noise, also at their own cadence. From your symptoms (goes away when the engine warms up), it's probably not that. But if it's not the drive belts or pulleys, I'd consider that. That's more than an annoyance. The timing belts might need adjustment -- or replacing at 55k miles. On my other car (not a sub), the timing belt was adjusted too tight, and it sounded like a trapped butterfly. -- Mark

I'm becoming more familiar with the exhaust on my GL -- started with a rattle that I isolated to the front cat. I disassembled the Y-pipe and heat shields checking for other leaks and rattles, and satsified myself that all is in good condition. I've also inspected the mid-pipe and muffler sections (on the car), and it's in good shape. Nice to live in the pacific northwest where we have constant bathwater conditions to flush off the rust Anyway, here's my question. On the weekend I ran it up to temperature, and held a rag tight against the exhaust tip. I know the backpressure is supposed to cause the engine to lose power and maybe even die..... But nothing happened. It kept purring away without even losing idle speed. I held the rag there for at least 10 secs. Went under the car again while idling, and nothing's leaking. I did this just out of curiosity, and now the curiosity is killing me.... What's going on? Isn't backpressure supposed to kill the engine? -- Mark

Huh? Santa Claus lives in Wyoming???? -- Mark

About the gasket on the MT drain plug.... I changed the gear oil last month (first time in at least 70k miles since I got it). When I took out the plug I looked at it hard and said "Now why wouldn't it have a gasket?" Cleaned it up good and I checked it out again, still couldn't understand why no gasket. After I let it drain all night, I took another look at the plug in good light, and son-of-a-gun but sure enough, it had an aluminum gasket squeezed so tight onto the plug, and perfectly flush, that it looked like one piece. I pried it off, cleaned it up and decided it was good as new. Maybe you just have to stare at it long enough. Your gasket very likely was melded onto the plug, like mine. As long as it doesn't leak, I wouldn't worry about it. -- Mark

This doesn't answer your specific question (cuz I don't know about manual adjustment :-\ ). But if your ECU is working and your oxygen sensor is OK, then I think it's out of your hands. The O2 sensor keeps the air/fuel ratio at 14.7 by adjusting fuel delivery many times a second (through signal to the ECU). If you suspect the ratio is out-of-bounds, you might want to test your O2 sensor. There's a good article at: http://www.wps.com/LPG/o2sensor.html Other possibilities are in the fuel system, like low fuel pressure or a bad regulator. But if it's so far off that the O2 sensor couldn't compensate, I'm assuming it would turn up an error code in your ECU. -- Mark

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

This might be what you're lookin' for..... http://www.cybrrpartspro.com/Chilton%20Manuals/8797m/8797.HTML - Mark

Syphon -- my bad :-\ From this vantage point it looked like it was sittin' on the hubs in the gravel. Might have been the photograph..... or it was probably just me. My outer CV boots looked like that once. I imagine the inner ones can cover the engine compartment pretty good after they're done slinging grease around. Not a pretty sight. -- Mark

Hey, Syphon! Cool lowering job!!! But don't you have ground clearance problems with that setup???? -- Mark

You're right. I traced all the brake lines this weekend (see another thread......) and I verified the two separate circuits: RF/LR and LF/RR. On top of that, the hill holder only activates on one of those circuits (can't remember which one, but this means it only locks two wheels, not all four). This on my 88 GL 4WD Wagon.... -- Mark

Nuthin' like this ever happened to me before. Goes to show you that subs don't like to be prettied up. I had my 88 Wagon in my garage for a week, working on the exhaust and changing fluids, including transaxle. Got it finished and buttoned up on Saturday morning, and it started right up and purred like a kitten. Nice work, I thought to myself. Into reverse to back out of the garage -- but the car wouldn't budge. Checked for the obvious floor lift or wheel chock (!!!)..... Nope. The car should've rolled right out. Put it in first to inch forward, but still nothing. Into 4WD Lo and reverse, I could feel the clutch wanting to burn. Shut it down and went into deep thought mode: What did I screw up??? I quickly found it was the front wheels only, both locked tight. In fact, so tight, it was obviously the brakes (if it was the transmission, there would've been an inch or so of play in the wheels). The rear wheels were fine. It couldn't be the hydraulics, since the front wheels are on different circuits. Took off both front wheels and inspected the brakes. The hand brake cables were free, working OK. The pads were locked tight to the discs. The pads are only about half worn, all around. Spent half an hour scratching my head till it finally dawned on me. Before I pulled the car into the garage 8 days ago, I gave my pride and joy a wash and wax (been 5 years since the last one....) A full-dose, high-pressure, dirt-blasting bath, including wheel wells. I didn't drive it after that, except up into the garage. And in the garage, or course, I set the parking brake. The discs had rusted up, a fine layer of rust probably .05" thick. With the hand brake set, the pads were locked tight to the disc. I've had that happen to disc brakes before, but never to this degree. The wheels wouldn't budge even under engine load. I loosened the caliper bolts and freed up the pads with 30 seconds of pounding with a hammer. At that point, the hubs turned freely by hand. Then went for a drive up the Columbia Gorge I know disc brakes drag slightly, so the discs were hot, but not excessive. So I learned my lesson: No need to pretty up my Subaru, or at least drive it after flushing the wheel wells. And don't say "What did I screw up??" in front of my wife, it only gives her more excuses to say "Time to buy a new car". -- Mark

I'm a believer!!! I've been chasing an exhaust rattle for a couple of months -- it's exactly as Al describes: only when HOT, and only at 2000-2200 RPM. It was hard to narrow down, because at first it only happened when moving and decelerating. But it's gradually been getting more frequent, and now I can reproduce it at curbside when I rev it up to 2200 RPM. I did a lot of pounding with fists and/or rubber mallets, but never found anything. Didn't surprise me, cuz when I did this, the pipes were cold (or at least, not as hot as necessary). Actually, I did find the center bracket on the Y-pipe broken, so the pipe was hanging by front and back mounting points only. It was easy to believe that this stressed the pipe and caused the heat shield to rattle. But I proved to myself this weekend that that wasn't the case. Last week I dropped the Y-pipe, put in new gaskets and checked all the heat shielding (see postings above......) Same rattle, same sound, same pitch, same conditions. Early on, I put a microphone under the hood and hooked it into my stereo. (Not a good substitute for the Dooby Brothers, but it gives a renewed appreciation for the workings of the engine compartment...) Then I drove around the neighborhood 20 times, each time changing the location of the microphone. The rattle was loudest near the exhaust and cat converter. When I could finally reproduce it at curbside, I used a stethoscope and verified it came from the exhaust. But I still believed it was the heat shields causing a rattle. Until this past weekend. Now I'm ready to buy into the "rattling catalytic converter" theory. In fact, I'm convinced!!! Obviously the fix is to get a new Y-pipe. $$$$$$$ ! Can a muffler shop weld in a generic replacement for the cat? Or how about this: some strategic dents in the cat casing to "squeeze" the honeycomb back into submission? Or sinking a coupla sheet metal screws through the casing into the honeycomb material, then seal up the screw heads? I live in an emissions-testing area, so I don't have the option of gutting the cat. Any ideas (other than $$$$$$) ? Al, let me know what you find and do to fix it. -- Mark

This is uncanny, you must be in a parallel universe..... I was chasing an exhaust rattle myself. I don't think you have to disconnect the Y-pipe all the way just to get at the O2 sensor. You can unbolt the front studs (to cylinder heads) and center bracket and let it hang a bit. But if you're after a rattle, you might want to check all the heat shields. There were some parts of mine that were contacting the exhaust pipe itself. I could see 4 or 5 shiny metal contact points. I took a ball-peen hammer and put dents in the heat shields away from the exhaust pipe. It's 50/50 that they were actually causing a rattle, but it couldn't hurt. 'Course, to check all the heat shields you gotta drop the Y-pipe. Y-pipe's got 4 bolt-on points: the 2 front exhaust flanges (connects to each cylinder head), a center mounting bracket on the transaxle (4WD only?), and the joint at the back with the mid-pipe. Each cylinder-head flange has 2 studs. Like Al said, these are likely to come out instead of just the nuts. He had 3 out of 4 come out; I had one. Easy enough to get a replacement stud (10mm x 1.25 x 40mm). The threads on my cylinder head were in good shape, but Al said he had problems.... The rear joint to the mid-pipe has two spring-loaded bolts. If the springs are really rusty, it's a good idea to replace them. This is where the "donut gasket" is. It's a spring-loaded fit lead ring, slips into the mid-pipe. Again, I don't know if it's good practice to replace that. All these bolts (including the 24 heat shield bolts) were the toughest ones I've found on the car to get off. I soaked each in a good bath of PB Blaster overnight, and still needed a breaker bar and several layers of knuckle skin to get 'em off. If you're gonna take off the shields, remove the bolts on the car, 'cause I doubt you can get enough torque with your pipe laying loose on the floor. So I replaced my O2 sensor, just 'cause 16 years seemed long enough. But the main reason I did this was to track down the rattle. I'll be running my wagon this weekend to see if it worked. I feel pretty confident that it was a rattling heat shield, or possibly a leaky gasket. -- Mark

Oh, you mean remove the heat shields and leave them OFF ? The heat shield above the cat is double-thickness, if you take off that one you'll fry your CV joint. The heat shield below the cat is heavy-duty single thickness, as it is you can still start a fire sittin' in a cornfield. I wouldn't do it..... The other section of shielding aft of the cat is kind of tied into the cat's heat shield (share the same bolts). So you'd have to rig somethin' up there, too. I suppose you could easily take off the downpipe shields -- but mine have a lot of dings from pebbles and road kill. Seems they're an extra protection for the exhaust pipe itself, as well as heat cladding. Nope, I wouldn't do it.... -- Mark