carljwnc

I had to replace my thermoswitch, $45 (ouch), if I remember correctly, dealer only. A friend of mine just grounded it out and let the fan run.

Mine are clicking too, after our little off-road jaunt:-\ only about 5k on 'em.

I assume that USRM is the Ultimate Subaru Repair Manual??? That would be the place for this, perhaps I'll wait until it's up and do it then, I did it with mind set of doing a write up and I would love to share the experience. Let me know when the USRM is up, this will give me the time to get it down on paper for a well presented service write-up that the manuals say you can't do at home. Thanks Shadow,

JOB DONE!!!! It took me about 8hrs. hands on time (12 altogether) to do the job, I also replaced the lower ball joints while I was at it. My car drives SOOOOOO much nicer now. One stuck screw, lower strut, was my only difficulty, this prevented me from using a press. I used an 1 1/8" dia. bicycle fork steerer tube to knock the old bearings out, and a 2 3/4" dia. piece of aluminum bar stock and a dead-blow hammer to drive the new bearings in. I also took photos of the whole procedure (this added quite a bit of time) if anyone needs some visual aid, I may post the whole job if there is interest and the admin. will let me (it would take up some space, 20+ pics). Thanks to all who posted hints and suggestions.

WhooHoo, more NC Subaru freaks!!! the goat, is there any off-road spots in the eastern part of the state??? My parents live in Cary so we are in that neck of the woods a few times a year. September 25&26, there will be a Subaru meet in a place to be determined (subaruforester.com'ers), most likely here in the mountains, I'll keep you posted. :cool:

Thanks for all the incredibly helpful info everyone. I will be doing the job soon, one way or the other, most likely I'll use the "cringe and hammer" method, removing the knuckle.

Newbie machinist, and newbie on the board. I certainly agree with you rickssubbie, I have cringed myself while I was "pressing in" bearings (former bicycle mechanic) with a hammer and the appropriate sized socket, I've done it before, and will do it again, if I have too, but I now have access to several presses, which brings me to: I need to do the front bearings on my '83 GL, I'm only going to have this car for a few more months (I may have to cringe with the hammer in my hand). My question is; To remove the drive shaft to do the job on the car, do I need to remove the roll pin at the tranny and "press" the axle out of the steering knuckle??? To do the job removing the knuckle (not cringing, using a press), can I leave the drive shaft attached at the tranny, remove the ball joint, tie-rod, and strut??? If I do it this way, I assume that an alignment is in order as well, however, I don't like to assume anything. This car is my daily driver but it's days are numbered so I'm looking for the minimal expense/downtime way to get the job done. Thanks for any input:cool:

Old and New, Off-Road and On, The Beauty of a vehicle that can do what ever you want, fresh out of the factory or with 180,000k+:cool:

I don't know off-hand of a good online map, shouldn't be too hard to find. We are about 3 1/2 hours west of Chapel Hill. No skiing in the immediate area but within a half hour, hiking, mtn. biking and paddling abound in the area, Pisgah National Forest. Chapel Hill would be a great place for artists, however you may want to check out Asheville as well, cost of living is high in both towns, but either is a great place to live.

Thanks for the welcome mentis, Chapel Hill is a nice town, my wife has cousins that live there so we visit there when ever we can, a little too flat for me though, I need the mountains.

Thanks for the welcome!!! Rallywagon we'll hook up soon. Sweet82, I wanna' see your avatar better, is that your car??? Now that I've signed up, I've got no time to post, school, work, children........(repeat over and over)

Greetings from Western North Carolina, Currently driving an '83 GL Wagon, suspension adjusted to max. height, rear disc brake conversion, and a few other cosmetic modifications. I spend as much time in the dirt as possible, mostly gravel roads in Pisgah National Forest, but some jeep trails when I can get away from the wife and two kids. My wife has an '03 Forester X (Blubaru) which we love dearly, and my four year old son is a hard-core WRC fan. My wife and I are active members on subaruforester.com, and I am also on scoobymods.com and offroadsubarus.com (Australia). I visited this board a couple of years ago before I was discussion board savy, and I stumbled across it again a little while ago and decided to join up, great gallery, and lots of informative posts. Looking for others in WNC to go off-roading with.