hooziewhatsit

hehehehe I got to do this in my 85 twagon that sat for at least 6 years before I got it. In retrospect, it really wasn't that tough. I found it much easier to just pull the entire dash, then you have easy access to the heater core/AC box, etc. Just seemed like a lot of work at the time. At times it also helps to have another set of arms when you get to removing the dash. In my case they had a nest in the heater core box, so no amount of spraying stuff down the vents would have helped.

The AA christmas group buy thread in the marketplace has some 15" rims in it (in case you haven't seen it)

You should only need to hit the button to move the shifter if you're going to shift to a new gear that could be 'damaging.' ie, from neutral to reverse, from drive to 2nd, etc. You should not need to push the button to upshift from 1st->2nd, and from 2nd->drive, and I think from drive->neutral (could be wrong on the last one).

the up/down only matters when you go to put the timing belts on. I usually follow the usual method; with both dots up, put the drivers side belt on, turn the engine over once, put other belt on. I'd rather do that than trying to get sneaky and put one up, the other down, and not need to turn the engine over, mess it up somehow, and have to do it again I've also found it's easier to put the cam towers on with the keys/dot up. That puts the cam in a position where it doesn't depress any valves, so you just slide it, and all the rockers are stuck in place; Compared to how I did it the first time, fighting to keep the rockers in place while I tightened down the cam tower.

There was a great writeup in the USRM from skip about this problem. Most common cause is a lack of vacuum to the two solenoids right by the wiper motor under the hood. The vacuum lines should come from the vacuum cannister on the passenger side rear of the compartment. If none of the heater controls work, this is most likely the problem.

that sounds normal, really. You gotta remember that when you turn the cam shaft, you need to compress the springs and open the valves. Does the passenger side free-spin? If so, it sounds like there's something wrong with it :/

First thing to check is the axle nut. It needs to be TIGHT (145 ft/lbs). If that's loose, it will make all sorts of nasty sounds. If it turns out that it is tight, it could be a few different things: -splines on the hub/axle stub wearing out, caused by a loose axle nut (I'm repairing this on my car tomorrow) There should be rather wide 'flat spot' on top of each spline. If they're sharp, they're worn out. -bearings, -and finally CV/axle going out.

welcome to the board! The test connectors you're looking for are under the hood by the wiper motor, in the driver side rear of the compartment. Just substitute the the black connectors in the documentation you have for the white connectors in the car. Since your CEL is flashing, I'm betting that the green connectors are connected. If they are connected, then the flashing means that there are no codes stored. Just unplug them and go on as normal. If the CEL comes on again, you can connect the white ones then read the new codes. edit: if you just turn the key to on, does the fuel pump cycle on and off, and a relay/solenoid under the hood click? They will do that if the greens are connected. Just part of the test mode.

just be glad it wasn't the front wheel that locked up (gives me a bit of incentive to fix the rear bearing in my bro-in-laws car)

yup, they're non-interferance. Mine blew a t-belt doing 60mph. Fixed the belt the next day and been fine ever since. I'd almost be tempted to go with the turbo loyale, but only because I haven't heard of many of them. Only drawback is the automatic, which can be remedied But... depending on what the '88 is (DL, GL, d/r, etc) you daughter may like those options better.

I'd guess that it's the IAC - idle air control valve. Might help with the no power situation as well. Also, when was the last time you had a tune up? (plugs, wires, cap, rotor)? http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=27893&highlight=idle+control+valve http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=32704&highlight=idle+control+valve edit: if you do try to remove the IAC, I've had the best luck using vice grips to break loose the four bolts, then removing them by hand. There usually isn't enough room to get a screwdriver in there.

usually the axle will go far enough through the knuckle to get the axle nut on. After that, I place a big crescent wrench right by the seal on the knuckle to pry off of. This protects the seal. Then I use a claw hammer prying on the wrench to pull the axle through, occasionally screwing in the axle nut, etc, to get more leverage. good luck (had to type quick, dinners ready )

good luck. I tried that once, and managed to break a sliver of glass off at that tab. The the glass is sealed to the rest of the housing. You may be able to find some solvent to eat up the glue stuff and get the glass off. I also had a headlight with a small hole in it. Put some silicon in the hole from the outside... worked for a while, then disintegrated and got water inside the headlight again. Maybe a tiny bit of JB weld or similar would seal it well enough to not come out again. Finally just got a new headlight from the boneyard.

both :/ I also have an 85 twagon, I don't recall right now how the connectors were different, I just know they are. Also, the two two dashes (analog vs. digital) usually have different gauges in them. ie, my 85 digi doesn't have oil pressure or voltage, but my 91 loyale (same as GLs) have both voltage & oil pressure. Here's a thread where he does a similar swap http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=21881&highlight=dash+swap so yes, it can be done, but it's not just plug & play.

the connectors are very different between the two. I'm sure it's been done before, it probably just won't be the easiest. Best bet would be to get a dash from a similar car.

In this thread is a PDF to the guide that shows how to test the resistances in it. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=24997&highlight=throttle+position+sensor I recently replaced my TPS, and got rid of some pretty bad surging I was getting under light throttle while cold. If you have AC, you may to file away a bit of the the compressor to give yourself room to get the TPS off. When you look at it you'll see what I mean. oh yea, and for the shorter than 3 letter search terms, add a * (wildcard) to the end of the term. It will allow you to at least get some hits, ie, TPS*

There are some good ideas to clean the head/block mating surface here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=43204&highlight=cleaning+head+gasket+material

welcome to the board, as far as I know, all you need to do to check the timing is connect the green test connectors, then flash your timing light though the hole in the top of the bellhousing. Timing should be 20* +- 2* BTDC. To check the timing belts, just remove the two side covers. Crank the engine by hand so that the flywheel shows three vertical dashes (not the 0* TDC mark) on it in the hole in the bellhousing. At that point the 'dots' on the cams should be opposite of each other; one straight up and one straight down.

could it be the connectors under the dash need to be swapped around? I know some cars have a switch built into the odometer to trigger the EGR light for mainanance reasons. I believe there are a few 2-pole connector under the dash; unplug one and plug the other in.... maybe?

pull the distributor cap off and have someone crank it over. If it doesn't move, you broke the driver side timing belt. Also check to make sure the screw didn't come out of the rotor, letting it free spin. That'll also stop you dead in your tracks (ask how I know).

The sensor you want is the one with a two wire pigtail. Should be right under the thermostat. Sorry I don't know the part number for it. I've replaced a couple of mine with ones from the junkyard with good results. Kind of a crap shoot though :/

if/when you do the rear diff, make sure you can get the fill plug out before you take out the drain plug I haven't had that happen to me, but I've heard about it happening.

I believe you will only need to remove the dash cover; (screws behind the 'def' and 'off' covers, same on the other side, then two screws right above the instrument cluster, and a couple on the edge below the rear wiper switch.) Once that snaps out, unplug everything and get it out of your way. That should give you enough room to work with the heater module and associated lights.

I don't know the part number... but can you explain 'eating them alive'? How often do they die? Splines get stripped out? If the axle nut is torqued to the right amount, they should last dang near forever.

so with the flywheel at the three marks, you put the drivers side belt on with the cam dot up. Then turned the engine over once (flywheel back to the three marks), then put the passenger side belt on, right? It's a very easy mistake to not turn the engine over inbetween each belt. I've done the procedure several times, and almost forgot that step last time I did some belts. Caught it before I had too much put back together though.