hooziewhatsit

lol... I'd occasionally park next to the silver WRX in the OIT parking lot. Hoping some of the speed would kind of "wear off" and come my way

another question I had about the disk swap... Does it require a new master cylinder? I haven't seen anything that said explicitly you do or don't need one, but I recall one person saying a new one made the brakes feel a lot better.

I was going to look into adding more grounds sometime. Maybe I'll make it a little sooner than I planned. I just went out and tapped on the solenoid, and it started right up. Could a year old (most likely refurbed) starter have the contacts already worn out? Until the other car doesn't have spongy brakes, I don't want to pull it all apart.

Hey all, This is on my 88 GL, 5spd d/r The last couple mornings, my starter has done the 'click but not do anything' routine. After a couple minutes it'll finally fire up. Today, took everything out and cleaned all the connections. Negative to starter, positive to starter, battery terminals, etc. Get it all put back together, and now it won't turn over at all... I found this thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=8263 and tried manually jumping the spade connection on the starter. After a few sparks, it made the starter engage and try to turn the engine over. (with the key off) I tried again with the key on to see if it would stay running, and the starter wouldn't engage. Try again without the key on, and still no engage, just lot's of sparks. Did I just kill the starter somehow? I checked the voltage at the spade connector when I cranked it, and it is getting 12v. The resistance on the cables going to the starter are fine. This starter was replaced on 11/29/03. Any ideas? I wouldn't think the internal contacts would wear out in just over a year. Thanks, -Dave

yep, sounds like your cotter pin failed so your axle nut came off, which is known to cause nasty grinding sounds. I've driven on mine grinding for miles without any damage to the bearings, so you might get lucky and only need to put it all back together. When you put the axle nut back on, it needs about 145 ft/lbs of torque. If it still grinds after that, try tightening it again. If that still doesn't help, it could either be the splines on the hub, or the bearings.

When I cleaned the one on my wifes loyale, I used vice grips to break loose the screws. Then I took the whole thing out and hit it pretty good with carb cleaner. I'd imagine you could just hit with carb cleaner while it's still in though.

does the rotor spin? It could be the timing belt stripped a few teeth like it did on mine a while back.

don't feel bad about it. Everyone has to start somewhere. Read enough old posts, and you'll be able to start diagnosing stuff a lot better (hmm, I vaguely remember reading something like that before...) kinda like Skips signature: The more I learn, the more I know I don't know - I feel this is the first step towards true wisdom? The more I read here, the more I learn :-)

Out of curiosity, I just went and did some probing on my wifes loyale. With the battery still connected, very places were under 1 ohm. With the battery disconnected, most places were under an ohm. The bracket the ECU is mounted on was about an ohm, so I ran another wire to to from the fuel pump mounting bracket (easiest for right now). It appears to have made a small difference in the pulsing I was getting in the fuel pump. I'll know for sure later today when I take it for a drive.

I should add a lot more grounding my wife's loyale. It was scary how dirty they were even though they looked alright from the outside. I never thought about making sure the exhaust is grounded better... Just cleaning the existing grounds made the 'fuel pump & dash gauges pulsing with the turn signal' a little better.

How well does it run without the greens connected? What kind of mileage do you get? about your code 23, according to this thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=14828&highlight=air+flow+sensor MAFs either are good or bad. A bad one could cause all sorts of problems it would seem.

That may be related to the air flow sensor code you're getting. I've heard that if the MAF sensor isn't working/connected, it usually shows up by the car starting, then shutting off immediately.

so I assume in an SPFI you could adjust until it pinged, then back it off? It doesn't have the knock sensor, so the computer shouldn't be adjusting it. btw, I do know that mine will ping... from back before I knew what it was or how to correctly fix it (or that it could cause damage).

does changing elevation affect this at all? ie, it works at sealevel, then when I go to the mountains, will it start pinging (or vice versa)?

34, IIRC, is the EGR solenoid or circuit. That, along with the purge control solenoid I don't think would cause your problem. (someone more knowledgable can correct me though). They are two solenoids right under the intake hose. You can test the resistance on them with a DMM. they should be around 35ish ohms. However, the Air Flow Sensor could be giving you some trouble. Yes, I believe the manual says to set timing to 20deg BTDC with the green connecters connected.

eww... that doesn't look good. I think the only way you could trust it would be to get a new one.... that being said, you can probably get one cheap at a junkyard. I know the local one here has a couple that are easily accessable, if you want to go that route.

Ahh, I believe you're looking in the wrong place. The two connectors should be under the hood right by the brake resevoir/wiper motor. There you should find the Green 'test mode' connectors and the white (or black) connectors. To read the codes, connect the white ones and watch the ECU light. See also this page: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/article.php?a=44

semi on topic... how do you get the axle out of the steering knuckle? Just pound on it until it comes out? Then to put it back in, just do the reverse?

Did you put both cams at 12 o'clock, then put both belts on? If so, that's your problem right there. If not, don't keep reading IIRC, you put the driver side belt on, crank the engine over once, then put the passenger side one on with the cam at 12 o'clock. In the end, the cams should be 180 degrees from each other. The flywheel should be at the three timing slashes when the belts go on. The flywheel should not be at 20 deg BTDC, or anything near it. That would explain why it seems like only half the engine is firing. You'll want to verify that, then also verify your timing order, which I believe is 1, 3, 2, 4. #1 should be marked on the disty cap, and it goes CCW from there. Good luck

25ish in town, 30-35ish highway 88 GL wagon, non turbo

I haven't had much luck at the drive in car washes, unless they have a steam option. I have had luck finding a local shop that has a steam cleaner, and letting them go at it for a while.

A good thing to have done is a steam clean. That will get all the old oil off the block and let you see where the leaks are. The only oil leak with the intake I can think of has to do with the PCV valve. Do a search for it, and I'm sure you'll find lots about it. It's mostly corrected by cleaning the valve. Also, if it is plugged, I've heard it can make oil come out everywhere.

I'd recommend changing/carrying new belts (V-belts & Tbelts) with you. When you change the tbelts, just throw the old ones in the back. It stinks being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a broken alt. belt... ask me how I know

Have you done the basic tune up stuff? (plugs, cap, wires, etc) What are your shift points? If I REALLY have to get up and go, I'll hold third until 55 or 60, which then puts 4th right into the power band as well.

how is you coolant level doing? It could be you have a leak allowing bubbles to enter the system. If that's the case, you just need to find the leak, fix it, then burp the system after you fill it back up. However... if you're smelling coolant in the cabin, and hearing gurgling from the heater core, it sounds like you have a leak there. This will be confirmed if your floor mats start getting wet, or if the air coming from the vents is very moist. If it is the heater core, it'll require pulling the dash apart to get to it and fix it. I also would drive either as little as possible, and/or keep adding coolant so you don't do any real damage before you get it fixed.