hooziewhatsit

At least on the GLs, one could connect the green test connectors, turn the key to On (not start), and the fuel pump & some solenoids will click on/off at 1-second intervals. You can also unplug the fuel pump and check the voltage, rather than checking it while having someone crank it over. -Dave

That was my first thought as well :-\ There is a way to check them without pulling the water pump completely off. Remove the upper radiator hose, as well as the metal pipe to the water pump. Then you can feel inside to see what condition the fins are in. Would probably need to buy another pump to compare them to. If they're the same, can probably return the new pump. -Dave

someone else posted the trick of putting a dab of thick grease (RTV?) on one end of the roll pin hole, letting it cure, then filling the roll pin hole with penetrant. This would help if you let it sit for a day or five before working on it. -Dave

So the idle is surging up and down? Sounds more like the idle air control valve (IAC) than the coolant sensor. Some searches will show where it is and how to clean it It's a pretty common problem. -Dave

ahh, so the safc needs 0-5v, and our MAF uses 9-10v? So basically, we just need a way to cut our voltage in half, run it through the safc, then double it again to the 0-10v to go to the ECU? If so, that's easy to do. I probably have enough stuff on hand to make something up real quick. -Dave

Don't those cars have two fuel filters? One under the hood, and one near the fuel pump?

Sounds like a clogged heater core :-\ I just helped a friend replace his last week. PITA. You can try flushing it with a garden hose, then putting the hoses back on reverse of what they were. It might help, might not, but can't hurt. -Dave

So what is the exact problem? I might be able to whip up a widget that would work. Just need to know what it needs to do. -Dave

sounds like a vacuum line under the hood came loose. Look for one to go from the intake manifold to the white canister thing behind the passenger strut. -Dave

Recently I had a disty from an 85 carbed EA82 go bad. I found an identical disty in an 86? NA MPFI at the junkyard. Was quite surprised that they looked identical. Installed it and it works. That is, until some other issue came up that causes the intermittent no-spark -Dave

I believe the ECU is also on the horn fuse. So if that fuse keeps blowing, you won't have the ECU, and you won't have spark. -Dave

In that case I believe the distributor would be 180* out, which would make it not run. To check: crank engine over by hand until the dot on the passenger side cam is at the 10:30 o'clock position (45* CCW from straight up). The rotor should now be pointing at the #1 sparkplug on the cap (closest to the hill-holder spring). If that's the case, you can either take the disty out and move it, or take the belts off and re-do the timing. -Dave

From the USRM http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49918 -Dave

the relay could also have a 'burned' connection. Just fixed that on a friends' car a few weeks ago. Just have to find the relay and check it. Not sure where it is on the EA81s though. As for running temp, I'd recommend finding a cheap IR temp gun. Then you'll know exactly what temp it's running at. My two cars both run at the same temperature, but the guage on one is barely off cold, and the other is 1/8" from hot. Go figure. -Dave

yep, you'll want to replace the entire cable; sheath and all. You'll need to undo the two bolts holding the handle end to the car, as well as all the tiedowns along the way. I believe it's held into the latch mechanism, so you'll have to take that off also. So, you'll have to remove the grill, then the three (?) bolts holding the latch to the front support. May need to loosen the radiator bolts to give it more room for the cable to slide through. Then, just need to feed the new cable from the cabin through the rubber seal and up to the front. Then you can clip the end into the latch, and put everything back together. Should be pretty straightforward when you see it in the junkyard. Oh yea, when you pull your cable out, tie a string to it before you pull it through into the cabin. Then you have something to guide it back out with. -Dave

my loyale did this same exact thing. Both ball joints were shot beyond belief, ie, flopping around. New ball joints, and no more weird steering on accel/decel. -Dave

Random thought: I unhooked my MAF a while ago to test something for someone else on the forum. Then, the engine would start, and then turn off after a few seconds. So much for the limp home mode, lol. No good idea if that's similar to your problem or not, just an idea. -Dave

I've heard Napa and such have a rubbery/plastic type thing you put in a drill that's supposed to work really well. Don't know much more about it since I haven't used one before. edit: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=79777

www.grimmspeed.com carries all of them.

This is nothing compared to another 'engineering' forum I participate on They actually have a 'thread locked until OP replies' option to close a thread in cases like this.

There are actually two different ways to drain the coolant from the heads, IIRC. One is through the 14mm Hex plug thats a couple inches in diameter. Probably a PITA to get out. I know there's one on the passenger side; not sure about the drivers side. This is where good block heaters screw into. There are also two 14mm (12?) bolts on both sides of the engine that go into the water jacket. Again, pass. side is easy to get to, drivers side is hard, so I never use it. This bolt is much easier to remove than the plug. ymmv, -Dave

yes, it would be a very good time to swap out the axle when you did the balljoint. Otherwise, you'd have to take it apart to the same point again to replace the axle. I'd start soaking that area in PB Blaster/Deep creep NOW, well before you start taking it apart. -Dave

wagon Still does what I need offroad, and can carry a ****ton of cargo -Dave

www.mizpahprecision.com $6 new, or $4.50 each with core. Since you're in there and they're known to tick, I'd replace them. -Dave

Have you made sure the fuel pump is running? Connect the green connectors under the hood near the wiper motor, then turn the key to On (not start). The solenoids under the hood and the fuel pump should pulse on-off on 1 second intervals. If the pump doesn't run, there's your problem. Try hitting it I smelled gas in the intake once working on a car with an intermittent no start issue. Turned out the fuel pump had a bad spot on it where it wouldn't start sometimes. -Dave