el_freddo

The parts car that has the piece on it is an hour’s drive away at my parent’s farm. Earliest at this stage would be next weekend. If your mum gets suss - use some BS magic that a forum member is curious about the 85 model door setup with the mirror. Be sure to then take some exterior pics too Cheers Bennie

I’m not following what the difference is. The ‘84 had the window mounted on the door panel too. And my ‘88 that I daily doesn’t have any cut out in the upper arm rest for the triangle piece that covers the mirror mount above the door line. You have caught my curiosity on this one. Cheers Bennie

Checkerboard comment is talking about the top piece with he door lock and release handle in it. I too have front and rears from an ‘84 L series sedan. But I’m in Oz and postage can be a killer when leaving our country... if you need/want them though I can check out postage options. Regards Bennie

Very unusual for the belt and crank pulley to align like that for a cam belt change! You should go buy a lotto ticket And I’ve done the drink bottle cut down burping method many times! Cheers Bennie

Well on the SG it’s how you said - accessible from the rear/through the starter motor hole. I’ve probably got my wires crossed from an old Holden setup and what I remember seeing on a Gen1 I pulled apart once. Cheers Bennie

Looks good armedequation! I hope the road trip goes well. Great way to get acquainted with the subi! Cheers Bennie

@GeneralDisorder - is there a particular process in doing this? I have three questions about doing this: - do you run the engine in park, neutral or drive to pump out all the fluid? - when the fluid is pumping out, do you have the other tube sucking fresh fluid or leave it open until the flow reduces from the outlet hose? - replace the filter at which point in the procedure? Cheers Bennie

When I read the updates this morning, I wondered if it’s an oil pressure issue that’ll result in bottom end knock. Cheers Bennie

Well you’d know then, I’m just a backyarder that’s seen several torque converters in parts yards, I haven’t played with them as such - but am about to once I crack the ATF lines from the radiator cooling/heating lines. This is in an SG Foz and the first auto Subaru in the family. Cheers Bennie

You’re right, I should’ve been more specific with the low compression and that it’s related to blow by and pushing oil mist into the intake system. @HRBrat - you’ll have to work out if you have hydro lifters or not. We only have solid over here. Also check for a bent push rod. Cheers Bennie

Bad bearings certainly can have a whining noise to them! It’ll even change noise with bumps in the road. Cheers Bennie

I would say it’s @ShawnW at a guess. Maybe try making this a private conversation via PM, otherwise hopefully he’ll respond for you with a public reply to clean up this matter. It’s all very one sided! Cheers Bennie

I didn’t see that coming! Cheers Bennie

Through the torque converter? I can’t see how this works. Cheers Bennie

Me too! Even in $US!! Only if it’s the L series one though. If it’s the EJ dual range forget it, we’ve got plenty of them cheaper than $200. Cheers Bennie

Can’t happen at idle. Are your valve clearances correctly adjusted? Cheers Bennie

Yep, start at the compression check. I’m still yet to do mine. Also check the shaft play on the throttle body of the carb. I reckon this can easily mean out the mixture by sucking in air after the Venturi, leading to predetonation. Cheers Bennie

Not consider, DO! And not “should” either. Nike Cheers Bennie

Careful mate, you’ll end up banned for harassment Bennie

I’m putting money on wheel bearings. The cv shafts shouldn’t be giving you any trouble since they’re generally ever used - if you don’t fit into this category, then they could be a possibility. Cheers Bennie

Diff ratio swap. 4.44 is the shortest you can get. Good luck fitting this to a PT4wd EA 5spd box, the pinion shaft in these gearboxes is part of the lower gearset. In the AWD EJ gearboxes the pinion shaft lives in a tube that the lower gearset is fitted to. Major mods needed. Match the rear diff to the front diff or just run in 3rd on the highway? Cheers Bennie

I’d reuse the belt unless it is damaged during removal. Best of luck with the replacement tensioner, I’m also glad to hear that’s what it is and not bottom end knock. Cheers Bennie

Try doing it up tighter I give my 17mm spanner a good double tap with my hand to “hit it home”. Cheers Bennie

Over here the go to tube to use is called “bunny tube”. It’s the standard for fixed lines. Since we don’t have snow and salt on our roads, copper brake lines are illegal due to the ability of the copper tube expanding the blowing out. For the flexible lines braided is the way to go. Our ADRs dictate that braided lines must be covered in a plastic like liner, basically a tube laminate. That’s what I got when I asked for braided lines. Any good brake shop will point you in the right direction for what you need. Cheers Bennie

Got nothing on Melbourne/Victorian weather - winter in the morning, spring by mid morning, summer in the arvo and autumn coming into the evening. The last week we literally had all seasons in one day that also included hail. The day after it snowed down to 700m - a pretty rare event for winter let alone near the end of spring. Going back to the ignition switch - I agree with Numbchux - the starter switch is designed NOT to have power to accessories when in the start position. Thus without a power connection in the start position, there can never be power to accessories unless something went massively wrong, in which case you’d have larger issues at hand too. You could test the wiring and the inhibitor switch by putting 12v to the starter wire, try in park and neutral. If both work, the issue points at the ignition switch. Cheers Bennie