All_talk

Hey guys Just called NAPA, $156 for bearings and seals to do the rear of my ’87 GL wagon. I haven’t had the back apart yet (did the fronts a few months back, bearings and seals for about $50), what’s so damn special about the rears? Is there a better deal some where? :cornfuzz: Gary

Most gauges, electric or mechanical are fairly inaccurate, truly accurate gauges cost big money (test instrument grade). But its really not that important, even factory gauges with no numbers at all are just as useful. The real use of the gauge is to establish a baseline reading during normal operation so you will know when something is out of range, the actual numbers are of little concern. I installed the mechanical gauge only to diagnose whether the problem was with the gauge or the oil pump, once I replace the electric ones sender the mechanical will come out as the stock one tells me all I need to know (when working properly ). Gary you just gotta love the banana

Hey JWX I just did a gauge install (see the “Oil Pressure” thread), the tubing kit was just long enough to go from the sender to the console straight line over the top of the engine (not the best route). I’d look for a long run tube kit, you can use a coupler but it’s just another leak point. Try not to kink the tube and avoid sharp wear points, I ran the line through the firewall in the speedo grommet. Gary

hey BlueTrain I did a oil pump and front crank seal last weekend to stop an oil leak (crank seal was hard as a rock and loose), in the process of trying to remove the pressure sender from the oil pump I twisted the cover just a bit (should have removed the sender while the pump was on the engine, more leverage). Since then my gauge would periodically drop to near 0, with no change in sound from the engine. So last night, while doing a oil change I decided to temporarily tee in a mechanical gauge I had, just to check things out, at the time a noticed just a bit of oil seeping from the screw terminal on the sender (problem found). The dash gauge read near 0 most of the way into work this morning but the mechanical one held a steady 38lb or so. I’d bet yours is a bad sender, try an oil change too, maybe just really old oil. NAPA said $32 for the sender, a little steep, but much better than a bad pump. BTW, my manual said the oil pressure spec for the EA82 is 43lb @ 5000rpm, so apparently the EA82 is a fairly low pressure engine. Gary

Thanks Morgan I did the cam seals last fall when I did the heads so I doubt its them (I hope), I did notice it was "damp" around the pump at the time so thats why I suspect it. Just wondering if there was a “common” leak I should be looking for. Gary

Hey Subesters I’ve got an oil leak at the lower front of my EA82 (’87 GL Wagon), looks to be the oil pump, filter adapter or front crank seal. Their seams to be oil coming out of the timing belt cover so I’m leaning toward the pump or shaft seal. What’s the most likely source? Thanks Gary

Hey Guys Though thermo is not my specialty, I am a mechanical engineer and I’ll chime in here. I also have spent years working with air cooled VWs where oil is a far more critical part of the cooling system. Others have touched on a lot of important aspects but I will add a few thoughts. The condenser coil would be a bad idea in series with the radiator, as this would obviously severely restrict coolant flow. In parallel it should add some cooling capacity, but I think it would be minor, specially when you consider the decrease in delta T it creates for the primary core, its effect might possibly be similar to turning on the heater and the increased air flow from removing it might have just as much affect (as RedNed stated). As for placing it in series with the heater circuit, most cars (I haven’t checked the subie yet), have a flow valve that shuts off or restricts the coolant flow when the heater is turned off, so unless you turn the heater on the condenser coil will not see any flow. It should be a functional cooler for oil, though its placement is certainly less than ideal. But unless used with a thermostat that positively diverts flow through it (as opposed to just opening up a parallel path), it will most likely see little flow. And if used with flow diverting thermostat it may create a significant pressure drop in the supply to the engine, at the very least the pressure after the cooler should be checked (the stock sender is in the main gallery off the pump). As for removing the coolant thermostat, the only thing to be gained by removing it from a properly functioning system is a slight increase in flow rate, if this shows a significant change in temp under normal running conditions there are most likely other issues that need to be addressed. And the disadvantages of running without a thermostat are real, yes in a specific situation a thermostat may not be necessary, but in general thermostats are a very good thing. On the trans cooler, I’m not sure what the working pressure is, but some testing on a auto car with an inline pressure gauge should show if its in the right range. XSNRG, any restriction in the low pressure drain side of the turbo’s oil system is a VERY BAD idea, it will inhibit oil flow through the turbo and most likely overheat the turbo shaft bearings. (edit-Skip covered this) Gary

Hey guys I don’t mean double post or put an add in the wrong place but I’m a bit desperate. Please check my add in the market place. http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3347 Thanks, Gary

Hi guys I’ve got a ’87 wagon with the 1.8 carb engine and its giving me trouble, it has a huge stall / hesitation problem and it wont stay running when its cold. I know it needs a carb kit, but if that doesn’t fix it, I’m thinking about stripping all the emissions stuff off to remove potential sources of trouble. So here’s my list of questions: Will the stock carb work properly stripped and plugged? Will it need rejetted? Can it be rejetted or will I have to get a different carb? Has anyone done this? Thanks in advance for any help. Gary