Frank B

The bearings are used in a lot more than Subarus. I've seen them listed for snowmobiles and lawn mowers!

I agree with you Gruff, I really do. Oil is dominate fuel because it was cheap, once upon a time. And now there are so many people making insane amounts of money off of it to just let it go. And we are dependant on it. I believe that we should be using more solar, wind, and hydro-electric power. Hydro as in water turning generators, not hydrogen. Hydrogen is great for emissions minded people, if you forget how it's made. The sun has provided the energy to sustain live on this planet for millions of years, we have the technology to change our current path, but who's going to let go of this wasteful, easy way of life and start growing their own food, riding a bike to work, paying thousands of dollars for solar panels, or simply trading up that big SUV or 300+ hp sports car for an electic model that goes 55 mph for 60 miles? If I had the money I certainly would. I don't even have the money to prepare for the worst if it does just stop and the world gets hungry, who does and what do you do? It's up to the government to start this change, but there are too many oil investors in Washington DC. I say DC because the rest of the world is looking at us.

This guy did something like that, full scale. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enMDCVKVjUc

Here you go, right out of the USRM. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=77491 There are four, two per side, all the same bearing number, 6207. Get inner and outer seals too. It still amazes me how big they are, they're as big as the ones in my full size Ford!

It'a more like this, a fiber ring that goes between the head and the iron piece. There is a recessed groove that it fits in if I remember right. It isn't that silver crush type like you see in a lot of domestic cars. Either way, you're on the right track. 1987 SUBARU BRAT GL 1.8L 1781cc H4 2BBL (5) : Exhaust : Exhaust Manifold Gasket ItemPriceCoreTotalBECK/ARNLEY Part # 0374768 Manifold Set, Exhaust, 1 Per CarChoose: [Wholesaler Closeout -- 30 Day Warranty (Only 10 Remaining)] ($0.98)[Regular Inventory -- Full Mfr. Warranty] ($3.84) FEL-PRO Part # MS91443 {Set} OHV Engine $4.32$0.00$4.32

Stick with paper, just change it out at regular intervals. I've had three on three different vehicles, and one on my motorcycle, and that cotton gauze shrinks over time. You'll find that the filter element doesn't fit very well after a while. I think it's just beacuse of the heat in the engine bay and moisture in the air. That whole gimick of it lasting 50,000 miles or more before you have to clean it is crap too. It all depends on where your car is operating. If it's dusty, of course you will have to clean it sooner. If you put too much oil in it, you restrict air flow, I had a hard time jetting my bike because of that. If your thinking about the cost savings over time, you need to consider the cost of the cleaning kit too. The down time that you have to let the filter dry after you clean it, usually overnight which isn't bad really. If you want it for better filtration, consider a better paper element first.

If it was that easy to make hydrogen from tap water, it would have been used as a fuel a long time ago. I just can't see how it could make enough to make a difference. I wonder if it's just a water injection system and the water vapor is making the difference?

Careful with the wrench monkeys and such, your s**t**g were you live man. Your fellow board members here are wrench monkeys. And your still talking about differnet machinery in a different industry, they do not compare! My concrete evidence was in my hand when I replaced my u-joints. Ones with and without zerks. Tell me how the dirt and water got in the factory u-joints that did not have zerks and how that did not contribute to thier failure? Tell me why I have to grease all the bearings in my lawn mower a few times a summer or they'll sieze up and need replacing? Your trying to tell me that the parts that have been in my hand never existed. The parts I am talking about ARE NOT the parts you deal with, they ARE NOT precision pieces that are properly sealed from the elements. Water and dirt get in, pumping new grease pushes it out, not all of it, but enough to prolong the life of the part. Were not working on the space shuttle man, were working on $400 Subarus!!! You need to think about the machine your working on, they are not all the same, why can't you get that? You will have a u-joint fail on your car, if not allready, are you going to invest the time and money to analyze the grease and steel? NO , your going to replace it with a new one, and grease it up after or before you install it. When you take the old one apart you will find old, hard grease, dirt, and possibly water. Would new grease have prevented the failure? YES. Who cares if all of the old crap was removed before the new grease was pumped in, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that it lasts longer. It's not a precision piece, it's a maintenance item that's not designed to last forever, but helps out our wallets a bit to grease it instead of replacing it. I don't have thousands or millions of corporate dollars to maintain my car, nor do I rely on it to make thousands or millions of dollars to run a business so I don't care if it's perfect, just as long as it woks. Save your way of thinking for the equipment your payed to work on, that jod requires it, a tired old car does not. It was designed differently, to different standards, with different materials, that require different maintenance procedures. Your not going to convince me that what I'm doing is wrong, I know first hand that greasing a u joint or other automotive bearing will prolong it's life compared to one that does not have a zerk. I've wasted money on non-greasable u-joints, and ball joints just to replace them within a year with greasable ones, ones that I have pumped new grease into every time I change the oil to compensate for the poor quality of the part or seal. They still don't squeel, pop, snap, or vibrate.

You fail to realize, although you basically just covered it yourself, U-joints, ball joints, drag links, even wheel bearings are NOT high speed bearings. All of the high speed bearings in a car, like the ones in the tranny are lubricated with gear oil. I bet the "grease" in your high tech, high speed electric motor bearings mounted on a stationary piece of production equipment in a climate controlled building is more like oil than grease. Since it is a true high speed bearing that requires a thin, oil like grease, or oil. Again, you can't compare the machinery you are referring to with a car, they are two different machines operating in totally different environments, made to different standards. I bet the bearings on your equipment are made one at a time by a highly trained machinist, not thousands a day by employees making dollars a day. Made from pure steel or better, not reclaimed and recycled steel that is full of impurities.

Get what you can, if you have room to store it.

If the pipe bolts directly to the head, then it's just one flange gasket. But if you have the big iron(?) manifold pieces that have the pipe going up to the air suction valve, then there is a ring gasket between that and the head, and the flange gasket between that and the pipe. Use Subaru Gaskets, all others will blow out. Be careful to not overtighten the bolts, the threads will strip out. I used walker flange gaskets last time and coated them with copper rtv selant, and it just lasted longer before blowing out.

Nope, run it out on the road more. If it doesn't go away, move on to the intake manifold gaskets. If that doesn't do it, move onto the head gaskets. But I bet you just need to run it more. It could take days for the stink of coolant to go away. Pull the plugs and dry them off too. The biggest issue will be the coolant leaking down when the engine is not running, filling the cylinders and leaking past the rings into the crankcase. if that happens, do not run the engine. The coolant will wash away the oil and trash the bearing surfaces. But that's worst case.

Could you imagine how many old Subaru's would still be with us today if they used galvanized steel or aluminum??

Most of the AC systems in these older Subarus were installed by the dealership. If they could do it so can you. They had a manual and the parts in front of them and followed the directions. As far as all this other stuff about vacuum and nitrogen, don't bother with that. Replace the o-rings as you install the system, use a remanufactured compressor, new drier, then bring it to a shop to charge it up. They have all the tools needed to do the job. To check for leaks, fix the leaks, and charge/oil the system. One more thing to consider, have you ever driven an older Subaru with the AC on? SLOW That little compressor takes a lot of power from that little engine.

New cars don't have the zerks because they are not intended to last. They are expected to be traded up for a new model every two or three years not kept as the family car for ten to fifteen like people used to do. New models are released every year, all new models that share very little if any parts with the previous models. That means in five to ten years finding parts will be difficult if not impossible. Aftermarket parts anyway. You would be able to get some from the dealership, at a high price, but wait a minute, that would be a good deal for them! Just like making parts on the car non-serviceable, so they can sell new parts instead of grease. When I managed a NAPA store a few years ago, I had ASE certified mechanics working at Ford, GM, Toyota dealerships, and the mechanics at the local shops that have been on a creeper longer than most of us have been alive, ask for ball joints, u-joints, king pins, tie rods, etc, etc, that had zerks. Why, because the one they are replacing didn't and they failed. It's real, it's the truth, I've seen it in my hands. Not in a manual.

Yes, right on, and thank you for your input.

Your welcome, that's why the board is here.

Every u joint I replaced due to failure, had no grease in it, had water in it, or the grease was so hard that it did not do it's job. You repack wheel bearings right? You change lubricating oils, why not grease.

You have to be careful using gasket paper too, some is made for oil, some for coolant exposure. I've seen gasket paper fall apart after spending hours cutting them, just because I failed to buy the correct material :-\ .

You guys are talking precision bearings designed to never be greased, assembled with synthetic grease, with real rubber, or synthetic material designed to take the high heat and stresses of that particular job, not something that will do the job at the lowest production cost so a profit can be made. You said it yourself, a $480 bearing!!! Your talking about a study by a major industrial manufacturer..... That's NOT the cheap made in china, india, or wherever bearings that are sold in auto stores today. I've woked on top notch, high-tech german production equipment before and yes, there were bearings like that on them, but that big expensive machine is not my Subaru! It is not exposed to the rain spray, mud, dust and changing temperatures that my little car is. The first thing that any good mechanic needs to know, is what they're working on. There's a specific way to maintain a specific machine, and those rules do not apply to all machines. I grease the u-joints on my truck and my subaru every time I change the oil. I drive in the rain, the snow, mud, and dusty gravel roads. Every time I put a pump or two in them, a bit of water, and dirty grease comes out. How is that bad??

How much have you ran this engine after the repair? You will get some smoke after you do a repair like that, but it goes away after it all burns off, usually after the engine warms up and you've taken it for at least a few miles of driving. The coolant can pool up in the catalytic converter and muffler and take 30 minutes or more to burn, or boil, off after everything gets hot. If you've been driving it and you get the white smoke every time you start it up, in the morning, after it sits at work all day, then you have a small leak. It's enough to fill a cylinder or two with just enough coolant to create the smoke. But it will get worse, it will wash the oil from the cylinders and slowly destroy your engine. Start small, the carb base gaskets, then intake manifold gaskets. Don't just assume the worst and take the heads back off. If it wasn't doing this before the repair, then it's not a crack. If it was, then happy hunting! Most time folks jump on the worst case scenario and pull the heads. But while doing the job you have to replace the intake gaskets, fixing the problem without realizing it.

Oh, and get two. Your gonna have the drive shaft off so you should go ahead and replace both of them. Make sure they have grease fittings on them, some new ones don't. And put a couple pumps of grease in them every time you change your oil. Good luck.

The hatchback in your avatar is what we're talking about right? 1-0027 is the autozone part number you need. P391 is the Napa number. Precision U-joint 391. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Nissan-240Z-Pathfinder-Subaru-Brat-New-Rear-U-Joint_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247QQcategoryZ10076QQihZ016QQitemZ260228249983QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/UNIVERSAL-JOINT-NISSAN-SUBARU_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247QQcategoryZ33738QQihZ010QQitemZ200196574230QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/UNIVERSAL-JOINT-MAZDA-NISSAN-SUBARU_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247QQcategoryZ33738QQihZ010QQitemZ200190957696QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

Keep in mind that this is for an EA82 car, not the Hatchback. EA81 car u joints are servicable.

well, on either engine it's easier to remove the intake then the heads. So I would say try the intake gaskets first. They really aren't that expensive. Of the ones I've replaced, you can tell by looking at them that they were leaking. They also looked like mush oozing out between the heads and the intake.