idosubaru

the lever is on the passengers side, it won't just shift by grabbing it and pulling it. it's part of a stationary assembly, something must give for it to be able to move (unless something is broken or already apart). you'll have to unbolt the bracket (annoying to get to the bolts, but doesn't take long) to get it to move.

definitely do not spray WD-40 down there unless you're going to pull it apart and regrease everything (which isn't hard to do). you can rebuild the caliper if this problem seems baffling. caliper rebuild kits are only a few dollars and it's easy to do. push piston out, replace seal around piston, clean piston bore out and reassemble with the new boot. it's very easy to do. the most annoying part is bleeding the brakes after you're done. you could try just compressing the piston all the way in to free it up. or try working it back and forth a few times. i can't think of a good way to pull back the rubber boot and get in there enough to make a difference. the boot is held in by a metal clip, i guess you could try to pull that out...but heck if you do that you're one step away from rebuilding the caliper. if you are going to grease it, i think i'd way to compress the piston all the way, remove the boot and get a needle grease gun attachment to get grease all down in the bore, if it would even fit though i'm not sure.

that you're getting metal sounds and your first post referenced "moaning sounds" and have very significant amounts of play speaks of wheel bearings. that is not a ball joint. i didn't see the "moaning sounds" post reference the first time i replied, i just now saw that, or i wouldn't have mentioned ball joints. alignments are typically over-rated, people pay for way too many of them, but in this case you'll need one after the new hub is installed.

i'm with GD's price range. if your market is small, i'd say closer to the $200 range. if you have a large metropolitan market place, maybe the higher end. if you're willing to sell this thing and tout the fact that it has no timing belt to fail...someone who needs inexpensive and reliable transportation might foot $500 or so. i've found people will buy oil leaking seives and banged up cars for $500 so long as it's going to get them somewhere without breaking down.

we also have another member (in addition to the one you're speaking of), that designed a duty C controller. but he basically developed an entire stand alone TCU to do it and was very tight lipped about the entire deal. no information offered.

sounds like a wheel bearing to me. ball joints will also cause curve and speed dependent wobbling, but usually the only noise you'll hear is anything associated with the wobbling - not an actual metal sound from the joint itself. if you can't find a good and reasonable mechanic or cost is an issue, swapping a used hub is a good option as well. these guys have one in PA for $65: 1-800-358-8770. if you can't do it yourself, a mechanic can install a hub in well under an hour. depending on your mechanic, wheel bearing replacements can run quite high.

if the crank isn't marred up (like he just mentioned), it has the possibility to work. i would not have thought twice about trying it while i was in college. i would get a tap and die and make sure the threads on your "new" shorter bolt and the threads in the crank are crystal clean. i'd want to be able to spin that thing on there by hand effortlessly. then tighten that mo-fo. it's not aluminum, i use a 3 foot long pipe and put all i got into it when i tighten mine, so i'm betting it can and will hold depending how much good thread is left.

sounds the bearings/hub are all shot. but, the axle nut isn't loose is it? sometimes the axle nut can back off to the point that only the cotter pin is retaining it and it's too loose to hold the wheel solidly in place. they should have noticed that if they put it in on a lift and looked at it though. is this accompanied by any noises at all? i'd replace the entire hub like they said if it's that bad. while it's off be sure to check the ball joint and tie rod end link as well.

like nipper said, what symptoms are you having? and yes auto trans are typically high cost to open up and repair. subaru auto trans are reliable enough that finding a good used trans and installing it is a economical and a wise choice if you can find one.

you realize the bolt is stripped right? have you ever dealt with a stripped crank bolt before? the dealer will likely say "new engine needed" and if they do manage to get it out, it will be more than $80. the starter method and air tools will probably not make a difference here. maybe, but not necessarily, i think you're thinking of just a really tight crank pulley bolt...this one is stripped. though i would certainly try the starter and air tools, it is worth a shot. if you can't get the bolt head and have to go behind the pulley, get as close to the crank shaft as you can so you're pushing dead center on the pulley. build up something to leverage against with wood or metal, so you're not directly pressing on something important...oil pump for instance. crank seals are easy in my oppinion. sometimes annoying to remove, but not a big deal at all, they always come out.

it does a decent job, but that doesn't mean it can't serve my personal uses better. i drive off road in snow, mud and ice. there are times when the TCU is not sufficient for what i'm trying to do. but most people don't encounter those situations.

i'm not being hostile, i'm stating facts and posting links. i requested people who have had failed transmissions and there were no responses..except andjo who 'left it on, on the highway', a mistake, we all know that..it's been said a billion times. we at xt6.net have had this mod in place (without near the fanfare) since 2003, there are a number of users there as well that are not members or frequent here. no failures on transmissions nearing 20 years old over there. if people screw up alot of things it's a 1,000 dollar repair (changing oil, changing coolant, rotating or replacing tires, replacing thermostats...etc), it seems you stand in opposition to this modification on principle and keep quoting all of these transmissions that have failed....but i don't recall seeing them. not saying it isn't there, but i can't find it and noone is speaking up. andyjo admitted to leaving it on, on the highway...that doesn't qualify for "what came first the chicken or the egg?". again this seems like a biased oppinion. here is my situation.....i come from a board where this mod has been in place for years. there haven't been any failures. then the topic explodes over here on usmb recently, and all of the commentators are people that haven't done it. it seems to me this information is best presented in a factual manner, and for those of us that have done it properly and need it, it is well worth it. there's no hostility at all, but i'd like to see this topic remain factual for the minority that can use it, because it is awesome. this will not hose your trans, many have done it at xt6.net for years. there is a risk, yes. if anyone does toast a trans, it's because they did something wrong.

plastic covers don't matter, but i'm not sure why you'd need to pry behind the pulley. the bolt head rests against the crank pulley, so you should be prying a between the bolt head and pulley...not sure why the plastic or oil pump is even in the equation here.

i think there are some online website that detail all the model differences, i've seen people here post links to it before. might want to check those out for spefics like that.

the prying would be bewteen the crank pulley and the bolt head most likely. that's the ideal case, so should'nt have to mess with the plastic covers unless you'd want to pry on the pulley. but i'd look to get the pry bar right under the bolt head which resides againt the pulley, no harm on the plastic covers there.

really? why don't they show up in parts catalogs, i was searching and they never showed 200SX in the early 90's catalogs? grrr...i was hoping this would be easy!

oh yes, prying on the head while turning can definitely work. so it came out a little bit at least? if that's the case you can try screwing it back in, then back out, back in and then back out...sometimes that will free it up as well. but at this point the easiest, best and quickest method is definitely prying on it.

okay i edited my post...but you did say that "people have responded" right after i said "they didn't". that's suggestive of being misleading, it doesn't matter, it just gets confusing when it's dead wrong information floating around all over multiple threads....including this: you said twice "you have the only one that works". that is completely not true. you know for a fact that someone else on here has one with resistors and gizmo's in it to prevent the CEL from coming on, yo'uve conversed with that guy....i don't get it, am i confused? and...dima has one, thunder has one, (and like me they have had theirs for years like myself, they didn't just recently jump on the bandwagon on this one) and others that i can not recall....how can you repeatedly keep saying i'm the only one? over and over i'm trying to dispel the same incorrect information.

wow, someone beat that thing to crap to strip it. sounds like a complete pain the rear to me. i only have suggestions: heat the bolt, try tightening it, try air tools, try the "starter method" in hopes that does something? if you get it out, the crank may or may not (never checked) be tapped deeper than the crank pulley bolt, so a longer bolt may work. that is true on most bolt holes in the engine...but the crank pulley i do not know. if you remove the covers the timing belt may be replaceable without removing the crank. but then you'd still want a way to lock the crank bolt solid. was the car running like this?

nipper suggests differently: i respond with a link, where like i said, no response:

you're going in circles, this is the same issue that has been addressed time and time again. there can't be a solution to something that isn't a problem. all of the "you'll screw up your trans" responses are from people that have not done the mod. in another thread (or this one, i can't recall?) i asked for anyone to please post that has actually had a trans issue that wasn't user related. no response and no response on here either. build any controller you want, but people will still argue that anything but the stock TCU is the only way to not destroy your transmission. and it is to the extent that it eliminates some possibilities of user error.

this probably doesn't matter, but what i was looking through showed the 200SX didn't show up until 1995. the 2.0, 1.6, SX, and SX-SE all shared the same rear caliper part numbers from multiple places i searched, so that makes it easy. but they were all 1995-1999 (all identical), no 200SX available prior to 1995. none of the local stores carry them in stock, so i can't easily compare to the sets i have lying around. i guess you meant 1995 as being "early"? these are easy to find, not hard at all and widely available. thanks a ton dave, i've already go the larger calipers for my XT6, just need a set of these so i can put them on.

gotcha. so the only difference in that 1985-1987 part number is the dowel pin, didn't WJM order some sprockets to verify? to finally get to the title of this thread "The Truth" we need to see that those two different part numbers are actually same, except for the dowel pin.

it's a solid car, what do you mean "what to look for in this body style", like what interior improvements or.....something else? check for torque bind, change the ATF when you get the vehicle and it should be golden. the HG and TB issues we have just mentioned are well covered on this forum, use the search button to look up further info if you'd like.

those parts references were confusing, maybe WJM or subyluvr can clarify? i didn't seen any references past 1990 on the one screen - why not?