MorganM

Yes lets narrow down what its smoking. THe smell is also a key clue. Cant miss the horrible smell of burnt coolant! Oil is pretty distinct also. Water vapor will be mostly odorless; maybe a slight fuel smell or just an old stinky subaru smell

Trying to finish up my 2WD to 4WD swap here. For those that have installed a transmission please note any tips and tricks that assisted in getting the thing in. My biggest obsticle is getting it up high enough yet stable enough to wiggle and push it in. Stabing the shaft into the engine is going to be tricky at best and I dont want this thing falling on myself or a friend. All that is left is installing 4WD transmission and drive shaft and my 2WD to 4WD conversion is complete Thx!

Couple little tips: Break free the main oil pump gear bolt BEFORE you remove the timing belt. Note there is a little notch on the oil pump gear making it easy to remove the 3 inside bolts holding the pump on. If you cant get the main crank pullye bolt loose try the starter trick. Put your engine at TDC @ cylinder 1 on a compression stroke. That way putting the timing blets back on is a no brainer

When I put mine back together I only installed 4 of the old bolts and did the rest with big zip ties. Will make removal in the future MUCH easier

The story of my life... hahahaha

Well originally my 88 GL wagon was called Suparu but its not very super... its more like one of those photos someone emails you that you didnt really want to see but cant help look ? Now I just call it the Poopenwagen

when you say it punched through the frame; where are you talking exactly? I have to be VERY carefull where I jack mine up. 90% of the time I put the stands under key points in the main crossmembers or suspension. This stuff is SOLID despite surface rust. If I must jack it up on the unibody somewhere wood is a necessity! The jackstands would surely punch through the unibody and I would end up with similar results as you mentioned. Often times when comparing how rusty vehicles are my wagon becomes a reference point as to just how rusted out a body can get. Only thing worse I've seen is that BRAT archemetis had!

A friend and I finally threw the 2WD 5peed on ground lastnight. WHat a bugger to get out! Nobody warned me about the super lame speedometer cable with the flimsy PLASTIC housing end in the tranny. Wrenches, robogrips, channel locks were all futile since the plastic housing just shreds, twists and is heat seized. Ended up putting the chizel end of the crow bar on it and removing the speedo cable plug by applying the 3lb maul. I'lve lived w/o a speedometer before Having someone push on the front of the motor while someone else pulls on the tranny really helps make it just flop right out. Still havent dreamed up any neat ideas about the driveshaft. Prolly call around to see how much making a custom solid one would be or having someone weld in a bracket for me.

Recieved my sweat shirt lastnight. Looks great Wife has official confirmed I'm the biggest nerd however LOL Thx John!

Recieved a call back from Loess Hills Hideaway. Got some more details on group rate and reserving spots. Here is the group discount deal. 2 Cabins @ 2 Nights = 10% off 3 Cabins @ 2 Nights = 15% off 4 Cabins @ 2 Nights = 20% off Problem is one cabin is already reserved. He said if we rented 3 cabins and 1 campsite for 2 nights we could get the 20% off. I dont see any problem getting enough ppl to get a group discount. Reservations can be made over the phone. Once we have enough confirmed people he will put a 1 week hold prior to deposite being recieved. Once the deposit is recieved then a solid reservation is made. If we dont act soon however we WILL get bumped. They are making it sound like the area is a real hotspot for turkey season and camping can get scarce quick. If you plan on staying at Loess Hills Hideaway reply here so we can get a confirmed headcount. This way I can get us the group discount penciled in. Then we can work on getting a deposit and solid reservation established.

Any other good ideas on mounting a driveshaft in a 2WD wagon???

Called up Loess Hills Hideaway: Here's what is available. http://www.loesshillshideaway.com/accommodations.html Lodge: Open Cabin's: 1 and 3 are open (2 is currently reserved) Camping: 1,2,4,5,6 are open (3 is currently reserved) Waiting for a call back on confirmation of availibility. Apparently we are competing with turkey hunting season in the area. Note that hunting IS ALLOWED at Preperation Canyon State Park so be aware when we are out and about! Will inquire about group rate/discount when I get a call back. Here is some more info: Loess Hills Hideaway: http://www.loesshillshideaway.com/index.html http://www.loesshillshideaway.com/rates.html Preperation State Park: http://www.loesshillshideaway.com/state_park.html http://www.state.ia.us/parks/prepcan.htm

You guys crack me up to no end. LOL Can't wait for the feature presentation

I ended up getting the inner DOJ unhooked from the transmission. That's all I really needed to do for pulling the transmission. What I did was jack up the vehicle at the transmission crossmember. Loosend wheel lug nuts. Finished jacking it up. Removed wheel from hub, 2 bolts holding steering knuckle to the strut leg, uncliped brake line from strut leg, unbolted sway bar end from control arm, and removed bolts from top of strut. Pounding a 5/8ths or so chizle into the pinch bolt gap on top of the steering knuckle and then pounding a 1" chizel into the gap. Slipped a crow bar between the control arm, near the swaybar bracket, with the end of the cow bar against the swaybar link on the unibody subframe. This way I was forcing the whole control arm, steering knuckle, brake assembly, and steering rods/ends down away from the unibody and subframe. While standing on the crow bar I worked the strut free from the steering knuckle by twisting the strut lower seat and pulling up away from the knuckle. I'm tired Once the other DOJ is unhooked I am ready to lower the transmission from the car. Everything else is unbolted and unhoocked. Should be fun later tonight Peace

which bolt exactly? bolt and nut holding inner end of control arm to subframe? nut holding the ball joint together at outer end of control arm?

Just called Tim and MilesFox answerd. They are about 10 miles from home and rolling strong. Sounds like they will have a little welcome home party for trashwagon 6 Good seeing you guys up here in MN. Will see yall at the Iowa meet! Peace

torque steer ive noticed in my wagon will pull left, then right and even out. the equal length half shafts HELP but there is still torque steer. just seems that it evens itself out. unlike in my KIA (transversly mounted engine/transmission) where the uneven lenght halfshafts make it pull hard to one side and I end up fighting it with teh steering wheel.

MAYBE? haha kidding what size washers? like the big ones on my minibike axles ?

Man after reading all the updates im SO excited for this. *gets to work franticly on subaru* What should we be doing about camping. Are spots reserved or shoudl we be calling individually and reserving spots ourselves? Got prices on the hike-ins? cabins? State park sticker required?

Glad to see its up and running! Honestly I'm amazed. It was quite an undertaking. More involved and more thinking then a 2WD > 4WD swap that's for sure!

send it to morganm@mnchopshop.org ---------- thanks for the replys everybody. this info should REALLY be added to the Ultimate Subaru Repair Manual! ----------- GLCraigGT: Got a list of materials so I could make one? Thx!

I found plenty of threads about axle replacing but most of them just said 'use ed's method' I cant seem to find it. I know how but would like to know the best way! BTW why is it not in the Utlimate Subaru Repair Manual? Thanks!

wish I could afford to be 100% hardcore subaru. honestly i need a reliable car with a warrenty to get me to work and back consistantly. I cant afford a new subaru. I cant afford to miss work from a borken down old subaru (did that for YEARS). it's a great hobby but I guess I'm not 100% hard core subaru

I've ignored my brakes long enough Time to do it! Nobody can give me a straight answer to what this is, what it does, and what will happen if I dont put it all back the way it was. I called mudrat79 and he was about 90% sure he knew what I was describing. Said he would take a look at a parts car when he gets home to verify however and give me a call back.

I think this Justy would be the only one you would ever catch me driving. What a cool little bugger