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DaveS

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About DaveS

  • Birthday 08/13/1969

Profile Information

  • Location
    paonia, colorado
  • Referral
    searching for subaru repair help
  • Biography
    shade tree mechanic who tries to keep the dirt out
  • Vehicles
    1987 gl wagon

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  1. Thanks Tom, I might try them next time. I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy a used one from the local, well-stocked-with-subaru, junkyard. But I may change my mind a twelfth (or even thirteenth) time.
  2. I wasn't going to grind out the holes (maybe I would if I were just removing a few burrs) what I think I'd have to do is take it to a machine shop and have them milled out (keep'em straight that way) But I think I'm going to be cheap and just buy a good used one (our junkyard has several to choose from) and when I'm a little more flush with cash I might take the old one to a good driveline shop (one a few towns away) and have them do it.
  3. I understand about Napa... pretty much all auto parts stores are like that. Napa maybe worse than others. What I need to know is how much needs to be ground-off the yokes before even the Rockford bearings will fit? On both sets of new bearings I looked at (one was Napa labeled, one another brand) the inner cross member was the same and both had outer caps that were the same. Made me think that I'll just have to grind the hell out of the yokes to make them fit (or even take them to a machine shop to do the grinding) I'm all for ordering them if they're gonna be a smaller cap and hence less to grind (and probably a better bearing) but on the other hand, the Napa parts are $19 vs $25 for the Rockford, and they're sitting here now. The car isn't a racer, just trying to keep it running a little longer. Maybe say $#@% it and pay $70 dollar to the local junk man for a used one.
  4. I know that rockfordd makes these... but I need to know if part of fixing this is that I need to grind the bearing cap holes bigger? I'm guessing Rockfordd and Napa bearings are gonna be about the same (or not?) These look like I'd need to grind the holes 1/16th to 1/8th of an inch bigger. Dave
  5. OK ,I've looked thru older threads and I've seen that others have replaced the 'non' replaceable u-joints on their ea82s. I've pulled my driveshaft, and with my press, was able to remove the old staked in u-joints (a grinder with a cutting blade helps too;) The problem is I ordered u-joints from Napa and looking them over the bearing caps are much larger than what I removed from my rig. I know I'm supposed to grind-out the stakes, but for these to fit I'm going to really need to grind the hell out of the holes they are supposed to fit in. Is this what I need to do? Or are these maybe the wrong ones? I had the guy double check the part numbers... even found another set under a different part number that was exactly like the ones I'd ordered. Do I grind or do I try and find different u-joints? Any advice from the forum's experts? Thanks Dave
  6. I did head gaskets myself recently... look-up Miles Fox's videos, very helpful!
  7. This was the most helpful thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=138926 I had previously replaced a front axle on the same '87 GL that I redid the head gaskets on a couple weeks ago(why I joined this awesome board). And since the CV replacement, I've heard this mystic 'clunk' that sounded like a bad CV axle, but it came and went. Kinda was driving me crazy (very short trip) before the head gasket blew. I've been so busy with the engine that I've been able to mostly ignore the clunk. I have the engine running pretty good so today I turned my attention back to that annoying noise, used a buddy's big pipe wrench (yeah, not the best tool) and cranked the SOB one more crown past the cotter-pin hole and suddenly, no more clunk. Thanks for helping me solve a major headache!
  8. I think I've finally got the GL running right... had a couple of mixed-up vacuum tubes, which were a bit of the problem, but the main issue giving me grief was I needed to set the idle up a couple hundred RPM. Amazing the difference in how it preforms at low speed with the idle set properly. Also splurged on a set of new plug wires and that helped quite a bit too. The oil pressure problem was mainly the fact the wire from the sender was scraping against the main pulley (oops) but also I realized I used 5/30 wt oil in the engine for the first oil change. It's been so cold I figured that was a wise choice. With that oil I also added half a bottle of Lucas oil conditioner, just in case, and I'll use 10/40 when I change the oil in another couple hundred break-in miles. The oil pressure gauge is no longer a source of my angst. It runs much better... I even retraced the trip I did when the head gasket blew and no problems. In fact my milage is up around 30 per gallon (from maybe 24 before) and I don't seem to be using any fluids. What am I going to do if I'm not always checking the oil and water?
  9. Dirty fuel filter it was. Thank the Subaru Gods... (or whomever) In reply to Mr Fox; my dad was a mechanic, and as a child I did as much as I could to avoid following in his footsteps. Unfortunately I chose both my early career and early cars to be incompatible; I drove a lot for a job that paid practically nothing, and I was doing it in an '69 vw bus. So, to make a long story longer, I was forced to be mechanical despite my attempt to avoid it. Funny how the world works. After my second bus broke down in a – I won't call it miserable because there were some nice folks there who helped me out – but it is the flag stone capital of the world. Ashfork, AZ was where I was stuck for two weeks trying to locate a running vw engine that I could afford. That was the last vw straw for me and I swore off the beast unless I were to win millions and was surfing again... but that's not something I waste a lot of time dreaming about. The Suby engine reminds me a little of those old days, except the repairs seem to last much longer. Thanks for the help, and for this awesome website!
  10. and Mr Fox, thanks for the useful video on setting your timing belts and your distributer... though I forget to do the second rotation before installing the distributer and I had it set 180 degrees off. Easy fix (thankfully). But your instructions were very helpful and I'll never pay to replace timing belts again
  11. That's the one I think need the replacing. Should have done it while the car was on my buddy's lift, but I was too 'busy' to stop by the parts store. Woe be me
  12. I'm pretty sure the fuel filter is the problem... and I never disconnected the canister, so I don't think those are the issue. Yeah, the real key words; 15 degrees f today as I was test driving and cold like that for the past ten days the car has been sitting outside with an almost empty gas tank. I'm pretty sure there's a bunch of condensation that snuck in there and is probably causing the problem. I just wanted to see what you nice folks thought. Sometimes there is a little thing that makes a huge difference and so I thought I'd see what folks more knowledgeable thought. Thanks!
  13. Oops! It's got a carb and I'm using 10/40 like I did before.
  14. Thanks for all the help you've given me the past two weeks as I've worked to bring a '87' GL five-speed wagon back to life. Blew the head gasket and still drove the beast 60 miles over a mt pass back home. I've got it back together but I've a few questions: What is the likely cause of my stuttering/dying? Dirty fuel filter or maybe a vacuum line got mixed-up when I put everything back together? I'm not sure. I'm guessing it's a dirty fuel filter because it was colder than a witch's mammary gland who' lying face down in the snow today (perfect time to test drive) and I ran out of gas (been cold for a few days and the thing sat with an empty tank). In the shop it ran pretty swell, but it was warm there so Hmmm? If I did cross a vacuum line (I think I have them right), would it cause stuttering and the such? Also, I thought my oil pressure would be better than before installing the new gaskets, but it's not. At least not at top RPM... at stop signs it is reading higher than before. I wonder if it was reading high because the 'o' rings between the heads and the cam towers were shriveled up and partially blocking the oil passage? Or maybe I screwed something up? Or maybe a hunk of dirt is partially blocking the oil sending unit's input? At start up it read well over the 45lb mark on the car's oil pressure gage, but dropped down to below the 45lb mark when I drove it around. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Dave
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