misledxcracker

Usuals have been checked, and cleaned. The white connector wasnt the one that went on me, it was the hot connection. Reads 12 now on the volt gauge, like normal. I had to use my mom's Civic battery, start the car, then swap batteries when it was running (I know, I know!) It charged the before-flat battery, I turned the car off, it started right back up, and back at 12V it went. I'll try to start it right now, and see what it does.

Bump... I'm still paranoid about it... Dont want another $80 tow bill tonight after work Is there anything I should be worried about?

My suggestions off the top of my head... Ditch Haynes. I've had better luck with Chilton myself in a pinch, but I prefer How To Keep Your Subaru Alive (HTKYSA) and the Factory Service Manual (FSM) which are available for download as PDFs. Search for them around the forum. Get the engine going, of course. Thats not TOO hard on the wallet, ESPECIALLY in the Subaru "heartland". Even if you do have to replace the longblock, its still not as bad as it could be with other models of cars. Replace all the basics that have to do with the cooling system, if you dont know the history. Radiator, new radiator hoses, heater hoses, thermostat, water pump, and maybe add some Water Wetter for kicks. It'll set you back some, but one thing Subaru's hate to do is overheat. I'd say $300 TOPS for everything in this department, based on prices I've got. Your results may vary, depending on where you shop. While torn into the front of the engine, go ahead and replace the idlers, tensioners, timing belts and V-belts. Reseal the oil pump. Pop in some new cam seals, and a crank seal. $250 TOPS, again your results may vary. Is it an automatic? Three speed? Replace the modulator, its a cheap investment, and it'll prevent transmission fluid gumming up your intake and causing BS, believe me it sucks. If you're inclined, go ahead and service the governor as well. Replace vacuum hoses that are brittle, or just plain old. Better yet, get them all replaced for worry-free "comfy" driving. It'll help out a good deal, and it's fairly cheap to do it. Get hold of a multimeter and test ALL of your sensors. Run a D-Check diagnostic procedure (search around) and repair your problems as necessary. This can become tedious at times, especially in SPFI land. Be prepared for some cursing and plenty of beer drinking. Make sure the charging system is up to snuff, replace as necessary. It's just like ANY high mileage car, except... The Subaru will last longer

(BTW I do trust my volt gauge, just not the oil... ) My alternator had been acting weird lately. The volt gauge would sit at 10 or so, the battery checked out on the meter around 12.something, and the alternator at like 17.something... Finally last night, the thing died coming home from work.... $79 to tow the car 2 miles. Egads. I take the alternator to the auto parts store (schmuck's) and they tested the alternator TWICE, and it was FINE. The lady was even nice enough to print me out the test results, and it all checked out OK. Then I noticed the hot alternator wire connector, it was WHITE like it had been overloaded :-\ So, I replace the connector with a fresh one, and all is well now! What gives? So my problem was a connector all along? Why would the meter say 17 volts.... I checked voltage with the positive meter lead on the alternator, and the negative on the negative battery terminal. Maybe that was why it said 17? BTW the alternator is on warranty. Remanufactured OEM alternator, done at a local electric shop. Damn, I hate when a $2 "fix" really costs much more :-\

Theres two Pug alloys sitting at the JY nearby... WITH lugnuts. Still were on the car though... and well... I couldnt get the damn lugnuts off, no matter how much PB blaster and force I used. I gave up. It WAS only two outta four and I figured the IAC off of the wrecked '91 Loyale was a tad bit more important

Good luck Try Suby Specialists in Monrovia. They're cool. Also, Raffi's is in Inglewood, but I dont trust them for some reason.

I just drove mine for 15 miles and it's acting horrible now, yet it isnt making noises...... yet. I work close by, so I dont think I'll be driving it much for the time being. Hopefully here soon I'll have another transmission, I think I can pull off a transmission swap, as long as it isnt TOO hard to do it.

Here's a picture (crappy, I might add) of what I rubbed off of the dipsticks, onto a piece of paper. http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o176/misledxcracker/POTO0029.jpg The left side is the gear oil, and right side is ATF. If they were mixing, would they still look like that though? Or does the picture suck so bad that you cant tell either way?

Sun barely rose a bit (overcast much so) so I decided to go out to the old jalopy and see what's up with the fluids. I may take the car to a mechanic, as I cant smell gear oil on the ATF dipstick no more, and the gear oil looks yellowish brown with no red. Seems like the ATF is a lighter weight than the gear oil by look and touch. There is a chance I just didnt get the smell of gear oil from my fingers when I'm reading and smelling the ATF? I do tend to check both at once, and from this check I just did, I seem to grab the diff dipstick first. I'm sorry if my stupidity seems like I'm going in a big circle, as I dont mean to :-\ Ahhh.... even if it WASNT mixing, I still have no understanding to why the diff overheated, the gear oil level is fine. When it heated up nice and toasty, the dipstick did pop out somewhat, same goes for ATF.

Nope Skip, its a 2WD. No offroading in the city The gear oil is not low according to the dipstick... It hasnt been for awhile. It was ran dry for quite some time but I filled it up. Right on the "full" mark. Which trips me out more, as the ATF dipstick smells like it, but.... no loss of gear oil on its dipstick? I think this is all more confusing than anything. :-\

I put a brand new cap, rotor, plugs and wires. I'm sure its a vacuum leak because it hisses pretty loud. I'm gonna take Skip's word and grab some metric Honda hose and take it to the local import auto part store... Sadly, I'm more concerned about the transmission, that gear oil dipstick was so hot I had to drop it

Heres a question: Can that seal between the diff and tranny be replaced? Has this ever been done before with positive results? I cant help it, I want to fix her, 96K and beautiful as can be (not to mention the lack of 3-doors around these parts, people give me thumbs up all the time) How much do you think a transmission shipped would cost? Knowing me and the love for the car (at times, that is) I'd probably do a WA-CA tranny shipping stint

I wish the misfiring were the only thing I had to worry about... Unfortunately more and more I'm tempted to junk the thing. Tranny is trashed, and from my browsing, replacing/rebuilding the 3AT isnt too cheap. I'm not inclined nor motivated to do a 5 speed swap, I cant even find a single decent EA82 Subaru in any junkyard nearby anyway. I dont know whats going to happen. (BTW Skip, I've also had a 4EAT in my old XT6... I never knew I could do 120 in a 80's subaru!)

Thanks skip! I havent done a compression check on the engine, it has 96K and it's an SPFI. The gear oil and tranny fluid sure dont look mixed, but the ATF dipstick reeks of gear oil... I guess I need another 3AT tranny or something? How much would a 3AT rebuild be? I actually dont mind the 3AT

Crap. Drove it like 15 miles on the freeway... Smelled gear oil bad. Well, bad enough. Transmission still shifted fine, though. Got home, the gear oil dipstick was HOT (I couldnt even hold it!) and was popped out somewhat. Looked at both dipsticks, it doesnt LOOK like gear oil/ATF mixed... But, the ATF dipstick reeks of gear oil... it has for quite some time now. WTF is it with me and getting the "bad egg" subarus?! I dont know what I'm going to do now... I guess drive it the 2 miles to work every day, save money and go from there... :-\

So I was having a bunch of issues. Here's what I've been dealing with this weekend... The 3AT's modulator was bad. I replaced it with a Napa modulator, now it shifts at lower RPM's and its smoother for the most part. The transmission fluid got all in the intake due to the modulator being bad, and saturating the already dry/rotted hoses. I replaced some of the vacuum hoses, but I think I got the wrong size, as the hoses do not sit snug on anything.. What size should I be going for? I got 1/4 hose but I guess its too wide? Then after replacing hoses with the wrong size :dead:I decided to check the spark plugs. Well, one head (the passenger side) had horrible black spark plugs, with the insulator BURNT. The other head's plugs looked OK. I was running NGK's before, and swapped all four for new NGK's. Now I've got it running smooth at cruising, yet missing at idle, and now the transmission may be slipping. But, it only did it once, when I was turning sharply. Going straight, it wont slip from what I can tell. It also makes whistling noise when upshifting... Here's the questions: 1. Can a vacuum leak cause the 3AT to slip, or shift hard, or whistle? From my understanding, the tranny is vacuum controlled, so if there IS a vacuum leak that I can hear pretty well, can it be causing the tranny to trip out? 2. Why in the heck would only one head's spark plugs be all burnt up? It was the passenger side. 3. Wasnt there some sort of recall on the early EA82's PCV system? What was it again? Maybe my car didnt get it fixed... Maybe its causing a problem? 4. Why the misfiring after new plugs? Everything else checks out OK and even when i DO hold the hoses in place so it doesnt have the hissing vacuum leak, it STILL misfires. What gives? 5. Can wiping the tranny dipstick with a rag youve wiped the front diff dipstick with, cause the tranny dipstick to REEK of gear oil, after say.... a month?

Transmission shifts like BUTTER. Got some ATF on the cat, so it smokes but not for long, hopefully. The 3AT aint so bad after all.... But, I recommend Napa modulators, now it shifts at 2500-3000 RPM and is SMOOTH! Still idles like crap. So.. I looked at one head's spark plugs (passenger side), and the ceramic part that holds the insulator, was bubbling it looks like and yeah, totally BLACK. Other head (drivers side) was actually more semi-decen, looked brownish kinda, with no bubbling insulator. I just replaced all four with new NGKs and it still misfires, puh puh puh out of the exhaust... But only ONE head fouling the plugs? Whats up with that?

I replaced the modulator. Checked plugs, and theyre BLACK. WTF? Was it the ATF causing the plugs to do that?

I figured out, and indeed, the modulator is leakin ATF into the intake. Gonna replace it tomorrow, i HOPE it fixes my idle issue!

It's a 3AT transmission. Drove my car from LA to Arizona, 300 miles or so, and checked the ATF, and it was empty. So was the gear oil. Filled both up. Drove back from Arizona to LA, another 300 miles or so, and checked the ATF again, and again it was empty. Gear oil wasnt, though. Now after... say 600 miles since I moved back here, I checked the ATF, and its all gone again. Gear oil is fine. I'm not leaking ATF. It only marks its territory, but not with ATF. My exhaust was GONE, all of the piping from the cat back... was rusted on the TOP of the pipe, towards the car, not the ground. I spent $230 today to replace the cat, the piping, and the muffler, and MAN does it ride better at cruising speed, and MAN is it quiet! Now the darned car likes to upshift at like 4k-4.5k RPM, and idles like a DOG in any running gear, Neutral is fine. Misses all of the time, but misses a LOT more in gear. Oh yeah, it HATES to shift up when cold. Am I OK to think my vacuum modulator is causing all of this idling and missing mayhem??

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I swear if I ever get the time off I'm driving to CT The rust fixed, AND disc brakes? sweeeet

I dont know... I passed the emissions part of the CA smog test with my EA82... but I failed the ignition timing test. Timing was fine, mind you... I personally said screw it, drove to Arizona and registered it there... No bother from the cops yet, not much they can do, I claim that I drive there every week, they dont say anything else

My baby ('86 GL 3-door, 3AT, non-turbo) just turned 96,000 miles last week, I plan to get 200,000 out of her before I even consider selling. She's getting new tires, brakes, and possibly suspension and body work in the near future. I'm probably going to put way more into her than she's worth, but she's taken good care of me so i guess i can do it