pianodirt

Alright, I admit I'm still a newbie, though I've learned a lot recently, but what's a pug?

Maybe elsewhere in the country, but here in the northwest, I've heard several complete horror stories about kia's. Most of the stories were from women who got mistreated by the dealers, being treated like they were dumb and thinking they could get awa with it. There doesn't seem to be the same kind of love for kia's as for soobs on either end of the sale, again, at least around here.

Okay, so Monk's #2 trick is one I tried last night multiple times and multiple times again today. I've tried his #1 several times with same results. Which is, the cover spring will only roll it out, not in. What do you mean to unwind it and work the other way? It is already unwound and my cover seems to only roll one way. There is a face up side of nice brown vinyl and a face down side of the backside of the vinyl. If I try to roll it backwards, with the backside of the vinyl showing, not only does it not roll up easily, it gets bunch up, plus the spring does the same thing, which is to eject the cover, instead of rolling it up. I've spent nearly an hour trying to figure this thing out! Maybe I'm missing something or I broke mine.

Great, thanks Monk! I'll go try this...

I just did this tonight and haven't tried yet taking it apart. I've tried winding it back up in various manners. The best I've come up with so far is the spring gets re-tensioned backwards...that is, it will eject the cover out instead of pulling it back in.

I was pulling my cargo cover towards me to cover the cargo area on my GL and I accidentally pulled it loose from one of the latch spots on the central part of the cover and I could hear an internal spring unwind. Now it will not roll back up and has no tension. Anyone know how to rewind the spring so it works again?

speaking of washers, anyone know offhand what size is needed to replace the manual transaxle/differential drainplug washer on an ea82?

Craig...thanks. And where the heck did you get that little barfing guy?!

The door plate on my 87 gl says "6/87"...does this make it a 1987 or 1988 car? I had a 1987 Nissan Sentra once that was manufactured in 1986. It's a bit confusing, is there a cut and dried answer to these dates? Is there something in the VIN that will also tell me the model's year?

I'll check again where the noise is coming from and report back, but I'm fairly sure it is coming from inside the door panel, and mid vert height and nearer the door's opening/jamb.

My driver's side window rattles when it is partially rolled down and I am driving highway speeds or when I shut the door with it part way down. I had this happen on my Sentra I used to have as well. What causes this and suggestions for a fix? Thanks:bday:

...or if your theromstat mounts horizontally, point the jiggler valve towards the rear of the car.

Setright...I'll be waiting for your report! What if I put dino in the manual transaxle/front diff and redline in the rear diff, would that be a good combo? Subyluvr's comments make sense, needing the added friction of a non-synth oil for manual transmissions, since it is a human shifting and releasing the clutch. Humans can repeat the same consistency of timing/movement/shifting/clutch as an auto tranny can. Or maybe Subyluvr's tranny or clutch is worn differently than others, I dunno. But he did say he made a brouhaha about this on another board and finally folks were agreeing with him. You guys know more about cars than I do (i'm learning, got good and greasy and spilled gas everywhere yesterday:D ) and that's why I'm here. "How to keep your Subaru alive" has taught me a lot, especially how a car works period. Before I read it, I didn't even know what a valve or crankshaft was.

Okay, so I did my first check on the rear diff oil on my 87 soobie yesterday. I had just been to the grease monkey and they always say they check about a dozen different things, one being the rear diff oil, all in about 5 minutes. There was dirt and no sign of being touched recently in and around the bolt hole. It took me 20+ minutes to get the damn bolt loose! I had to revert to the jack under the rachet handle withe a cheater bar, but I finally got it loose. If the monkeys had just finished it, it should've been done easily!

Because of what Subyluvr said. I'm not real hip at forking out $50 for some redline (replacing both front/rear diffs) just to find out he's right and grinding gears. It seems there's a bit of controversy over the matter, but I'd simply be happy with the less expensive side.

I'm having a hard time finding NON-synthetic 75W90 Castrol with the pour nozzle in Seattle. I find many different weights and of course lots of synthetic versions. I want to replace the rear diff and MT diff oil. I've looked at Napa and Shucks so far. I know I've seen, I thought it was Shucks, but they don't have it or any 75W90.

Castrol "dino"? Ya mean non-synthetic Castrol 80W90, or something else? Sorry that I don't understand the vocab...

Funny...I removed the said panel tonight to both find the intermittent wiper module and the ECU. I don't think my car has an ECU, anyone know? It's an '87 GL Wagon MT d/r. Anyways, I saw the little box on the panel (gray on my car) and wondered what it was, it has room on the side of it for either a large female plug or for several individual wires, about 6 or 7. It was not plugged to anything and I couldn't find its mate. My intermittent wipers had the same symptoms Al describes, but now it doesn't work at all on intermittent. If this little box is the unit in question, I wonder how it got disconnected!! Doesn't look like the thing that will just unplug itself. :cornfuzz: I'll givva better look tomorrow.

Two Ton Wagon?

hmmm...i guess i've been lucky...i've gone to the grease monkey in fairwood (part of renton) for the last few years because i got out of the habit of changing my own oil...as in no where to store the used oil, it always makes a mess. they've always done just that, changed the OIL and the OIL FILTER. but they always say they check about 20 other things, including the rear diff oil, which i haven't tried doing yet (just getting into my own maint work)...they say they check all this stuff in like 5 minutes, it seems too fast to do all that. good thing is one guy has been a tech and manager there ever since i've been going and he seems to keep a good eye on everything...if i ever go again (wintertime when it's damn pouring rain and 33F). i'll be sure to watch them as to what they're doing.

my 87 gl wagon was stolen in july. short story is i think they stole it because: its an older car that is easy to steal, it had a kenwood cd player with the face removed (but the face was in the car), it had a yakima roof rack with bike mounts. For a druggie, that could all score 100-200 dollars, i imagine. they had it for about 4-5 days when the dumped it and stole another car at the dump point. i found it because sometime saw my 'stolen car' sign. no apparent damage, drives just as well as before, gas tank was at same level as when stolen. good luck, you'll find it eventually.

Hey Frag, Thanks for the input, you even answered some questions I didn't even ask! It all makes more sense now.

So I drive my soobie around for 10-15 minutes to warm up the diff oil...of course the MT/front diff will be warming up. But will the rear diff oil also be warming up if I am not driving in 4WD? I guess I do not quite yet understand how/what a diff really does, maybe someone could educate me. I don't have any dirt roads nearby enough to drive with 4WD. This is on the car listed in my sig line... vvvvvvvvvvvv

MorganM- How do you put LEDs into the map lights? Do you just solder on some red LEDs...what kind (radio shack part no.?) will work and are bright enough?

Toyofast: I'm not a tire expert either, but from experience, more expensive tires are generally better. Retreads suck. For radial tires (the kind you want) price generally depends on milage of the tires besides the size. 50K mi tires will be less expensive (generally) than 100K mi tires. Buying from a place like Les Scwhab gives you added freebies like tire rotations, flat fixes and the like esp. since LS has tons of branches at least in the PNW, but their tires are also a bit more expensive for the same tire. I used to have a second set of snow tires, but now have just good all season tires. All-season is designated by M+S on the side wall of the tire and pass for "approved traction tires" for passing some mountain passes (at least in WA state). The last two sets of tires I've gotten I've optioned for the "siping procedure", where they have a special machine that cuts small slits into the tire, giving the tire a supposed increase in traction, esp on wet corners. Not sure if it really works (costs around $7-10/tire), but I like the extra peace of mind. Note: I've bought my last two sets of tires from "Discount Tire Co." in the Seattle area because I thought they had a better deal on price and comparable service to Les Schawb. But after the last set, I've realized it costs about the same price. Discount Tire adds fees to everthing, from tire disposal and other "hidden" charges that bring the per tire price up significantly. Next set will be from LS. ...my two cents