yorab

Well, I got one pic to go through. How can I make the file size smaller so that I can send more than one pic? The rust in that pic is completely through the frame.

It may be the end for my 85 GL. I took it for PA inspection this week. They found that the frame is rusted through near the front DS wheel. I never even noticed it in the past. This was quite a shock. I bought the car about 3 or 4 years ago and I have done a LOT of work to it. I loved tinkering with it. I knew nothing about Subaru then, but because of this car and this forum, I now know the car inside and out. Except for the frame. I never even noticed it. Now that it has been pointed out to me, I see that somebody in the past has made some kind of bracket rig to stiffen the frame. The car is in great running condition and I hate to get rid of it but I don't know how much it will cost to fix this frame issue to get it to pass inspection. Is it worth fixing? Any ideas as to cost? What would be involved? I've never posted pics, but I'll give it a shot so everybody can see the damage and the bracket rig. SubaruRust 001.zip

I had idle problems with my 85 GL carbed model. I tried EVERYTHING! Of course nothing worked. I rebuilt/replaced more parts than I care to mention. Finally, I got a FSM (not a Haynes or Chilton). It said to check the Anti-backfire device. Sure enough that was the problem. It is supposed to allow extra air into the engine during a sudden drop in RPM to prevent backfire. However, the vacuum diaphram was bad and the device was allowing extra air into the engine at all times, thus giving a poor idle. It can easily be checked by holding a piece of paper underneath the device. The paper should be sucked up against the inlet ports only when there is a sudden drop in RPM. By the way, I got the part at a JY for about 10 bucks. Dealer wanted 160. Now the replacement is bad. Becoming hard to find a good replacement part in my area.

Dealer wants $64. I found two on the marketplace, but I broke nipples on both while installing. My county doesn't have emmisions testing (yet), so I'll wait until I absolutely need it before I try to fumble with it again.

The only place that I can notice vibration is in the pedals/floor area. I can't really feel any vibration in the steering wheel (apart from the slight amount of "normal" vibration in the steering wheel). Boots look good. I replaced the d/s axle less than 10,000 miles ago (no offroading) with a reman unit from Autozone. The sound only occurs when the car is in motion. I have been trying to make it rumble by pushing on brakes, pushing in clutch, cornering, accelerating, using 4wd, etc. Nothing that I do starts or stops the rumble. It seems to be completely random. Sounds similar to running the engine with the air cleaner off and the pipes exposed (the pipes in the system that introduce air and have the silencers in them). Is there any way to test the axles? Can I remove one side and drive around the block?

Put 12v onto the choke heater connection (passenger side top) for a minute or two until the choke housing is warm to the touch. This will let the choke open. Push the accelerator to the floor once, let off and start the car. If the idle has dropped, then your fast idle needs adjustment. Fast idle may have been set high to compenstate for poor cold idle due to bad plugs,wires, etc.

I've got a rumble that seems to be coming from either d/s wheel area or tranny/clutch area. This is a 4wd D/R manual. I've had u-joints go bad on other cars before and the sound is similar. Pushing in the clutch has no effect on the noise. Pushing on the brakes has no effect. Cornering at any speed has no effect. The rumble is in any gear. Strange thing is the sound will appear then disappear intermittently with no obvious changes. For instance, I was driving the PA turnpike the other day, criuising along at a constant speed and rpm on a straight section of road and the noise would appear then disappear. Sometimes the noise appears for many minutes (say 20-30) then disappear, and sometimes the on/off cycle is just a few seconds in duration. I would compare the on/off cycle to a light with a loose electrical connection; completely random.

One more thing. It looks like the red wire is aftermarket. I'm thinking that there may have been a problem with the circuit that powers the anti-dieseling soleniod and somebody ran that power wire directly to 12V. The engine will not idle if the a.d.s. does not have power. There is a fuse in the fusebox that protects that circuit. Check to see if it didn't blow. On my 86, it was labeled "engine meter". I blew that fuse once while learning what everything was. Once you have the wires into the connector (you may have to crimp a male spade connector to wire before sliding it into the 3 pin connector), mate the two connectors. Have somebody turn the ignition switch to run (don't start) and you should hear that audible click from the two soleniods that you heard when you put 12V on them.

That is the anti-dieseling solenoid. It cuts off fuel when the ignition is switched off. The wire runs around the front of the carb and connects into the three pin connector that you wrote about. The three pins are for 1) anti-dieseling solenoid 2) bowl vent solenoid which is the round soleniod on the top driver's side of the carb and is visible in your pic 3) choke heater. Take your air cleaner off so you can see what's going on. If you've never taken it off, it seems like quite a job just for an air cleaner, but you get very quick at it. Label all hoses until you learn where they go. Now is a good time to check the components. Put 12V from battery onto the wires that run to each off the soleniods. Listen for an audible 'click'. Pull 12v off then try again a few more times. If clicking, soleniods good. Also put 12V on the wire that runs around the back side of the carb that runs to the choke heater and leave it on for a minute or two. Feel the choke housing with your hand to find out if it is heating up. The three wires to these components run into a connector which connects into the engine wiring harness.

I'm no expert, but I've learned quite alot about my 86 EA82 the hard way. Haynes sucks when it comes to carb issues. I had carb problems, so I bought a Mitchell repair CD. It was better, but still not great. I finally found a FSM. Thats what you need to do. Anyway, back to your problem. On my '86 Hitachi, there is only one solenoid. It is not an Idle solenoid. It is the Fuel Chamber Ventilation solenoid. The valve mounts to the intake manifold just beside the carb on the driver's side. Electrically, the valve is connected to a two pin connector and is actuated when the thermoswitch just below it reaches a temp of 153 F. Manifold vacuum is routed to the FCV solenoid. When the valve is actuated, vacuum is routed to the bowl vent valve and air control valve. This opens the fuel bowl and main and slow carb passages to atmosphere. If this sounds like the component that you are referring to, let me know and I will trace the wiring for you.

Belt was not loose or worn. I loosened belts and turned pulley/clutch by hand. Turned smoothly. I put 12V on the clutch connector. Clutch engaged the pulley and both turned by hand. I could not get the clutch to slip in relation to the pulley when I turned them by hand. Both were locked together well with 12V. Does this mean that the compressor is bad? Could the squeal be from low oil in the compressor? Could the squeal be from the idler pulley, or would that squeal all the time?

Do I try to make the face of the clutch (with the 3 metal tabs for the pulser) slip, or the belt pulleys?

I had a broken thermo vac valve that controls vacuum to my EGR in my 86 GL. For now, I simply plugged the lines and everything seems to be okay as far as performance.

AC compressor/clutch makes a hell of a squeal when it first kicks in. How can I tell if I need a new clutch, compressor, or both?

I called the dealer today out of curiosity. The 4 LO switch is only $15. I couldn't believe it. I went ahead and ordered one.

I went to the jy today to look for some parts for my 86 GL. Lady at the counter asked me what kind of Subaru it was. I told her GL. She got kinda rude because I wouldn't tell her a model name. She wanted to know if it was an Impreza GL, a Loyale GL etc. Is this car just a GL or something else? My title says GL 5. Nowhere on the car does it say anything besides GL. I wish I knew for certain whether it is just a GL cause I would have told her where to stick her parts if it is indeed just GL.

I've been trying to find somebody on the board that can part with 86 FSM, but nobody wants to at this time. That's why I'm considering the ebay CD's.

Has anybody bought the FSM's on CD that are on ebay? There is a few that would work for my 1986 GL, but I just not sure of the quality of the information on the cd's. I beleive one set was from a maker called Grutenstein. What are your opinions?

Figures. That's about the only accessory that I didn't try. Thanks for the info.

I might be able to get away with the zip strip and glue method. The plastic housing is broken but the metal contacts seem to be in good shape.

Thanks for the info Subynut.

I disconnected the switch and removed it, but the indicator on the dash still displays 4WD when it's in 4wd and goes out when I go back to fwd. Does the switch differentiate between 4 HI and 4 LO?

I recently replaced my blower relay for a 1986 GL non-ECU. The relay was behind the dash driver's side. There were four relays. One was for blower, one was for left headlight, one for right headlight. I can't figure out what the fourth is for. I've disconnected the relay and tried all electrical systems that I can think of and all work. Does anybody know what the fourth relay is for?

I was putting my dash back together after a blower repair when I decided to secure the panels around my gear selector stick and 4WD selector stick. They have been loose and make a terrible 'plastic rubbing plastic' sound. While investigating I found that the switch located at the base of the 4WD stick was broken. I'm not exactly sure what the switch does or where to find a cheap (cheaper than dealer) replacement. Any thoughts? James

I just picked up a resistor pack from Autozone today for a 1986 GL. The price was $41. More than jy, but I know it will last for a long time.