TomRhere

My turn..... '86 BRAT Build date unknown at this time, may have that tag here somewhere....... Body has gone to scrap yard. VIN - JF3AU53B3GE500148 Eng ID - 912990 '86 BRAT 12/85 VIN - JF3AU53B2GE501078 Eng ID - 428702 Pretty darn sure this is a replacement engine due to the numbers difference, and especially after reading GD's note on the difference in pushrods. The ones in this engine have a cap on them = solid lifters.

:burnout:

Wow!! Talk about someone having a death wish.... That's pretty close to 1,000 pounds, (if not more), of engine/tranny hanging off the end of that way over extended custom-made lift boom. Beats any of the crazy stuff I've done over the years doing engine swaps. Am I right in thinking the car is an early '60's Chrysler product? I'm thinking the rear suspension of the BRAT isn't none to happy with that load either.....

The adjuster is on the backside of the backing plate. It's a bolt and locknut. Loosen nut and turn bolt to adjust. Bolt moves a wedge between brake shoes. Our 18 year old Mayor seems to be holding his own against the Elders of the Politcal Brother/Sisterhood. I haven't really kept up with all of the ins-n-outs of his reign, but he's doing the job.... edit; You asked aout bleeders, and I wrote about adjusters. That's what I get for trying to think before I finish the 1st cup of coffee. The bleeders are on the back of the backing plate, right near where the brake line attaches to the wheel cylinder. Hopefully, they break loose for you and not twist off. That's always been my luck with them anyways...

Engine running "lean" on that side could be another culprit.

Coolant loss could be from a number of things. As said, check for loose hose clamp, or poorly sealing radiator cap. A small pin-hole in a hose would cause coolant loss, and can be extremly hard to find, same with pin-hole in radiator. Leak is small enough that the coolant evaporates instead of making a puddle. Does leave a whitish deposit trail though, well,, most of the time it does. I've found a few of those pesky little leaks by getting the engine up to temp and looking the engine bay over, looking for wisps of steam. This is best done a calm day, (no wind), and take your time while looking, don't rush it. You could have a bad seal on one of the intake to head gaskets too. It could let the coolant into the cylinders where it gets burned. May not be enough of a leak to cause a visable amount of steam from the exhaust though. Makes it another leak area that's hard to locate.

Try pulling the panel(s) near the latch(s), then try working the release for that side or both sides from the inside of the tailgate. I've done that to a few vehicles over the years, some of which were quite the PITA to get to and get open. Some I could pull on the control rod that releases the latch, others I had to go at with a screwdriver or prybar to work the release lever.

Been a while since I had the rears apart on an EA-81, so I can't get a good mental pic going of what's all in there. Anyways, I would change the hardware myself, 'specially seeing as you say they have the stuff in stock. The springs, and hold-downs get worn with age/time and get weak. Not saying you have to, just if you do, it's a piece-of-mind thing. Same with drums and rotors. If they need turned, I just get new ones, as the price is close between turning and new. (atleast around here it is) Got to do the rears on my '86 BRAT myself this weekend, or atleast I'm hoping to. Don't like the sound I'm hearing from them on occassion.

I agree.. Higher cylinder charge pressure needs a stronger spark. A weak coil would/could cause a miss.

Wouldn't be a bit surprized that you'd find the top of the tank riddled with pin-holes if you were to drop it out of the BRAT. My 1st Subaru, an '86 BRAT did the same, smelled strong of gas if I filled the tank to the full point. Was okay if I only did 3/4 to 7/8 fill on it. Never had any drips under the tank, possibly due to the holes being very very small. Would only leak at a rate equal to the rate of evaporation. Just happened to have an extended weekend, and close to empty on the gauge, so I dropped the tank. Had to do some seroius cleaning to the top of it, but I did locate many a small hole. Used some Seals-All to cover the top of the tank, then painted it. Basically helped the problem from re-occurring until I scrapped the BRAT due to to much body rust. Ain't road salt wonderful????

For the life of me, I can't recall the name of the stuff. But there is a spray adhesive available for doing the headliner. Should be able to find it a parts store. Been awhile back. But I helped a friend do the liners in both his '67 Cougar XR-7 and '73 Mustang Mach 1. He used the spray, and it really worked well.

Make it so.......

Kinda curious as to the actual total all original miles some of the old Checker Cabs ran up. Those cars were workhorses.....

Won't be easy to do with the one on car.. But measure the distance between the bolt holes where the caliper mount bracket bolts on. This will tell you if it will fit yours or not. Besides the difference in the tie-rod hole, the mount point for the caliper bracket is different between the EA-81 and the EA-82. Hope that helps......

Just because exhaust is "new" don't mean it is ran right, and not rubbing somewhere. Carrier bearing is replacable. Not sure exactlly how it is/can be done on a Subaru driveshaft, just know the domestic types that use one. With those, you can get: the whole bearing assembly, just the bearing, just the rubber mount, just the metal frame-work; depending on what is needed.

Two things come to mind with coupling the noise from rear of car with the smell of burning rubber. 1st would be the exhaust pipe touching the rear tire. That would make a strange noise inside of the car, and could cause a burning rubber smell. Had that happen to me years ago on an old Chevy I had. Pull the tire off, and look for shinny spot on exhaust pipe. That would be your only clue as whether or not it was rubbing. Amount of weight in the car would also have a bearing on whether it would rub now or not. 2nd would be the carrier bearing on the rear driveshaft. If the bearing siezed, it would spin in the rubber isolator, causing both noise/vibration and burning rubber smell. Just ramdom thoughts there.....

It'll do that. You said you had a leak, which you fixed by tightening the hose clamp. Cooling system wasn't fully pressurized due to the leak. After cooling down, a vacuum was created in the system and drew in coolant from the overflow tank, just as it's supposed to do. As for the noise from the rear of Wagon..... Could be anything from brakes, wheel bearing, axle joint, diff gears, driveshaft u-joint, exhaust system touching somewhere. This have a carrier bearing on the driveshaft? Ifso, another possibility. Hard to say while I'm sitting here, and car is there.

Just re-read the whole thread, again. Didn't see any mention of crank end-play. Isn't the center main bearing the one that is the trust bearing? (No book in front of me, so I can't look for myself). Worn thrust bearing will allow the crank to "walk" fore-n-aft while rotating. Makes a pretty good noise which is a bad thing, can be heard thru fill tube and felt in a manual shifter. My first thoughts on the cam pics was bad metal from the get-go also.

PM me with your email addy, and I can send a zip file via email.

I'm lost in the could be, maybe if, sorta kinda, almost sounds like, double speak here. Someone want to translate??? Best part is he says" as far as I know", then comes right back with, "I have no idea". And nothing said was even close to what the original question asked........... OK,,, Said my piece.... FLAME ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got an '86 Sedan here that I'm stipping for parts. I have the fenders off of it, but it does look like you could drop the tank out from the bottom if you pull the plastic liner in the wheel well.

It's quite possible that someone installed the axle 180* out on the tranny end. The hole for the pin doesn't quite line up, it's about 1/2 off. One can "force" the pin thru though. Makes removing the pin a real pain. If that is the case, you'll need to drive the pin out from the opposite side from where the broken drill bit is, as the bit will cause the pin to jam in the shaft at the mis-alignment, which sounds like it's doing now. If you remove the starter, you can reach the pin from the top. Use the 3/16" punch as mentioned. I have a 12" 3/8" drive extension that I use for doing the axle pins. Fits over the drift punch nicely. My Brother was kind enough to previously mangle the extension for me, so this is it's only usable function anymore.

Bttt!!!

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you on this BB, been busy here, and I kinda over-looked this thread.. :-\ Yeah, you can pull the tube out of the T-stat housing, then drill-n-tap for a pipe plug. I'm also under the belief that one could loose the tube under the carb port also, and route the hoses as you stated. I would also have a local welder heli-arc the square shaped water passage at the carb mount of the manifold, then smooth things back down. I appologize for the size of the text in that photobucket link. I didn't know it would come out so small, and that one isn't able to re-size it by downloading it to their system. I can send you a full-size zip file of the write up if you would like it, just send me a PM with your email addy and I'll send it your way.

OK... Looking at the last pic he's put on here, it shows the valve covers with the angled corner to them. Isn't that what says they are a 5 sided valve cover and therefore means hydro lifters, or am I out in left field? Just asking cause they look identical to the ones for my '86 BRAT. Which by the way I have the valve covers off of at the moment. Just doing some way over due maintenence to the engine, and have replaced oil pump. Lifters clacked something fierce before, now I'm trying to get them adjusted in. And yes, there is an adjustment procedure for hydro lifters, it's just a PITA to do.... Took me many attemps on the '84 auto BRAT I had after swapping the heads out, looking like it's going to take a few tries with this one.