TomRhere

I likes it!! I feel a dent in the savings account coming........

Just so you know... Dextron ATF works too. 1/2 quart or so poured into the crankcase will do the lifters wonders. Got it in 3 of mine right now. My XT-6 really likes to do the TOD, (tick of death) as we call it. Don't hurt the engine any, (the ticking), it just be annoying. The ATF has made it an occassional ticky episode rather than an all-o'-the-time thing....

Or that they are for warning lights instead of gauges... The sending unit for an oil pressure gauge is rather large. The switch for the oil light is small. That should tell you which set-up the engine has. On the gas gauge issue, check the connector at the tank for the sending unit. I've found those to be corroded enough to not work. On mine, I just cut the plugs out and spliced the wires together using solder and shrink-wrap.

I'll 2nd that request.

It's part of the vapor recovery system, or I think it is. On a BRAT, it's just behing the fill tube between the inner/outer body panels, behind the rear wheel. Lay under your Wagon on the PS rear and look at the gas tank. You should see 3 like 1/4" lines going from the tank to the body. They go to that plastic jug thing.

Bubbles in the gear lube is normal. All of those gears tend to whip it up pretty good. More so if it's low, like yours was. I'd check things like tranny mount, engine mounts, maybe even the pitch stopper for the source of the noise. Could be a few other things, but I'd start there.

I know what you mean. Got the same HU in my '95 Dodge Ram running the factory speakers. It just plain JAMS!!!! More than what the systen in the XT does. Wife says she can here me coming around the corner. Some tunes just have to be cranked, KnowhatImean,Verne?

Honey, pack the bags,, we're going to Austrailia!!!! Man,,, I so want to go. Got a friend here that's from Sydney. I can sit for hours listening to him talk about home. Matter of fact, I think he's back there right now, as I haven't seen him at the local bar in a few days. Usually goes back to visit around this time of year. I so want to stow-away in one of his suitcases..... Real tempting to just pack-up and move there. Company I work for has a Plant there. Wife works for Wal*Mart and they have stores there I hear. Hmmm, maybe we both can transfer to Au.....

I had thoughts of running new wire for the fronts, but that looked to be a real PITA job, glad the stock wires were still in good shape. Got a Pioneer HU with 180's in the doors, 200's in the rear shelf. Boy was doing the rears fun!!!!! 6'-3" 225 lbs, don't fit in the backseat area real easy. Was wanting to put the covers on that came with the speakers, but changed my mind. No sense in drawing attention to it, other than blasting out some ZZ Top that is......... Hope the new HU works for you. Like I said, wiring sounded right...

Just got back in the house from checking the wiring. Brr, it be a little chilly, and there's frost on the car. You got the wiring correct according to mine, so it sounds like the HU done gave up the ghost. I have mine wired according to the pin-out below, used the stock wires for the fronts as they are seperate ground, the rears I ran new twin-axial cable just 'cause it was free from work. PO had ran the RCA cables for the amp, just need to get the rest of it, someday.... Here's the pin-out of the car side of the connection for the radio, just for referance. Release tab is up, going from left to right; Top row; Blue/yellow = switched +, Red = dimmer (headlights on), White/Red = Right Front +, (release tab) , Blue/Black = Right Front -, White/Blue = Right Rear +, White = Battery + Bottom row; Black = Battery -, Red/Black = ? (didn't find that one), Yellow = Left Front +, Green/White + Power antenna, Blue/Red = Left Front -, Yellow/White = Left Rear +

The Dually car hauler sounds good, but you'd want a 1-1/2 ton truck instead of the 1 ton. The 1.5's usually have a 12' or 14' bed area all ready, you'd have to stretch the 1 ton to get a good length of bed. Can be done though. A former co-worker did that with a '58 GMC 1 ton, streched it 3' infront of the rear axle, and 2' behind it slightly angled down for ease of loading. Built the bed all out of aluminum with diamond plate for the surface. Gorgeous truck when he was done with it. I've flat-towed, tow-dollied, and trailered vehicles. Trailers are nice, especially if there's something majorly wrong with the vehicles suspension, but take up a lot of space in the yard. Dollies take up less room, but the towed vehicle needs a good rear suspension under it. Really difficult to back-up with a dolly too. Then there's the disconnect of the driveshaft on some of them, no biggy really, but more work to do before you head down the road.

Takes alot to destroy a flywheel, really. I've done many clutches, and haven't seen to many flywheels that were bad enough not to be re-surfaced. And most of these were behind some seriously powered engines too. With that said though,, the one doing the machine work needs to know how to properly do the Subaru flywheel. Two seperate surfaces have to be surfaced, the disc surface and the pressure plate mounting surface. I think you'll be ok to get the parts needed to do yours, just get the flywheel done.

Got boxes for the back, need to up-grade the speakers in them. Just looking for something up front too. Kinda like the front/rear-side/side thing in my music listening.

Been continplating new speakers for in the '86 BRAT, 'tain't come up with much. Do know I gotta do something though. It has fuzzlated speakers in it now, barely handles the stock radio. Ain't going to work with the HU I have to go in it. Keep ideas coming, Guys and Gals.........

Wierd to say the least. Ain't supposed to "run better" on less cylinders... Have to think on this one a bit..

It'll be morning before I can do it, but I can pull mine easier than he can his, I don't have all of the dash back together yet. I just put a Pioneer unit in my XT-6, and I can get you the wire colors off it.

I've done the "string thing" myself. 20lb fish line ran thru extra vac hose to help protect it. Ones gotta do what ones gotta do..

I've replaced alot of front-end parts on American iron, from the owners running off the road and smacking something with a front wheel. Metal bends, bolts break, things will get FUBARed in a short matter...

On 2 of my BRATs, the release won't release unless I push on the handle 1st, then pull it. Try that before you swap the cable out.

The 4-spd D/R trans are the same. May be a difference in the electrical connections, but I'm not sure on that. FYI... The front seats, center console, and everything from the steering wheel forward will fit from the Wagon to the Hatch. About the only difference I know of would be the headlights, single or dual. The rear diff and axles will swap also, thinking the whole set-up back there would fit, really.

Welcome.... Lots of good people on here, along with great info on repairs and up-grades for these vehicles. If you've been wrenching on one, the Subaru bug will get under your skin and you will own one yourself before to much longer.

Don't think the front and rears will inter-change. Maybe it's just the door-keeper roller that's making the noise. Try some spray lube on the pivot points. I like the sprayable white lithium grease myself......

I could be wrong on this.. But if both heater hoses get hot with the controls set to heat, I wouldn't think that the core is plugged. Makes me think that the coolant is flowing thru core, otherwise the return hose would be much cooler than the supply hose. Maybe one of the doors that directs the air flow is stuck or otherwise not moving.

I agree with the statement there. I'm not a Ford guy in the least bit, but the 302-351 engines are a prime example. It's in the firing order of the cylinder themselves, that help give an engine it's sound. Yes, the exhaust has to do with it also, as you can change the sound by where you hang the muffler in the run of the pipe(s). The length of pipe between the engine and muffler,and the length of pipe after the muffler will change the exhaust note of the vehicle. Diameter of the pipe will have an effect on the sound also. Both of these Ford engines are numbered the same as far as what cylinder is where on the engine. 1-2-3-4 on the left bank, 5-6-7-8 on the right. The firing order of those cylinders are different between the two engines. The 302 (non-SHO) firing order is, 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8. The 351 & 302 SHO firing order is 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8. You can swap cams between the 2 engines, re-do the disty cap wires and run on down the road. Putting either cam in the other engine block, will make a difference in the exhaust sound of the vehicle. I have put the 351 cam in many 302 engines for various owners over the years. Most all of them have commented on the difference in the of the sound of the engine running and the exhaust sound changing. If one could get the cam(s) re-ground for the EA-81/82 engines, so that the firing of the cylinders would change to firing a cylinder on one bank, then one on the other bank, instead of firing one bank then the other, you would get a different sound from the engine.

Years ago, I was rebuilding a Pontiac 400 cu engine for a friend, and had simular problem only it was main bearing related. I did plastigage the mains, but that won't tell you that the bearing half was cut to long. If I left the main cap snugged by turning down with my fingers, crank would turn, torque it to spec, and it would lock-up the crank. Found that one of the bearing halves was a tad-bit longer than it should've been, and would get deformed when the cap was torqued down. Installed a different bearing half, all was good. Ain't saying that is your problem, but it could be. There's something definetly amiss on that rod end. Sucks part is that you have to re-split the block to take a look at things again. Just asking this.. You did remove the plasti-gage strip right. I know someone that did that too, but I won't mention his name.....