TomRhere

Usefull info in this thread, links to more info within there. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=134242

When I converted the '85 BRAT to rear disc, I just twisted the steel line so it pointed upwards. Flex hose from caliper connected to the steel line with no problem. Been driving it daily for 4 years now, no issues.

Yeah, was kinda happy to see that they were goned. Got around 250 miles on it since I dumped the Seafoam in the oil. HLA noise has quieted quite a bit. Do still hear it, but no where near what it was. Hoping that it cleans things out more by this weekend. Planned oilpan reseal is scheduled for that time period. Then again, I could just get another oil filter and swap it on, let the Seafoam do some more work. Oil that's in there really isn't all that old, and still has some mileage left before it's actually due for a change.

What's the over all shape of the PS fender on the Wagon now? I could be interested in it, if it's in a decent condition. You've seen the one on the '85 BRAT. So if it's in better shape, I'll take it.

I haven't done any repairs other than T-belts, tensioners, oil and water pumps. Well, did do an oil change and new plugs. No clue to prior maintenance really. Someone did take the T-belt covers off at some time. But judging by sparkplug condition when I changed those, it's been quite some time since it was wrenched on.

Since the last post, the TOD has gotten louder. Not 100%, but it sounds like it's just one HLA making the noise. Starts out as a light tick, gets a bit louder, then gets way loud, then it stops ticking all together. Then, it starts the cycle over again within a minute or so. Duration of ticking lasts about a minute also. Put some Seafoam in the oil before doing my usual Saturday morning errands. Only put 50 some miles on it sofar though, so thinking I'll wait to do the oilpan reseal. Do think I'll do the cam cover seals later today though. See if I can find which HLA is giving me grief. Really not looking forward to pulling cam carrier to swap HLA's, but if need be...... Managed to have a D.A. attack and loose the gas cap when I filled the tank yesterday morning. Drove off with it sitting on the roof. Noticed the fuel door open at my 1st stop after the gas station. I be an idiot.... Luckily, I had a spare one here.

Connector for the ignition switch; White = Battery + Black = key "ON" (ignition) feed to fuse box Blue = Accessory feed to fuse box Black/White = Starter solenoid signal Fuse 12 is for the ignition system. Check for battery voltage on Black wire with key "ON", on both the ignition switch connector and the back of the fuse box. You will have to drop the fuse box down to get to the back of it. You should also check the wire that comes from fuse 12 for voltage while you're there. I don't have that wire color available.

Spoke to soon on the TOD, it's back. Not quite as loud or as much as it was before though. Going to be replacing the oilpan gasket this weekend, so I'll dump some Seafoam in there before hand, see if it'll help clean out some more crud. Thinking the wire on the oil pressure sending unit didn't like being messed with. Gauge reads lower now. Doesn't read as high on cold startup, and sits below middle of gauge fully warmed at 2700+ RPMs. I'll check that all out while I'm under there. Definetly will be replacing the accessory drive belts this weekend. Getting real tired of hearing the belt squeal when turning the steeringwheel when 1st pulling out of a parking spot or the driveway. Belts are old and stretched out. Both adjustments are at end of travel.

Congrats! Heck of a drive to get it. But it looks to be worth it.

That, or the switch on the clutch pedal has failed, came un-plugged.

Been thinking on doing just that, but would really like to find cause of it being on. Bulb was missing when I got the Wagon, and this issue is probally why. According to the FSM, if the CEL is lit, but it only gives the model designation when you read codes, it means the ECU is confused as to what trans is in the car. 2 different ECU's, and the same thing happens. I have gone thru all the checks given in the FSM for that issue. No joy. Had the thought that having the trans neutral switch wired up, may be the source of trouble. Not. The wire(s) that tell the ECU that the car has an auto trans are not in the ECU connector of the cars wiring harness. I haven't tried doing the "D" check as of yet. Not real sure on all it requires yet. More reading on it is in order. Not real sure on what all Bob messed with as far as wiring goes. He was in the process of doing a Turbo EJ swap before he decided to get rid of the Wagon. Only connections missing was for the radiator thermoswitch and fan power. I haven't found anything else missing or molested. Yet.

Nice looking car you got there. Good story on the purchase of it. I still love the look of the Ford Falcons, had a '65 myself circa '77. Yanked the tired 6 out and swapped in a 289, 3-speed trans, rear axle out of a Mustang. She was a happy car after that. Sold it a few years later for 6 times what I paid for it.

OH!! I did try to clear that pesky CEL being on all the time. Un-plugged the Neutral switch connector from the trans. Light still on. Tried to clear codes by doing the test connector thing, no joy. Un-hooked battery for 1/2 hour. Re-hooked cables, started engine, No CEL. Yea!! Hour later, head for the store for more beer, !)!*^%%$*(_)(^%$ CEL is back on again. AaRrrrrrrrrrrrrrGgggggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a good spare Timing plug for that EA81. Really don't think I have a good clutch fork seal though. But I will look....

Waited until today to do the wrenching. Swapped out the oilpump, and the waterpump. Installed new Goodyear Gatorback T-belts along with the rebuilt tensioners. Noticed a difference between the tensioners I rebuilt and the ones on the engine. Not sure if those off the '92 engine can be rebuilt like the ones I had here off another EA82. But those were replacements I got thru rockauto some years back. I'll take the 92's into work and see if they'll press apart, go from there. Wanted to get new accessory drive belts but was low on spare cash this week. So, the old ones went back on. Free check next week, so a few more items will be purchased. Got her fired up and all properly burped, headed out to my oldest Daughter Heather, to see her and Grandaughter Eden. Pulled in Heather's driveway and had steam rolling out from under the hood. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! Did a cursory look under the hood, but didn't see much of anything. Was thinking it may have been some slopped antifreeze. Headed back here after the visit and noticed steam behind the Wagon. Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!! Get back here and pop the hood again, really looking things over. AHA!!! Found culprit.. Small hose from top of engine case to T-stat housing has a small split in it. Agrued the old one out and argued the new one in. All better now... Best thing about todays wrenching is,,,, No More TOD!!!!!!! HLA's did tick for a bit after the intial startup, but haven't heard anything from them since. Got around 6 miles on it since the wrenching was done. I be a Happy Camper for the moment.....

That, had crossed my mind. But I was under the impression that trans lube would cause the needle to want to peg instead of reading low. The White '86 BRAT was good for that one on cold Winter mornings. Could peg the needle in 1st gear. Was alot of lube under the dash near the speedometer connection on it. Been wanting to keep an eye on it the past few mornings, but wasn't really able to. Foggy with a light drizzle, and a full compliment of Deer wanting to be in the road, hasn't led to favorable conditions to keep an eye on the dash. Early morning temps have been in the low 40's, high 30's the past few days. But this morning it was 62 with even more drizzle, light fog. A tad bit better than the past few mornings. But the Deer were still out in force. Don't like venison enough to want to mash my Wagon to get some.

Question is, what would cause the speedometer to read low? Until yesterday morning, I haven't noticed any issue with the speedometer. Heading into work, getting up to the 55 mph speed limit, I noticed the engine was hitting higher on the tach than where it should've been, over 3k in 5th gear. Speedometer was still showing only 45 mph. Hmmmm. Few miles down the road and it started reading correctly, 2750-2800 rpm's at 55 mph. Right where it's always read. Didn't notice any funky reading on the trip home. I've had issues with the BRAT's and funky speedometer readings during the Winter months. But those where the needle would basically peg it's self, not read low. The clutch is not slipping at all. When I run her up thru the gears hard, the front of the Wagon will lift a few inches every time I let the clutch out, and you can feel the pull of the engine quite well.

I so need to buy the winning Lotto ticket.. That way, I can ship both of my BRATs up to you for restoration work. Of course, that would be after you and the Mrs get back from the 6 month+ cruise I send you on.

Rough idle could be from a vacuum leak. Short sprays of carb cleaner or starting fluid at any/all vacuum lines should tell the tale on that. The videos you are looking for on youtube are, The art of Subaru Maintenance by MilesFox.

Pretty sure the EA81 y-pipe will hit the crossmember before you can get the flange mount fully tightened. Haven't really tried to fit one without the blocks though.. Wondering if those o-ring looking pieces could be from the valve cover grommets. The tip that fits inside of the cover could have broke off at some time, and fallen into the oil return area of the head(s) during an earlier removale of the covers. Oil flow would wash them into the oilpan.

You're doing some great work with the sheetmetal repairs.

Rain and wind with quite a few bouts of pea size hail all day Saturday. Cool temp and some light drizzle at times Sunday. But it was expected really. Opening weekend of the County Fair, so why not..... I have 2, ER27's sitting in the garage myself. Really thought of putting one in the Wagon. The whole thing of "where to put the radiator" is what really stopped me from doing so. Supposedly, we're only working 10 hour shifts as of today. So,,, maybe I can get some wrenching in after work this week. Have Chris's LaSabre to fall back on if things don't go right.

Weekends wrenching hasn't progressed as planned. Mother Nature was kicking butt outside, as well as mine....... Feeling somewhat better today, but not that good. Have managed to reseall the replacement oilpump, dug the replacement waterpump out of it's hiding spot, and got a few other items ready for install.

If you have a 4-1/2" angle grinder, use a cut-off wheel on it and cut the boltheads off. You can then slide the spacer blocks off the studs, then remove the studs with visegrips. And yeah, if you remove the blocks on an EA81, you need to use an EA82 y-pipe to clear the front crossmember.

Got more parts in as of this past Thursday, so,,, hopefully I'll get some wrenching done this weekend. Been pulling 12 hour shifts at work the past few weeks, and did an 8 hour last Saturday. Was one whooped puppy last weekend, so no wrenching done. To do list is; reseal/install oilpump replace waterpump, heater hose, return pipe o-ring replace oilpan gasket replace cam cover gaskets replace T-belts, idler, tensioners. I ordered new bearings for the idler and tensioners thru the shop, got them swapped out yesterday. $30.00 well spent. Our Supplier wanted to charge me shipping for them. The Purchasing Clerk gave them a piece of his mind over that. The shop drops a few grand each week on bearings from them, so why charge me for shipping??? Still need to pickup new accessory belts, and the 90* hose for the heater line off the waterpump, but that's on this mornings shopping list, along with oil and filter. Got the bushings for the strut rods ordered, along with some loaded calipers for the rear brakes. Rotors will be ordered next week. Don't really need the new calipers/rotors yet, but figured I might as well do them while I'm doing the rear bearings/seals as they are the original XT6 ones from the factory and have seen quite a few miles.