TomRhere

Headed out this AM to do a T-stat replacement on the '85 BRAT, as she's shown signs of running warmer than usual. Just figured it was time for a new one. Go to drain radiator, WTH!!! Drainplug was broken off, and signs of leakage from there. So pull the drainplug on the head, pull radiator, work broken piece out. Look thru my "stash-o-stuff".... Got every type of drainplug but the one I need. Arrrrggg!!!!! Jump in the Wife's HHR and hit every parts store open today. NaDa. Double Arrrggg!!!! Get back home, start brainstoming on temporary fix. AHA!!! 3/8"-16 bolt threads right in there. But that ain't going to seal it. Keep digging Dude, need this thing running for work in the AM.... Came up with a combonation of; copper crush washer that fit in the lip on the OD of the drain housing, silicone o-ring that fit inside of the crushwasher, small nylon spacer that fit inside the o-ring, thick stainless steel flatwasher, 3/8"-16 SS bolt, nut, lockwasher. Assembled everything, locked the nut down against the washers, and hoped like hell it holds. Changes T-stat anyways, just cause... But,,,,,, Found the actual reason for the smokescreen last weekend. PS inner boot failed. Grrrrrrrrrr.... Should've swapped it when I did the DS, but no..... It can wait. NOT!!! Anyways, no runs, no drips, no errors. So far. K-O-W!!! Did another 10 mile or so run, temp gauge stayed right in the middle, just where she's always ran.

For pulling the brake and fuel lines for replacement, it's not to bad of a job, but it does help if the dash is out. Heater blower casing does need to come out though. There's couplers on both ends of the brake lines. On the rear, just after they exit from the inside of the body. On the firewall for the front ends of the rear lines. PS one is roughly above where the A/C lines enter. DS one is just to the right of the M/C as you look at it I use the pre-made lengths of line, various lengths and new couplers. You won't be able to match length exactly, but you can get close with not to much 'extra line'. If you don't bend the lines up to bad during removal, you can use them for a template for bending the new ones. I'm not a fan of having splices in the fuel lines running thru the vehicle, so I buy a coil of needed line size to make the full run. In the pic of the lines, 3 are for fuel. Supply, return, vent. The line that takes off by itself is DS rear brake. Allways use a Double-Flare when doing brake lines. Single-Flare doesn't hold up to repeated hard brake applications. It can work it's way out of the fitting. I believe I still have the part numbers here for the flex lines, both front and rear. Will post back with them if I find them.

Looked at those pics of the CC module again. It does appear that at least the mount bracket for the hood release handle is there after all. That loop of wiring is sorta blocking the view, so I can't see the whole thing. There should be a cable coming out of the same grommet the wiring harness does just to the right of the wiper motor. It then runs along the inner fender to the radiator support. Believe we already talked about that though.

Ship hell !!! Just bring it with you on the "Meet-N-Great" we ain't planned out yet.

I so did the same thing couple years ago on my White '86 BRAT.. Was so :mad::mad: at myself.

Yep, I be wanting it. The '82 had A/C, but everything under the hood is goned...:-\ Still have the evap coil inside, but that be it.

I'd be interested in the A/C stuff. If you could hold onto it for a bit.

Honestly thinking that's a Dealer Add-on for the Cruise. Just not to pretty of an install. Resent the PM I thought I had sent earlier.

Just looked at the latest pics. That is a CC unit, but the one in my '85 was mounted on the right of the column. Was an add-on by Dealer, not Factory. Also, your hood release handle is not there at all.... So yeah, you'll need the whole hood release set up out to the latch. I have 1 out of an '86 BRAT, but the plastic handle is broken. Have 1 from an '88 XT6 that could work for you. Can talk further about it thru PM's. Speaking of PM's... Did you get the one I sent earlier today?

That part has been rusted out on everyone of the BRAT's I had here.

I believe I have that fitting for the PCV system. Should have a good hood release cable, and latch. Got a Brown hood, decent shape, would clean up good. Wouldn't have much for the body, as most of my "stash" is BRAT related.

Over the weekend, I rebooted some GCK axles that I originally bought for the '86 White BRAT. Inner boots tore due to bad trans mounts. Swapped one into the '85 BRAT on the DS, PS still looks good, so I can wait for better weather to do it. Swapped tires off the '92 Loyale Wagon over to the '85 BRAT. Got late and real muddy in the driveway, so I called it quits yesterday afternoon. Got home from work today, fired it up, pumped some go-juice into the tank and went for a ride. Damn I missed driving that BRAT, was all until I noticed the light smokescreen behind me. Apparrently, PS E-brake was sticky. Did notice a light pull to that side, but thought it was just from being up on jackstands for some time, and hadn't "settled in" yet. But a hard stomp on the brake pedal seems to have cleared that issue up, as I drove another 10 miles with no issues. Going to brave it for the 64 mile round trip for work tomorrow. With gas prices going up, need something better on gas than Christopher's 3/4 ton Chevy....... It runs ok, could be better, but it's just to much vehicle for that kind of trip everyday.

quote, just darn frustrating when a weekend job takes weeks. end quote. Try over a year on latest "simple fix" or 6+ years on "simple upgrade". But yeah, I hear you............. Nothing seems to want to co-operate............................

I think there was a problem with the site yesterday. Lost it in the early morning and couldn't get back on here all day. Could be the reason you didn't get any answers... Big void in the time stamps on here today. As for grabbing parts, get anther dash cluster to swap in. Having a working odo is nice.. rear lights/lenses, and front corner lights. Never know when some idiot will back into you and break one. If you find a FWD Turbo EA82 model, those rear disc brakes are a nice upgrade and easy to do. Also, EA81's went to vented rotors on the front around '84. You need to swap the caliper, it's mount bracket, and the rotor. Another nice upgrade. Things that may need replacing, just because of age, (new parts here), all of the flex hoses for the brakes, inner/outer tie-rod ends, ball-joints (if they show signs of wear), heater/radiator hoses. Do a search on here for HTKYSA (How To Keep Your Subaru Alive). It's a pdf file and is downloadable. Lot's of good info in there.

Fixing the bed will be a major chore, atleast it would be for me. If you do locate a source for the Gray interior, I could use a few pieces for my '82. Been looking for a long time, no joy yet..

Nice repair on that hit.. Got an '82 GL BRAT here, just need to get busy on it. Been sitting way to long.....

Tail light link. http://www.car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi

Hasn't this Winter been wierd? It can go away now!!!! Nice looking Wagon!! Issues I've had with the gas gauges on the BRATs have been corrosion in the connectors at the sending unit. My fix was to cut-out the connectors, solder the wires back together using some heat-shrink tubing over the repair. The stock bullet connectors are not all that waterproof, so moisture gets in there. One could buy the proper newer style of connectors and put them in. I just took the easy way...

ettev, a member on here, found some new wheelwells, but they were quite expensive. To repair what you have, you'll need to cut-out all of the rust, then form replacement panels to be welded in. That area tends to rust due to how the shock mount bracket is formed/attached. It leaves a pocket between the bracket and the fender. Dirt/water collects there leading to rust. You can make some close-off pieces to weld in there to help eliminate that.

Different bolt patterns between the two manifolds, so you will need an adapter for each.

Be kinda difficult for the OP to "post video" ifin he kills himself while working on the vehicle. But HEY, that what "friends" be for.....

Biggest issue I've encountered in putting an EA81 in where an EA82 was is the Powersteering. I've modded the pump bracket and drive pulley to work on the EA81. Just haven't devised a good belt tensioning system yet. Tried a few methods, and they did work. Just wasn't "Happy" with them, so on to another one. Still a work-in-progress there.. Just looking for a cheap-easy method that can be done with "on-hand" Subaru parts. As far as putting the EA82 flywheel on an EA81 and the difference in timing marks. You need to add 6* to what you're seeing. In other words; TDC #1 cylinder on the EA81 engine will read as 6*BTDC on the EA82 flywheel. Carbed motor timing will need to be set at 14*, SPFI engines will need to be set at 26*. edit: And for the bottom radiator hose, EA81 engine to EA82 radiator, I bought a Flex-hose of appropriate end sizes. Works....

Besides the engine dying, what other electrical systems show a sign of trouble? Lights flickering, charge gauge dropping, heater blower cutting out? Just looking for more info...

That's happened to me, on other vehicles. 'Tis a bit scarry. Willing to bet that most of the Members on here are still running with the original soft-lines on their rides. I've swapped them out on most of mine, the '85 BRAT still needs them replaced though. It's next on the "To Do" List.