heartless

Skip more than likely has you on the right track here - had something similar happen to me some time back, and the Skipper helped me track it down to the ignition amplifier. There is no repairing it, it will have to be replaced if this is indeed the problem. (ie: bracket replaced) the bracket MUST have a good ground, if it isnt grounding properly, you wont be getting a good spark, no good spark, no start. Good Luck! let us know how it goes.

the other half lost his keys a while back...pulled the passenger door lock cylinder per the locksmith's orders (apparently this cylinder has the code needed to cut new keys), took that to the local locksmith and had a couple of new keys cut for it, cost was under $20 of i remember correctly. brought everything home, reinstalled the lock cylinder and all is good.

Had this exact same thing happen to me while on vacation a few years ago!! we had pulled into a restaurant to get dinner, car seemed to be running a little funny....went in, had a great dinner, come back out, car wont start at first. thinking oh great...car dies when we are a couple hundred miles from home! ack!! managed to get it started and moved it around to the side lot where there was a good overhead light and popped the hood, start checking everything and found the same thing you did, the crank pulley was cocked funny and when i touched it, the bolt fell off in my hand! Back at that time, didnt have any tools with me (unusual for me) so went into the restaurant and asked of they had any tools that I could borrow, they came up with a decent sized cresent wrench, not ideal, but it got it back on well enough that we could drive to the local walmart and pick up a cheap socket set that had a big enough socket to do the job, tightened everything up good, and had a great time the rest of our vacation! I STILL carry that socket set everywhere!!

First off, what motor do you have in this car??? EA82 1.8 ltr has hydralic valve lash adjusters, there is no adjustment on them...you can however quiet the noise - usually - just do a search for "t.o.d." or "tick of death" - very common thing with these engines. yes, it could be, and probably is, the original drivetrain. 230K is just good and broken in on these cars, my 89 has 224 and counting and getting 30mpg, i know there others that have many more miles... the 5 spd manuals are nearly bullet proof, would suggest changing the oil in it tho - especially if it smells. biggest issue with the manual trannies is shifter slop, which really only becomes an issue if you are having trouble finding the gears. oil leaks are generally an easy fix, just need to determine whear the leaks are coming from. the hardest one to fix would be oil pan. do a few searchs for specific items you need info on cause chances are it has been covered before. oh yeah, and Welcome to the Insanity!

The guys at my favorite parts store know me so well, they dont even have to ask anymore!!! no, I am not in there that much - once a month maybe (with two on the road, and working on a 3rd one). altho I do throw them for a loop every now and then when i go to get something for my mother's chevy. I guess I am lucky, or maybe it is because I have taken the time to talk to these guys like human beings, but I always get great service from them - or maybe they think it is cool that a female knows just as much about cars as they do! (and personally, wont deal with NAPA if you paid me too!)

224K and never been rebuilt just a little reseal here and there (cam seals, oil pump, pass side cam case) to slow down the oil seepage. 120K shouldnt need rebuilding - unless it has been severely abused.... ps: also an 89 GL wagon and all work done was done with engine in the car.

ok, Rosey and boozen - you can both get a copy of "How to keep your Subaru alive" in .pdf format for your very own - all you need is Adobe acrobat reader (can get that for free as well) to view it. check this thread for the pdf file: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=51452&highlight=how+to+keep+subaru+alive and if you dont have it you can get the reader here: http://www.download.com/3000-2378-10000062.html Enjoy

Just checked her public profile...she is in Rochester WA - soooo, maybe one or two of you guys out there could take a little trip down and see just what the problem is with her Rosey....may not need a new motor, just take care of neglected maintenance and she can be on the road. Gotta be somebody out there that is willing to lend a hand to a new Subie owner! ( I would, but thats about a 2000 mi trip for me )

pretty nice score for $100 - especially in running/driving condition. Got to expect to put a few bucks into these old cars when picked up cheap as they usually have things that have been neglected. does your total so far include the tires?? Had to put nearly $1000 into my ol wagon when i got it (clutch, axles, battery, alt, tires, basic tuneup and a few other odds and ends)

nuclearbacon - with the subaru trannies, when NOT engaged in 4wd they run in FRONT wheel drive. this goes for the pushbutton versions as well as the dual range versions. there are several "types" of drivetrain - 2wd is front wheel drive only 4wd pushbutton (button on gear selector to engage) 4wd dual range (separate lever to select hi, low or 2whl) and full time 4whl drive (or all wheel drive) the first three can safely be towed on a dolly as long as they are in 2 whl mode. the last one MUST have the rear drive unit disconnected before towing on a dolly to prevent damage - prefered method of moving is on a flatbed, all four wheels off the ground. Hope that clears it up for you.

Yes, fuel WILL go bad, rather quickly, without a stabilizer being added to it. There is a product called "Stabil" that is just for that purpose. Cheap insurance if a vehicle is going to sit for a while. If you hooked up the two green connectors and turn the key to the "on" position, you should definitely hear the pump cycling on and off - especially if it is in a garage. (you can open the right rear door for better listening if you are in the drivers seat) if you dont hear the pump then check to be sure there is power getting to it, if there is power getting to it, then the pump is probably dead. the fuel pump sits on a little platform just in front of the right rear wheel. if you have no power at the fuel pump, there are other issues. Good Luck

welcome to the insanity!! personally, would recommend getting rid of the automatic (they are not known for being a great tranny, altho many have had good luck with them with proper maintenance) and swapping in the 5 spd manual - 2 reasons - 1. fewer problems 2. better fuel mileage. Lots of great info here on how to do it, too, just need to do your homework. The EA82 is a very reliable, long living motor with the proper care and maintenance - mine currently has 224K and still going strong, & i know there are others with even higher mileages. Lots of great info on what to do/how to take care of your your new toy. #1 thing to check right off - Timing belts! if you cant verify when they were done last - DO THEM ASAP! Will save you form a headache down the road. there are lots of other things recommended to check over as well with a "new" Subie - like fluids, and brakes and basic tuneup stuff. Do your homework and you will enjoy your new Subie for many years to come.

you would obviously need all the wiring and control switches for the mirrors and of course the power mirrors...hardest part about the whole project would be running the wiring into the doors - a pain in the keister, but can be done with patience and time. before going to all the trouble of pulling the wiring, make sure the "new" power mirrors will fit easily in place of your old manually operated ones - if things dont line up right, would throw a big monkey wrench into your conversion project. good luck, and update us when complete.

would definitely get the car jacked up and supported, then get underneath and check all the U-joints, etc, from front to rear. Bad U-joints can cause the kind of "hop" you are experiencing - not fun when they give out completely either. Had an old Chevy truck drop a U-joint at the front of the driveshaft once - shaft hit the ground and darn near threw me thru the windshield - was only doing about 15mph at the time.

well, guess i will join the fray... 89 Gl wagon - white/blue interior 89 GL wagon - blue/ blue 88 Gl wagon - blue/blue (parts car) 88 GL coupe - blue/blue 86 GL10 wagon - white/blue (has some body parts that were maroon, repainted white) no engine - parts car last and least - 85 GL wagon tan/brown (parts car) all three blues are the light silvery blue

Thanks Tom, thats kinda what i was thinking, but wasnt sure...hopefully that will give enough clearance to get the darn thing in there. Now to go soak the shaft and pinch bolt again so when we are ready it will come off of there!

not 100% sure on the 93, but would think so - there is on the older ones...it comes on in the center part of the dash - where the little image of the car is....

Sure wish we could find 'em like that around here - i am sooo jealous!! Very nice score, even with a blown motor.

Ok guys, is there an easy way to change/replace the bushings on the steering rack? The 88 coupe we just got is completely missing one bushing - the rack was supposedly replaced and one of the mounting brackets/bushings didnt get put back on (bolt holes stripped! ) retapped the holes, have another set of bolts from a parts car, will be getting a new bushing, but not quite sure how to get the darn bushing up in there without ruining it. (tried to salvage the one from the parts car, but tore it) Did a search and know there are guys that have done this, but no explanation of how to do it without removing everything....

Just wish we could find the ones like that little red wagon that was picked up for $100! ones like that just dont exist around here. Too much salt. my dream Subaru - a wagon with the dual range 5 spd with nice clean, rust free body and low miles. you know, the one the little old lady drove to church once a week! LOL Tom - saw a couple of cars in the ditch on the way home with the coupe - it was getting pretty bad out in the boonies - but even the main roads were starting to get nasty - and not a plow in sight! And yet they were complaining recently that it has been too mild and they hadnt used enough salt/sand and wont get as much money for the stuff for next winter!! These cars never cease to amaze me in crappy winter conditions. even my 2 whl dr does very well in the stuff - as long as i can go forward, i can go thru darn near anything! Only time i had trouble was when it was real deep (plowing the stuff) then it wanted to wiggle a bit - but we made it thru - had to worry more about the other "idiots" going the other way crowding my lane. One came real close to hitting the other half in the coupe!

Well, we just added a new member to the family!! it is an '88 GL Coupe - not pristine, but not to bad, for this area at least. Only 130,000 miles too. $250 later we drove her home. Only thing I dont really care for on this one is the automatic tranny (which seems to be fine), but that can, and will, be changed, eventually. The drive home really tested her out too - blowing and drifting snow - pretty deep in places. I know my poor old 2 whl wagon was having a little trouble in the deepest places She has a bad spot on the back (under the license plate) and the right front fender will need to be changed out. left rear quarter has a dent, but should be able to pop that back out. Then it is just the usual stuff - fix the oil leaks, new timing belts, etc. Interior is in decent shape, all the glass is in good shape overall pretty decent score. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/heartless500/Subie%20Coupe/coupe006.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/heartless500/Subie%20Coupe/coupe004.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/heartless500/Subie%20Coupe/coupe003.jpg ps: this makes #6

Welcome to the insanity!! 51,000 km = 31,670 mi = a MAJOR score! (even with the auto tranny) Yes the 1.8 can handle the rpms, but if it really bothers you it can be converted over to a 5 spd manual which would lower the rpms quite a bit. Take good care of your fantastic find and it will last a lifetime.

great work on the hatch!! love the look! now to get out the cutting tourch and welder......

89 GL Wagon, 5 spd frt whl dr, getting 30-32 mpg average. slightly lower in cold weather with warm up time.

Have to say a Huge "THANK YOU!" to whoever it was that put this into pdf format - a large undertaking to be sure! And Another Huge "THANK YOU!" to the guys that are hosting the file for download!! I have looked into trying to get my hands on this book, and as others have found out, it was hard to come by and not cheap when you did find one. Now i finally have a copy!!! And even tho it only goes thru '88 - I should still be able to benefit from it for my '89 since little was changed between those model years. Again - THANK YOU!!!!