azdave

Thanks for the insight on the repairs and cores. I haven't seen any heater cores available, let alone an all-metal solution. I find them listed for sale many places but when I actually move the part to the shopping cart it becomes "unavailable". I figure I will do a bypass for now so I can keep driving while I search for a solution. I might have to create my own with help from the local radiator shop.

Got the new roof rack installed and digging it so far. I did a test run on the freeway last night to see if there were any wind whistles or other distracting noises and I didn't hear anything so it probably will stay there most of the time. I was "rewarded" for my work when I turned on the heater last night after the wife and I were retuning home from dinner and got a blast of humidity and antifreeze odor from the outlets. Really? As expected, I found an area of antifreeze dripping under the dash at the bottom of the heater box so time to research how hard that's going to be to repair. I took a quick look online this morning and don't see anyone selling replacement heater cores either. I'm guessing it is all brass so maybe there is hope I can repair it.

There's a $300 bid on it with about 1 day to go so maybe it will be saved.

Pass the word. The auction is back open again for 5 more days. This is no reserve and the starting bid is $200 with no bids yet. I hope someone can save it. I'm at my limit with 15 vehicles and three trailers at home. The ad says it runs and drives but still could have a blown head gasket or fried clutch. https://www.copart.com/lot/72538352/clean-title-1982-subaru-gl-4wd-ca-hayward

Not sure what is up with that but guessing the auction ended yesterday with no bids and they will try again soon. The auction was definitely active yesterday morning with 7 hours to go. It was also being discussed for the same reason on FB groups since there were no bids. I saved a wider screen shot from when it was an active auction. I hope they give it another try and not scrap it.

I saw this on FB today. Anyone able to save this 82 4WD GL manual wagon at Copart in Hayward, California? Ad says it has mechanical damage. Sure looks good and I don't see any bids nor a reserve price. I put the link here figuring the right people would see it here more readily than in the sales forum. https://www.copart.com/lot/72538352/clean-title-1982-subaru-gl-4wd-ca-hayward

To keep the off-road 4WD theme consistent, I always thought the side of my wagon should display an OEM looking "4WD" logo that matched the ones on the tail gate and the mud flaps. It's been raining here so I spent some time indoors on my cheap eBay laser cutter and came up with this graphic for the left and right rear doors. I also made one to go over the rear logo as it was very sun bleached. It's not perfect but neither am I.

I don't use the carrier box that often but don't like taking it on and off and then storing it some place. I actually have filled the back of the wagon several times recently doing supply runs for work (bulky, lightweight stuff) and needed more room. I think a rack would better serve me and can stay there when it is empty with little effect. It won't need stored off-season and also is easier to load the top since what I put up there doesn't really need rain or theft protection. I'm ordering one of these and giving it a try. The cargo box is up for sale locally for about what it will cost to buy a rack.

Just one more online repair thread for someone to discover in a search and read completely to the end only to find out it was never resolved. OP has not posted since last April so I think we can put a fork in this one.

I'm pretty much driving this everyday now and have gone almost one month with no new surprise repairs needed! Woohoo! Maybe it's finally getting sorted out a bit. I did add this rooftop carrier box last week but not sure I like the added wind resistance. I might swap to a 45" rooftop basket. BTW...In case you noticed, I added the "SUBARU" stickers myself. That cargo box was originally sold by Sears.

No. He is saying that the large metal cylindrical part to the inside of the axle is usually a medium green color if it is OEM. See image for green color reference.

95% of all water leaks in the multiple vehicles I've owned over the years have come from clogged sunroofs drains, roof seams with cracked sealer or failed windshield seals. In all cases, I've temporarily sealed off these suspect areas first with clear plastic cling film/vinyl tape and observed the results during the next rain or with garden hose flooding. There are cases where I have used clear paint protection film strips as a way to seal some areas where RTV would have looked crappy . That PP film can be left in place for years if you wish. The latest leak was on our 2006 Jeep sunroof. I hate sunroofs but when you only buy used cars you sometimes get options you don't really want. I taped up all sunroof gaps with the tape shown below and during the next rain it was dry as could be. I then went to YouTube, found how to best clear the drain tubes and removed the temporary tape and problem solved. The tape has been pretty easy to remove unless you leave it on for weeks. Where some residue remained I used mineral spirits or Goo-Gone to clean. I often seal the seams myself with 100% clear RV silicone sealer or 3M seam sealer depending on the fault. To help dry soaked carpet that is not easily removed, I carefully (by hand) thread many long drywall screws into the carpet to help lift the carpet and padding up and away from the metal floor and then some small fans can help circulate air and carry away moisture. Temporary Tape: https://www.amazon.com/Greenhouse-Plastic-Permanent-Repair-Clear/dp/B072LTV5PT/ref=asc_df_B072LTV5PT/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=216532910363&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3376595623790788721&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030087&hvtargid=pla-348901632142&psc=1

I've used these for poor access areas where you have little room to swing a screwdriver. https://www.harborfreight.com/8-piece-right-angle-screwdriver-92630.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=12169518939&campaignid=12169518939&utm_content=114845782057&adsetid=114845782057&product=92630&store=&gclid=CjwKCAiAk--dBhABEiwAchIwkdDNVyCimZX80gaVjNdSwGjtoCphKUwWpmo3055cdqDZjvjvR30EwRoCFqIQAvD_BwE

I have power door locks with a remote and love it. If you manually lock or unlock the driver's door from inside (without using the remote) all the other door lock and unlock as well. I used the same kits in my 87 Mazda B2000 and several of my Corvairs too. Hardly any of my cars have power widows so I don't really mind the manual window cranks. I just added a cargo carrier so I can look the part around town and off road but it's kind of big so I might swap it out to a roof top basket and reduce the wind resistance as well.

It was a Rock Auto deal. I think most of them are from the same vendor with different labels added by the sellers. It had a warranty until I was carrying it into the garage and snapped off the overflow tube when I hit it on the door frame. I was able to fix the overflow tube and then un-crimp, reset the gasket and re-crimp the tank tabs and it has held 15 PSI for over a week so I'll have it as a spare for now. Good price! I appreciate the offer but with my solder repairs holding after several hundred miles and the new "defective" radiator seemingly repaired, I'll go with what I have for now but thanks.

I'm stopping in this thread to say thanks to KiwiGL for posting about his repairs and mods. It keeps me inspired to work on mine. I added central locking to all the doors on my 87 DL wagon as well as added a hidden switch to disable the fuel pump. As for being crazy to repair a EA82? Well, I've been called worse. I actually enjoy the challenge to daily drive a 35 year old import which is easier to deal with since I have a backup vehicle available. Everything has limits of course but so far, I'm still rocking the EA82 and enjoying it so far.

That will be my next move if this one leaks to the point where I can't repair it or if it can't handle the A/C heat load next summer. I have no idea if modern tube and fin cores would match up or cause fitment issues. I have a shop down the street that builds them but they aren't cheap.

At 35 years old and 250,000 miles, I know there will always be something on my 87 DL wagon that needs some attention but it sure gets old fixing the new stuff I just installed. I don't mind repairing old, worn out parts but it is so irritating when new parts fail after only a few months. I went through at least 3 electric fuel pumps before I found one that was reliable. Now this week it was my 4 month old plastic/aluminum radiator that puked its guts. It cooled better than the very old, leaky brass radiator that came with the car so I was happy I changed it out. Unfortunately, the compression seal on the passenger side tank let go and it opened up a seam about 5'' long and dumped plenty of antifreeze down my driveway. It wasn't an over-pressure issue as the relief cap was new and also tested properly on the bench. I suspect that the rubber seal is low quality and it slowly squeezed out of the joint over time. It could also be that the compression seal was not up to snuff. I ended up repairing the old brass radiator that came with the car and so far, so good. It had 3 small tank leaks that I was able to silver-solder. It passed an overnight pressure test at 15 PSI. The winter season here should be no challenge for any radiator but we'll see in the summer how it does(if it makes it that far). The aftermarket radiator did seem much better at running cooler. My other repair this week was the driver's window crank. I recently became that guy at the drive-through who has to open the door to order and pick up food. I suddenly could not get the window up or down and the crank handle was now at a suspicious angle. That kind of failure is not unexpected with old cars. I was able to remove the window regulator assembly and repair the bushing on the back side of the crank housing with a small steel bushing cap I turned out on the lathe. I was not able to crank the window at all because the coiled spring hidden inside the crank (which helps holds the window in the desired position) had slipped and become wedged tightly between the housing and the crank. I got it all repaired, cleaned, greased and back together late last night. I'll bet the window mechanism hasn't work that well in many years. I'm back to daily driving it to work so we'll see how long until the next adventure begins.

I think I'm still representing the "manly men" category well enough but there will come a time (for me anyway) when it is just not practical to daily-drive some of these old relics. I own 9 cars that are nearly 60 years old and drive 5 of those quite often. I also drive and maintain my 87 DL wagon of course plus an 87 Mazda B2000. Back on the topic of finding 87 wagon struts, they are still out there if you get lucky. After this thread was started I began watching eBay for a spare front set for my 87 wagon and found two new Monroes from two different sellers. They were both NIB in original packaging and indicate they were made in England. Total cost deliver to my door was $70 for both so those may come in handy some day or will go to the next person who owns my wagon.

RE: New transmission? Sorry. I apparently misread your sentence quoted above. I thought it said you were glad the failure didn't grenade your new transmission.

If you had tranny work done in the past I'll bet the axle was never fully installed in the socket and all this time it has wiggled further and further out until it finally put too much load on the very end section which cause a metal fatigue failure in the last few days before it happened. Very odd failure for sure.

I'm lazy but I like a clean driveway. I would not do anything for a small oil drip on an engine approaching 300K except put a diaper on it and drive. My original 2003 WRX engine is at over 200K now but has a small drip. I fold up multiple layers of toilet paper or paper towel into a small square and place it at the drip point, held up with neodymium magnets or other clips/wires to keep it in place. That absorbs any drips between maintenance intervals and I put in a new absorber with each oil change. I know it's a ghetto fix but it works for me until it gets really bad (and then I get out the duct tape). Ha!

When I lived in the rust belt Midwest we only used Fluid Film by the gallons each fall. It was an annual autumn ritual in late September that we pulled each car into the garage and gave them all a good shot of Fluid Film misted anywhere we could snake a hose. It made a very noticeable difference over the years. I later moved to Phoenix and left all of that nonsense behind. I still use Fluid Film in the small rattle cans if I'm storing engine bits for the long-term.

A 10-amp fuse should be more than ample reserve for running the size pumps we use but the fuse is there to protect the wiring so don't run a 15 amp if the wire isn't rated for more than 10. My pump pulls about 4 amps. As for safety after a mishap, I often find it simpler to use an inertia switch to disable the pump in a crash. They are all over eBay for $10-$20. Just don't mount the switch where no one will ever think to look for it like Ford did for many years. In more modern vehicles, those impact switches are all part of the airbag/crash protection modules and can't easily be used like the style below.

Heater output instantly going on and off can pretty much only be caused by low coolant levels. Either you still have a big air pocket in the system or you are loosing coolant. When you completed the last water pump repair, did you have good heat for multiple days in a row but now the heat is once again intermittent? If so, you have to be loosing coolant somewhere and if it's not on the ground and not soaked into the carpet inside the car then are you burning it in a cylinder? I was going to suggest the same thing but be careful. If there is a head gasket leak, you could accidentally fill a cylinder with coolant and then the next time you try to start the engine it may hydro-lock and bend a rod. If you perform a pressure test and have any concerns afterwards that coolant might be leaked inside a cylinder, either manually turn the engine over several times slowly using a wrench on crank or pull the spark plugs before you ever touch the starter.