RedRat

Oh, and no the tanks aren't plastic.

You're right. I neglected to burp the system . Poor sube was like a seagull full of alka seltzer. The blow out point was at a plug for a sensor unit. After clearing the remains of the plug from the threaded insert, I picked up an old defunct sensor from god knows what at the rad shop and in it went. Filled and BURPED, good to go.

The t-stat gasket had a slow leak. Been that way for a while and finally decided to fix it. As far as a drain plug, this thing is located halfway down the radiator, which would be a funny place to put a second drain plug. There is a drain plug, and its not leaking.

My EA81 just suffered a massive coolant blow out while idling (fully heated up) in the driveway. The Sundrame brand 2 core radiator that's installed blew its wad, steaming like Old Faithful thru the remains of a plastic bit (?) that is threaded (I think) into the inlet tank on the passenger side. I don't know what this plastic plug is, and didn't even notice it 3 years ago when I got the radiator from 1800RADIATOR. It is located on the passenger side, on outside of the inlet tank between the fan switch and the top (inlet) hose. My stock rad doesn't have any thing like that. A port for an oil or tranny cooler? This is a little bizarre to me. I had put in a new thermostat gasket earlier in the day. That is fine, no leaks there. Funny tho after 3 years a radiator blow out after some coolant work. Coincidence? Anybody got any ideas? Cheers. Its dark now but tomorrow I can pull it and get a better look and let you know what I come up with.

New speedo cable for 91 Legacy. 300k, possibly the original cable (possibly not too) Rewired hella lights on the 84 GL.

You guys were absolutely correct. The ignition switch was suffering from corrosion. After a proper cleaning the wipers (front and back) the heater blower and the cigarette outlet all work! Now bring on the dark snowy days!

Here's an update, better late than never: A burned connection was the original source of fan failure. During the trouble shooting process I blew the fan fuse and didn't recognize it until after I replaced the temp sensor and was scratching my head at the relay (it tested good so I was stumped). Check those fuses often! A fortunate side note is that the cooling fan relay is in the same area as the blower relay (for the heater/defrost etc) and my heater had just stopped working. So I was right there to replace that relay and get my heater blower running again. One thing I noticed, and maybe this is normal but ANYTIME the A/C or DEFROST is on my main fan turns on. So at least I have a manual way to switch the fan on in traffic or anytime I feel like it. I don't know if my A/C is charged with freon but I know it doesn't blow cold air. The A/C fan (smaller of the two, passenger side) does engage when the engine is really hot and the A/C or DEFROST is on. So thats cool. With fresh coolant and fresh oil the 91 Legacy is a much happier camper now. Thanks for the help guys!

That makes sense that the connectors may have been dirty or loose. I did replace both fans a year and half ago when the motors finally died (294k). Very possibly the connectors were compromised then. I just replaced the temp sensor and that didn't change anything. Assuming the new NAPA temp sensor I put in is good I think I am looking at a problem between the temp sensor and the fan. ie a relay or a wire. Tomorrow I will get fresh start and see if the connection from the chassis is getting electricity when the motor is hot. If not, test the relays. If so, well I am going to replace the connector anyway. This is a good job for me because I don't know much about electricity and here is a chance to learn how to properly use a multimeter BTW, does anyone have a lead on those connector housings?

Hey guys. 91 Legacy, cooling fans (both) inoperative. Unplugged the connections and the ground wire from the main fan is charred inside the connections housing. Any ideas as to how/why this would happen? The fans both work fine when jumped to the battery. But they don't do squat otherwise. Even if the AC is on. And yes the engine is getting hot enough, as in too hot for my comfort (especially in Seattle traffic ) I am in the process of replacing the temperature sensor (the one to the ECU or computer) and checking the relays, but still concerned that there was a burning in the connection which I can't see happening from a bad relay or sensor. Another question, on a side note: does anyone know if the AC fan will work even if the temp sensor is bad? How about if the AC doesn't work (no freon) Is it supposed to come on anytime the AC is turned on? Like I said, my AC doesn't work, but would the fan turn on anyways? thanks from bellingham, subaru country!

Thanks for the quick reply, GD. Checking for fusable links under the hood, I found three near the coil. The cover over them says GREEN RED RED. Anyway all three appear to be intact.

The high beams, wipers, accessory outlet and heater blower on my 84 GL stopped working. Anyone know if all of these are linked to a single relay? They all stopped at once. Fuses all are good. Funny thing is, the high beams still work if I hold them in between high and low on the stick. Strange....

Thanks Bratman and edrach, I will replace my fuse wire with a proper fusable link, either from a local junkyard or the dealer. Any thoughts on the 12v adapter?

Yeah, this one was black. Now I did make the new link out of 12 gauge fuse wire, which is supposed to break when the load get too big, right?

Hey again, On the way down to Oregon for the holidays 2 weeks ago my 91 Legacy started to overheat once I got off the freeway and onto the city streets in Seattle. The freeway driving had been pretty hard going, lots of snow and ice and stuck vehicles and cars doing 30 in the fast lane. Anyway, after some trouble shooting I realized that neither of the radiator fans were working at all, they would try to spin when hotwired but were bascially toasted. Which would explain why the car overheated in stop and go traffic after being driven hard. I replaced them both with ones from the wrecking yard, which both tested good before I put them in. Now the passenger side fan seems to run constantly when the motor is on, but I haven't noticed the smaller drivers side fan run at all, even when the car is fully warmed up and sitting. Does anyone know when the smaller drivers side radiator fan is supposed to kick on? Is this fan connected to using the A/C? (A/C in vehicle but it doesn't work) I haven't had anymore overheating issues since replacing the fans, but I am curious about why the drivers side fan isn't switching on. Thanks in advance for any replies, and I hope this isn't tooo long winded of a post. Now bring on the snow!! (again)

Hey everyone, I recently blew the fusable link on my 91 Legacy (290K). Before I realized it was the fusable link under the hood that was toast, I thought that the battery was completely drained (no lights or accessory power) so I tried to jump the car with a mobile jumper that plugs into the cigarette lighter. That seems to have disabled the power to my cigarette lighter. I've checked the fuse under the dash and it is still intact. Does anyone know of another fuse or a relay that could break that would disable the 12v power in the dash? p.s. I made a new fusable link with 12 gauge fuse wire and spade clips. The dealer couldn't tell me what gauge the original wire was, and the one out of the car was pretty well burned up. Anyone know what gauge that link is? Should I bother with the $10 fuse from the dealer? thanks and enjoy this winter weather! Its why we drive subes!

Thanks guys. Thats a bit of a bummer. Since my shop space is non existant (I live on a boat) does anybody know of a good mechanic or shop in the Bellingham area that loves Subarus as much as we do?

Hey Everyone, Happy Holidays! So I'm driving up from Oregon to NW Washington last night on I-5 and my 84 GL starts to overheat. I pull over add water, put a patch with some hose tape on the leaking (read spitting) heater hose, replace the NAPA brand thermostat that I never trusted with a dealer t-stat I had as a spare and hit the road again. But problems continue. Here are the symptoms: Radiator uses water to the tune of a half gallon every 120 miles. The radiator cap remains cool, even when the engine temp is 3/4 of the way up on the meter. The dealer t-stat only made the engind run slightly cooler. It is odd but I can remove the cap off the radiator when she is hot and it doesn't shoot a geyser of coolent everywhere. Doesn't seem to have pressure in that part of the radiator. I haven't been able to identify any more coolent leaks, the tape patch I put on the heater hose appears to be holding for now. It is also funny but the heater blows cold air after about 5 minutes, and the engine temp. goes UP when I use the heater!! The oil seems okay, no froth or obvious signs of water. Its at the same level, minus normal use (about a half quart every 300 miles) Oh and to make the drive more interesting, RedRat (the sube) starts missing really bad and loses power and I barely get her off at a rest area. Anyway, I tinker around, basically not doing anything, and she starts back up with difficulty after 10 minutes and goes for 30 miles until that situation repeats itself. I get another 10 miles until I start missing again, and this time get to a gas station and add a couple bottles of gas treatment, which seems to help a lot becuase I make all the way to bellingham from tacoma without losing power. Although my throttle is alternating between being normal (1000 idle), being stuck wide open (fun in the Chuckanuts at 3am and 6 inches of slush on the road), and being on the verge of dying. I think I got some bad gas and need a good carb cleaning. I hope thats it at least. RedRat was not happy last night. Let me know what you guys think about my fun coolent situation. Think I should swap the radiator and the hoses. Is it possible to have the radiator flushed under pressure at a shop? Why the heck would the engine temp. RISE when I turn the heater on? thanks for listening to my story, and enjoy the low snow levels! -dan in bellingham (finally!)

Yeah that would be the obvious place to look, wouldn't it? Ok so I got em gapped to 1.0mm to 1.1mm. the Soccor Mom Special doesn't sound much different, but it does feel good to swap the plugs and wires in anticipation of a drive down to the bay area. thanks, redrat

Hey all, I'm a doing a tuneup on my 91 legacy. After the the air filter, fuel filter, engine oil, rear diff oil, and an injection cleaning additive, the car runs markedly better. Now for the plugs and wires. Does anyone know the proper plug gap for a stock 91 legacy (non turbo). I should be able to find it somewhere online but I have looked for a whole 15 minutes and figured what the hey I'll ask around. 285K and still moving down the road! thanks, redrat

Great! Thanks. So am I safe to assume sjr's is a shop in bellingham? i'm on a bit of a road trip now so its taken a bit to get back in any way (the legacy down to oregon..a bit more quiet and smooth than the old red rat)

So the catalytic converter on my 84 GL is shot. The little beast is real loud and drives a bit sluggish too. The muffler was holed, replaced it with a cheap clamp on muffler from Shucks but it still doesn't have a lot of flow through it, the cat is leaking so bad. The cat is the 2 into one type just after the exhaust Y. Anyway, I took it to midas to get a free estimate, they said about $400 for the parts and labor. The car was less than that. Does anyone have any advice as to where to pick up an catalytic converter on the cheap? Also, anybody know some good/cool exhaust people or mechanics in the Bellingham WA, area? I really don't want to go back to Midas. thanks everyone!

Ok, so I cleaned all the switches on all 4 doors and all the windows work now! All lubed up the slider bar with white lithium. Some advice about taking apart the switches: when working on the drivers door switches, be really carefull not to push the "lock windows" switch while it is taken apart. There are two springs there, and one is tiny and it flies like a bat out of hell. It is a real bear to get the thing back together. Thanks nipper for the advice! -RedRat

Okay, I figure you take the door panels off and remove the switch housing and clean with contact cleaner and a rag. Do the symptoms sound like dirty switches? Think there is a bad ground?

Hey guys, I've got a 91 Legacy and the rear power windows have decided to poop out. Last week I noticed that the rear drivers side window decided not to work. I blew it off. But today I had a passenger in the back coming home from Mt. Baker lower passenger side window and now it wont go back up. It will continue to roll down, just not up. This is not good, as the window is 3/4 of the way down tonight. Any ideas? Added info: the switches on the drivers control panel don't work for either of the rear windows. Only the rear passenger switch works, and only going up. thanks, -redrat