Haha, yes! For a little bit there, a relay? was clicking on and off. It was circular and in the center of the dash area at the bottom, in front of the shifter. I heard it in the engine area as well, near one of the spark plugs on the passenger side. I was wondering what the noise was, even though it went away.

 

Also, the lifter has since quieted. I'm heading back to my school tomorrow to sell my old computer to a good friend. Hopefully I'll get back early enough to take care of some other stuff on the car, namely putting the drive shaft back into the Universal joint. Lets just say I was trying to get the thing bolted back up and it didn't cross my mind to hook it back in on the engine side.

 

:banana::banana::banana: :banana:

 

Now lets bring on the Jagerbombs and brews!

:drunk::drunk::drunk: :drunk:

 

-Tom

I love how you guys came together to help the owner of this XT. Awesome! I hate dealing with anything electrical period. You all have inspired me to tackle some electrically related issues with my XT6 and OBS. It all seemed simple how you described it. I have never used an Ohm meter (Voltmeter yes) but now I know how to. Thanks from afar.......U never know how u can influence some people.

 

I am glad this all turned out well for you LoonySalmon. Happy driving!

Basic DC electrical theory is fairly simple to understand and once you understand how it works and get familiar with some troubleshooting proceedures you will most likely come to liking it. When looking into any electrical problem it is always a good idea to first check and make sure the area you are looking at is getting the proper power to it.

Edited August 24, 200916 yr by Cougar

IT'S ALIVE!!!!

 

It's idling at about 500, a bit low if I do say so myself.

 

 

There is a flathead screw recessed into a hole in the throttle body. A little smaller than a dime. Use this screw to adjust the idle after the car is good and warm.

GRR, this heater core aches me while I try to reassemble the pieces and clamps...

 

I'm just getting fed up but still happy! At least I have until wednesday before I leave for school. The more complete my car is put back together, the more space I'll have.

 

HAS ANYBODY EVER INSTALLED AN AFTERMARKET STEREO IN AN XT?

 

Will it mount up with a kit, if there is one available? I just got a Single DIN aftermarket stereo today on my trip back from University. Traded $50 from my computer sale for a friend's slightly used unit.

 

-Tom

Heater core seems to be installed correctly. Dash is installed. Time for the Steering column. I should be able to get it driving today after I get the steering column in.

 

-Tom

 

:banana:

Any tips for how to get the steering column back into the universal joint easily? The spline has about 1/16-1/8" left to go and just wont' go any further. Is there a more simiple way to get this back in? The U-Joint just keeps bowing to the side or not staying still. If I could hammer it on there it'd be easy to fix it, however this is not fun at all....

 

Definitely no dancing bananas for this post....

 

-Tom

I got the column in to the universal joint fully to the line at this point, however I cannot get the bolts to line up to the dash just right. I think I need a helper that is stronger than my dad. The steering column is fully clearing the firewall hole, however it is not lining up correctly to bolt up to the dash.

 

I'm at a loss here. Any tips/tricks?

 

When the wheel is lowered a bit, I can get it to push through the firewall more, however when I go to lift it up, it comes back a bit. I am guessing there is a perfect point in there where this works just perfectly. My father, however, is not able to understand me when I say to push in hard and move the dash upwards. Maybe my mechanics are just bad, however I'm sure this is the problem I'm having.

 

-Tom

Have you tried using the shaft of a screwdriver to help align the holes? Getting a couple of longer screws may help also get the holes aligned.

I am currently reading the FSM for the 88 XT and it says to temporarily tighten the three bolts, remove lock bolt, connect meter cable, harness, and pop-up cable, and then install the universal joint.

 

Should I have currently removed the universal joint at this point? If the manual says so, I think I might have to. What are your thoughts on this?

 

-Tom

I haven't done the job before so I would say going by what the manual says is what you should do. Some guys can get the job done their own way at times though.

 

John in KY just helped me out majorly over on the SubaruXT forum. Evidently I didn't have the flat part of the steering column spline under the pinch bolt on the universal joint.

 

Picture of how I had it setup here. No wonder why it looked like this on the inside of the firewall.

 

Thanks again John!