edrach

Looks like it rained last night at the ORV park; and the chance of rain for the next three days has increased to 40% . Looks like the mudders will work well again.

Great, the more the merrier.

I just read your thread about making your own resistor block. Nice piece of work. However, you might be drawing too much current which caused your connector to overheat. But then again, I've seen enough of these connectors fail in this fashion. I'm beginning to think I'm over-thinking this whole thing.

You discovered the secret of the resistor block; even with the original resistors which are pretty high wattage, the airflow from the blower is needed to cool them. And the higher the speed, the more air flow to keep them from burning up. Good work.

I'm from the same school of thought. But in this case, I'd replace it. You can check it yourself. Check your battery voltage at the battery terminals. Then check the voltage at the blower with it on high speed. It should be the same; likely it'll be 1 or 2 volts lower. Bad connections never get better; they just get worse. Eventually they no longer conduct and the blower will not go. It's a matter of "fix me now, or fix it later." Your choice.

Four events in the last three weekends of June! From the PRG mailinglist forum: Hi everyone! June is RallyCross month in the Northwest. For those of you that are unaware, there are three RallyCross events and one Rally School this month. June 17th, 2007 - Dad's Dash RallyCross hosted by PRG at the Straddleline ORV Park URL: http://www.pacificrallygroup.com/rci061707.html June 22-24th, 2007 - Primitive Rally School in Hillsboro hosted by Primitive Racing with a RallyCross on Sunday, June 24th hosted by ORG URL: Rally School: http://www.get-primitive.com/ RallyCross: http://oregonrally.com/Event_Detail.cfm?EventID=508 June 30th-July 1st, 2007 - PRG Dragonfly RallyCross and PRG Summer Fun RallyCross hosted by PRG at the Straddleline ORV Park This event is held on the same weekend as the West Coast Subaru Show (www.westcoastsubarushow.com) so if you own a Subaru, you should come to these two RallyCross events. URL: http://www.pacificrallygroup.com/rci063007.html http://www.pacificrallygroup.com/rci070107.html I hope everyone has a chance to get to one of these fun events during the month of June. Give dad a break from the same old ties and socks that he gets every year and buy him an entry to the Dad's Dash event! If you know anyone aspiring to be a rally driver, please send them to the Primitive Rally School. The instructors are great and the experience is one they won't soon forget! :-D Cheers, Erik Lyden

Be prepared to pull more than one resistor block. I used to pull them every chance I got and found more than half had one or more of the resistors open. That's the bad news, the good news is that Subaru used this device in the Loyale series up to '94 so the newer the donor car you find, the more likely you'll find a good unit.

Great picture; and I'm not trying to steal the thread, but it points out a common problem on 20+ year old cars. A bad connection in the wiring generally generates heat which turns the connector plastic brown and in some cases black. It's time to replace this connector---grab one from a suitable car at the boneyard and butt splice it in place of this one. That's the easiest fix; if you're really handy and have the tools you can replace just the offending terminal(s). What are the symptoms of a bad connection aside from turning the connector brown or black? Heat is generated by dropping voltage across a resistance. You're getting lower voltage where you want it. In this case, the blower motor if it works at all speeds, will be spinning slower than normal since some of your 12 volts is lost in the connector. The most common connector that has this symptom is the first connector (usually pink plastic) that carries current from the ignition switch to the starter. The bad connection shows up as intermittant not starting and eventually not starting at all. I've replaced a number of them on our older EA81 cars (generally after the owner of the car has already replaced the starter motor and/or the battery).

http://www.wunderground.com/US/WA/McCleary.html

Event will be held at the Straddleline ORV Park. Schedule: - Tech Inspection: 0800-0900 - Registration: 0815-0900 - Driver's Meeting: 0915 - First Car Out: 0930 Cost: $25 for PRG Members, $30 for non-members (both include admission to the ORV park) After tech inspection, please go to registration to obtain your timecard. There is only one session scheduled for this event. Worker positions will be assigned at the driver's meeting and the entire group will be split into run/work groups at that time. After the parade lap, those working first will go to their worker assignments. Those running first will put their cars into the grid to prepare for their first run. Helmets are required (Snell 95 and newer rating). Loaner helmets will be available at the event but in limited supply. If you're unsure about what class your car will run in, please read the Rally Cross rules. Spectators: The ORV park charges $10 per car for anyone entering the park. If you're interested in spectating, try to carpool to minimize costs. If you know someone competing, ride along with them. There is a concession stand on-site, so please bring cash for lunch.

It was ordered specifically for the '84 Brat. It would take me a while but I could find the exact model number. There was a bit of confusion since Australia doesn't call it a Brat. Edit: Part number was BSR41. Catalogue can be found at http://www.whiteline.com.au/default.asp?page=/swaybars.htm

This would work okay on '84 wagon; not sure how it would work on an early hatch. Qman and I mounted the Whiteline rear swaybar to my '84 Brat today. It took a bit of figuring as to the best way to install it, but it's on and doesn't rub anywhere or clunk on anything while I'm driving. I'm writing this up since there were no directions for specific installation on this model Brat and there may be more Brats (or early '80s EA81 models) out there that could use this modification. Once we figured out how to mount it, it took about an hour to complete the job. The swaybar looks like a large mis-shapen letter "V" and is mounted with the point of the "V" toward the front of the car and hung by u-bolt hangers to the torsion bar. The "V" has a slight bend near the front and that bend needs to be mounted to point upwards (down will cause the bar to rub on the driveshaft). Also, the u-bolt hangers shouldn't point straight down but rotate slightly toward the front of the car to allow the point of the "V" to clear the front of the torsion bar adjuster. The rest of the installation involved drilling two holes near the lower shock mounts to attach right angle brackets. We mounted the brackets upwards to allow more ground clearance at the end of the links that attach to the ends of the sway bar. Pictures explain this much better than a verbal description. See them at the link below: http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/subaru/images/whitelinesway/

Try Aaron's Auto Wrecking in Seattle, WA; ask for Tom Keys 1-800-541-7271. Only downside might be the cost of shipping.

I keep getting questions about this and I'm really not the expert here. This is the best link I've found (from Skip) and it should be in the USRM. http://www.indysworld.com/80s/general/USRM/subrepair.htm

At the ORV park outside of McCleary, WA. Details to follow shortly.

A few more Legacies spotted today at Lynnwood. A nice set of front seats in one of them. Also a '95 Impreza but it's been pretty well scavenged. Only had 89K on the odo and massive body damage on the passenger side. I grabbed the power steering pump for my "inventory". EJ18 is still there (as least the big pieces).

Replacing the radiator is pretty easy and a new after market one isn't too costly. Try Spalding Auto Parts (800 366-2070) for a price quote of a radiator shipped to your location. I paid $100 shipped to my door for the last one I've bought from them.

Does the car run without overheating at 50mph? Does it run hotter as you increase speed? If the answer is yes to both questions, the most likely reason is a restricted radiator. After you've eliminated all the other likely causes, replace the radiator.

I keep finding this question popping up all the time so I finally got around to updating my EA series instructions for the early GL/Loyale series to the early Legacy and Impreza series cars. Perhaps a mod will review this procedure for accuracy and move it into the USRM since I'm not sure how to do that. You'll find the EJ's are much easier than the EA's. Early EJ axle replacement Loosen the axle nut while the car is still on the ground and "break" the nut loose with the 32mm socket and a long breaker bar. Remove the wheel after jacking the car up (wheel chocks and jackstands are VERY important here). Do not remove the axle nut yet. Knock out the pin on the DOJ with a drift-tool from the UNBEVELED hole side. Refer to my photo album for suggestions on a drift tool (Craftsman #42885 is my favorite). Note the orientation of the hole and rotate the DOJ ½ turn to place the beveled hole in position for replacing the roll pin later. Pull the DOJ away from the transmission; it should move freely now but won't quite come off. Loosen the axle nut most of the way. Check out the two large bolts holding the hub to the lower portion of the strut. The upper bolt is an eccentric used to adjust the wheel camber. The lower bolt is just a bolt. Mark the outline of the hub or the orientation of the camber bolt so you can re-install it later without changing the camber. Now remove the two large bolts. This should allow you to get the DOJ off the transmission stub axle when the hub portion falls forward. If you use a small bungee cord to cradle the DOJ end of the axle it will keep it from falling down and make replacement easier by holding that end up. Now remove the castle nut and you can push the CVJ out of the hub; sometimes you need to tap it out with a drift tool but it should come out easily. Remove the axle from its bungee cradle and put it aside. Installation is the reverse of removal. Lube the CVJ and DOJ splines with grease and feed the CVJ spindle into the hub first and start the axle nut enough to hold that end in the hub. Rotate the hub so that the beveled hole is up and line up the splines to slide the DOJ back onto the transmission stub axle. Once the DOJ is on, I use a small (about 1/8th inch diameter) Phillips screwdriver through the DOJ hole to make sure everything is lined up properly. Swing up the hub now and install the lower bolt to hold it in place and install the upper camber bolt and rotate it to match the markings you made earlier to insure proper camber. Tighten the nuts on both bolts; I don’t know the torque but “good and tight” is necessary. Now remove the screwdriver from the DOJ end and knock the roll pin (new is better, but you can re-use the old pin if necessary) back into the DOJ and stub axle from the beveled hole side. Remove the bungee cord cradle if you used one. Snug up the axle nut a bit and replace the wheel and lower the car to the ground. While someone else steps on the brake, tighten the axle nut to 145 ft-lbs of torque (or more—a little more is better and won't hurt anything). Peen over the axle nut skirt to prevent it from loosening. Torque the wheel lugs to 75 ft-lbs. Re-torque the lug nuts after 300 to 500 miles again. I’ve done this replacement on many ’90 to ’98 Legacies and a ’97 Impreza and I’m sure the technique works for many of the later EJ models but can’t vouch for it since I haven’t personally done it. Pictures to help can be found at my photo album ‘site: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showgallery.php?cat=1011 I will add more pictures next time I do another axle. Just an additional thought although I covered it in instructions. If the DOJ holes don't line up and inspection shows you have only 1/2 hole available, the DOJ is 1/2 rotation off; slip off the DOJ rotate it 1/2 turn, line it up again and it should be okay.

My own experience is with a '91 Legacy, '97 Impreza and up to a '98 Outback wagon. I suspect the procedure is similar (if not exactly the same) but can't really say since I haven't worked on any of the 2000 and up models.

Nice job Connie. You are going to be so happy with the 4 wheel disks. Everybody says "why didn't I do this sooner" when it's done and checked out.

I get asked this enough that I finally went searching the archives to find my original write-up and update it a bit and repost it. Perhaps one of the moderators will transfer it into the current USRM. This procedure works for the early '80's GL and Loyale series cars. Might even work on the early '90's Loyales although I haven't actually done one of those. EA series front axle replacement Remove the cotter pin in the axle nut while the car is still on the ground and "break" the nut loose with the 36mm socket and a long breaker bar. Remove the wheel after jacking the car up (wheel chocks and jackstands are VERY important here). Knock out the pin on the DOJ with a drift-tool from the UNBEVELED hole and remove the pivot bolt from the lower arm. I don't remove the sway bar mount (never had to). Pull the DOJ away from the transmission; it should move freely now but won't quite come off. Tug on the wheel hub and pull on the DOJ and often it will pop off the stub axle. If not, loosen the nuts at the top of the strut tower a bit (don't take them off!) and/or pry the lower pivot arm away from its support with a crowbar or large screwdriver. This should allow you to get the DOJ off the stub axle. Now remove the castle nut, and both washers (tapping the hub smartly with a small hammer will help get the spring washer out). Now the trick is to get the spindle out of the hub. Either get a large gear puller (6 or 7 inch version) or a sledge hammer and a block of wood. You can push the spindle out with the gear puller or smack the spindle with the sledge (MAKE SURE THE BLOCK OF WOOD IS THERE to prevent damaging the threads--hard to get your core charge back if the threads are bunged). You might need to use your drift and a smaller sledge and pound the spindle out the last inch or so via the small hole in the end. Now carefully remove the axle from the car. Installation is the reverse of removal. Feed the spindle into the hub first; once you get the nut started on the spindle you can use two screwdrivers to pry the spindle out of the hub. I have a number of large washers that I use for spacers to help that along. In really difficult cases I remove the four bolts holding the outer portion of the hub and put the hub aside to give me more purchase on the end of the spindle. Once you have the spindle through the hub reinstall the washers and castle nut and tighten (not completely yet). Now re-install the DOJ (line up the splines first and note that the splines only line up one way--one hole has a tooth in the center and the other has a groove in the center). Tugging on the hub you should be able to slide the DOJ back onto the stub axle again. Line up the holes and knock the spring pin back into the BEVELLED hole. Put the pivot bolt back into the lower arm and snug it up, but DO NOT TIGHTEN. Tighten the nuts at the top of the strut, replace the wheel and drop the car back on the ground and tighten the castle nut to 145 ft-lbs of torque (or more--more is better and won't hurt anything). Torque the wheel lugs to 75 ft-lbs replace the cotter pin in the castle nut. Now that the car is back on the ground, tighten the pivot bolt with the suspension under load. I got that info from the Subaru Guru and it makes sense to take some pressure off the rubber bushing. Re-torque the lug nuts after 300 miles again and check the castle nut for tightness (yes they can loosen up--I'll explain the mystery of that some other time if you ask nicely). Start to finish takes less than 45 minutes unless you run into a snag. Thanks to Andy and Skip, the trick of removing the swaybar clamp is definitely less work than loosening the strut tower nuts and certainly is easier to remove the DOJ from the stub axle this way. Some people have suggested removing the ball joint to move the hub away from the tranny and get the axle off. I've found that removing the ball joint is often more destructive than releasing the sway bar or loosening the upper strut nuts (nut loosening not needed if you release the sway bar). You can save the threads on the axles if you need to drive it out with a sledge hammer (many axles require that) if you put a block of wood between the sledge and the axle. Once you get the axle to move inwards about an inch for more, you can use the drift tool on the axle end (it'll clear the small hole) and drive it out the rest of the way. I've no problem with those of you that remove the ball joint end to free up the strut enough to get the DOJ off the stub axle. Whatever works for you will do the trick. New versus re-manned versus used axles: You know, I've not had much success with re-manned axles (with the exception of www.cvaxles.com/ and I haven't bought enough from them as yet to have a good statistical base. I've had my best success looking at the axles of cars in the yard at the local Pull a Part yards. One can usually tell from the condition of the boots how old the axles are and when I find one that looks good I usually pull it so I have spare axles for emergencies. When I use one of my emergency spares, I usually think about ordering a remanned unit from Florida as soon as the used one starts to make noise. I'm still waiting for the last one I installed to start making noise.

You got it mostly right and I did write what I meant and not what was quite accurate. I basically took my old EA series instructions and then modified them where necessary to reflect the differences in the EJ series. I'm too lazy to have started this from scratch. Nice catch Matt. I think I corrected it now.

You're very welcome. I love the EJ series. Almost everything is easier to replace than on my old '86 wagon.

I keep finding this question popping up all the time so I finally got around to updating my EA series instructions for the early GL/Loyale series to the early Legacy and Impreza series cars. Perhaps a mod will review this procedure for accuracy and move it into the USRM since I'm not sure how to do that. You'll find the EJ's are much easier than the EA's. Early EJ axle replacement Loosen the axle nut while the car is still on the ground and "break" the nut loose with the 32mm socket and a long breaker bar. Remove the wheel after jacking the car up (wheel chocks and jackstands are VERY important here). Do not remove the axle nut yet. Knock out the pin on the DOJ with a drift-tool from the UNBEVELED hole side. Refer to my photo album for suggestions on a drift tool (Craftsman #42885 is my favorite). Note the orientation of the hole and rotate the DOJ ½ turn to place the beveled hole in position for replacing the roll pin later. Pull the DOJ away from the transmission; it should move freely now but won't quite come off. Loosen the axle nut most of the way. Check out the two large bolts holding the hub to the lower portion of the strut. The upper bolt is an eccentric used to adjust the wheel camber. The lower bolt is just a bolt. Mark the outline of the hub or the orientation of the camber bolt so you can re-install it later without changing the camber. Now remove the two large bolts. This should allow you to get the DOJ off the transmission stub axle when the hub portion falls forward. If you use a small bungee cord to cradle the DOJ end of the axle it will keep it from falling down and make replacement easier by holding that end up. Now remove the castle nut and you can push the CVJ out of the hub; sometimes you need to tap it out with a drift tool but it should come out easily. Remove the axle from its bungee cradle and put it aside. Installation is the reverse of removal. Lube the CVJ and DOJ splines with grease and feed the CVJ spindle into the hub first and start the axle nut enough to hold that end in the hub. Rotate the hub so that the beveled hole is up and line up the splines to slide the DOJ back onto the transmission stub axle. Once the DOJ is on, I use a small (about 1/8th inch diameter) Phillips screwdriver through the DOJ hole to make sure everything is lined up properly. Swing up the hub now and install the lower bolt to hold it in place and install the upper camber bolt and rotate it to match the markings you made earlier to insure proper camber. Tighten the nuts on both bolts; I don’t know the torque but “good and tight” is necessary. Now remove the screwdriver from the DOJ end and knock the roll pin (new is better, but you can re-use the old pin if necessary) back into the DOJ and stub axle from the beveled hole side. Remove the bungee cord cradle if you used one. Snug up the axle nut a bit and replace the wheel and lower the car to the ground. While someone else steps on the brake, tighten the axle nut to 145 ft-lbs of torque (or more—a little more is better and won't hurt anything). Peen over the axle nut skirt to prevent it from loosening. Torque the wheel lugs to 75 ft-lbs. Re-torque the lug nuts after 300 to 500 miles again. I’ve done this replacement on many ’90 to ’98 Legacies and a ’97 Impreza and I’m sure the technique works for many of the later EJ models but can’t vouch for it since I haven’t personally done it. Pictures to help can be found at my photo album ‘site: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showgallery.php?cat=1011 I will add more pictures next time I do another axle. Just an additional thought although I covered it in instructions. If the DOJ holes don't line up and inspection shows you have only 1/2 hole available, the DOJ is 1/2 rotation off; slip off the DOJ rotate it 1/2 turn, line it up again and it should be okay.