edrach

Rob, you're getting a good deal (unless PAP dropped their prices). Steelies are $9.50 plus tax and alloys $15.50 plus tax.

We're back. Neither; we were driving our Geo Metro which Paul was using down there. It'll come back to our area in July when one of his room-mates drives it up here for us during his vacation.

The first time my middle son (Paul) went to the University of New Mexico he drove from Woodinville, WA to Albuquerque, NM (1448 miles) in 24-1/2 hours. Dead of winter (January) in his '84 GL wagon loaded so full of stuff he couldn't sleep in the car. Scary stuff.....no wonder dads have grey hair. I've made that trip twice but never in that short a time. Last time he went, we both took three days to drive it in our '93 Geo Metro. I couldn't let him drive there alone again; my blood pressure couldn't take it!!

Visiting ABQ this week for my son's college graduation. Maybe scope out the few Subarus in town in my spare time. If anyone needs me, I won't be back until May 19th.

I'm glad to hear you're back up and running. Your withdrawl symptoms were starting to get chronic. Adaware is okay, but Spybot is my preferred garbage eliminator. Some people run both. However, you should still get a router for a hardware firewall. Keep your windows updated as well as your norton antivirus.

Which color is it? Earlier threads on this seem to indicate that the chrome coil is failure prone and the yellow one is quite reliable. I've had a yellow one in my Brat for more than two years now without any trouble.

Look at it from the bright side; this would be a perfect opportunity to install the rear disk conversion. If you really break it, convert to the disk brake setup.

I believe Greg has the correct length (51") but check with Jerry (bratsarus1) to verify that. Greg is also correct in that the shop that lengthens your driveshaft will also balance it. Also, spend the bucks to get Jerry's modified linkage; it's worth it since the final installation will look identical to the original 4 speed setup.

If you use the two piece driveshaft from the donor car, you'll need to install the carrier bearing and holder from the donor also. Having a one-piece shaft made will eliminate that hassle. In my Brat that resulted in slightly less vibration and noise; also peace of mind since there wasn't much metal to mount the carrier bearing holder to.

Soak it with a good rust penetrant. If that fails, heat should loosen it enough. And if that fails, try slicing the nut or stud off with a dremel tool.

Rent a tranny jack. Also make sure the car is level when jacked up. With only the front end jacked up, it's virtually impossible to get the right angle on the transmission to get everything to mate up. Also a couple of extra long bolts help in lining things up before sliding the tranny into place.

Good advice, Greg. Bratsarus1 has probably done more of them than anyone else on the Board. I would go with the single piece driveshaft (really depends if you have someone local who can do that for you altho shipping from down here shouldn't be too bad unless it gets damaged in transit). Replace the clutch with new while you're at it; no point in repeating the process in the near future because you used a worn clutch.

Sounds like the electric fan is not kicking in; if not, check the fan and/or the temp switch on the radiator. If the fan kicks on when it gets warm, I would suggest a replacement thermostat and if that doesn't help a new radiator. I haven't seen too much success with back flushing the cooling system; the $40 or $50 you'll spend on that is better spent on a new radiator. We're assuming of course that you have sufficient coolent in the system.

I'm a committed user of OEM filters from Subaru. I buy them by the case.

I bought a half dozen of the "no-name" bulbs from Gene two years ago (I like to have spares) and still have four left as well as the two originals I installed then. I would suspect an alternator with too high an output voltage or maybe a flakey ground or just plain bad luck if your bulbs only lasted a few weeks. If I remember correctly, Gene offered a warranty on burned out bulbs but I've forgotten how long it's for since I never had to use it.

I would recommend Competition Limited. They carry a complete line of headlamp harnesses and selection of bulbs for them. I don't have a website, but ask for Gene Henderson; he's been in this business a long time and knows his products well. I took a look on the website and couldn't find the non-HID headlight harnesses and I called and asked and he said he still carries them. He needs to know make, year, and model of car as well as bulb type. Give him a call if you can't find the info either. Competition Limited 2243 Sosna Drive, Pinckney MI 48169 (734) 878-5553 www.hioutputbulbs.com

Early Datsun and Toyota pickup trucks with the 1600 to 2000cc engines are likely donors. You won't need a pressure regulator unless your car produces more than 5 psi of fuel pressure. If your fuel pump only delivers 3psi, a regulator won't bring it up.

If the alternator is damaged, that could happen. However, if NAPA checks the battery, they can check the alternator at the same time. After that, someone needs to check to see that something else is not draining the charge from the battery. Something to remember, a dis-charged battery will deteriorate rapidly; a fully charged one will not. Until you are sure the problem is solved, consider investing in a battery charger to be sure the battery is kept charged when not in use. A small trickle charger will usually do the trick.

Glen, that's one of the best posts I've ever seen on the Board. Concise, straight to the point, and accurate. Thanks. And to boot.....no mis-spellings!

Do a search on old posts; someone had a solution to this about four months ago.

Pulling the battery cable when the car is running may fry the alternator; I have seen at least a half dozen posts over the years to that effect. I've also experienced that with two successive alternators when I had a battery with an intermittant internal open circuit (same as dis-connecting the battery while the car was running) until I found the cause. Best way to check the alternator output is to put a voltmeter on the battery terminals and see the voltage increase with rpm. Best way to check the battery is with a load tester; if you haven't got one, most auto parts places will be glad to check your battery for you since they'd like to sell you a new one. If your battery is original, replace it--it doesn't owe you anything; most batteries die within 5 or 6 years if you're lucky. You might also have someone check to see if something in your car is drawing current when everything is shut down; more than 100 milli-amps drain would be suspicious. Just re-read your post. Have NAPA do a thorough check; this is the easiest way to get your battery evaluated.

Be kind and tell them. Also, soon, since a fully discharged battery is prone to ir-reversable sulfation and this could cost them a new battery also if it's not re-charged soon.

You might have gone with the cheaper NGKs also. But you seem to have solved your problem. I generally replace my cheap NGKs every 30K whether they need it or not.

Check in front of the radiator and clear away any dirt and debris that might be blocking the cooling area. Two pounds of refrigerant sounds like a lot but I don't know what the system takes (over charging reduces the efficiency of the cooling system). Also, it's strange that a car as new as yours should have been short of refrigerant. Lastly, make sure the 2nd fan (if your car has one) comes on with the A/C.

Do yourself a favor and replace the air struts with non-liftable ones from a junkyard. You'll be much happier in the long run.