Subarule

I'm going to order some material to replace my headliner and it's sold by the yard, if remember correctly. I don't think I can buy any fraction of a yard (but I could be mistaken), just whole yards. This is for an '86 GL wagon. I measured the length & width but I'd like to compare my measurements with other people's, if some of you wouldn't mind doing me that favor. I'm going to be using the perforated leatherette material to get as close to the original as possible. If anyone does car upholstery - should I allow for overage in order to tuck the material under the frame, and if so, how much? What else should I keep in mind? Thanks very much.

Subaru's only. In Tacoma. http://www.yelp.com/biz/steves-pacific-import-auto-tacoma I have no connection to this place at all, I just knew about it. It's BBB accredited. Read the reviews & about the business at the link.

I could use it as yard art. Clean it up a little and plant something in it. What are some solvents to clean it with besides TCE? Anything less health-threatening than that which will work?

Yes, I meant the FSM. I don't need one myself, since I don't personally work on my car. I have a source for headliner material that will look like the original. Just got it back from the shop where it had been for a week. It is running like a dream. So many new things on it, it feels like a brand new car. Time to start working on the interior. Need a new headliner. Some $*&$@#! broke into my car a few years ago looking for something to support a meth habit, I presume, and it looks like he took a screwdriver to the headliner, which was in pristine condition before that. I have a source for headliner material and it looks like the original perforated vinyl. Vinyl on the outside of the driver's seat (vinyl-trimmed fabric seats) has split and old dried-out foam is oozing out. There for a while I thought I had the world's biggest collection of food crumbs on my side of the car. Not sure how to fix that tear so that it will stay fixed. Otherwise the interior fabrics are in pristine condition other than needing a good steam cleaning.

I think it would need rebuilding before plopping it itno a car. But it did run OK, no problems. But like I said, not fiddled with since it left the factory. I did run Marvel Mystery Oil through my gas fairly often. When I bet it back I'll list it & see what happens. Thanks for the baseline price.

I don't have an FSM. I imagine they are rather expensive? I hope that my mechanic's shop has one for my year & model, but then, maybe they don't since the car is so old and they just don't see enough of them to warrant having an FSM for it. Thanks for the info & detail.

This was pulled from my car recently and a rebuilt was used. The car is my daily driver and it was running fine but needed some "stuff" - just old age kind of things. Decided to spring for a rebuilt carb instead of rebuilding mine (I don't do these things, a shop does). Bought the rebuilt one off ebay some time ago. Was saving up a bunch of parts I bought here & there, until I had just about everything accumulated that I wanted changed out. Anyway, the Hitachi that was pulled is the original to the car and it's never been rebuilt. I would be driving the car w/out replacing it - it ran well enough for that. But I pulled the car from daily use due to not being able to keep power steering fluid it it anymore. But that is another story and taken care of now. I will picking the car up from the shop soon. I told them to keep the carb & all its parts together for me. What should I consider doing with it? Throw it in a river? I don't need two carbs for any reason. But it's in too good of shape to destroy. Any advice? Keep in mind that I don't do mechanical work. Too unknowledgable, too old, too female

What models & years have them? How many are there, per car, typically? What are they made of? What shape are they? What size are they? (preferably in millimeters) What size is one in relation to the diameter (I.D.) of the hose it's supposed to be in? Are they supposed to completely block an orifice? Or can they be found roaming around at will /w/in a line? Is there ever supposed to be more than one in any vac. hose? Is this too many questions about them?

Phew, good! V-power is what I got. Had to make a decision at the auto repair shop last week. Didn't realize there were going to be that many choices. The front-office gal suggested V-Powers and she's pretty knowledgable. Thank you.

For an '86 GL /1.8L/ 5-spd./O.D. 4WD/ carbureted wagon... resistor? iridium? V-power? standard? platinum? Thanks.

Vacuum hose(s) leak, perhaps. Those babies get old & crack.

There's your problem. When my alt. started doing that & hitting 14.5 - kerblooey! Fried some electrical things in the process too...like my headlights.

Are you using the fuel & oil-resistant type of lines?

Thanks.

So the rule of thumb is that a carbed non-feedback 4WD won't have the O2 sensor. When did Subaru stop making non-feedback carbed models?

I mean, which ones never had them, as a factory-installed part? Is it by year, by model, by fuel-delivery type? Mine never had one - it's an '86' carbed, 1.8L, 4WD, 5-spd. wagon. I don't mean which Subes don't have them due to tinkering and retro-fitting.

I just about never shift until the tach tells me it's definitely time...when the tach starts creeping up into the the high R's for the particular gear. Not from a stop in 1st gear, not a whole lot in 2nd. But I do wind it up before changing from 3rd to 4th, oh yeah. Close to redline. What would be the point of having a 5-spd. otherwise? Still driving my '86 Loyale stocker that I purchased new. It's been my only ride since '86 and it's still happy & strong. Doesn't run hot, doesn't leak oil, doesn't burn oil.

Using the Internet you could probably find one in Japan and buy it. Find a Subaru dealer in Japan who has one in stock or can find you one.

I'm sure it needs some tweaking. I have a bunch of new (and used) parts* that I've bought over the past year that I intend to have installed all at once so that will be the time to do the tune-up. I was thinking that when we get into the bad weather part of the year would be a good time to be w/out my wheels for a few days while it's being worked on. * trunk struts stabilizer bars headlights, sidelights front bumper rebuilt Hitachi carb evaporative canister (or whatever that thing is called) some miscellany

"Pops, popping" doesn't describe the sound properly. When I'm negotiating a steep hill it definitely backfires. Old Subraus just don't like steep hills. When the engine is cold and I go through the gears then it's more like a clattering sound. Something in the emission or the exhaust system, I imagine. I'm keeping the car stock and I would love to get rid of those noises.

You won't find it listed anywhere as an after-burner if you go to buy one. I was only offering it as a suggestion for backfiring. I get those "pops" and they're annoying as well as embarrassing if other drivers are close enough to hear them.

I've read elsewhere online, on auto parts sites and auto forums, that the correct term is "anti-backfire valve". And that's the way it's listed in parts suppliers catalogs. That's what my local Subaru dealer calls it and that's what my mechanic's shop calls it when they search for one. If you do a Google search for anti-backfire valve you come with lots of hits, even one that defines it as the correct name instead of "after-burn valve".

I don't know. I just know that mine has needed replacing for a really long time. I get a backfire (not a big loud 'ka-pow' one) when the engine is still is still on the cold side and I first go through the gears. And when the engine is fully warmed up I get a backfire when shifting gears going up steep hills. A new anti-backfire valve is expensive, which is why I haven't replaced mine. Don't think it would be a good idea to get one from a junkyard. They are also getting very hard to find new, so I guess I should buy the one I ran across recently.

To all who offered help & advice... I decided to not get my AC fixed. It just didn't seem worth the money I would have had to invest, for something I would use maybe as much as 2 weeks (not even consecutive days) a year. Yes, it would be nice to have AC when the heat gets unbearable, but since I'm retired I can just not drive my car on days of killer temps. I'd rather put the money into other things the car needs. Many thanks to those who were ready to help me with the AC project.

I had that same problem for a long time - years. It was very annoying and sometimes even scary. My ride is an '86 carbed, non-feedback, 5-spd., 4WD, 1.8L wagon. The problem got fixed by replacing all the vacuum hoses. Somewhere there was a leak. Since all the vac hoses were pretty much the same age (original), I decided that it would be best to replace them all at once rather than piecemeal. And the connections would be new & tight as well. My car has not done that dead-spot/gasp/flatten-out thing since I got the new hoses. I love it!