robm

http://www.crypton.co.za/Tto%20know/Emissions/exhaust%20emissions.html Good stuff on emissions tuning. It would seem you do have a rich condition, despite the vacuum leak. Fix it, then either tune lean, as I suggested, or tune for best idle, and see what happens. If you can get a emission tester on it before you go into the test station, all the better! Do they sell bottles of magic liquid that guarantee passing emissions tests in Finland? They usually have some kind of oxygenated fuel in them. It might work in this case.

Is there a way to glue a small magnet to something that rotates inside that housing?

The T-stat is stuck open.

Does it even have an oxygen sensor? Euro spec car with a Hitachi 2 bbl may just have a simple carb, no feedback, no ECM. One thing to try is to increase your idle to 900 RPM, adjust the mix for best idle (highest), bring it back to 900 with the throttle stop adjustment, then reduce the idle speed to 700 by making it run leaner with the mixture screw. I am not sure how the Colourtune would work in this situation, whether it would be of use or not. This was the tuning method used by some vehicles with similar carbs to that one, back in the day. I am surprised that a carb with a vacuum leak would run rich. Is this emission test run just at idle, or is it run at speed as well, on some kind of wheel dynomometer? The phenolic plate is a heat insulator, so the carb doesn't ge too warm. Good luck.

Wow. I have never had a problem with high centreing. Or traction. Even in 2 feet of snow, or anywhere else. But then, I run 4 studded snow tires in the winter. What kind of tires do you have on? Chances are the Toyota, and maybe the Lexus too, have way more aggressive tread, as well as the traction control. i

Could it be the tools for connecting a kiddy seat strap to the fittings in the roof behind the seat?

The CTS may be bad. But worse than that, I think you have a bad thermostat, judging by the way the temperature goes up and down. The CTS is connected to the ECU, and is used only for cold idle control. The temperature gauge uses a completely different sensor. If the thermostat is going out, it can be sticky, staying shut until it suddenly opens, causing the temperature to fluctuate as you have described. Try a new T-stat. While you are in there, measure the resistance of the CTS, and make sure it is properly connected and there is no corrosion in the connector and wiring. Good luck.

It could be a bad diode in the alternator. Measure the voltage on the battery when running, using the AC setting on you rmeter. If there is any more than a few millivolts, you have a bad alternator.

It might be worth checking the coolant temperature sensor (CTS). In my experience, they get flaky before they die. Mine went in the spring, and I ran for a week or 2 without, now it is cold, it will be really hard to start if it is not right.

I am sorry, the fuel pump does NOT ground through the ECM. The ECM triggers a relay under the dash, which fires the pump. If you put a continuity checker on the black wire of the pump, you will find that the pump is always grounded. A wire direct from the battery to the red wire on the pump will run the pump. I don't know where it does ground. The fact that grounding it near the pump works proves that the ECM doesn't have much to do with it. The ECM does ground the coil of the relay to fire it, but that is a whole different thing. I fought a flaky pump relay for months. I know this system intimately. I agree with the idea to run a wire direct from the battery to the red wire on the pump. I suspect the relay contacts get flaky, so clicking may not tell you what is really happening. The relay pulls in, but doesn't actually connect its contacts.

The tires the Loyale was designed for are no longer available. The original tires were rated for maximum load at 32 psi, and Subaru recommended that they be inflated to that pressure for highways and heavy loads. Modern tires are rated for maximum load at 36 psi. Equivalent tires are not really available, as 165/80 are really hard to find now. The 175/70's you are running are close, but are probably a little lower rated load than the original 165's. To achieve close to an equivalent load rating, they have to be inflated to maximum rated pressure. Run at 36 psi, and it will work just fine.

It may be the fuel pump relay. It is one of the relays under the dashboard, above the fuse box. An absolute pain to get to. It may also be a bad transistor on the ECM, the one that turns on the pump relay. Use the green connectors to diagnose the problem. Connect, and turn on the ignition, but don't start the car. You should hear the fuel pump running every few seconds, and the relay clicking under the dash. If you hear the relay, but not the pump, it is probably a pump problem. If you don't hear the relay or the pump, check the relay first. Just swap a nearby relay into the same position, and see if it helps. These relays seem to get flaky after 20 years or so. If swapping in a new relay doesn't help, it may be the ECM transistor. There is an excellent post on troubleshooting and fixing this problem if you search on here hard enough. I had this problem, and discovered the relay was heat sensitive. It would work fine in the cool of the day, but would crap out when it got hot, or if I turned on the heat in the winter. I had the same problem with the blower relay (which is the same kind of relay), that would fail in the winter when the heat was on. Intermittents like this are very hard to deal with. I finally changed out the relay, but didn't get a chance to drive it long enough to find out if this was the final fix.

We don't rebuild axles ourselves in North America because it is hard or impossible to find the parts. We can get rebuilt axles just about anywhere, also boots, but new CV joints are not available. Too bad.

If you can hear it running, all is good with the fuel pump. The relay is under the dash, and the sound of the pump often drowns out the click. You tried 2 different coils, but there seems to be something wrong there if you don't get spark, and don't see 12 V on both sides of the coil when energized, not running. Try measuring the coil resistance, both low voltage and high voltage sides. Do both, and compare. Measure a 3rd one if you can borrow one.

How about fuel? I am assumin gyou have SPFI? Plug the green test connectors together, turn on the ignition but don't start, and listen for the fuel pump to cycle. If it doesn't, it could be the relay or the ECU. You should hear the relay clicking under the dash. Sometimes the relay clicks, but the contacts don't connect. If it doesn't click, it could be the relay or the ECU. The relay is cheaper, but a pain to replace. I have been fighting a bad relay or ECU since September. I hate intermittent faults.

Where did you get a Bentley manual for a Subaru? They used to be the best after-market manuals, but they don't cover everything. Their Corolla manual for the late 70's cars was brilliant, better than the factory one.

195/70-R13 tires? In Canada? I wish! 165/80-R13 are available, but rare. 185/70-R13 are even scarcer. I have taken to using 155/80-R13 snowtires, as that is about the only size I can get. Our tire choices are worse than in the US. But I bet you will find those are old stock. As far as I can see, 175/70 and 155/80 are about the only common 13" tires left. Kumho and Toyo make a a few 185/70 and 165/80's, but most anything else you find will be a weird brand from China. Rob.

That clip on the rollers was pretty impressive. It would be interesting to see what a Loyale could do on that course... The part on the cock-eyed ramps would be tough.

I have had this problem. A different axle fixed it. It sucks. I can't help but wonder if there was a bad batch of CV joints let loose on the rebuilders. I have done several, only ever had the problem once.

Yeah, just choose your road. Lots of gravel, bumps, and a rut or two. Snow at higher elevations right now. And spread the race over 2 days. You can sleep in the car at the top of the mountain, while he is stuck in a hole with something broken, half way up. Then drive back and pull him out. If you can find somewhere on his Honda where you can attach a rope without damaging it!

At 58 k miles and 20+ years old, your timing belt was ready to go. It did no damage at all to the engine when it broke. These engines typically run to 300 k miles, not 80k. I actually did run my engine low on oil, and snapped a timing belt. The engine didn't seize, the oil pump did. That was at 150k miles. New belts, new oil pump, and ran it to 215 k when catastrophic head gasket failure, combined with a rotting body, put it away. It burned no oil, there was no apparent bearing damage, it just ran. (Note that the oil pump did free itself. I found it was shot when I resealed it, to get rid of the oil leak that caused the problem in the first place. The pump bearing was damaged, but it would turn.) So, it is possible (but not likely) you did the same, but I wouldn't worry about it. The oil pump acts like a fuse, breaking the belt and shutting off the engine before there is significant bearing damage. If this did happen, maybe your engine won't last 300 - 400 k, the way it is supposed to, but I bet you can run it till the body rots off. You idea of running the engine until it dies is the way to go. It will be a long time before you will need a new engine.

The Thule towers shown in the Amazon ad in the first post will fit. They look like the ones I have. They are not the best, as they clamp the bars when clamped to the roof, and will slide around when trying to put them on or take them off. PITA! LB50 bars may be recommended, but the wider the better. Just watch your head when you get out of the car. The best racks I have used were Terzo. They are available only in Japan now. They had solid cast aluminum towers, allen key screws to locate them on the bars, stainless steel bolts, solid clamps to hold them to the gutter, and Thule-style square bars. Too much salt water from wet sailboats and canoes finally killed them. They lasted through 3- 4 cars. If you find a set in the junk yard, you have found gold.

I had an EA82 axle that would not go together. It would not go into the bearing far enough to get the axle nut on at all. Pulling it out pulled the inner bearing with it. I took it back to NAPA, who pulled the bearing off with a press. They had a devil of a time with it. Something was not right with that axle. What make is the CV joint? Does/did Empi make them too, or assemble complete shafts using other firm's parts?

Chances are the speaker coils are toast. They hang up and stop working. A good bump or a pop from turning on the stereo loosens them for a while. New speakers are the cure.

A bearing can make all sorts of noise, and not be loose. It can make no noise at all, and be ready to fall off the car. Either way, it is time, or past time, to replace. If you wait until it shakes, the likelihood of doing even more damage is very good.