aba4430

Just a heads-up. Maccspring.Com (Michael Wagenstein, 800-585-5117) is selling me KYB 234028 struts for $62.93 each with free shipping for >$100 worth of parts. I will most likely order these from him for our 87 Brat. The rears shocks are KYB KG4183A's and are at $33.35 each. Don't know if this is a good price. However, I have dealt with Macsspring in the past (Edelbrock IAS shocks for our Expedition) and they are great to work with. Regards, aba4430

Folks, Since I fixed the clutch on my Brat a week ago, I have been driving it everyday and it feels great. Now for phase 2 repairs which includes a/c conversion to R134A, brakes and suspension. I have searched the suspension related posts and noted that the KYB shocks/struts seem to be favored over the Monroe Sensatrac's. However, I have not found much information on the Gabriel Ultra's. Any feedback on these would be appreciated. Also, are urethane replacement bushings available for the front? Thanks, aba4430

The compressor on my Brat also quit working @ a year ago. I just a 12 volt jumper to the compressor wire after disconnecting it at the connector. The compressor kicked right in. Note that the compressor is already grounded. I may have a bad switch or really low on R12. Well at least the compressor appears to be fine. Now for a conversion to R134A. Regards, aba4430

Folks, At the onset I wish to thank this board for the valuable information provided, that enabled me to undertake the clutch replacement effort. This is the list of items done to my Brat so far: Clutch (pressure plate, pilot and throwout bearings and disc) replaced. Replaced clutch cable. Did not replace the acc. cable, it appeared fine. 2. Rear main seal and orange o-ring replaced. Flywheel resurfaced. Oil pan gasket. Valve cover gaskets. No torqueing of head bolts. Did not have the special socket and a crowfoot wrench did not work. However, I have special ordered the socket from Kent Moore. It is on back order and expected on 7/21/04. So will tackle this effort later. Thermostat (Robert Shaw Gen II, 180 degree). I had bought this from Autozone years ago, but never got around to installing it. New water pump. New radiator. Will flush DIW/Prestone super cleaner and and fill with 50/50 Texaco orange coolant/DIW this morning. Front cranshaft seal. We reinstalled the motor on Friday evening. My wife's help was invaluable in this effort. Getting the motor in was a real pain. I found out later that something was getting hung up on the left side. The transmission was lifted @2" and everything appeared to be OK, but no-go, over and over again. However with extreme patience (2 hours) we were successful. Yesterday, I put everything together and fired the truck up. It started easily. Now I have to adjust the clutch cable properly. With the hill holder system, it is difficult to get it right. The first time last night, I could not even change gears, the clutch cable was so out of adjustment. I have it to a point now that I can change gears with the motor running. However, I have already taken more than 1/2 the adjustment on the threaded portion of the clutch cable. Looks like I have @1" pf play now. Will actually drive the truck this morning as I have to flush the cooling system. Hopefully, things will go well. Thereafter will adjust the HH cable. Regards, aba4430

Folks, Took the engine out today. Since this was the first time, it took some effort but all went well. Will try to get the flywheel resurfaced tomorrow if I can, otherwise will be Monday. Will get a new water pump and radiator - the old rad. is shot. A couple of questions that I need some help with however: My 1987 Brat does not have an O2 sensor - this is wierd! Did some Brat's not include one? Even my old 1981 2WD H/B had one. There is no clutch return spring on my Brat. I guess Brat's with the hill holder system do not have a clutch return spring. Regards, aba4430

Folks, Appreciate all the information. I received all my parts from Subaruparts.com on Tuesday, so I am getting ready to take the engine out today. Purchased a $2 Motormite clutch alignment tool from Advance yesterday. It is part number 14529 and I hope it is the right one. The list of things to do include the following, so far: Clutch (both bearings, 2-clips, pressure plate and disc). Rear seal - this is just an orange colored 0-ring sort of thing. Amazing that such a part does so much. I also have the front seal, will inspect it closely - may not replace. Clutch cable, once everything goes back together. I have had this cable since the early 90's. Bought it as a spare part from Bianchi Subaru in Monroeville, PA for my 1981 GL 2 door H/B. It is still sealed. Resurface flywheel Radiator check up at a shop. This one is also applicable to the automatic cars based on the presence of cooler inlet/outlet. Hopefully, the shop can seal it, it does have a slight leak to it. Or may replace it altogether - they cost @$140 with lifetime warranty. Inspect/replace water pump. Not sure about torquing head bolts based on F/B here - we will see. Has anyone used a crowfoot wrench (17 mm) for this? One caution is that you have to loosen the intake manifold bolts slightly prior to doing this. I did this at @75 -100K miles on my 2 door H/B when I was at GA Tech in Atlanta in the 1987 to 1989 timeframe. Had borrowed the special socket from Boomershine Subaru then. Oil pan gasket. Valve cover gaskets. The oil pump was replaced @75K miles and should be fine. The truck has @99K miles now. All bypass heater hoses. Some questions now: I have tried (albeit half heartedly to locate the O2 sensor on my truck, but without success. The truck has to have one and I want to replace it. Hopefully with the motor removed, I will locate it. I am not sure whether the transmission needs to be supported on jacks, with the engine out. I have adequate jacks and jack stands, so not a problem. I intend to take this job slow, as I have a daily driver and will keep the group updated on my progress or for advice. Appreciate it. aba4430

Update: I ordered a bunch of parts from Subaruparts.com on 4/21/04. They sent me a confirmation, but silence since then. I have tried to call them several times, but noone answers, I guess they are busy and do not have too many folks on the phones etc. Also sent them an e-mail two days ago, but no response. I am getting a bit impatient. Of course, my card just has the charge amount authorized, not posted. I was planning on replacing the clutch this weekend, but will be a no-go until my parts come in. I may try and pull the motor out though! Regards, aba4430

I will post details this evening. I have a "How to keep your Subaru alive" manual laying around and for the 1.8's it includes instructions to build a stand out of two 2 X 4's and two 2 X 6's. The 2 X 6's are right at 26" and the 2 X 4's overlap them on the outside - so I would think those would be 26" plus 1.5" overlap on each side for 29" each piece of the 2 X 4. I will confirm this evening. Regards, aba4430

Appreciate the prompt response. I too have a Subaru parts manual. It covers the '85 to '88 1600 & 1800 2D plus MPV models - absolutely wonderful. The clip part numbers are 30539-AA000. I will go ahead and order 2 of these. Thx, aba

Hello, I bought my engine hoist and am getting ready to order clutch parts now. For the clutch, I want to go with genuine Subaru parts. So far, Subaruparts.com has given us the best prices (vs. the Tallahassee and Valdosta dealerships), ~$150 for the clutch kit - includes the disc, pressure plate, throwout bearing and pilot bearing. I will also order the front (may not replace) and rear (will replace) crankshaft seals. While the engine is out, I will also retorque the head bolts and also replace the valve cover gaskets (I have) and the oil pan gasket (need to order). I do not have the special Subaru head bolt socket - will a crow foot wrench work? Anything else that I need to replace? Finally, is Subaruparts.com a Subaru dealer and what kind of reputation do they have amonst the list members? Quite a few questions to answer! Appreciate it. aba4430

Is there an idle air control valve (IAC) on these. If it starts up and dies, the IAC could be a culprit. aba4430

The plugs can be real tough to loosen. You can fit a 1/2" ratchet head to the plug and place the end of the handle on a jack. Then lift the jack carefully. A couple of strokes should do it. I use Castrol Syntec 75W-90 in my Nissan Altima and front diff. on our 4WD Expedition with good success. Regards, aba

Is there anything to the wheel bearings, or the hub through which the drive shaft end goes through includes the bearing and this is not a concern. Of course, this is for 4WD's. I have a 1987 Brat and need to get my clutch taken care off first, but the disc conversion sounds appealing. Regards, aba

Guys, This is my first post, so is a bit drawn out. I just joined the list last week. I bought my 87 Brat in 1993 with ~63K original miles. It has seen little use since the clutch started slipping @ early 90K mileage; has ~99.5K original miles now. We still drive it for taking stuff to the recycling center or the dogs to the vet, but I want to get it fixed up so I can start using it more routinely. Structurally/mechanically, it is in excellent condition. My first mission is to get the clutch fixed and I had decided to get it done professionally at a Sub dealership, but when I heard it was at or above $700 for the job, I started rethinking. Then I joined this board. Heard about it from someone I sold 3 of my 1991 Legacy Factory service manuals (our 1991 Legacy AWD SW was totalled in 1993 in Harrisburg, PA), a few months ago. This is an excellent list with plenty of encouraging type information for the do-it-your-selfers. So now I want to attempt the replacement myself. One advantage is that I have a daily driver and so do not care if the job takes me more than just a few days. I also owned a 1981 2WD 2DR hatchback GL that I bought at 16K miles in 1987, drove for almost 145K miles prior to selling it in 1999. The car is still running from what I hear. I have the "How to keep your Subaru alive" (through 1984 models) book by Larry Owens and it was invaluable in helping me keep the 1981 car in tip top mechanical condition. I hear there is an updated version of this book available now (through 1988). However, there are instructions included in the older version of the book on how to remove the Engine and I am assuming the instructions for the 1984 Brat included will apply to the 1987 Brat. I would appreciate any advice, pep talk etc. as I have done nothing beyond driveshaft replacements, valve adjustments (HB only), brakes, water pump/radiator removal & installation, oil pump replacements, starters, alternators, distributors etc. between the 3 Subaru's (very little to the Legacy and the Brat). I am willing to purchase the monster engine hoist that Sam's Club sells for ~$170 to make my job easier. Plus I believe that Subaru prices are the best for a Clutch kit. After the clutch repair, there are several other items I want to tackle also and will keep in touch with the board for advice and/or updates. Sincerely, aba