subaruru

Hi Loyale 2.7 Turbo, El Sobrante is a small SF East Bay town, and we have both Autozone and Kragen/ O'Reilly here. Neither of them list a tee designed specifically for a Japanese car, at least not described as such. Most of the info that they post on the online items is patchy, making it impossible to determine this using their catalogs only, either online or via PDF downloads. I have queried both Autozone and O'Reilly about this directly, and just received a mail from the latter to the effect that they do not have brake line tees in metric sizes at all. I have also queried a company called Edelman about their tees, because, again, they post little information of quality (meaning of a quality sufficient to make the determination in question). Having to take the car in to the automotive parts dealer is a bit silly, like taking the mountain to Mohammed. But, in fact, as I indicated, I already did that in the question of Autozone, and the closest I could get was determing that the thread size and pitch are 10mm, 1.0, respectively. The Autozone guy couldn't find any tee matching these specs using his catalog, and said that maybe I could find it myself at Autozone online, armed with the improved knowledge. Alas, that didn't help, so I sent a query directly to Autozone and am awaiting a reply. I'll try the other option you suggest, i.e., disconnect the cable and see if that stops the leaking. Regarding this, I have read here and elsewhere that the HH is tricky to adjust, and looking in hindsight, I realize that mine was grossly improperly adjusted from the day I bought it, so maybe that has contributed to the eventual leaking. I will remove the cable and see if that relieves the pressure on the HH, hopefully eliminating the leak. I understand that Subaru no longer uses a HH, if this is right, then it may be evidence that they realize that it was maybe at best a poorly thought out idea. At 200 bucks a shot, and if they are so tricky to adjust, and if improper adjustment causes them to spring a leak, then they look to me like the car part answer to an Edsel. Thanks again for your contribution. I figure that all light we can shed on this matter can only help the next person who runs into the problem and wants to solve it definitively.

Help, I'm stumped! Subaru USA has no idea what the tee specs are (well, they don't make or recommend them, but they do make brake lines that fit inside them!), so they sent me to the local Subaru dealer, who couldn't help me either. I finally determined that the thread of the tee (probably an all-female junction, i.e., all 3 connections will probably be female, though I have not determined what kind of connections (male or female) enter and exit the hill holder) is 10mm with a 1.0 pitch. I had ordered a proportioning valve by mistake and took that in to Autozone who helped me find a brake line patch gizmo (a 15 cm piece of flared tubing with a male connection on each end) that would fit inside the proportioning valve, that's how I know the size and pitch. But it is proving very, very difficult to locate a tee that fits these specs. The only metric ones for Japanese autos I have seen have one male and two female connections, but that is maybe what I need? It is hard to get a look at the hill holder without having to remove it or remove lots of junk surrounding it. Anybody know the "sex" of the connections into and out of the hill holder? And if you know the brand and/or the part number, don't be shy... Thanks again, subaruru

Regarding purchasing that Tee junction, this is definitely an Aftermarket item - I asked Subaru USA about the bypass idea and they not only do not offer such solutions (no Tees for sale there!), and not only do they NOT recommend it, they say that it might void certain warranties. Given the age of my car, I am not sweating much about the warranty problem! I told Subaru USA that I had found out where to find the item, etc., and that I was consulting yous for advice (good to let them know that ultimiatesubaru exists, and hold alternative views!). Anyway, there are a lot of Tee offerings, such as the the Russell and the Dorman brands (both, I believe, available at Autozone, and probably available at Kragen as well), but my problem now is determining the size of my brake line fittings - are they 1/4 inch, 3/16 inch, or what? The Dorman Tee, I believe, offers them for US made cars, for British cars, for Japanese imports, etc., so maybe that means that the Tee for all British cars come in a specific size, the Tee for all Japanese cars come in a specific size, etc. Anyone have any idea what is the size of the brake line fittings for the 1986 Subaru GL? So far, I have figured out that the Tee has to be of the female variety - that much I figured out on my own!

Thanks, everybody! I expect that I can find the "T" gizmo from the local Soobie dealer, I'll give it a try. It's nice to know that others have successfully done this. Thanks again, and I promise to return once I get the bypass in place, to add anything that might be helpful to the next "Hillholder Killer".

Thank you, edrach! There must surely be a way to bypass the HH entirely. I think I will call a local Soobie dealer tomorrow and hear if one can purchase a piece of flex brake line tubing in the necessary length to bypass the HH, since I figure that others must have tried this. If not that, then maybe someone can make up a brake line in the desired length, then I use a slightly longer brake line instead of the normal line plus bypass, except that there may be 2 or more such lines (I have no idea how many brakes are engaged when the HH is functioning, but I would expect that at least 2 of them - probably the front brakes - are engaged). I will get back as soon as I know something useful. In the meantime, if someone else has tried this, they are welcome to join in! Thanks.

If I may ask a probably dumb question, how does one bypass, or disconnect altogether, the hill holder? I have an 86 GL with a leaky HH, and the price of a new one is OVER $200, so I'm thinkin' I might oughtta try and live without the sucker! If someone has the answer, please explain the "how-to" of this procedure as if you were trying to help a Martian, cause I'm not big on mechanic's slang to begin with, and explanations that rest on "shorthand" (assumed knowledge) sling me off the wagon at the first turn.

Hey! The bit about "overheated and has engine damage" really struck a note. My old 86 Subaru GL Loyale used to have lots more uphill pull until I had an overheating problem (one of the pipes that came out of the engine developed a hole because the former owner ran it with water only (!)), and it heated up to the border with the red area. Ever since then, my Loyale has been a gutless wonder, it idles like crap, but runs slightly better when it warms up, but the main problem is the lack of power which only begin to manifest itself AFTER the overheating problem. A damaged head gasket? A damaged (melted?) timing belt? Thanks for 'listening", and I would appreciate any informative reply, especially replies that suggest some process of elimination for arriving at the problem.