man on the moon

I think I finally figured out a sound. Ever since I put in the d/r the car has had this intermittent ringing/screeching sound. I have looked and looked for which pulley it might be, to no avail. It varies slightly with speed, but not as much as I would expect for a motor pulley of any sort. Then Thursday I was driving to work in the winter's first 'real' snow (people got stuck in flat spots, therefore I call it real snow). At one point I took it out of 4hi to see how we would do. A minute later (ringing in full force) I put my hand on the select lever in preparation to re-engage and...the ringing stopped! Turns out the whole ringing thing has been the little metal rectangle that surrounds the hole the select lever comes through. It's floating around and causing me great distress! Or was, I now happily ignore the noise.

BTW: How did you get a 126 year old vehicle? :-p

If you haven't found one yet, ask ShawnW. Iirc, he has a guy that rebuilds OEM axles for his shop, and he could probably find you one.

That storm WAS fun . I had to get to work, though, so no recreational driving for me--did get to drive around a whole lot of stuck, sliding, and wheel spinning people though. I even heard one lady scold the police (who were kind enough to push her up a small hill in the neighborhood) "THIS IS F*ING RIDICULOUS!" Then I drove around a Chevy Tahoe spinning one wheel--the other three, and the rest of the truck were standing still. Then I got to work! And it was a good day. (And the co-worker I picked up couldn't stop talking about how my old car kept passing all the new cars that couldn't drive for anything).

Mine is connected to the top of the head (cam tower? I forget), under the alternator. I just piggybacked it into the little bracket holding the pipe for the top radiator hose to the motor. Body might be better if you have a place to put it.

It won't fix the idle issue, but change all your water hoses (including the little ones hidden under and around the intake manifold). Also: how did you change everything but the intake gaskets? Or did you leave the headgaskets intact as well? Sorry, just confused. Oh, almost forgot: check that your throttle cable/assembly is in good shape and lubricated. A sticky or jammed cable can cause headaches when you want the engine to go from "I need to up-shift" to "I need to sit at a light".

You can absolutely drive without the heater core installed if you need it to run long enough until you find one. Take both heater core hoses coming off the engine and join them together. You can either run a really long hose (I don't recommend this, you have to get enough hose to make a big loop without kinks) or run down to your local ACE/Home Depot/Lowes/neighborhood hardware store and tell them you need a male-male joiner for two pieces of 5/8 inch hose, and clamps to go with it. This will allow the engine to run without leaking water, all you are doing is bypassing the heater core until you get yours repaired or replaced. This will also require you to drive with the dash apart (like I am) (for a year now) (the heater does work again, btw, I just haven't finished putting everything together) or putting the dash together and then taking it apart again when you're ready to put the new one in. I do recommend getting the instrument panel back in place and the lights/rear defroster/mirror controls wired back up, but that only requires the front most panel and not the whole dash.

Are you talking about running/tail lights in the back? (Not the brake lights). Check whether you have a dual-filament bulb, that may solve your mystery. Iirc all the bulbs are accessible via the cargo hatch area in the car. Open the tailgate, remove the small panel covering the corner area. Tada.

Rear main?

I love the map Especially that the road to the right of the track/area changes names IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BLOCK! That just makes me smile

I've definitely put 14.5 into her more than once. One time was in Wyoming in a (to me) infamous trip in January. New Years day...several stations were closed and I ended up going an extra 100 or more miles (I think I hit 475 miles on that tank, though I had a 1 gallon gas can--filled--in the car with me). Back on topic, another couple possibilities for reduced gas mileage are 1--clutch needs replacing, and 2--vacuum lines somewhere are leaking. I've had both, though the vacuum line one may be specific to the injected model (I haven't messed with the carbed ones enough to know). Any results with stuff you've tried?

I haven't noticed the not driving=problems thing, but I have noticed another pattern. Anytime I do a repair to one part of the car, another decides "OH, I need attention too!" and will stop at nothing (or sometimes will stop altogether) until I've fixed it. I umpteenth what Stubie said, ftr. I like being able to find parts readily, though it makes me sad to see so many EA82s in the yard. I do eventually want to do a 22 due to power needs for future...journeys. But in the meanwhile the stock motor is good as ever and makes me smile .

Gee thanks, I just watched the video. Then I proceeded to spend a solid 40 minutes watching similar ones with other Subarus. Gosh darn wasted time

Do new headlights and an oil change count? Ok, ok... It's at the shop getting a new steering knuckle put on and noises investigated.

Good question Miles, I just assumed it was a standard. Oops! Guess we'll have to wait to find out.

When I first bought my Loyale (August a few years ago) I drove her to my parents for that same Christmas from San Francisco area to Detroit area. About like you said: I left California a bit earlier than planned in order to beat a storm coming in off the coast (Donner Pass is frequently closed during storms). Started snowing as I hit the flat area at the top, coming down into Reno the sky cleared up and it was clear sailing all the way...to Winemmucca, about 150 miles down the road. Stopped for gas and Coke (it was 1am, or so). Got back on the freeway and almost immediately the stars vanished and the snow started, and didn't let up until I got to Fort Collins, CO some 36 hours later. Ice, snow, drove in the drainage ditch for a while (on purpose, it was easier to see than the road), through what I found out somewhere in Wyoming was the storm of the century. Well, for Nevada it was storm of the 'century'. In Wyoming they called it "oh, another Saturday". But I digress--it was like you said--through everything the car was solid and happy, even putting out 30mpg at 30mph/in third gear for 200 miles. I was really glad with my choice of car at that point

For a 4wd EA82, one of the spark plugs off the motor will work as a very nice alignment tool, I've had better luck with them than with the plastic crappy ones that come in the kits sometimes. I am pretty sure this will not work for the 2wd models as I understand they have a smaller shaft diameter. (Or is it only outer diameter?).

It's both. The button operates an electric circuit (actually, a pair--it controls which circuit of two are open/closed at any given time). The circuits, in turn, control a vacuum device that controls the 4wd 'lever'. The thunk most likely comes from the 4wd disengaging, unless it happens at other times in which case there is a lot of work and/or money coming up. As to why it turns on randomly, I am uncertain. Perhaps a loose/floating wire that is grounding or shorting out one or the other circuit at (seemingly) random times; or bad solenoids. If you lift the skirt around the rear side of the shifter you will find the wires from the switch running into a coupler (it may be under the carpet, try pulling a bit). Check the colors of the wires coming out the other side of the coupler and see if you can figure out which wires these are at the vacuum control. Do a search with the search function as to how to find the solenoids. They are in the engine bay and near the surface/easy to find. There are pictures of them in at least one thread. A multi-meter and eyeballing will take you a long way if the solenoids check out ok.

I believe the pitch stopper mounts can be used as a hoist point, or the flywheel observation hole. I just wrap the motor with two loops of webbing (like you would use for rock climbing) or chain and make sure both sides are even (I use one loop on each side, rather than one continuous loop). Get it cozy with the lip of the oil pan underneath to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on the heads. When I pulled my motor last time I put both bars from my roofrack through the loops, made sure the loops were even, and then had a friend on the end opposite me help me lift it out. The motors weigh what...150lbs, maybe? Not much, just cumbersome.

If you're really in a bind, you can do this (carefully) without even draining the coolant. You'll lose a few ounces from undoing the hoses, but the bulk of the fluid can stay inside if need be. Not that I recommend it, but it's possible. If you do decide to drain it, there is a drain plug (also 14mm) on each head, between the exhaust port and the leading/trailing edge of the head. On one side of the motor it will be on the radiator side of the manifold, on the other side it will be 'buried' behind it and a real p.i.t.a to undo. There is a small chance one or both won't be fully drilled into the water jacket, don't be surprised if one or the other doesn't come out with a gush of water.

No need to pull anything or move the transmission. Moving the tranny involves a simple but not so discreet series of movements. The clutch is fairly simple and relatively discreet if done as follows: You will need: a 14 mm socket/ratchet, a 14 mm box end wrench. Something to hold the crankshaft. A big screwdriver/flywheel holder will work; I have also used a 22 mm socket/ratchet/extension on the crank pulley and braced it against something solid. Keep a 12mm socket on hand. I don't remember if you need it, but I don't recall the size of the pressure plate or flywheel bolts offhand. I believe a couple wires in my harness are grounded to a 12mm bolt, but a lot of those are "sh*t I lost a nut, but this one has the same thread" replacements. Use the above to do the following: Tag and undo the heater hoses and maybe remove one/both (sorry...just tell people something burst and you're fixing it ASAP if you have to be discreet) and electrical harness. This is all fairly simple, and the connectors are unique--you can't screw up putting them back together. Do the same with both gas lines--one is in, one is out. Mark upper/lower/whatever helps you remember. Undo the wire from the coil to the disty. Undo the radiator hoses, and remove the clutch fan. The electric one, too, if you get a chance, it will greatly reduce the number of choice words you issue while doing the clutch itself. Below the motor are two 14 mm nuts holding it to the cross member. Remove both. While you are downstairs, there are four 14 mm nuts holding the exhaust manifold to the motor. Undo the nuts. You can let the exhaust hang with string so it's not on the ground if you need to. There are five 14 mm nuts and/or bolts holding the motor/bellhousing to the transmission. Three bolts up top--two fastening the bellhousing assembly together, one holding the pitch starter. Two nuts down near the motor mounts, directly below the upper pair of bolts. These nuts connect to studs that won't come out. You may have to remove the starter for easier motor replacement when you're done--there is a nut hidden at the bottom of the starter if you need to do this (also 14mm). Jack the whole get-up up with a floor jack under the transmission, just a few inches. If you have a hoist, hook that up to the motor, otherwise just get a few muscles and a lot of caution lined up. Jack it up until the motor mount studs clear the crossmember, then inch the motor forward. I've done this by myself (and I'm a whopping 120 pounds/5foot something) by inching the motor forward an inch or so, then lowering everything until the studs rest on the crossmember, then inching the motor the rest of the way forward. Continuing inching the motor forward until you have five or six inches gap. The motor may or may not roll forward as well. Do the pressure plate, bearings, and clutch; flywheel if you need to. On an EA82 you can use a spark plug as a clutch alignment tool--better (for me at least) than even the one that comes in the kit! Finagle the motor back onto the transmission and get the bolts/nuts in place enough to hold it all together. Lower the motor mount studs back into their holes. The order of these first replacement steps may vary depending on your muscle, leverage, and tools on hand. You may have to re-align the clutch and/or spin the flywheel a bit if it doesn't go the first time. You can also leave it all loose and tighten the pressure plate bolts via the starter hole (starter removed, of course). I don't like that method, but it works for some. Once the motor/tranny are mated up, tighten it all down, then replace/reconnect the heater hoses, coil wire, electrical harness, radiator hose, clutch fan, etc. Electric fan if you removed it. Top off the coolant (oil doesn't need to come out). Start the car. Drink a beer. Unless your driving right away, in which case don't drink a beer. The biggest item you actually remove from the engine bay should be the fan(s). Then any hoses, wires, and serpentine belt. The rest can all stay put. You may opt to put a piece of wood or cardboard against the radiator to protect it--I just lean the power steering/ac pump against the top edge of the rad (avoiding the fins) and make every effort to NOT LEAN ON THE MOTOR with your body weight. Also--I based this on doing an EA82 clutch. The EA81 is similar, but may use different size bolts, or have studs in places I listed a bolt, etc. You have eyes and a brain!

Similar symptoms happened to a friend in his van, recently. The throttle cable was stuck. A few possibilities in the intake area, but wouldn't hurt to check the cable, either! Just make sure it isn't bound up, caught, or jammed somewhere.

cam pulley*

Perhaps the cam is loose? Try tightening down all three screws holding it down (10mm) and the tensioner as was mentioned (12mm).

Do you have a Haynes or Chiltons? I believe there was a vacuum diagram in the Chilton's last time I did this to me EA82. Pretty sure they included at least the later EA81s and early EJs in the same edition. Oh, almost forgot: Eyeball the bottom of your hood. Without going outside I can't verify it, but I seem to recall a belt diagram and at least a basic vaccuum or wiring diagram...don't remember which, but it wouldn't hurt to check the inside of the hood/around prominent places in the engine bay!