Scoobywagon

Thanks for all the input, folks. For clarification, here's the deal. I am currently job-free and hunting. Have been for 3 months. My dad owns a restaurant in BH that he has offered to, essentially, give me because he wants to do something else with his life now. So employment isn't a particular concern, though income would be. It would (likely) mean 50-60 hours per week for (maybe) $30-40k/year. But, if I'm going to do this, I need for there to be more in my life than wake up, work restaurant, sleep, wash, rinse, repeat.

Having been an Optima dealer.... Use a second battery, but you put it in parallel, not series. Series would result in a (nominally) 24v system that your charger won't like anyway. Put put the charger on the dead battery and hang another battery off it. Either way, check the date of manufacture on the label. They have something like a 3 year replacement warranty on them. If it is that dead, even if you bring it back, it'll never be particularly trustworthy. Warranty it if you can.

Well, I'm pending a move from here in the PNW to Benton Harbor, MI. The move has more to do with family than anything else. I've only been there a couple of times and so I know nobody other than my family there. Anyone from BH,MI? Somewhere nearby? I know of at least one other member within a couple of hours' drive. Anyone else?

Power ratings on speakers mean the next thing to nothing. Really. Yes, you can get the stereo you have installed and it will work just fine. You can even turn it up if you like. But, as you turn it up, if the sound starts to get fuzzy, back it off. LIke the rest of your Subaru, those speakers are plenty durable. They also give a very nice midrange reproduction, which is why I kept the rear ones in my car. Upgrading speakers, by themselves, will not make an enormous difference in overall sound quality. The biggest difference is that nearly all aftermarket speakers will have a tweeter on them, where the OEM speakers do not. Thus, the replacement speakers will be "brighter". Start by getting your stereo installed and then decide if the new sound is what you want. If it is, great. If not, let us know. We'll help you figure out what you need/want.

The microphone on your camera is not capable of recording the sensation of sitting in the car with a sub going. And even if it could, most of us don't have audio systems on our computers that can reproduce that kind of bass. So, you might consider showing us something that does. Shaking mirrors, rattling roof, etc.

I'm pretty sure that there's no flat rate box that'll take an engine block.

I'd plan on the whole thing being about 300 lbs and about 1 cubic meter all said and done. It'll likely be less than that, but plan for the worst and be pleasantly surprised.

Post up a list of parts you'll want/need to do the conversion. I suspect that those engines are MUCH cheaper here. It may be that they are sufficiently less expensive to offset the cost of shipping. I know I'd be happy to keep my eyes open for something. I'm sure others would, too.

I'll bet that the master switch (driver's door) has gone bad. That's the most common thing, but its a good idea to check the fuse first. The easiest thing to do is to pull the master switch out of the driver's door panel and make sure there's power up to it. Then check to make sure there's continuity through all 4 switches. My guess is it has died.

It took nearly 2 gallons of pre-mix but the engine we put in was not completely empty. It sloshed a bit. I'll try purging it again.

My EJ cars, I get in, start the car and wait for the computer to bring the idle down, then off we go. In my EA car, I wait until the temp gage starts to move.

Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking taking it to that guy. What a tool!

Moog is always a good choice for chassis parts.

Ok, having gotten that out of the way.... The car is a 1988 GL wagon, SPFI, Auto. Recently swapped in a motor with about 130k or so on it. Got the engine in and running. When we added coolant and let it run up to temp the first time, we found that the upper radiator hose was showing signs of high pressure, but didn't feel like a lot of flow. Recently, when I run it up to temp the first time of the day, it will blow bubbles in the catch can when I shut it off. Now, I might think this is a sign of blown headgaskets except there are NO other signs of headgasket failure. No crankcase milkshake, no cloud of steam following me around, nothing. It doesn't seem to do the bubble blowing thing unless I let it cool all the way down. Any thoughts?

Wyoming is DEATH to PNW Subaru's. A few years ago, my Wife was driving through to CO and blew up an EA81 at the corner of No and Where. Fortunately, some USMB folks stepped up to help her get going again. Thanks again, folks.

Actually, Propane DOES have a flow restriction. It isn't that it will decide to go all asplodey on you, though. The propane will actually freeze solid in the bottom of the tank if you ask for too much flow and then you have to wait for it to melt. In an application like this, I'm not sure you can actually hit that limit, though.

I will bet you dollars to donuts that, for the use you've described, the $60 kit from Lowe's will do the job. It even comes with a bottle of MAPP and a bottle of O2. The MAPP is less than $9 a pop at lowe's and the O2 is just under $8. Same kit will run Propane, just comes with a MAPP cylinder. Once you've burned through the MAPP that the kit comes with, a 2-pack of Propane fat boy cylinders is under $6. For the limited us you're talking about (and its the same limited use I'd have), I suspect that'll work out just fine.

I'm a little fuzzy on this one. Yes, you can buy tanks. I own a set, though admittedly not for Acetylene. It may be that Acetylene is different due to its volatility. It may also be that different states have different regulations for it. But this is why I'm really thinking about buying a rig and running Oxy Propane rather than Oxy Acetylene. Propane is cheaper and it will still cut and weld, though not as well as Acetylene. Also, bottles and fuel are easier to get.

Yes, this is SIGNIFICANTLY more dangerous than A/C work. Firstly, Oxygen and petroleum are REALLY good friends. In fact, whenever they get together, they have themselves a little party. Thus, you don't use ANY oil or grease ANYWHERE near your regulators because the O2 will react with it and you'll be lucky to remain in one piece. Also, acetylene is pretty nasty stuff. People have died because a bottle got hit hard enough to generate a pressure spike inside the bottle that blew the valve out (usually the valve core) allowing the acetylene to rapidly depressurize and throw a little going away party with its good friend oxygen. This is one of the reasons that MAPP gas was developed. Mostly, you just have to be not stupid. Have a little common sense with it and you're golden. As for the A/C stuff, I'm one of the people that tends to preach doom and gloom. The reason for that is that the pressures in those systems are high enough that it CAN seriously mess you up or even kill you. Also, its irresponsible to simply vent known pollutants into the environment. Kinda like pouring used coolant or motor oil in the street. That said, the same dangers are present with Acetylene. However, it is MUCH less forgiving than TetraFluoroEthane. Just be careful, apply a bit of common sense, don't be stupid and you likely won't blow yourself up.

I was just over at Lowes and they have a Lincoln/Harris set for $179. Everything but the bottles. Right next to that was another set WITH bottles, albeit small ones, for $280. Heck, for $60 you can pick up a small Oxy/Propane or Oxy/MAPP rig.

350-400 in park is also low. Plug in a scan tool and see what fuel pressure looks like.

Have you plugged in a scan tool and what did it tell you about the running condition of the engine at the time?

JesZek, lo siento mucho. Estoy totalmente de espacio, en esta cosa. Creo que usted podría conseguir pinzas EJ de la existencia, pero que va a requerir algún fabricación bastante extensa. Puesto que usted ha hecho una conversión ER27, sospecho que no será un gran problema para usted. Sólo se advirtió. La próxima vez que tenga mi GL en el ascensor, yo prometo que voy a entrar ahí con las pinzas de EJ y ver los detalles. Lo sentimos!

Wow. How'd you know? Yes, mine has the top mount rad in it. I admit I'm pretty curious as to how you did the conversion without relocating the radiator.

JesZek, ¿significa esto que su coche está oficialmente muerto? Si es así, lo siento mucho oír eso. Cuando tienes la oportunidad, ¿podrías publicar una foto de los daños en el motor? Yo estaría interesado en ver los daños, como tengo una ER-27 vagones convertidos en mi camino de entrada también. Lo siento por la mala suerte. Espero que las cosas funcionen para usted. Google Translate pwns!