spazomatic

My 4 speed trans shot craps way back in February... but I finally got around to yanking the motor and trans out! Made a list of things to repair and/or reseal before the motor and new trans go back in.... Still debating whether or not I want to mess with the modifications to do the 5 speed swap, or just let Jerry do it....

Not a damn thing since the tranny went out. Planning to swap the trans led to a whole series of spring cleaning projects in the garage. One of these days...next month perhaps Ill get it done.

BFG all terrains are good for street use as well. They wear decent, arent noisy, tough as nails, and do well in the dirt. But they are expensive when getting them in small sizes, and compared to other AT tires of the same size, they are heavy! I have the general grabber at2 on my baja, and they were cheaper, not as heavy, are quiet, and still do well in the dirt. But they kinda suck in the snow. Just my $.02

I would totally rock those snowflake isuzu rims! Mine came from an isuzu, but are just stock steel 14s. The different offset does make for a wider track (by about 3") but the stability of my GL improved because of it. Of course, I also had to sawzall my fenders to accomodate them and the bigger tires on them, too. (205x75-14 and no lift) Do it!

I totally understand how other things need to be upgraded, once you have a little extra weight, as well as nearly 2x the power. My biggest worry would be the brakes...they suck in stock form, and now Im going to go faster too? I learned that lesson in my old 74 bronco with 4 wheel drum brakes; now its putting out 335hp at the wheels, and the brakes just dont quite cut it anymore. (I still drive it, but it requires rapt attention, to not get in trouble) A vehicle needs to have balance between all its components. slow it may be, but that pokey little motor just keeps chuggin along without fail. Until it dies, Ill keep it. Plus, I have a lot of irons in the fire so to speak...and im lazy.

Hahaha thats funny. I have scared every passenger ive ever had, with my awesome spatial reasoning, and innate understanding of where the edges of the envelope are (my limits, and the cars). A couple of them swore never to ride with me again...others with a sense of adventure say, "hey lets go for a spin!" My favorite; when the passenger is hitting the floorboard with their foot, as if a brake was there! But with less than 100 HP on tap, my old GL is my slowest car, by far. making riders nervous aint an easy trick! Much, much easier in any of my other rides. Except meine leibe Oma (my moms mom)...it was only my driving, and my dads, that she fully trusted. Wise old lady, she was.

Wow. And this is why, I'll give rides, but do not loan out cars to anybody. No where, no how! I cant give you a prognosis, but i hope its quick, cheap and easy. Wish you luck!

Does it handle poorly? Like, to the point where it makes you think they need to be replaced? Or can you tell if one has unrestrained bounce to it on rough stuff? If yes, then yeah id replace them. My Bajas right front and right rear both started leaking a bit. Not real bad, just a little seep...but the right rear went downhill fast and i had to replace both rears (i do things like that in pairs) The fronts still feel fine, even with the seep on the right front.

No pics needed really...it is a direct replacement. Remove the nut, remove the weber linkage, install the hitachi piece, put the nut back on. Bingo bango, done.

My (wifes) '06 baja with almost 100k miles, and my '84 GL with i cant remember how many miles, weber, sawzalled fenders, and 205x75-14s (the old 195s in this pic though). The 84 is currently down...waiting for nice weather to do a 5spd swap.

Definitely worth the effort and expense. Its still not a rocket, but overall driveability is so much better.

Nice ride...but those wire wheels ( hubcaps?) would hit the scrap pile if it were mine. Throw in a roll cage, sawzall the fenders and rock some 27" tires on 6 lug wheels and itd be bitchin!

Bummer! They're still pretty common 'round these parts. On a side note; the last couple time i bought moog parts (ball joints, early bronco) i was thoroughly unimpressed. The new stuff was as sloppy, or worse, than what I was replacing. I dont remember what brand i ended up going with...but i do remember i took the moog stuff back to the store.

How about a junkyard? Each time ive ever gone to grab suby parts from a boneyard, Ive happened to notice that all the tie rod ends on the older cars were always tight. I wrecked mine a few years back, and needed a lot of suspension and steering parts. Considering how rarely they wear out (apparantly), i decided used was the best bet. And cheap!

Oh ok. Ive just never seen them like that. On mine when a rear bearing decided to check out (and itd been loose for months) it started to howl instead of the usual clunking, and scraping noises around corners, and then it started smoking! Like bad! Parked, let it cool, limped it back to my work and then trailered it home. The outer bearing was pretty much just a cage stirring up the dust that used to be the bearings, and the inner was totally starting to crumble. Yet the races looked fine, and the hub itself was pretty much untouched. And im going to admit, the very first time i ever did rear subaru bearings....I had a BFH and a punch, trying hard as i could to get that ledge to move. It didnt and i finally figured it out. A punch and BFH can do quite a bit of damage! (I blame it on beers, and poor lighting)

Its just the nature of the beast, being an oversized mechanical secondary carb on a little motor. The metering needs to take place at your foot. I dont care how its tuned...throw it wide open before its ready, and it will fall on its face. It is technically a lean condition; air moves much faster than fuel does. The only way i figure to alleviate this, is if an accelerator pump circuit were present on the secondary side.

Man, what did you do to that thing? I dont see any melted race...i see damage to the machined ledge that the race rests against. Were you beating on the ledge, thinking it was part of the race? You're right...it aint going anywhere. That being the case, on my 84 i used a dremel and made two notches in that ledge, 180 degrees apart, to facilitate getting a punch at the race itself. That ledge looks terrible, but i think it'll be fine. I bet a small chisel used carefully, you could peel most of the damaged metal away from the inside diameter of the housing, then touch the rest up with a dremel. As long as there arent any burrs sticking out that will keep the seal from seating all the way, itll be good to go. And if there are some bad scores in the housing where the seal would rest, put some RTV on it, then set the seal.

Could be interesting....y'all have fun with that...wish i was closer. I think itd only confirm that; holy crap my 84 is pokey.

That door looks structurally ok. If it were mine, Id cash that check and get a junkyard door handle and be done with it. If you are worried about the integrity of the door, since your kid rides back there...replace the whole door.

I think its funny how some people equate post counts with knowledge.

What i did with mine, was move the lower cubby in to the top spot, with the stereo where the cubby was, and angled down at the rear. It sticks out at the bottom maybe 3/8 inch. Its not a huge eyesore: i dont even notice it. And even with that, the wiring took some special care in order to get the stereo back far enough. With that panel you made, it could easily be rearranged to make it work, and still look good.

That turned out pretty nice! I bet youll need to pull it out a bit, though. Could you modify it a bit, so the stereo is angled, with the rear being lower? Itd gain you some room, and you could maybe even change disks while in 3rd gear!

If ya get new Timken bearings (autozone); it is one assembly, instead of the 2 tapered rollers. Its still tapered rollers, but all enclosed in one outer race.

Like thats any fun! I usually approach corners and intersections at a sane speed, so it doesnt understeer through it, then punch it! Leave the corner sideways, straighten it out as my momentum catches up to the tire speed. Or you can induce a slide before you even get to the corner, go through the whole thing sideways, and then be pointed right where ya wanna go as the slide stops. Wheee! God, i love winter driving!

Got it moved in front of the garage so i can start tearing it down for a new tranny (and possibly a 2.2) as time allows. Im thinking it wont move again under its own power till maybe june.