syphon

I think a faulty radiator is a good suspicion. It has a vicious leak already, so I have to replace it anyway. Too bad I'm recovering from a slow winter-season at work and an unexpected expense for a mechanic, so I cant afford a new radiator for a couple weeks. I guess I'll be putting coolant in nightly until then!

OK, so it turns out that my thermostat was fine. I bought a new one from Carter Subaru and went to Tex's house to install it. After the install, the car still behaved exactly the same. A new radiator is next on the list. I'd be able to order a new one tonight, but an unexpected expense came up. Take my advice, when doing a thermostat gasket, make sure to avoid getting the silicon stuff on the bolt holes. I was a little too careless about that (I made sure none got on the t-stat, but was unconcerned about the bolt holes). When we went to torque down the bolts, it got really stiff. One of the bolts then broke a head free. Those bolts are very weak. It had a good quarter inch sticking out the top, but we were unable to turn it with a vice grip. We also dremeled a slot on the top of it to turn it with a flat-head screwdriving, but it just broke the bolt more instead of coming out. Since I'm uncomfortable with drilling into the intake manifold myself, and I didn't want to leave my car in Tex's garage (especially since he's on a trip this weekend), I drove it down to Smart Service Subaru and had them drill the bolt out and tap the threads again. The money I would have used to buy a new radiator was instead used to pay them for repairs. Oh well, you live you learn.

Hey, on a side note, Is it difficult to obtain a thermostat with one of those jiggler pin things? Will I have to go out of my way to find one or should schucks have one?

I thank everyone for their help. As soon as it warms up a little bit (or at least as soon as it stops snowing!) I'll replace my thermostat. If I still have issues, I'll buy a new radiator.

I'm sure the coolant level is fine. It's to the point where I check it nightly. I did my best to burp the system... but I should flush it out too. We'll see on the thermostat... it's too cold out to change it :-(

I guess I'm lucky a thermostat is an easy job on a subaru. On my t-bird it was a multi-hour job!

Hey Ed, I dont think you'd recognize me, this is Jay. You've even seen the car, when you sold me that spare axle in Woodinville (it works great BTW) Just for the record though, it's a carbed EA82 with about 216k in a 1985 GL Wagon 5-spd 4wd. I suspect more the thermostat than the radiator. The temperature is the same whether I'm doing 75 down the freeway or puttering around in the city. That's one of the reasons this baffles me so much. The only differences is that it gets way hotter before it cools down if I'm on the freeway. It's probably related to stress on the engine. As for the 1/3 or 1/2 up the gauge, I suspect we're referring to the same thing. I was just guessing around 1/3, but sometimes I guess it does get up to about halfway up the gauge.

What will happen... 1. I start the car up in the morning and warm it up for about 10 minutes. The temp needle is still on the C but it's warm enough to run. 2. I start driving wherever I'm going (work or maybe my girlfriend's house). The temperature slowly rises to normal operating temp. I've always considered about 1/3 up the gauge to be normal temp, as that's where the engine runs. 3. The gauge will continue to rise, almost to the point where it is overheating, when suddenly the temperature will back down to operating temperature. This sounds almost how a thermostat would work, except for how high the temp gets. Let's say I'm leaving my girlfriends house for home. I warm the car up a bit and head to the freeway. The car is almost to operating temp when I enter the freeway, but once I get going (lots of accelerating up to speed) the temp will slowly rise.. and keep rising. the temp will keep going up until it's almost touching the red... then suddenly it will drop back down to operating temp, regardless of if my heater is on or not. I'm talking so hot that I almost consider pulling over to let it cool down. This has happened 3 or 4 times now. Now this is sort of an odd part. If I start driving but dont go on the freeway, it wont get as hot before it cools down. When I leave for work in the mornings, I dont get to the freeway until about 20 minutes of driving. If this is the case, the temp will only go slightly above normal before dropping back down. Like I said before, this sounds very similar to how a thermostat works, except that a thermostat wouldnt let it get this hot before kicking in! I've been driving the car since summer, and have had no serious cooling issues to date. The car will sit in Stop&Go traffic for hours with no complaint, but since winter started it has started acting up. Even today... after it does its almost-overheat-then-cool-down act, the cooling system will work fine and the car will remain at a good temp. Do you guys have any experience with this? Should I replace the thermostat? Another really odd thing, is that about 5 minutes after I start my car, I get a coolant smell, REALLY bad, It reeks of coolant for about 2 minutes, and then suddenly it will go away and I wont smell it again until I shut down the car and then start it back up. Before you ask, I know my car leaks coolant, but not sure where (as I havent seen any puddles). I've been topping off the radiator every couple days to make sure that my coolant level isnt the problem. I'd suspect a head gasket, but my oil looks fine when I change it.

Agreed... voltage regulator. This exact same thing happened to me. I went to Lynnwood pull-a-part and pulled an ea82 alternator for $8.50, ten minutes later in the parking lot and the problem was solved.

The voltage is fine... a steady 13 volts at all times (even when I have my music up loud). I considered it could have been the draw off the alternator from my amp, but it happens even with the music off. Whenever my car is sputtering like this, and idling at 500rpm or so, the voltage is low (at like, 8) but I think that's just due to the low RPM, because when I rev it, it jumps back up to 13 volts.

So I'm looking at buying some new front rotors and a new hub from a friend. He recently did the 5-lug swap, so his whole axle/hub/brakes/strut are all still attached, but they're not on the car. I know the castle nut is typically torqued on VERY hard. I remember it being a pain in the rump roast to remove when it was on the car. I was wondering if there is any way of removing it shy of putting it back on the car. Anyone have any experience with this?

a Weber or an Engine both exceed the amount of money I'm willing to pay for this car... well, at least as long as the existing things arent broken. I guess I'll put in new plugs... check the fuel filter... and see how it goes from there. How hard is it to rebuild a carb? Can I even get a rebuild kit for my existing one?

It didn't even sit for a month... maybe 3 weeks at the most. Hell, the t-bird sat for longer than that, and you saw me fire that thing right up :-)

I have a problem with my car. I want to relay the symptoms to you, and hopefully can get a good answer on whether I should have my carb rebuilt or just new plugs. The car runs like crap when it is cold. It's a pain in the rump roast to warm it up 15 minutes every morning, but I've come to expect it. Once it gets warm it runs fine... almost. After the car is warm... it will drive fine for about 15-20 minutes when suddenly it will start to act like the engine is cold. This is the best way I can describe it. The car will sputter from a stop, and it feels like it's all bogged down at a certain RPM. If I floor it, the car will sputter and then catch on and zoom off (just as if it were cold). During its "cold" phase, the idle will also drop from its normal 900rpm to about 500, and it always sounds like it is about to die. This "cold" phase will usually last about 10 minutes. It happens regardless of operating temp (hell, the first time I noticed it, I had been on the freeway for about 15 minutes). Most days it happens well after the car has warmed up and been running for a good while. One item of note... is that this always happens when I shut my car off for a few minutes and then start it back up. Say for instance, I've been driving around all day and stop at the store. The car is turned off for maybe 8 minutes total, but when I start it back up again it's almost guaranteed to do this for a few minutes. Now my some-what ignorant diagnosis tells me that my carb is acting up. Whether due to the colder weather, or age, it's starting to act up. Seems like all I need is a carb rebuild and everything would be great. I would have already done this, but I have another thing I want to run past you guys to see if this is the problem. About a month ago, my car stripped a spark plug hole and shot the plug out. I had Smart Service in Ballinger, WA helicoil the threads, and they repaired it admirably. I just want to know if you guys think i could have a bad plug. I'm pretty sure they just re-used my old plug, which could have been damaged when it shot out. I'm sure they'd check to make sure it was gapped alright, but could the problems I'm describing be caused by a bad Spark Plug? What do you guys think it could be, Carb or Plug? EDIT: Forgot to mention that it's an '85 GL Wagon with a carbed EA82.

good job Double McPosty. I can prolly help if it's later tonight, like 9 or so. It'd have to be your truck again though. Gimme a call if you need me.

A head gasket job will take us... what? 4 hours? 5 hours? Maybe 2 nights if we're lazy. I dont work again until January so I can come over one night and we'll get it all done.

The reason I was phrasing it the way I did... My axles are not the same as his. Right now, he has the control arm, brakes, and axles all still attached and sitting in his garage. The axle looks exactly the same as mine, but I know I can't just bolt it right in to my tranny because it's splined differently. I wanted to know if the opposite end was the same way.. splined differently so it wouldnt fit into my existing arm.

Reason I ask... I'm buying a bunch of brake stuff from SubaruTex. He recently did the 5-lug conversion on his RX, so his front control arms and brakes and everything aren't being used. My question... would my existing axles (5spd D/R EA82) be able to fit into his control arms (from an AWD EA82T)? I know the axles are splined different... but is this on both ends, or only the transmission end? It'd be really neat if I can just bolt the whole arm onto my axles... because I have really bad wheel bearings and his are in good shape.

Hey everyone, I have two questions. The first one, I want to know if the symptoms I'm having could be caused by a fouled spark plug. The second one, I want to know what spark plugs you guys use, how to gap them, and what to torque them to (basically how do I change my spark plugs :-)) I dont know how many of you saw this thread http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7077 but basically a spark plug shot out of the hole and stripped the threads on its way out. I was going to Helicoil it myself, but due to no garage and bad weather (not to mention laziness) I just took it to Smart Subaru Service in WA. So now my car is all repaired, but I'm still having some small issues. Whenever I turn my car off for even a few minutes, when I try to drive it again it drives like it's completely cold. The car will spit and sputter and will act like it's about to die unless I floor it and get the revs up. The wierd thing is, this happens regardless of the temp. I was on the freeway and had been driving for about 30 minutes when suddenly it started sputtering at a certain RPM level (say, 2500-3000). This issue didn't happen before I had the repair job done. I THINK they just used my old spark plug, so I was wondering if you guys think this could be caused by a slightly damaged spark plug? It's possible that it was banged around when it shot out, and that they didnt fix it when they put it back in. It could also be my carb, but I'm hoping it's the cheaper problem right now. Second... what tips do you have for changing spark plugs. I've never done it before, but I can't imagine it'd be that hard. What plugs should I buy? How do I gap them? How tight do I put them in? Any tricks I should be aware of to avoid damaging the heli-coiled S/P hole? Thanks in advance for your help!

4800 or so for a power shift (like climbing a hill or best speed or whatever). otherwise usually 4k for a normal shift. Of course it all depends, uphill or downhill, road grade, corners coming up, lights coming up.. etc. etc.

I get paid tomorrow, so I can't drop it off tonight. Also, you should still be at work :-P

Bah, I have the day off tomorrow. Anyone willing to give me a tow up the street? :-) I might have to wait until the weekend.

I think so of you may remember, but my 85' GL Wagon ejaculated a spark plug. Stripped the threads on the way out. Due to my lack of garage, horrible weather, and overall laziness, I havent fixed it yet. Well I decided 4wd would be nice to have in the snow if it snows soon, so I called Smart Subaru Service in Ballinger (north of Seattle) and they quoted me $80 to fix it for me. This sounds way better than doing it myself, since it's so cheap. Now, I just need a way to get the car there. I don't feel that safe driving on 3 cylinders (something about a hole with gas vapors coming out of it un-nerves me). The mechanic is like, 3 miles from my house. No major hills. What's the easiest way to tow my car there? I've never towed with a tow-rope before, so I was wondering if that's the easiest way to do it. Do I just over-compensate my braking to avoid rear-ending the towing vehicle... any tips or tricks?

If metal shavings do get in the engine, they're most likely just going to blow out the exhaust valves, right?

Ok, so I bought this kit from schucks. It's an oversized tap, and then aluminum "sleeves" that you fit the spark plug in. Basically I just wrench the tap in, then remove the SP washer and insert the plug into the sleeve. I put threadlock on the outside of the sleeve, and put the whole thing in the head. Then, after the threadlock dries, I pull the plug out, put the washer back, and re-insert. Does this sound good? Anyone have any suggestions before I do this?