EmmCeeBee

I'm stepping on thin ice here cuz I don't know about these resistors in particular -- never had to replace them. And electronics isn't my day job..... >> they only had .8 ohm, and 1.2 ohm. .... The .8 might operate cooler as it is resisting less current. Actually, that's backwards. The .8 ohms would draw more current. The relative equations are: I = V/R and Power = V*I . What we don't know here is the resistance of the fan motor, which would be in series with the resistor block. (So a 1 ohm resistor + blower motor won't draw a full 12 amps.) But in any application, it's always safer to over-design and use a resistor that's rated for more watts. The tradeoff may be cost and size. I did the same thing in an old Plymouth, years ago, so it's possible. Might consider rigging it up so the resistor is exposed at first, so you can see how hot it gets. Hope this helps. -- Mark

Couldn't answer your first question, but this might help with the second..... This site has lots of details about clutch sizes, etc. But I don't know anything about ordering from them. http://www.clutchman.com/HTML/Catalog/Subaru.htm -- Mark

#1: 2-core is extra insurance, especially in BC with long drives over the mountains..... and with a "full load" as you say. If you have A/C, a one-row under those conditions will be marginal. Since you're running with the timing retarded, the engine will tend to run a bit hot anyway. All in all, my choice would be two-row. For #2 and #3, here's what I wrote in a previous post. I don't know if you can order delivery to Canada.... but it's worth a try. - - - - - - My original radiator acted clogged up back in July. I went through about $20 of increasingly stronger off-the-shelf flushes which didn't work. Local shops wanted $50-$70 for an acid flush. So I started shopping around. Finally settled on a Silla two-row radiator -- it's heavy-duty brass and looks bulletproof. I had ordered two previous (different brand) but they were so light-guage that they were both damaged in shipment. The Silla seems too solid to suffer that fate. I think I got a great deal: $75 (included shipping). Other two-rows ranged from $110 to $150. Now, the problem: construction was solid, but the mounting holes didn't quite line up. The filler neck had to be bent back a bit for clearance. It took a couple hours of filing and tweaking to get it mounted. Shouldn't have had to do this for a "drop-in" replacement. The good news was that even with my pounding and bending, the radiator held up and didn't spring any leaks If I had to do it again: If I needed to save $40+ bucks, I wouldn't mind doing the Silla again. Otherwise, it would be safer to get a true drop-in. I ordered the Silla from Ron at Radiator Supply House, Sweet Home, OR. 1-877-615-3002. He had it dropped-shipped from the Calif warehouse. Just a happy customer... -- Mark

Yep, right here. Apparently the price hasn't changed since I got it last summer. www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/LIS-75500.html -- Mark

I don't know specifically, but I'm guessing that it's not simply a matter of hooking up the connectors. The power windows have a lot of chassis wiring -- there's a controller under the driver's seat, and wires from there to all the doors. I can't imagine they'd put the wiring/controller in a DL if it has manual windows. But it can still be done, you just have to fish out all the wires..... -- Mark

In my experience, the only flush that has a chance of working is to take it to a radiator shop and have them do a professional acid flush or rod out. BUT..... by then you're paying as much as a new radiator would cost. Save yourself the trouble and just get a new radiator, Sub's need 'em about every 10-12 years or so. I went this same route a couple years ago, worked my way progressively through the more expensive flushes on the auto parts shelf. In the end, I got a new radiator. After all the flushes, I dropped the coolant level halfway in the radiator so I could look down the filler tube and see about 8 rows. Then I idled the engine till hot, I could still see 4 or 5 rows that were blocked, not flowing coolant. As for the brown sludge, if it's oil then you got trouble.... cracked head or blown head gasket. First thing to do is determine that. If oil is getting into the coolant, then you'll also get bubbles in the radiator, in fact while running it would probably force some coolant out the overflow. A surefire way to test this is with a hydrocarbon test, you can get a kit for about $25 (online) to $50 (Napa Autoparts), or have a radiator shop do the test. Rule this out before you try to fix the radiator. Good luck. -- Mark

Well, yeah, there are a couple of inspection plugs on the timing belt covers. You pry off the rubber plugs and you can stick your fingers in to feel the timing belts. Engine off, of course I think it'd be nigh near impossible to see in there, even with a mirror. But these inspection plugs are most useful to determine if the belts are broken -- not what condition they're in. How many miles??? How many miles have you put on it? Might as well just change the belts it you're not sure. >> My intake boot has a tear in it right where it clamps to the throttle body. Then you're by-passing your air filter, and bypassing the MAF (Mass AirFlow meter). This screws up the ECU and from there, your fuel mixture. My bet is that's the source of the CEL. It should be easy to find a replacement at a junkyard. -- Mark

Most of us join USMB with a question like this (speaking from experience here... ) You can use "search" to find a bunch of similar threads in the past 6 months. GD sums up the basic decision, follow his advice if you have reasonable mechanical abilities. I'd say it's about a 4 on a scale of 10 (where 1=oil change, 10=new pistons). I did this job last summer, took four or five evenings at 2-3 hours apiece -- and I work slow and methodical. Here's my three tips: 1) Know what jobs you plan to do (main seal, camshaft seals, oil pump seals, water pump, oil pan gasket, whatever), and have ALL parts on hand before you start. Make sure you put in a new O-ring on the water pump pipe, and a new inlet hose (3" elbow) going to the heater line. Replacing either of these later is a major headache. Check a Chilton's or Haynes for parts. 2) You can do it all without pulling the radiator, but it's worth the extra 2 hours to drain/remove it. With the radiator out, you have at least 10 inches of clearance at the front of the engine (more if you don't have an air conditioner/condenser). If you leave the radiator in, you have only 4 inches; so cover the inner surface with a sheet of cardboard to save your knuckles. 3) Cleaning/degreasing is at least half the job. Stock up on degreaser and rags, and plan on a few hours total. -- Mark

Erik -- About a rattling catalytic converter.... I checked all the exhaust places -- shops and online -- and I found lots of options. But most were generic cats that had to be welded on, a few online sites have aftermarket Subaru Y-pipes but I had doubts about exact fit and heat shield quality...... And the best I could do was about $30 cheaper than going to a Subaru dealer -- honest. Got a Y-pipe at Lithia Subaru (Oregon City) for $240, I think it was. Not bad, considering. Midas wanted $350+ just to weld on a replacement cat. Only other option for exact fit is a junkyard, but this is one thing that doesn't make much sense to substitute a used 100Kmile part. And in this area, I think it's illegal for JYs to sell used cats. The spring-loaded bolts hold the Y-pipe to the mid pipe. Between the pipes is a lead donut. This should be replaced (about $10) if you're swapping Y-pipes. I think if the exhaust is rattling and it's not the cat, it's probably the heat shields. Either a spot weld broke, or a pebble got between them. As long as the mounting brackets are good, the exhaust itself shouldn't rattle. I tried to live with the rat-a-tat, too, but it progressively got louder. I got tired of people ducking as I passed by, or the guys gathering round in the parking lots trying to diagnose the trouble. Once I left when two guys got into an argument whether it was a rod bearing or a timing belt pulley. A new Y-pipe has made my life a lot quieter... -- Mark

Your profile shows a 1990 Loyale, so.... I had a similar problem last summer. I characterized it like this: Only on deceleration, at about 2200 rpm. Like when you rev the engine at curbside and let off the gas, or coasting downhill in gear. And only when the engine was good and hot. The rattle was my catalytic converter. I think the "brick" inside cracked, or it just got loose inside the housing. It took a certain frequency and backpressure to set it up in a harmonic rattle. Sometimes people on the sidewalk would duck like a machine gun was headed their way. I used a stethoscope to narrow it to the exhaust (hard to do when the rattle was so touchy to reproduce). To be extra sure, I put the car up on jacks, ran it till it was hot, had my wife feather the accelerator while I slid underneath to isolate the sound 100% certain. Pounding on the Y-pipe with a mallet (hot or cold) never did any good, it didn't uncover the rattle. I ended up with a new Y-pipe, which fixed the problem. Worth checking..... If you can reproduce the sound at curbside, use a stethoscope (a l-o-n-g screwdriver or wooden dowel held to your ear). -- Mark

I put in a new stereo system last summer, and went through the same questions. I've got an '88 GL which had everything stock. Front and rear speakers were identical: 6.5" (only 10W each, IIRC). For replacements, any well-known make (Kenwood, Infinity, Pioneer, etc.) with the digits 16xx specifies a 6.5" or 6.75" speaker. Two things to watch out for: 1) Most of these speakers are dual size (both 6.5" and 6.75"), with break-off tabs. You break off the mounting tabs for a 6.5" mounting -- which is what you want to do for your GL. 2) Speaker depth.... I can't remember exactly, but I think front was 1 7/8", back was a bit deeper. I got a pair of Pioneer TS-A1670R for the front, and Kenwood KFC-1679ie for the rear. Nothing magic about those models, but if you check out these speakers on the internet, you'll see dimensions and specs. These speakers fit without any modifications to the door mount, door panel, or speaker grills. (Well, not exactly true, I had to put a 1/4" bulge in the rear grills....) You probably know that the stock setup uses a common ground ("-" wire) for each side. If you're putting in a new head unit, you should re-wire the speakers with their own "-". -- Mark

Skunk -- You mean remote turn-on wires for the amps? It all depends on the amperage drawn by each, and the amperage supplied on that wire by the head unit -- you can look those up in the owner's manuals. I'd just be safe and wire both amps through a relay. I found a lot of useful sites when I installed my stereo a few months back. See these: -- Wiring a relay for remote-power to amps -- Most useful site for all the little questions about wire gauges, lengths, fuses, etc. (You don't have to register on this site, just go to the list of topics on the bottom right-hand side.) Hope this helps. -- Mark

When a parts store advertises "loaded calipers", it means they come with brake pads. -- Mark

quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally posted by asavage: ...considering nobody else seems to have had this particular problem and reported it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey Al, don't jump to conclusions there.... My '88 has these symptoms exactly, precisely as you describe, for more than 10 years. I've been following this thread in the off chance that there's an easy fix (I've always assumed there's a fault on the circuit board). In fact, I almost responded to the original posting like so: "Same here. The only difference is that I decided long ago to live with it :)" But I thought it didn't add to much to the discussion..... Still don't think so, but at least you can have the comfort of knowing ur not alone. It's a quirk I've come to love in my Sub. I still have intermittent wiping through subconscious use of the "pull for one wipe" switch. -- Mark

Just say "No". Gees..... Those guys are in business to make money, even if you don't need the repairs. I don't know anything about TJ Tires, but I expect every tire shop/muffler shop/tuneup joint to sell me things I don't need. You only wanted an alignment, so don't spring for the rest of it unless you KNOW you need it. Just cuz your Sub is 13 years old doesn't mean you need front end work. If you aren't sure, get a trusted second opinion. On an older car, I can accept a bit of slop and leeway (as long as it's not dangerous....), otherwise you'd be rebuilding it from the ground up. On the other hand, Subs wear well -- on my '88 GL, the steering is as tight as the day I got it. -- Mark

Under US federal regulations, a car manufacturer cannot require you to get your car serviced at any particular (including their) service facilities, in order to honor their warranty. That means that YOU can perform all your own maintenance, and still keep the car under warranty. Along with this, YOU have to keep records. So, simply provide a record of all oil changes and periodic maintenance, exactly as your owner's manual stipulates. Simple. Really, anybody with a new car should take an extra 30 seconds to record this, every time they change the oil or check the filters, etc..... Whatever's in the manual. If the Subaru dealer doesn't honor your records, demand to speak to the regional representative. If they balk, take 'em to your state's Consumer Complaints department (or whatever it's called in Missouri). The leaks you describe sound like they should be covered by warranty, but you might get a second opinion on this. -- Mark

The overflow tank does not hold pressure. There's a small vent hole in the neck (just under the cap threads). Besides, it's linked to the radiator neck with a limp rubber hose -- how much pressure do you think that can hold? You could leave the overflow cap off, and if the rest of the cooling system is working OK, it wouldn't make any difference (except for an odd leaf to fall in). In my experience, Bar's Leak is death to Sub radiators. You might be lucky...... but chances are it'll coat the walls of the cooling system and -- worse -- plug up the radiator passages. It does indeed stop leaks, but at the expense of reducing cooling capacity. For me (yeh, I know, I learned my lesson), it was the first in a chain of events that led to a new radiator. -- Mark

I have a Y-pipe that u can have for $shipping.... It's in almost perfect condition -- except last summer my cat started rattling. I don't have the option of gutting the cat here in SW Washington, so I bought a new Y-pipe (from dealer, not that expensive, considering -- $235). I really should get rid of the old one, but it would be good for someone who could gut the cat and get away with it. Oh.... the rear hanger bracket is broken, but it can be welded or braced up with a clamp (which I did). Heat shields in perfect condition (new SS bolts), no rust. 'Course, I see you're on the east coast. Shipping might add up big$. This is a N/A EA82. -- Mark

I lost track of that thread "Why do you love your Sub?" Just wanna bask in the warm glow of another road trip gone well.... I got home last night about 10:00pm from a weekend trip, Portland OR to San Jose and back in 3 days. With that short time frame, it was all interstate, instead of the scenic route down the Sierras or the coast as I usually do. I don't push it on the freeway, I keep it at 60-65mph the whole way. That's 1400 miles. Not a rattle, not a miss, not a ping, not a broken belt nor bulb, nothin'. Perfect trip. The wagon never lets me down. I did the same trip over Christmas, too, although that was 10 days and we needed 4WD to get over the Siskiyous the day they closed the highway. Plus 4 times up to Mt. Hood for skiing in Jan/Feb. 3500 winter miles in the past 2 months, it changes the definition of "dependable". My 16-year old Sub purrs like the day I bought her. It's OK to love an inanimate object as long as it's of age???? -- Mark

You're in the twilight zone here -- the crossover years for "Old Generation" to "New Generation". Your question for a 91 Legacy would be better served on "The New Generation of Subarus" message board. If I knew the answer, though, I'd tell ya -- Mark

Looks like somebody just got an A+

Re: alignment. Well, of course it can't hurt.... But I've replaced axles twice and I haven't had my wagon aligned since (thanks for reminding me ) It's been more than 30k miles, and steering is still rock solid - dead on straight, with no tire wear. I agree, it didn't seem anything in the job, if done carefully, would affect alignment. -- Mark

Possibly could be brakes dragging a bit? First thing I'd check. I say that cuz I've never seen brakes -- especially drum brakes -- that don't drag almost imperceptibly. And since you don't hear it except under the quietest conditions, it just might be. In gear or at higher speeds, the noise would be drowned out. Anyway, jack it up and rotate the wheels by hand to listen, brakes or not. Hey, I'm not familiar with EA81 drivetrain so I can't offer anything more specific -- Mark

On my '76 wagon, all you needed was a pencil (or any short stick). The rear hatch latch was accessible from under the bumper. Just push in the pencil, unlock the latch, and in you go. Did it many times. Thanks to Subaru for fixing this "feature" in later models -- Mark

Hey aware -- check out this previous thread for info on radiators: http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8802 Over the summer I got a 2-row rad from a place in Sweet Home, OR. It's a Silla brand, very low price and it seems to be high quality (been driving with it for 6 months now....) See my post in that thread for my trials and tribulations, though. Wasn't a true "drop in", but in the end I'm satisfied. -- Mark (ignore.... I'm trying out the hidden url feature thread reference ....thanks )