JEBalles

Finally got around to installing the OEM thermostat and my needle is now pointing around halfway. Thanks!

I rarely use 4wd, only in snow and even then I use it as little as possible to avoid getting stuck in it. I tried to explain to the guy that it was part-time and that I was just planning on not using 4wd, but I guess it's the shop's policy. I've got 185/70R13 now, however, I'll be replacing all four since none of the tires on there now are in very good condition - and it's stil ~20 bucks cheaper to do all four tires at school than two at home.

Well, I tried to have the 175/70R13 tires installed, but the guy told me I needed to replace all four since it's an AWD. I told him I was just going to stay out of four wheel drive but he insisted that I had to replace all four. So, now I'm going to try to slime my flat to make it back to school where I can get a tire mounted, balanced and the old tire disposed of for 6 bucks, I'm looking at used tires. That being said, what do people like for sizes/what can I fit on the stock rims? I was thinking of maybe doing larger tires so I can lower RPMs on the highway (not to mention that it might correct my speedo which reads a few miles an hour fast).

I need to get the tires replaced on my GL. Options for 185/70R13 seem pretty limited (I'm also on a low budget) so I'm switching to either 175/70R or 155/80R. The 155s are cheaper than the 175s and since I'm in New England, the pizza cutters are appealing. It's not clear, however, if the 155s will even fit on the stock rims. I've tried to take measurements of the rim, but even with that, I can't find anything online that can tell me if they would fit. I also have no idea how pizza cutters before year round. Does anyone have any experience with this? Should I just be safe and stick to the 175s? I also have a flat right now in one of the dry rotted tires that I have on right now and need to drive back to school on Sunday, so I'm in a bit of a bind.

Hmm, looks like I might just need an OEM thermostat. I used an aftermarket one. I don't see any leaks and I haven't really broken into the cooling system except for the thermostat, so I don't know if it's burped or not. Coolant level is fine.

Where is the coolant temp gauge needle supposed to be for normal operating temp? Mine points to about a quarter of the way up on cooler days and almost half way on hotter days. That difference also doesn't seem normal, shouldn't the coolant system keep the engine at a constant temperature regardless of ambient temperature? I replaced the thermostat within the past year.

Yes, as long as the cassette player is a separate unit.

For the record, I'm not sure if this is true for all EA82's, but I have an '89 GL wagon with the radio and separate stock cassette player. Like many, the only two music players I really want in my car are a radio and my phone/mp3 player, so I enlisted the help of an electrical engineer (not required) to help me install an auxiliary cable in my stock set up. What we found was an extremely simple and elegant method that kept the stock appearance and retains functionality of the cassette player. -Remove radio and stock cassette player from dash (clip on frame, six screws) -Disassemble cassette player (clip on top, all visible screws on frame) -Locate where the black, 8-pin DIN cable that plugs into the radio from the cassette player is soldered to the circuit board -You should see six wires going into the circuit board (including the meaty ground cable) -Now this is where my memory gets hazy, and I'm too lazy to take it apart again, perhaps upon request, so hopefully someone can chime in. If I remember correctly, the first two wires closest to the ground on the board were right and left sound, but I also can't remember which was which. This is where you would splice in your left and right sound wires from the auxiliary cable you purchased, and the ground to the ground, obviously. It's easy to test for, however, since the radio automatically shuts off when the circuit is completed. -Then just find a way to gracefully run your cable into the cabin and enjoy any auxiliary device you wish! All you need to do is plug it in and the radio will shut off to allow the device to play.

Turns out it was a leaky cap for those with a similar issue

So, I did my timing belts recently (although the old ones ended up looking just fine, so I'm a little bitter), drove 2 1/2 hours without issue. Then, yesterday, I start up the car to go home from work, and it starts making this knocking sound. Crossed my fingers, drove half an hour home. Stalled once and seemed a little underpowered at first, but then evened out. Besides the sound, it drove fine. Sounds like it's coming from the timing belts, so I ripped everything out again to find the driver's side belt looser than Charlie Sheen's morals. I'm surprised it ran at all. So, my first thought, the tensioner bolts must have come loose. Still felt tight, but I loosened 'em up again, and fiddled around with it trying to tighten up the belt again. Tensioner didn't feel like it moved at all, but something I did made the belt taught again. Started it up, noise is gone. Now, what scares me is I have no idea why it came loose in the first place. The torque on those bolts isn't that much. I also found a good slice in the timing belt cover right above that tensioner (attached picture). I think I'm going to run without the covers for now and see how it holds up. What do you guys think?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I always thought it mostly had to do with the internal friction of the engine. This is why when you park the car and you put it in gear, it won't move (or takes more force than the gravity pulling the car down the hill). If it was only due to the engine pulling a vacuum, the car would have to roll some amount of distance until the engine pulled enough vacuum to stop the car. Since the static coefficient of friction (such as when a car is parked in gear) is greater than the kinetic coefficient of friction (such as when the engine is turning), however, vacuum would play more of a role during moving engine braking. You are correct when you say that compression braking is not the right term. During engine braking in a gasoline engine, the pistons are merely "bouncing" off the compression, not consuming any energy.

Yeah, I might call up the local yard soon to see if they have any old subies, but I'm due for inspection in June and I probably need to replace a ball joint since I just noticed it's pretty loose, and I'm headed to CT next friday for work, so definitely in a pinch. I figured I'd ask around here to see if anyone had one lying around or something, but it would be much appreciated if one of you guys could grab one if it's convenient.

Just to clarify, this is not a crack, but a large piece missing. Not sure if that changes anything.

So, doing my timing belts today and found my crank pulley with a good four or so inches of the belt guard gone. It must have been that way for a while since the wear path from the belt was different and clearly defined. I've never noticed anything wrong and the belts don't look too bad. What do you guys think?

I'm almost certain it was the axle. I took it out and did six hours of hard street driving and 3 hours of highway cruising in RWD with no vibrations.

So it turns out that the axle I ordered was the wrong spline count. I ended up taking the old axle, cutting the shaft at the outer joint and just installing that part to keep the hub together and driving in four wheel drive using the rear wheels. This shouldn't be an issue for anything, right?

It took the inner control arm pivot bolt and the three strut nuts off to get the axle off. Thanks for all your help.

I have driven out the spring pin, yes. Now just to clarify so I don't mess anything up, I should remove the bolt in picture one? I've already disconnected the sway bar. Also, what about the guide rod (picture 2)? It looks like that prevents the arm from moving a great deal.

I'm still confused though, everything I've read said you must take the DOJ off first, then the BJ. Which one did you do first? And I'm not sure what the control arm since the last car I had had a very different design up front so I'm not sure wht the control arm is.

Did you take the BJ off first then?

I've been following the procedure in this thread to replace my front, driver's side axle because of a torn boot. Attached is a picture of where I am. I have removed the sway bar mount on the body and completely removed the top strut mount bolts. I still cannot get the DOJ off of the stub axle. I'm working on disconnecting the guide rod and tie rod to completely swivel the steering knuckle out of the way. Is there something I'm missing here?

Okay, I think I was getting driveline confused with driveshaft. And yes, I think that sounds reasonable. Should I bother trying to reboot it, or should I just replace it? And is this something I should replace it pairs, or can I just replace one axle at a time (I don't care about time under the knife, I'll only replace both if replacing only one will affect safety or accelerate wear on another part.)

I don't understand though: how could it be the drive shaft if there is no significant torque on it? I can be travelling high speeds without issue, it's dependent on load, which the rear drivetrain is receiving none of.

Alright, haven't checked fuel or spark yet, but upon a visual inspection of the axles, I found the inner boot of the driver's side front axle to be torn. None of the axles felt loose or anything. Could a torn boot (and therefore worn inner components) cause this?

Tight turns are fine, and I drive like a mad man so I think I'm taking whatever components are stressed during turns to their limits. It's only happened on the highway so far.