jeffroid

You e-mailed him ? ? ? Him being the owner of the car ? ? ? How did you do that ? ? ? But yeah, that's kind of what I had in mind and why I posted. I figured someone would want the car, and I'd be able to get some parts I could use. I am supposed to go look at it after work today, so I'll know more then.

I've been working on my '83 GL wagon and posting from time to time. I came across a guy at work who basically wants to give away an '88 GL-10 4WD Turbo Wagon. It is supposed to be in "excellent condition", but doesn't run and he doesn't have time to fix it. I am pretty familiar with the early 80's genre, and the EA82s and Turbos are not something I want do dig into right now. What I want to know is how much interchangeability is there? I have looked at photos in here and it is obvious that the body and trim style is completely different, but what about seats and other interior parts - my seats are trashed. How about mechanical components like alternators, starters, axles, etc? What about drive train? It's got a five speed tranny, will that drop into my '83 without modification? How about the rear differential - mine's kind of noisy. Anyway, thanks for the help. If this works out I might have a lot of stuff that I don't need to offer up.

Hi. I've been working on (and posting for help with) my '83 GL wagon for a while now and have another project I need some help with. I have an '81 or '82 Hatchback that I've been using as a parts car, and it just occurred to me that the front bumper/grill/headlight set-up is almost completely intact - including the 3rd eye passing light. It also occurred to me that the chrome bumper, old school single headlight per side set-up, and third eye grill would look a lot cooler than the POS black plastic bumber and two headlight per side system that's currently on my '83. I did search this board and it sounds like it should be an easy conversion since I have the complete loaner car on hand. That's not really my question. All I need is the right front headlight/parking light/blinker assembly to be complete. I live in the Seattle area and just called Aaron's - they don't have it. Any idea where I could score this assembly? Sorry if I should have put this in the Marketplace section - I could have went either way I guess. THANKS ! ! !

I just put mine back together, and here's what happened to me: Both studs came out of the head on one side, and both nuts came off the studs on the other side. When I went to put it back together, on the side with the studs still in the head I just put the nuts back on - no problem. On the side I had to put the studs and nuts back in I had no trouble with one, but the other one wouldn't tighten down at first. The problem was that the nut had run all the way in and shanked out on the stud, not leaving enought thread engagement in the head to hold. So I backed the nut out of the stud almost to the end, then double-nutted it so it wouldn't advance down the stud while I was trying to turn the stud into the head. It tightened up and I removed the double-nut and I was done.

Thanks for all the help, everyone. I got it done and my brakes work great now. I think I did MC, then RF LR LF RR, but I agree - can't make any difference which side you do first. I was just a little confused as to the descrepancy in the posts I searched, especially when some of them said it was so important. One thing I don't understand is that I tried to use one of those little hand vacuum pumps that you are supposed to be able to use. I couldn't get that to work at all. I hooked up a clear hose to the bleeder screw, pulled a vacuum, then cracked the bleeder screw. Bubbles forever. All I can figure is that I must have been pulling air in past the threads in the bleeder screw. What I finally did was get my bud to pump the peddle and everything worked fine. All's well that ends well - Thanks again ! ! !

I have to grin. Three replies - three different answers ! ! ! Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be a smart rump roast or look a gift horse in the mouth. I sincerely do appreciate the help. I'd trust the FSM, but could there be a difference between the way you would do it for an '87 and an '83 GL 4WD wagon?

Sorry to have to ask this but I just spent nearly an hour searching and I am still unsure. I just had to rebuild my front calipers and want to flush the sytem and bleed properly. What is the correct sequence for an '83 GL 4WD wagon? I've read furthest to closest and two different versions of the cross pattern depending on the model and who was posting. I've got two different crappy manuals and all they say is to bleed them in the proper order - gee thanks ! When I bleed the master cylinder do I do that before or after the wheel cylinders and calipers. THANKS ! ! !

Thanks - I've already got the smaller clutch. The parts guy swapped it and gave me $10 back. If I had time, I'd take you up on it, but I've got to get the motor back in the car tomorrow. I've searched and read the posts about the smaller clutch being too wimpy, but I'm not running big tires or anything, and I won't be doing any serious off roading or hauling big loads. Not on purpose anyway. For that I'll be using my old Toyota Landcruiser. If I had more time I'd get the big flywheel and clutch, but I'm doing this in my neighbor's carport and he gets back from Hawaii Friday. Hope I'm not making a mistake. But if I am it sure in the heck won't be the first one I've made when it comes to getting this old GL wagon back on the road again.

I've got the engine of my '84 4WD GL wagon out and was fixing to bolt a new clutch on when I discovered to my dismay that it was the wrong one. It was about an inch too large in diameter and wouldn't fit in the flywheel. I went back to the parts store, and the guy told me that the larger one he gave me was the correct one, and that the smaller one that was in my wagon was in fact for the two wheel drive EA81. The engine in my wagon is not the original and was swaped out before I aquired it. Does this sound correct? If this is so, and the 2WD engine used a different flywheel and smaller diameter clutch, is there going to be anything wrong with putting it back in my wagon? THANKS ! ! !

That happened to me a long time ago (switch not working and spinning around). I can't remember for sure, but it seems like what happened is that there is a little ball bearing - spring loaded detent mechanism in there. Things had loosened up to where the little ball had slipped out of the detent. All I had to do was take it apart, get everything back in place, re-install, and tighten it up again. I drove it for a long time after that without any problem. Don't ask for details because it was a long time ago. I do remember that I had to do it in the dark with a flashlight in my bud's driveway in order to get the lights working so I could drive home. I also remember that it took me a while.

How did you test it? I had a similar thought when I went to test mine by taking if off the car and hooking up my battery charger to it. My charger has a switch with three different settings on it. I believe the settings are 3 amps (trickle charge), 10 amps (fast charge), and 50 amps (start). The pump would only work with the charger set on the start mode. The fuel pump circuit is protected by a 15 amp fuse, so that makes sense, I guess.

Wait a minute, what difference does it make what order you do them in as long as you get each cylinder at TDC and do both the intake and exhaust valve for that particular cylinder while it’s at TDC? What I did is to rotate the crank until the flywheel timing mark was at zero then looked where the distributor rotor was pointing. That was cylinder number 2. I adjusted both valves for that cylinder, then rotated the crank until the distributor rotated 90 degrees. That put the rotor pointing at cylinder number 4, so I did those two valves. Then I rotated the crank until the distributor rotated 90 more degrees and the rotor was pointing at number 1, and I did those two valves. 90 more degrees on the distributor and I was at number 3, so I finished up with those two valves. All I have is an old Chilton’s manual, which is pretty crappy because it covers like about every Subaru ever made. I read their procedure, after the fact, of course, and the only difference I can see is that I went 2-4-1-3, where the book said go 1-3-2-4. The Chilton’s was actually ambiguous because it said “rotate the crank 180 degrees after each valve adjustment”. I think they meant to say after each cylinder-pair of valve adjustments. So I ended up going 2-4-1-3, instead of 1-3-2-4, and I used the rotation of the distributor to tell where I was at instead of the marks on the flywheel and/or pulley. How could that possibly matter? Not trying to stir the pot or be argumentative, just want to understand. I also want to get it right, and if it’s wrong I’ll do it over again. THANKS ! ! !

You've got it right. The hard part is holding on to the square drive while you are trying to tighten the locknut. I just did a quick search, and a couple of others backed me up on the .010 for intake, and .014 for exhaust. It was on the sticker on the inside of my hood, but I'm not under my hood right now! I guess you are supposed to do it with the engine cold. Mine was kind of "lukewarm", I don't know how much difference that is going to make.

It wasn't all that easy, access is tight in there. The left side wasn't too bad, probably would be a lot worse if you had AC. To get to the right side I removed the battery. The upper radiator hose was kind of in the way but I worked around it. I did mine one cylinder at a time, by putting the piston at TDC. I don't think you have to do it that way, I'm sure that there are times when there are several valves open at the same time, but it was easy to keep straight this way. First you have to crack the locknut loose with a 12mm wrench. Instead of the screwdriver slots in the rocker adjusters that I'm used to on other cars, they have square drive studs that stick up through the locknuts. I didn't have a small enough end wrench handy, so I ended up using needle nose vice grip pliers to grab on to and hold the square drive. That actually made it a lot easier than having to hold an end wrench on there while trying to tighten the locknut. I believe the clearance is supposed to be 0.010" for the intakes, and 0.014" for the exhaust, but I don't have the info in front of me. You'll have to do it a few times to get it right, I tried to adjust mine until the feeler gauge would just slip in without effort. I didn't get mine perfect, but they are a lot closer than they were. It made a difference in the noise, but it's still not like it's sewing machine quiet.

Thanks very much. Great response, exactly what I was looking for. As it turned out, I went out and pulled the valve covers off while it was still light out, before reading your post. It was obvious while trying to adjust them that they were solid lifters. I got them adjusted and it quieted down nicely. They were all pretty loose. Seems like kind of a dumb question now. There was definitely no boss in the casting as you described. The only thing I'm still wondering about, and perhaps leading to my confusion is that I have another wagon that I am using for a parts car. It doesn't have the boss in the block casting either, but I seem to recall that it had the bendable lockwashers under the rocker arm adjustment nuts. The one in my good car that I worked on today doesn't have the lockwashers. Anyway, thanks again.

I posted a couple of weeks ago trying to figure out whether or not I should change my head gaskets. To make a long story short, I forgot to mention that my clutch is slipping, so I decided to put it all back together and drive it for as long as the clutch allows. That will give me a chance to troubleshoot so I can do everthing required when I yank the engine to change the clutch. I've been driving it for a week or so and it runs pretty damn good with no sign of head gasket leak, but the valves are noisier than hell. I hooked up a mechanical gauge and the oil pressure is decent. Sorry for the dumb newbie question, but how do I tell if I have hydraulic or solid lifters? I did do a search, but I am still confused because it sounded like from the posts (and reference materials) that the hydraulic lifters can be adjusted as well. So that must mean that there are adjustment nuts and screwdriver slots on the rockers for both solid and hydraulic, right? The wagon is an 83, but it is definitely not the original engine, and there are no stickers on the valve covers. All I know is that the engine says EA81 on it. There may well have been stickers on the valve covers that have long since been gone. How do I tell if I have solid or hydraulic? Is there a visible and easily describable difference evident by simply taking off the valve covers?

Got it - thanks for the advice.

Thanks for the help, but sorry, I'm not sure what you're suggesting. You say that I should not need Permatex with the Victor Reinz gaskets, then say to ditch the Felpros and use Permatex. By the way, good advice on the Victor Reinz. I went a got a pair after work yesterday and they appear to be substantially better gaskets the the Felpros. So should I use Permatex on the Victor Reinz gaskets or not? Anyone? Some of you will be amused to hear that I still haven't decided whether or not to yank the heads off. I know this agonizing sounds ridiculous, but I find it interesting to do this Sherlock Holmes thing and I have learned a lot. Right now I think I'm going to put it back together like it is with a new water pump, thermostat, plugs-wires-distributor cap-rotor, my "best" radiator, new hoses and belt, and fresh oil and filter. This with the full expectation that I may have to rip it apart again. My logic is that at least if I get it running again I can trouble shoot it properly and know what to look for when and if I have to go into the heads. Obviously, I should have done that in the first place, but when I assumed it was the head gasket I went into tunnel vision mode and started ripping into it. One more question: Is there anything wrong with running just water in it for a while while I'm troublehooting? It will be a lot easier to not have to deal with the coolant if I have to go right back in again. (I've got lots of pets). THANKS ! ! !

Thanks - I located the victor-whatever gaskets and am picking them up after work. Should I use permatex on the intake manifold gaskets?

This is great discussion. I am compelled to keep it going. If the slime in the valve cover is caused by a HG leak or head problem, how can the coolant system possibly stay pressurized without any sign of leakage? Here's a possiblility that hasn't been brought up yet. Recall that I already have the intake off, and pressurized the coolant system by fabricating metal plates and bolting them on the heads with new intake gaskets. Suppose I had an intake gasket leak, and coolant was being introduced through the intake into the combustion chamber. I already mentioned that I had good leakdown readings, but I'd still be getting a small amount of water vapor in the combustion gasses. That would put moisture in the valve covers via leakage past the valve guides and moisture in the crankcase via leakage past the rings. Perhaps that, along with condensation up here in the moist PNW is the source of the goo?

Again - thanks everyone for all the help. This has actually become somewhat funny. I have changed my mind back and forth so many times on whether to yank the heads I'm starting to get dizzy. Now it's just a matter of whether I change my mind an even or odd number of times. I left my coolant system pressured up overnight, and this morning my little gauge setup was still glued to 20 PSI. That tells me that the gunk in the filler tube and inside the valve covers almost HAS to be from condensation, right? So now in my mind it's just a question of weighing the value of having new head gaskets while I've already done much of the work involved in replacing them - verses the "if it aint broke don't fix it" mentality. Yeah, I'll probably have to replace the head gaskets eventually, but my pal Murphy says I'll break or strip something trying to get the heads off and on when I APPARENTLY don't really need to. Well, tomorrow's my day off and the good weather up here in the PNW is supposed to continue (I'm doing this work in my back yard without cover). So I've got the rest of today and tonight to stew on it some more. Further input is greatly appreciated. THANKS ! ! !

Thanks, thanks, thanks for all the help. Just short of flipping a coin, I had almost decided to put it back together, run it, and start troubleshooting. Before I did that, it ocurred to me that I hadn't pulled the valve covers off, and there might be something interesting in there to see. Well, I pulled them off, and the inside of the valve covers were coated with this grey-white emulsified slime about 1/4" thick - worse on the right side. There's also corrosion on the bolts and head. That can't be normal, can it? So now I'm leaning back towards pulling the heads off.

Man what a good idea. I don't know why I didn't think of that because I was going to change the oil before fireing it back up anyway. Just drained the oil and it looks fine, but a little brown maybe? Not sure about that. It looked worse on the dipstick for some reason. And I still have that emulsified stuff in the filler neck, but that could have been there forever and caused by condensation. If there was water in the oil would I be able to see it in the drain pan or could it all be mixed in with the oil? I did run the engine for several minutes before doing the leakdown test, but that was about three days ago. I'm literally ready to flip a coin. Those head gaskets HAVE been sitting there for two years and I'm already there, and I would hate to put it all back together and wish after that I would have done the head gaskets. BUT it is quite a bit more work and I'm almost thinking like "if it aint broke don't fix it". The heads don't appear to be leaking now - how easy would it be to screw up by removing and replacing them and have the things start leaking when they didn't before? I'm not planning on pulling the engine, and it doesn't look like fun working on the heads like it sits. My back already hurts just thinking about it. One more thing I forgot to ask. What are the chances of my "problem" (whatever it is) being something in the crankcase? I would really really hate to do all this work and have a problem there. Bottom line is though - good leakdown readings, absolutely no pressure loss in the cooling system (the gauge is still on 20 PSI after three hours), and it is possible that my suspicion of water in the oil COULD be a false alarm. Sorry again for the long post, but this forum is awesome. So many helpful replies so quickly. Any more opinions?

Seattle area (Renton)

You're not recommending the head gaskets too, are you? I'm not THAT far yet.