wynkoop

I had the same situation on my 88GL turbo 4wd wagon just before the timming belt broke and left me stuck. It turns out the tensioner froze up and that tore the teeth off the belt. If the easy stuff does not fix it I would suggest checking the T-belt and associated parts so you do not get stuck somewhere. -Brett

Yep the 718 number was me. I got another call and had to drop the line. I will try to check the solonoid tomorrow and see how it goes. Hope I can remember where you folks pointed to Sunday. If not I might just have to drop by again!

So do I follow correctly that the fix can be made without removing the transmission from the car? I am trying to decide if I should use one of the last warm days of fall to try this and I do not want to get part way and be stuck. -Brett

Well thaks to Connie and Paul this past Sunday I learned how to read the codes from my computer. It turns out that I have a code 34 showing up. The list here says that it is a problem with the EGR. I looked at the procedure in chiltons for testing things and I do not have the needed tools. So here is the real question? What are the chances that there is a vacum problem? The problem started at about the 70K mile mark. My thought is that it is most probably the EGR valve and it will be cheaper to just replace that than buy a vacum gage, vacum pump and what ever else I would need to check other things first. Thoughts folks? Also exactly where do I find my EGR on my machine? The Chiltons was not very helpfull on this point. -Brett

Thanks for the education guys! -Brett

So why would one want to change the boost? Will that change HP, or MPG? Sounds like a pricey item. I hope it is a real preformance improvement. -Brett

Please educate me. What is a boost controller? Is it a stock item? Would I have one in my 88GL turbo wagon? What advantage does one get by installing the one described by the original poster? -Brett

I just want to let folks know that if they missed the weekend get together at Paul's place then they missed a great time! I had the pleasure of meeting Paul and Bucky92. Both of them taught me things about my 88GL turbo wagon that I would not have known had I not made the trip from Brooklyn up to CT. I also was able to get a couple of little things that I needed, like a front left parking light to replace my broken one, and a wheel to finally have a full size spare. Paul has tons of body, interior, trim, and drive parts that, from what I understand, he needs to clear out so he can move to a much smaller space soon. If you have a 70s-80s subaru and need anything for it contact moosens and see if he has it. Paul and Bucky92 thanks to both of you for a fun and instructive afternoon! -Brett

Almost the same thing happened on my 88GL Wagon. It turned out that something was making power to the fuel pump intermitant. Sometimes I had power to the pump and it would start, and sometimes it would not. I hard wired the pump to the cig lighter after my mechanic said he could find no problem, and the thing stuck me in the middle of nowhere refusing to start. Now if anyone can tell me why the primary power path became intermitant I would love to know. It must be a theme with the subaru as I have seen others post that they hot wired the pump as well. -Brett

Not subaru specific, but I hope this helps. When I was a kid Dad used to put a hot plate under the oil pan of his sports car to make it easy to start in the winter. He also installed a heater in the pickup. This heater went into either the heater hose, or the top radiator hose. I do not remember which. Basicly after splicing it in series with which ever line it was the thing just bolted to some free surface under the hood and a line cord lead out the front of the truck's grill. Just ran an extension cord out and plugged it in at night. Having said all that I have never had my 88 1.8L turbo GL Wagon fail to start on a winter day, but I am usually in either NYC, or western PA durring the winter, so I do not see extreme subzero weather. -Brett

Greeting- I have seen the postings about bolting the shifter up and even looked at the picture of the whole thing posted somewhere on USMB. My 5 speed has gotten VERY SLOPPY and I am interested in doing the modification, but I can not drop out the tranny. I live in Brooklyn, NY and that is just not the type of thing to do on the street! Can I bolt the thing up without dropping the tranny out? Will it be a one man, or 2 man job? I have no problem getting stainless steel bolts, washers, and locknuts as there are several marine supply places in the NYC area that stock that hardware. -Brett

Thanks guys! I just pulled off the trim under the dash and the rest was simple. I shudder to think what else the critter did to the car while it sat in the driveway for a month. The inside of the fan was packed with threads and fabric chuncks that match the color/pattern of the padding under the carpets! Well now I have full fan and heat/defrost again and it looks like the critter never really set up living in there as there were no droppings or urine trails. I guess I was very lucky. I suspect that the car was trailered to the mechanic to get the new belt the same day the critter was working on his winter home. I bet he was confused when he came back and found his new house was no longer there!

Well my 88 1.8L turbo wagon had to sit idle with a broken timming belt for about a month. Just got it fixed and it is running better than ever! Unfortunantly durring the month that it was idle the heater fan developed some trouble. It makes a loud grinding sound on setting 4 and produces very little air flow, I would say it is about like setting 1 used to be. Setting 3 produces less air flow, and there is no noticible air flow from settings 1 or 2. I suspect that while sitting in the driveway of my mothers home in rural PA that a critter decided to stuff it with nuts, or maybe with leaves to make a bed. I have tried to figure out how to get at the heater fan with no joy so far. The Chilton I have that is supposed to cover all Subarus from 197?-1988 has nothing on 1988 heater blowers! The blower for the AC is working just fine. I have taken the glove box out and removed all the clips on the fan unit on the right side of the car behind the glove box, but still no joy! Can anyone give me clear simple instructions on how to gain access to the blower for the heater in my 88GL turbo wagon so I can fix the problem before it gets cold here in the north east? Beyond that can anyone suggest a good subaru mechanic in the greater NYC area. I have located one in western PA near my mother's house, but I would also like to know of one nearer to where I live. Thanks! -Brett