Syonyk

Heh. I can rebuild a rotary engine, tear apart half of the Subaru engine to replace a $0.50 o-ring, but I'm still not good at worming through wiring harnesses. It runs, I'm happy. Still has plenty of things to keep me busy though. -=Russ=-

The strange thing is, my horn worked just fine until I managed to blow the fuse messing around with stuff (jumpering random relays). Or... at least, I think I blew the fuse messing around with stuff... *ponders* If the ECU wasn't getting power, the fuel pump wouldn't kick on... I wonder if that fuse blew and left the ECU without power. That would indeed cause a no-start and no fuel pump noise. It doesn't make sense that it would blow overnight, but I'll try to check it out when I get a chance. I'm willing to bet I blew it messing around with the relays though. -=Russ=-

Thanks. Hopefully it helps someone else get their car fixed rapidly (instead of spending an entire evening trying to find a relay). If this is moved to the repair manual section, will it still be indexed by the search feature? //EDIT: Submitted to the USRM... I didn't realize anyone could submit documents. -=Russ=-

Problem solved. Writeup at http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=30258 for those with a similar problem. -=Russ=-

Ok, I finally got my car running again. I couldn't find a single zerking thread that actually gave me all the info I needed, so... I'm creating one. Keywords: fuel pump relay 1988 DL wagon SPFI jumper relays horn starting If the fuel pump doesn't run (no growl from the back of the car with the ignition on), it could be several things, but one cause can be the fuel pump relay. The first thing you'll want to check is the voltage to the fuel pump. It's located under the passenger's side of the car, right in front of the rear tire. There will be an electrical connector going to it. Pull it out, and check for voltage (the female end is the end going to the car). You should see voltage between the terminals when the key is first turned on, and if the green diagnostic connector in the engine bay is connected the fuel pump should pulse when the key is on (but the engine off). If you don't get voltage back here, another place to check is the fusebox. Fuse 11 is the one that controls the fuel pump. If the fuse is good, and there's no voltage to the fuel pump, the relay is the next suspect. To access the relay, you'll need to pull apart a significant portion of the underside of the dashboard. Get a good flashlight, because you'll need it. Pull off the bottom access panel by removing the screws & plastic retainers holding it. Once this comes out, you'll have access to a good selection of wires. There's a bank of relays above the fusebox - this is NOT the bank you want, so ignore them (and don't randomly jumper them or you'll blow fuses, more on this later). The relay you want is actually above the ECU, and there's no way to get at it without removing the ECU. So, remove the ECU. There are 3 nuts holding it on, and it has U-tabs. Loosen the nuts a bit, and then slide the ECU out. You may have to remove the frontmost connector to get it past the nut (if you don't fully remove it). Now that the ECU is out of the way, you can finally get at the fuel pump relay. It's the one farther from you, and has two black/white wires, one blue/black wire, and one blue/white wire. Remove the connector. If you need the car to run, you can jumper the two thicker wires (one of the black/white wires and the blue/white wire) and get the fuel pump to run whenever the key is on. This is Bad, and Unsafe, because the fuel pump will continue to run after an accident if the engine stops. You've been warned. I consider this a limp mode to be used until the relay can be properly replaced. I'm relying on it to get me to work tomorrow, though. Now, things should be working again. Reassemble everything, and the car should work. However, if you've been messing around with the other relays, you may have blown the horn fuse. If your horn doesn't work, your car won't start. ECU power is apparently on the same fuse. It took me quite a while to discover this (and only after tripping across a thread on the forum about the same thing). Hopefully this helps. If anyone has suggestions/additions, feel free to add them. I just want to save someone the massive amount of searching/confusion I went through to replace the fuel pump relay. Also, somehow, I moved enough wires or such that my dash clock works again. No clue what I touched/reconnected, but it was all lit up when I started the car. -=Russ=-

So, I found it. You have to drop the ECU to get at the relays. Jumper the connection, and the fuel pump growls away. Unfortunately, it still doesn't start. Does the ECU need to see voltage on the relay "drive" pin to fire the engine? Also, while trying to jumper the correct relay, I jumpered some connections on the 4 relays just above the fusebox. Some of them seemed to hotwire the car, others did nothing, some arced lightly. Is there a chance my random screwing around fried the ECU? -=Russ=-

Ok. I've ripped apart a good chunk of the dash, and I found 4 relays located above the fuse box. Sadly, none of them match the color scheme I've been looking for (2 black/white, one blue/white, one blue/black). Is there any chance that these would be using different colors? I'm about to start jumpering connections until I (hopefully) get fuel pump power... Are there any other relays I should be looking for, or does anyone know the position from the edge of the car? 88 DL Wagon, 1.8L SPFI. -=Russ=-

Ok. Status update after working on it. The fuse is OK, but there is no voltage present at the two terminals going into the pump (I was able to disconnect it with the pump on the car and measure). I assume at this point I'm looking at the fuel pump relay... where is this and how do I test it? I looked under the dash, but I didn't see it anywhere immediately evident. Alternately, how much current does the fuel pump draw, and what gauge wires would I need to run to it? This is Plan B if I can't get it running. Sadly, it's getting late here and parts stores are closing soon. -=Russ=-

Thanks. I'll check that out after work. I would have tried to dive into the top of the fuel tank to find the pump, so I'm glad I asked. I'm just used to in-tank pumps. That would also explain why the pump was so darn loud - I'd never heard a fuel pump quite that loud before (actually, I've never heard a fuel pump running, and this one stands out). It is a SPFI engine. -=Russ=-

Oh, yea. :-) 1988 Subaru DL Wagon, FWD, 5 speed. Sorry, rushed the post off before I got a ride to work. -=Russ=-

Well... my highway warrior isn't really so mighty right now. It's stranded outside the house I'm staying at, mostly because it won't start. The big clue I have is that I don't hear the fuel pump at all. Normally when I turn the key, the fuel pump pulses until the engine starts, then runs constantly. It's very, very silent this morning. The Chiltons I have was a waste of money and doesn't cover how the fuel pump is accessed, or where fuses for it run, or anything else. But, being a Japanese car, I'd expect there to be an access panel. This is tonight's project after work, so any advice would be appreciated. First plan is to access the fuel pump and see if it's getting power - no power, replace pump. Then I'll go from there. So, where would one go about doing this? -=Russ=-

How much are you asking for the turbo wagon? I'm sort of in the market for something along those lines. -=Russ=-

Purchased an '88 DL Wagon as an "around town beater" and, more importantly, "shop car." Due to my previous highway car (1988 RX-7) having some issues, the Subaru has been sort of pushed into highway commuter duty. I'm doing 300 miles round trip a week, plus local in-town stuff. So, since I haven't been looking at this car in terms of reliable highway miles, I had a few questions. 1. Where would I get a "soft seal" kit for the engine? I'm planning to pull it out soon and replace all the rubber, the timing belts, oil pump, water pump, distributor, plugs, and pretty much all the other "unknown age" items. 2. If I have the engine all the way out of the car and half stripped down, is it worth pulling it apart and doing a full rebuild on it (new bearings, piston rings, etc)? The engine has 180k miles on it, and runs decently. However, it had a good oil leak before I got it, and may have run with little to no oil in it for a period of time. Is there anything else (porting, valves, cams) I should consider doing while I'm in there? 2a. How long does this usually take? I've rebuilt a rotary engine before, and torn down several piston engines, but never actually rebuild a piston engine. Realistically I have about 3 days to get it done. 3. When the engine is running, the "brake" "charge" and one other light glow dimly. They sometimes go out after I've poked with the battery connections, but after a while they start glowing again. It's not a "signal" light brightness, just... glowing dimly. Is this anything to worry about? The car runs fine and reads a full 14.5v on the battery terminals when running. 4. How would I increase power somewhat? Merging onto the highway sucks. Also, more importantly, doing a "drag launch" from the side of the highway back into traffic is very difficult. I stop to help people change tires, and getting back into the flow is rather hazardous at times. I live in Iowa, so I can get rid of the cat if it would help. I've also considered putting a MSD6A unit on it (capacitive discharge coil driver, multiple sparks at low RPM and a more powerful spark in general). 5. Where on earth is the rear windshield washer fluid fill? I can't find it, and while I can hear the motor run, it doesn't seem to be finding any fluid. 6. How is the clutch cable supposed to be connected to the release fork? A picture of this would be wonderful, because the end of the threaded rod keeps hitting a flange when it's set up how it appears it should go. I have it rigged to work, but it requires me to really dig my foot into the floor to release things. 7. Is there any way I can add cruise control? I miss it on long trips. 8. Is there anything I'm missing? I'm considering replacing the throwout bearing & other such things while the engine is out, and possibly the clutch (depends on wear). Anything else suggested? Thanks! -=Russ=-

I've got a (mostly) stock 2nd gen RX-7, and I really enjoy my Subaru (88 DL Wagon) as well. It's roomier, and... I just enjoy driving it. I can't explain why either, because it's a LOT less powerful, the shifter is absurdly sloppy as compared to the '7, the brakes need work, and it has pieces falling off. -=Russ=-

88 DL Wagon, 5 speed, old EA82 engine (175k miles). My other car is a RX-7, so I'm used to shifting at 7000 RPM and hitting highway speeds in 3rd (good to 90mph or so). Needless to say, my Subaru is a bit less powerful and a lot less happy at high RPMs. One thing I tend to do a lot of on the highway is stopping to help people. I travel with a 4 way tire iron, jack, jack stand, full tool kit, extra fluids, etc. I'm pretty much able to help with any common problem. Sadly, accelerating back onto the highway is the most difficult part of this. I generally piss people off because even with a large gap, I'm only able to be at 45-50mph by the time traffic (doing 75-85) catches up. I'm pretty sure that I could improve my acceleration a bit by shifting at the right points... if I knew what they were. No tach, so I'm pretty much doing it by the speedo. First is really short, so I'm usually in 2nd by 10mph, 3rd by 20-25, 4th by 40, and I usually hit 5th around 55-60. Is this shifting too early, too late, right on? This is my first stickshift car with pistons, so I'm not really used to how they should be shifted. Probably won't be my last Subaru though - I've been quite impressed, other than the lack of power. -=Russ=-

No adjusters on mine... the Chiltons (worthless, btw) says to adjust the slack adjuster every 6 months or so (manually). -=Russ=-

Pulled apart any DL rear brake drums lately? There's no "automatic adjuster" setup - just a manual adjustment knob. The rear brakes are very, very simple. -=Russ=-

And you last adjusted your rear brake slack adjusters... when? Thought so. I had the exact same problem on my 88 DL wagon (and still do, to some extent, but not as bad). What causes this is the rear brake pads and/or drum wearing down. The pads are held in by a spring, so they always retract all the way. If there is excessive clearance between the pads & the drums, you have to "pump up" the rear brakes. The first pedal press pushes the pads out to make contact, and then subsequent presses actually brake the car. While the pedal is pressed, no fluid can return, so they work fine. When you let off the brakes, the springs slowly retract the rear brake pads. The fix is to adjust or replace the rear brakes. There's an adjuster knob on the back of the rear brake mounting bracket that lets you spread the bottom of the shoes out to compensate for wear. It probably hasn't been touched in ages. However, if you don't know when the rear brakes were last done, they probably are well overdue for a change. Pull the rear brake drum off (the bearing race is attached, so you'll have to pull the center nut off, and try not to get brake grime in the bearings). I'm betting the pads are badly worn, and/or the drum itsself is chewed up. Mine is badly torn up (1/4" or more depth) but I haven't been able to afford new drums (the hub & drum assembly is ~$60/side). I put new pads on and adjusted the slack, I now have about half a pedal travel to "pump up" the rear brakes before things work normally, but I can panic stop just fine. So, go ahead & adjust things. I don't know why it would suddenly start acting like this, but I'm betting you'll find the answer to your problem in the rear brake systemm. -=Russ=-

Bump. All I need to know is where in the car the diagnostic connector is, and where I read the codes (some places say the check engine light, some say the O2 sensor light on the ECU). -=Russ=-

5 years? Nah, I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you want to pull the cam covers & replace those annoying high pressure oil passage o-rings, you could, but I'd think most of the seals should still be fine. -=Russ=-

If it helps any, my 88 DL Wagon has had the check engine light either on or flashing since I purchased it, and the previous owner had taped over the light because it was bugging him, so I suspect it had been doing the same for quite some time (the electrical tape covering it was hardened and pealing). I drove mine to Chicago & back with the light flashing the whole darn way, and it made it just fine. It's worth checking, but I wouldn't be terribly concerned about it making it or not. Near as I can tell, the Subaru engines are quite durable. -=Russ=-

So you pulled the engine out to do it? I'm looking for input on changing my clutch... it's fine for now, but won't be fine forever. -=Russ=-

The Chilton's I have is very vague, and I didn't find anything terribly useful searching. Where is this diagnostic connector I need to jump to read trouble codes? -=Russ=-

Hm... I was under the impression that the cam cover was just the shroud around the important stuff. Guess not. I'll remember to grab some vasoline before I start. I haven't torn into a piston engine yet (but I've rebuilt a rotary engine... go figure), so it should be a nice learning experience. I'd love to be able to pull the engine out, but I don't have an engine lift, and my garage currently has a gutted RX-7 chassis sitting in it, so I'll be doing this mostly outside (or half in the garage). How long is this likely to take with the engine in? I only have to do the passenger side, though if I have time I'll do the driver's side as well. I'm comfortable with car work, but just haven't had a chance to deal with pistons much. Also, will removing the radiator make my life easier? I've seen that mentioned in a few threads. It could probably use new coolant before the winter anyway. -=Russ=-

Pulling apart. Not pulling. I lack an engine lift (right now). -=Russ=-