karinvail

Well, I guess eventually I will probably just have the locksmith get the key peice out - until then, I will just have to start it with the key stub like I have been doing.......

Easy? I'd totally be willing to try it myself if I had good directions on how. The locksmith said something about dropping the steering colum, making a notch in a sheer bolt to get it so you could turn the bolt - I just don't want to get in over my head trying something that I could screw up! I am pretty handy, just a little slower and meticulous when I work because I am very cautious. How hard is it to just replace all the locks? One of the door locks is busted - you can lock the door, but you can't unlock it with the key (it's twisted sideways). I have access to a parts car with all locks intact.... Karin

I figured if a Locksmith with umpteen years experience couldn't get it, I won't even try. I don't want to risk moving the key just enough so the ignition won't work any more! The Locksmith did cut me a couple keys from the original key-code. A lot of good that does me with half of a key in the ignition though

The Subie I just got less than a month ago has a broken key in the ignition. I thought I'd be able to take it to the locksmith and he'd be able to jimmy it out of there. The ignition still works, but when the locksmith was working on it, for a while the ignition wasn't turning any more - a few scary moments. Locksmith said he'd have to dissasemble it to get the broken key out - and at $30 an hour with 2-3 hours labor, I think I can deal with the broken key

NOW you're talking - saving gas is a GREAT reason not to have the mechanical fan - thanks for that! I wasn't so much worried about lack of power for my 'grocery getter', but I sure am worried about saving money!

Clutch cables are pretty easy - I did one myself on my last car a few years ago. The only tricky thing about it to me was getting the adjustment right after it was all in. If a girl can do it........

well, I guess I should start with re-attaching the wires back to original and add a ground (there isn't one that I can see). Where do I ground to/from?

so a thermoswitch is the main reason that the electric fans quit working? Why is the electric fan better than the mechanical fan?

the previous owner of my car put a switch in on the dash for the electric fan when it quit working on it's own. I don't like the idea of a fan on a switch because things like that can be forgotten to turn on/off, especially if someone borrows your car and isn't used to worrying about stuff like that. I have access to a parts car with a mechanical fan that is on the water pump (this fan looks like it has some sort of clutch in it because it spins even if the water pump isn't spinning - if that makes sense). Can I cull the electric fan and just use the mechanical fan off this other car?

I guess my nose goes back in the book to find that sending unit location - I guess replace it and see if that fixes it and go from there..... I hate replacing stuff that I'm not sure will fix something

On the line of the brake light coming on - the light is on *all the time* in my wagon (the previous owner had black tape over the light!). The fluid is good and the brakes work great and have good pad (they are not soft at all when braking). Any ideas why the light would stay on even when there is plenty of fluid and brakes are perfectly operational? I'm not one to cover up a problem, I want to FIX it

once again, I can tell hubby I was right, LOL. JB weld I think will be my first try - if that doesn't work, then the drilling/plugging sounds like a decent option. Sounds like pulling the pan is last on my list - and if I have to do that, I'm gonna put on one that is undented/un-gouged. Thanks

I have a small pin hole in my oil pan from a gouge (not done by me!) - hubby thinks that next time we change the oil, that he might be able to just give it a little zap with the welder (rod type) and fill the hole. I'm more cautious and tend to think we should pull the pan off to do it so it can be cleaned up real good. Not that big of a deal, right? Just need a new gasket and some sealant?

thanks for the warning Ed - maybe I should look into some aftermarkets that I can trust the balance on then. I does have quite a shake going down the highway that I assumed already was them needing balanced, but if the cannot be balanced properly, then I should be looking for something else. Bummer, I like the style of the spokes!

$10 sounds cheap to me Either of you take a PayPal payment and I can get some out to me soon? I'd like brown since my car is burgundy with brown interior......

I think my question to Ed via email is why the thread is resurrected My clock is dead and I'm trying to find a way to repair it. I like to do things myself (gives me a feeling of accomplishment), but I might have a look in the JY and see if I can come up with another one. This one has obviously been taken out before because the retaining clips in the dash are broken off I've been reading stuff on the board till my eyes are bleary.... the horn on my car is also dead, I wonder if the clock and horn have any corolation? Yes, I've checked the fuse - I pulled out every single fuse in that panel as one of the first things when I got the car - and all were good

My neighbor mentioned giving me his 87 Subaru wagon for a parts car because he is moving - I've already gotten the radiator off of it to put in my car, and it was in great condition. It is a FI Turbo wagon, but it wasn't running - and the whole car was flooded a year ago October. Totally 100% submerged. I can still use the headlights/tail lights/blinkers and a few things here and there, but I'm wondering if any of the engine or any of the fuel injected stuff or the turbo would be salvagable after being submerged? The tranny was removed before the flood, and that was in the back of the car during the flood. When I removed the radiator, there was no mud in the anti-freeze - all looked good. I didn't think to look at the dipstick to check out the engine oil, but I imagine it proabably has water in it. Anyhow, just wondered. It's a good parts car for other stuff non-mechanical even if the mechanical stuff is no good......

OH - where do I find that post? What is it titled? I'm just finding my way around this site, and spending entirely TOO much time here today

Thanks for that warning about tire shops breaking them! I do need to get them balanced, so I will do that before I paint and get center caps I don't have any caps to take a pic of - just the horridly painted wheels Not even sure what they are supposed to look like - this is my first Subie with this type of wheels...

I have the stock wheels on my 86 Subaru - they are the steel wheels with the 8 'triangles' in them. Thing is - they are missing the center caps. I asked LesSchwab Tires and they said they can't get them and I haven't seen any in the local junk yard. Any ideas where to get them? It's not very attractive to see the end of the axles with a castle nut and cotter pin in the center of the wheel They have been spray painted and I have plans to pull them off the car and sand and paint them proper, but I want the center caps before I go ahead on that project.....

I've never noticed problems with the timing belt covers on any previous Subie's I've owned, but this one (an 86 GL 4x4 wagon) has melted and cracked covers. I priced new ones and they aren't cheap - and looked in junk yards and they seem to have the same problem. A friend of my husband said to just take them off and run it w/o them. Sounds risky to me, but I'm a 'girl' - what do I know? LOL

My name is Karin Vail, and I live in NW Washington. I have been a Subaru driver/owner since 1989. Sixteen years of driving Subie's has gotten me quite familiar with them and their few quirks. I've changed alternator's in the parking lot of the parts stores, gone through my fair share of CV joints, but overall these cars are so unbelievably reliable, it's hard for me to consider something else. My first Subie was an 85 fuel injected turbo sedan in 1989. Man, could that thing go. Loved that car until the pneumatic suspension gave us nothing but problems and headaches. We eventually switched it to shocks/springs and was in love with it again until hubby blew the head gaskets pulling his snowmobile trailer. We traded it in on a Suburban (we had 2 sons and a dog now and needed something big!), but I had to get another Subaru. My latest Subaru is an 86 wagon that I got for dirt cheap. Now I realize why, LOL. It had a leaky radiator, so it looks like the previous owner was filling it with water when the radiator would leak. We had very hard freezes this winter, so now the block is cracked. Hubby and I assumed it was the radiator and water pump when we got it, we weren't worried about the engine because these things are bullet proof, right?! It is the quietest running Subie I've had since my first one too - it has almost NO lifter noise, no ''tick tick tick'' sound I've become so familiar with in others I've owned. Anyhow, when we take out the water pump (OMG - what an ordeal THAT is with melted timing belt covers that won't all come off w/o breaking!) and then upon close inspection beside the water pump, we can see hairline cracks in the block. What a major dissapointment. At first, we were looking for another engine, but then we thought ''if we are going to end up replacing the engine, why not run this one till it doesn't run any more?". So, we decided to use some block seal and see how it goes from there. I know we'll be replacing the engine sometime in the future, but at least I can get some use out of this one (hopefully). One major bonus was that we only paid $350 for the car - and when I tore into the interior to do a MAJOR detail job, I found a gold/diamond ring in the hinge of one of the seats. Not worth a whole heckuva lot, but probably a $100-150 ring (and it does fit too!) So, I paid $350 for the car and a diamond ring ::grins:: Anyhow, Ed Rachner pointed me to this discussion board after a post looking for a Subie parts car/engine. Thanks Ed Wish I knew about that half off deal at the PAP earlier - I would have had time to talk hubby into yanking an engine for me He was all set on doing yard-work yesterday tho (boooo!). I'll leave this as an introduction since I see Ed's posted my question about freeze plugs already Karin