SuBrat84

So all I'd have to do is come pick it up?? You still got it?? Does it drive? Make it to Tucson? Or would I need a trailer to put it on??

Well.. I'm not sure.. I've read a few threads here and there about ways to tell.. but I'm still not sure. It's an all original 1984 GL Brat EA81... The valve cover gaskets had to be replaced.. I also did the oil pan gasket, oil filter, air filter, pcv valve, etc, etc... I guess I should do the oil pump gasket... if not the whole oil pump.. That's one thing I forgot to mention.. My pressure if kinda low.. I dunno if it's a faulty sender or bad pressure.. but most the time under load I'm getting like ~25 Psi.. in the morning I'll see ~35Psi for maybe 45 mins or an hour.. sometimes at idle I dont have any? pressure... I'm using 10w30 because it's what I had at the time.. but I'm gonna do another oil change and use.. 10w40 or something like that? ... So.. any good threads on adjusting lifters??

hot weather [check - 90+ everyday] slightly advanced timing [~9 BTDC] clean air filter [check] maybe put the tailgate down? [ah, the eternal debate... would it really save me a mpg or two?] new plugs, wires. rotor and cap [check, check, check.] of course assuming the carb is on great shape.[uhmm... ]

Well.. we finally got it done. Smogged, Inspected, Registered, Titled - All for the low low price of $36 dollars. Our "1984 Suba BGL PU" according to the state of Arizona (I can only assume this means 1984 Subaru Brat GL Pick-up) is legal and running decent! 236,800 miles on the odo. A few dints and dings.. very little rust. Missing one of the jumpseat handles (it broke off sometime before we bought it.) We're still curious to see a car fax on this one.. if anyone could help us out with that, we'd appreciate it very much. ( - JF2AT53B2EE504633 - ) A couple of fun facts: First registered - JULY 1984! ; List price: 007579. Score! we picked it up for $800!!! Just a couple of uhmm.. concerns.. My last tank of gas I went approx ~280 miles on 14 gallons of 91 octane. I know the 91 is too much for the brat.. but I did it mostly to help(?) pass emissions. This means I'm only getting 20 mpg. ouch. I'm running 87 from Chevron now.. The needle seems to be moving about the same with the 60 or 80 miles i put on this new gas. So what can I do to improve mileage here? I'm thinking... clean the carb.. go a little easier on the motor.. (keep rpms between 2-3k at all times.) It goes ~70 at 3 grand in 4th gear... It also likes to go up to 4 grand with a little too much ease.. Would a brake pad having a little play cause enough drag to lose a few mpg? (Anyone got a couple sets of those brake pad clippy things?) Any tips or links to good threads on improving mpg in these old carby cars. Oh one more thing... You guys think I should adjust the lifters? I bet they've never been touched.. or if they have been.. they are kinda "diesel" sounding... and wish me luck getting this job at a "Subaru Specialist" Japanese Unlimited!!!

Love my 98 2.5 GT (NA) .. it pulls hard and seems to me to be plenty reliable. There is some after market parts.. mostly stuff like intake/exhaust.. power pulley's.. lightweight flywheels.. etc.. I have heard a lot about them not being a good motor to boost because they grenade on you.. I would imagine if you had the $$ to get the heads and piston set off an STI you could boost a little.. but if you're gonna go turbo you wanna go ahead and try to find a 2.5 turbo block (sti) .. then you'd need wiring, ecu, etc, etc, ... but yeah.. love my gt.

When I leave work, walk out to the parking lot, try to start it up and the battery explodes. I forget what kinda POS battery was in it.. but it was whatever the dealership put in a used 98 Legacy. *Don't Like* Emich Subaru in Tucson.

that's possible. if you put the wrong length of wire going to the wrong plug. In my brat I put: 3) Shorter.. 4) Longest 1) Shortest. 2) Longer <--- Motor ...........1 .........3 - 4 <--- Disty ...........2 I hope my "Ascii" skillz come out good And I hope it's understandable!

yeah it runs from your disty to some weird looking spaceship doohicky... you pop one end of that hose off.. plug both holes? or at least make sure the spaceship thingy isn't getting air... but I plug both when I do it.

Sounds kinda like you need to advance the timing a couple degrees? But dont trust me on it.

I got the sears die hard gold for 80 bux w/ a three year full-replacement warranty. Good battery. Haven't had a problem.

"The 720F is most suitable for service on small four-wheel-drive passenger cars like Subaru and (BLAH) Toyota Tercel. Both sizes are tubeless."

It is getting mixed like this at the refineries and being trucked in like that.. they dont mix it at the station. There is one of thos stickers on EVERY gas station I've seen in Arizona... the use a different mixture of up to 15% some other crap in the winter... winter gas mileage < summer gas mileage.. Detergents or whatever to keep the polution down more in the winter. An attempt to reduce global warming?? I dunno why.. but that's what they do.

Gas is cheaper at different places because of different detergents being used to refine the gasoline.. and different percentages of ethanol and uhm.. what's the other one called? It can also be determined by how much profit the owner of the station is trying to make. Im pretty sure it's illegal to post mix gasoline for "sale".

I can't say if alcohol will boost oct.. but supposedly a little rubbing alcohol will help you pass emission. I haven't done this myself... so i dont know.

LOL!!! He's talking about 150,000 miles though. But I'm LOL

Well, we are trying to get as many people down here as we can too have some better off-road trips.. So far it's just us and Ryker in our Roo's.. and we haven't even gone wheelin in a few weeks.. Move to Tucson There is great rock crawling out here... and some mud during the monsoonies.. even a little bit of snow to play in the high country if u dont mind a bit of a drive.. (not much playin to do on mount lemon ... but the white mountains are fun.)

I've been having tons of fun down here in Tucson with radiators and keeping the cars cool in this 100+ for a week straight weather we have down here.. 1) Make SURE your fan is blowing when your car heats up. Possible problems with fan: Bad wiring/fuse; Bad motor; Bad temp sensor relay. 2) Make SURE you have a good radiator cap (Both rubber gaskets in good condition.) and proper PSI. I believe the 80's Subaru's are 13 pounds? This is my FIRST impression of hearing your problem with the water "Boiling" in the overflow... that is just steam coming out your radiator and bubbling up through the coolant in the resevoir. Make sure you have a good rad cap with good seals... (Ruuber - Cracked? Holes? Pieces missing?) and Make sure you are using a good coolant mixture.. you can buy pure coolant and mix it yourself at 50/50 with (distilled?) water for optimum performance and longevity.. or you can buy it premixed for slightly more expensive. Good Luck! Hope you get it figured out. Welcome to the board.

I'd say take her into a tire shop (one you like, or trust, or a good one.) And find out how tall a tire will fit in there.. maybe go a little thiner to help clear your fender wells.. like a 190/195 .. will also help you go through mud better... Maybe like a 190/75 or 80.. bigger might fit.. but it wouldn't hurt to have a tire shop take a couple measurements to see how tall you can go.. Let us know!

~35k for it..

Also, PCV.. Oil Filter, Oil, Oil Pan Bolt, Belts, Check your timing and compression. Anyone else got stuff to add to the "Full Tune Up" list??

Check your fusable links.

Do a compression check.. if everything seems okay.. check your timing. Check if you're getting spark out of those wires.. and maybe move plugs around to see if it is a plug problem.. good luck.

You would have to bypass the ignition check wire.. I dont have diagrams for the newer subarus.. So I'm not much help here..

It seems to me like if either of these things were bad you'd be getting codes off your ecu.. Can you afford to have it diagnosed? (not just hook up a port to the ecu) Can you afford to replace the maps and the fuel/air sensor? Could be a tranny problem? Checked your fluid in there? Are you running the 2.5 model in your outback? Have you done a compression check on your cylinders?

It sounds like it wouldn't hurt to replace the maps and have the ecu reflashed. Also, is it AT or MT?