Spiffy

a long time ago I realized that it doesn't pay to try to swerve around idiots... just gotta do what you can to keep control and minimize the impact... when you start swerving to avoid idiots you end up with a lot more trouble, especially when you hit something/someone and they just drive away... hit the idiots... it's good for them... --Spiffy

replace your axle... it can be done in a weekend (or 45 minutes if you're one of the pros on this board)... you can pick up a new remanufactured one for like $65 at a parts place... there's an article here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49959 that covers most of the basics... you don't need any professional tools, just a lot of patience and determination... ... I've found that the most common cause of my power window problems are dirty switches... do any of the windows work from any of the switches? if so then check the other switch... taking apart the power window switches is pretty easy, and you can just scrape off the carbon build-up inside them... be sure not to lose the little brass rollers in the switches... --Spiffy

I forgot to disconnect the battery before changing my alternator and I fried the voltage regulator... oops! then there's always the part you got from the local parts store that isn't quite the right one and you don't realize it until you've spent hours wondering why it won't fit right... like a 23/25 spline axle... --Spiffy

I've got a Haynes 1980-1994 and both the OHV and OHC engines are 1-3-2-4.. --Spiffy

that is awesome! that has to be the best and rarest example of an ea81 outside of a museum... --Spiffy

whatever you do, don't take the muffler shop's word for it... I had 2 shops, one Mineke and one small local one, both tell me they thought my catalytic converter was clogged... of course it's $250 and plenty of labor for them to put a new one in for you... after a tune-up (and Superior Import Repair attaching the rest of the exhaust for me) it ran awesome and passed emisions with no problems... so definately check everything else before replacing it... vacuum and carb... and it you're going to just remove it to see if that helps make sure you don't drive it too far, or coast fast down a steep hill... you don't want that cold air getting back up in there if you don't have anything coming off the heads... --John

I never really shift below 4000rpm... I usually shift after 5000rpm... and yeah, it's all about the power curve... especially on my turbo, you don't want to shift right after it's kicked in... --Spiffy

ok, the mystery is solved, sort of... I rebuilt the carb with an Echlin kit from Napa... it didn't come with a diagram so I just winged it, and reference my Hayne's when needed... there was a LOT of gunk in there... thick yellowish globs clogging everything... you can see some pics here... I had some o-rings left over that I couldn't find a place for... they don't go on my vent valve plunger as my Haynes diagram might suggest... *shrug* I also have an entire sealed bag of parts left over that look like they're for a different style float needle and seat assembly... put it back on the car and drove it around... once it warmed up it drove better than ever with no hesitation... I'm really getting my 72hp worth! still need to look into why I have a crappy cold idle, but this is great for now... now to work on the other million little things... (isn't that why we love these cars?!) --Spiffy

I don't know if the GL-10 is more cramped than the GL but you can get a face-plate kit that makes the entire radio area stick out an extra half-inch... it works for most decks (my JVC MP3 deck, into an '85 GL, and Blaupukt MP3 deck, into an '88 GL turbo) and even has a little space underneath to mount the GL-10 trip computer controls sideways (or a small cb radio)... the kit is available at most places that install car stereos... it's probably about $15, plus the extra $10 for the wiring harness, so you don't have to chop up the car's wiring harness... follow the instrucitons on the page that samo linked, there's good info there... --Spiffy

I tried this a few times and it did help a bit... I didn't stall out nearly as often on my test drive around the neighborhood, probably driveable to work if I had to... picked up the Echlin kit from napa this evening... (and a napa gold fuel filter...) going to rebuild this bad boy tomorrow... weee! --Spiffy

actually I saw one at the Foster pull-a-part a few months ago... it caught my attention when I was pulling a dash clock since you rarely see them with the keys in them... once found one in a bay area jy with the battery still in it... tested the horn and some other fun stuff... --Spiffy

too bad you're not local or you could use mine... I got mine off craigslist for like $10... worked great last time I used it... craigslist or yard sales might be a good bet, but you might want to test it before you leave with it... harbor freight is usually cheap, but cheap quality too... not sure if their timing gun would have the same lifetime warranty that their tools have... --Spiffy

I haven't rebuilt one of these, but I have done a couple other import carbs, like on my old '78 corolla... it's tedious but it's basically just an afternoon at the kitchen table with plastic and newspaper covering... as long as I keep the parts straight they seem to go right back together with no issues... I even rebuilt the toyota one on the side of the road in the dark once, but I sure don't want to do that again... :-\ napa has the eklin one in stock, so if I don't hear any other recommendations I'll go pick that one up tomorrow and clear the kitchen table off on saturday... napa is usally pretty good as far an generic warehouse parts go... I'd like to go to the weber, but I have more pressing money matters to take care of before that happens so a rebuild will have to hold me over... if the cat jumps on the table and parts go flying into floor vents then I'll scrap my change jar for weber funds... thanks!

so I did a bunch of calling around today and got prices and availability on some rebuild kits for my hitachi carburetor... I'm reluctant to get an inexpensive one since I don't want it to cheap, and I don't want to pay too much for one that might also be cheap... so here are my findings from local places here in Portland... Name of the parts place -- Price -- Brand ----------------------------------------- Discount Import Parts -- $18.00 -- Royze AutoZone -- $27.99 -- GP Sorenson Mike's Auto Parts -- $36.99 -- Wells Mfg. Napa Auto -- $41.69 -- Eklin (Napa brand) CarQuest -- $43.39 -- Standard Ignition ----------------------------------------- Subaru doesn't have a rebuid kit for a car this old... and Baxter Auto Parts didn't have a kit, only an entire carb (for $367.49!)... so does anybody have any good or bad experiences with the above kits? or maybe a place that carries a better kit in my area? of course I'm tempted by the $18.00 one, but the $36.99 one is closer to my house... and I'd rather only do this once and not have to worry about a cheap part failing in the next year or so... --Spiffy

I don't know about wiring but mice got into my old '85 GL Wagon at my dad's place way out in the country in Oregon City... I had spare dog food packed in one of the rear compartments, and pez in the glove box... I went out one morning and there was insulation all over the floors... the mice had ripped out some seat padding from underneath and some insulation from under the dash... I opened the glove box and it was totally full of shredded napkins (you always need napkins)... my poor pez dispenser was mauled, but not totally empty or chewed through... they had also been in the heater fan because after that the heater always clicked when the fan was going... but I never found any wiring that was chewed through... --Spiffy

the choke is one of the first things I suspected but it isn't closing off the air or anything, I can watch down the barrel of the carb as I rev it and once the car wams up the choke is open... what are these thermo-vacuum valves you're talking about? hehe! I was totally going to do that... learned that trick from a friend in high-school that took a lot of auto shop classes... --Spiffy

my '82 suddenly developed a stalling problem... after it warms up for about 5 minutes if I hit the gas it totally bogs down and stalls... I can get it to rev if I flutter the peddle a bit... and if I keep it floored it takes off fast, like the primary jet isn't cutting it and the secondary has to be kicked in for it to get enough gas... I checked the float window and it's not filling up so I don't think it's flooding... I watched down the carb while I reved it and the jet seems to just be sputtering a little mist of gas in there... what gives? it doesn't seem like the jet is clogged since it runs just fine for a few minutes until it warms up (even though it has a little hesitation that it already had before this problem)... what's controlling the flow of gas that changes once it's warmed up? it's a hitachi carb... and I'll probably just rebuild it this weekend but it'd be nice if I didn't have to... anybody know who sells a decent rebuild kit around here? thanks! --Spiffy

what I'm really getting at here is can I go down to Mike's Auto Parts and say "I need a cap and rotor for a 1982 Subaru GL" and expect to get the correct one? or am I going to have to go into specifics about the type of ignition and distributor type, look through a book, cross reference, and hope we get it right after a couple trips back? --Spiffy

this is it: deformed horse-shoe laying down... so it looks like I have the hitachi... is this the correct one for my year? if not then where did it come from? --Spiffy

that's the thing, right now the cap and rotor aren't making good contact so I'm not sure they're the correct ones... how can I tell which disty I have? --Spiffy

ok, so I'm about to go buy all the tune-up parts for my '82 wagon... I go to check the condition of the points, and there's a little black electronic ignition box in there... I thought this year had points... is this the correct engine for my vehicle? granted, I'm glad I don't have to mess with points... but it caught be off guard since I thought the last ea81 I had used points, but it was a dozen years ago... it's an ea81, and the number under EA81 is 137329... don't know if the numbers give it away or if I should look somewhere else to find out exactly what's in there... what I'm really asking is; when I go to the parts store what year am I getting parts for? --Spiffy

83 (or was it 81?) GL hatch 4wd 4sd - silver 85 GL wagon 4wd 5sp - dark red 92 Loyale 4wd auto - LIGHT BLUE! 00 Legacy GT wagon - titanium pearl (goldish) 88 GL wagon 4wd 5sp turbo - white 82 GL wagon 4wd 4sp - smurfy blue ... 83 GL hatch had cooling and electrical issues, but perfect body and interior... traded it to my friend... 85 GL wagon was totalled by a cow-orker, then I rebuilt it, off-roaded it, drove it to oregon, then sold it to a cow-orker's friend when I bought my legacy... it had been well abused... 92 loyale I just bought to hold me over until I fixed the 85 when it was totalled... I sold it to the in-laws once my GL was on the road again... 00 legacy got too expensive for insurance... (: 88 GL is what I've got now, well, while Richie tries to figure out why it runs like crapola when it's cold... 82 GL is my new toy so I have something to beat up off-road... --Spiffy

ok, I got the owners manual sent to me from Subaru and there's still no instructions for this stereo... anybody know how to set the time on this thing?

tried it... tried everything... seriously, it's not a complex unit, it's super simple, and I've tried everything... I feel like the idiot that's staring at his vcr blinking 12:00 in amazement... ... you all laugh but this is going to be my ultimate resolution... it resets itself to 1:00... so I figure maybe at 12:45 saturday afternoon I could go clean up the battery contacts or something and finish up right at 1:00... hehe... ... I've got a manual from Subaru in the mail and hopefully it includes a manual for the radio... if I ever figure this out you can bet I'll be posting extensive simple instructions...

it has a DISP button (also preset #4) but it doesn't have any H or M buttons... I swear I've tried every combo of buttons but I can't get the time to change... there is no clock button... the only way to see the time is to turn the stereo off...