errantalmond

I believe it does come on. I will have to check when I get there today. If that was the issue, the would just never charge up, right? i don’t totally get what that means by the way, since the alternator generates a current in the first place. Is the field current you refer to responsible for giving the alternator some initial power? Thanks!

Hi all, tonight my trusty subie died on me while I was driving. I did some troubleshooting while I waited for a ride, and made a little bit of progress. I need to get my big boy running again this weekend, and I hope you all might have the advice I need. here‘s the deal: I’ve had this elusive issue for some time now, where some mornings, there is no crank, just click. Sticking a little battery charger on it for 5 seconds is enough to get it going. Eventually it happened more often, and then the car wouldn’t keep itself running. (Battery wasn’t charging at all while running) I tinkered around and ended up fixing the problem with a new alternator, and then I upgraded to the Nissan Maxima alternator. Both new alternators worked great. After a few months the problem crept back in and this time, I installed one of those Bosch starter relays from Amazon. That worked a charm and has kept me Problem free ever since. Today, while running errands, I had an unusual slow crank at the gas station, then 10 blocks down, accelerating from a stop light, everything got dim and the engine had no power. It wavered for a few seconds, then died quietly and I rolled into a parking spot. No crank, dim lights. Turns out that the fuse that comes with the relay had blown. Seemed strange that it was affecting the car while it was running. I replaced the fuse and that one blew right away too, still no crank. i get relays in theory, but they confuse the crap out of me in practice. I definitely installed everything in the right place, and I‘m not sure how to troubleshoot it. so I disconnected it completely and reconnected the wires the way they were before I added the relay. After getting a quick jump, the engine started up easy on the first crank, idled up for about a minute, and then everything went dim and died again as soon as I turned the headlights on. i managed to check the voltage while it was running, 12.1 v. makes me think I haven’t solved the root issue (bad ground or something?) and that it is messing up my alternator? called it a Night and will go back tomorrow with a charged battery to try and troubleshoot the charging system some more. i really need to get back on the road for my weekly commute to Seattle from Olympia, and to get my baby off the street - please throw your suggestions my way, and come out to help if you want a bit of cash and are in the Olympia area best jon

Thanks. I read 10-12 in the maintenance section for the 88 gl, but 13 just felt better.

After retensioning yesterday, the belts seem happy. I’m gonna keep an eye on it and do a more proper job of tensioning if it doesn’t stay put. and keep an extra pair in the trunk of course thanks everyone

Is anyone with a lot of ea82 experience in the Puget Sound, WA area willing to meet up and discuss Subaru stuff at least once? I need to pick some brains and would love to do it in person. I’m not a licensed surgeon but a good conversationalist. I have a 1990 loyale I’ve done some work on (front bearings, front seals, timing, rear suspension) and want to do much more with. I have a pretty good theoretical understanding of mechanical engineering and car stuff, but I’m an amateur at best. I will be commuting from Oly to Seattle frequently in the coming year so anyone between Portland and Bellingham is within my range. I have lots of really cool rocks I’ve collected over the years, from agates to obsidian, petrified wood, and quartz crystals. Maybe you’re into rocks, too.

I reused the springs - they are still good. I did not torque the belt tension for lack of a square drive tool, but I did hold the cam sprocket with a tool while tensioning…. I’m not sure how you mean ‘make sure the tensioner moves down to the belt?’ when I put the belt on, it was ready touching the tensioner. With the tensioner bolts loosened, the spring pulls the tensioner almost looks the way up against the belt (nearly max tension)…

I did - tension was good when I installed everything. Torque on tensioner bolts was tight because they have lock washers on them - I replaced them because that’s how it was when I took it apart. Torqued to ~11 ft lbs as per service manual.

I recently did my front seals, timing belts, oil pump, idler, and tensioner (replacement). Today I checked the belts (luckily i left the covers off), about 1000 miles down the road. The passenger side belt is loose, so I loosened the tension and retensioned it, checking the timing - it hadn’t jumped any teeth. With the tensioner pushed fully upwards, it is still loose. It also looks worn compared to the driver side. I buttoned everything back up and looking at it when it runs, I see the passeneger side belt has about an inch of play on its longest side (crank to cam), while the driver side has only about a quarter inch of flapping. They’re not making any unusual sounds. why?? please help jon

Thanks. I’ve since learned that the seal in that photo was some kind of lipless seal that just looks that way…

I replaced my left front wheel bearings last weekend and am doing the right this weekend. In Nug’s great photo essay, the outer seal goes in with the flat side with metal showing facing out; in all the pictures and instructions in printed references it seems to be other way. What’s the story? Both ways work? Differences? Below is a shot from Nug’s writeup, from the Haynes, the 88 xt FSM, and from ‘how to keep your Subaru alive’

Just my luck - I only got a cover, a zip tie to secure it, and a locking nut to thread on the piston rod. Will have to find the right fit for the bushings etc.

Rocket surgery 101

Here are my 4 runner struts off eBay, part no. KYB341232 And a picture of their pictorial installation instructions: One had the lower coil spring seat loose, it was press fit on the other one. I used the hydraulic press at the shop at my work to seat the seat, worked a charm: here it is up next to the stock strut assembly on the rear (4wd), for everyone’s reference:

Since I already have them I’m gonna give it a try and switch out the stock coils ASAP once I have the kit ready to lower the rear diff etc and those stronger Honda coils. I don’t off-road much and when I do I tend to be careful so I’m hopeful I won’t bottom them out too much; in any case the stock shocks really aren’t doing it. Maybe I’ll experiment further like you did once I get through the 4Runner struts. i can’t find the bushings and spacer for those 4Runner struts (wider inner diameter) yet and am wondering how they will fit into the stock upper coil spring seat (I’ll drill it out but it has cups/lips to fit the outside of the bushings, see the pictures below) i checked rockauto and the Toyota dealerships, etc. all I came up with so far is the lower shock bushing on the Moog website. Here is a picture of the seat with the new bushings before tightening everything down; since the bushings spread out a bunch I guess the fit won’t be an issue as long as I drill the seat out properly. aha lol and now that I am writing about it I am realizing that the 4Runner struts are for the front of the 4Runner, and so only have a lower bushing since they have that mounting plate in the engine bay. Is that right? In any case I’m still scratching my butt over the right bushings… Also, since the eye on the bottom is a 12mm, bigger than the 10mm stock strut eye and bolt, would it be wise to install a bushing between the eye and the 10mm pass thru bolt I’ll use? Obviously a loose fit wouldn’t be any good and I’d rather not drill the holes out so I can switch back. here is an exploded view of the rear strut assembly for reference:

Do you mean Toyota parts? I have been having trouble finding the bushings that fit the 4Runner strut, so I’ll try that.