errantalmond

Here‘s a puzzle I can‘t seem to figure out. There are three dual-drive (v-) belt configurations I‘ve seen mentioned around the web. The same three are shown here in the 1989 factory service manual: Then p es as anäwaq The Panasonic A/C setup has an outboard A/C compressor, inboard alternator, and idler pulley below the A/C compressor. The rear belt is the A/C belt, the front belt is the alternator belt. My Loyale has an outboard A/C compressor as well, but no idler pulley, and someone seems to have switched the belts around. I don‘t see any place a missing idler pulley would bolt in, either… Funny thing is, the A/C belt (without idler pulley) is too loose, even though I‘ve extended its tensioning bracket all the way. Belt doesn’t seem like it has been stretched a bunch. Belt is a Gates 49.5“. Wrong belt? Missing idler pulley? Stretched belt? I‘ll try replacing the belt with a new one since I already have one, to see if it will fit better… I can‘t wait to get this weirdness sorted out. The properly tensioned alternator belt does the job of keeping everything spinning, but one of them still squeals occasionally. A/C doesn‘t really work anyways, and that‘s not a part of my car I‘ve researched much. Hoping to resolve this by either deleting the A/C system (I prefer windows anyways) or getting to the bottom of all this. Here are some pics of the belts and the compressor. Not sure if it’s hooked up right, I have yet to check out how the wiring and fluid lines work. - can I just pull the A/C compressor and disconnect the wires, then run two belts on the alternator? What else will I want to remove? - what do you think is the deal with this configuration? please advise! You can see the A/C, alternator, power steering, crankshaft, oil pump, and nonexistent idler pulleys in counterclockwise order from the top right. The A/C belt is in front, and my new alternator has a single groove pulley (works out!) because I haven‘t gotten around to putting the old alternator‘s two-groove pulley on it. (sidetopic: that‘s because the bolt is on there pretty tight and I am having trouble getting the new alternator back out to work on it: the alternator came with a tall lip around the rear pivot bolt hole, and I had to pry the opening it slots into apart slightly to get it in there. Now I haven’t been able to get it back out. Was pretty impressed I managed to get it in there and fit the pivot bolt through everything in the first place! I should have ground down the lip a little so it was more of a snug fit and not a death-grip, jeez. Anyone had this problem with recommended replacement alternators?) Another angle for good measure the A/C compressor The two connectors coming out of the wiring harness near it; only one connects to the A/C cheers jon

Here‘s a puzzle I can‘t seem to figure out. There are three dual-drive (v-) belt configurations I‘ve seen mentioned around the web. The same three are shown here in the 1989 factory service manual: The Panasonic A/C setup has an outboard A/C compressor, inboard alternator, and idler pulley below the A/C compressor. The rear belt is the A/C belt, the front belt is the alternator belt. My Loyale has an outboard A/C compressor as well, but no idler pulley, and someone seems to have switched the belts around. I don‘t see any place a missing idler pulley would bolt in, either… Funny thing is, the A/C belt (without idler pulley) is too loose, even though I‘ve extended its tensioning bracket all the way. Belt doesn’t seem like it has been stretched a bunch. Belt is a Gates 49.5“. Wrong belt? Missing idler pulley? Stretched belt? I‘ll try replacing the belt with a new one since I already have one, to see if it will fit better… I can‘t wait to get this weirdness sorted out. The properly tensioned alternator belt does the job of keeping everything spinning, but one of them still squeals occasionally. A/C doesn‘t really work anyways, and that‘s not a part of my car I‘ve researched much. Hoping to resolve this by either deleting the A/C system (I prefer windows anyways) or getting to the bottom of all this. Here are some pics of the belts and the compressor. Not sure if it’s hooked up right, I have yet to check out how the wiring and fluid lines work. - can I just pull the A/C compressor and disconnect the wires, then run two belts on the alternator? What else will I want to remove? - what do you think is the deal with this configuration? please advise! You can see the A/C, alternator, power steering, crankshaft, oil pump, and nonexistent idler pulleys in counterclockwise order from the top right. The A/C belt is in front, and my new alternator has a single groove pulley (works out!) because I haven‘t gotten around to putting the old alternator‘s two-groove pulley on it. (sidetopic: that‘s because the bolt is on there pretty tight and I am having trouble getting the new alternator back out to work on it: the alternator came with a tall lip around the rear pivot bolt hole, and I had to pry the opening it slots into apart slightly to get it in there. Now I haven’t been able to get it back out. Was pretty impressed I managed to get it in there and fit the pivot bolt through everything in the first place! I should have ground down the lip a little so it was more of a snug fit and not a death-grip, jeez. Anyone had this problem with recommended replacement alternators?) Another angle for good measure the A/C compressor The two connectors coming out of the wiring harness near it; only one connects to the A/C cheers jon

Thanks Bennie, that‘s all great info. more specifically about the changing of the fluid: - Changing/flushing/etc. the fluid means letting it drain out, then filling it back up, I believe. As I understand it, only a portion of the fluid will drain when the drain plug is opened, so you are always just replacing part of the fluid. Is that true? Let’s say I take some folk’s advice and decide to run ATF for a few hundred miles to clean things out, before switching to a quality gear oil like Go Extra S. Would I simply open the drain plug, let everything drip out, then top up with ATF, or is there some incentive to empty the gearbox of fluid completely first? I guess that applies more so to switching back from ATF. Is this just a misconception of mine, and opening the drain plug does in fact completely drain the gearbox? cheers!

I haven’t replaced seals myself before; are the ones you are referring to all removable from the outside? My understanding is that you kind of take a screwdriver or better tools to carefully pry out an old seal, clean up the surfaces, and press fit a new seal in. Is that right? These seals are probably only available from Subaru? Thanks for addressing this. It sounds like flushing metal out isn’t necessary? I imagine metal shavings don’t hugely affect the workings of the transmission, but I would think that they at least get pushed up with the fluid to cover all the moving parts while running. Is flushing no big deal then? I still don’t really get the ‘to flush or not to flush’ thing. And by ‘drop the oil’ do you mean drain and add new to fill plug? The change/flush/drop/replace/etc. terminology still throws me off. If I ever get my hands on the FSM transaxle section, I will weigh your warning against my curiosity.

Hi all Long time reader, first time poster here. My ‘90 loyale’s push-button awd manual transmission is a lot of fun to drive, but with worn bushings; leaky seals, and occasional funky sounds, I decided I had to do something about it. After browsing google, usmb, youtube, ‘how to keep your Subaru alive,’ what I could find of ea82 fsms online, and even a chilton, I decided it would be cool to try and accumulate a wealth of information about dealing with Subaru manual transmissions on usmb in the form of me asking lots of questions about a transmission diagnostic and potential swap. Below is some of the information I’ve gleaned from here and elsewhere. Always, correct me if I’m wrong. I know some folks here have dared to split and rebuild their transmissions themselves, and I’d love to hear about your results. Some categories I think would be helpful: -how to inspect and troubleshoot an installed transmission. -how to inspect a removed transmission -which parts of your transmission can be replaced or fixed without splitting the transmission -resources for diy rebuilds for the adventurous -swapping ea82 transmissions, compatibility, etc. ========================= Here’s the plan so far in my case: 1) get rid of the rattlesnake soup in my current shifter by fixing the shift linkage. Lots of info for that elsewhere. Ordered the bushing from Subaru and poked around under the car a bit to find the source(s) of the problem. Then, I’ll actually be able to hear what’s going on with the transmission itself. 2) check transmission fluid and change as needed. Here is a big point of obscurity for me…as the transmission collects metal shavings over time, and if the fluid was not changed regularly, what will REALLY happen if you flush or clean out or reseal your transmission? Does the metal shaving sludge help the gears grab each other? I haven’t found a definitive answer to this, and am not even sure if it only applies to manual transmissions? Anyways, bonus points for clearing that up. Rislone and ATF have been recommended for helping clean/extend the life of/improve older manual transmissions. Probably a good idea to try that as well before swapping out an alright transmission. 3) Find the TRANSAXLE section of an EA82 factory service manual (usually section 3 I believe). I’ve looked through all the resources linked in various usmb threads and elsewhere online, but every pdf of the FSM cuts from section 2 (engine) to section 6 (electrical). It would be SUPER cool if that section was available online somewhere. Please post a link if you have access to it. 4) fix what you can without fully removing or splitting your transmission -what can you do without removing the transmission? Sensors, fluid, seals, bushings? -what can you do without splitting the transmission? Seals, some bearings, shifter linkage? Gasket and seal repair kits are no longer available from Subaru for many of these older transmissions, and more and more of the individual parts are out of stock, so it ain’t easy. 5) Get a replacement transmission or rebuild your transmission So I guess a rebuild for one of these older MTs could run me anywhere from 6-20 hundred dollars. Worth considering alternatives! Being proactive and curious, I bought a junkyard manual transmission from a guy in Portland for 250 dollars recently after realizing that my own tranny might be starting to lose its youthful splendor. It was pulled by a guy in Redding, CA from an 88 GL with 176k miles and is a dual-range 5spd MT. Seemed in pretty good shape, so I saw it as an opportunity to learn about transmissions and hopefully find a transmission worthy of my car. It was covered in grime all over, especially near the back end. Maybe leaky gaskets, seals. Spun free and quiet in every gear, although I couldn’t find reverse using a screwdriver, and in neutral, the input shaft tugs on the output shaft lightly, unless I hold them still. I cleaned it up a bit using carb cleaner and gasoline and mostly elbow grease, avoiding rubber, seams, sensors, etc. In retrospect I don’t think it was the best choice of degreaser, although it was extremely effective and cheap. With everything more visible, I noticed a few dings on the bell housing to engine, probably from prying it off. Not sure if that is a problem? Everything else looks in good condition, no missing parts, although I couldn’t find an identification number on it. The oil on the dipstick looked pretty good, just a bit dark. I opened up the drain plug to pour out a sip of fluid into a cup and I spect the drain plug magnet. Only tiny shavings on the magnet, I’m guessing it’s a pretty normal amount for an older transmission. The fluid that came out was really dark, and quite thick from the settled sludge of greasy metal shavings. Could mean that it was topped off recently, or that the gunk settles to the bottom? Again, does it make sense to remove the metal shavings by sticking a magnet in there on popping the drain plug on and off over and over? I’m assuming I shouldn’t and don’t need to flush it. Next, I’ll take it to a transmission shop for a visual inspection. I’ve only looked at this particular transmission, so I have no comparison. In any case, putting a used transmission into a car without inspecting the guts of the transmission is a gamble. That, combined with my curiosity, is tempting me to split it myself. Especially if it doesn’t look like a good candidate for my car! I would love to take on the challenge, but I can’t do it without the FSM section about transaxles. Send it over! Lol If I do end up trying to open one up, I’d be happy to share my documentation of it for the forums. This is what the transmission looks like (before and after cleaning up): please pitch in your knowledge, advice, and questions so this can become a very useful source of information. I’ll continue to add photos to go along with things. cheers jon