azdave

I guess I paid way too much for my 87 DL wagon if this 89 GL wagon with under 100K miles only bid to $1375. It had some issues but still. I was half tempted to bid on it just for a parts car but that would be a shame. https://www.ebay.com/itm/125499833935?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=8AKsYzVLSdC&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=JEXglpUgQ3a&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Have you tried a steamer like used for wall paper removal? I was quite pleased how it helped take off the 30 year old window tint and residue on my 87 DL. I found a used steamer at a garage sale.

Does this thread give any clues?

I primed mine using a drill press literally as an arbor press. I placed each lifter upright in a can of oil and then pressed into the dimple firmly for 20-30 seconds using a rounded rod chucked in the drill collet. I watched tiny air bubbles being forced out the bleed hole along with some old oil on each stroke. I did this until no more air was coming out. Maybe 5-6 strokes. This is a very slow process but it 100% assures that you have no air in the lifter and even better, you get a bit of a feel for a defect if one lifter bleeds down way too fast compared to others. I did this process on used HLAs that had been sitting for 14 years in the engine. I've not heard a single tick since the day I fired up the engine. I did new oil pump seals and other common lifter anti-tick tips too.

Sorry, but you are wrong. Even though all the cool kids may be doing it, swapping tags from one vehicle to another is very clearly a felony in every US state. There is no ambiguity about that. The new Arizona statute you mention only allows for removing and reattaching the same tag to the exact same vehicle for restoration purposes. It has always been a felony to move a VIN tag from one vehicle to another for any reason. It does not matter how old the vehicle is or if the owner intended to commit fraud or not. https://journal.classiccars.com/2022/07/22/new-vin-law-driven-by-barrett-jackson-goes-into-effect-today/ You'll obviously do what you want but I would encourage you to stop posting about it. Reality is, you have little chance of being caught until someone else owns the vehicle. If you never sell the vehicles, then you probably won't have any issues (unless the new VINs you are attaching aren't clean). In Arizona, if you buy a car from out of state it has to be inspected in-person by DMV or state police to be registered. If the inspector believes the tag has been altered or replaced, they impound the vehicle on the spot so don't suggest it's a trivial thing. I know from personal experience that it is not. Regards,

That's funny. You just stated on a public forum that you intend to commit a felony twice (as well as whoever is selling you the titles and tags).

My 87 DL came with Kuhmo Solus tires which I run in several other sizes on multiple vehicles. Here is a listing at Wally World for the 185-70R13. I've never had issues with any Kuhmos myself. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kumho-Solus-TA11-All-Season-Tire-185-70R13-86T/45693068

I daily drive my 2003 WRX wagon but that's not a like comparison to a 2012-14. I just ticked over 200K miles a few month back on the original, untouched engine. Plenty of small coolant hoses have needed fixed through the years and I just replaced the center diff but I can't complain about engine or turbo reliability.

Pic from my 87 EA82

It's Heater's fault. He asked a secondary question about if it was possible to get the distributor to talk to the coil without using the ECU.

It cannot be done with what you have. Old points-type distributors were able to directly trigger an ignition coil because each time the points opened they interrupted the charging of the coil which caused the field in the coil windings to collapse and generate the back-EMF spark. Our electronic distributor is only outputting a tiny trigger pulse. It is not directly interrupting power that feeds the coil. There must be a device (or two) in-between the distributor and the coil to complete our ignition system. There are plenty of instances in other applications where pointless distributors can seemingly directly fire a coil but those actually have further electronics built into them so the trigger pulse can fire the coil. I have several 1965 Corvairs that are converted from points to electronic ignition using an aftermarket module that mounts inside the distributor and those work well because the distributor also contains centrifugal and vacuum advance parts to handle required timing changes while driving. Here is a thread from 2020 that is related.

Thanks for the further tips. I'll save the old axles but one if not both have already been changed. This 87 DL had just turned 240K miles when I got it.

You are welcome. I'm not that good at all things Subie but I'm glad I could help on this item and give back to the community.

There you go. It's not very big so maybe you can split the case halves slightly to get it back in there. In my 2003, the compressor was cycling way more often than I wished (or needed in the dry desert) so I paralleled a potentiometer across the thermistor leads so I could adjust the resistance reading seen by the ECU. Now the compressor cycles much less, I'm more comfy and still no ice issues. It has been 114F here the last few days and even in those temps the compressor would cycle occasionally.

Update; I edited my post you quoted above because I just realized I confused my 87 Subie with my 2003. In 2003 there is a thermister device in the evaporator core that sends a resistance reading to the ECU which then cycles the compressor on and off to prevent icing. You will not hear clicking under the dash with that sensor but it is still supposed to prevent the evaporator core from becoming too cold and forming ice. It's really hard to get at that sensor so I would not put a lot of effort into it if you can simply select outside air to reduce the icing.

Does the compressor cycle on and off in moderate temperatures? My 2003 WRX will cycle the compressor on an off to prevent freezing solid like you describe. Do you ever hear hear a relay switch clicking inside the dash when the compressor turns off and on? Does the compressor stay on full time, even during less than hot days? Maybe that switch is not reading the evaporator core temperature so it doesn't turn off the compressor when the core gets below freezing. Edit. The relay switch I mention clicking above is actually thermister that is silent and provides a readiing to the ECU. I was thinking of my 87 that has the manual relay. Sorry for the confusion.

Of course moisture can freeze on the evaporator coils and will eventually block the airflow almost entirely until it melts away. You can do that manually by turning off the compressor for a few minutes or by selecting hotter outside air instead of recirculating if that works for you. The icing issue can be caused by low airflow in general (clogged cabin air filter maybe) or a lower than ideal A/C charge which drops the saturation point of the vapor below 32F. If you live in a humid area, icing is more of a nuisance than it is for me here in the dry desert.

The schematic can mislead you but the circled thermostat is actually in-circuit at all blower speed selections. If the blower relay is engaged and the blower is running, then power will be going to the A/C thermostat regardless of the blower speed selection. It's very likely the thermostat is a capillary tube style switch used to prevent the evaporator from icing up when the A/C is running on a cool, damp day. Those devices are usually adjusted at the factory to measure the evaporator fin temperature (not air temperature) and are not easily accessible after the evaporator is installed. I don't have a Brat so making some assumptions here based on other s I know. Some of them look like this with the far end of the coiled tube stuck into the evaporator fins.

My risk tolerance is high I guess since the daily-driver vehicles in my household all have over 200,000 miles on them and the newest model is a 2003. The other two are 87's. While I worry that the axles might wear out prematurely I don't fear they will come apart on the freeway. The axles are in an I've put about 45 miles on them. No strange noises, binding or other issues yet. Seems like the range of movement is being handled. Before I installed the shaft roll pins, I still had free play pushing and pulling the head in and out. A crude check but it confirmed there is room to expand and contract Thanks for the comments and tips.

So I ordered two identical front axles for my 87 DL and got two different looking axles. The supplier tells me that this is common and not an issue as the function is identical and I should ignore the physical appearances. Spline counts are okay and seal OD's measure okay but the compressed length of one is almost a 1/2" longer than spec. How tight is the spec if I'm starting out at 27.75" long compressed instead of 27.375'? I know I don't want to bury the CV bearings while the suspension goes through the range of motion but is it tight enough that a 1/2" matters? They are telling me I'll be fine but they aren't the ones who will have to take it all back apart if they are wrong. This is a pure stock DL wagon.

Single wire temperature sensor located near thermostat housing on my EA82. Should be similar for yours.

Thanks for the alternative suggestions. The seconds set of Sachs struts arrived with exactly the same deficiencies as the first set from Rock Auto so for now, I went with using them after a few tweaks to make them fit properly. The front end now sits a little higher due to the spring perch height difference but that actually seems to level out the stance. One thing the strut work revealed is a bad outer CV joint on the passenger side axle so another thing to purchase. Right now, I just want to get some miles on this car and see if I want to keep it long-term or sell it later this fall.

Working to replace the front struts in my 87 DL wagon mentioned above. I see posts from ten years ago about how parts are hard to find. It's not any easier today. I got one set from Rockauto and they are not correct but close enough that I could make them work. They each have a manufacturing defect so they will be returned. One has the brackets welded on the wrong side and the other has apparently leaked out nearly all the nitrogen. These struts are Sachs made in Mexico but I can't find a date code. One strut has almost no compression resistance compared to the other. The bad strut I removed from the left has an odd failure mode. When all disconnected from the car and spring assembly, I can push the rod down easily but it will not come back up, even when I pull on it. Something locks it in the down position but it eventually rises back up, either slowly or sometimes with a bang when the spring was still in place. I have a new pair of struts arriving from another vendor to try my luck with their stock. I'll bet it is all old and dusty too but that should not in itself mean it is bad. The struts I'm trying are Sachs 031172 (R) and 031173 (L). The car is going to sit a little higher since I can't locate the exact struts I need. See the photo of where the spring perch will be compared to the old. I've seen posts about this on other threads here where manufacturers try to make a one-size-fits-all solution. Sourcing parts for 35 years old cars sure can be an adventure but I enjoy the challenge.

Thanks! I've got about 30 miles on it since getting the engine back in and so far, so good. Before the long test drive to work and back yesterday, I installed all the missing/worn out shifter bushings and got the shifter throws back to spec. I swear I could move the shifter over a foot left or right when I first got the car. It was light the shift rod was barely attached to anything. The past owner really let this thing go to the dogs. I also had a bad fuel leak at the fuel line damper at the output of the pump. The pump was not that old but the rubber disc in the damper was leaking. To stop the leak, I installed a very short 8-32 screw and gasket to seal the hole. I'll have maybe a little more pump noise in the lines now but that's better than leaking fuel. I discovered that the 4WD option is working, I just don't see the lamp on the dash so probably an easy fix The exhaust really needs attention next. Someone tried to weld up rust holes while the pipes were in the car so it leaks still as you can imagine. I also discovered a bad front strut on the driver's side so a fresh front pair are on order. Sometimes, the strut will not compress at all and yet it is not collapsed. I can sometimes get it to compress and bounce but I hear an odd gurgling noise instead of the normal shhh,shhh sound. Odd. I'm happy with the purchase so far. The A/C is working after adding about 12 ounces of R152a but I think think it has way too much lube and leak detector in the system so a good flush and fill will be in the future. For now, I have cool air so I'll work on more important stuff. Fuel pump assembly https://photos.app.goo.gl/ofobbzqY65rFdtVK6 Fuel pump pic showing where I installed a small screw in place of where the rubber damper tab was located. https://photos.app.goo.gl/8HoGV6XNUNRGP2Ae9

Why are you not using a steering wheel puller? I don't think I've ever seen a steering wheel that didn't have holes already drilled and tapped exactly for that reason. It's way better than damaging the shaft with hammering, heating or possibly cracking the grip plastic covering by forcing it back and forth like a cavemen during the process.