azsubaru

I'm guessing that you mean the oil guage doesn't read at all. My oil guage had a problem similar to yours, and it turned out to be the meter, even though it would read when tested. If you're pretty sure it's not the sender, about all you have is the wiring and the meter. Pull the guage cluster out of the dash and disconnect the round plug behind the oil guage. The yellow/black wire on the plug (pin 3, I think) goes directly to the sender, so check the continuity from there to the other end of the wire at the sender. If it's good, then the meter is most likely bad. The bouncing idle could be a misadjusted or defective idle switch on the TPS.

I've got a 97 Corolla. It was making some creaking sounds, replaced the front struts and no more noise.

Did you use an OEM gasket? If not, buy a set and try that first. Some of the cheap ones are worthless.

I 've used both Seafoam and the denatured alcohol in my attempts to pass emissions, but mine is SPFI. First, I tried the alcohol, but it didn't help at all in my case, numbers came out same as before. Next tried the Seafoam. It helped some, but not enough. I would recommend burning all of the Seafoam out of your tank before going in for the test. It's cleaning things out, but it could be interferring with fuel burning. So what did help? I'm not sure. I changed my rear cat and muffler, plus I changed the oil, tightened the cap down, changed all the filters, got new plugs, wires, disty cap and rotor, plus replaced the PCV valve along with every hose I could find, and cleaned the MAF and idle air valve. Finally passed this time, way below the limits. My CEL was on at the time, but that's allowed here on older vehicles. I did have some RXP "guaranteed to pass" in the tank when I finally passed, but don't know if it really did anything.

Yes, like j2coe said, 5 shorts repeated over and over is just telling you it's non CA and is standard transmission. It's not reading any error codes. Was the CEL actually lit?

Yeah, the switches get dirty. I would clean them first to see if that fixes the problem. It's not a short, but could be an open circuit (blown fuse or a broken wire, for instance). To clean a switch, take the door panel off and remove the switch panel with a screwdriver. Then lay it on a towel or large cloth and take it apart. Be careful, especially with the drivers side switch - there are little parts in there that can fly off - that's why the towel. Then you can clean up the contacts, which are on little rocker arms. Scrub all contacts with a pencil eraser, put it back together and it should be good to go.

Yeah, I guess most of my replies have a disclaimer of "at least on my 91" because of the variations. One question - I don't understand how yours knows whether the engine is running or not - do you know how that part works?

My car sometimes simply wouldn't start. After I noticed there was no noise when I turned the switch on, I would go back and whop on the fuel pump a couple times with a BFH and the pump would cycle the next time I turned the key, then run fine for awhile, no loss of power or any other symptoms. After a couple weeks of this, it started dying while I was driving down the road, just ran out of gas and quit. A few more whacks with the hammer (not fun at 5PM on I-10 in Phoenix!) and it would run maybe 30 minutes and die again, so I decided to replace it before it died altogether. I replaced it with an F150 fuel pump from NAPA, a bit of a pain to get in and a little noisy, but it works fine.

I would reset the codes first and see what comes up. It's possible but doubtful that all of those things need fixed. Code 24 is the Air Control Valve and it could cause your symptoms. From the USRM: 1988 and Later Models With Single-Point Fuel Injection -- CODE PROBABLE CAUSE 11 Crank Angle Sensor or Circuit 12 Starter Switch or Circuit 13 Crank Angle Sensor or Circuit 14 Fuel Injector - Abnormal Output 21 Coolant Temperature Sensor or Circuit 23 Air Flow Meter or Circuit 24 Air Control Valve or Circuit 31 Throttle Sensor or Circuit 32 Oxygen Sensor or Circuit 33 Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) or Circuit 34 EGR Solenoid or Circuit 35 Purge Control Solenoid or Circuit 42 Idle Switch or Circuit 45 Kick-Down (Detent) Relay or Circuit 51 Neutral Switch Continuously in the On Position 55 EGR Temperature Sensor or Circuit 61 Parking Switch or Circuit

well, I don't know about your 81, but the replacement clutch cable for my Loyale did the same thing; apparently just built incorrectly. Probably would have been better to go with OEM. I had to add several washers in front of the adjusting nut before I could get the pedal working right. Not much help on your second question, but I think you kind of answered it yourself. If you can live with the slop, then you're ok now, but if you want it to be tighter, go down to the Subaru dealer and get replacement parts.

The idler bearing is pretty easy to replace. It's a standard size. You can take the whole idler to NAPA and they'll help you out, may even put the new bearing in for you. Or take a socket or something the right size and knock the bearing out of the center. You'll see the number on it. It'll be 6200 series (I think it's 6203) Go to NAPA or a bearing house (even my local ACE carries this size bearing) and get a high quality sealed bearing with that number. Gently tap the new bearing in and you're ready to go. $10 - 15 bucks for the bearing, 20 minutes to remove and install.

Here are my observations on a couple of your symptoms: SOLUTION: besides checking the brakes - This could be wheel bearings, or it may be the axle castle nut isn't tight enough, which can be a real pain to get quietened down. check this thread : http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=27251 SOLUTION: nvexplorer has the cure for you. This is the "long right hand curve" syndrome. Subaru has a kit for it, but some fittings and hose will fix you right up. Had a mechanic tell me I needed an $800 valve job to fix this!

Take it on a long drive first and see if they quieten down. Mine were really loud for a half hour or so, but then quietened down to an acceptable level.

Sounds like the clutch is staying engaged, so clutch cable broken or needing adjustment - and ok, the fork - could be your problem. Tranny is probably ok. You'll discover what it is easily once you're in there. I bought one of those Ft Wayne rebuilt clutch kits once, and it worked fine. The pilot bearing looked kind of cheap, but it never gave me any problems. good luck!

with the engine running, does the shifter go into position and then pop back out, or will it not go into position at all, maybe some grinding sounds when you try to push it in?

The fork is pretty tough, don't see how it would cause you problems, but I guess it's possible. When you say it won't shift, do you mean the shifter won't 'snick' into the gears, stays in neutral? That would probably be a tranny problem. Or do you mean that you can shift fine, but the car won't move, acts like the emergency brake is on? another tranny type problem. Or, you can shift fine, and when you let out the clutch it appears that the car is in neutral. Most likely a clutch problem.

You need to go back to basics and forget about the exhaust. It may have nothing to do with your problem Are you getting fuel to the injector? If your fuel pump has been going out, it can cause problems similar to yours. turn the key to "on" and listen for the pump to cycle for about a second. The noise comes from near the right rear wheel. If no noise, it may be stuck, so go back there and whack it a few times to see if you can jar it loose. Got fuel? then are you getting spark? a distributor or coil going bad could also cause the problems you've been seeing. I'm sure others on here have better troubleshooting skils than me, but I've had all three of these happen to my Loyale, and I'm sure they are pretty common.

Atleast on the SPFI EA82's the fuel pump should cycle for a second or so when you turn the key on. That's how I diagnosed mine when it went bad - silence from the rear when I turned the key on!

This covers the timing process pretty well: http://www.economysuperstar.com/milesfox/subaru/service/timingbelt.htm

One way of setting the advance on these cars is to advance the timing until you get pinging, then back it off a little until it stops. Some people claim their cars run best at up to 28 degrees BTDC.

Here's a couple of tips from someone who has only done the clutch on an EA82 twice. If you learn from mistakes, I learned a lot, though: 1. It's easier to pull the engine before changing the clutch and other stuff. Looks like you're already planning to do it that way. 2. Here's a nice-to-have special tool you can use for free: Buy a used cherry picker, do the work, and then sell it to someone else for what you paid for it. (if you can part with it. I kept mine). 3. If you do pull the engine, loosen the crank pulley before you remove the engine. 4. Where to set the engine, if you don't have a stand? - set it in a 5 gallon bucket. 5. Last, but certainly not least, go here and follow the directions. He has pictures and everything. http://www.economysuperstar.com/milesfox/subaru/service/service.htm

Did you replace the Oxygen Sensor? That fixed mine, but I had to drive it about 50 miles or so before it smoothed out - I guess it takes the computer awhile to adjust.

like Calebz says - use Miles' method. I did it that way the first time, and it worked fine. Leave the site up on your computer, and you can double check anything you're concerned about anywhere along the line. I was concerned about lining the belts up correctly, but it's actually easier to do than it might seem from reading about it. Go for and and have fun!

It passed - and with flying colors! Thanks for the advice, I'm back on road and legal again!

You're absolutely sure it's not a rod knock? There's not much back there by the flywheel. Flywheel could be hitting that little plate on the bottom of the bellhousing, but I doubt it would sound like a knock, more like a screech. Oil pump is in the front, so not a likely cause. You've ruled out the clutch, pressure plate, and such, as well as TOD, I suppose... Did you crank the engine over by hand while you had it out? You might be able to find it that way.