mikaleda Posted April 25, 2013 Author Share Posted April 25, 2013 I now have a new drivers side seat and a new steering wheel. I don't mind that the steering wheel doesn't match it's just nice to have one that I don't have to keep taped up. I got a few things done on the hatch today, I just finished pulling the steering rack, this ones definatly in better shape than mine, I'm thinking about rebooting it while I've got it off. I've started pulling the dash and new control valve seems to be intact, hopefully it works, I'm sure it will. I put the headers back on and ran the engine for a minuet just long enogh for it to warm up a bit and see how it sounds, oil light went off immediately the engine idles smoth and doesn't make the racket that my old engine does, did a couple high Rpms and it responded nicely with a little popping and spluttering on the way back down, nothing unusuall since it doesn't have anything pay the cat hooked up. I drained the antifreeze and pulled the radiator, it looks like most the work has already been done for me, the trans is still connected to the motor but everything else is disconnected. I just have to disconnect the coil and the fuel line to the carb and a couple miscellaneous things and the motor/trans will be ready to be pulled and put in my gl! Lucky for my gl I got this hatch, it definatly wouldn't be very good off other wise, it might have become the parts car lol I can hardly wait to get the rust fixed in the floor boards and get the engine/trans in it and drive it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted April 26, 2013 Author Share Posted April 26, 2013 Okay I got the engine/trans out of the hatch, I got it out by myself through the bottom, not fun. Now it's sitting on the ground looking at me like "so what are you going to do now?". Now I got to find a place to put it until I am ready to do the swap if I can even move it myself I know I can pick up a 4wd subie trans easily enough and I can pick up an ea71 engine easy enough but you put the two together, it gets heavy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 Okay hatch has been gutted except the rear axles and the torsion bar arm, I couldn't get them out, but I did switch out the cone washers with my bad ones. Now my napa brake caliper is sticking causing a brake drag good thing I've got more calipers, its time to start pulling the fronted apart and get everything fixed Got new rims on my car now, but I need to get some pug lugs for them. I've also got two different size tires front to rear so I need to get a matching size for the rear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuru Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Wow, what a lot of work... he good thing about Projects like this is that you will know every nut, bolt, and wire terminal on the thing. I look forward to the swap (for many reasons! ) Good luck with it all! observingly, timothy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted May 3, 2013 Author Share Posted May 3, 2013 Thank you Tsuru, your right I just about know this car inside and out now. Update: I got my new steering rack in today, it was surprisingly easy, it took about an hour. It feels like the inner tie rod on the drivers side has a little play, but I think it will be fine for the time being. It's definatly an improvement of the first one I had in there. Tomorrow I will start working on the passenger side knuckle, I'm thinking I'm going to replace the knuckle, c.v. And strut top. That should fix most of the problems. Then after that I will figure out why the drivers side brake is sticking and try and fix that, then the front end work will be done (hopefully) and it will be on to the engine trans swap. I've got to find a hoist to do the engine/trans swap yet, so that is still going to be a little ways in the future, but not to far! I've got the new gear oil and most the tools I will need, I just need to look up some info about removal of the engine trans at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuru Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 whenever I had a sticking caliper it was usually due to the unit needing bled, or excessive dust/grime buildup preventing the caliper assembly from retracting the way it should. either way it was a fairly simple fix. My 77 has no power assist whatsoever, it a direct coupled rack, and I think it is in pretty good condition. I cannot foresee how difficult the steering column would be to swap out on one of these...I did a 1969 Buick Riviera and also a 1967 Cadillac, those columns were unnecessarily complicated. Both had tilt, and the cad had telescope as well...the were bulky, heavy, unruly things. I am liking that the Subaru vehicles are actually pretty simple to work on. Nothing too overly complicated, ut still enough of a challenge to keep it from being too "easy". (and boring). Best of success in your daily endeavors Mikaleda! There's nothing like going somewhere is a vehicle you know everything about! (and know you can fix if/when needed) quietly, timothy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted May 3, 2013 Author Share Posted May 3, 2013 (edited) Well I'm glad the steering rack is easy to pull, cause I got to pull them again. My old rack has brand new inner tie-rods and boots, the boot that I thought was torn had just slipped off. My old rack was definatly bad, I found aome copper peices in one of the boots and the rack was about to fall apart. Mu new one has bad inner tie/rods So I'm thinking in going to throw some crappy tires up front and drive it this way for now, then later on put the new inner tie-rods, boots, outer tie-rods, And do an alinment, that should fix my tire wear problems. I'm still going to change the passenger side knuckle since I think it's cracked. Thank you for the idea Tsuru I need to bleed my brakes that very well could be the problem, I'll be working on that today hopefully my knuckle, c.v., strut top will go okay. I also fixed my wiper squirters yesterday, they were all gummed up, but now they squirt halfway up the windshield! Edited May 3, 2013 by mikaleda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted May 3, 2013 Author Share Posted May 3, 2013 My 77 has no power assist whatsoever, it a direct coupled rack, and I think it is in pretty good condition. I cannot foresee how difficult the steering column would be to swap out on one of these...I did a 1969 Buick Riviera and also a 1967 Cadillac, those columns were unnecessarily complicated. Both had tilt, and the cad had telescope as well...the were bulky, heavy, unruly things. Mine is a Manuel steering rack also. I know what you mean about GM's overly complex steering columns, I did one in my dads 93 blazer s10 4.3l there is no room to unbolt the steering column from the ujoint! And under the dash was a nightmare, tons of wires and stuff to unplug and plug back in (not to mention that it was an auto ) this is why I sold my 2wd 67 Chevy and got a subaru the pluses 4wd, it got better milage, and it was just as easy to fix, but parts costs more though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted May 8, 2013 Author Share Posted May 8, 2013 Okay, im going to get it licensed today and start driving it. My brake is still sticking slightly, but it seems to be working itself out. I haven't changed the engine trans out yet, but it will be soon, when I was driving down the highway yesterday and it was making a bad grinding noise whenever going uphill. I think it's the trans giving up so I need to change it out soon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted May 8, 2013 Author Share Posted May 8, 2013 Oh and I changed the knuckle the other day, what a pain in the butt, it took me all day. Now it steers way better and the new knuckle makes me feel safer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuru Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 I picked up a Bronco II because the owner could not get the steering knuckle off, sold it to me for $500, I spent about 2 hours with it before attacking it with an air tool. Sold it back to him for $600. Sometimes you get lucky, I just don't understand why he didn't just pay me the $100 to fix it for him. Oh wait...he did... I think steering components are difficult to take apart because you really do not want them to just fall apart... Congrats on getting her back on the road where she belongs! Drive Happily! Respectfully, Timothy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted May 9, 2013 Author Share Posted May 9, 2013 I picked up a Bronco II because the owner could not get the steering knuckle off, sold it to me for $500, I spent about 2 hours with it before attacking it with an air tool. Sold it back to him for $600. Sometimes you get lucky, I just don't understand why he didn't just pay me the $100 to fix it for him. Oh wait...he did... I think steering components are difficult to take apart because you really do not want them to just fall apart... Congrats on getting her back on the road where she belongs! Drive Happily! Respectfully, Timothy funny how that stuff works out isn't it. Yes I agree, the steering is very important and I would rather have them to hard to get off than to easy. That's one thing that I don't skimp on is stering components, I have fixed a few cars that have gone in the ditch because the owner waited to long to change his tie- rod ends, it ends up costing a lot more since usually everything is bent and needs to replaced afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuru Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 (edited) funny how that stuff works out isn't it. Yes I agree, the steering is very important and I would rather have them to hard to get off than to easy. That's one thing that I don't skimp on is stering components, I have fixed a few cars that have gone in the ditch because the owner waited to long to change his tie- rod ends, it ends up costing a lot more since usually everything is bent and needs to replaced afterwards. Exactly, when I rode motorcycles I learned early on that if a component has the potential to kill you if it fails, don't give it the opportunity to fail. get the absolute best (that you can afford) because it really sucks to be all stretched out, leaned over in a decreasing radius turn getting ready to throttle out, and something fails...If I go down on a motorcycle I want it to be because I did something stupid, not because the bike failed me because I was cheap. By the way, the same goes for aircraft...only doubly so. Happy Trails! quietly, timothy edited for grammatical errors: syntax and so forth. Edited May 10, 2013 by Tsuru 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted May 12, 2013 Author Share Posted May 12, 2013 I'm so happy with the old gl, it has faithfully Been getting around. It's going to be my daily driver for a while now. I just got hired at a mechanics shop/convenience store and so work will be slowing down on this car a little, I don't have a day off until wensday, but I will start working out the details of getting the engine/trans in. Oh and also my alternator has been performing flawlessly so far, and I will be making a write up on installing it in an externally regulated subie as long as it continues to work correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuru Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 Congratulations on the job! Wrench with honor! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted May 13, 2013 Author Share Posted May 13, 2013 Thank you Tusuru 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted October 10, 2013 Author Share Posted October 10, 2013 okay i put some more money into this old subaru, i put new radius arm busings, and outer tierods in. then i had it alighned and now it doesnt pull so hard to the right and its not wearing the tires quite as bad. i am going to napa today to get new sway bar busings and then i found new control arm bushings on amazon and im thinking about buying them and trying it out, i have a couple control arms off my parts car i can practice on. i blew a coolant line on the way to work the other day, and of course it was in the worst spot possible so i had to drive it a little ways just to be able to get off the side of the road safely. it spiked the temp gauge, but since i always leave a half hour early i was able to let it cool of and pour more coolant in and get to work. the motor seems fine, but then the brakes went out on me, (i wish murphy would quit following me). i cant explain the brake failure, its like there's air in the system, but i havent opened the system in months. the only thing i can think might have happened is the master cylinder went out, but its not quite like a master going out, once you pump it up its solid, no pedal fade. of course i ripped a rear c.v. boot and so i temorarily have it wraped in cling wrap held on by zipties. i have foind two rear c.v.s but i just got to figure out a way of getting them. there is good news though i got the one axle nut that was seized off and got the hub off, a good 1/2 inch impact did the trick. im starting to get annoying elctrical issuse where my lights blink on and of randomly and make on coming cars think im flashing them and not to mention the times when i hit the dims and all my lights go out untill i hit the fuse box. also that the lower headlight fuse melted right out of the fuse box. i can hardly wait to get on of my other cars going so i can start working on this one more, its hard to work on them when your daily driving them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted October 10, 2013 Author Share Posted October 10, 2013 oh and alternator is still working flawlessly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuru Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 well, at least the electrical issues have not taken its toll on the alternator. and whatever you do, try not to bake that engine...I have plans for that eventually, (no hurry though). (heehee) timothy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrgrr Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Nice rescue, Mikaleda! Drive that thing! It's always nice to find a thread like this one when I think I've got problems...cars like that don't get a second chance around here, or a second thought about crushing them. Keep up the good work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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