Help with vague car trouble in Mexico!!

[dbenzmaine]

Alright, here's the deal. I drove my 1989 GL Hatch (EA-81) down to Honduras in January, and my brother still has it down in Mexico. I'm now back here in New York doing school junk. I got an email from him yesterday that included this description of car troubles:

 

ok..*** a bit of bad news to start you off.*** so.*** the brakes kinda went and i had to get new pads put on.*** that was fine.. 45 bucks no big deal.*** however when the mecanic... crazy gringo denis who i trust took it for a spin to set the brakes he noticed a rod knocking(loose)*** and that an engine mount is probable broken as well.*** so.*** he suggested to change the oil and use 50 weight single grade oil and to keep the rpms below 2500.*** said it should be fine to make it back to the states like that.*** also said the clutch pressure plate is shot.*** so that's the situation.*** i've changed the oil, and we dove about 250 miles nice and easy with out incident.*** the knocking isn't too noticable.. only when you push it.*** so.. i've got a max speed of about 52 mph.*** so i'm not sure what you're thinking..*** i'm planning on being in flagstaff on friday or saturday..*** can you let sam and jenna know.*** maybe it can be fixed there

 

Back to me in New York. I'm wondering if this is all new. It's never run super-pretty or super-quiet. The clutch has never been great. Could i have had a broken engine mount and fried pressure plate for the last five years and get along fine? I haven't noticed a knocking in the past, so that probably is new. If a rod is loose, how tough is it to tighten up? I've never pulled the engine of this car, but adjusting the lifters on my old beetle back in high school was pretty simple. How tough is this repair?

 

Anyway, I'm hoping to still drive this car to Alaska in August, so it'd be nice if i could get it fixed. I've got a great mechanic whom I trust and who works cheap back in Maine. I don't know if i can advise my brother to drive it all the way back though. Anyone have any ideas or know a good subaru guy in Northern Arizona? Thanks in advance!

Dave

[operose]

Alright, here's the deal. I drove my 1989 GL Hatch (EA-81) down to Honduras in January, and my brother still has it down in Mexico. I'm now back here in New York doing school junk. I got an email from him yesterday that included this description of car troubles:

 

ok..*** a bit of bad news to start you off.*** so.*** the brakes kinda went and i had to get new pads put on.*** that was fine.. 45 bucks no big deal.*** however when the mecanic... crazy gringo denis who i trust took it for a spin to set the brakes he noticed a rod knocking(loose)*** and that an engine mount is probable broken as well.*** so.*** he suggested to change the oil and use 50 weight single grade oil and to keep the rpms below 2500.*** said it should be fine to make it back to the states like that.*** also said the clutch pressure plate is shot.*** so that's the situation.*** i've changed the oil, and we dove about 250 miles nice and easy with out incident.*** the knocking isn't too noticable.. only when you push it.*** so.. i've got a max speed of about 52 mph.*** so i'm not sure what you're thinking..*** i'm planning on being in flagstaff on friday or saturday..*** can you let sam and jenna know.*** maybe it can be fixed there

 

Back to me in New York. I'm wondering if this is all new. It's never run super-pretty or super-quiet. The clutch has never been great. Could i have had a broken engine mount and fried pressure plate for the last five years and get along fine? I haven't noticed a knocking in the past, so that probably is new. If a rod is loose, how tough is it to tighten up? I've never pulled the engine of this car, but adjusting the lifters on my old beetle back in high school was pretty simple. How tough is this repair?

 

Anyway, I'm hoping to still drive this car to Alaska in August, so it'd be nice if i could get it fixed. I've got a great mechanic whom I trust and who works cheap back in Maine. I don't know if i can advise my brother to drive it all the way back though. Anyone have any ideas or know a good subaru guy in Northern Arizona? Thanks in advance!

Dave

 

sorry if this doesn't help, but where are you in NY and where are you going in alaska?

[dbenzmaine]

I'm going to school in NYC, and the Alaska trip is going to be pretty spontaneous. We don't have particular destinations. We're just hoping to see some great mountains, do some camping, and explore as much as possible.

But yeah, that'll be tough to do if my car is in bad shape. Does anybody have any commentary on my brother's story? I just don't know if this is something that i should be freaking out about or whether i can put it off and deal with it back on the east coast.

[wintersubaru]

Alright, here's the deal. I drove my 1989 GL Hatch (EA-81) down to Honduras in January, and my brother still has it down in Mexico. I'm now back here in New York doing school junk. I got an email from him yesterday that included this description of car troubles:

 

ok..*** a bit of bad news to start you off.*** so.*** the brakes kinda went and i had to get new pads put on.*** that was fine.. 45 bucks no big deal.*** however when the mecanic... crazy gringo denis who i trust took it for a spin to set the brakes he noticed a rod knocking(loose)*** and that an engine mount is probable broken as well.*** so.*** he suggested to change the oil and use 50 weight single grade oil and to keep the rpms below 2500.*** said it should be fine to make it back to the states like that.*** also said the clutch pressure plate is shot.*** so that's the situation.*** i've changed the oil, and we dove about 250 miles nice and easy with out incident.*** the knocking isn't too noticable.. only when you push it.*** so.. i've got a max speed of about 52 mph.*** so i'm not sure what you're thinking..*** i'm planning on being in flagstaff on friday or saturday..*** can you let sam and jenna know.*** maybe it can be fixed there

 

Back to me in New York. I'm wondering if this is all new. It's never run super-pretty or super-quiet. The clutch has never been great. Could i have had a broken engine mount and fried pressure plate for the last five years and get along fine? I haven't noticed a knocking in the past, so that probably is new. If a rod is loose, how tough is it to tighten up? I've never pulled the engine of this car, but adjusting the lifters on my old beetle back in high school was pretty simple. How tough is this repair?

 

Anyway, I'm hoping to still drive this car to Alaska in August, so it'd be nice if i could get it fixed. I've got a great mechanic whom I trust and who works cheap back in Maine. I don't know if i can advise my brother to drive it all the way back though. Anyone have any ideas or know a good subaru guy in Northern Arizona? Thanks in advance!

Dave

If your going to flagstaff stop in sedona 40 miles south. Find an R.V park called Hawkeye its right in up town. when you get there ask for larry the mechanic. Tell him Dave sent you he is the best mech i ever met and his prices are the cheapest in the state of A.Z. he also knows some one that has three gl 10's for parts so check him out he will be able to get you to Alaska. Good luck and have fun

[erik litchy]

what exactly are your clutch symptoms?

[Qman]

Sound like it may have a lifter tick and an unadjusted clutch. Get it back to the states and have the above mentioned mechanic check it out. It may just need to have the oil pump gaskets/seals replaced and have the clutch adjusted properly.

[dbenzmaine]

Thanks for the mechanic tip, wintersubaru! That guy sounds perfect. And i'd be stoked you were right on the lifter and clutch adjustments, Qman. For Erik, i'm not sure exactly what the clutch is like right now because i haven't driven it since i entrusted it to my brother in Honduras back in January. For the past 8 years though, it's usually had a fairly shallow clutch in terms of only needing to push in a little bit to disengage. It's never slipped though, and it's really never given me any trouble.

In your experience, have any of you had lifters go out of whack all at once? The knocking sound that my brother is describing is definitely not something that i ever remember experiencing. Also, since i've never pulled the engine, i don't know much about the mounts. I've done a lot of off-roading with it, hit a speedbump in mexico at 55mph, and my brother recently drove it over the spine of Nicaragua and back on dirt tracks, so it's had ample opportunity to break a mount. If one is busted, should i try to get it pulled and fixed ASAP, or can i let it slide for a while?

Thanks again!

[wintersubaru]

Thanks for the mechanic tip, wintersubaru! That guy sounds perfect. And i'd be stoked you were right on the lifter and clutch adjustments, Qman. For Erik, i'm not sure exactly what the clutch is like right now because i haven't driven it since i entrusted it to my brother in Honduras back in January. For the past 8 years though, it's usually had a fairly shallow clutch in terms of only needing to push in a little bit to disengage. It's never slipped though, and it's really never given me any trouble.

In your experience, have any of you had lifters go out of whack all at once? The knocking sound that my brother is describing is definitely not something that i ever remember experiencing. Also, since i've never pulled the engine, i don't know much about the mounts. I've done a lot of off-roading with it, hit a speedbump in mexico at 55mph, and my brother recently drove it over the spine of Nicaragua and back on dirt tracks, so it's had ample opportunity to break a mount. If one is busted, should i try to get it pulled and fixed ASAP, or can i let it slide for a while?

Thanks again!

If you can get it to larry he will be able to tell you just what you will need he could evan do an engine swap in about 4 hours for ya if its needed. Besides sedona is a must see in A.Z since your going to be there and Hawkeye R.V park is really beutiful and you can camp there.There is a cliff to jump off into a great mountain stream. Here is Larrys number if you get near there and break down he will evan do road service (928 300 5569). Don't forget to tell him Dave & jesi sent you he will probaly give you a good discount. Allso there is at least two junk yards near there with subes in them.

[dbenzmaine]

Thanks Wintersubaru! This guy sounds like just what i need. I'll pass the information along to my brother.

[DaveAP]

There is another shop in central Az.. Cottonwood is near Sedona, ask where old town is. There is an Exon station on the edge of old town, they have about 7 or 8 subs parked in the back. I haven't dealt with them, but i hear they are into subs. Good luck, dp.

[dbenzmaine]

Thanks DP! I'll pass that along.

[wintersubaru]

There is another shop in central Az.. Cottonwood is near Sedona, ask where old town is. There is an Exon station on the edge of old town, they have about 7 or 8 subs parked in the back. I haven't dealt with them, but i hear they are into subs. Good luck, dp.

forgot about that exon he his an exalent sube mech to delt with him when i lived in sedona. he is allways to busy thou.but he does have parts! Got carb and intake for 20 bucks!