O.K. To all the mechanics out there, we could use some helpful advice

Vanity | 09/04/2002 | Tybee Island

[TYBEEISLAND]

Hello to all the freeper mechanics out there, We have a 1986 Suburu, its our only mode of transportation, and its broken down.. It was running fine, and just stopped like it ran out of gas, but thats not it. I've checked the coil with a test light, both sides (positive and negative) from the battery and the distributer, and they have charge, no spark comes from main coil wire to the distributer cap center, we've pulled the distributer cap and the rotor does not turn when we engage the ignition. We've replaced the coil with 2 different ones and its still not running. Also, don't know if this is important or not, but the other day the wind shield wipers just quit. We are not mechanicly inclined as you can tell. Could this be a spark plug problem? This is our only car, and its a real problem getting to work without a car. I've posted on a couple of other car sites but I figured freepers are the best, so here it is. Any advise will be greatly (GREATLY) appeciated

[MonroeDNA]

You, sir, are quite welcome! :) Ain't this a great place?

[MonroeDNA]

And finally, listen to Petronski. He is absolutely right! Especaially tools.

Take your time, be under a shade tree, and beer is the universal currency for us shade tree mechanics.

[MonroeDNA]

And Haynes rules. Their books are much better--you are right again.

[Petronski]

Greetings fellow gearhead!

For the current job I mentioned above, on my sister's Intrepid, I found that Chilton had a few more pictures, but instructed that the radiator be removed. Haynes was right, it just wasn't necessary. Chilton's pretty fast and loose with an extra three or four hours' work!

TYBEEISLAND: If you haven't already bought tools, get the 3/8s inch drive ratchets, your Subaru is almost certainly all metric, so you can probably skip the SAE (fractions of an inch). But do be sure to grab the collection of drive extensions. They fit between the ratchet wrench and the socket, and come in sets like this: 2", 4" 6" and 10". These things will make your friggin' day.

[Truth Addict]

Hey TA, are the belt exposed, or under cover?

Under cover! Two of them, in fact, and with many, many bolts holding them on. Actually, getting the covers off is almost half the battle.

[TYBEEISLAND]

You all are great.. I knew I should have come here first! Silly me, anyhow we are printing all this out for reference to use under the shade tree.

[Petronski]

The covers over those timing belts will have some half-assed rubber gasket designed to keep out all things wet. If the gasket is damaged or torn, look for a product at Autozone called RTV, it is gasket in a tube. Get the high-temp kind just to be sure.

Oh, by the way, I have no connection with Autozone, except for just loving their free-tool-loaner program and the way I can reliably check their inventory online, for pricing etc. AdvanceAutoParts does this too, but we have none nearby.

[Petronski]

It is better to perish than to live as slaves.

This is one of my favorite Churchill quotes (I am a serious Churchillian).

I, too, love this place.

[Petronski]

Wow, what a complete non-sequitur my last post was!

I am quoting your homepage. Here's to 'Herr Churchill,' as his vanquished enemy once parodied him.

[Truth Addict]

If you're really going to do this yourself, be forewarned, the worst problem I had was in pulling the cover. Many of the bolts holding it on have, instead of nuts, a metal sleeve pressed into the plastic cover on the back side. If the threads are sufficiently frozen, what will happen is that the sleeve will break free from the plastic and just spin, making it impossible to unscrew the bolt.

I wound up taking a hacksaw blade, and cutting the head of the bolt off, and then replacing it with a new bolt and nut when it came time to reassemble. You will need to remove both fans and their housings to get to some of the bolts.

[TYBEEISLAND]

Both fans? We only have one, I think

[Truth Addict]

Both fans? We only have one, I think

Well, mine had two, one attached to the crankshaft, and the other was driven by an electric motor. Mine was the 1.6 litre engine, and I think you said yours was the 1.8, so they may not be laid out the same, but I think yours has two fans as well. The electric fan is on the passenger side, and is held on by four bolts; very easy to remove.

The one driven by the crankshaft is a little trickier; four bolts hold the fan blade assembly to the clutch mechanism, and they are quite small and hard to get to. There is a shroud around that fan that needs to be removed as well.

[Truth Addict]

Now that I think about it, mine was the 1.8L engine as well. I was confusing it with my '78 model, which was a 1.6L.

[TYBEEISLAND]

I am confused on how to tell the 1.8 from the 1.6, you need this info to find out which timing belt we need to get. Any pointers on this? At the parts store they said it was probably a 1.6L, but could not be sure. Like I said, we are no experts when it comes to this type of stuff. But you all have been great

[Petronski]

Write down your VIN (vehicle identification number) and go to a modern auto parts store (like Autozone). Using that number (actually only one digit, but which?), they will tell you which engine you have. It is the only way to go.

Actually, using the vin, I can determine from my Haynes manual which engine I have. Perhaps you can too.

Best of luck, and please, let us know how this all works out. Ping me.

[Petronski]

As an owner of a Ford Crown Victoria, I have this site to help me out. I would use Google and other search sites to find a similar community for your model, be it this GL or whatever you drive next.

[TYBEEISLAND]

Thank you once again, We will check that out and I will let ya know. You have all been a tremedous help

[blau993]

You just have to dangle a little cheese in front of the moose to get him motivated.

[Truth Addict]

I may be wrong, but I thought they stopped making the 1.6 in 1985, when they changed the body style, so I would presume that yours is the 1.8. You could check the owner's manual, or find the serial number, which the parts store might be able to use to determine the engine size. You could also check your Haynes book, they usually have a section on all the different engines available, and how to identify them.

Mine was a GL sedan with front wheel drive, and the 1.8 was the standard engine for that model.

[TYBEEISLAND]

I just checked our book, they do have a number in there for engine identification. Your were right ty :)