gearhead

I rolled a FWD car(1989 Saab 900 Turbo) on a gravel road because it got a little too sideways and I let off the gas which just made it that much worse.Also two winters ago was the first time I had ever had to back down a snowy road with a car.I was driving a FWD subaru legacy sedan with brand new snow tires front and rear.On the snow it would understeer like no other, so I had to slow way down to even navigate the turn.With the hills and mountains up here that meant that the car had to fight for every bit of forward momentum out of the corners.Eventually it got to the point I was in 3rd gear idling and the wheels were still spinning and the car was going about 5 MPH up the hill.It made it up that hill, but another hill leading back home I had to back down after the car got about 1/2 way up it and had no momentum to keep going.After finally getting home I said the hell with FWD's because I never had that much trouble in any of my RWD cars even when they didnt have snow tires they still would make it up the hill.Sure every corner was full on opposite lock it still made it up. also I HATE automatics to the point I actually wish ill on the person who invented the damned things if they are still alive. So as for cars or vehicles I will not drive: Anything FWD,and that goes double if it has an automatic.You can not PAY ME to own and drive an automatic.I will drive an automatic company car but never again will anything I own have an automatic.

milkshake on the oil dipstick is fairly normal condensation and stuff.If you have milkshake on the oil fill cap after running it up to operating temp you have a problem.

Ive been using a multimeter to find out voltages.So far when everything is right it will show 14.4V at idle across the battery terminals with the truck idling but there is no consistency to that reading.drive the truck or rev it up and it might change to 13.2V or even 11.59V. Not to mention you can actually hear when the field engages and the alternator is working. Ive thrown everything I know into getting this truck to charge. Ive had the alternator off multiple times and each time it bench tested flawlessly.I even had the charging system tested in the truck and at that particular moment it was charging at 13.5V and 38 amps at idle with the high beams on.Yet on the return trip back to my house it didn't charge and it wouldn't start again when I shut it off in front of my house. so right now I need to examine the field and sense wires to the alternator.Yea it probably could use a voltage gauge(and also a water temp and oil pressure gauge),but I dont want to put any more money into it until I get it so I have a 75% chance of getting to my destination and returning home.Right now its about 25% because the truck stalls out when I press the brakes and if its not charging Im dead in the water in the middle of an intersection(It stalls out less now that I added all those grounds,but it still will stall sometimes.)

Ok, right now I have: 4 gauge wire from BAT + to starter solinoid 4 gauge wire from BAT - to block main ground junction from BAT - to right fender 10 gauge wire from alternator case to right fender 6 gauge wire from alternator output to BAT + 4 gauge wire from starter bolt to frame so I guess that just leaves me needing a ground from frame to body,and box to frame. However,I am still having problems with an intermittent charge.I know the field wire is hot whenever the ignition is on,and that it goes from the fuse box to the alternator.I want to check that wire out so what color is it at the fuse box on a 74 620?Does it go through a bunch of connectors on its way to the alternator?I would like to keep the idiot light,but if I have to I will find a 12V switched power source and run a wire directly to the alternator. BTW the charge light in the dash will turn on when the key is turned to ignition,then go out once it starts.It wont however turn on when the alternator isnt putting out juice.The only indicator of low voltage is when I have the headlights on at night and they dont light up the road.

Ok I'll wire the headlights to go through a relay.That should take most of the current from that red wire.While I am at it anything else need to be relayed?

On my 74 620 pickup I cleaned the corrosion off the fuse box while tracing an intermittent charging issue.However it seems like some wires may be drawing a bit more power than they should. What is the large red wire for?the plastic near its terminal was burned/melted.On the same connector block what is the white wire/blue tracer? It too was melted.Finally on the other connector what is the green/blue tracer because it was also melted. Only the large red wire looked burned though.

I have a dedicated 4 gauge cable from the block to the frame.So I need a better ground from the alternator to the block?I connected the stock ground wire to the alternator when I installed it.

I installed an 60 amp alternator from a subaru onto my 74 620.Where the external regulator was I spliced the wires together like I was supposed to.I even used solder.The setup worked great for a little bit then It seems like I am getting an intermittent field and the battery doesn't charge.I can touch the WR/WB and the Y/W together once and it will charge for as long as the car is running.Today I am going to clean the corrosion off the fuse panel and see if that's the problem.Anyone have any other ideas?The stock alt worked great at charging the battery as long as full load wasn't at idle.

got it figured out,both rear lines were leaking at the fittings.

what does that load sensing valve look like?I don't think it has one but to be sure...

Is there some sort of brake bleeding secret to help bleed the brakes on a 74 620?Ive bled the brakes 5-6 times times and still my brakes suck ass.This latest time I even used a vacuum bleeder and it pulled out MASSIVE amounts of air,and still my brakes suck.I just want to be able to lock up all four tires if I panic stop.Right now it seems like I would stop better if I just dragged my boots on the ground. It has a brand new master cylinder and it doesn't look like anything is leaking,but I still have tons of air in the lines.I'm getting the impression that the brake lines actually go into some alternate universe before coming back to the truck and the alternate universe is full of air because there is no way the lines on the truck could hold that much air. If I open a bleeder there is fluid there,but still lots of air.If I pump the brakes after 4-5 pumps it firms up. If I can't get it working right after the next couple tries I'll just go and get new wheel cylinders all around,even though its supposed to have them..

For a tire to function at ALL, the sidewall/tread needs to flex.The tire resisting that flex is what causes the car to go around corners or stop/accelerate.Drift cars do it because it reduces grip so it makes it easier to slide.

why would you even stop for campus/mall security?

Right now I am trying to find a correct size belt.With my clutch fan a 34 1/8" belt is too short and 34 7/16 belt is to long.The 34 1/8 will fit if the lower mounting ear of the water inlet is removed.Not sure how I feel about that. I am trying to find a 34 1/4" belt... here are some pics of the subaru alt compared to the stock 35 unit.NOTE: my parts alternator turned out to be only putting out 12.5 V,So I bought a new one for $55. stock is the little one. size comparison. bottom mounting.

I thought I would add another alternator that can be used if your only looking for ~60Amps. As I said in my intro post I'm fairly involved in old subaru's so naturally I have a few spare parts in my garage. Today I finished putting the new engine in my 620 (the old engine's oil plug vibrated itself loose on the highway,within a few miles the engine siezed itself solid with no warning because all of the idiot lights were not installed when I bought the truck,anyway got a new engine and got it running).So I had the alternator out and I couldn't help but realize just how similar it looked to a subaru alt.So I looked through my pile o parts until I found a spare alt, and sure enough both the datsun and the subaru alt share the same mounting tab locations.The subaru alt bolts on with NO mods whatsoever other than converting the trucks wiring for a internally regulated alternator.The subaru alt even uses a single v pulley as well.The subaru alt basically just has a bigger case than the datsun alt,but its no so big that a angled waterpump outlet or grinding of the steering nut is needed. so the short version: alternator from ANY 82-89 Subaru and 89-94 Subaru Loyale 60 AMPS SAME mounting ear location Same connector NO MODS needed other than converting the wiring for internally regulated alternators. Removes a piece with a very prominent mitsubishi logo and replaces it with hitachi,and unlike the carbs made by hitachi the alternators work for a LONG time.