5kcstq stereo system and other ramblings

[Ken Keith]

Hey all,

I've finally been driving my '88 5kcstq around lately.  It's been pretty 
nice.  The ride is smooth, if not a little soft for my tastes.  I can 
hear some kind of squeaking noise coming from the front left (it 
sounds like), like a bearing or something (although it's not a groan, 
like I would think a bearing would be).  Perhaps it's a shield or 
something.

With the key on and engine off, the boost gauge reads 0.9.  When I 
wring the cars neck out, I get mostly 1.2 bar, with 1.3 bar 
attainable if I keep it floored for a while (time to let off or shift by the 
time I get 1.3).  The SJM website seems to indicate that I should 
be seeing 1.4 bar, but I don't know if this is supposed to be at 1.0 
bar reading with the engine off.

It doesn't feel terribly fast, although I can feel the turbo coming on.

My a/c doesn't work (blow cold), the switch to close the sunroof 
doesn't always work, and the shifter seems to barely catch the 
gear a bit when I shift normally.

When I first start rolling after starting the car, and hit the brakes for 
the first time, I can hear something in the hydraulics fighting to 
catch up, and feel the pedal do the pulsating thing.  This only 
seems to happen upon the first braking effort after startup.  I have a 
new bomb, and the pump has a remanufactured sticker from the 
PO.

When I first put gas in, after driving it with very low quantities in the 
tank, I noticed there was alot of pressure built up under the cap 
when I opened it.  I hope I got all the vent lines and such hooked up 
again correctly.

I like the headroom in this car, and the open view of the road in 
front of me.  I'll probably be driving this car for a while.

Oh yeah, the subject line is about the stereo system.  My 
speakers in various locations cut in and out.  I can't tell if it's the 
head unit, or the amp or what.  It's all stock, as far as I know.  I 
would like to get this stuff working properly.

I noticed the SJM site isn't strong on stereo system issues, are 
there any Type 44 car stereo resources anywhere?

What do most people do with the head unit situation?  Do you run 
those high to low level convertors, and use the stock bose amp(s), 
or do you use the aftermarket internal amp, and bypass the stock 
wiring harness, or?

Thanks,

Ken