Mileage, help with noise, other stuff

[clfitz@ns1.cwv.net]

Hello, folks...

I forget who wanted to know everyone's mileage, but here's mine:  
27.5 when I filled up today.  That's mostly highway, but there was 
some city driving too.

The car's an '81, five-speed with AC, stock.

Okay, now for the noise:  Starting at about 25 mph, there's a 
runk-runk-runk noise coming from the front.  It almost sounds like 
brake pads, but they're not anywhere near worn enough to cause that.  
It stops when I turn the wheel to the right, even just a little (like 
for an off-ramp, say).  Sometimes, stopping for a traffic 
light will cause it to quit, too, for a while.  Turning to the left 
doesn't have any effect at all.

It occurs when the car is moving, even if I shift into neutral.

I really, really don't want this to be wheel bearings.

Okay, other stuff:  I just put struts at all four corners, and it 
feels like a new car!  The back ones were pretty easy, but I had 
trouble with one front; the bottom bolt was frozen, and no amount of 
effort would free it.  I drove the thing to the shop, and they cut it 
with a torch.  Oh well; it had to be aligned, anyway.

Questions: 
1-	 My fuel pump doesn't run when I turn the key; it seems to 
start running only when I'm actually cranking the starter.  This 
makes the car hard to start, and of course it means that I can't 
check the cold start valve, which I suspect is leaking.  Is this 
normal for an '81?

2-	There's an awful lot of cold air coming into the car.  It comes 
out at my feet, regardless of where the heater controls are set.  
It's only a problem, of course, when it's cold outside (like right 
now--20 degrees).  There aren't any big holes or missing grommets at 
the firewall; I've looked pretty well.  I assume it's somehow coming 
around the heater core, right?  I took the console off and put some 
duct tape around the big thing in the middle of the car, where the 
rubber seal was supposed to be.  Didn't help a bit.  Where is this 
coming from, and how can I stop it?  I'm freezing my a**, uh, feet 
off!

Sorry this is so long, and thanks!

Carlee
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