casm

Thought about it, but parts availability, complexity, and downtime come into the equation again. Right now the Brat's my only running driver, and I figure I can do the Weber swap on a quiet Saturday, then tweak it Sunday and still drive it on Monday without too much hassle. Not to mention that I've got a fresh clutch and good synchros all around on my 4-speed, so there's really no reason to change it out. I do agree with you in theory, though, and the deeper low range would be nice.

Let me start by saying that I've read through a number of the threads regarding EA-81 performance upgrades, and they've pretty much left me thinking that trying to improve on what I've got currently in my '86 Brat may be something of a dead-end. Having said that: what I want to accomplish is better pull through the gears (particularly on long hills on the Interstate), not faster off-the-line acceleration or a higher top speed. The Weber carb conversion looks like the most expedient way to (possibly) accomplish this, and by 'expedient' I mean 'bolt on'. However, having gone through some of the recent threads it sounds like it mainly improves on low-end torque - a part of the rev range I'm not exactly sitting in when I want to get back up from 60mph to 75mph in 4th gear. My federal-spec Hitachi does OK in this regard on flat ground, but forget about it on inclines. Given what I want to accomplish, what are my reasonable options? The Y-pipe and cat were just replaced with stock parts and I don't want to do an EJ swap; it's a level of complexity and downtime that just isn't something I want to get into. Is the Weber swap the best bet, or are there alternatives I haven't considered yet? I'd really like to graft on a small supercharger, but again: complexity and downtime.

I believe they're designed so that water is channeled down to the gutters above the doors; at least this appears to be the case on my '86. There's no real drain as such. What symptoms are you seeing?

I use a slightly different technique: split one-third of the can between the brake booster hose and throttle body; another third of the can in the crankcase; the remainder in the gas. Obviously you'll want to do an oil change after running it in the crankcase for a bit, but other than that it's pretty much set it & forget it. Using the Deep Creep aerosol instead of the pour-in stuff helps make sure you don't hydrolock the engine since it's easier to control how much you're putting in. FWIW, I tend to do this towards the time when an oil change is due anyway - the stuff in the crankcase helps with keeping the lifters free and easy, but you don't want to leave it in there for the full interval between changes. I find about 25 miles or so of mixed city/interstate driving (keeping an eye on the oil pressure gauge just to be safe) does an excellent de-sludge and lifter job.

Does anyone have photos showing how the hoses from the compressor are routed on an EA-81 model? I'm trying to figure out where they're supposed to mount and am not working it out at all.

After having the Brat's clutch go out, both front CV axles tear boots and throw grease everywhere, the passenger-side strut and rear shock give up, and all of this happening within days of each other... ...Now the $*@#^!% rear axles are tearing their CV boots apart. I just found the first signs of grease splatters on the shocks, light tears in the boots, and have had a few clunks from the back in the last couple of days. Adios Weber conversion for a good while. Right now I'm about ready to take it out back along with my .45 and make the problem go away permanently. Let this be a reminder to anyone purchasing a low-mileage vehicle that it doesn't necessarily mean that the previous owners kept up with maintenance. While I expect a 23-year-old vehicle to need attention, everything I've had to replace so far (where markings could be seen, anyway) has been factory-original. Yes, it all held up well for that length of time - but it all also hit the point of self-destruction at around the same point. It's a good thing I'm obsessed with these oddball little trucklets or I swear I'd use it to test whether or not thermite really can cut through an engine block.

Seafoam. Works great for de-carbonising the intake, valves, etc., and can also be used in the crankcase to clean out any sludge lurking in the oil system. Search for it; there are a couple of threads on it with varying opinions, but I've used it in both my current and previous Brat without issue as well as my other vehicles. Quietened the engine considerably and freed up a sticking lifter quite nicely.

From this description, it sounds like the pulled tranny is a standard EA-82 5MT D/R, no centre difflock. I'll double-check on Monday, but I don't recall a vacuum diaphragm on it. Mind you, it is a junkyard pull, so the small stuff it may need to actually make it useful likely isn't anywhere near it. I'll count to confirm. Thanks for clearing this up for me!

Interesting. Frankly, I wouldn't put it past the computer at the junkyard with the pulled tranny to be wrong; it wouldn't be the first time. That's what I needed to know. Thanks! I don't have shifter linkages on the pulled tranny, but it does at least have provisions in the usual spots for them - the push-pull 4WD engagement comes right off the rear next to where the gear shifter linkage would bolt up. Understood. I was specifically looking for a gearbox with the locking centre diff because I wanted the option of AWD - but I realise that's not the same as a front or rear differential lock used to selectively spool and unspool that particular diff for more traction. I'm kinda leaning towards them both being D/R PT4WD boxes, personally. Is there any good way to identify from outside which box it is?

Hm. OK. Maybe my understanding of what an RX actually is is off-base here. What I've got is a 3-door coupe, non-turbo EA-82, with the large hatchback on it. I always understood that bodystyle to be the RX (along with the sedan version), so my parlance was likely wrong. Cool, good to know. Thanks. OK, stupid question of the day: assuming this car has the difflock, where should I be looking for its switch? I thought it was on the centre console next to the 4WD lever, but there's nothing there. Also, will splines and axle diameter match up from my Brat? I think I need to do some more research into the gearbox I'm considering acquiring: my understanding from what's been posted here is that if it's a difflock tranny it should have come from a turbo, but I don't know if turbo stub shafts will mate up to EA-81 axles.

Should've been clearer on that. It's an '87 5MT, 4WD, no difflock that I could find. Verified age from emissions label. Vehicle is sitting on its belly, so no way to get under and look at the transmission. That's the thing - since I've got one RX sitting there with all the parts on it, it seems reasonable to infer that it should swap to the difflock tranny. I just don't know if that's the case, and would really prefer to avoid getting into fabbing stuff up if there's a stock swap that'll work. Remember that even though I'm considering this for a Brat swap, my first priority is to get that difflock tranny back to stock form as regards the linkages. I know the swap will require fabbing, but I'm not looking at that part of things quite yet.

Agreed... So keep looking. There are other cars out there, it's just a question of them popping up. I'm fairly willing to bet that this isn't the only cheap car turning up in your area. Why would you buy a car with fire damage? If anything says 'horrible accident waiting to happen again', that's it. But by the same token, the guy can ask whatever he wants for it and isn't obliged to take an offer that he doesn't feel is fair. Whether or not you feel that's reasonable is another question, but having been in both your and his position before, I've got to say that he did exactly what I would. If it was a case of knocking $50 off the price, I'd probably just go with it - but a quarter of what I was asking would have me laughing. Not giving you a hard time, just pointing out that I'm not surprised that he reacted the way he did.

Hypothetically, let's say I had a line on an RX tranny with the centre difflock; it doesn't include the linkages (including the pivot arm) for the gear and 4WD shifters. Now - also hypothetically - let's say I found a junkyard RX with the non-centre-difflock tranny. Could I swap the linkages from the junkyard car to the pulled tranny I'm considering buying? The difflock tranny came out of a naturally-aspirated '87 RX, and the junkyard car is also a naturally-aspirated '87. Yep, I'm looking at this as a potential swap into the Brat.

Hm. OK. Good to know. Sounds as though the likelihood of finding what I need is pretty slim, so it's back-burnered. Thanks!

I'm getting curious about doing a power window swap in the Brat ('86) and was wondering what exactly is involved. Obviously I'll need switches and motors, but are the window tracks and glass the same? I'm also guessing that the switches and motors are pre-wired - is this the case? Is there anything else I've missed?

And... At least my cooling problem isn't the thermostat: it's apparently the thermoswitch for the main fan, at least as far as I can tell - it packed up this afternoon and the needle got perilously close to the red. Jumpering the fan to the battery showed that the fan was working, so I'm assuming it's the thermoswitch, anyway; the fan wasn't coming on at all with the engine hot. I'm jumpering it straight to the battery for now as a limp-along... New switch comes in Thursday. Grmph.

*Facepalm* OK, I feel dumb for not noticing that before. Three Brats and this is the first time it's been noticed. Somebody's already got in there ahead of me - the speaker's a Pioneer 2-way, but it's not putting out any sound. Good to know it's an easy shot, though - one way or another, I'll need to do something about it. Thanks!

I could never figure out why the middle air vent on the passenger side refused to let air through. Well, the light just happened to hit it the right way and I noticed what appears to be a 6" 2-way speaker jammed in there. I'd like to take it out. How do I get the dash top off? I've never taken one of these apart before and couldn't find anything through searching - which means I probably used the wrong terms; I'm sure this has been covered before. Any help appreciated.

Taking all previous advice on board: Good to know. Agreed, and will do. Thanks. I think that what I'm going to do is tap the positive for the main engine fan, wire a relay to it in parallel, and connect the positive on the A/C fan to the relay. I did some math, and the electrical system should be able to cope with the startup hit of both fans. Actually running them won't be an issue; it's just the startup I'm concerned about but it should be OK. I'm also going to go back to the OEM thermostat. It's currently an Autozone generic replacement (Stant, IIRC), and I'm not happy overall with its performance. It works, but its concept of 180 degrees seems to be somewhat flexible. I'm not overheating by any means, but the needle's not always holding the middle mark either.

Hm. OK. Good to know. In this case, though, the bars line up with the mounts, so I know they're the right ones. I just want to make sure I get the right bolts; at some point someone tried to install them but used the wrong bolt and left it headed in one of the holes. Repeating their mistake isn't real high on my list of priorities...

Correct - '86/'87, though I believe the bars are the same regardless of whether the Brat has jumpseats or not.

Okay, made an interesting discovery today. In front of the battery (between it and the headlamps) is a single yellow wire with a female bullet connector on it. If I connect that wire to the positive side on the A/C fan, both fans come on. If I ground it, only the main fan comes on. What have I found? I'd like to tap this if possible - I'm just not sure of the best way to do it.

Does anyone know the correct size and thread pitch for the bolts that hold down the rear window bars on a Brat? I'd like to put mine back on but not screw it up in the process, and unfortunately I don't have the originals.

Thanks, guys. I'll fool with it this weekend and report back. I'm not quite at the bowl-of-oatmeal stage yet (that was my last Brat), but I do want to fix this since I'm looking at autocrossing the little bugger in the next few weeks.

As requested - part numbers for the gear linkage bushings responsible for EA-81 shifter slop. If anyone has them, I'd appreciate it if you could toss them my way. Thanks!