DaveT

Hmmm, I've been thinking about putting a restrictor in that line. All 5 of the 3ATs I've had shift up too early, always have. An OEM vacuume modulator will make it a little better than an aftermarket. Running with the line disconnected will make it up shift very late / higher RPM. Somewhere in between would be nicer. There is a kickdown switch mounted on the gas pedal, up under the dash. Check to see if it is getting activated when the pedal is floored. I have been shifting them with the lever for years, so they shift when I want. When I want to downshift to slow down, I shift the lever down 1, tap the gas, and it goes into the lower gear. When I want to get more power to climb a hill, let off the gas slightly, move the lever down 1, hit the gas after the shift happens. With practice, these "manual" shifts are much smoother than the auto left to it's own devices. I'd probably have manual transmissions, but for 3 reasons, in no particular order: 1. Wife can't do manual 2. Left knee bothers me after a few shifts. 3. Manuvering a trialer, and in tight places is much easier with an auto.

The frequencies used by TV and DTV are nowhere near AM radio. Not even close. The AM radio section in an AM / FM radio is a seperate set of parts. They only share the antenna connector and the audio amplifier stages, so the AM part could just be dead.

The time to fix this is the first time it happpens. If the temp is high due to low coolant level, you will need headgaskets sooner or later. I never noticed the oil pressure dropping while overheating. Oil pressure at idle normally drops very low on the gauge. How is the radiator? Are all of the tiny thin fins still stuck in between the horizontal tubes that the coolant flows through? Loose enough of them, and the cooling abaility of the radiator drops. It doesn't take a large percentage to impact this to a noticable amount. They usually rot out where the fan shrouds are first. IF the coolant level is full, a quick test of the thermostat is to remove it. The engine should not get to normal operating temperature.

I'm pretty sure my 86 4X4 EA82 wagon had them. 88 & up do. At least in 4x4 wagons.

I had 570 watts on my 1978 1600 wagon. 4) 55/60 W Hi / Lo headlights, + 2 55W fog lamps. I had a switch panel to select how many of the filaments were on - singel or dual low beam, all the way up to all 8 for hi beam. I built an external rectifier box for the alternator. Never had a problem after that. The stock regulator worked fine - it was before the regulator was part of the alternator. Edit - typed the year wrong.

The adjustable ones have not been available aftermarket for years, if they ever were. 10 or so years ago, when I was looking for them, they were still available from Subaru. According to some research by the guys at the parts house I buy from, the aftermarket ones they looked at were half way between the limits of the adjustments. I have no idea what brands they were now, unfortunately, but they would not have been the cheapest brands. I went to a pick & pull and nabbed a set of adjustable ones from an older wagon.

Reliability items, from my experience: Timing belts #1 - unless you are 100% sure of how many miles since they were replaced. New idlers & water pump with new belts. #2 Replace all 7 coolant hoses. #3 I have used synthetic ATF in all of my 3AT wagons. Absolutly no transmission problems. I have been operating & maintaining them since 1988. The vacuum modulator is the only part I have repalced. #4 Be sure to check the differential oil. The alternator will likely need a brush and bearings around 120K. Check the brakes. Check the CVJ boots.

I just looked at one of my spare heads: The 2 holes on the sides of the intake intersect 2 of the head bolts. They are drilled through as OEM. Not supposed to be water in there. No harm done. The end bolt, if you drill deep enough, would intersect the air space above the head = crank case.

If they broke off because they were stuck, easy outs will most likely not work. It's too late for this time, but I have found that if I run the engine up to normal operating temperature just before removing the bolts, they come out with a lot less trouble.

For future reference, you don't need to pull the dizzy. just do the timing belt sequence.

Did replacing the link fix the voltage problem?

I didn't intend to exclude the older EAs from the "good" category, I was only refering to the typical same age and newer cars I've seen. My dad had a minivan, I think it was a Dodge. Bought new. All maintanance properly, went through 2 transmissions in less miles than any car in my fleet at the time. He bought a Tribeca. My mom has the other Subaru SUV the biggish one with traction control & all that. One of my sisters has one of them also. A number of years ago, a guy at work bought a new minivan. Typical all excited. I looked under the hood, was not impressed by all the nickle & dime cheapouts they put into the thing.

I vaugely remeber those. One side of the reed valve goes to the exhaust port. The other side goes where? If a reed valve is broken off, it might be possible for exhaust to go backwards through the valve. No, that goes exhaust to intake. If it was way out of wack, the engine wouldn't run good. Pictures might help. MKaybe someone will spot something.

The blow by gasses will be sucked into the intake because you routed the hoses to the air filter box. The only downside could be the oil vapors that get carried along could dirty up the Weber. If that isn't happening, no worries. I'm not sure where you have the PCV valve hooked up. One side is to the manifold, the other needs to connect to the crank case for it to do what it was intended to. That would be control emissions. Since the other vents go to the air box, all the unburned gasses, etc, should end up going into the engine anyway.

Yes, the oil filler is a larger path, so air could flow through it easier than the normal port on the cover. But if the oil filler cap is off / not sealed, air will leak out, reducing the ability for pressure to build up in the crankcase. Also, don't forget, the manual was translated from Japanese, and sometimes meanings get a little twisted in the process. Check what GD mentioned. I haven't had to do battle with excessive crankcase pressure, so I'm kind of limited to more general suggestions.

The newest car I ever owned was 2 years old (90 Loyale). The last 2 I bought were over 10 years old. (EA82s) I've looked under the hoods of other guy's new cars. Have yet to see one that looks easier to work on than an EA82. Maybe partly to my familiarity with them. The only easier would be old stuff, pre emmisions systems vintage. My wife "came with" a Toyota Corolla. We traded it for an 86 GL 4X4 wagon. The Toyota was a PITA to work on. The best thing I got from the experience was the vacuume solenoids I use for my EGR fix, and to make the vent / recirculate a user selectable option on the HVAC system.

Yes. The PCV connects where it originally did, the tap of "T" B that is facing down. The port C is pluged as part of the modification. I added a link to a bigger picture to the original post. (I hope)

The picture helps (BTW, how do you get the full sized pic in the post?) The only reason the air flows as the arrows show is that the engine manifold vacuum is lower pressure than the air at the air cleaner. It will only flow that direction when the manifold vacuum is stronger than at the air cleaner. If you remove the hose from the PCV valve side, air will come out normally. It will also come out the other side, wether it is connected to the air cleaner or not. If you remove the side opposite the PCV, air may come out, depending on the pressure differential. I never tested to see if the suction to the PCV was strong enough to remove all the blow by and make noticeable suction on the opposite port. The pressure differential varies with engine RPM and throttle position. The relation of throttle position and engine RPM depends on the engine load. I can't think of any way the pistons / valvetrain could effect air flow - the clearances are far to large for any of them to pump air from one side to the other. My experiences with test running engines in car & on stand have always been air exits both sides when the PCV hoses are disconnected. The PCV valve has springs in it that allow it to be open or closed at particular pressure differentials & flow rates. I'm not sure if I have an old EA71 PCV valve to look at. I remember a thread or 2 about adding an oil seperator to the PCV lines a while back.

There is an official Subaru modification kit to fix this problem. I do not know if it is still available. Refering to this picture: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6112&d=1233549601 The kit includes the "T" at A, and the "T" at B, the plug at C, and the hose between them. This picture is after the kit is installed. The original system had a small ellbow at C, a smaller hose from C to the "T" at B, and the original "T" had a smaller port. Also, an ellbow at A. After installing this kit, I have never had the problem again.

I haven't touched one of those in about 20 years. But I did rebuild one back then. I don't remeber the PCV hose configuration.

I'm not sure about the weird reving. 16V is too high. Check with a multimeter. back of alternator and battery. They normally should be close. If there is more than some tenths of a volt, check the electrical connections from the alternator to the battery. Should be the big wire on the back with a nut, not the little plug on ones. Looking for high resistance / burned contacts. Possibly one of the fusable links? (check the schematic)

I can take some tomorrow. There might be a thread on here somewhere, I mentioned it once quite a while ago. What it does is make both rocker cover vents the same size all the way back to the air intake. Original on non turbo SPFI had the passenger side 1/2" all the way, driver's side dropped down to maybe 1/4" part of the run up by the intake boot. The kit had a T and a cap and a hose or 2 to make all 1/2".

That's just wierd. Not trying to argue. The oil return passages from the rocker cover areas are large & irregular shaped. They go through the cam carriers, through the heads, through the block, into the oil pan. I have dissasembled these engines. There is nothing in them to direct airflow in any direction. With both hoses open, I can't imagine any reason the "air" wouldn't exit both aproximately even. Could the description in the FSM be describing the flow under normal, original system (that is, before the mod that fixes the smoke show while turning) which had different size fittings & flow paths from the 2 sides in place?

I didn't mean to imply disableing or neglecting the PCV system. I was only addressing the idea of blow by with the hoses off being normal. The smoke show during hard turns can be fixed by a Subaru modification kit. No more smoke shows for me.

There is no seperation between the heads / rocker covers in the block. Any pressure under the pistons will freely vent from both covers. If it's running good, not burning oil, getting the usual MPG, probably nothing wrong.