Subarian

Even if the fittings aren't the same, you can use the pump. There should be someone in your area who makes hydraulic hoses. They can take any two hoses and combine them into one (I've had to do it on other non-Subaru conversions).

It sounds like your EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) valve. Make sure the vacuum line to it is connected and doesn't have any cracks in it. As far as the function of the EGR valve, its purpose is to introduce an inert gas (exhaust) into the combustion chamber at higher RPMs to limit the formation of oxides of nitrogen. The problem with EGR valves is that when they get old they tend to leak, and you get exhaust going into the intake when you're trying to idle, which is not good. The good news is that, unless your state requires the EGR to be functioning for emissions tests, you can disable it by blocking it off. I'm not sure how it's set up on the EA81, but on the EA82 you can just slip a piece of a tin can under the fitting where the exhaust comes into the intake.

I agree with Jibs- check the castle nut. ALSO- the cone washers on these tend to get a ridge on them over time, and the ridge will sit on the edge of the hub and not let you get proper torque. If there's a ridge, you can file it off with a file.

The gurgling is air in your cooling system. It's really common on the EA82s. To get rid of it, you open the radiator cap and squeeze the top radiator hose, then add coolant. Keep doing that until no more air comes out. It helps if the nose of the car is pointed uphill. Also make sure your cap is good, the line to the overflow is connected, and the reservoir has coolant in it. As far as the occasional white smoke, it might be the intake gaskets. Check to see if the intake is tight.

I'm not sure on the EA81 distributors, but there are several different rotors for the EA82s. Could maybe be a similar thing. What happens if you put the old rotor back in?

Cool. Can they learn to change plugs?

In my current EA82 I use the cheap walmart oil, because burning anything else seems like a waste. In my other vehicles, I use full synthetic, like Mobil 1, and that's what I plan to use in my Subaru once the turbo motor's done.

Ram engines does build a dual port head. They build new ports on the intake side and you can specify bigger valves. You'll need to buy one of their intakes or fabricate one.

But having different-sized tires side-to-side can also cause handling problems.

185 is the width of the tire in millimeters/70 is the ratio of the tire's height to its diameter/R stands for radial/13 is the rim diameter. So the only thing that's the same is the diameter of the rim.

I don't think I could fit a ferret in the engine bay of this 15 passenger van. They always pick on the new guy, though. Anyway, the oil pump is recently sealed, the motor has 255000 on it, it drives 24 miles one way to work, mostly freeway, and I'm pretty sure the oil seals are shot. It started in one cylinder and (while my son was driving it while I was in Iraq) it progressed to all four. It's not a big deal, since it doesn't put out clouds of smoke and I check the oil weekly. The turbo conversion is definitely in the works, and I'm looking forward to it, since the only complaint I've ever had about my Subaru is its blinding acceleration. Also, no oil drips on the ground, but I appreciate the input.

Actually, since the profile is a derivative of the tire width (it's a ratio of width to height), the difference in diameter between a 185/70/13 and a 175/70/13 is about 1/2 inch. On dry pavement, you could experience some binding in 4wd. You should be OK in loose snow or on ice. As Hodaka said, you could experience handling issues.

A little more background - I go through about a quart of oil per 500 miles. It's definitely getting close to engine time.

There has been a fair amount of discussion on the board about it. You can do a search. I think the consensus is that it would be pretty difficult to fit under the Subaru hood.

The thing to remember about Ram Engines is that they specialize in building aircraft engines out of Subaru engines. I think you could build a lot more for less money if the consequence of failure is pulling to the side of the road rather than falling out of the sky.

15 Passenger Ford 5.4 Triton. Coil on Plugs. 8 plugs, 8 boots, 1 bad coil, $120 in parts, about 5 hours in labor. It's not too bad once you realize you're going to need to pull the intake up to the throttle body and the fuel rails. Once you get there, it's a pretty straight shot, unlike our previous van with the 5.7 (plugs on the side of the head rather than the top). In contrast, it took about 5 minutes to pull all 4 of my Subaru's plugs. Also, ash on plugs can indicate excessive fuel additives, but it can also show oil consumption. The oil will burn until the plugs are fouled; that's when they start to get oily. I've actually been studying out the turbo conversion for a while. I think I'll massage the turbo block with new bearings and rings, do a good valve job, maybe put 9.5 pistons in for more bottom end, add a BOV and an intercooler, and put a manual boost controller on it.

While I was tuning up my wife's van yesterday (a 5 hour job) I decided to take a look at my Subaru's plugs. They were all covered in white ash, with only about five or six thousand miles on them. So now I know where the oil's been going. On the bright side, I have another excuse to build and install that turbo motor that's just sitting there.

It looks like this and it's really easy to use. You take off the radiator cap, put this thing on top of the radiator and fill it with the fluid. As the gases coming out of the radiator pass through it, the fluid changes colors if exhaust gases are present.

I'm going with HG on this one, in spite of your compression test. The way to be sure would be to find out what kind of gas is actually coming out of the radiator. You can smell it to see if it smells like combustion gases, or you can go to your auto parts store and spend about $30 for a combustion gas detector. It uses a fluid that changes from blue to yellow when combustion gases are present.

It sounds to me like you may not have gotten the end of the clutch fork into the throwout bearing. If adjusting it doesn't fix it, that's the first place I would look.

I would get a haynes or chiltons service manual. If you don't want to buy one, go to the library. Or search the board for bleeding brakes.

Double check the timing belts. I have bought subarus before (really cheap) whose owners were told they needed a new engine, and all they needed was someone who knew how to install the timing belts right.

Take the lugs off and go wheeling!!! I am just kidding, of course.

What's the problem? If you give us more info, we might be able to help you better.

Try www.strangevehicles.com. My favorite is the chia bug.