4x4_Welder

Pull the rear brakes, and look for blue spots or scuff marks on the inside of the drums, maybe even take them to a shop and have them turned, or just replace them. The extra shaking while braking is a dead giveaway-

In the process of slinging a new rear suspension under the Hatch, 2" lift via the torsion bars. I have heard of using Chevette shocks, but the mounts look all wrong. Is it possible to just drill new holes a couple inches down the shock mounts and use the stock shocks, or do I have to go with different shocks? I did a sarch, but maybe I just don't know how to search, I can never seem to dig anything up-

Easier to stall on takeoff, but it will rev faster.

The best way to remove spot welds is to drill them out. If it is an option, though, then cut that chunk out of the other car. That way, you can keep the proper shape and thickness. As said, I wouldn't use the whole thing, just the section you need to repair on your car. If you can stagger the cuts between the upper and lower pieces (make the lower piece wider than the upper piece), welding the patch in will be much easier.

Cut it out and replace it, shouldn't be too hard. Just make a cardboard template of the repair patch, cut out a piece of 1/8" steel, and weld it in.

Older ceramic is translucent, so it's not glowing, it's the flame front in the chamber lighting it up like a flashlight. I like NGK V-Powers. I have used them in all my Japanese vehicles, and used to use them on my sleds. Even run them in Honda power equipment! Different brand engines are designed for different plugs. NGK and Denso are the same basic design, and usually ohm out the same. The Japanese standardized a lot of stuff, just look at axles under Japanese trucks. Most Asian cars like NGKs and Densos. For Ford, use Autolites, and for Dodge, use Champions. Delcos for GMs of course-

Yeah, anybody else catch the prices on those, too? For that much, I'll double up on 13" snow tires-

For mine, for better torque, I am going with a 250 grind from Delta. That, along with bearings, rings, gasket set, oil pump and water pump will run you about $450. That's assuming the heads are ok, no need to have the block bored, just honed, new rings, new bearings, and put it back together. Also assuming you already have all the tools you need to do the job. There really isn't much that can be done to upgrade these engines, not that they couldn't use it, but there really isn't much room for improvement with the existing parts. I'm sure if you could throw a set of dual port heads on, along with better head gaskets, but then there is the possibility of head bolt breakage or pulling out of the block. There isn't a need to upgrade the oil pump, that puts out more than enough to lube the engine at any rpm. Just make sure the pickup is in good shape, and the tube isn't bent, dented, and doesn't have any holes in it.

Ok, I was just under the impression they didn't have an O2s until late 81-early 82.

Are you sure about that? I dropped the exhaust out of it a few months back to put on new flanges and front pipes, and there was no O2s in the exhaust anywhere. My 82 had one in the center of the Y at the front of the cat, but none for this one, as near as I can tell. Although, if it's supposed to have one, that could explain why it gets 25-27mpg.

So, without an O2s, TPS, etc for input, what does this computer actually control?

If it sat for a while before you got it, then the rear brakes probably rusted up a bit, and the shudder was the shoes going past the pitted area. Once that are was polished back smooth again, the shudder went away.

Ok, I'm getting lost on this car and it's startingto agravate me- What exactly does this little psuedo-computer control? What parameters need to be met for the fuel pump to come on and stay on, like oil pressure, rpms, etc?

Ok, I know that this thing isn't electronically controlled, but it still has that goofy PCM under the dash. When the car is running, the little led is on, but once it starts to die out, the light goes out (somewhere around 800rpm) and stays out. Once I turn the key off and back on, the light comes on and stays on. The fuel pump has power intermittently, maybe for about ten seconds after the engine first fires up, then shuts off. None of the connectors look bad, all the fuses are good. I'm starting to lean heavily towards ripping the harness out and doing my own when I swap the engine and throw EFI on it, but I would like the car to move under it's own power for more than 10seconds at a time right now.

Did that for my old block to recycle it. No too bad, but either count on replacing the lifters, or keep close track of them, since they like to fall out of the case once it's split.

You can make an uber-simple slide hammer from a piece of 3/8" threaded rod and a piece of 1/2" sch40 pipe, along with a couple nuts. It's the best way to pull them, I've tried to pull them by pressure before, and you really do need that -hit- from a slide hammer to get past the coked-on oil crud.

Getting ready to strip and rebuild the Hatch, put a fresh battery in it, and fired it up. All the warning lights are on, the voltmeter is going nuts but staying below about 10v, and it won't run over an idle for more than about 10seconds at a time, even though it starts back up fairly quick. I'm thinking that either mice got into the harness again, or the voltage regulator is dying, unless this is another one of those known issues these cars can have. My options right now are to either track out this problem, maybe pull the main harness out, inspect, and re-wrap, or strip it all and run bare essentials with my own harness (I have made harnesses before, and don't have any issues with that). At least this time around the car is actually down, and I can afford the time to screw with it-

The 4speed in my Hatch is leaking gear oil out one of the axle seals, but that drips it straight on the cat. If it's emptying the gear oil, it's gotta be a wicked leak.

The last time I went through CT emissions, they just checked to see if there was a cat there. If the tag under the hood just says catalyst, then you can sneak by with just the one.

Usually long strips of steel are from ball bearings. Check for any bearings that have lost their cages.

I do know that four 35x12.5 mud tires will fit in the back of an EA81 wagon, but the weight will get ya-

Check inner and outer tie rod ends, and the rack mounts. If any of these are loose in the slightest, they will make it shimmy going down the road straight. Also, check the balance of the tires.

Are you running boost at all at that speed, and is it intercooled?

This one was a dark red/maroon with black on the sides, and Pugs, maybe a 2-3" lift. I saw it going past Amsec on Werner, about 7am on Wed, and around 11am on Fri.

Yeah, the big round mount up front. I'm going to try using RTV soon, I need to swap out the rear suspension soon so I can get some decent tires under it. Might as well do it while the diff is out.