4x4_Welder

Damn you! Snow in June! Makes me wish I could afford to go down there.

I have to pull two long hills on the way to and from work, no pinging at all. The clutch release issues have returned, though, so no driving it until that's fixed. I got a pedal assembly from an 84, just need to get a matching cable for it now.

I just finally got the worn-out Hitachi distributor out of my 4x4 hatch, dropped an 82 ND out of a 2wd dl wagon, and it made a real difference. Mileage has gone up, power is much better in mid-range, and the car actually has a stable idle now. Of course, that could all be the result of replaceing a distributor that was so worn the reluctor wheel was hitting the pickups. I'm running it at 10º at idle now, no pinging issues. How much can you safely go on these cars?

Looks exactly like the one in my 81 GL Hatch. That cable is going to be halfway long, since the clutch release is on the passenger side.

That's one thing I have noticed about my hatch in RWD- it likes to be sideways. What's really fun is hitting my road at about 30-35 in second, floor it, and go right sideways. The fun of living on a dirt road........ Oh yeah, is it just mine, or do all these cars handle ten times better as a rear drive?

To get back on this subject, will the EA-82 disk fit in the EA-81 flywheel, or do I need to change the flywheel too? Which one do I need if I do have to change it?

That one was an original motor, I bought it from the original owner, only about 80k on the clock, the car rotted out on me.

Can't you just replace the u-joint? Easy with a vise, c-clamp or press, a walk in the park if you have an acetalyne torch.

It doesn't seem to be- I know it has solid lifters, and there are no golden stickers. I wonder if it's a factory replacement block? Some other numbers- From the 82 block, built 4/82- 009899. Nice low number there.

I'd take the heads to Westbay, the closest one to you is in Belfair. I have them do all my machining work, they do some good stuff at a reasonable price.

My hatch, d/r built 7/81- 799337 As far as I know, it's got the original motor. The car only has 194k on it. As soon as I dig out the block from my 82 wagon, I can get the number off that, the build date for that was 4/82.

Will I need a different driveshaft, modify linkages, perform entire operation within a circle of salt, etc?

I have a d/r 5speed from an 86 EA82, what exactly will I have to modify or replace to throw that under an EA81 hatch d/r? Will the driveshaft just go right on, linkage hook up, and get this thing back on the road in short order, or am I going to need some special stuff.

Dude- I have my 4x4 hatch with all the fun parts in the classifieds for $600, you could probably drive it home. The ad is here- http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=58668

From the looks of it, harmonics may come into play around 7k, but the belts may help some. You might need a damper to go to the other side of 8k though. Whay not put the heads and cams on a junker block, put it on a stand, and rev that till it blows? Then you'll know.

Oh yeah- If anybody out there has a clutch release problem on a pre-83 EA81, swap the pedal assembly out. I got one from the dealership, it was $75 for the steel box by itself, and I have to put the pedals on it still, but it is money well spent. The pre-83 pedal support assembly is very weak, and that, combined with the previous owner, is what killed the tranny in this car due to the clutch not releasing.

Well, my d/r 4speed is dead. No first gear, won't come out of fourth below 2500rpm, unless the engine is off and the car stopped. I knew this was coming, what with the massive synchro problems I've been having, but I was hoping to hit 200k before the overhaul. Time for the d/r 5speed. Now my only sticking point is if I should do just the transmission, but I'd hate to put the same crappy leaky exhaust back up just to replace it in a couple months. Of course, while it's down, I might as well install the new swingarm assembly to fix the broken torsion bars, but since those are already re-indexed for 2" lift, I might as well go ahead and do the lift too. But what good is a lift without the t-case mod? I need the t-case in there to route the exhaust around it, and since I think the driveshaft will be different for the 5speed, I might as well only spend the money once, and have the shaft made for the t-case. At the same time, I can't do the lift and tires and wheels and leave it in the crappy weathered silver, so I might as well paint it at the same time. Of course, what good is all this without nice bumpers, maybe a roof rack or roof mounted spare.................. So, the car is getting it's rebuild earlier than expected. Pics will follow once I get into the real part of it.

That has got to be the most misleading name I have ever seen- I am looking for a stencil font, just a regular, plain old stencil, and they want $150 for it!

I pulled both axles out of mine, seperated the outer cup from the shaft, got all the balls and the cage out of it, and put it back in. This is what retains the bearings and hub, so you can't run without doing this.

My 81 Hatch is in RWD right now, it works great. It's a d/r 4speed, a little tougher than the AWD differential boxes, though. As long as you don't do too many hard launches, it should be ok. It's hard to keep a FWD car from pulling, whether it has equal length shafts or not. You get on it, the weight transfers to the rear, the front tires loose traction, and it slips the front tires. They will not slip at the same time, unless you have some sort of spool or locker in the front, it's just the way these things go. So, the side with traction gives a nice hard yank.

Maybe I should just throw this thing together and see if it holds- it'll see some pretty decent stress on it, hoepfully the wheels will slip before it reaches the breaking point if I remember not to overload it. If/when it breaks, it'll be replaced by a Ford 9" diff with 7.30 gears, flipped upside down.

What the hell was that? The crime-fighting Lada?

Basically, what I need is something to reverse the direction of power, slow the speed down, and split it 90º with a differential. I have an engine and automatic transmission, and I want to hook the output of the auto to the input of the tranny, run it in low range, in reverse, and take power off the axle stubs. The tranny will be locked in reverse, under a plate, with no linkage connected to it.

I have a project and a spare tranny, so I must ask this question- On an EA-81 d/r 4speed, how much torque can the transmission handle? No shock loading, just constant smooth power. What do you think would break first?

What tires did you put on?