mountaingoatgruff

i'm a step ahead of you with the cat, its an oversized universal with reducers all welded in already. i also got a new oxygen sensor, a new pcv, and i'll change my oil the day i take it in. is ecu pin 36 "EGR monitor" the hookup for the EGR temp sensor? what is the "49 state/cal identification" wire on pin 33 of the ecu? besides making me fail smog, what would removing the EGR do to my ea81 - would it improve performance? i made a block off plate for the EGR on my 65 dodge van's 85 318 and you wouldn't believe the difference it made - you wouldn't have known that V8 was a 2bbl by driving it! also, would porting the intake a bit - just cleaning up the casting defects and what not - be noticeable or would this engine only notice it if i do the heads too? i figure i'll clean up the intake along each head's port where that ridge is and maybe spend a few minutes with the dremel smoothing out the inner walls of the intake. at 73 horses, anything's got to help! and one more thing for now - can i remove the pipe that runs along the bottom back of the intake or is it one of those pressed in types that will never seal again? my dad does powdercoating so naturally my top end is gonna be "candy shimmering blue" and i'm thinking it would be better to remove that pipe before curing the powder @ 400* for a half hour, unless of course its pressed then i'll have to wonder if i can get away with powdering the pipe too. i don't think the aluminum will split - i just think grease will come out as the metal cooks and it'll ruin the finish. i didn't want to mess with it before asking if anyone knows.

i'll look into the a/c signal later on once everything else is kosher and if i can find something that works i'll put it in a post for future reference. i removed the white and black plugs, but actually left the gold one for some reason, i guess it'll just stay in there since it's not going to hurt anything. my donor loyale is originally a colorado car, which kinda has me scared about emissions test time. i figure if it comes down to it i'll use the white camping fuel trick or whatever works. do they make different temp range spark plugs for these cars (as in some with lower temps)? i'm leaving cali for washington next year or the year after so its not a big deal to me as long as i can score a pass once or twice.

i think i'm about done with preparing the harness, but i had a couple ?'s. first - can i simply cut and terminate the wires for the auto trans parking switch since i have a stick and the a/c signal even though my car has a/c? i'll assume for now that the a/c signal tells the ecu when the compressor clutch is engaged and the ecu then adjusts engine control parameters to compensate for the load on the belt. is there a wire i can tap in my ea81 a/c system to use for this signal so my idle stays legit while i'm using a/c? second - there's a few plugs i noticed are tied into my spfi wiring that i didn't see in the pics on the spfi conversion writeup. there's a white one, a black one, and a golden one. they seemed like they just tapped into lines that didn't need any input or output besides what they already have so i cut them off and planned on redoing the splices where they tapped in. are they diagnostic ports or power distribution or something? i'm okay having cut them out right?

you're right, GD. since they both work the same its more logical to choose the ecu that requires less input. i have the clutch pedal, cable, and the switch from above the pedal that looks like the one pictured in your writeup. i'm not usually so hairbrained but i'm used to simple old mopars and besides that i'm a bit spread thin right now so please bear with me. the switch i have from above the pedal is the clutch switch, right? the neutral switch is located on the tranny housing and i don't have that (i can go back for it if i have to, but i'd have to do it this weekend which is why i want to figure this out sooner than later). where is the cruise control switch located on a 91 loyale? i noticed there were two switches that looked just like the clutch switch (a big gold bolt w/ 2 nuts) above the brake pedal. i took both of those and i was wondering if i could use one to sub for my neutral switch instead of a cc switch (or is one the cc kill switch for the loyale setup?). as far as getting a black ecu, how much should i expect to pay for one? also, would you be willing to send me one? thanks

I'm using the ecu from a 91 loyale. Doesn't this ecu require a clutch switch AND a neutral switch? I think there were two switches on the drivers side of the of the loyales trans. I grabbed the one in the front. If it's the same as the backup light switch it doesn't matter which one I grabbed but I'll still have to rig it up in addition to the clutch pedal switch for my 91 silver box ecu, right?

i went to the salvage yard to get my parts and of course they failed to get everything on the list. i started looking the car over and i had to pull the dist, clutch swich and neutral switch. i started working on the neutral swich and noticed there's a couple electric componenets on the tranny. it's a pushbutton 4wd 5speed in a 91 loyale. where is the neutral switch, what are the other electronic components on the tranny housing, and do i need them? GD's writeup says the neutral switch has a black oval connector. it may be that they're all balck with filth, but i can't tell them apart! if somone could help me sort this out i'd appreciate it. the wreckers wanna send the car to the crusher with a good ea82, 5speed, and all good running gear asap. bastards!

i appreciate the way you guys put up with redundant questions from subie nubies. i guess between the fact that i sold my wife's car for this hatch and she's pretty upset a month later with no wheels (hold the noose folks - its not like i'm not selling my truck to get her another car! i just gotta have this hatch going first cuz i commute), i'm double what i expected to be into this thing cash wise, and i don't trust those jy greasemonkeys to pull the parts correctly or completely, i'm just really nervous about this thing. then there's the whole smog factor, and on and on. i'll feel a lot better when i hear that hatch rumbling again! thanks again for the help, the real questions will come soon, i'm picking up the parts tomorrow after work and then the games begin!!

thanks, Gloyale. thats kind what i thought but reading so many different people's posts with so many different names and references gets confusing. so then, as far as this 91 loyale's ECU is concerned, are the S/R and the D/R compatible? does the D/R have the neutral switch location? the loyale has a S/R but if i do a 5speed swap i'd like to put in a D/R, of course. now this part might seem off the wall or just plain dumb, but i've been trying to think of an easy cheap way of getting around rigging up clutch and neutral switches until i do a tranny swap. what purpose do the neutral and clutch switches serve? how does their input affect the ECU and it's overall behavior? could i simply use toggle switches as temporary substitutes and switch them on/off as i accellerate/cruise/coast or does the ECU need constant accurate representations of the state of my trans & clutch? if i can get this SPFI conversion done in the next month, i'll probably do the tranny swap in another six months or so after that. what would it do to my ECU and car in general to leave these switches disconnected that long?

is there any benefit to using a 91 ECU over a late 80's one? i know that a lot of manufacturers are constantly ironing out known issues and what not, especially with electronics. i don't mind going throught the extra work of permanently rigging these additional switches if there's any tangible benefit and if help and parts are readily available. also i was wondering about another couple of related things. i'm not too familiar with EA82 cars or 4wd 5MT's but i'd eventually like to make that swap also. my donor loyale has a pushbutton 4wd 5MT, are these D/R or did subaru even make 5MT's with D/R? would the loyale's ECU be compatible with a D/R 5MT or would i be better off with a late 80's GL ECU for that reason too? also, did subaru make a lever actuated D/R 5MT and could i use that trans instead of a button one (i prefer mechanical shift over electric even if its more work). i'm not trying to build a hotrod or 4wd tank, i just want the highest mileage and reliability possible with this savage little car.

i've given up on my carb and, for better or for worse, i've resolved to do an SPFI conversion on my 84 hatch. i've got a complete 91 loyale w/ EA82, 5MT, SPFI, and a might-as-well-have-been-rolled body to pull parts from. i've read the writeup General D provided the link for and will be referencing the pdf's linked to by that page. my question before getting neck deep is whether i can use the ECU, dist, etc. off the 91 loyale for my conversion. is this too late of an ECU or will i have to add in a bunch of sensors, switches, whatever to make it work without giving codes all the time? i've pretty much bought the parts already and after rechecking GD's writeup i'm worried if i went too late model on the parts (its the only EA82 car i found in any wrecking yard in this county!!! i found an EA81 car that was crushed just THIS MORNING and pulled the ONLY good parts left off of it - the front sidemarker lights.) i don't want to monkey this thing or in other words half-*@# it. i know there's a lot of detailed work involved and that's okay so give it to me straight. also any tips or new info would be much appreciated! i can't wait to get this thing out terrorizing the pavement pounding luxury suv's again!

i do have an O2 sensor. what are the computer controlled feedback carb/associated componenets compared to what i have? the car legitimately passed cali smog check earlier this year with a new cat and the whole reason i'm doing this carb work is the fact that my choke wouldn't work at all and i couldn't get the car to run cold, my mileage was half what it should be, and the car couldn't get out of it's own way! i returned the replacement carb i got (maybe was the right one after all:confused: ) and now they're sending me a DCP306-12 like my old one. damn... should i just say @!#& it and do a spfi conversion at this point - this carb and vac thing is turning out to be quite a headache and has already cost me over $400!!!! does anybody have spfi parts on hand that they'd wanna part with? can the car pass cali smog after that swap or would i have to burn white camping fuel or something every time? i can feel the years dropping off the end of my life at this point....

yeah, i'm with joostvdw. look at the exhaust portions of the head. that toyota had a crack in the exhaust valve seat that obviously ran into a coolant passage and as it turns out, had caused significant warpage along the mating surface...guess i coulda checked the thing more closely and have prevented that one! i keep a straightedge hanging on my wall now.:-p

thanks, tom! you rock, dude! did you see i asked at the dealership and they want $73 for a new one? msteel, i'm unfortuantely trapped in california at the moment, so i'd need "1) California models (Hitachi Carb)" i got a printout today of a diagram from the dealership that's from alldatapro.com. it shows where orifices go and what sizes, but there's all sorts of parts where the line starts at one component and goes to a letter denoting another component. i have no way of telling what the letters are and so no way of interpreting this thing... then there's also the fact that these diagrams are for an 84 car with an 84 hitachi. i think my hitachi is an 80 or 81. here's some pics if anyone can tell the difference: the old carb...from top... from front... from rear... the replacement that didn't fit... if someone can determine what years these carbs are, it would sure make this easier!

i don't know how inclined subaru's are to craking heads, but i replaced a head gasket on a toyota corrola 1.8 awhile back and had the same scenario. the engine was losing coolant into the oil, so i pulled the head, never machined it or the block, slapped it back together with the trusty fel-pro and sent the man on his way. the guy called me three days later ticked off cuz his car was peeing out it's tailpipe. i told him i'd redo it if he would let me take the head in this time. turns out there was a crack in the head and no amount of gasket woulda fixed that. can you say "refund denied? "

okay, so i went to my pile of old hoses and chopped them up. i found one orifice and since i threw all those hoses in a pile, i don't know where it goes. how important are these things and how can i figure out where they should be? i went to the subaru dealership and the parts people were much more accomodating that i expected, even while i was too busy drooling over the new imprezas to listen to them. (s...t...i...) anyways, i wanted to see how much my thermal vac switch was - $72.37!!!! they said the orifices are available in different sizes, so now i need to figure out where they go, what sizes, etc. the dealership doesn't have an 84 fsm, but i wonder if one would tell me. can anyone help me out here?

oh damn. thanks for making my excedrin wear off prematurely! does anybody else hear that confounded ringing? edit: my tvs has writing stamped into it's base. first line: 15-35 second line: K C R

here we go, indrid! lets see if i figured this thing out... i just wanted to see i got the hang of this, but this is what my thermal vacuum switch looks like.

hey tom that would be great! i'll pm you my address and all.

i thought to myself the other day that it'd be great if by the time my replacement carb arrives (hopefully the right one this time), i had all my rubber vacuum and fuel lines replaced, there's lots of hard and cracked hoses in there. so as i was removing a little two inch piece, i got sloppy and tried to pry the rock hard hose off the metal line and managed to snap the plastic port on the other side. now i'm trying to locate a replacement for the part i broke. it looks like a thermal vacuum switch and its mounted to the drivers side of the carb screwed into a flange hanging off the front of the manifold. it has a yellowed (formerly white?) top with three vacuum ports in a row down the side and a copper looking something in the bottom. the flange it screws into doesn't lead into the manifold like a bung or port, but hangs off the front side. i considered trying to epoxy this thing, but i jacked it up good. parts stores apparently don't have these listed, so can any of you subaru experts tell me the proper name for this part and where i can find one? also, can someone tell me how to put pictures in a post so i can take the easy way next time? thanks, gruff

oops...

thanks for the info, general. i'd love to do the spfi conversion, maybe i can slowly collect the parts. if anybody has/sees them around let me know! anyhow, i said the engine is an obvious replacement cuz its obviously been pulled and i found one of those dime-like heat sensitive warrant tags guys put on jdm/replacement engines in the muck on my skidplate (and subsequntly craped my pants and cursed my purchase! ). i later found by matching the adhesive remnant that it came off the dist. i always see those tags glued to the head(s) and most longblocks don't include dist's, so that's confusing. would anyone put one of those tags on a reman'd dist? besides, my dist has a bad upper bushing and the tag may just have come off as the screaming banshee trapped in there vibrated the dist, which in turn would suggest the dist isn't reman'd. then there's the valve covers, too. should be interesting to see if this mystery is ever solved! for jonas: i'm doing some rust abatement (looks like some dip@*%# had a battery in the back seat - upsidedown!:-\ ). once i get it back together i'll post some pics. i'll put some up of the replacement carb, too. hopefully someone will be able to tell by looking about what model it is, i just know its not the dcp306-12 i ordered/need! if someone can tell me how to add pics to these thread replies that probably be easier, but i'm not as good with a mouse as i am with a wrench...

i'd like to formally place the blame for all these mis-posts on my crappy isp. i can provide there email address for hatemail...lol

hello all, i just joined and this'll be my first thread... i'm kinda new to subarus, been mostly a mopar guy for years. i had a white 83 d/r 4wd 4speed gl wagon when i was 19. now that i'm replacing my v8 ram pickup with a commuter, it had to be the closest subaru i could find to my first! i posted this first under the ea81 engine year sticky, but it doesn't seem folks are looking there. i'm hoping maybe someone could help me figure out what year my engine and carb are likely to be. the engine is stamped 625893, has no gold stickers on valve covers, has the two 10mm bolts on bottoms of heads, has late electric hitachi dist, has 3 belt crank pulley and factory a/c - no p/s. also, i'm used to the valve covers being the same blue as the air cleaner and mine are black, its obviously possible they were painted but it doesn't look like it - the paint is perfect (minus the effects here and there of heat and oil over 23 years!) and looks original. how often did they come black? my carb is a hitachi dcp306-12 104. the reason i'm requesting this info is the fact that my carb needs to be replaced (upon dissasembly for rebuild i discovered parts missing inside and stripped threads throughout - damn the monkey that's responsible! ) anyhow, i ordered a replacement for my year/options application and got a different (later model?) hitachi with no numbers but drasticly different vacuum fittings (no vac port on the secondary diaphragm, 2 vac ports on choke pull off diaphragm, etc.). near as i can tell, i've got an earlier model engine in my 84 car. i saw a pic of a carb on evil-bay that looked exactly like my dcp306-12 104 but it says it's for an 80 auto wagon! also, i was told that with a 5 as the 6th digit of my vin i should have a 1bbl carb. somebody please show me where my steering wheel rolled off to!!!

hello all, i just joined and this'll be my first post... well, i have an 84 d/r 4wd 4speed hatchback with an obvious replacement motor. i understand that you're looking for serial #'s off original engines but i was hoping maybe someone could help me figure out what year my engine and carb are likely to be. the engine is stamped 625893, has no gold stickers on valve covers, has the two 10mm bolts on bottoms of heads, has hitachi dist, has 3 belt crank pulley and factory a/c. also, i'm used to the valve covers being the same blue as the air cleaner and mine are black, its obviously possible they were painted but it doesn't look like it - the paint is perfect (minus the effects here and there of heat and oil over 23 years!). my carb is a hitachi dcp306-12 104. the reason i'm requesting this info is the fact that my carb needs to be replaced (upon dissasembly for rebuild i discovered parts missing inside and stripped threads throughout - damn the monkey that's responsible!) anyhow, i ordered a replacement for my year/options application and got a later model hitachi with no numbers but drasticly different vacuum fittings (no vac on the secondary diaphragm, 2 vac ports on choke pull off diaphragm, etc.). near as i can tell, i've got an earlier model engine. also, i was told that with a 5 as the 6th digit of my vin i should have a 1bbl carb. somebody please show me where my steering wheel rolled off to!!!