Bishop

I dont believe you need to change the firing order of the cylinders. You could theoreticaly get the weight of an RX down to 2000 pounds, and in that situation you would only need to make about 220 HP to be faster than an STI. that means you only have to effectively double the stock output of the motor.

OK, I'm retarded. I was looking around again today and realized that the Air Solenoid that is broken controls the Air Themactor Valve that allows fresh air into the exhaust. This valve is Broken like this: So I hooked it up to constant vacuum, bypassing the control solonoid valve, and it started pumping. Sweet. Now for the smog test. Wish me luck

I am not sure but I believe there are 2 fuel filters on your car, one under the hood that is here: And one other that is located near the fuel pump which is under the car near the passengers side rear tire.

Might as well forge a new block while your at it:rolleyes:

Hard wire the fan to the electrical system so it coms on when the ignition is in the "run" position. Your thermo switch on the radiator is probably bad, its a common problem.

LOL, see my post below, titled: "AAARRRRRGGGGHHHH Wont Pass Smog!" Hehe

OK, Im still not totally clear on the ASV thing. Here is a picture of my basic setup: http://www.iehardcore.com/Hitatchi-Emissions2.gif Its kind of huge, so I just posted the link. Anyway the nipple on the Solonoid Valve that has a circle around it is broken off and it is just capped off, as is the vacuum pipe that it is supposed to connect to. It didn't seem like a big deal, but it could be part of the problem. The EGR Pipe that is shown "x"ed out here is not on my car. Instead I have the other type of EGR that goes to the air box and to a large Air Thermactor Valve that is attached to the exhaust manifold. Everything else in the picture is correct, and all the vacume lines (except the one that is broken) are connected according to the diagram under the hood. I wish I had a picture of that too, but I couldn't find one. I'll try to take some pictures tonight and post them GD, any tips on removing the O2 sensor? The repair manual makes it sound kind of tricky. Thanks for all the posts, you guys will help me get this thing going eventualy

Hey GD, not sure what you mean by ASV. Is that in referance to the return line from the carb back to the Fuel filter or something else? Anyway, have you got part numbers for the O2 sensor and the Temp sensor, or a recomended brand? I figure they are old enough to afford replacemnt anywyay, and its a good place to start. Thanks for the info guys, and I'll keep you posted as I pluck away at this dam thing

OK, here are the results of the last smog test and you guys were right, the HC is PPM and the CO is a %, but the chart I have shows it as follows: I assume they list the Measurement like a batting average just to simplify things. Anyway, it confused the heck out of me Oh, GD, I had the carb rebuilt but its not a new one. I think that is where i am going next, back to the carb shop to see if they can set it up for me on the car. Maybe they know a few tricks I dont and I have a feeling that is where the problem may be. As for the sensors, I think they are all working OK. The O2 sensor would probably give a Check Engine lite if it wasnt signaling correctly, and the car would run like crap. The temp sensor in the manifold may be bad, but I dont really know how to check it. Good lord, why do they have to make this smog thing such a pain?!

Thermostatic Air Cleaner, in CA, refers to the hose that goes to the air intake box from the passengers side exhaust manifold. Its a large diameter flexable hose that preheats the air going into the carb.

Allright, I've finished up my 85 hatch with the Hitatchi carb and it runs great. Way more power than before the engine rebuild, even compression on all cylinders, smooth idle, and even better feul economy. The new clutch grabs great, and shifts smooth too. Here's the problem, IT WONT PASS SMOG! It passes every test here in CA, except the CO (Carbon Monoxide) which is off the chart. To give you a perspective, a passing score is less than 124 ppm, a gross poluter is 220ppm, and my Sube is scoring upwards of 300 ppm! I even got a score of 0ver 350 once. Its insane and the smog guys dont seem to know what the problem is. They just tell me that it's, "running really rich." The Y-pipe is in pretty rough shape, but I think its Cat is OK and the O2 sensor seems to be working correctly. It has brand new exhaust from the Y-pipe back, including a new Cat and Muffler. It SEEMS like its running clean, but the tests show otherwise. Any Idea what's going on here? Any fixes that anyone esle has had luck with? Really, I'm desperate and looking for anything here!

OK, Sorry for the delay, I've been busy getting the rest of my parts together for the rebuild. Just got the Block back from being hot tanked and honed. The block looks mostly OK, there are some areas of cylinder wall wear that did not totally dissapear with the honing. I'll try to take some pics and post them so you guys can tell me what you think. Right now the machine shop has the crank, cam, and connecting rods to do a regrind and spec out new bearings. $45 to turn the crank and resize the connecting rods, $35 for the cam regrind, and $48.50 for bearings in whatever size I need. As for the other parts, so far I've got the crank and cam seals, an oil pump rebuild kit, and the whole top end rebuild kit (head gaskets, intake gaskets, exhaust gaskets, etc. . .). I've also got a set of rebuilt heads coming from AHR in Oregon that should be here by Friday / Monday. Unfortunately I'm still missing that pesky block seal and the flattened out O-Ring that goes behind the oil pump, in front of the cam. I'm also trying to get a new set of pistons, but they are proving hard to track down. Rings wont be cheap either, but at least I know where I can get a complete set in just about any size I want to order. Heres a question for all the others who have tried this before, what is a good way to remove external corrosion from the aluminum block? Its not real bad, but there is some visible tarnish and "scarring" on the external surface of the block that I would like to polish out, but I cant think of any way to do it without causing futher damage (i.e. wire wheel). If I can get it cleaned up pretty good, I was thinking about painting it too and was wondering if anyone had any tips for what type of paint to use and what steps I should take for prep? Thanks for all the great comments. I'll keep you posted and hopefully get some pics up soon.

WJM, you've got mail

I forgot to mention, The shop that has the block will ballance the rotating assembly (once I get all my parts together) for $34.00.

Wow, this topic realy sparked some interest. Well, I went to NAPA and ordered the cam and crank seals as well as an oil pump reseal kit, total cost $42.31. They will be in on Monday. NAPA also had the bearings but they were $48.99 for the mains and $64.99 for the journals, and I dont even know what the situation is with the crank is yet. They could also get Piston rings in any size I want for $71.49. Since I don't know if I'll need any of those parts oversize or if I can get a better deal somewhere else, I'm holding off for now. The only thing I just couldn't find is that water jacket O-Ring that goes between the block halves. No one even knew what it would be called. The block is still in the hot tank (actually they just put in this morning), but I should be able to pick it up tomorrow. At that time they are going to mic the cyliner walls and let me know what the verdict is there. They will also spec out the crank and cam, total cost $37.50 Well thats where I am right now, I'll keep you updated Later

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm having trouble finding a shop that will bore a sube motor as it is. Maybe I will just drop that part of the plan. The pistons that are in the car have got to go though, they are carbonized and have some scratches and whatnot on them. The cylinder walls themselves are just smooth, no crosshatching what-so-ever. I'm taking the block over to a machine shop right now to have it hot tanked and I'll have them mic it out at that time. I'll keep you all updated

OK, I've got an 85 GL hatch with an EA81 that I've been working on lately. When I first got the car (from StormTrooper, Thanks Don!) it had oil leaking into the coolant. So I dropped a motor from an 82 I had sitting around into it and started driving it. The 82 motor was never planned to live in the car very long, just till I could do a reseal on the original motor. NOW, many moons later, I've got the original motor all torn down and the problems are mounting up. First thing I noticed was that the heads have the infamous little cracks between the exhaust and intake valves on cylinders 3 and 4. No big deal, $150 for a new set from AHR. Next, the gaskets looked so bad, I couldn't believe that the motor wasn't pooring water and oil all over the ground, needless to say, I wasn't able to isolate the spot where water was getting into the oil. With 234k on the bottom end, I fugured it probably needed bearings and rings, but when I tore is apart, I noticed some pretty heavy carbonization on the piston skirts. Uh Oh. Soooo, I take the block halves to the local engine rebuilder to have them hot tanked and bored over, but they tell me that their boring machine doesn't do flat motors :-\ Meanwhile, I'm still having trouble finding all the seals I need to get the motor back together (but hopefully the NAPA distribution center can end that saga today). So right now I'm in search of a shop that will bore a subaru motor. Immediately after that I'm going to have pistons made, probly do 9.5/1 comp. At the same place I do the overbore, I'm going to have them do a cam grind and balance, because I figure if I'm this far into it, I might as well do it up So my question is. . . Does anyone do this to EA81's or am I just nuts?

Thanks for the reply's guys. Every little bit of info helps. I've got the motor down to the short block right now, and I had originally intended only to do a head gasket job on it. I have a complete head gasket kit (intake gaskets, carb gasket, exhaust gaskets, head gaskets, valve stem seals, etc. . .), but after tearing it down this far it looks like it could use a complete rebuild. The bottom end has approx 235K on it, and the cylinder walls look totaly smooth, no sign of the factory cross hatching. Also, all the internal passages have some pretty incredible corosion going on that looks evil, and that includes the pushrods. They are not exactly pitted (they are aluminum), but they have some THICK buildup on them that is not coming off with the usuall cleaners. I dont want to hit them with a wire wheel because I think it would be doing more damage than repair. I haven't had the chance to mic the cylinder walls, but once I do I'll be able to order pistons from a local engine shop if I need to. Right now I am looking to crack the block, spec out the cam, check out the bearing play, clean everything up the best I can, and THEN decide what other parts need to be replaced. Thats why I'm looking for a real basic kit, but I KNOW I want to replace those pushrods. They look like crap. Let me know if you think of any other sources for parts, but it seems like the general concensus is that I will have to piece it together. Thanks again

C'mon, I know a ton of guys on this board have re-built EA81's Someone's got to have a lead on a kit! To the TOP!

I am looking for the cheapest EA81 rebuild kit that has pushrods included. I've been to NAPA, but they are not sure what their kits include and they would have to order one because they don't have any in stock. Other than that, none of the other auto parts stores around carry them =( Anyone who has purchased one of the NAPA kits please let me know what it contains! All the sites on the net seem to be catering to airplane guys (i.e. forged pistons, chrome moly pushrods, etc. . WAY to much $$). I'm looking to spend $250 or less and get: -Seals and gaskets -Waterpump -Oil pump rebuild kit -Pushrods -Wrist pins Obviously I would like to get, but dont absolutely need: -Bearings -Pistons -Connecting rods Any leads would be much appreciated

What are the best tires for stock wheels (185 70 R 13 factory rims) that will be mainly used for snow/rain/mud conditions? I saw these: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=ECSTA+R700&vehicleSearch=false&partnum=97QR3R700K9A&fromCompare1=yes at TireRack.com and was wondering if anyone had any experience with them.

has anyone "lightened" their EA81 flywheel by turning it on a lathe? If so, how much material did you take off, and did you see any noticable preformance gains?

Does anyone know what it would take to make a power steering rack and pinion from an EA82 wagon work in an EA81 hatch? Has anyone tried this? It looks like it might fit, but the rod ends would need to be shorter.

I need to replace the Y-Pipe on my 85 hatch because its rusted through at the preheater connection. What I'm looking for is anyone who might be fabricating them from the board. Since I've got to pass a smog test I need to have one made with the cat, an O2 bung, and the preheater hose connedtion. I looked around at the local auto parts stores, and a replacement runs around $250:eek: All the junk yards want at least $50, and they are in just about the same shape as the one I've already got. If any one can help me out with this I would greatly appreciate it.

I second the Motor and Tranny mounts. Those things are impossible to find and they cost a fortune when available. Also, EA81 complete rebuild kits (rings, pistons, gaskets, etc. . .) and struts. I like the cat-less y-pipe idea too. This is a great idea, keep us posted!