RMVR53

this is an on going thread from an old one I couldn't find to add to but heres the deal. Put new head gaskets on my 87 XT (non turbo). Car was running fine before pulling the heads. Ok so it took me 4 months to finish the job, but when it went back together it starts and runs (idles) fine....until you put a timing light on it. Light is perfect...except for a random 20 degree ATDC firing. You rev it up and you get a good solid miss/major hesitation with any throttle input. This "missfire" is also noted on the tach inside the car (needle jumps). Swapped out the cap with a spare and it still does it. Swapped out the rotor with a new one and it still does it. Distributor shaft feels solid (no play). what am I missing here guys? Bill

one thing I did notice was the power amp (under the coil right?) was pretty hot. Is it supposed to be? Bill

yeah its all back to original at this point. I double checked the belts 1st thinking I was a tooth or something off but they're dead on. I'll double check the vaccum idea tomorrow its the green ones Bill

I did put the old dizzy back in and it still runs at idle all day long but just timing/tach bounce like crazy and any throttle and it gasps for spark and quits. So I found out the hard/expensive way at this point that no other dizzy will work. Only $30 bucks but it was a wasted $30....rather have spent it on a cheap steak dinner.... I'll swap out the coil wire and re check/move grounds tomorrow. Bill

according to my timing light, no spark Bill

ok...need some help here guys...wht'd I do wrong?... Bill

ended up being $30 and it was from a 92k mile 93 Loyale - but anyway- swapped it out and now....... nothing works!!!! it at least ran with the old dizzy....double checked the wires... I actually cut the lead off the old dizzy ... cut off about 4" of the parts car harness and spliced together a "patch cord" between the 93 dizzy and the 87 harness.... Wire colors were the same so thats how I spliced 'em... did I do something wrong???!!! Bill

I was by a local yard today. Nice 91 EA82 SPFI Loyal with 88k miles on it hit HARD in the rear (so I assume it was running!!). I can go back tomorrow and get the dizzy for $10. Will that one work? Bill

ok...I just had the crap scared out of me at the parts store...$212.00 for a pickup coil!!! any "replacement" parts known of or I also saw where some folks just went to the junkyard and bought another distributor and replaced the whole thing. If I go that route, can any EA82 dizzy work SPFI or MPFI)? BIll

no play in the shaft, rotor tight. I was noticing that as it is missing, the tach (needle) is jumping around as well. Gotta be a short or something somewhere...but where do I start? BIll

I may if I do indeed do this. So...what do I need? Just the pump, resevoir, rack and mounts out of what ever I rob? Bill

I have an 88XT DL non-turbo that I have been toying with putting power steering on since my youngest daughter tore the ligiments in her wrist. Can it be done?...where do I snagl the parts from (what car(s)) other than an XT6? thanks Bill

thanks I'll check it in the morning then....ya never know Bill

I'll answer that another way... That cam block (distributor) when removed was laid in the trunk and not touched except for minor cleaning to re-install. If had changed something I could see that but it ran fine (except for the over-heating) prior to teardown. Bill

what screw? Bill

Evening all Yesterday, I finished a weekend job that only took 10 months to fixed an over heating/loosing coolant problem on my XT (EA82 non turbo). Pretty sure its fixed...we'll see with a bit of driving. Fault found was a hairline crack in the exhaust port of one of the heads which, by the wonderous words of our fellow Ru lovers, pointed towards my probable source of coolant loss out the tailpipe and why I couldn't find a visable leak. Head gaskets showed no sign of failure after 60k miles (originally replaced at 92k). Here's my problem. I have a miss. Not just a "skip" kind of miss, but a "shut down the whole dang thing" kind of a miss. Watching with a timing light, you can see the marker jumping around which makes me think I have some kind of distributer/timing issue. It will just barely idle when this happens and usually dies. Wait a minute, and it will start again and begin the whole process over. I went thru all the connectors, unplugging and re-plugging all that I removed thinking I had a bad connection (which I may still have) but I didn;t find anything loose and it still does it after this process. thoughts? Bill

thats what I'm hoping...(sound wise)

new to the "newer" cars forum... looking at a 91 Legacy 2wd 2.2 automatic this weekend. Less than 100k miles but per the Owners son it has a rod knock. Now Im hoping he just has no knowledge of Ru's and hears the usual tapping and thinks its a rod...BUT if he's right and it IS a rod, can I put a 2.5 in its place without changing anything (ECU or ??) Car is "supposedly" in excellent condition otherwise.... think its worth $500? thanks Bill

I have been offered a 91 Legacy 4 door sedan with less than 100k on the clock for $500. Automatic front wheel drive car in excellent cosmetic condition. BUT (ain't there always one) it has a rod knock per the owner so she parked it. Im thinking that if this car is in this good condition, and yeah if a 100k Sub has a rod knock, what else didn't she take care of... BUT Im being blind and wishful at the moment, assuming nothing else is wrong with it, is this an EA or an EJ motor in the car? Could the rod knock actually be a skipped tooth on the belt or something else? I cant take a look at it till Saturday but I want my war-chest ready. $500 an ok price? Bill

Thanks Emily I have a set of OEM gaskets so I'll be sprayin them then thanks to all who have responded Bill

thanks much all....they'll go on dry! Bill

EA82 non turbo in an 87 XT do I spray the copper headgasket spray on them or put them in dry? thanks Bill

ok next question... differences between the turbo and "standard" EA82 head since it was a turbo head with the exhaust crack...beats me how it got on a non-turbo MPFI engine since I've had the car since 1995 and it had 52k miles on it...but it has an extra oil pipe...is anything salvageable (such as valves, springs, etc) for use as backup on a standard head before I pitch the thing? Bill

will the timing be ok or do I need think head gaskets to make up what was milled off? Bill

I have had an overheating problem for some time that continued to get worse. I finally pulled the heads last weekend and tonight finally got around to looking them over as the HG's didn't "look" bad at teardown. On one head I noticed about an inch long light grey "line" (yeah I have that feeling it ain't a line) in one of the exhaust ports. I had not noticed the smell of antifreeze nor white exhaust prior to the teardown, but it couldn't go 10 miles without topping the rad either (with 1-2 gallons of water/antifreeze). So guys, think its a crack and the head is toast? On a related subject, I have a "spare" head that was given to me by a guy gettin rid of a bunch of Subi parts that I'll use if the concencus is the current head is bad. This head looks like its been flycut but other than that looks pretty good. Is there a way to tell if its been cut?...is there a way to tell how much its been cut if it has been? On an OHC motor, is the tensioner able to take up the slack from a flycut? Any problem (other than too much compression) if its been cut too far? thanks Bill