Dirk

The seven sisters are smiling down at you.

Sweet! Thanks Qman. I feel a bit of a muppet for not searching before I wrote the post.

Can we have a sticky to post pics of our rides. I would love to see what everybody has. There is a massive variety out there. Rules? One pic per car should be enough and maybe it would be politic to post only pics and no coments or else the thread may mutate into something else. You can always PM if you feel compelled to comment.

Check out 'Trade Me' for subarus for sale in NZ. Its the Kiwi version of E-Bay. Currently 6 Brats (Brumby's) and a gen1 1400 dl on there. Although I hate the colour of the gen1. I like this though! http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Cars/Subaru/auction-253156608.htm Desert is one of the few phenonema we don't have in NZ. I went to Joshua Springs in CA once and it blew me away. Would love to roadtrip the states one day.

Thank you for the kind coments. I love her very much too. Here is a pic of Lake Wanaka where I live. Yes it is a most spectacular place and if you haven't aready visited, New Zealand is a must. It was very hard choosing just one pic to show. All of New Zealnd is beautiful and there is just so much to see from the beaches to the amazing glaciers. The roads are great driving too. For those who like driving (and I think we all do) a holiday driving around this counrty in a beaten up old Subaru is a massive treat. Look me up when you get here. They made a film about Burt Monroe called 'The worlds Fastest Indian' Anthony Hopkins stars and its a bloody good film

The origional sticker under the hood Proudly states 'Sprite Green'

Sweet! It works! Thanks Sam.

Yes. Saw the video. You should put blue halogens in there. Could be a lot of fun.

Nice job with the ipod jack. Gotta have good tunes in the car. Is there another headunit tucked away somewhere or are you using the origional? New Headunit in mine. Couldn't find a place for it so I tore out the glove box and mounted it in there with its very own solid oak face plate. Would love upload some of my own pics but I don't know how? CAn you help me?

I have no idea what you guys are talking about but I can almost see your shiny eyes and naughty grins. Like teenagers planning to get into some hot chicks knickers.

transmition swap. But I seem to recal a mechanic saying something about retro fitting bell housings. I think he had done it but it did require some sort of mod to seal it properly.

Thanks, Ill check that out. Iv'e had the transmision out on various occasions so its no dramas if I do need to change it.

Thanks for that. No mods for me. I just want the basic engine back to origional or better. The transmision I can change if I need to but I would prefer to use the EA71. Would like to keep the car as origional as possible. Parts permitting. There is a man in Aukland who has spares available plus over sized bearings and pistons etc so I think I will be catered for in that department.

Cool. Thanks guys. And the pro's and con's?

I am toying with the idea of re-building an engine to the best possible standard. I realise that in order to do this I will have to dig deep into my pocket and get proffesional help with machining all relevent parts to the highest standard. The rest of the car is in remarkably good order for its age so I think it would be worth doing this. What I need first is a list of all the things possible to do to get the most out of the engine. Accessories are not important at this moment. A perfectly set up engine block is my first need. The base for this project would be the latest model EA71 I can lay my hands on. All comments and opinions welcome.

How do you spot the difference between an EA71/81 with pushrods or hyrdaulic lifters? and what are the benefits of either?

Yes I lve in the south island of New Zealand. Thanks for the offer though. Subarus are pretty much staple diet of car here. And the ubiquitous HILUX. I live in a very transient town. Lots of visitors come through for the summer and winter seasons and then ditch there cars when they have to leave. Ski season ended not long ago so the scrap yards are full of old bangers that have been abused up and down the mountains. Just have to sift throught the crap to find the pearl.

This is true. I am simply not tooled up correctly to be able to check these things properly but to be fair this is just a hobby for me and I actually get a kick out of doing it on a shoe string budget. The last re-build cost me less than $400 dollars all up which is pretty cheap fun as far as i'm concerned. Learning by making mistakes is always fun because you get to see first hand what happens if something is not right. As long as no one gets hurt. I think I will shop around a bit for the next likely candidate and then take my time to get it as good as I can within my limits. It won't be perfect, but it might end up close. I'm sure there is a later Ea71 with hydraulic valves that has a little extra power. Sure I can track one down.

No crank grind. Stock bearing shells went back in as well as stock piston rings. Basically the consumable items (bearings and seals) were all replaced with standard replacements. All other components are origional. Cylinders were honed (very little wear was present) Heads were skimmed, valves re-ground and seated. As I said before, I did check all tolerances against my Haynes manual to the best of my ability and only with the tools I had available to me. e.g. feeler gauges and a vernier caliper. The condition of the cylinders was checked out by the mechanic who honed them. Thought I better make it clear exactly what was done. And in writing thhis it is clear to me how many variables there still are.

How I laugh! All becomes clear. We threw out our TV years ago for the same reason. so many channels and all the same crap. By the way, how old were you when you got your first subaru? I'm guessing from the quantity of knowledge and experience you have it must have been pretty early. Plus I also guess you were educated the real way i.e. as an apprentice?

Engine Flush?

Thanks for the kind comments. But Luckily for me and my family I am a much better joiner/carpenter than a mechanic. I know its a little late in the day for this but it has just occured to me that I have forgotten to mention two curious symptoms. Firstly, There have been a notable number of days when the noise has not been present at all. The good days! Secondly, When the car is at idle and stationary on a steep incline the noise at times has appeared to be louder and more mechanical. I can't tell you if this fact or if perhaps it has been more psychological. But I guess its worth mentioning.

Thankyou GD Sadly I do not have the time or money to re-build at this stage. So I guess I will have to wait a while before I am able to truely satisfy my curiousity. The sadist in me is quietly hoping for a spectacular result. Time will tell. Many thanks for your time. By the way, When do you sleep???

Hello ihscout54 Thanks for the additional input. As you can see I have been asking questions at a prolific rate over the past few days in order to get as much info as possible and maybe retrieve a definitive answer. I don't think that answer will really become clear to me untill things either get worse or I re-build. In answer to your other questions: A recent compression check showed good and perfectly equal in all cylinders. The entire ignition system is new except for the distributor body. The noise is really not that loud. I can't hear it at all when driving. Only at idle and very light acceleration. The noise is quite bearable at normal operating temperature but gets more louder distinct if the engine is allowed to get warmer. But even then it doesn't sound that dramatic. I have lived with it for the last 4 years and it hasn't got any worse so guess it can wait a little longer With all the information I have collected over the past few days, I think I have decided to find a later model EA71 and re-build it in my own sweet time. Subarus of all ages are quite common here so I will have plenty to choose from. Thanks so much to you and GD and others for sharing your wealth of information and for being so patient with an ameteur and somewhat agricultural mechanic.

Hello GD. Thanks for input. Can you check this thread out and tell me if I was heading in the right direction? http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=105417 Cheers Dirk