Crazyeights

Ok, so what is the best way to fill in between the spots before starting body work?

Especially as the fan motor and it's bearings or bushings start to wear with age and cause the current draw to increase. The excess load will be handled (or not) by the relay but the sensor will always remain safe in this configuration. Also the actual ground strap to the radiator is one of the first things to get tossed when the radiator is serviced. Not only does it's absence promote electrolysis which you really don't want, it (body ground wire to the radiator) also provides a proper ground for the sensor itself since the radiator is often isolated from the body by rubber bushings.

Along similar lines it seems like the EA81 and EA82 GL cars are also wired for the deleted options whereas the DL's are not. My '83 GL was wired for AC, Power Windows, Power Side Mirrors, ect. It didn't come with any of that but it was simple to add later. My EA82 DL however seems to have the simplest wiring harness containing almost no extras.

White lithium or a high pressure EP moly base works well also.

One further note. Before I EJ'ed my old wagon (ECU now controls fan operation) I wired in a relay for the radiator cooling fan. This way the temp sender only has to ground the relay coil to turn on the fan instead of handling the entire current of the fan motor. The fan sensor should last virtually forever in this configuration.

First check that the small black radiator ground wire is attached from the top of the radiator to the core support, it's right on top and only about 2 inches long (phillips screw on each end). There should be a fan sensor with a single wire connection in the lower passenger side of the radiator if it's an EA81 car. Turn on the key, remove this wire from the sensor and connect it (the wire not the sensor) to ground. This should turn on the fan - make sure your fingers aren't anywhere close to the blades when you do this. It sounds like your fan motor may be bad if it was that noisy. You can check the fan motor by unplugging it and connecting the positive and negative wires straight to the battery.

Maybe, if the connections at the rear of both instrument clusters match. Your car will have an oil pressure switch for the light though and not a sending unit for the gauge so you may have to swap that also. I can say that an 88 DL with the simple (no tach) dash won't accept an 88 GL full gauge dash without swapping the wiring harness. The connections are totally different. If you are lucky enough to have a pick-n-pull yard near you, just pull one of each and have a look to be sure.

I have done two Subaru clutches recently and both of them had cracks in the pivot area of the clutch fork. You could tell that the pivot area had been dry of any lube for years. One of the two was bad enough that the pivot ball was ready to punch right through the fork, the other had hairline cracks just starting. Subaru could still get the forks, the retaining spring for the pivot, and the 2 clips for the throwout bearing - none of these parts were expensive. I would look closely at it when you have it opened up.

An EJ swap while worth the effort will get costly really fast. There are TONS of small details that have to be looked after and each one will take time and money. An EA82 while not the best engine Subaru ever made will go well over 200k with a fair amount of abuse and neglect. The EA81 is also a great option but it's getting REALLY hard to find a good core to rebuild. The EJ18 is a whole different beast - basically the same design as the EJ22, four valves per cylinder instead of two on the EA's, much better and more efficient design IMO. Having done the both the SPFI conversion and the EJ22 swap (don't get me wrong I love them both) it sure would be a LOT easier to find a 91-94 EJ22 Legacy than swap an old EA body over to EJ.

If it still runs then I would replace EVERY coolant hose in the entire cooling system, new dealer thermostat, ect. By them time you have discovered you have a cooling system problem (IE on the freeway) it will be too late.

I just installed that exact same set from Thompson in an EA82 rebuild and it so far it runs great. They are good people to work with too. You are correct the don't look like the picture, those look closer to the EA Turbo set I ordered from them.

Very nice! Thank you for the write up

SJRLift used to offer 6 lug hub exchange service for a good price. He properly milled the back side of the hubs flat for the studs too. Perhaps check with Scott and see if he still does it if you don't want to DIY.

I watched this a while back and it grabbed my attention as well. I can't imagine the amount of work that went in to making this happen. In addition to the custom made heads, it looks like port fuel injection. I can't tell from the video what the ignition system is, and it must be stand alone engine management of some sort? Not to mention the custom timing belt/idler work, on and on. I wonder what the power output is over stock.

Good Job!

You shouldn't need any RTV. With all surfaces clean and new o-rings that should do the trick. I suppose you could use a small amount of 518 but that's it.

The pilot bearing goes in to the flywheel. Switch the flywheel from the old engine to the new one and put your new bearing in there.

Sounds good! That tick should go away after a bit once it's warmed up. Mine sounded the same way when I first started it up and it's dead quiet now. Congrats! - Nice car:clap:

Check the nuts/washers on the back of each gauge at the PCB. Often they are loose and slightly corroded causing bad connections. Clean and tighten all the gauge connections on the back of the dash and you might just be good to go.

I would just take a minute to fix it. You could always just unbolt the diff mount allowing you to move the diff housing to the side just enough to slide the axle off the stub and put it back on the right way.

Congrats! monstaru FTW!

Great thread! I just found it and I have to give you credit for sticking with this Kia and following through with all the repairs. I hope it gives your family many trouble free miles!

Look here for a timing belt write up. I am sure there are many others as well as the factory service manual. Beer Garage Timing Belt

Wow that's quite a rake you've got

Looks Great!