Snowman

Okay, got some more questions. I checked the cam timing, and the drivers side cam was off a tooth. She runs much much better now. Actually has some power, although I haven't really gotten on it in the powerband yet since it's getting broken in right now. However, there is still an occasional backfire when shifting. What might be the culprit? Also, with changing to higher performance cams, is it possible that my engine will want some more ignition timing advance? She tends to miss a bit until the advance starts to come in now. I currently have it set at around 12 or 13 degrees static timing, but the vacuum advance bumps it up closer to 18-20 at idle and slightly above, and it runs a heck of a lot better with more advance. I'm just worried that I could get detonation if I run this kind of timing advance? Any ideas other than trial and error experimentation?

Well, overtorquing isn't an option since the engine is already in the car and running:D

Okay, I guess I'll pull it in during class today and retorque it just to be safe. I gotta redo the T-belt timing so it's coming in anyway.

Very nice:D . That's some high-quality repair work.

Aha, thanks for clearing that up for me.

Mine clicked really badly when going straight when it was bad.

Actually, I have proof that the oil in cylinder thing does work for our engines. When I was testing my bad cylinder, it read 75 w/o oil and 145 w/ oil.

My condolences Austin. This just goes to show how dependable our engines are. Mine went for 6,000 miles with the #1 cylinder doing nothing but transferring fuel and combustion gasses through blowby. Torxxx, I think you'd be looking at around $1700 for a CCR engine. That's what they told me for an ea82T, but an n/a might be a bit less. It sounds expensive, but remember that I've got about $1400 in my engine, doing all the work myself.

So, this tool basically consists of an axle nut with a piece of steel on one side that rests on the end of the stub when it's tightened down? I'm just trying to get the concept right, as I'm thinking about making tools for axle removal and installation sometime in the near future.

Okay, this makes me feel a bit better, because I was NOT looking forward to having to jack up the engine and reach in there.... Has ANYBODY EVER heard of HG's blowing b/c of not re-torquing? It sounds like a b**** to do this, but probably better than replacing the gaskets if they were to go out, so I just wanna make sure.

i got them out using a combination of solvent, thin oil (MMO), and a lot of banging them on a countertop. You can also get a bit of air into the area on the other side by holding the lifter upside down and gently poking the ball in the center. It also helps to have the lifter upright and full of MMO and poke the ball to get that down there. You can sometimes get the plunger to move a bit by sticking your pinky finger down there and pulling on it.

Aside from pulling heads, I can't think of any other definitive way. I would shy away from engines that show any odvious signs of overheating or lack of cooling or oiling system maintenance.

The FSM says to re-torque the head bolts after warming the engine up when you do HG's. I've heard mention of a special socket to reach the headbolts without taking off the cam cases. Do I need this, or can I just grind down a regular socket? Also, should I do this right away or wait a bit so the engine can go through several heat-up cool-down cycles? And finally, the FSM also says to turn the bolts back 60 degrees and re-oil them before torquing. What is the point in this and how on earth can the oil get down to the threads?

That oil pressure is pretty darn good for any older soob motor. My newly resealed 140k oil pump has about the same pressure. Where's it leaking from? If you're doing HG's it's not much more work to fix the common oil leaks on these engines, since you have to take off the cam boxes anyway, and the oil pump is easy to get to if you're that far into the engine.

If the gaskets are all that's wrong with it, I would do go that route. Check the condition of the valvetrain while it's apart and reseal everything while you're at it. 1stsubaruparts.com lists head gaskets for $23 each. That plus the cost of any other gaskets/seals you replace is a heck of a lot better than $800cdn. Just my thoughts.

Turns out, Carquest gave me a bad thermostat. It wouldn't open at all until at least boiling. Put one in from NAPA, cool as a cucumber. Now I just have to get it to run right.

Thanks Caleb! I think I'll go take off the t-belt covers later tonight and check that. I REALLY hope this is the problem, because I would hate to have to tear down this engine again and spend even more money on it (about $1400 invested in rebuild).

Do the compression test again, but put a bit of oil in the cylinder beforehand. If compression goes up, it's rings. If no difference, it's valves.

Couldn't you just put the axle nut back on after removing the hub and bang on that?

I think 120 should be okay. It's the difference between the cylinders that you need to worry about. Having just completed an ea82 swap, here' what I can tell you. The only special tool needed was a clutch alignment tool. If you are leaving the clutch and flywheel on that engine, you don't need it. Just take your time with it, and mark everthing that you disconnect. As for time, I would budget a weekend for it, since this is your first time, and you may run into problems. If everything goes well, you could do it in a matter of hours though.

So I finally got Roxanne out of the shop today, and lo and behold, she runs like crap. No power, and backfires on shifts when accelarating hard. Also, it just runs pretty rough. The theory that I like the most is that in my haste I got the timing on one or both of the cams off by a tooth or so. I remember the mark almost lining up but not quite. Maybe I switched the two crank pulleys and that messed it up (as far as I can tell, they are slightly different). Does this sound reasonable? I can think of no other explaination for this. Please help!

I did put in a new thermostat, although I didn't test it before installation. It's probably a huge air pocket in the thermostat housing that's preventing flow, which probably will have eliminated itself by now after sitting overnight. I forgot that the inspection plate has been off for like two years. I'm just worried about the clutch housing filling up with mud and water. I think I'll jack it up and install the plate just for peace of mind. Can't wait for the lift!

Well, after about $1400 and a few weeks of work, Roxanne has be reunited with her original and now rebuilt engine. We finally fired it up tonight at about ten thirty PM. Much to my amazement, I had the timing and everything right, and she started right up. The oil pressure is good considering that I ony resealed the old pump and didn't get a new one, and there are still a couple lifters clacking, but that should go away after a bit. The only real issue to be dealt with is that the cooling system still has some nasty air bubbles in it or something. So far, coolant hasn't started flowing through the radiator. Luckily, the heater blower on high kept the engine in the safe temp range. By tomorrow, we should have the cooling system air-free, the timing nailed down, and the Weber tuned up nicely. I'll definitely get some pictures, as even though the engine bay is still kinda dirty, the engine looks quite nice right now. I do have one question though. I can't seem to be able to get the inspection plate on that bolts to the bottom of the flywheel housing. Do I need to unbolt the motor mounts and jack up the engine and tranny, or is there some trick to this?

If you were going to swap in one from another make, I think the way to go would be the 2.4 Toyota diesel, with the turbo from their gas engine grafted on. You would need to get some different gears though, as the Yota trucks with that engine didn't like to run past 65, and even that was a stretch.

That's neat! I think it should go in.