Snowman

I have no idea if this is a viable alternative, but I would like to throw it out there just to see. Do you have any idea what it would cost to just get an engine from a wrecked, low-mileage car in a junkyard, put some new seals and such on, and slap it in? Especially if the rest of the car is in good shape, this would make it good for another 100,000 miles, and I would suspect that the total cost would be less than repairing this engine by a substantial amount. Just my two cents...

I would actually suspect the loose U-joint in this case. The shaft is turning in 2wd, as it is still connected to the rear wheels, however it is spinning free of the tranny with no load. I would venture to say that when in 4wd, the shaft is loaded, and with pressure on the joint, it can't vibrate back and fourth. As to the possibility of the transmission running "between 2wd and 4wd", I sort of doubt this is the case, but I know very little about the pushbuttion 4wd trannies, so feel free to correct me anyone. Usually when the 4wd controller goes out, it just stays in 2wd. Also, I think that if it was stuck in between or something like that, there would be a lot of gear-grinding sort of noises, not a vibration.

I'm just wondering exactly how the EGR helps to reduce temps inside the combution chambers and protect the exhaust valves. On the ea82 intake manifold, it looks like it would only help with anything on the passenger side, since that's where it plumbs into the manifold. Am I missing something here?

Good to hear. In case you didn't know already, the stock timing setting is 8 degrees, but they seem to like a bit more advance, like 10-14.

Not an an SPFI, but an n/a ea82 (Weber carb). I still don't have it tuned up for maximum performance yet, but it has definitely helped substantially. I would highly recommend doing this. The only drawbacks I've found are a slight decrease in fuel economy, and a bit rougher idle (Both might be alleviated once I modify the disty for more timing advance).

Hey Matt, If I picked up a set of bearings, could we swap 'em out in your garage this saturday while we're working on your brat?

Hey everybody. I am now positive that I need new right front wheel bearings, so I ordered a set that should arrive in a week. The only issue is that before that week is up, I need to drive nearly 800 miles. Until recently, the bearings only made noise, sort of a fast-pulsing humming kind of thing. After a 1600 mile round trip last week, there is now some noticable slop as well. I can grab the wheel with the car on the ground and shake it back and fourth really hard and hear as well as feel it clunk back and fourth a tiny bit. It's not much play, but there is definitely some, and it's gotten worse. This brings up several questions: Should it be okay for another 800 miles? If not, what sort of failure might I expect, siezing at high speed or just a lot of slop? What else could get fubared if they do decide to take a dump on me at 75mph? And finally, there probably isn't anything I can do to prevent the bearings from self-destructing if they decide to, is there? Any insight would be most appreciated, as I would like for my car and my self to get there in one piece. Thanks.

Yup, it's pretty simple. The alternator is held in place with two 12mm bolts. I don't remember the size of the lock-bolt on the other tensioner (be prepared for 8, 10, or 12mm), but it is tensioned with a 12mm wrench or ratchet as well. Good luck with the trip. I hope you and your soob make it safely.

Could you put RX struts or springs on the front and get a bit of lift since they are stiffer? I've also got another question about this Honda spring mod. Has anybody done this on a car with adjustable rear struts? I'm going to do it pretty soon, and I was wondering how the height compares to stock in each position. I'm thinking I'll set it at the lowest setting so it's not jacked way up in the air but can still carry a decent payload. Any thoughts on this?

For clarification, I've also got an 89 part-time d/r 4x4. I don't know how prolific they were, but I've got one of them.

Running spark plugs that are one heat range cooler sometimes helps too.

Subiemech85, you took the words right out of my mouth! Definitely keep the gas tank full, with fuel stabilizer. If it's empty, not only will water condense, but the tank will rust. Definitely fog the engine or put a bit of light oil down the sparkplug holes and bump it over a couple of times. Rust on the inside of the engine, especially in the combustion chambers, isn't a good thing. I would also echo the sentiment about if you are going to run it, RUN IT. Just starting the car occasionally will do more harm than good. Best of luck to you and your soob!

"I later added an air duct from underneath the bumper as well as a heat shield, which helped even more." The cool air was taken in from in front of the bumper and dumped out onto the pod filter while the car was moving. Not a true ram-air or cold-air, but it avoided all the problems of sucking in water and such, with a negligable difference in power compared to those setups. To make it more effective, I also made a heat shield that I put between the filter and the engine.

Hiya, welcome to the board! As for a cold-air intake, a picture is worth a thousand words. I later added an air duct from underneath the bumper as well as a heat shield, which helped even more. The filter is an Australian-made Unifilter, just like they use in the World Rally Championship, and the hose is a radiator hose from NAPA that fits a CAT or a big V8 or something. For converting to rear discs, you can get all the parts from an ea82 turbo car. I can't remember the exact list, but I think it's the hub/rotor, gravel shield, and caliper. There's surely some other stuff, but I can't remember it. How are you going to convert to fuel injection? Grab an SPFI system from an ea82? Convert to Bosch CIS? I don't know if this is feasible or not, but you might look into welding/bolting on a rear swaybar from an RX or ea82 turbowagon, as well as swapping the front one if it fits. I've never tried this, so I don't know if it would work, but it might be worth a shot. You know, we really should write a book covering all the subaru modifications that people have come up with over the years. Just having information like which parts can interchange between different cars would be invaluable. Even if we just made it like the USRM, but with everything organized and in the same format, ready to print out and put in a binder, that can be purchased for a small donation to the board.

Change the hoses and belts, and carry the old ones with you.

I finally saw a beautiful set of pug alloys today when I was driving home. They were attached to a fantabulously cherry black ea81 coupe. I wish I could have gotten a picture, 'cause this thing was NIIIIIIIIIIIIICE! Any Anchorage residents should be on the lookout for this car. It was spotted at the intersection of Tudor and Bragaw.

Free up the air intake next. I haven't really looked at the legacy intakes much, but just removing the intake silencer from the fender and installing a K&N panel filter or the like should net you some decent gains and a pretty cool intake pulse sound as well. If money isn't a big deal, I would go with a complete intake kit.

I don't know as to which winch to get, but for ease of mounting, I would look for a factory bull-bar, preferably one with a winch mount. I don't know about the ones equipped for mounting a winch, but the standard ones usually aren't too hard to find.

I believe the difference between a strut and a coilover is that a strut holds the suspension in place, while the coilover merely travels up and down. That's why the strut is considered the "link" in a suspension.

I can't offer any advice on specific turbos to use, but I have heard that you should never take a turbo from a diesel and put it on a gas engine. They aren't designed for the higher exhaust temperatures and tend to fail. Probably your best bet is to find a little three-cylinder turbo engine and rob it from there.

If you're willing to do a bit of fab work and don't worry too much about how it looks, you could make one like I had on my ea82 wagon. I bought the pod filter from UniFilter (had to order from Australia) and the hose from NAPA. It cost me less than $100 total. I later added a cold-air duct to the filter from under the bumper, and a heat shield.

I would lay under the car while somebody steps on the brakes and see if you can see any fluid visibly coming from somewhere. A trick that I heard for finding oil leaks is to clean everything off really well, then sprinkle flour or baby powder all over in the area of potential leakage. Step on the brakes a few times, and it should quickly become apparent where the fluid is coming from. Also, I can see no reason why the MC's would be different. If it fits, it should be fine.

That tool looks a lot easier to use than mine. I'll try to get a pic of mine next week when I get back home though...

You can spend as much as you want on an engine. Probably the way to go is find a wrecked car in a yard, reseal that engine, and drop it in. You know that the engine had to run well enough to get it into that wreck. I think CCR sells rebuilt ea82s for around $1700, correct me if I'm wrong on the price but I think it was somewhere around there. I also saw a new shortblock with heads at a subaru dealer for like $1800.

Mine came off with a minumum of effort. They aren't press-fitted or anything, they just slide on with a keyway.