NorthWet

Do the MAF, ECU, engine harness, and chassis harness between ECU and engine harness all come from the same source??? As I understand it, the coolant thermosensor is always "up to temperature" for the ECU's purposes. Also, the problem with the CTS is not usually a bad CTS but bad/unreliable connections to it. Oh, and from what I have read/heard, the knock control module/system does not due anything other than retard the ignition timing.

I seem to recall a thread from about 2-4 months ago from someone who had a very similar sounding problem, and it turned out that the leak WAS elsewhere and was just finding the lowest point from which to drip. (I need to take a pre-work nap, otherwise I would search for the thread.)

This (and general ignition parts) is where I would start first. Nothing is going to adjust properly if the ignition is not to spec. There are only those 2 10mm-headed bolts on the distributor, and it should turn without the use of that hammer. I wonder if someone Form-A-Gasket'd it in place? :-\ I would also check to make sure that the t-belts are aligned properly. Once ignition/cam timing is known good, I would probably check out the coolant thermosensor. You might also want to try out the "unplug the MAF" test that was talked about in starkillers' threads.

The feedback on the carb does not affect it to a large degree. It uses a pair of vacuum solenoids (at least on the earlier 2-bbl carb) to allow extra air (or reduce vacuum signal) into the idle circuit and into the main circuit to lean them out. The duty cycle is varied on these solenoids by the ECU to alter the amount of air allowed into the circuits. The O2 sensor would be, if anywheres, right in the Y of the Y-pipe, underneath the passenger side axle. Another thing that you could check for is the presence (or not) of the ECU under the steering column, and/or the duty solenoids behind and to the left (driver's side) of the carb; should be a pair of metal clips and some smallish plastic devices clipped into them.

My final .02 before I leave you to your beliefs : Thermostats do not control how hot an engine gets, it controls how cold it can stay. Lower temp t-stats are bandaids for inadequately functioning cooling systems. The manifold heating provides its most effect at low gas flows (idle, part-throttle), and very little at high gas flows due to thermal conductivity properties of the thick aluminum. The difference in temp of the intake charge at full throttle between a 180 and 192 t-stat would be negligable.

... and the corrollary is that if you do not have an O2 sensor then there is nothing to provide feedback. The feedback carbs aren't really like most other feedback carbs. They have extra tubes that go to off-carb vacuum solenoids rather than have a bunch of electricals on the carb itself.

High oil pressure will not cause seals such as the front seal and around the distributor shaft to leak. These are not really pressure lubricated points. The seals are either just worn (likely with front seal) or you have internal gas pressure from a misfunctioning PCV system or very excessive blowby. Or both. I would expect the pressure relief valve to show its effects at startup where the pressure is more likely to exceed its relief value, rather than once the oil has warmed. The pressure should drop naturally as the oil temp goes up and the viscosity decreases. The dash gauge, like all dash gauges can be somewhat inaccurate. The sender unit can give some truly odd values, especially if damaged. Mine shows 75 PSI at idle while cold. The first time I saw this reading (the car was new to me) I cleaned and reinstalled the pressure relief valve, but it made no difference.

My manuals also give the same value as your FSM. I would be very cautious about torquing it to 165% of the FSMs value.

Fuel tanks and bad grounds... sounds like a recipe for (another) disaster.

I totally agree, but they didn't ask for our advice so I didn't give them any. It just means that there will be more 192s for me. NAPA shows 160degree thermostats for various Chevys. Also shows 180s and nothing inbetween.

Not the pre-EJs. (But this IS a New-Gen Forum...)

Insufficient oil flow to the rod journal... (Duh!) I do not have a lubrication diagram for the EJs but the 2 likely causes are a plugged oil passage in either the oil feed to the crank (typically through a main bearing) or the crank itself, or oil flow being unable to reach the rod journal due to centrifugal force effects and/or excessive clearance on another rod/main journal fed off of the same oil source but closer to the feed passage. Where was the oil pressure checked? I do not know if the EJ25 has an oil gallery port/plug somewheres away form the oil pump. But pressure at the pump is just that: The oil gallery could be completely plugged just after the pump's discharge port and you could see good pressure at the pump.

If this is in response to my post, no worries. Our various emissions laws in North America (Canada has some slightly different equipment) causes us some confusion. EA81s here have none, one or two ASVs, and the y-pipe is different between, at least, the one and two ASV models. I had to pull a replacement engine out after I realized that it had the wrong number of ASVs for the Brat that it was going into. If this was NOT in response to my post, then MY bad.

If your t-stat is working properly, the only flow to your radiator when the engine temp is below t-stat opening point is through its "jiggler". With no flow through the radiator, you could pack it in dry ice and not effect the engine's temperature. If your car seems to be overcooling, then I would think that either your t-stat is not working properly or your temp guage is reading too low and what you see as "normal" (mid-gauge) might in fact be running hot. I have a car that runs normally at 1/3 on the gauge, ran up to just over half scale on Monday driving over Snoqualmie Pass... (Just thought of another possibility, that the added airflow over the engine block can help remove engine heat. One of the Members commented awhile ago how their nearly plugged radiator worked just fine during the Winter, even driving over Snoqualmie. Lots of radiation surface on the Soob engines.)

I had a thought, kind of brought up by the dual-ebrake post... How about "traction control" instead of LSDs/lockers? Given the relative adundance of ABS systems in JYs (as compared with LSDs), it might be cheaper to modify a Legacy or similar ABS system to fit earlier cars and provide traction control functions. Though archemitis' post is reality and a buzz-kill.

It was a "T" fitting and not an "F" fitting on the driver's side of the air cleaner (used on PCV systems)? Also, the Chilton's (blech!) mentions a "special" oil pan on the early non-PCV systems. My interpretation is that the oil pan has some sort of air-inlet vent, but it was just a passing reference without any pics. :-\ No matter, as it sounds like your quest for the PCV valve has ended.

There are situations where compression braking is very appropriate, and others where it is just not needed. But people are creatures of habit, and they will either tend to do it all of the time or never do it at all. Given the choice between the two, I personally would overuse compression braking. (Plus, I like the "boy racer" feel of it.) Anyone who has smoked their brakes coming down a long incline understands the importance of compression braking. I did this in a 1-ton truck, loaded and pulling a loaded car trailer, down a mountain pass in the summer. I was behind a low-boy hauler with a humongous excavator on it, through a construction zone that was down to 1 lane. Over 10 miles of incline at 12 miles per hour. I was in first gear and wishing I had a granny-gear. My truck's huge front vented disks were smoking when I slowly drifted to a stop at the bottom of the hill. That being said, WJM's comment about 4 wheel disks and Subarus is pretty much right on. Compression braking is also sort of a side effect of being in the right gear. If your car is in gear and your engine isn't above idle, there is no practical way that you can accelerate if the need arises without taking that possibly crucial time to recognize that you need to change gears, figure out which gear you need to be in, and engage the proper gear. It can make the difference between being in an accident and avoiding one. Which leads to: If you are in neutral you do not have proper control of your moving vehicle. The current control issues are based on the above avoidance scenario, but it used to be something more serious and more common. Prior to modern transmissions and the Highway System, it was not uncommon for a car/truck descending a grade to get into trouble because its engine quit while the car was going downhill in neutral. Without synchromesh transmissions, it was not possible to get the car into gear without the engine turning, and if the engine quit it was unlikely that it would restart easily. CRASH! So, legally, you do not have proper control of your moving vehicle if it is in neutral.

Another possibility that I didn't see discussed: Is your electric fan coming on when it should? It is not uncommon for some component to fail, either switch, fan, or wiring/connectors.

It should be no worse than driving in moderately cold winter weather. Your thermostat should keep the engine temperature up in its proper temp range. The downside is that your cooling fans will wear out sooner. You might want to consider doing what several other have done: Use the fan's thermoswitch to control a relay. (Without the thermostat, or with a "fashionable" colder than standard t-stat, can/will cause increased cylinder wall washing and oil contamination, along with elevated fuel consumption, reduced power and increased pollution.)

So, I guess we are talking about your 78 Brat? It might have been implied from the beginning, but I am somtimes feeble of mind. Chilton's (blech!!) also is very confused on this. I do have a couple of thoughts. The first is: What is the likelyhood that this is the original, unmolested motor that came with the car? The second is: What does what you have look like? Chilton's (Blech!) shows the non-PCV equipped engine having hoses running from valve cover to air filter; does this sound like yours?

In the USA, we have plenty of EA81 (and I believe EA82) with feedback carbs and ASVs. On these models, the ASVs are only activated during the first 2 minutes or so after startup, before the cats and EGO sensor come up to temp.

Somewheres in that time period there were 2 different flywheels... they accepted different sized clutch disks (8" vs 8-7/8ths???).

If they can be replaced without removal of the crankshaft, then the rear will be larger than the front because it has to fit over the flywheel-mount flange, whereas the front need only fit over the crank snout.

A little OT, but it IS your thread... What type of meter? (I assume digital rather than analog.) Very FIRST thing to check is the battery. If the battery is not up to par it will cause a digital meter all sorts of bad behavior. Check the probe wire connections at the meter to make sure that they are firmly connected. Some probe wires have removeable probe tips, so make sure that are attached. The probe wires themselves may be internally damaged, changing conductivity as the wires are moved/handled. Unless it is an expensive meter, it, like other electronics, is usually cheaper to replace then have fixed. "its the Law!"

Johnsonville Brats, dude!!!