NorthWet

Starkiller has been chasing this problem, by himself and with help from the Board, for a month or two now. He has checked/replaced lots of stuff. AFAIK from what he has said, it doesn't burn a significant amount of oil; I asked him this, knowing that oil in the air/fuel stream can promote detonation. There is no real way of knowing the amount carbon buildup without an engine teardown, something that he is very unlikely to do for several reasons. The detonation seems to occur during all running regimes, and the plugs seem to indicate a lean mixture (per another Board member). Power is good, fuel economy is excellent. Timing has been checked and rechecked, so I doubt if a timing-belt skipping a tooth is the cause of this detonation... plus the power and economy are good. He is running the highest octane of gas that is available, and major brands.

If the "North" refers to me, I didn't come up with the fix. I am just willing to do it.

My ears are burning... The EA82 clocks use old-style resistors, which are easy to fix. From what I have heard, the newer clocks have the same type of problem, but they use Surface Mount Devices (SMDs) for their resistors, which are a little more tricky but still doable. I have NOT as yet looked at or worked on a New Gen clock, but am willing to do so. Same price (free) and same request (make donation to USMB) as stated in the sticky in the Marketplace. TTFN! Pat

Alan, quit throwing money at it. I have spares...

Shiiiii-neeeeee!!!! Those pics don't look anything like the 2 high-mileage, never-been-cleaned EA81s that I have been working with for 2 days. I am not sure if mine have had the shiney worn off or just covered up. But at least neither of mine look like Brian's.... ...yet.

You might try sending a PM to Legacy777.

I just got on first try, quickly, without any problem.

Thanks, Corky. Er, I mean DOCTOR Corky! Very clear and concise.

I am pretty sure that Sweet82 is talking about what is essentially Naval Jelly, not a converter but a remover. Anything with phosphoric acid is meant to chemically remove the rust. For those who don't know what a "rust converter" is, it is a material that combines with the iron oxides that constitute rust and turn it into a relatively inert compound. It will typically leave the surface a dark purplish color (along with your hands, clothes, dogs). The treated surface can be painted, but if heated to high temperature (e.g. exhaust surfaces), it will convert back to iron oxides. I have heard good things here about POR-15, but was unaware that it was a paint/primer material. I have used another product, but can't remember what it is called (I bought it at WalMart); it worked satisfactorily.

What model, what year? General information seems to be: Caliper bracket to spindle 25-33 ft-lbs I don't know about the caliper mount bolts.

Ok, Corky (Mr. Corky, since we haven't been introduced? ), what do I need to grab off of an XT6 in order to convert my 88 GL10? Or is a Legacy a viable donor? You asked...

Single malt?

I only have an AWD automatic, so... BUMP

My 86 FSM does not show any Idle Air Control Solenoid for a carbureted vehicle, at least as far as I can tell. And all of mine are EFI, so can't look. If I get more info I might be able to figure it out. Otherwise, another bump.

Wow! What a neat idea! An EA81 milkshake maker! Eeeewwwww!!!

What you are doing is changing when the spark occurs relative to the position of the moving piston. Gasoline/air takes a finite amount of time to burn, and it takes time for the flame to spread to all of the mixture. It you were to time the spark so it occured when the piston was at its closest approach to the head (Top Dead Center, TDC), then the piston would already be moving away before the flame really got going and was producing pressure. So, the spark timing is set to happen before the piston gets near the head, so that the flame is just really getting going when the piston reaches TDC, optimizing the pressure pushing the piston away. This is a balancing act and a compromise. Since we are starting the combustion before the piston is in a position to make power, we are wasting some energy pushing the piston away. If the spark occurs too soon, the pressure rises too much and pushes the approaching piston away too much, plus the pressure and temperatures can increase enough that detonation (pinging, knock) occurs. When you turn the distributor, you change when the spark occurs, and the engine responds by producing more or less power... at IDLE. But good idle timing doesn't translate well into good higher-speed/-load timing. You really need a timing light so that you know how close you are to what the manufacturer specified. Sorry for the wordiness...

The only way that I can see that the radio could have any positive effect is as previously mentioned, the power input filter of the radio *might* take some noise off of the power system. BUT... The radio's filter (if any) was designed to handle the radio's requirements, not the total needs of an automotive power supply. The alternator's ripple, brush noise and VR noise is just too great for any radio's circuitry to tame, especially hung out on the end of its power line. It is possible and feasable to build a filter/power-conditioner for your alternator, but you would proably be better off to first make sure that all of your grounds and power connections are clean, and that your battery and alternator are in good shape.

Ok, PCV 101: A standard PCV system is designed so that it ventilates the crankcase under both low-load, high-vacuum and high-load, low-vacuum conditions. To handle the low-load, high-vacuum, a hose is connected from the crankcase to the intake manifold "below" the throttleplate using a PCV valve, which is pretty much just a spring-loaded check valve that prevents backfires from igniting your crankcase. For high-load, low-vacuum, the system has a line that runs to the intake system "above" the throttle plate (usually air cleaner housing). Additionally, there is usually a vent line that takes filtered air from inside the air cleaner housing. The PCV valve usually fails due to getting gummed with gunk, so it can fail closed, open, or part way between. The oil filler "huffing" is probably little more than the crankcase "pumping" air as the pistons move. If one valvecover vent is moving air and the other is not, I might check the one that is not and make sure it is not obstructed. They are both connected to the same pressure source (the crankcase).

What type of vehicle? Which engine? Which Year? Regardless, the timing light is what you need to use. Depending on the vehicle, you may need to do something electrical to let the engine get timed. (This is usually with EFI, and you imply that yours is carbureted.) Advancing the iginition timing in and of itself will not get you any more power. Adjusting the ignition timing to optimize your car's fuel grade, C/R, and driving conditions can help a little.

The "ring nut" on the diff side of the rear hub should be torqued to 127-163 ft-lbs, per a diagram in a Chilton's manual that looks like it was lifted from the FSM. Where did you get the pin-tool, and how much did it cost? Planning on ever needing it again?

Moshe asked about this yesterday, and I gave him my 2 cents: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=38302 Short answer: IMHO, you should save your money.

The tire will say what size it is, and check john in KY's post regarding size marking on rim.

I would be REALLY careful about using an easily combustible material like diesel to clean out my engine or tranny. Leaving burnable fumes inside of the engine case in particular could be inviting explosion. The PCV system is meant to deal with this situation, but I wouldn't rely on it heavily.

I would put the A/A first, use the abundant coolant to remove as much heat as possible, then use the A/W to chill the intake air to possibly lower than ambient (not practical with it the other way around). If properly sized, you shouldn't get much of a mass-thoughput drop, but you should get a pressure drop (gas laws). "Properly sized" will be difficult due to the aforementioned space constraints.

Not suggesting you try this in RL, but think about sitting in neutral at idle and flooring the gas. How long before the engine hits redline? With a lighter flywheel, it might be 0.1-0.2 seconds quicker... maybe. This will be about your difference in 0-60 times.