GeneralDisorder

Hhhmmm - some of the early STi mounts were fluid filled - it's possible though I've never seen them on an OBW. . Could be some previous owner upgrade??? GD

If you get an '83 Hitachi it will bolt up and you can strip it down to just about the same config as a Weber. That's the route I would go. I even converted the last one I ran over to a manual choke. It actually ran quite good for what it was - you can also wrap a bit of wire around part of the linkage to cause the secondary to open progressively. GD

I agree with one minor difference - I actually prefer the '83 Hitachi. The differences are small but the '83 version has a better (IMO) choke setup. But I despise them all for their vacuum secondaries and tiny barrels. GD

EA81's are so simple - and relatively easy to obtain that I just wouldn't worry about - in my opinion that's just a way to bargain the price down. Body and interior I can't fix easily but an engine swap is a simple fix - even better if it doesn't run at all! Get it cheaper that way. Even one that purports to "run good" could have the same problems - a local member recently bought an '84 sedan and the engine runs alright - no smoking, etc. But it's got a main bearing knock that is scary. It's not real audible unless you know what you are listenting for but we changed the oil and for a few seconds on start up (dry filter) it was UGLY loud. So it's on the way out for sure. I would look for a nice body and interior and *hope* you can find one that just needs an engine or tranny. That would be spectacular - you can get those but you can't easily fix 30 years of abuse to the body and interior. GD

There aren't any conversion issues - it's a pretty straight swap. Bolt on the carb, hookup a few vacuum lines (like 2) and the PCV. That's pretty much it on the EA71's. Adjust the choke and the idle speed/mixture - which is simple. Last Weber I did for $190 - good used carb, rebuild kit (they are simple), adaptor plate, couple jets, and a new electric choke and air filter. Problem with the stock carb is all those hoses and ancillery systems that may be the problem rather than the carb - thermo-vacuum valves, anti-afterburn valves, hoses, etc. That's a nightmare and getting it to run right will be a challenge - plus you would be very surprised at how much performance you get from the Weber. It's not the HP - it's the progressive linkage and increased low-end torque that you want. Personally I can't bear to drive the stock carbs - I won't own one with a stock carb anymore. GD

Check for 12v at the coil? Check coil resistance? Check for 12v pulse from negative side of coil when cranking? C'mon man - pull out the DMM and find the problem. Guessing won't work. Distributors can and do fail "just like that". I've seen it - of course the only time I've seen it is on Mitsubishi's - but then Chrysler is in bed with those idiots so you never know. Personally I steer way clear of Jeeps and all other Chrysler products. I prefer my cars and trucks to actually run a good percentage of the time - more so than seems to be allowed by Chrysler's build quality. GD

Must be for the Canuck Special Edition model. I don't recognize it either GD

Unlikely that a clicking axle will blow apart unless it's under power. Probably be just fine. GD

Yes - Weber it. Forget about the hard-lines. Run 3 vacuum hoses - one to the distributor (to whichever effects the most advance by sucking on the hose - leave the other one OPEN). Another to the EGR, and the third is for the cabin HVAC control actuators. That's pretty much it - you can throw the rest away. If you don't recognize what it is - it's probably round-file material. GD

Hhhmmm - I just installed a brand new NGK set on my wagon yesterday and it was totally fine. I'll see if I can dig up the receipt or box and get you the part number. DL/GL shouldn't matter in the least. GD

Do you *have* to go through emissions with a stock carb? Can it be a Weber? They will pass a tail-pipe sniffer when setup correctly (with a good 3-way catalyst installed). If I were you - I would figure a way to hide a Weber DGV or a Holley 5200 (Weber copy- cheap on ebay) under the stock air filter and get it running with that. Your Hitachi looks like a nightmare and quite frankly the emissions police requirements are pretty loose usually and there's plenty of room for a brand-new, tuned up Weber to slide by. It might not do as well as the stock carb but typically from what I've seen even 10x what a perfectly running stock carb puts out will still pass. Check rockauto.com for a replacement stock carb - I'm pretty sure you won't like the price and I'm not at all confident that will totally fix your problems. There are so many accesory systems to the Hitachi's that it might not totally be the carbs fault. The whole engine bay is over 30 years old afterall..... GD

Yeah - no crank pulley guide on the EJ22's. Those are on the later 2.5's (like '99 and up I think?). GD

Try here: www.car-part.com I have bought a numer of engines and trannys from the yards that list on there - all excelent deals. GD

Fixed . GD

Upper is the main - pinion drive shaft is the lower. Noisy 5 speed's are usually a result of main shaft rear bearing failure. Typically cheaper just to find a used one - the parts will run more than a good used tranny with 100k on it. GD

You just need a new cable it sounds like. You have to use the cable that matches the pedal assembly - EA82 cables will not work but that's ok because the EA81 cables work great with the 5 speed D/R. I have use them on all the swaps I've done without any issues. A new cable is like $20 at the dealer - don't get an aftermarket clutch cable as they are junk. Make SURE you verify which cable you need - 80 to 83.5 uses one style, 83.5 to 89 (EA81's) use another style. The difference is at the pedal end and how the cable affixes to the pedal assembly. GD

Huh - we didn't do a thing to the head gaskets with the EJ25D and EJ22E heads. They looked close enough and it's running just fine on an EA81 radiator with 1-1/4" inlet/outlet . GD

Delta Camshaft in Tacoma WA. As for the retune - once the cams are installed check over on NASIOC to see who does dyno tune's in your area. They are getting pretty cheap - best to have it professionally done on your car. Not easily accomplished without expensive tools and a dyno. GD

EJ22's are simple - all marks at 12-o-clock. But you found that out it looks like. GD

Intake and exhaust will not help enough to warrant the cost or risk (with the intake) of changing them. They are not restrictive enough to matter on your engine. You might get 5 HP at 5000 RPM - not worth the trouble or expense. If you want power, the cheapest solution is to change your cams and retune the ECU. Beyond that you are looking at a LOT of money to do some serious head work. GD

Subaru's that smoke are pretty rare. A little on startup or when taking off after idling for a bit is usually valve stem seals. If it smokes like a chimney then just walk - it's been abused. GD

I would say something is up with the strut then - sounds like one side is not the right part. GD

I don't have a lift yet - but that's in the works. I'm going to put in a pit and a 24" lift (don't have the height for a full size). Frankly though - the only time I would use it would be for tranny swaps and those are pretty rare on Subaru's. It will come in handy when working on other brands - fortunately I mostly stick with Subaru's as I'm "known" in that community and there are tons of them here. GD

I also have the advantage that I set my own hours, and I buy/sell cars on the side in my spare time that I make more per-hour on than the actual labor of working on someone else's car - if I worked a 9 to 5 in a shop I wouldn't have the time or motivation for that. In fact working on other people's cars is sometimes secondary to flipping cars for profit - but it bring me customers that often buy a car from me later or send friends and relatives to me when they need one, etc. GD

Yep - I charge less than that for labor. But remember I'm a one-man show working from my home garage. So is Shawn I beleive. I charge around $35 to $40 an hour depending on if it's a subaru/board member/other brand car/etc. Everyone gets a good deal - I wouldn't make that much working for a shop and the customer would pay more as well. Plus it's more personalized and I think I provide a better quality of work than most shops and even the dealer in a lot of cases - often dealer's don't even resurface heads for head gasket jobs, etc . And the fact that the overall cost of the job is lower allows me to replace more old parts than other shops and still have a reasonable price for the customer - that adds value as well. New head gaskets with an old water pump and timiing belt due to the cost of the job being high and the customer not being able to afford those parts is a diservice IMO. I don't live in a Rural area - Portland is not Chicago, but it's still pretty freakin big. GD