GeneralDisorder

I do them for $1000 out the door easily. And possibly a bit less on the SOHC engines. Everyone wins - the owner gets a good deal and I (or Shawn in this case) makes a nice bit of money for a weekend of work. A good mechanic will have machine shops that he uses - and I'm sure Shawn has plenty of resources to tackle the job without the OP needing to find a machine shop for him. GD

Subaru offers all the parts, but not a "kit" per-se. You would have to order the individual parts. A good source for aftermarket is www.rockauto.com. For gaskets just go to the dealer as aftermarket are inferior - for internal parts - Sealed Power (Fel-Pro) has been fine for the builds I've done. Rebuilding them is not typically neccesary in the usual sense of the word. The short blocks are very robust so it's usually just heads and such that have to be rebuilt - which doesn't usually involve any parts outside what the machine shop sources for valves, seats, and stem seals. Then gaskets and what not - which are best purchased at the dealer except for the heads gaskets - most of us use the Fel-Pro perma-torque head gaskets for the EA's because they don't require a retorque procedure. Rebuilding a short-block on an EA (unless you are building a high-output EA81 or something) is typically a losing proposition - the parts and machine work will run more than a good running car that has 150k left in it. GD

Nissan 200 SX calipers will bolt up the same but have an integral parking brake as well. Some have used these to convert to a rear parking brake. Actually kind of a neat upgrade. The backing plate, caliper, and hub are the important parts - I would imagine you can buy the disc locally over there? If no one else has a set, I can find you some I'm sure. Lots of cars in the yards here. Usually runs about $150 to $175 for the parts and my time to pull them. Someone else may have them for less off a parts car, etc, while I would have to buy them from a local yard so you may find a better deal. But I have no problem finding you some and shipping them. Maybe we could work out a trade - I want an EJ carb manifold with integrated coolant cross-over.... GD

I doubt very much you will find any sort of clog in the nozzle. Correct terminology is key when we talk about this - that's a nozzle not a jet. Not trying to be an rump roast but we *have* to agree on the terms being used or there really is no communication with something this detailed and complex. Much more likely there is a problem with the carb top gasket partially blocking a passage, or some gunk in one of the air bleeds or main jet (bottom of the float bowl). It does sound like there's a clog somewhere or you have a vacuum leak or something. Remember that carbs are operated by pressure differential created by the airflow into the engine - thus a problem with that airflow will affect how the fuel and air flow through the carb and can show up as poor spray patterns, etc - due not to the carb itself but to some other problem with the intake tract. GD

Yes you will need to tap it - just make sure you tap it straight and true. Length should be the same as the threads on the plug. GD

There are different types of nozzles based on that picture and what I saw in the one I looked at ('84 model). Some have two that are like the secondary in that pic (cast nozzle - that's how the '84 is), and some are a brass tube that's inserted into the venturi and has a slot cut into the bottom of it. So what are you seeing in yours that's troubling to you? The fuel should be a spray like from an aerated faucet. Should be nice and even. GD

Yep - Heli-coil time. Just do you best to avoid getting chips and such into the hole. Don't be surprised if you miss a few - don't worry about it. Aluminium will just burn away in short order or be blown out the exhaust valve. You'll do fine. GD

I don't think you are seeing what you think you are seeing. The only copper tube in the primary of the Hitachi's (I just looked) is the accelerator pump nozzle and that is cut at a steep angle so it should still not be blocked. And in any case that would only result in a flat spot under rapid throttle opening - which could be described as a hessitation. But it would do nothing to the idle and if you open the throttle slowely it would not produce a hessitation. Can you get a video of what you are seeing? Or at least pics? It's hard to do this from a keyboard. The Hitachi carbs are notoriously hard for people to rebuild correctly the first time around. It took me half a dozen tries before I got to where I could rebuild one and make it run in an acceptable (to my standards) way. I can rebuild your's for a reasonable fee but it's usually more cost-effective to just upgrade them to a Weber. That's what I reccomend. GD

It it were me - I would remove the cam caps (keep them in order), lube the cam journals, rockers, and lifters with assembly lube (I use Redline assembly lube), and then retorque the cam caps. That's what I do on the heads I get back from the machine shop. Then you will want to clean the head gasket mating surface with acetone or lacquer thinner (my preference) to insure it is 100% oil free (same with the block). Obviously anti-seize your plugs when you install them. After installation I would dump about 1/2 of a quart of the new oil over the cam and rockers, etc. Then install the valve cover and fill normally. Otherwise it looks good and there's not much to do there! GD

Yep - paint is rediculous! I got a QUART of single stage mixed for a hood and fender match on a '91 Legacy - over $80 for a quart of Dupont Centari mixed to match the original semi-metallic (most all Subaru paint has some metallic in it). That's not even including the reducer. GD

Any way you can - break the covers usually. That's a problem with those and one reason why most of us run them without covers. GD

Every engine seems to be a little different - thus why Subaru says to check them at 105k. Sometimes you get an exhaust valve that wears quicker than the other's. I've seen it on 2.2's and 2.5's - H6's are less common but the design is the same on the bucket/shim valve system and the valves themselves aren't any different in design. Checking them is simple (once you remove the valve covers - which is a messy job being the H6 is so tight) - adjusting them is the hard part. The wear is on both the seat and the valve face. The stems don't stretch or anything like that. But they get tight and checking them is a LOT cheaper than dealing with a burned valve let me tell you - if you have to have a set of those heads rebuilt..... easily $600 for the machine work alone. GD

Yeah - I'm sure labor is near nothing compared to what it is here. It's not at all unusual for a shop to charge $75 to $100 an hour for "skilled" autmotive work of any kind - be it mechanical or body shop work. What's your labor rate down there on mechanical work? I bet it's less than I charge from my own garage - cost of living here in the US is high. GD

Oh - and if it's clear coated it's not original. Subaru used single-stage paint back in those days so it wouldn't have clear from the factory. Might be a dealer option or it's common to see that on older body work from say a light fender-bender when the car was closer to new. GD

Just color-sand it and put some new clear coat on. You can do it yourself. GD

The antenna wire is only a short one - like 10" or so and then you will find the *real* antenna connector. You can add an extension wire to that from any stereo shop when/if you want to install something different. But yeah - the wire on the back of the unit is not easily removable. And actually those deck's are fine but you will probably find (if you look) that the speakers are shot from age. It wouldn't be a bad idea to replace those - the stock deck will just sound that much better if you do. Especially the front door speakers - easy and cheap. GD

Most likely 8x1.25 yes. GD

Incidentally - how do you know you don't have power to the fuel pump? With FPCU cars the pump only runs durring cranking and running (when there is a tach signal). Just turning on the ignition will not power the pump. GD

Heh - $1500 would be a crap job - you are looking at $500 to $750 in materials (quality multi-stage paint, clear coat, prep and finish materials, etc) and the labor is just nuts. Try more like $3,500 to $5,000 for a decent paint job. The bed drives the price up as well. Add significant body work and ding repair and the price just keeps climbing. GD

86 DL should be carbed.... It will have a fuel pump control unit instead of a relay (it is the relay) under the dash. Look for a black blox about 2"x3" with a 6 pin connector near the relays or above the hood release cable bracket. The wire going to the pump is usually a blue with red stripe. The control unit will also have a yellow tach signal, black ground wire, and an ignition hot supply (white I think). GD

If you don't adjust them they will get tighter just like the DOHC H4's and you'll burn an exhaust valve when the clearance closes to zero. Seriously - don't ignore that service. I just did an EJ25D with a burned valve at 170k due to a lack of proper valve adjustment. GD

On EA81's the 4WD's were Hitachi in stock form. That does NOT apply to EA82's. It's also only a loose rule of thumb because many have been swapped, replaced, changed or the whole engine swapped out, etc. There's mix/match stuff all over the place on cars this old so it's not a hard and fast rule. For parts ordering purposes you will find the 4WD's should have Hitachi's listed while the 2WD's have ND's. GD

Make a new post asking for people in your area willing to help. That's what this board is all about. Someone will likely have a garage and need a few extra $$ plus has the skills. Also check on www.legacycentral.org - good guys over there - and possibly NASIOC as well - there's a lot of folks with skills there too. Just be careful about the fanboys over there as there are a lot of kids that probably don't know what they are doing. It *is* a coolant flow issue - the coolant stops flowing due to the exhaust gas bubble that displaces coolant into the overflow bottle. That is still a head gasket issue - thus the comments above about loosening the purge port on the radiator to vent the exhaust gasses - the system will never reach proper pressure when vented like that though. It is probably not the thermostat. They don't randomely overheat in the middle of driving due to a bad t-stat. Either they stick open or closed (usually closed) - they don't just randomely clamp shut. Typically you see them stick closed and simply overheat immediately. GD

Understandable - they should warantee them if the boots are still good. Won't cover your labor and will probably fail in another few months - just the nature of those NAPA axles. Many, many folks have been burned by their axles. Personally I don't ever shop at NAPA anymore. Their tendacy to rebrand everything to their own house label and the overall poor quality of the parts I've received time and again from them has soured me on the chain. I now shop through Lithia Subaru in Oregon City, Discount Import Parts in Milwaukie, and occasionally through Baxter's Auto Parts. The rest I buy online through www.rockauto.com, www.summitracing.com, and a few times through Amazon, etc. GD

Used is the way to go on those - they almost never fail so $10 from a yard is a much better solution. GD