GeneralDisorder

No - none that I've seen. EA71/81 pistons have no such markings nor is it discussed in their respective FSM's. I would go with what Gloyale is saying that it started in the later '80s with the SPFI engines. I have a set of unmarked SPFI pistons in my shed for a (someday) EA81 hi-po build so they must be from an earlier engine. IIRC it was an '87 FWD GL Coupe that I scrapped..... I was not aware that Subaru did this with any of the EA's - but then I don't mess with the turbo's at all and the later SPFI engines aren't really worth the trouble to tear down - if they have an internal issue I've always just sourced a cheap used engine. Such is the nature of the EA82 around my shop. I've had heads off but markings are usually obscured by carbon.... GD

I just wasn't that impressed with the EJ22 in the Brat (neither was Jacob). I mean - sure it was a little faster than the EA81/Weber and I'm sure it would be much more fun with torque cams, etc.... but it just didn't have the WOW factor that I half expected it to have. It was definitely an upgrade but the EJ18 would be 25 fewer HP and I can't imagine that being very amazing. Once we put in the frankenmotor with the torqe cams though - . Now it's got WOW factor. When you get on the skinny pedal the car LEAPS forward. It's so fun to drive that Jacob leaves his STi here parked in front of my house . Since I know they have 150 HP EJ20 N/A's over in AUS.... that would be the route I would go. I'm just saying.... if you are going to all the trouble then why not have as much power as you can reasonably obtain. The EJ20 would be basically the same amount of work. I suppose you could always do that later if you already have the EJ18 and this is a budget build. But these older EJ's are getting really cheap so why not drop a few hundred $ on some real power ya know? I suppose a carbed option would be interesting - but that's even less power than the SPFI/MPFI EJ18 I'm sure.... you might as well build a hi-po EA81 at that point as 100 HP is easily obtainable. GD

Yes you should definitely check out your battery and the current draw while the car is off as Ed noted - a bad battery can make the alt work very hard (the battery is the only device in the system that WILL pull every amp the alternator can make for extended periods), and a draw while the ignition is off will drain the battery and make the alt work hard at every startup to replenish what has been lost. I like the Bosch reman's. I've had good luck with them myself both on EA's and EJ's and even with the Maxima alts. I actually have not had one fail yet and I have three - two of which are used from the junk yard To test the VR sensor line and the output line, you simple run a DC voltage test (engine running) with your meter between the output lug and sense terminal on the alt and the main junction (positive side of the fusible links). You should see very little voltage drop across that run - 0.25 VDC or less. It's somewhat misleading how they have it wired from the factory - the sense line is only about 12" long and is crimped back into the the output line just downstream of the alt..... so if you have a big drop on one and not the other then the problem is at or near the alternator. If you have a problem on both then the problem is likely over near the fusible link box. EA81's are especially prone to this type of failure as the battery is way over on the other side of the engine bay with that wireing running down along the lower radiator core support near the ground and road salt, etc. With the EA82 and up they moved it to the other side so the run from the alt to the main junction is very short and you don't see this type of failure. Since you have a stereo, etc - you might want to install an actual "amperage gauge" - for those that know how to read them these are much more helpful than a voltage gauge. Ideally you should have both, but there's a reason cars used to have "charge gauges" (amp gauge) - the reason is two-fold - first because older stuff had generators and they wouldn't charge much (if at all) at idle. And second - the man of the house used to understand how to read one and what it meant GD

A few possibilities: 1. There is a voltage drop on the VR sensor line between the back of the alt and the main junction or between the main output lug on the alt and the main junction - this will cause the alt to pump the voltage up higher to compensate for what it thinks is heavy circuit draw..... 2. You are putting the belt on too tight and borking the bearings. It need only be tight enough not to slip - if it's old and hard that means it will have to be *too tight* for the longevity of the bearings so it's best to replace the belt and have nice soft rubber and keep it as loose as it will allow. 3. You are working the alt too hard - you have too many circuits drawing too many amps. In which case you need a larger alt and added wireing to compensate. 4. You are buying cheap reman alts and they are simply junk. GD

If you give it some thought.... the water choke actually tracks engine temp. The electric choke simply tracks with the choke heating element which depends on how long it's been on - it doesn't know if the engine is running or just the ignition is on.... etc. And even if you hook it to a tach-signal controlled relay it's still not tracking engine *temp* just whether it's running or not. The only drawback to the water choke is the extra hoses and properly routing them. GD

EJ20 or EJ22 would be a better choice - the EJ18 is somewhat lacking in performance though it's a slight upgrade to the EA81. The EJ20/EJ22 is more "worth" the effort. GD

Sythetic is amazing stuff - but it's sole benefit IMO is that it simply lasts a lot longer. Easily twice as long as typical non-synthetic oil. It resists heat much longer before breakdown. Unfortunately there's no way to tell when it's got to be changed without oil analysis so for the typical car on the road it's not worth the price when you are just going to go with X number of miles for a change interval anyway. It could expose gasket leaks but on the EA81 that mean valve covers and oil pan - which are not a huge deal to replace anyway and if they are indeed old and subject to leaking they probably should be done regardless of the type of oil you run. Either way those three gaskets are not a concern IMO as two of them take 10 minutes to change and the other about 30 minutes. Run 10w30 - that's the only thing you should be using. Having tore down many EA81's and other Subaru engines I can tell you that the clearances in the engine don't change to any appreciable degree - I've pulled apart engines with over 200k to find the bearings and crank still well within spec. The argument that "heavier oil will fill in enlarged bearing clearances" is simply not born out in the data I've collected - I would submit that anything (clearance wise) large enough to need a heavier oil is way too far gone to get any benefit from it and is sure to blow up shortly regardless of what you put in it. Oil that is too thick will cause accelrated start-up wear mostly. It won't do much when the engine is up to temp. Heavier oils in the SAE rating are mostly for things like Diesels where the bearing pressure's are much higher. The insanely thick oil will not hurt an EA81 when at operating temp - but that thick sludge will cause serious engine wear when cold. It's also best to avoid oils that have a very low "w" rating in comparison to their SAE rating. This indicates a higher level of viscocity modifier - which is basically little plastic cork-screws that uncurl as they heat up. It means less oil in your oil. So unless it gets down to zero degree's where you live (in which case you should have a block heater ) then you should run 10w. IMO just about everyone should be running 10w and if it's cold where you live then get a block heater - they are a whopping $35 from the dealer. GD

The '82 and up cluster's should all have the sensor built into the speedo head. 80 and 81 did not and the cluster is totally different..... where does this sensor you have actually go? I'm curious as to if you have found some kind of non-cluster related sensor, etc? This would be a find if it could be adapted to the 80/81 cars that don't have the speed sensor in the speedo head. GD

You don't want to leave the rope in-place while you are doing the timeing belt. The valves may need to be moved to line stuff up..... Seriously - there's very likely almost no rust on the crank bolt threads - it's just the edges under the head of the bolt that might be a little stuck. Just put a 1/2" ratchet on it and smack the end of the ratchet handle with a heavy hammer (3 to 4 lbs) - half a dozen hits and it's loose. No problem. I don't like using the bell-housing hole, etc - you could break something doing that. *probably* not - but it's possible. Best method is to use an impact or the "hand impact" as I outlined. GD

I use a 1/2" ratchet and a 4lb drilling hammer to get them loose. Works every time. The rope method is good, but takes longer than the "hand-impact" method. GD

Use the water choke - it's better anyway. GD

I buy all my kits from theimportexperts or mizumoauto on ebay. Great prices and both have always sent me quality parts - I haven't had a single part that I balked at from a quality perspective. My veiw on the aftermarket bearings, water pumps, etc is this: 1. The quality is probably not a good as OEM. 2. The quality should be FINE if you replace ALL the parts at EVERY belt interval for 105k belts or EVERY OTHER belt interval for 60k belts. 3. The cost to replace them all with aftermarket every single time the belt is changed is still cheaper than a failure or replacing them every belt change (on 105k belts) or every other belt change (on 60k belts) with OEM parts. This is the conventional wisdom around here. The price for dealer parts on all this stuff can easily run into the $600 to $800 range - thus we have developed these "rules" to forgo the high prices of OEM parts. GD

Where is it leaking from exactly? There isn't much that can't be fixed with the tranny in-place. The seals around the front diff stubs are set into the front diff R&P bearing race holders and those also set the R&P clearance. If you do one at a time and mark it's posistion prior to removal it's not usually a problem but if they are put back incorrectly the R&P can fail from improper clearance (too loose, too tight, or gear misalignment). The only one that you have to dissasemble the tranny for is the front input shaft seal. That one requires splitting the case to access. GD

You need to replace the camshaft seals. Pretty common on these. The rubber gasket is just the rear belt cover seal. It's not important and usually they are just thrown away when the rear cover is removed (if you even remove it) for the cam seal replacement. Yep - cam seals. Pressure switch looks fine - that's not your problem. No need - not your problem. No special tools required. Timing belts on these are very simple. You will have to remove the cam pulleys to get at the cam seals. You should do the cam seals, crank seal, all the idler pulleys, and the water pump while you are in there. Not a bad idea to reseal the oil pump too. No torque wrench needed - just pull the rocker covers, clean, and install new gaskets and bolt grommets. When you are putting the bolts back in use a 1/4" drive ratchet and don't be too forceful with them - I have seen people break them Sure thing - this is a pretty easy job and if you have any other questions feel free to ask or PM me - I do these like once a week or more it seems GD

You can do the oil pan - it's not as hard as you might think. There are holes in the cross-member for a long phillips screwdriver to get to the rear bolts. Once the bolts are out you can put a bottle jack (these are cheap from any discount tool store, etc) behind the cross-member on the front of the transmission bell housing (using a block of wood to spread the load). Then you remove the two engine mount nuts, disconnect the exhaust (4 nuts), disconnect the pitching stopper (1 bolt) and jack the engine up with the bottle jack about 3 or 4 inches. This will allow the pan to slip out. Then it's just a matter of cleaning, prepping, and installing a new cork gasket (from the dealer ~$12 IIRC). It sounds harder than it is. MUCH easier than the oil pan gasket on my '69 GMC truck (350 SBC) - which was about a 4 hour job for me and I've done it 3 times . But this last time I used a single-peice space-age silicone unit that's quite the amazing peice of engineering. I don't think I'll be doing it again . GD

Sounds like your centering spring is missing..... GD

Yeah - swap on your disty and manifold (use dealer gaskets only - torqued to 12 Ft/lbs). Also the SPFI block will not have the AIS ports drilled out on the heads so ditch all that gear if you haven't already. SPFI block is also 9.5:1 instead of 9.0:1 so you may have to change your timing slightly to avoid pinging. Not much but it's worth noting. That block is 90 HP instead of 84 HP so you are getting a slight performance boost. It also might need a slight rejet on the carb and the idle will have to be readjusted for sure. GD

Razor blade? Typically paint will just pop right off of glass without much trouble. That's how it's done on pane-glass windows when you want to paint the frame, etc . GD

EA81 to EJ22 can be done in a weekend..... but ONLY if you have done one (or more) before . First time out - figure at least a month with a ton of help from the board and possibly some folks dropping by in person. This is NOT A SMALL TASK. You need to understand what you are asking about here - search/read/learn. All your questions have been answered here somewhere. GD

I'll "third" the wheel bearing/axle issues camp. Sounds pretty likely. Jack up each wheel and check for play - when checking the rear's remember to disengage the parking brake. It really sounds like a wheel bearing to me..... Gearboxes always have some amount of metal in the oil and on the plug (thus the reason they always have mag-plugs). Sounds pretty normal to me. You would know if it was bad - there would be a metallic swirl in the oil and after letting the pan sit overnight there would be a large amount of metal "sludge" in the bottom. GD

I doubt it's your rack. But putting that Lucas crap in there might cause it to fail - probably kill the pump too . NEVER use anything but pure, clean ATF in Subaru PS systems. NEVER! If you can put a bottle of garbage in the pump - why can't you spray down the steering coupler like we have sugested instead of questioning our experience and doing stupid things with chemicals that will quite possibly cause more harm than good? There is no such thing as a "repair in a bottle". Repairs are accomplished with tools by experienced mechanics..... GD

Yeah - there's no spline's Gary. Clean up the shaft with a fine file and then fabri-cut or scotch-brite, etc - make sure there are no burrs or nicks - the fit is not interferance - it's what known as "net zero". Which means the OD of the shaft is basically the same as the ID of the bearing race. If you get them both clean and then coat the shaft with anti-seize they will often slide right in with little effort. Sometimes just a little prying is needed - use the axle nut, then the cone washer (reversed) and axle nut, and then the cone washer, flat washer, and axle nut stacked up - you should be able to pry the axle through with those combo's and a couple small pry-bars. Make sure as you go that the axle is centered up in the bearings - having it angled going into the bearings will cause it to bind. This is not a job for hammers and brute force - you will just comprimise the bearings by doing it that way. GD

Being it's a 3 door (87+) and 2WD it will be SPFI (Single Point Fuel Injection). It looks to be a GL by the trim (blackout door handles, etc). The SPFI stuff runs near forever on those - the engine is a sound machine if you keep up on it's tendancy to eat timing belts and cooling system parts. Biggest thing to watch for is going to be the cooling system - with that many miles it's likely that it will need a head gasket if that hasn't already been done. The heads chafe against the gasket and it results in the fire ring damaging the head surfaces - usually this creates a need for head gasket replacement in the 200k to 300k mile range. It's easily repaired with a head resurface and some new head gaskets and can be done with the engine in the car. But at 270k it might have already been done. Would be great if they have some reccords..... That's a good price. The best part about that car is the decent mileage, the SPFI system, and cheap/availible parts. Even a whole used engine is usually only in the $250 or less catagory - despite the few flaws of these they tend to last almost forever - what usually claims them is not a fatal flaw but rather a need to do a major service like a timing belt, etc - when people find out that the service is going to cost more than the car is worth they just dump them in a trade-in etc where they then end up at dealer auctions and get bought by the junk yards for scrap metal. GD

Timing belt or broken cam shaft. Not really *easier* than a clutch, axle, or wheel bearing - those have their own little nuances..... But t-belts are not that hard on the EA82. Just a little weird in how they line up is all. GD

Interesting - my EA81 (back in like '04) tossed the #3. But aside from that one I haven't torn down any other's that had thrown a rod. I've seen a few but only in passing - never got into details like which rod it was, etc. EJ25D's throw rods because they get overheated and the oil isn't changed immediately after. It's just a side-effect of the bad head gaskets. Some people refuse to replace them and keep driving it - repeated overheating cycles will damage the oil and of course if they aren't doing the head gaskets they also don't know enough to change the oil either..... GD