GeneralDisorder

Gasoline dissolves RTV. Turns it into a huge mess. Probably want to find another carb or swap to a Weber at this point. From the sounds of it you shouldn't open up anymore Hitachi's - buy a reman, get a good used one, or swap to a Weber. That's my reccomendation. GD

Yes and yes. The only thing they share is the crank, rods, and block. GD

The oil pump will not have any appreciable wear - they are almost never replaced. 140k is nothing - it will go 300k on the original oil pump. Don't worry yourself about replacing that. GD

That has been my experience with them as well. From the sounds of it, this "shop" is not a Subaru specific one so they probably didn't know that when they quoted the job. GD

You should be able to drive a new bearing into the pulley. Just remove the old one and take it to any bearing house to have it matched up. The belt you are talking about probably runs the AC compressor. Yes you can remove it if you don't need AC since the other belt runs all the neccesary bits. GD

My experience has been that if the single-row bearing idlers are changed every time the belt is changed then there's no problem with them. Subaru probably went to the 3k series bearing because they don't publish that you should change the idlers along with the belt - which is ludicrious. Also the single row bearing idlers are easily rebuilt with an off-the-shelf 6k series bearing while the double row is not as it does not use an off-the-shelf bearing. If you want to save money go with the single row units and then just knock in some new bearings (~$5 each) when you do the belt the next time around. GD

Pretty much just drop it in and time it. No mods needed. GD

Well - it has to do with the winding resistance of the coil. The triggering amp inside the distributor is a rather sensitive peice of equipment and if the resistance of the coil winding is not what the trigger was designed for you can overload it and cause damage to the electronics. People have done this by installing after market coil's such as those made by Accell or MSD etc. For most cars that use the canister style coil you can get away with it without damaging anything (GM HEI for example) but in the specific case of the Subaru units they don't seem to always handle it (and sometimes they do ) and since there isn't much to be gained by upgrading the coil anyway it's a much safer bet to pair up the distributor module with it's intended coil. The ND coil's have a bright blue top (where all the wires connect), while the Hitachi coils are black all over. Better/worse comparisons have been made in the past. Here's what I can tell you: 1. The advance curves are the same between the two. 2. The ND unit has a slightly higher voltage spark. 3. The ND unit's experience more problems with shaft bushing failure. 4. The Hitachi ignition module is much cheaper and more availible than the ND - and they tend to fail less often. 4. The Orientation of the plugs on the cap makes the ND unit interfere with the choke housing of the Weber less than the Hitachi (but either one works fine). From a performance standpoint there is no difference. Though I can say I've had a lot more problems with ND module failures and shaft bushing failures than I have with the Hitachi units. Personally I prefer the Hitachi because of this. As to why Subaru chose different brands for different configurations - I have no idea. That's equivelent to asking why some models came with that crappy Carter/Weber single barrel. I don't think anyone knows why they did some of the things they did. Could have been something supply chain related like ND/Hitachi couldn't supply enough on their own for all the cars or that ND was located near the 2WD factory and Hitachi was located near the 4WD factory...... we will probably never know. GD

It's identical to your manual - they didn't change the EA82's much after about '87.5 GD

The water pump probably hasn't been done. Most shops as well as the dealer don't do them until they fail. Same goes for the tensioner and idler bearings. At your mileage - if you are unsure you should do them. Oil pump's basically last the life of the engine. It should be removed and the bolts on the back cover checked for tightness though. Yes it is accesible with the timing belt removed. GD

Then it was swapped out or the engine was swapped out (seen that before) at some point in the past. No big deal they are basically interchangeable. But you should verify that you have the blue-topped coil (ND) as well. The should match for best results and longevity. GD

Ok - so to give a little background: I had (got laid off) a very interesting job working for an industrial machinery manufacturer/distributor for the last few years. I worked in their in-house repair and rebuild shop. This shop has been in business for 75 years and I worked with a whole bunch of old timers - guys that remember pouring babbit bearings 30+ years ago on machines that *at that time* were older than the old timer that was teaching them how to do it . I worked on everything imaginable and some things you probably can't imagine :-\. Ostensibly we specialized in compressors, vacuum pumps, pumps, and blowers.... but if you know anything of industrial machines you'll realize that this ecompasses a LOT of equipment. Everything that blows or sucks pretty much - not to mention the control systems and electronics (in the newer stuff) that go along with them. Well - in the process of rebuilding equipment that was often 2 to 4 times my own age - you run up against a lot of peices for which there is no manual - often for which there isn't even a manufacturer or even anyone still alive that you can talk to who worked for the manufacturer. This presents it's own unique set of problems - one of which is that any special tools once required to service these machines are no more. Anything that is needed must be manufactured in-house. We had a machine shop for just such neccesities and probably *the* most common thing to have made was bearing/sleeve/seal drivers - both press/porta-power adaptors for taking things apart, as well as hand drivers for driving such components onto shafts and into pockets, etc. Thus I am no stranger to making a tool for a specific pupose. To that end, in order to install a wheel bearing you simply need the right adaptors and something to apply force to them. That is the essence of the hub-tamer type tools that are now commonly availible and rather than make my own adaptors for the job (time consuming) I bought an inexpensive set from Harbor Freight: http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/tire-wheel/fwd-front-wheel-bearing-adapters-66829.html Now that set does not include the puller that you need to remove the outer cone from the hub but it does include enough sizes and shapes of adaptor peices to do the job on an EJ front wheel bearing. It works reasonably well though I wouldn't reccomend doing it without a 1/2" impact gun as removing the old outer race from the knuckle requires quite a bit of force. You can do it with hand tools but it would be a bear of a job. GD

For EA81's it's Hitachi on 4WD's and ND on 2WD's. You can see pictures of both on my SPFI write up page at: http://home.comcast.net/~trilinear/EA81_SPFI.html Either one works fine with a Weber. You shouldn't have any trouble in that regard. GD

You can do it - that I'm sure of. You just have to work slowely and carefully and make sure that you NEVER apply pressure in a way that transmits the force of the tool through the rolling elements of the bearings (balls, rollers, etc). The biggest part of the learning curve is to get people to PAY ATTENTION to the details of what they are doing. Bearing fits are TIGHT and a matter of a few thousandths of an inch is a BIG problem. Pockets and shafts must be closely inspected for burrs, scratches, and other damage that will affect the installation. Usually these problems can be corrected easily with a small file or a bit of sharpening stone used to "hone" the impefection. The components are generally designed to be either a "zero clearance" or a slight "interferance" fit. Meaning the only thing holding it all together is friction - the ID of the bearing being either the same size or slightly smaller than the OD of the shaft it is designed to slip over. In high-speed and high temperature applications like an automotive wheel bearing it is not uncommon to see .001" to .002" of interferance between the parts being assembled. Automotive technicians, by and large, are not trained in the checking, measureing, and fitting of close tollerance parts such as used in bearings - that is generally the realm of the machinist (automotive or otherwise) and thus it is poorly understood in this community with the exception of those that have built engines, etc - although even a lot of them fail to bring that same level of precision work over to the lowely wheel bearing. This goes for people operating presses at shop XYZ that are installing bearings for people in this community and for the dealership (which ought to do this simple task themselves but hire only part-hanger's anymore it seems ). And - just to put this out there - in the VAST majority of cases, presses are for taking things APART. They are much less often used for putting things together - for which we have induction heaters, etc. Sometimes, for some types of machined fit's a small press is used - like a hand operated arbor press for example. But you shouldn't be busting out the 50 ton hydro press for installing a Subaru wheel bearing - not in my opinion anyway. There is not enough "feel" for that job and nowhere near that much force is required. GD

The one thing to watch is not to lose the accelerator pump check-ball when you open up the carb. It's in the accelerator pump plunger well under the spring. It's a 1/8" plastic guy. Most rebuild kits come with a replacement but just watch that you don't lose the thing and note where it goes and the orientation of the spring, etc. I highly reccomend buying one of the 1 gallon carb cleaner dip buckets from the auto-parts store. They are like $15 or $20 and the peices of the carb (minus plastic and rubber parts) can be dipped in there for proper cleaning. Otherwise it's hard to properly clean all the small passages, etc. GD

If you lift it high enough you can use the 2WD tank. Or you could modify the existing tank, or install a fuel cell. It can be done - you just have to want it. EA82T would be a bad idea. Go with an EJ non-turbo - much less headache. You are fixating on the adaptor plate drama and forgetting about all the drama of the turbo, it's exhaust, and fitting that stupidly wide EA82 long block into the hatch body where it can't even be serviced without pulling it back out. The adaptor plate pales in comparison to the BS of installing an EA82T. Also - you don't have a baffled fuel tank so you may need a surge tank for any form of fuel injection. Don't worry - we have to do that as well since no hatch ever came with FI here either. GD

Backfireing is a combination of both rich mixture/misfire AND exhaust leaks. Without the fresh air from the leaks you don't have a combustible mixture. Where in the RPM range are you having a problem with HC? There are multiple circuits in the carb and they are tuned in different ways depending on where you want the changes to occur in the RPM range. Vacuum leaks will (generally) cause a lean condition, not a rich one. Typically a leak means more air and that generally means less fuel as the signal to the venturi's decreases because of the leak. Your HC number is very close to passing, and if it's just at idle then you can easily adjust the idle mixture screw at the base of the carb and get it to pass. If it's higher in the RPM range then you may have trouble as that would indicate the carb is no longer jetted properly for the engine (worn engine internals) and without rejetting the carb about the only solution to that would be to add a second cat into the mid-pipe. The other option if you just want to pass and don't care about actually fixing it would be to run 50% denatured alcohol (paint section at Home Depot, etc). It will run like poo but it will not blow any HC's GD

Yeah - not condusive for you probably. Although for windy conditions the best combo is flux core *with* gas. But in your case it's probably best to just wait till the wind dies down. Wind can be combatted by increaseing the gas pressure as well but you use gas more quickly. A small bottle can be easily carried and would dramatically increase the abilities of your machine (on a calm day). Check craigslist for used bottles. It only costs about $25 to fill a small bottle. Yes - they will stick metal together. If you take a class or have a friend give you a lesson or two with a professional machine you would be better equipped to setup and use your small flux machine. Oh - and another tip with the 110v machines - you MUST use a decent sized extension cord if you use one. The amperage draw will choke a small cord. 12 AWG minimum and 10 AWG for anything over 25 feet. I made this mistake on my first few attempts - my machine would strike an arc but the wire feed motor would not keep a constant speed and it wouldn't weld for beans like that. Yep - that's what the sealer is for. I'm sure it will be fine and no one is going to see the weld - especially after you undercoat it. GD

Yeah that's a bad combo for sheet metal. That would try my patience for sure. Even with .23 I have to be real careful using my standard 75/25 gas mix. Wish I had the money for a second bottle so I could have C02 on hand for sheet metal. When you do automotive it's very often useful. It's on my list With the flux core I would be worried about slag inclusion causing some serious pin-holes. Since you obviously can't run a solid bead on the material you have to do a lot of start/stop work and that leads you to weld over the top of already cooled slag - remelting it into the weld puddle. This causes porosity..... It's sad that so many first-time welders get bit by these low-buck flux core machines that really aren't suited to producing a fine weld job on anything but a farm tractor implement. The old adage here is so true - you just can't do quality work without quality tools. Unfortunately I learned that the same way your are learing it - bought a cheap flux-core machine and made some really crappy looking welds with it. It wasn't until I got some formal training on the subject that I could even make that poor thing weld decent and even then it's still a cheap POS and has limited useage, too few and unrefined controls, and is just generally not a pleasureable thing to use even for someone with the skills to do so. GD

Pinholes may certainly be a problem. Make sure you coat the tank with sealer BEFORE you paint the outside of the tank as any pin-holes will allow the sealer's prep chemicals to get under the paint and bubble it. For the same reason - don't use any bondo on the tank either. Not that you are likely to do that since it's not seen - but just relaying what I know from a motorcycle tank I worked on. Don't be sad about your weld appearance - it takes a lot of time to be proficient with sheet metal and most inexpensive welders aren't suited for it right out of the box. You need thin wire and 100% CO2 to do it right. GD

EA81 vs. EA82 Hitachi's have a different base pattern. You can't get the Weber adapter plates over there? Seems a waste of time when the adapters are $35 unless you can't get one for some reason. I don't know about you, but an hour on the mill is worth a lot more to me than $35. GD

Have you checked any of the hubs for an out-of-round condition? As mentioned presses can deform the bearing pockets..... all things being equal the hub-tamer is a more delicate approach if you can get access to one. GD

Hhhhhmmm - yeah I'll have to pull the pump/sender and see if there is any foolishness going on in there. The car is 100% fine when going straight and when it dies it doesn't give any OBD-II codes so I'm thinking it's got to be something mechanical with the fuel delivery, etc. GD

Eyeball it. It's just not that critical. If it were it would say 90* and to use a special tool to insure accuracy. It says "80 to 90" specifically because it's an estimate, not a specific number that has to be measured accurately. These are NOT torque to yeild bolts - in fact there are alternate methods used by many seasoned Subaru mechanics that use real torque values rather than the degree method. The bolts do not stretch - they are threaded into an aluminium block and would rip the threads out of the block long before the steel bolts "yeilded" from torque. GD

Weird problem - EJ22 AWD Automatic, 147k. When accelerating around right hand turns (from a stop light or around an on-ramp, etc) it wants to die - like it's losing fuel. I've had the tank near empty and also over half full. No codes - just dies like it isn't getting any fuel then either picks up on it's own or will restart within a few seconds at most. I need to hookup a pressure tester and try to get a reading while it's doing this, but it's hard since you have to be driving for it to occur. Anyone seen this before? Do these have a saddle pump and is that somthing I should be checking for proper operation? GD