GeneralDisorder

The 5 speed is totally an upgrade and will not be frowned upon even by purists if you do it and keep the interior stock (Jerry's kit is excelent for that). NO ONE wants the 4 speeds as they have problems. It's worth it to do the 5 swap. Rear discs as well though if you want them correct you need to install the proportioning valve that goes with them or an aftermarket adjustable. Nothing wrong with either of those upgrades and you will not hurt the value of the Brat to do them. GD

The steering donut happens to be exactly the same as the old VW Bug one's. For $8 you can get a shiny red urethane one from any EMPI dealer. Yes I'm completely serious about that. I've used half a dozen of them. It is 100% direct bolt-in . The steering u-joints can get pretty weird when the start to freeze up. It's worth it to remove it and inspect. And replace the donut since it's just a no-brainer. GD

Upgrading the wire from the alt to the battery is so you don't fry the stock wiring if/when a near dead battery tries to pull the full amp capability of the alternator. The stock alts were 55 amp and the wireing is sized for that many amps and possibly a little overhead (though I wouldn't count on it after 20 years). If you drop in a 100 amp alternator, the battery can and will pull all 100 amps off it if it's low. Battery's don't care what your wireing is capable or and are not goverened by fixed draw's like lights, fans, etc. And that is only part of a properly laid out electrical system. It should NOT go directly to the battery terminal as that is a huge fire hazard. It should first go to a circuit breaker close to the battery and then as short a lead as is practical should go to the battery terminal. In addition, accesories should NOT draw off the battery terminal - instead setup a new fuse panel that is driven from a junction off the battery terminal. You can find these junction's (simply a plastic deal with a threaded stud and some prongs for wire routing) on many GM products from the 80's and 90's in the junk yard. From there you should run through a circuit breaker and then to the main power input of your new fuse panel. I have been using the painless performance fuse panels and so far I like them. They are offered in water resistant varieties. summitracing.com etc carries their whole product line. GD

I'll see if I can snap some pics when it comes over next. He's mostly been driving his S10 recently since it's pukeing oil out of the valve cover as of a few days ago. GD

The sealer is approved and reccomended by Subaru. And I've seen it work. It's actually pretty impressive and in the specific case of the Phase II EJ25's it stops a specific external leak that is not a concern as long as the coolant level is kept up. GD

Welding is pretty much required. GD

EA81 power rack's are bolted to the cross-member on the driver's side. I don't see how it could move if it's a power rack. The non-power rack's can get pretty sloppy though. GD

When you pull on the cable it compresses the sheath - which is trapped between the pedal bracket and the fork bracket. If it's running over the steering shaft it has to make an S curve bend over the steering shaft and then under the heater core hoses..... the cable and sheath are relatively inflexible and that much bending causes the cable to bind inside the sheath. It will wear out the cable in just a few hundred miles if it's left that way. The first cable I ever replaced on my wagon 10 years ago was due to a similar failure. I bought the car that way and the cable snapped on an on-ramp comming home from work one day. GD

I can get a pic or two probably. It's a stock engine for now - he has another he's building up for more boost. He will be replacing the pistons and rods and o-ringing the block. Everything is custom. There are virtually no part numbers for anything. It's a blow-through. The Weber has been modified with o-rings on the throttle shafts. The fuel pressure rises with boost pressure - starts at 5 psi and rises with the boost pressure using an Italian fuel pressure regulator. Mechanical pump was removed and the SPFI pump supplies fuel pressure so there is plenty for added boost. The regulator has a return line so the pump isn't being dead-headed. The choke plates and air horns were removed from the carb and it is fitted with a custom made top that is sealed against boost pressure. The turbo is on top of a custom exhaust plenum and draws cold air from a vent in the face of the hood above the driver's side headlight, and then runs over to a heavily modified Ford Probe intercooler that gets cold air from an identical vent on the passenger side of the hood - which then feeds into the carb. It's using a Mazda RX7 turbo recirc valve. Soon I will be helping him install a knock control system from an '85/'86 EA82T. The engine is getting close to being shot though. It's got too much blow-by and he has been having trouble with it blowing out valve cover seals, etc. It also smokes when you take off from a stop - it's about shot and I'm assuming the turbo isn't helping matters . But so far it's holding together. GD

Are you sure the strut tops are both facing the same direction? They are marked on top which way they need to be for PS. GD

The routing is your problem. Change that and it will feel much better. GD

The fact that the name "HOLTS" is molded into the plastic of the container wasn't a clue was it? It's WAY cheaper from Subaru than any other source I've seen. If anyone needs to seal up a leak on some other brand of car I would still go to the Subaru dealer for a bottle. GD

XT6 step is .815" and "normal" EA82 step should be .900". But I've seen a lot of EA82 flywheels with the XT6 step so it's hard to say.... The clutch cable would be my first suspect - it is routed under the steering column and the heater core hoses right? Is it an OEM cable? It definitely shouldn't be hard to push so something isn't right. GD

None really. High quality 6206's are rated at around 5000 to 7000 lbs radial load (per bearing), while a quality 7207 is rated at about 6000 lbs radial load. GD

I've never come across a block that required surfacing. The casting is thick and they are closed deck engines. Was this just done because you felt it was required or was the surface checked against a machinists straight edge and found to be warped? Typically the heads are surfaced and that is all. I've done this quite a number of times and never had a single issue with head gaskets or otherwise. The block is consructed in such a way that I would be very concerned about the main journals and cam journals being out-of-whack if the block surface under the heads were radically warped. At which point the block would be trash. GD

Why people continue to buy VW's (especially those new beetles :-\) is beyond me. As far as I can tell, they are still riding the good vibes from the air-cooled days. By and large they are problematic - possibly only beaten in the "most unreliable import" catagory by Mitsubishi And on top of that - transverse...... no love - just no love at all for the vee-dub box. GD

Much easier than *most* modern cars. No press or hub-tamer required. I much prefer doing EA front wheel bearings to doing EJ wheel bearings. I've often wondered if fitting 7207's back-to-back in place of the 6207's would improve their lifespan. The 7207's are axial thrust bearings in addition to being radial thrust like the 6k series. GD

Bearing quality has an effect too I would imagine. As well as the outer hub seals and the condition of the surface that the seal lip rides on. I too have replaced bearings (once) in my off-road wagon. But they were original to the car and were at 160k or so. Haven't had any trouble since. GD

Heh - I have a friend with a Samurai and he's sporting a whole bunch of Subaru parts on it. Radiator fan from an EA81, EA82T turbo, SPFI fuel pump, EA81 fuel pump control unit, One of my cast-off Weber DGV's, etc, etc . It runs like a demon though. 7 psi on the worn-out original engine - had to do a head gasket on it after he boosted to about 10+ psi on a test run trying to adjust the waste gate. Almost picked the front wheels up off the ground . Thanks for the MC/booster tip - I'll mention that to him. Does that give more braking power? GD

The conditioner doesn't stop oil leaks - it prevents and stops coolant leaks. The oil leaks are of only minor concern - don't even worry about them The coolant leak is external only but you should run the conditioner even if you don't have any leaks. And at $1.49 a bottle - why not? It's approved for all Subaru engines too. GD

Don't worry about it. Those engine are known for oil and coolant leaks on the head gaskets. Run the Subaru stop-leak product in the coolant ALL THE TIME - two bottles if it starts leaking (yes they say you can do that). The oil leak won't get much larger. They aren't typically a problem and I certainly wouldn't be replacing the HG's at 107k for a little oil. I have a '99 Forester (same engine) with 237k on it - forgot the stop leak and WHOA! The coolant really started flowing out. Put in two bottles and she's just fine again. . The oil leaks are much less severe with these than the coolant. You have an easy 100k before you really have to start worrying. GD

That's old - we don't do that anymore. Now we do this: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=86901 And if you want it REALLY tight - do this: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showpost.php?p=846007&postcount=3 You can build adaptors that will bolt on as well. GD

Test light or Multi-meter. I would also humbly sugest that if you don't know how to run through a spark check and get some idea's as to what has gone wrong.... you shouldn't be playing with machinery in deep, watery, mud holes. That is somewhat akin to traveling in 3rd world countries without bottled water . GD

Dealer gaskets are better and reasonably priced. Most of the problems people run into are either poor quality gaskets or stud/thread issues. You can tap it over to 7/16x20 and install new studs if you are inclined. Or you can Heli-Coil but it's more expensive. I'm assuming you are refering to my posts on fixing the shifter slop by threading the roll-pin hole and installing a bolt and jam-nut? If so, yes it works. And no you can't easily fix it with factory parts since the transmission would have to come out and be torn apart to replace the worn shift rod. At that point it's easier to install a 5 speed which does not have the 3rd gear syncro problems and does not have issues with critical components of the shifter linkage wearing out. You can simply buy new bushings and have a wonderful, tight shifter. EA82 seats fit if you make some adaptor brackets from some flat bar and can be found in good condtion from early 90's Loyale's. They were cloth seats so the vinyl won't be ripped up like your EA81 seats. Personally I weld the brackets to the bottom of the seat and then bolt on the EA81 rails. The struts and shocks are shot. The rotors are not pressed, no. The bearings are pressed into the knuckle and the axle is a light interferance fit with the bearing inner races, but you don't need a press to do either of them in practice. The hub is splined to the axle and the rotor bolted to the hub. Remove the axle nut and brake hardware and the hub/rotor will slide right off. GD

:lol::lol: I love you man! GD