GeneralDisorder

Do you already have a lift and do not like the existing steering extension? Depending on the amount of cross-member drop it will require a different steering extension length as well as being different for power vs. manual steering. There are a couple EA81's in the yards around here. I'll try to find a shaft for you depending on what you need. EA82 parts can often be used as well. For example - my wagon's extension consists of an extra EA82 u-joint coupled to the stock u-joint with a modified and lengthened spline section from the end of a column. None of the parts used came from an EA81 with the exception of the original u-joint assembly. But mine is power which makes it easier to adapt in this way. GD

I may produce a small run of my strut tower design and offer steering extensions as well for EA81's - The idea being that the rest of a 4" lift is easily accomplished by heading down to the local steel mart and having 2" blocks of 4"x2", 1/4" wall tubing cut and then drilling them. The strut tower blocks I'm building allow camber adjustment via slots in the lower plate - the proto-type set is currently installed in my lifted wagon and the camber is perfect at exactly 4" strut extension and no adjustment of the lower spring perch (full soft "low" setting). The final product will be laser cut by a respected machinist and fellow board member and welded by me. I'm thinking of offering the two strut extensions for about $150 and maybe a bit more for a steering extension (with core shaft exchange). I'm not doing this for a huge profit - I just see that the biggest obstacles for most people are the strut extension and making the camber correct, and then the steering linkage. I would likely be doing a short run of around 10 sets. I do not want to produce full kits with hardware, etc as the rest of the items are easily sourced locally and thus it doesn't pay to waste the time and expense of shipping some blocks and bolts. Installation in the towers will require only the same minor beating of the "lump" at the rear of each tower that all other kits require - the difference is that the camber is adjustable for fine tuning on a specific vehicle. Any interest or shall I just make a few for myself and friends? GD

Contact rguyver - he makes them and usually brings half a dozen to the west coast subaru show. His are proven on his daily driver - a WRX swapped Brat. CNC laser cut, pre-threaded, with alignment holes properly reamed. A beautiful peice IMO. His employer (where he runs these same CNC machines daily IIRC) allows him to use the equipment and since he already has the CAD file for the plates it's a simple matter of loading the stock, pushing the button, and walking away. Thus his excelent price. GD

What specifically do you want help with on the vacuum routing? EA71's only came in the STD model hatch in the US. DL's had EA81's. GD

Why not just drill and tap your existing manifold or adapt a PCV valve that's designed to go inline with the hose and simply T it into the brake booster? GD

Probably not - valve stem seals is much more likely on Subaru's. GD

Sounds good - 220 is a bit high but not terrible. The thermostat opens fully at 190 that is true, but the fans won't come on till 200 or more so 220 isn't that big of a deal really. Extra cooling fans are never a bad idea though. The infrared guns can be had at Harbor Frieght and places like them for around $30. Never a bad idea to own one if you are a mechanic. There are tons of uses for them - even checking the temp of the grill before you plop down the steaks . You will wonder how you ever got along with that ancient K-type themo-couple and DMM . GD

Post a picture of this "shim" if you can - is the dust/rock sheild present on both sides? Brake pads will be loose in the bracket if you don't have the anti-rattle clips. They are often missing though and shouldn't affect brake performance - they can be replaced - Beck/Arnley has a kit with all the clips for pretty cheap, etc. Check rockauto.com, or order from the dealer. GD

The drawback is that you don't have a PCV valve in the manifold so any oil that gets sucked into the system ends up in the carb and air filter instead. Plus it's probably not as effective for removing crankcase gasses since the two pipes are fighting each other and trying to suck on both sides of the engine. With the PCV setup as talked about in this thread you have an IN and an OUT side of the engine creating a positive flow from one side to the other. With the hose going into the soda can you have NO flow - so that's completely innefective. You might as well just leave the valve cover port open...... GD

That's because you have a bad or missing check valve between the accumulator tank and the manifold or leaks in the HVAC control system. Has nothing to do with vacuum leaks as the system doesn't *use* vacuum on a constant basis if there are no leaks and a check valve in place. If the goal is trying to lighten your wallet for no apparent reason at all, then yeah I suppose so. GD

Yeah - all they had to do was look at any engine parts breakdown for ANY EA82 and that would have given them the number. Plus it's all computerized now. What a pile of morons. GD

If you remove or disable the purge solenoid then you may as well remove the entire charcoal canister, etc and all it's associated lines and tubes. You can install a 33 Ohm, 5 watt resistor right near the ECU between the pin for the purge/EGR solenoid and ground. You can remove all the lines for the EGR valve as well as the valve itself if you do the resistor on both. GD

I've noticed that Ford thermostats tend to fail open and thus overcool the engine. You may get good heat still but it's probably still the thermostat. Both of the Aerostar's my family has have done this and a new thermostat fixed em right up. GD

I'll see if I can dig it up - but thepartsbin.com and probably rockauto.com has the reinforced o-rings. They aren't a dealer specific item per-se, but the dealer is usually the easiest place to get them. GD

Belts are no problem - you can get ribbed belts in any size you want. Just look around online for a guide to measureing them and you'll be able to generate a part number for the belt based on it's dimentions. The 1/2" diameter difference is no concern really. That just means it turns a bit slower (larger diameter on the Maxima alt right?). As long as it's sufficiently fast for it to make enough current for your draw at idle it will be fine. GD

The dowel pins serve a singlular pupose - to take the weight of the engine when installing it in the car. If you assemble the engine to the transmission without the pins then the weight of the engine rests on the input shaft bearings and the pilot bearing. With the 5 speed D/R this is *less* of a concern than it would be with the EJ 5 speed because it actually has a front input shaft bearing where the EJ's do not. I would guess that this fact alone is why we haven't seen adaptor plates without the dowel pins causing bearing failures. That and there may already be so much play in the worn 5 speed's people are using that the lower studs take the weight and it doesn't really load the transmission bearings all that much - the pilot is less of a concern as it doesn't even turn when the car is in gear and moving. As for cost - that depends. I bought my adaptor as I didn't have the tools at the time to make my own. I chose one that does have the dowel pin locations and is proven on a DD application. It happens that the cost was $100 which I find more than fair. Unfortunately he doesn't actively sell them online and he's not a big fan of shipping things down from Canada so it's not so easy to aquire one for most people. GD

Engine is easier. Transaxle is heavy and awkward if you don't have a transmission jack. As you mention it's not neccesary to pull the engine entirely - just foward enough to remove the clutch. GD

They are widely used in the car audio world. You can get any size you want - manual or automatic reset. Just do a google search for the size and style you want. GD

Wouldn't you also have to swap the ECU and the MAF? Maybe other things? GD

Probably not. But it's not all that hard if you have the right tools and some patience. A bit of experience with precision layout operation, a drill press, and at least a bandsaw to freehand the shape if you don't have a laser/water jet/etc would be prefered. Though I'm sure more crude tools could do the job if you wanted to be a month making it. This is covered by the splash plate that bolts to the bottom of the engine. There has to be a way for fluids (oil, water, etc) that get into the bell-housing from a leaking rear main, bad clutch fork boot, etc to drain away. If I were going to free-hand the thing with a bandsaw or saber-saw (yikes), etc then I would use 1/2" (13mm) aluminium plate. Because the plate is open at the bottom you could pretty much do the whole plate using a band-saw. You need the dowel pins from both - EA dowel pins go on the transmission side, EJ dowel pins go on the engine side. They are different sizes and in different locations and must be precisely located on the plate for proper shaft/pilot bearing alignment. This is THE most critical alignment of the plate. The rest is just bolt holes for bolting it all together. GD

Toyota's are good cars - I have nothing against them. Don't own any but my family's fleet has a Nissan, a Ford, and a GMC so I occasionally work on stuff other than Subaru's - have to do a timing belt on my neighbor's Honda soon Friday's are usually a good day - the woman is off at work and I'm in the garage most of the day if I'm not out getting parts or at the junk yard. GD

You are more than welcome to drop by and see what's going on in my garage any time. There's always something major happening it seems like. EJ22 swap in a Brat is getting started this week and I have a Weber install on an EA82 wagon happening in the other bay. Plus various other projects. Clutch replacement's and transmission jobs come and go around here at a regular pace it seems like. Even my personal rig (EJ22T) needs a new clutch right now. GD

You could replace them with proper amperage circuit breakers as well. That way they can just be reset. GD

It's a pretty simple job. I don't know that I can spare a lot of garage space - you could nose it in so you are working in the dry or if the weather holds you could do it in the street out front. There's an EJ22 swap going on in one bay and the other is my personal space for business use, etc. You don't have to pull the engine completely - just forward enough to slip the clutch down in. It's actually pretty quick and easy - pull the radiator and fans, remove starter and loosen PP blots, lift the engine to clear the motor mounts and slide it forward off the tranny, then R&R PP/disc/etc, and reassemble. It only takes a few hours typically. Depending on how bad you think the flywheel is - I have an EA82 flywheel that you could swap me for and have surfaced in advance so it's ready to go. I'm in West Linn so probably pretty close to you. GD

If all else fails you can thread 1/4" nylon rope into the #1 cylinder on the comp. stroke till it can't turn over. That works as well. Typically I use the "hand impact" method with ratchet and hand-sledge because it requires no battery, no starter..... no car in fact. That and I don't like bumping starters and throwing breaker bar's into the neighbor's yard. I've done it, but it's a pretty unprofessional move IMO. GD