GeneralDisorder

Always liked the front-end on those. Probably one of my favorite looks along with the bug-eye WRX's. Nice score - looks like it needs a manual swap GD

I have NEVER had to replace a stock pump. I could see them rusting out in the rust zones, but here they seem to last forever. They have plenty of volume for every engine I've built with a Weber. I currently have two rigs running Weber's and no troubles at all. GD

Check the vacuum supply in the engine bay and the connections at the accumulator (the white, tank looking thing at the top of the passenger side firewall). The actuators are vacuum driven and without a vacuum supply they will do nothing and be stuck in the last posistion. The actuators and the switch rarely fail so it's most likely a supply issue. GD

Smart Service is going to tell you the same thing I will and I don't even have to look at it: 1. The head gaskets are blown. 2. You have a coolant leak (maybe they can even tell you where). 3. You won't know the extent of the damage (scored cylinder's, cracked heads, etc) till you tear it down. This is IMPOSSIBLE to diagnose without incurring labor costs. I'll lay down $100 and tell you the heads are warped and will need to be surface ground, but beyond that.... it's all ???? Have your dad and friend pull the engine and remove the heads. They can then inspect the cylinders - if everything is OK there - take the heads to a machine shop and have them pressure tested and if they aren't cracked have them ground and put them back on. If they are cracked hit up the board here for a replacement set. If everything is not OK with the short block, install a good used engine. There's plenty to be found - just ask in the wanted section. With people parting out cars, others doing EJ swaps, and the general dislike of the EA82 in general, there are lots to be had for cheap. That's one perk to the car - the engine's are a dime a dozen and no one wants them. GD

There isn't much you can do on the phase-II EJ22's - Subaru pretty much maxed them out already. The Phase-I EJ22 was 135 HP, and the Phase-II is 147 HP. You could do exhaust and intake but don't expect more than 5 HP. Maybe 10 HP and some added torque if you invested in a set of cams. If you want real power, you are going to have to look into turbo-charging it or swapping it out for a turbo engine. But that's not a "strict budget" kind of thing at all. The EJ22's will handle low-boost (5 lbs max) all day long and it pushes them into the stock WRX performance range pretty easily. 200 HP isn't out of the question on a low-boost, high comp. EJ22. GD

Well - you have voltage drop somewhere - could be through the switch. A bad connection will draw a bunch of amps but they are generating heat in the poor connection rather than kicking the solenoid out hard and fast. If you are hearing clicking then it's not the brushes but it could be burned contacts in the solenoid. More often on the EA82's it's not the starter but either a bad connection (often in the battery cables), or somewhere in the harness. I've addressed all the connections, replaced ignition switches, starters, etc - only to have the problem return. Once I installed a relay in the crank circuit to take the load off the switch the problem went away for good. I've had to do this on several EA82's. It's something deep in the harness that I don't feel like ripping them apart to find. GD

I've said it before - cut your losses and buy a Legacy. There's no point in dumping any kind of money into a car that will be worth $500 tops even after you are done. EA82's are worthless out here. Especially Loyale's as anyone that wants one wants a late 80's GL with the dual range. I just bought a mid-80's GL sedan - fairly low mileage, clean, straight, and with timing belts/water pump, clutch cable, and a host of other repairs done in the last 5,000 miles by a very reputable shop. I paid $900 for the car, and I only paid that much because my woman wanted that specific body style. I'll be doing an EJ swap on it anyway.... you see my point? You are college educated - do the math my friend. Then take a look at my post count and how long I've been here. Most everyone will back me up - sell the car for $200 to someone that can put in some HG's and has the time/inclination to do the upkeep on a Loyale, and buy something that is worth putting your money into. You won't regret a Legacy I promise. GD

My Thermal-Arc 180 was $625 if you are ok with upgrading to something that's 220v. I have a thread in here in the shop-talk forum about my recent purchase if you are interested in where I got it and the specs. I found my 110v machine to be very limiting and flux-core just doesn't please me most of the time. TA is on-par with Miller and Lincoln - it's Tweco's welder division. GD

I would order them from the dealership. Probably around $100 to $150 each. These aren't that common anymore and most glass shops can't get them. Alternatively, a good glass shop can glue the windsheild in place like the EA82's and other more modern cars are done. This takes some skill but it can look alright if done properly. It's a better process than the original gaskets which suffer from leakage after a few years. GD

Yeah - you can jumper the wires from the pedal switch to overide the clutch safety. The EA81's didn't even have them - only EA82's and newer. It could be that the switch is worn or the rubber bumper that engages it is worn on the pedal assembly. There's a couple switches down there - one is for the ECU. The crank safety is a different switch and may be on a seperate diagram. Sonic - good to see you back. Your problem is likely a connection issue if you are hearing the solenoid click. It could be a lot of things - go through the whole crank circuit and see what you find. GD

Interesting - that's what I had suspected. Perhaps something clogged in the muffler? You already gutted the cat so unless some peices of it got into the muffler......? Maybe it rusted out internally and has a blockage? I don't know where the restriction would be, but sounds like you found something with your test. Let us know what you find in the exhaust. I've hit 75 or 80 on the speedo with 28's on my lifted wagon..... but it has an EXCELENT used hydro-lifter EA81 on it from a low-mileage automatic coupe. Have you done a valve adjustment? GD

The belts flopping around causes unpredictable valve timing. Apparently that really screws with the SPFI. On a carb it wouldn't matter as much. If you need a comp. tester - Harbor Frieght has one for like $10. Just be careful with them as the mechanism inside is soldered and they like to break. I've resoldered mine a few times - now it's just a backup as I got frustrated and bought a nicer set. GD

Have you checked the timing belt tension? I had a meduim-mileage EA82 (115k) that would bog right off idle - was really annoying and I couldn't figure it out. Flushed the tranny (3AT), removed and dressed the edges of the modulator, checked out the entire fuel system, etc. Wasn't until the timing belts broke while I was on the freeway that I found the problem. It must have been a stretched belt. The problem never returned after I did the belts and tensioners. Just an easy thing to check for - remove the outer covers and feel the free-play in the belt. If the belts are good, perhaps just a retensioning would help. Beyond that - have you checked fuel pressure? Checked the hot/cold resistance of the CTS? Checked for dead spots in the sweep of the TPS? GD

It very well could be the ignition switch too though. They are a common failure item on EA's. Can't pass enough current to engage the solenoid. Basically you just have to go through the whole crank circuit from the battery to the starter and see where you are losing your current. GD

It shouldn't move much. There is a bearing there and it's probably worn. That's a pretty common wear point on the 5's. GD

If it were me, I would switch over to an EMPI filter with a serviceable element. They are like $8 at my local VW house. It's an EMPI part number 00-9104-0 "In Line Fuel Filter". They are awesome since they are glass and you can see inside them, plus they just unscrew and the element can be cleaned or replaced. GD

Yeah - the 4's are good for boat anchor's and I would much rather just install a 5 and be done with it than burn through all the 4's in the world till I run out. Changing transmissions is a biotch. I would almost rather chew my arm off. GD

Heh - yeah that's true about the heater core topic's. Hadn't thought of it but there will be a lot of frustrated people pulling dashes in nasty weather. It's kind of a rite of passage among Subaru enthusiasts - you haven't really loved a Subaru till you've replaced it's heater core, wiped everything under the dash down with disinfecting wipes, and replaced all the rotted foam on the ducting and flapper door's. Then succesfully reassembled it with everything operational. GD

Depending on the axle, some dissasemble from both ends (DOJ's on both ends), and some only dissaseble from the inner end like all the front axles. I don't know what the criteria was for which car's got which types but I tend to see more of the one's with CV's on the outer and DOJ's on the inner (talking EA82's here - EA81's all have double DOJ's). If the outer joint doesn't look like a DOJ, then it's not going to come apart while still on the car. The inner side will - just like all other Subaru DOJ's so if you can get that side loose then you can replace the boots easily without pulling the axle off the car. GD

If you can't do the work yourself, you are much better off selling the car and getting a first generation Legacy. They are much nicer cars and don't tend to exhibit the failings of the EA series engines. It's not at all uncommon for a 90 to 94 Legacy to go 300k+ with only maintenance - no real failures and it's rare for them to blow head gaskets. They can be had most any day of the week for less than $1,000. The EA82 cooling system MUST be maintained properly or you will have failures. The rubber parts in the cooling system can easily amount to $150 and should be replaced on ANY used EA series. They are the biggest source of failure in the cooling system followed closely by the radiators as they are really too small for the engine (not enough overhead in the design). Again - if you can't or won't do the work yourself, you are throwing money away by owning that car. Period. GD

180k is nothing. You probably do not have cracked heads. The non-turbo engines almost never crack the heads. Replace your head gaskets and it should be fine. The EA82's typically last 300k+ if they are well maintained. I would stay away from anything that has been "remaned" unless it's from a very reliable source such as roobuilders in CO. Subaru engines aren't your typical cast-iron inline 4 and few shops are qualified to be rebuilding one IMO. Pull it, reseal it, and put it back in. Just make sure you use Fel-Pro head gaskets and OEM intake, exhaust, and thermostat housing gaskets. Torque the heads to a final torque of 65 Ft/lbs, and torque the manifold gaskets to 12 Ft/lbs. Only buy OEM thermostat's. These aren't Chevy's and you can't go down to the podunk auto parts store for parts. The aftermarket stuff (in large measure) sucks in a big way. GD

The carb fuel pressure should be around 1.5 to 2.5 psig. That's off the top of my head but it's close. It will be hard to test that small of a pressure unless you have a gauge specifically for it like a 0 to 5 psi gauge. Pressure *may* not tell you much though unless you test it while driving - the problem is most likely a volume issue and not a pressure issue. It can build enough pressure to keep the float bowl filled while idleing and driving slow, but it can't keep up with the volume requirement at higher RPM/Load. You would see a pressure drop if you drove it with the gauge installed but likely a static test won't show you much. Although it would be a good idea to check that "new" pump for proper pressure or just put the old one back in. They rarely fail. Oh - and when you are blowing stuff out - regulate your pressure down to maybe 25 psi or so. You might damage something that's close to rusting out if you put too much pressure to it. GD

Yeah - blow out the hard lines with compressed air. The tank may need to be replaced if all the filters are clear. I would check that the rear fuel filter isn't clogged (again) due to excessive deposits flaking out of the tank. You can try blowing back through the pickup line to see if that dislodges anything. Remove the sending unit if you dare to see if there is a lot of debris in the tank. GD

EA81's did not have inhibitor switches. At least they didn't have them on the manual transmissions. Maybe the auto's did but I've not owned one of those. On all the EA81's I've owned, you can start them in gear - which is actually nice when the clutch cable breaks. GD

Perhaps there was debris in the cooling system of the replacement engine.... the cores aren't too hard to clog up. Other than that, make sure there is flow through the heater core lines to the engine. You may have to pull the dash and replace the core. It's fun, you'll like it GD