GeneralDisorder

They may have replaced the alternator thinking it was an internally regulated unit as they were beginning with the '82 model year. As I recall (and it's been a while so I could be way off), the regulator is in a round, blue canistor somewhere on the driver's side of the engine bay.... again I could be way off though. It's been a long time and I avoid pre-'82's as do most other's around this section of the forum - they are "odd" and not too useful for what most of us do with these cars. Nothing wrong with them per-se, but parts are getting troublesome to hunt down for the EA71's and older. GD

Nice - what's going on with that speedo there? Is that using an electronic sending unit or did you hook it into the stock cable? I would really like to see some decent pics of your top-mount setup and how you shortened the front end. I'm seriously thinking about going with a totally custom radiator setup. I would very much like to do stainless braided hoses and hydraulic fittings, etc. GD

Anecdotal at best. What angles are being run? How fast were they going? Were the axles new or already worn out? Etc, etc. I'll state again - the strength of the axle is directly related to the speed and the angle. Run at flat angles and low speeds they are much stronger than the stubs. Axle breakage, in large measure, is a result of people taking "running starts" at obstacles because they don't have the gearing to crawl over slowly. This puts enormous stress on the joints as they flex far beyond their design limits with lift kits of various shapes and sizes, and spin at high speeds with wheels hanging in the air, etc. It's angle AND torque (which can be equated to speed and inertia with formuli) that are important. High angles means the torque at which catastrophic destruction of the joint takes place is lower. I've been there and done that - broken as many axles as anyone in the process. I've also studied the physics and the mechanical engineering aspects of the CV and DOJ joints used in the stock axles. I'm here to tell you it's NOT the axle's fault - it's how most people are using them. Granted there are better and stronger designs out there, but if you work within the limitations of the stock design you will find they are much more capable than they seem to be - only because *most* people are running them incorrectly in rigs that could be made correct with the proper changes to the suspension geometry. GD

The bearings are not accesible with the oil pan removed. Only way to check them is by splitting the block. Just pull a head from this parts car engine and use it. Cracks between the valves are not an issue unless they extend into a water jacket. GD

The axles will handle more than you think at nearly flat angles. They will handle the most load at near flat angles and slow speeds. The strength of the joint is proportional to the speed you run them at and the angle they have to move through. Thus lower gearing will actually save your axles - many people with t-case setups find they break more diff stubs than they do axles because of the torque applied to the stubs. A reduction at the wheels would help by moving some of the load away from the stubs. Different diffs and axles would help as well. And ultimately you would have to run a different transmission as the Subaru transaxles aren't designed to output that much load through the rear output. GD

I just can't see that - not and have it last for thousands of miles before failure. I mean - what could they have "poorly" assembled that would cause that? I tried to wrap my head around that the last time I saw one like this - it just doesn't add up though. If the cam case were loose enough for the rocker to fall out you would have huge issues beyond a rocker falling off. Not to mention a spectacular oil leak. GD

I do see what you are saying - but I just don't think a CNC of any kind is in the cards unless I build the thing myself.... maybe possible but I kind of doubt it. I wonder what a garage sized CNC would run? I would like to have some manual machining equipment first - a mill and a lathe of my very own to start with. I have access to both at work, but that's just not quite the same as I'm not the official operator of said equipment and so accessing and using it is not as easy as I would like it to be. I like the idea - it's the tools that I lack unfortunately. GD

Check the voltage regulator. Part of your problem may be excessive AC current from the regulator. If you find nothing there - make sure the windsheild isn't leaking on the wireing somewhere under the dash. That can also cause strange things. Frankly though - your problem is not a common one and is pretty obscure. GD

Bumpers replacement guards are mounted to the bumper mounts. A-bar style guards are mounted to the engine cross-member mounting points on the frame rail as well as the bottom of the bumper (so also the bumper mounts in a way). GD

I don't know what happened with the GCK stuff - I bought some sets early on - 4 or 5 years back - and haven't had a problem with them. They were tight like you describe, but it never caused me an issue. I have a set still to this day in my lifted wagon and they have been through hell and never given me any issues. Then a friend of mine bought a set, and had the same vibration issues you are experiencing. He took them back and went with another brand. Then a bit later more people on the board here started having issues with them right out of the box. A short time after than the brand dissapeared entirely and hasn't returned. I'm afraid it may never go away. I hope that isn't the case, but I've been around here a long time and no one has ever said anything about them "loosening up". I've started using the EMPI axles and I've had good luck thus far. They are easily as good a quality as the early GCK's were. GD

'84 Flat-Four is pretty accurate. I deal with a lot of bearings as part of my job. I can say a couple things: 1. The most common cause of bearing failure (by a HUGE margin) is OVER greasing. Too much grease creates friction, allows no place for expansion due to heat, and ultimately decreases bearing life by a factor of 4. 2. The second most common cause is contamination - either from the grease breaking down and self-contaminating the bearing, or from seal failure. #1 above is what led to the introduction of sealed and sheilded bearings. If you are going to use the stock style open bearings, then you must use the correct quantity of grease (about 1/4 of the volume of the inside of the bearing chamber). Also there is simply no point in trying to regrease them at any future time - there is no effective way to remove them, flush the old grease and reinstall them without causing unseen damage - plus they are so cheap that it's not worth the effort. All you can do is check and replace the seals if they are bad. Sealed bearings are a good choice. Given the frequency of the bearing housing seal failures it's a no-brainer really. Remember to drive them in using the outer race. As far as brands - F AG (without the space) seems to be as good as any I've found. They are my first choice anyway. GD

Might I recommend you download a browser or browser patch that includes a spell checker. I know FireFox hi-lights my mistakes in red. No one is perfect - we all need a little help with something . GD

Good chance the joint is just dry - remove the axle, grease the piss out of it (clean the old grease out), and reboot it. It will likely last a while yet - till it actually blow apart anyway . At least with the axle in place, once the outer joint lets go for good, you can drive it still with it in 4WD high. The most likely failure is for the joint's inner race to split and allow the splined shaft to just spin inside it. But definately *try* to keep running the axle. When/If it breaks you will be no worse off than if you had broken it yourself and reinstalled just the outer stub. GD

Edited for spelling and grammar, but none-the-less...... +1. GD

AFAIK - they never came in black. At least I've never seen one or a picture of one that I can recall. Coupe's (turbo), Wagon's (black diamond), and Brat's (turbo) I've seen in black but not any Hatchback's that I can remember... It seems like only special editions came in black and there weren't any special edition Hatch's that I've ever seen. GD

Yeah - mirror finish really isn't desirable for heads - not sure what I was thinking when I said that. It's what I use for disc-valves that seal metal-to-metal and need to be air-tight. As stated - start with a lower grit and work up. 120 is good to start, and 220 is probably the minimum you want to finish with. I would probably finish with 600 personally. I HAVE had heads profesionally milled, and when it's done with proper machinery you will be able to see your reflection in them. You can get into all kinds of discussions about surface RA and crap, but really these old composite gaskets on the EA engines will handle just about whatever surface you give them as long as it's flat. GD

The stock skid plate mounts just suck. The front is horrible - I've crushed the lower radiator support on my wagon nearly flat over the years. The rear is no better - that silly plate under the cross-member will end up bent and screwed up in pretty short order. I ended up building a reinforced mounting plate by welding flat bar to it for support. It's not alway about picking the right line or the wrong line - when I wheel I wheel with the INTENT to break my rig. If I'm not wheeling hard enough to break it then I won't know what needs improvement next. That's the whole intention of building a wheeler - to build it, break it, and improve it. GD

My plan is to throw a Samuri t-case in behind the Subaru transaxle, then have the additional 1.6:1 chain reduction hubs at each wheel. The Samuri case can be geared as high as 6:1 in low and also has a certain amount of reduction ability in high. 100:1+ is easily doable. The chain reduction can't be much more than 1.6:1 unless you want a trailer queen - being that you *can't* remove the reduction it has to be able to run at that amount of reduction at all times. GD

I don't know that it really matters much. As long as you get high-quality paper in the desired grit and clean it often..... I'm not an abrasive expert though so perhaps there are advantages of one vs. another that I'm not aware of. But seriously - NOT a Swiss watch here. We aren't regrinding Hubble's mirror guys! GD

1. Chain is reliable *enough* to do the job. Triple or quadruple chain would be used. 2. Automatic chain tensioners that ride directly on the chain are available so no tensioning system is required. 3. Chains will not NOT reverse the rotation of the existing axle shafts - unlike a "simple" gear arrangement would. 4. Sprockets in any size imaginable are readily available off-the-shelf and would only require minimal (if any) modifications if designed right. 5. Chains do not require liquid lubrication. They can run greased for long periods and as such they do not require the same level of sealed housing. 6. Chains are more efficient than gears. 7. I don't own, nor do I plan to own, a gear hobbing machine. Trust me - chains are much better for what I'm planning. I've thought a lot of this through. I'm not kidding myself that it would be a daily driver, or even that it will be able to drive on the freeway.... but I'm willing to try and possibly fail.... but I will have tried! GD

Then I take it you have an SPFI system with no turbo? A 2WD then I'm guessing? In which case ANY 87+ fuel injection distributor will work for you. You *may* have to change the plug but the actual distributor is the same. GD

SPFI or MPFI? '85 2WD's used the (rare) non-turbo MPFI system. With that build date though it could be an early '86 with the SPFI. GD

Sounds like the regulator isn't seeing the reference voltage from the main junction. Check that you have voltage on the sense wire and the voltage warning lamp wire to the back of the alt. GD

Assuming no cracks, you can do it. You need a bit of 1/4" thick glass - large enough for the paper. Make SURE the glass is clean. You will want to start with a 600 grit and work up to a 1200 grit for the best surface finish. Use it like a big sanding block - use a LOT of WD-40 (both to secure the paper to the glass, and as a cutting lubricant), and clean the paper OFTEN with the same WD-40. Solvents can't be used as they will destroy the paper. You need to use wet/dry paper obviously. I can't stress enough how often you need to clean the paper with aluminium heads - every 5 strokes or less. It is critical to the finish that the particulate be washed away frequently. It's labor intensive and takes some skill, and many folks will tell you it can't or shouldn't be done - people these days are very often spoiled by the easy access to machine shops and power tools. There are a LOT of old-world techniques out there that work very well but are not well known and are no longer practiced except by a few old timers that probably shun internet access. Fortunately I work with most of them I think.... I have lapped plenty of valves to a perfectly flat mirror finish using 1200 grit paper - so perfect the valves would hold back solvent with only a metal-to-metal seal and I could see my image in the reflection. The trick is in the application of even pressure, and making sure the cutting surface is clean and well lubed. It would be best if you could get paper large enough to run figure 8's with the head - using the weight of the head to insure even pressure. I have even seen machine shops run heads on a belt sander for a "resurfaceing" operation . Done properly it does work though. You just have to have the right mindset and do some thinking and prep-work to set yourself up for the operation. I think I would probably go buy some sanding belts and cut them so I had a long surface on which to pull the head back and forth and a peice of glass sufficient to run the head at least twice or three times it's own length back and forth. With a good cleaning every 5 strokes and a few hours of labor you should see nice results. Just make sure you don't take off more than .010" off each head. I beleive that's the max to still get a decent fit on the manifold. More could be done but you might have to oval out the manifold bolt holes. GD