GeneralDisorder

I assume you are refering to the EA81T yes? There's a few good points about it that you noted, however it's not really a good design for modifications. Here's the drawbacks to it if you are interested: 1. Poor flowing heads - siamesed intake port like the non-turbo EA82's. 2. Weird injector design mounted ON the heads. Very difficult to upgrade if you wanted to go higher on the boost. 3. Flapper MAF and primitive ignition system - the distributor still has a vacuum advance. 4. VERY hard to find parts for. If you want performance from the EA81 you are better off building an engine using the SUB4 heads from RAM performance. It will cost you but they have proven reliable up to 200 HP with a supercharger. Better than the EA82T anyway - but very costly to build. For a car, the EJ engines are a better choice. For experimental aircraft the EA81 is an excelent choice. GD

I have one of their 115v mig boxes. Mine is a few years old - they seemingly don't make it anymore but at one time their smaller 115v unit could be configured with gas which I did. I purchased a quality 80/20 bottle and regulator (to go with my "nice" Miller that I planned on getting at a later date [and did recently]). It welds *ok* if you already know how to weld. I wouldn't sugest it for someone that's learning. The major problem I had was that the unit was designed before they switched to the push-in style tubing connectors for the gas tubing and the wire feed sheath on the gun end. I had to dissasemble the cheap thing, shorten the power lead and put on a new lug in order to get more length for the gas tubing and wire sheath. I then had to glue them into the gun head. After that ordeal it works decent. It can't weld much over 3/16" without multiple passes but I would say it was worth the $150 I paid for it - I've got my money out of it I'm sure. I put it back to flux cored wire when I got my Miller 230v unit. It's nice for repairs and friends houses or across the yard where I can't get 230v but that's about it. Their newer one's look better designed on the gun end with the push-lock tubing fittings - if you buy gas for them they do a decent job and are great for those that only occasionally weld something. As I said before though - if you are learning try to find someone to teach you that has a decent quality setup. These make learning more frustrating than it should be. GD

No - The D-Check is a special self-diagnostic mode built into your ECU. Read the SPFI section of the FSM here on my conversion write up page: http://home.comcast.net/~trilinear/EA81_SPFI_doc.html#final_thoughts It's the very last link on the page - the 1989 engine section PDF. But if you learn how to use your DMM (DVOM, whatever - most are not strictly DVOM's these days), you can test out most of the system to insure it's proper operation without ever turning on the car..... The D-Check is very useful for intermittent problems that only show up while driving, etc. GD

Sounds like a classic misfire to me. Have you tested the coil? Seriously - run a D-Check and see what you find. GD

Just so everyone is completely clear on this 93 Loyale's did not come with MPFI, so Alldata could only be talking about the SPFI system with respect to the vehicle they claim this information applies to. It is plain wrong and there's no way around it. For that matter - step 8 is also wrong as disconnecting a port that isn't doing anything will do.... nothing! GD

How far did you open the throttle - did you do this with the vacuum gauge hooked up? There should be no vacuum from that port at idle. I'll even take a picture of one for you: The port at the top is the FPR port - as you can see it is WAY above the throttle plate and as such receives a much reduced vacuum signal till the throttle plate is open quite far. That would be known as "Late Ported Vacuum". Your alldata is completely, 100% wrong with step #6. That's the problem with blindly following information sources like alldata - you are always going to be better off knowing the principle of operation of the sub-system you are testing than going by a 3rd or 4th party book. Sometimes even the FSM's are wrong. Lets not suppose anything. Lets be SURE. If you suspect the cat then cut it open and look. It would not cause an issue with engine vacuum at idle. It might cause issues under load but that wouldn't be an issue so much as a symptom and testing engine vacuum is not the way I would go about diagnosing a clogged cat. Of course you do - they aren't ported. That could be a lot of things. Have you checked for smooth operation of the throttle posistion sensor? Have you ran a D-Check on it? GD

I have to dissagree. The 22t is a better *block* simply because it's closed deck. It can get to higher HP reliably than the 22e can if you change out the heads. As far as anything below 300 HP they are pretty even though. It's got just as much coolant flow as the sand-cast 20t has - and remember the 22B impreza used the 22t block - stock with 320 HP. I wouldn't trust the open deck of the 22e to that kind of power for very long. GD

Having looked at the FSM, I see where the confusion lies. The FPR is designed to keep a constant 21 psi of effective pressure. It lowers the fuel pressure as the throttle body vacuum increases in order to keep the pressure at the injector nozzle a constant 21 psi higher than throttle body pressure (this keeps the engine from "sucking" extra fuel out of the injector nozzle - in other words the injector squirts a known quantity of fuel when it is opened for a known quantity of time under all conditions). I'm not sure what the max throttle body vacuum is as I've never tested it, but the alldata info you posted sugested 20.5 inHg. That's around 10 psi but that would mean a one-to-one ratio on the fuel pressure vs. throttle body vacuum which we have no specs on. Thus I can only say that it *might* trim the fuel pressure by as much as 10 psi (so about 11 psi on a gauge) immediately upon cracking the throttle plate open. It would probably never be that much in practice though. And it should NEVER be higher than 21 under ANY circumstances. Here's the problem - ported vacuum increases to manifold vacuum as soon as the throttle plate uncovers the port then drops with the manifold vacuum and continues to drop till it's very weak at WOT. So at WOT you would expect it to be the same 21 psi that it is at idle or close to it. Thus even if the port were blocked it would only momentarily effect the fuel sytem and it would be rich, not lean. You would be unlikely to even notice this slightly rich condition and your power would be perfectly normal at WOT. I surmise the reason you aren't seeing vacuum at the FPR's port is because you aren't cracking the throttle when you are testing it. It is my educated opinion that your fuel pressure is dead on and your issue lies entirely elsewhere. (I have also never seen one of these fail, so empirical evidence sugests it is highly unlikely). GD

I keep trying to warn people. Good choice on the ej swap. It wouldn't be so bad if there were either real performance potential in the EA82T or if it were really simple to work on.... sadly it comes in last on every single attribute you can catagorize Subaru engines into. Totally not worth the frustration. The 82's are dead in my eyes - i wont drive one even if it's free. GD

The specs you have are refering to using an external vacuum source (mityvac, etc) to test the regulator operation. It is not a rising-rate regulator - the fuel pressure must be kept constant so the ECU can accurately meter the injected fuel by altering the injector duty cycle. I am pretty sure on this one although I don't have my fsm in front of me. There is an electronic version over on my SPFI conversion write up page if someone wants to check. I can't get there right now as i'm on browsing from my phone which doesn't have a pdf viewer. GD

*factory* CC was mounted there on '83 and '84 models. *dealership* installed CC was a kit that could be installed to any EA81 without it from the factory - it was different and the main power switch was located down by your right knee. GD

As stated the vacuum is ported to the FPR - you will get nothing at idle. Your spec for the fuel pressure is wrong. It is supposed to be a constant 21 psi. Your fuel pressure is dead on. Look elsewhere for your problem. GD

Yeah - I could have them reversed - been a while since I looked at one with either. Basically the three you generally see there are Center Lamp, Fog Lamps, and Cruise Control - I don't think I'm priveleged enough to have actually seen one with all three of them but they surely existed. GD

Remove the rear CV's and test drive it. They are removed easily by knocking out the roll pins on the splined stub shafts of the diff and the axle shaft that runs through the bearings. If your sound remains after removing the rear axles then it's clearly a wheel bearing. Either way - if it's bearings or CV's you will have to remove them. If it's the bearings you'll know, and if it's the CV's you'll already have them removed. GD

Sounds like one of the gear posistion switches (neutral switch or 4WD indicator, etc). They are plastic with plastic threads. I would disconnect it if you can and remove it to inspect the threads. I have not seen one leak like that but it could have vibrated loose or lost a sealing washer or something. Clean the entire area to be sure it is indeed leaking from that switch. GD

Too bad I've posted so much that a portion of the valuable information in the forum archives is in my posts - that and your own curiosity makes it highly unlikely that you'll leave that filter in place. Not that I care of course. There's been other's like yourself over the years around here. In the end they last a short time, contribute nothing, ask a ton of questions that could easily be answered by a search, and then dissapear - never to return. You will probably be no different. GD

Probably black. Power mirror control. An option you don't have. That would be the 80-82 center lamp switch location. Not used after 82. 80 through 82 would have had the cruise control main power switch in the right hand location. The one on the left could have been for dealer installed fog lights, etc. It depends on the year and model as different technicians could have installed the switches into different locations for dealer installed options such as cruise control and fog lamps, etc. None of these are important for an '86. They are just carry-over snap-out locations for accesories that probably were mostly unavailibly by '86. The EA81's were phased out after '84 except for the hatch and the brat which continued on as "cheaper" alternatives to the flagship EA82 line (which didn't have a comparably sized body style to either one). GD

I don't *need* to do anything. Respect is earned and I treat the majority of questions with the respect or lack thereof that they deserve. Ask a stupid question or walk a stupid path and I'll happily tell you about it. Simple fact is I help a lot of people around here solve difficult problems. Those that are willing to listen. I write what I need to in order to clearly get my point across. If that means I give headaches to those with 5th grade reading skills then so be it. I type fast and I read fast. Deal with it. That is quite the embellishment. I sugested that you remove the cam towers and inspect the cam-tower o-rings and the lifters. It's not difficult being you already had the timing belts off. It's well worth the $4 for the o-rings from the dealer and the extra couple hours it takes. And it's not even close to "tearing the whole engine down"..... I know cause I've done that too. There is no excuse for shoddy work. Do it right or do it again. Unfortunately the part that I have put in bold letters simply isn't true of the EA82T. Empirical evidence shows that they are not cheap to maintain if you want daily-driver reliability from them. Ergo - they can't both be a "cheap" beater and "run well".... not for long anyway. The "cheap" part will bite you - I and many others here can attest to that with virtual certainty. /BOOK GD

You're welcome. Seriously though - I'm done helping you. You don't listen. Age has nothing to do with this - it's experience and knowledge. If you don't want to listen then why come here? Go ahead and do as you like. Probably should take a look at your attitude - might be why you are unemployed and driving a sub-$500 beater at *approximately* my age You need to learn some attention to detail. You're punctuation and grammer are ugly and disorganized - I get the same feeling about your automotive skills. GD

I'll wager I've owned more old cars, and definitely owned more old Subaru's specifically. My '83 hatch that I drive daily right now has an extremely miscalibrated oil pressure gauge and a somewhat miscalibrated voltage gauge. Both read low. My Brat has a temp gauge that reads high. I've seen sending units go bad as well, but the inexpensive gauges in these cars are prone to changes in their calibration over time - it's just a fact. I work on industrial machinery every day and I probably replace more bad gauges than any other single common part - across all brands and models. They are cheap, throw away items. Not really. It's just a plain encapsulated thermistor. Very cheap and prone to breakdown of the semiconductor over time. If Subaru were really on the ball they would have allowed the ECU to be re-calibrated as the thermistor ages and it's resistance changes. I've seen plenty of them fail. Often times the ones you find in used cars have already been replaced a time or two. Perhaps - you won't know unless you actually test the operating temp now will you? My Brat's gauge reads high - but I checked it with a temp gun and with the thermocouple for my DMM - both indicate it is well withing normal operating range and the fan cycles normally with a brand new switch. The Brat cycles the fan on just as the needle reaches the bottom of the red. The needle then drops about 1/8" at the tip and the fan cuts off. I know the fan comes on at 210 and goes off at 195. That is perfectly normal for a vehicle with a stock 190 thermostat. But I KNOW - because I did the tests. You won't know till you do the proper tests to determine the actual conditions. GD

Have you verified the jetting yet? GD

A properly calibrated gauge should sit dead center at operating temp. You can change the calibration via a screw inside the gauge. I have seen and owned more than one that were off by a good amount. NEVER trust the stock gauge to be correct after 20+ years - that's just plain silly when you consider the risks involved and the ease with which it can be verified. GD

You won't need to switch the rear diff - almost all the D/R's are 3.9 and if your loyale is a manual then it's also a 3.9. It will bolt right in. You will need the console peices for the interior. The wireing does need to be spliced and if you use an 85 through 87 tranny you will have to fool the ECU into thinking you have a neutral switch by using a clutch pedal mounted CC switch as the early D/R's did not have that switch. GD

It was an early '85 then. Definately not an '84 - it could have been a title mistake or a very early production from late '84. Your computer is wrong. 85 to 89 are the D/R 5 speeds that will fit your car. 83/84 will only be 4 speeds. You will likely never see one that has been converted as the process is not straight forward enough for there to be a lot of them out there. GD

Heating it in glycol mix would be prefereable - it boil's higher than plain water and you can use a thermometer. Thermostat's don't snap open - they open over a temperature range. And you haven't done a detailed test to confirm the range - from when it first begins to open to when it's fully open. It may be partially openeing too soon. GD