GeneralDisorder

The EA82 is not a legacy engine. The EJ22 is. Which are you interested in? GD

I'm in West Linn myself - where are you in relation to PDX? Any plans for this next weekend? Maybe a junk yard run is in order? I'm planning to hit a few myself. I felt the same way - and after experiencing the H1's in the Army, I felt that there was a lot of potential in the independant suspension system that was not being taken advantage of by the majority of the "wheeling" crowd. With solid axles - it's all been done. There's no challenge there and there's little room for imagination - just open your wallet and the sky's the limit. For me, that's too easy. I enjoy the challenge of doing something that hasn't been done and can't be "bought" for any price. There's a certain amount of pride in my own craftsmanship that's more important than making it through the deepest mud hole or the over the biggest rock. I think that sense of adventure and trial & error has been lost in a large portion of the crowd. For a lot of the wheeling crowd it seems to be a "dirty" version of who has the biggest SUV in the neighborhood. I have come to appreciate the simplicity of the design. It's a real engineer's car. The 4WD system is right/left symetrical - axles are the same length on both sides in the front and in the rear. And I absolutely despise a transverse engine layout as is used in virtually every other front wheel drive platform. Really, the EA81's are about as simple as an old chevy truck - just with lighter parts. If you need any parts let me know. I have several EA81 engine blocks and numerous sets of heads laying around. My plans don't include using the majority of this stuff. Unfortunately, while there will always be a place in my heart for the EA81, the power isn't there and soon the parts won't be there either. There's a large community that has grown up around swapping the EA series engines for the EJ series - mostly the EJ22. While it does have timing belts, it's easily just as reliable. It's got roughly double the HP (130 to 140 depending on year), tons of torque, they are cheap, and with a relatively simple adaptor plate and drilled flywheel will bolt up to the 4WD transmission's in our cars. And a car that was designed light enough to be moved by 74 HP is a ROCKET with 140. Plus there will be parts available for them for the next 20 years as they aren't much different than the newer WRX engines (the rally-sport, hood scooped Subaru's you see all over around here). GD

The gasket is retaining water and it's rotting from the inside. You will have to remove the windsheild, correct the cancer, and then install the windsheild with a new gasket and proper sealant. GD

You trade simplicity in wiring for some custom fab work - the manifold has to be custom, and you have to add a distributor from an 80's Ford Escort to the back of the passenger side head. EJ22E's have a spot for a distributor back there as they were carbureted in some European countries. Basically, you hook up the distributor to the stock EA coil, and you plumb in the EA oil pressure sender. That's about the extent of the wireing because the EA starter is used. Personally, I feel that using a carb defeats half the benefit of the EJ22 - it's simple and rugged MPFI system is part of what gives it excelent economy and power. It also will run at severe angles which a Weber will have problems with. The MPFI system is much more adaptable to exhaust and intake mods, cam changes, and even adding a turbo - carbs are finicky about even the slightest changes as they have no feedback loop to give them information on current fuel mixture requirements - they have to be retuned seasonally..... just a pain in the neck really. I'll take a good, simple FI system anyday over a Weber. GD

As far as I know it is specific. I have also just used a punch as you did before I had the socket - I did note that it was MUCH easier with the socket and an impact and it didn't damage the ring nut like the punch method. Here in the PNW there isn't any real rust issues like there can be in AK, so I figured it might be more difficult for you. If you can get it moving without the socket and don't plan on doing these often, then I say go for it. GD

I doubt fuel pressure is your problem. They never fail. Have you checked the timing belt tension? GD

You do nice work! I like your style. It's rare to see anyone with your eye for detail. Seems we are locals to each other - We should definately hook up and talk shop. I have tons of parts and info to share. I appreciate the military vehicles as well although I don't own any - drove them a lot in the Army. Would love to own a Duece someday. I have a lifted 84 wagon (same body as your's) with 28's, and an 83 hatch (shorter wheelbase than the wagon) which I'm planning to roll on 33's with a nissan or samurai t-case behind the subaru transaxle. Just got into a house with a 2 car garage and shop about 8 months ago and I'm organizing and setting up my metal-working area to get started on the hatch. Eventually I would like to build some chain-driven portal hubs for the EA81 bodied Subaru's (like our's). That's the big advantage that the H1 Hummer's have over the Subaru independant suspension. It would take the stress off the stock drivetrain, and would give amazing ground clearance. I'm thinking double or tripple o-ring chain with about a 1.6:1 reduction. Perhaps we could bounce some idea's around eh? GD

Blue or black? Black would be too rich of a mixture. Blue would be oil burning - either rings or valve stem seals - most likely valve stem seals. Are you sure it's not just burning it off after sitting and having some oil seep into a cylinder? I don't know how long it sat while you did the conversion, but sometimes that will happen with older engine's. I've had plenty of EA81's with bad stem seals that would burn a bit of oil till they warmed up - it seeps in while they are sitting. GD

Unfortunately, without knowing the specifics of each unit, you can't be sure it won't be too hot for the ignitor module. The Hitachi ignitor's on the EA81's in particular are sensitive to the secondary coil winding's having an other-than-stock resistance. Too low and you can damage them. Some folks have reported ignitor failure with Accell coil's for example. At some point I'm going to look into this further, and see exactly what kind of resistance they can handle. Also - although I'm sure there are cheaper alternatives, I've found that with properly gapped plugs, and decent wires, the stock Hitachi or ND coils are virtually indestructible. I've never had one fail anyway. I payed the $40 for a new Hitachi on my SPFI'd EA81 because I felt the one I had was questionable - didn't end up making any difference. And I've heard of FAR more aftermarket coil failures than stock. And I would be willing to bet that a good portion of the coil failure's you do hear about are failed aftermarket coil's that were put in for one reason or another over the life of the car. At any rate, I have no reccolection of a coil failure reported here or anywhere else that was unquestionably an OEM part. And if I did I would want to know the condition of the plugs and wires as I would still be questioning that the coil failed without help from bad ignition components. GD

I've never seen a diff fail on an unmodified Subaru. It just doesn't happen unless someone runs them dry. They are known to last the life of the vehicle without ever changing or checking the fluid . My money is on the bearings. They aren't real easy to work on, and with you being in AK they may not want to come off at all. I would sugest, if you have access to any junk yards for parts, to get another complete trailing arm assembly. Cheaper that way too. If you decide to replace the bearings, the ring nut socket is a very helpful item to have. There are several places online that sell them. GD

Wow! Beats the hell out of the $420 I paid about 6 years ago. I guess they are trying to clear the stock of the things. Probably not a lot of demand with increased emissions testing and fewer EA81's on the road. GD

It'a likely burning coolant as you may not have got the carb base heater port plugged with the adaptor block. Sometimes they don't quite cover the hole completely. A lot of folks simply block the port with JB weld and a bit of window screening. GD

I've never come across one that was too short - and you do have to make your own bracket. I just modify the stock bracket and bolt it somewhere. GD

Model/Year?? Pull the grill and/or the bumper to gain access to the mechanism. GD

The real question is where would you get one? GD

And leave the steering wheel - the four spoke wheels like that are much better than the later two spoke one's. You have a LOT of work to do. But as stated - don't modify it too much - you have probably *the* most rare EA81 ever made. You will ruin much of it's appeal and value if you start changing things. GD

Maybe we'll never know, but can you ascertain what might have happened? Is there a hole in the block as you suspected? My money is on a rod puncturing a fuel rail or line. Source of ignition is hard to determine though. GD

It's no big deal - it happens all the time. A mod will notice and move it. I wouldn't worry yourself much about it. GD

You wouldn't zinc plate alumiunium - you would anodize it instead. And yes you could have it gold.... or purple for that matter. Any color you want really. GD

You may want to pull the driver's side fender and inspect the "snorkel" - the airbox pulls air from inside the fender. You may have some anomaly in that area. Your problem is VERY unusual. It could easily be electrical as well. BTW - your post belongs in the "newer generation" forum - Legacy's are new gen. This forum is for EA series.... which were still made till 94, but are really just 80's models that have been rebadged. GD

It's a pitching stopper as noted above. If you don't drive like a total moron it should be fine for a while without it as long as your engine and tranny mounts are tight. GD

On the EA series vehicles, camber is not adjustable so that's a difficult question. I suppose there's a spec somewhere that you could check it against but frankly as long as nothing is bent and your bushings and strut tops are in good shape.... it is... what it is.... ya know? GD

Craigslist - and patience are your best friends. You can find nearly anything with enough of those two. Look for 90 to 94 legacies with body damage that didn't imact the engine bay. Stuffed-up rear end's and quarters are perfect. They are out there I assure you. My last legacy was a free gift, the one before that I traded a $1000 car for, and the first one I owned I bought for $750 needing a water pump and timing belt. They are getting cheaper every year. Oh - and NOW is the time to look. They command a higher price in winter when people start looking for cheap AWD's for skiing and such. GD

I don't know if we get any special pricing - we do weird coatings through them that aren't cheap - specially formulated nickel mostly. Their minimum is $40 - it's actually more expensive to do a whole bunch of tiny parts than one big one like that. Myself and a co-worker that is restoring a mustang both sent parts and the bill was $50 so we split it down the middle. So it was $25 for both peices. Generally Zinc is cheap - it's an inexpensive material, it's not particularly bad for the environment, and the electroplating doesn't take very long. Turn around was less than 24 hours. I mean.....they zinc coat decking screws by the ton.... it's not an expensive process. In fact the sand-blasting would have been more expensive if I hadn't done it myself - over an hour at the cabinet. Makes my feet hurt... GD

EA82's have the 5 speed D/R that you want. Specifically the 87 through 89 years are best - 85 and 86 will work but do not have the switches used by the fuel injection computer. As for fitment - the engine mounts are almost identical - I beleive the EJ22 mounts are about 1" wider apart overall. You do need an adaptor plate and custom flywheel to mount them to the 5 speed D/R though so you should probably have everything on hand before you start. No need to buy two whole vehicles - just buy the 5 speed tranny seperate and buy a donor legacy for the engine and wireing. There's no advantage to having the car the 5 speed came from - the engine though is a different matter - it's best to have the wireing intact so you know what you have runs and works properly and YOU are the person taking it apart. GD