GeneralDisorder

Yes on both accounts. The part-time 4WD transmissions are designed to only engage the rear output for *added* traction. The transfer gear's and shift dog that engages the rear drive shaft are not designed to drive the whole weight of the vehicle. This is one of the problems with using them to drive a transfer case on heavily lifted rigs and it's also what prevents people from making drift cars using them. It will run for a while, but you will shred it in a few thousand miles - you might get 10,000 on a gear-set/shift dog. GD

None taken of course. I have not wheeled with a VLSD. I have wheeled with welded (currently), and in the past with a clutch style LSD - both in the rear. I also have a VLSD on my 91 SS. It rocks for high speed cornering. As far as off-road, the Welded rear is far superior to anything else I've used. Having the VLSD in the *center* may be the primary reason behind the AWD performing as well as it does. I have seen them perform well also and I tend to think it's about the ability to transfer power between front and rear wheels without causing the non-powered wheel to dig a big hole under itself. Taken that way it's actually the ability for the VLSD to *slip* rather than to lock-up that accounts for the difference in the AWD systems vs. the 4WD. Unfortunately that affect doesn't really extend to a rear mounted VLSD. As you say there's a reason Subaru went to the VC's on the center and the AWD system - there's also a reason that you only see rear VLSD's on WRX's, SVX's, and my 91 SS. They are primarly street or high speed machines. GD

I can also tell you that the 4 speed rear output shift dog will not handle RWD with any kind of severe use. It's not designed for this purpose and it will shred eventually. Subaru transaxles are not built for RWD only applications - more than one person has found this out the hard way when that shift dog tears itself apart. Any kind of locker or limited slip device will only make this worse as it will put a ton of strain on the rear output transfer gears when the wheels lock together in a turn. GD

VLSD might as well be an open diff as far as the Brat is concerned. They only lock with enough friction to change the state of the fluid in the viscous coupler. That means they lock in high-speed cornering applications. They are open for slow speed manuevering. It's a street racing type of limited slip device, not a clutch type. It will buy you nothing in exchange for a lot of work. GD

They suck to work on, but my family has had 5 of them and all have made it to 200k without issue. Our 94 has 240k on it right now and other than tie rod ends and routine maintenance it's never been in the shop. I wouldn't (and I don't) work on them though. Too cramped. GD

I don't think SVX's had LSD's and if they did they would be VLSD's anyway and not applicable to the type of traction generally desired in a Brat. They are for street applications. Besides that it likely is entirely different as the previous poster sugests. GD

Brand loyalty is entirely BS. Every manufacturer has their share of models that they would rather just forget. Subaru has the Justy ECVT, the phase I and II EJ25's (which is like half a decade of virtually everything they built ), and other lesser known items such as every car that rolled with air suspension . I won't even bother with the EA82T's.... The real questions have to be asked on a model specific and year specific basis. There were some years of Chrysler minivans that were truely awesome cars. Just as Ford had quite a winner with the Aerostar and a complete failure with the Windstar..... Chrysler can claim the same. I had a terrible experience with a 96 Dodge Caravan but I also KNOW there are other years that were better. This is just the way of the world. I build and maintain industrial machinery and it's not any different. We have problem children too and other models that just won't die despite their neglectful owners. This is also the reason I don't buy cars untill they are around 3 to 5 years old at least - I would rather let some other poor sap absorb the rapid depreciation and do all the research with respect to reliability and economy. GD

You wan't carb cleaner - boiling will do nothing. Get the stuff in the 1 gallon pail with the parts strainer. It's nasty stuff so watch out. Yet another cost involved with rebuilding carbs where your money is better spent buying a nice shiny new one. GD

Not all clutch discs are the same - some will not fit inside the cavity of the EA81 flywheel due to the shape of the dampener spring assembly. We also know that he has an EA82 flywheel so that's the surest method to get it installed. GD

No damage. GD

Sounds just like all the morons that continue to pump grease into motors that ultimately have sealed or sheilded bearings because there's a grease zerk on the thing.... which is only there to shut people up after too many complaints to the manfuacturer about "how am I supposed to grease my bearings?" . It WILL work - right up till it doesn't. This is all pretty academic though as a properly installed bearing set should easily last the remaining life of the vehicle. You have to ask yourself - if I'm replaceing the original bearings at 150k..... how likely is it that somewhere north of 300k I'll still be driving this car? Unlikely at best and the drawbacks and potential damage that can result from over-greasing (by FAR the biggest cause of bearing failure) outweight the time and money it would take to replace them again in 10 years if the previous assumption is found to be in the affirmative. Basically you are all wasting your time. Replace the bearings (-2RS sealed C3's), call it a day (or a decade in this case) and have a beer. GD

How large are the hoses and have you cleaned the inside of the valve covers? I run 5/8" heater core hose hooked in just as you say but with the smaller line running to the air cleaner from the "F" shaped plastic elbow off the drivers side valve cover hose. All of mine have been hooked up this way for years and I've never had any issues. I would sugest that you make SURE the hoses are large enough and there are no restrictions in the valve covers or in any plastic connectors you are using for the hoses. And use only OEM PCV valves too if you aren't already. GD

Buy a rebuild kit and replace any parts that come in it. If it needs throttle shaft bushings you will need to find a machine shop that can install and properly ream them. Don't touch the throttle plates unless rebushing is required. Otherwise you will have to reset the plates and that is not a first-timer friendly procedure. Otherwise - dissasemble, replace parts, reassemble. It's not rocket science. If you aren't comfortable taking things apart with many tiny peices then you should definately find someone else to do it or just buy a new one. Frankly for the price you would be way ahead of the game to get a new one. GD

You will have to grind on the bell-housing to allow installation of the EA82 flywheel, but otherwise it will mate to the transmission and cross-member. There will be changes required in the wireing due to the distributor being located in the front rather than the drivers-side rear. GD

You'll learn eventually - they all do. EA81's are great engines, but the parts will soon be unavailible and spending more than the car is worth to get a handful of HP when readily availible engines in the EJ class are inexpensive and have tons of support... not to mention double the power.... is wasteful. GD

Make sure the plate is closing fully and that there are no burrs or other damage to the idle jet and that it fits well into the holder, etc. Not idling back should be a simple thing to diagnose - you are getting air and fuel from somewhere. Either the plate is not closing or there's a problem with the idle jet or the transition slot is too exposed below the plate. You have to carefully set up where the plate lands when you put the carb together or it just won't idle or transistion properly. The trans. slot should be fully above the plate when it's closed. GD

You're insane. For less than half you could have had an EJ22E with 135 HP and MPFI - including the adaptor plate and harness to install it in the EA81 chassis. Throwing money at the problem is not impressive. At least not to me. EA81's are simple to rebuild and economical to run but apparently not for you. I doubt you'll see impressive power gains from what you describe. Perhaps on the order of 10 HP or so. The stock heads just can't flow enough regardless of the valve size - the JDM dual-carb heads had reversed valves like the EA82's. GD

This has been debated in the past and the conclusion is that it does nothing beneficial as the EA82 belts are going to fail around 60k no matter what you do. Numerous people have tried it both ways and if anything retensioning them seems to make them fail earlier. Leave them be and change them every 50k. They are cheap. GD

Seriously - post in the "wanted" forum like a good little newb. And get yourself a real turbo engine. GD

You people just don't listen. It's NOT the grease that provides the lubrication. It's the oil that is contained in the grease that does this. The grease gets hot, the oil drops out and the bearing is cooled and lubricated. If you pump the whole knuckle full of grease then it can't perform it's job. The grease just provides a lot of friction, the bearing gets hot, the grease fails, and then the bearing fails. A zerk fitting is a nice way to pump in grease but if you dont ALSO provide a method of removing the old grease (and presumably contamination, etc) then one would have to pull the axle to do the job anyway and thus the zerk provides no benefit. The only good solution is to use sealed bearings, properly install the knuckle seals and bite the cost of replacement bearings every 200,000 miles (as if you would ever have to do a second set anyway ) GD

Your homade throttle shaft bushing with the copper tubing is almost certainly to blame. Each time the plate closes it's slightly different and even minute changes in the airflow will cause big changes in idle tuning. Your acceleration problems are similarly linked to the throttle shaft play and improper setting of the transition port against the plate. The port must be dead center of the plate or it will be rich or lean at idle and will not transision properly. Either have it properly reamed and rebushed by a machine shop, or get a new carb. You'll tear your hair out till you do. GD

Virtually no gain in power without mechanical modifications. Cam, ported heads, larger valves, etc. It can, however, support those mods without fuel system modification as the SPFI EA82 is 90 HP.... EA81's are 73 HP. So you can support up to 16 HP in mods without fuel system upgrades. The fuel system alone does nothing but provide what the engine demands. Driveability is increased, cold starting, reliability, etc. The engine doesn't change though so you won't see anything on the dyno. You will notice slightly better response and maybe a bit more low-end torque but not as much as with a Weber swap as the SPFI has a smaller TB openeing compared to a Weber. GD

My write up: http://home.comcast.net/~trilinear/EA81_SPFI.html GD

Bad idea. There's no drain for the old grease. The bearings should run with about 1/2 the cavity filled with grease. Soon you would have no air, and you would overheat and destroy the grease. The grease has to be able to expand and to "drop" into it's oil state to provide lubrication. This cannot happen if the cavity is filled. Best thing to do would be to order sealed bearings. Just append a "-2RS" to the bearing number. I think the front wheels bearings are 6208's so you would want "6208-2RS-C3" (if that is indeed the correct number}. The standard open bearings are C3's so you want to make sure you get the same standard of tolerance. Order them through any bearing house. Cheaper than the parts store anyway usually. GD

More work than it's worth. Used and jetted for a V6. After a rebuild kit, new jets, adaptor plate, and then it's likely to still be a tuning nightmare... buy a new one. Trust me on this. The amount of money you will save isn't worth the hassle. GD