GeneralDisorder

The FSM calls for kerosene (as a lubricant) and cording. The procedure is fairly simple and I know of several on this board have succesfully done it. All makes and models are not the same with respect to this type of thing and your fathers experience may not be applicable. The Subaru windsheilds are pretty stout and it takes some abuse to crack one. I wouldn't attempt a newer model glue-in style myself, but I also wouldn't trust a shop to do the older style pop-in correctly or completely. The knowledge on how to do them has largely not been passed down to the people in the glass industry and they are likely to do a horrible job and leave it leaky, or try to glue it in instead of using the proper gasket. You have been warned. I've seen what those shops do. It's not pretty on the EA81's when they try to bypass the gasket and glue it in instead. GD

Actually you are probably better off doing it yourself on the EA81's. You use kerosene and twine to pull the windsheild into the rubber gasket. Expect to spend about $150 on the windsheild and another $120 or so on a new gasket as the old one will be basically completely destroyed removing it. Best to do it yourself as no special tools are required beyond a friend to help you out, and you can prep the crimp joint around the window with any sanding/painting you may need in order to prevent future leaks and rust. GD

Turbo's are not known for their mileage. I get about 19 in town on my SS. About 25 on the freeway. Even the brand new STi's are rated at 17 in the city GD

100% accurate. Although I do like to drive something that doesn't draw the attention of the local constabulary. But that doesn't require "complete restoration" by any stretch. GD

The charcoal canistor is supposed to be replaced on a regular maintenance interval - I can't remember exactly but I think it's 50k miles. No one ever does it though. But that doesn't sound like what you are asking about anyway. GD

As far as I know, in the rear it's best to use an XT6 or RX swaybar. I don't recall anyone having used a WRX one due to the differences in the suspension design. GD

I'm just cautious with stuff like that. I won't raise the boost on my SS even 1 pound till I have everything in place for complete monitoring. It's not that the EA82T with a carb short block *requires* these things, it's more that we have all seen the results of poorly planned and modded EA82T block swaps on this board. The vehicle is old, and the parts are used. Just a single poorly performing injector could wipe out a lot of time and effort by runnning lean in a cyinder. Not to mention the car he's talking about has a blown EA82T - why did that happen? It's impossible to say. All I'm saying is that without the additional monitoring gear you are taking taking a big risk doing something like this. If the vehicle was brand new and you were installing a new carb short block on an engine with 0 miles then it wouldn't be nearly as risky. But you are putting a carbed short block into a car that already ATE a turbo short block. I don't think that's a good idea without a lot of investment in new parts and a comprehensive monitoring system so you can avoid a tragic waste of time. GD

NEVER restore the vehicle you are driving. That's a universal and many (including myself) have found it out the hard way. Buy a legacy. Restore the GL at your leisure. That's if you want to do it. I would reccomend against restoreing an 80's station wagon that's worth less than the shirt off your back. Best to have seperate vehicles for each purpose if you like to wrench. I have the sporty driver that's "nice" to ferry around the GF. I have the off-road toy that's a dismal mess, always dirty, and often broken. I have the resoration project. And I have lots of parts, more projects than fingers & toes, and (obviously) a serious lack of sanity GD

Yes - you can do it. Just don't get crazy with the boost. It is also very important when considering something like this to plan for all the accesories you will need to add. Obviously the stock boost level will have to be reduced so there's that stuff, and the engine monitoring needs to be.... I would say upgraded but the stock dash doesn't have much to offer so I'll say you NEED monitoring equipment. Wideband, EGT, Boost gauge, etc, etc. Also the installation of an intercooler would be almost required to have any hope of keeping the block in one peice for long. Of course you can do it - but the amount of money you have to throw at it to do it reliably and with "peice of mind" is more than what you will get out of it in the end IMO. That is just my opinion though, and I firmly beleive that all forms of the EA82 are dead ends. With the EJ22 so cheap, so increddibly reliable, and adaptor plates now availible from many sources for cheap, etc, etc. There just isn't a place in the Subaru world for the EA82's, other than as a museum peice, for those seriously interested in power, reliability, and econemy. I'm not dogging the EA82 - and there are plenty of them out there that will continue to serve folks well for another decade or two. But for all the people that are interested in doing something other than stock with their EA82 bodied cars it's going to be EJ or nothing very shortly. You should have seen all the EJ'd cars at the WCSS this year! Hell I bought a CNC'd adaptor plate for $100. For $250 I can have a used EJ22 locally off a shelf with a warantee! GD

You have to understand that making a blanket statement like that isn't applicable when talking about vehicles this old. If you were to replace every component of your brakeing system with brand new parts, you are looking at several THOUSAND dollars. From the booster, master cylinder, reservoir, and hill-holder, to the soft lines, calipers, pads, ect, ect. There simply is no reason for this. Calipers can easily be rebuilt and will perform just like new. Backing plates, slide pins, and caliper brackets etc are not wear items. The Brake booster's and master cylinders rarely fail. Modern braking systems use dual-circuit design's. If a single component fails the other circuit will still operate one front and one rear wheel. Complete brake failures on anything built after 1950 is almost unheard of. Replacing the pads and rotors, and rebuilding the calipers on the bench is more than adequate. Replacing soft lines isn't a bad idea but those are cheap. Adding rear disc brakes from an EA82 turbo vehicle using junk yard parts is no different. You use new pads and rotors and you rebuild the calipers with a new o-ring and boot. Rear brakes do only 20% of the brakeing and the main advantage of rear discs is that they never need to be adjusted. IF you could even get the parts from the dealership, they would likely cost more than you car is worth. Just because it's called a "junk" yard doesn't mean it's junk. The parts we would need have no moving parts and should last the life of several vehicles if they ever wore out at all. New tie rod ends and a urethane rag joint would be my sugestion. The rack, power steering pump, lines, and steering column are not wear items and should never require replacement. Again those items would cost more than the car. That's understandable. I don't find I have much use for a horn myself, but it's a personal thing I think. I just highly doubt you'll notice any difference. It's a 4WD and the suspension is stiff. Struts aren't going to change that. They only dampen the suspension, they won't change how it feels unless there is considereable bounce or rocking. Understandable then. That's a vacuum valve for the carb metering ports. It goes by-by with a Weber. You're talking about more than the car is worth again. There are 16 dozen parts inside that dash and if you replace them all it's going to be a kings ransom and most of them would never fail if you drove the car another million miles. Likely many of the components are unavailible and replacing them with used one's wouldn't do any good unless they aren't working. If there is a specific symptom you want repaired then that is different. You are talking about rebuilding the car from scratch and that just isn't feasible - you simply won't find anyone willing to do it for a price you'll like. Electrical is no problem. I have wireing diagrams, a DMM, and I'm not afraid to use it. I think that's your first step then. Order a Weber kit for the EA82. They run about $350 - $400. Discount Import Parts can order you one. http://www.discountimportparts.com/ Sounds good. I will say though, that the things you want to do, and the amount of money you will have to spend - you can get a nice 1st gen Legacy for about $2000 and never have to worry about most of this stuff. And we haven't even talked about the mechanical stuff that you aren't familair with yet - the EA82 has a voracious appetite for timing belts, and then there's the water pump, oil pump, and various other seals and gaskets that should be done by this age. For half what it's going to cost to fix your '86 you could have a nice 93 or 94, do some regular maintenance, and drive another 100,000 miles without a care in the world. GD

Brakes are easily done. You might consider swapping the rear to disc's as they are plentiful in the junk yards around us and the swap is potentially easier than rebuilding the aging drums. All said and done it likely wouldn't cost any more either. There goes 3.5 minutes. Hold up just a minute there! ALL NEW?!? I'm certain you don't need that nor would you like the cost. You mean inner and outer tie rod ends right? Maybe the rag joint too? All fairly easy - should have a proper alignment done so you don't jepordize any tire warantee you might have. They are just dead. There are two behind the bumper - low tone and high tone. If they are both working they are quite loud enough. Aftermarket you could get some serious stuff if you were so inclined. Done at the same time as the brakes. 20 minutes per side on top of a brake job. If they aren't leaking or bouncy I wouldn't bother. 10 minutes. Grab an extra set at the junk yard so you can just throw them in and not have the doors apart for hours while you clean all the little bits. That's an easy job you could do yourself if you are inclined. Why are you inclined to think it leaks? What is broken. You DO NOT want to do this if there isn't a clear problem you are looking to fix. It would involve the removal of the entire dash.... for days. 5 minutes. Neither neccesary, nor reccomended. Fuses do not get old, and the links you simply inspect, check the connections and add some silicone grease. They should never require replacement. Consider swapping it to a Weber. That is the answer to your vacuum system, your power needs, and your carburetor cleaning/rebuilding concerns. Certainly wouldn't cost any more. I would agree with that. Tail light bulbs too. Have to see that one in person to get an idea of the extent. Weber - without question. That could be a number of things. Could be anything from the AC compressor/clutch going out, to the idle-up solenoid, to a bad distributor. I would have to see it. I can look at it. If you prioritize your list I could assist you with some of these things. It won't all get done overnight though - I don't have that kind of time. Perhaps you don't want to hear this, or maybe there are reasons which you have not disclosed for wanting to restore this car to something you could drive all over the US, but I have a sugestion. Buy a 1st generation Legacy. They are cheap, you'll spend far less than you will fixing all that stuff on the EA82, they have all the power you want, they are dead reliable machines, and they don't suffer from the myriad of problems the EA82's do. The EA82 is arguably, I'm sorry to say, the worst engine Subaru ever made. That's not to say that it can't be reliable and last a long, long time - it IS still a Subaru after all . But the EA82's are getting long in the tooth, the parts availibility is getting poor, and that means turning to aftermarket chinese infererior parts. At that point you might as well have a Chinese car for all the trouble they will give you. The timing belt system is primitive, as is the lubrication system and the valve train. On top of that, for all the added complexity, the carb model you have makes a dismal 84 HP - only 11 more than the EA81 did and the EA82 has a heavier body that eats up any advantage the 11 HP might have bought you. There are soooo many reasons you should get a 1st gen Legacy that I can't even list them all here. That is just a sugestion though, and if you would like help making repairs to your EA82 then I have no problem assisting with that. I could also help you find a Legacy if you are interested in looking. GD

Timing belts every 60k, water pump every 120k if you use OEM pumps. Every 60k if you use aftermarket. Test your oil pressure. If it's below 20 psi at idle when hot (radiator fan cycles) then replace the pump. Regardless do the seals and use only OEM seals. Aftermarket is fine for belts and tensioners but OEM is best for seals and gaskets. GD

If the crack is deep enough the exhaust port can crack all the way through to the coolant jacket. I've seen 4 foot gysers of coolant from engines with both head gaskets blown out. Cylinder compression is around 150 psi - more than enough to propel coolant skyward. GD

Looking over my wireing diagrams I think the component you are refering to is the ICU for the knock control unit. The ICU interfaces with the knock control unit to allow control over high-altitude spark advance. Above 1400 feet elevation it advances the timing by 5 degrees apparently. It is seperate from the ECU though, so I wouldn't think the operation of it would affect your fuel delivery unless the ECU wasn't receiving an ignition pulse. It certainly seems likely that you could bypass the whole mechanism and get the ECU to fire up the fuel injectors if you could get an ignition pulse. The ECU doesn't handle spark control as the early turbo systems used vacuum advance so you could just install a non-turbo EA81 distributor and assuming you have power to the coil you should get spark and an ignition pulse signal from the coil negative. That should get the ECU to fire off the injectors if it is otherwise functional. Have you checked the ignition relay under the passenger seat as I mentioned previously? It powers all this stuff.... And does the fuel pump run when you are cranking the starter? It should only run when cranking or seeing an ignition pulse. So if the fuel pump runs when cranking, then the ECU is turning on the fuel pump relay as it should and is likely functional but not fireing the injectors because it isn't seeing an ignition pulse. If nothing has power including the fuel pump then you have a power supply issue - something like the ignition relay under the seat. GD

As I told you before, you are not eliminateing blow by gasses. One of the byproducts of combustion is water vapor. It naturally cools and condenses in the area around the vent and mixes with oil already present there. The result is milkshake. You are also going to acidify your oil, eat your bearings, and be a very unhappy Subaru owner if you keep up this foolishness. GD

Yeah - that is too expensive for a 2WD with a bad Auto. I *might* take it if someone gave it to me. I would want to be paid if they expected me to actually do the tranny swap and make it move again. What a pain in the butt. If it were a Legacy even it would be worth it.... but not for an EA82. GD

PCV valve and lines. And remove the valve covers and clean the vent passages. GD

It's a grey area. Eventually it would get loose enough that the splines would strip out of the hub and probably be permanently damaged on the axle shaft. At which point you lose FWD and are only going to move the car under 4WD or with a tow. I've been there - it's not real cool. Still not a terribly expensive failure in the scheme of things, but one I would rather avoid. GD

Even though they are rare, we are quite familiar with your engine (I've owned two of them). It's nothing entirely out of the ordinary as Subaru continued on with a turbo system almost identical to yours from 85 to 90 using the EA82 engine - which is essentially the same but with overhead cams. The grill makes it an '84 model year. All EA81T's were automatic, and all of them have hydraulic lifters. The block is a normal EA81 with dished pistons to reduce it's comp. ratio, but the heads are quite special as they have injector bosses built into them. All Turbo Brat's were equipped with power steering and most of the other options (but not power windows ). If the original turbo hasn't been swapped out for an EA82 style water cooled turbo you should do that - it was a factory recall during the mid 80's as the oil-only turbo's were not reliable. You can pretty easily retrofit an EA82 turbo and run the coolant lines appropriately. Before you go through that, please yank out the passenger seat and check the ignition relay. It supply's power to the ECU on pin 24 and if it's on the fritz everything will go dead. Check that it clicks when you energize it and check for continuity through the contacts. GD

You can be just as screwed if you don't carry a spare coil on a '72.... it matters less what you drive and more what your know and what spares you carry. Would you go camping with no water and take the chance that you'll find some along the way? Would you visit a remote mountain pass without spare fuses? Eliminate the risk by carrying spare parts. That's one reason the SPFI is an excellent choice - it can tell you what is wrong, and parts are plentiful and accessible. A small box under the seat will carry all the spare's you need. Saying the SPFI is more likely to strand you is a specious argument because only YOU can prevent yourself from being stranded - in any car, bicycle, or on foot. YOU have to be prepared and that goes right back to my former statements about educating yourself about your equipment. GD

Replace all the bolts your over-torqued. They are stretched now and useless. They could fail if you put them in tension again even at stock torque value. GD

Carbs are 9.0:1 and are still too high comp. to use with a turbo. GD

I have a Craftsman spark plug socket that has worked fine on my EJ22E and EJ22T engines. GD

That's not neccesarily the case. The grill will give it away... the 83 would have straight horizontal louvers, and the 84 would have a honeycomb. Aside from that your problem is almost certainly not the ECU. ECU failures in Subaru's of any vintage are virtually unheard of. Beleive me - you don't want it to be the ECU either. The EA81T was only made for two years and is an extremely rare engine. What symptoms lead you to this conclusion? Just because it won't start? Does it crank? Do you have fuel? Spark? GD

Hitachi's definitely weren't horrible carbs. They have a problem being overly complex in the later years (EA82's) as they used the same carb for both feedback and non. Thus they have metering ports that require some form of external control for optimum performance. That control comes in the form of either a full feedback computer control as in the case of California models and Federal 2WD's, or it's a mess of vacuum hoses, thermo-vacuum valves, and orifices as in the case of the Federal 4WD's. This system doesn't lend itself to maintenance when those parts are rather expensive and eventually will be unavailible. The Weber in contrast has none of that. It's as simple as a carb gets and *can* have no wireing at all if you so choose. The parts will be availible forever, and they are high-quality which is often not the case with the Hitachi rebuild parts as they are not in demand and may soon be entierly unavailible. I *could* design a bolt-on SPFI system. It would sit in a water-tight box in the spare tire shelf and would need only a few wires to work. I could make it require even fewer wires by using Mega-Squirt instead of the stock ECU setup. And I may do that someday. Unfortunately I have more projects going than I have fingers and toes and that one doesn't fill any requirements that I have right now.... although it would be cool, it would also be more expensive than anyone with a need for it is likely to fork over so the market unfortunately isn't there. I would have to sell each one for $1000 to make it worth my time and effort as the MS parts alone would probably be about $600. GD