GeneralDisorder

You can wrap over the fiberglass cloth with silver heat tape and then the oil will just drip off. GD

Go with a k-type thermocouple process monitor. I got mine here: http://auberins.com/ Great for EGT, CHT, Coolant temp, etc. GD

Optional AC components most likely. There is an array of pressure switches, relays and such that accompany the AC system. I wouldn't worry about plugs that go nowhere. GD

Well - it's mostly the cat that gets hot and needs the heat shield to protect the pass. axle boot. If your problems are with the runner's to the heads then I would probably just toss them. They shouldn't get hot enough to cause problems with the rack boots. Many of the older EA81 y-pipes didn't have heat shields on the runners anyway. You could wrap them in fiberglass heat cloth if you are concerned. It's just as effective and arguably more so - plus it will never rattle. GD

It applies to "all vehicles" in the sense that it applies to everything made in the last ten years (all they are generally concerned with), and using the conditioner in an EA engines will not *hurt* anything. It won't help either, and is simply a waste of money. Subaru, nor anyone else for that matter, will be convincing me I need to buy some conditioner for an engine with 240k miles and 24 years under it's belt..... besides isn't it a little bit suspicious that they tell you to use only Subaru genuine coolant AND the additive ALL the time? So... why isn't the additive already in the coolant? Makes no sense - I mean obviously they are rebranding someone else's coolant, but why add stuff? There's plenty of manufacturers that use aluminum engine blocks and radiators. Sounds like a marketing driven decision, or a reactionary band-aid to cover an unsound piece of engineering. GD

I can't see the appeal of them, but then I don't see much use for anything that's FWD only. RWD or 4WD/AWD are the only way to go for me. FWD answers a question no one ever asked IMO. GD

The STi's EJ257 block is semi-closed deck. It allows them to be die-cast but gives them basically the strength of the closed deck blocks. It's a better alternative to open but still cheap to produce. Sand casting of blocks is very expensive which is why the last one's were the EJ22G blocks used in the turbo Legacy's and the 22B Impreza. GD

That's not *exactly* correct (edit - in response to the original post - the talk show host's claim is not correct - [HTi]Johnson posted while I was posting). Subaru had a problem with the phase I and phase II EJ25's. Specifically they had internal and external coolant leaks respectively. The REAL fix is to put in new head gaskets (they were redesigned several times and most people report the latest generation are fine). But due to the cost of this, and the fairly large number of vehicles affected by this potential problem, Subaru instructed the dealers to first try an additive product that is supposed to seal small leaks. If that doesn't work they are to replace the gaskets. But this ONLY applies to EJ25 phase I and II vehicles and no others. All other engines, as well as phase I/II EJ25's with the updated gaskets use plain coolant. GD

Ah - yes I was only talking about the 4WD's. Never owned or worked on a 2WD turbo. GD

Probably just needs the float adjusted. There's a sight glass on the side of the float bowl - it should be right in the middle. Could be low fuel pressure also but as they run around 2 psi it's hard to get a good reading on it without a decent gauge. Cheap gauges just aren't accurate at low pressure's like that. GD

You *sure* about that? It's quite rare. They basically always throw them out the top of the block - it's quite a mess when it happens, but I can count the number of times I've seen or heard of it on one hand. It's generally related to very poor oil pressure. GD

5 speed manual = 25 spline. 4 speed auto = 25 spline. 3 speed auto = 23 spline. 3 speed's were not used in turbo's after 87. GD

It draws moisture for one thing. The VW I recently resurrected sat for 12 years in a damp garage. It had about 1/8 to 1/4 tank of very old, very varnished gas in it. Probably started out as more like 1/2 a tank. The lighter components do evaporate, and the gas draws moisture from the air. That moisture condenses in low temps and rusts out metal tanks, etc. It will collect at the lowest point in the system. I had to open up the fuel pump and clean the rotor as it had a thin film of rust keeping it from turning. It the case of the VW it wasn't terminal. Once I got the pump turning again it fired right up (fuel injected even!) and I filled the tank with fresh gas and immediately drove it through a full tank (once I got the brakes fixed). GD

The DOJ is probably binding because it is new - the grease may not have been properly applied inside the joint. The likelihood of the joint actually being bad is very low. What you are experiencing is a new joint with very tight tolerances that is binding slightly as it turns resulting in a non-constant velocity shaft speed - much like what a u-joint would do at angles over 15 degrees or so. You have several choices - you can just take them back of course. But my opinion is that the joint components are probably sound being they are brand new and made by CNC - they are close tolerance machined parts and each and every axle has a high probablility of being identical to all the others. I would at least try inspecting the grease on one of the DOJ's. It may be poor quality, too small a quantity, or perhaps it has drained away from the joint components durring shipping. One thing I do with axles prior to installing them is work the joints by hand to check for binding and massage the boots to make sure the grease is evenly distributed. I can't say for sure how many axles I've done, but it's somewhere north of 50 and south of 100 I would guess. I have yet to experience the "bad new axle" phenomenon. I've done over a dozen GCK's when I could still get them and since then I've switched to EMPI's. In fact, besides my off-roader, I have yet to install an axle and have it fail again after. If you watch the boots and the fuel mixture they should last at least 100,000 miles. GD

Beware as some of the Subaru pipe threads are BSPT not NPT. Just because it threads in does not mean it won't leak. GD

Break the thing off with reckless abandon. The capture nut is spinning - likely because the cover is cracked anyway. They usually crack when the capture nut spins anyway. A lot of us don't run the EA82 belt covers. The belts are a 20 minute job without the covers and a 2 hour job with. Your call.... I'll trade having a simple, 20 minute job and having to carry a spare set for the aggravation of the covers and the 2 hour job any day. But that's a trade off you have to make for yourself. If mine blow either because it was time or because of road debris.... makes little difference to me as long as the job is easy and takes only 20 minutes. And in tens of thousands of miles I have yet to have an uncovered belt break except when I dropped a shop rag in them with the engine running GD

Take the thing off and remove the broken bolts so you can bolt it back up? Cobbling things together with hose clamps like that is just going to cause more problems in the long run. Better to invest in some drill bits and taps to fix it right - then you have the tools to fix the next similar problem the right way as well. GD

CV joints have some properties that must be respected if they are to work properly in a non-stock application. 1. The amount of torque a CV can handle is more or less inversely proportional to the angle it has to run at multiplied by the speed it is rotating. That is to say that the higher the angle and the greater the speed, the less torque it can transmit without catastrophic failure. 2. Failures of CV's fall into three categories for the purposes of this discussion. Thermal failures due to friction and heat, mechanical damage due to angles beyond the capabilities of the joint implementation, and axial loading causing the joint to physically separate. Now - unless the geometry of the suspension has been modified (unlikely unless you have made custom control arms, knuckles, or strut's), then mechanical damage due to improper angles is nearly impossible. In fact a close inspection of the front axles shows they will not mechanically interfere with themselves till angles quite a bit outside the range of the stock suspension are involved. For the same reasons axial loads are not an issue either. What it comes down to, if you study this problem in detail (believe me, I have), is that the stock axles fail in lifted applications due to the stock transmission gearing. The low range provided in the stock transaxle is not low enough to allow slow speed crawling with large tires over arduous terrain. This results in high-speed wheel spin (taking "runs" at obstacles) - often with the wheel completely off the ground and the suspension at full downward articulation. This causes rapid heat buildup due to friction - the moly grease quickly breaks down and the joint simply fails. There are some things that can be done. 1. Replace the grease with a synthetic, high quality grease the will not break down as easily. 2. Repack the joints and inspect for wear after every trail run. 3. Be mindful of the limitations of the axles and avoid high speed wheel spin with wheels off the ground. Especially avoid having wheels spinning in the air and suddenly stopping when they come back to earth. 4. Stop periodically and let them cool down. You can also lower your gearing so you don't have to drive the axles so hard. But you have to watch breaking other components. The stub axles are hollow and can be twisted off readily with too much torque. Similarly the diff gears would be next to take the brunt of the damage. And so forth back to the transmission. Personally I'm most likely going with a bunch of nissan truck parts to overcome these problems. Nissan transmission, transfer case, and diffs. Modified Subaru axles run at flatter neutral angles so travel is split between upward and downward articulation. GD

You are idling off the primary circuit rather than the idle circuit if the mixture screw is all the way in. You'll get terrible fuel economy at idle that way, but if you can live with that and like it that way then who am I to argue? GD

There are no adjustments other than the float setting (have to remove the top of the carb for that), the idle speed screw (throttle stop), and the idle mixture screw (which, contrary to popular belief adjusts the mixture VOLUME not the actual mixture ratio) which is blocked by a roll pin. To adjust the idle speed and mixture you want the throttle plate nearly closed, and you adjust the mixture till you get the lean best idle. Basically that means it idles smooth at 700 to 800 RPM. You adjust them both in a balancing act. It's really simple - just play with them. Other than that, there aren't any adjustments on a Hitachi. Everything is jetted and if it's working correctly it should need no adjustment. You can make the choke adjustable by pulling the pin from the housing, but that shouldn't be necessary unless you live in some weird arctic region. GD

RX springs would be lower and probably a bit stiffer. Other than that you are going to have to look aftermarket. Why do you want it stiffer? What are you trying to do with your vehicle? GD

Stiffness has more to do with the springs than the struts. Struts are just dampeners for the springs. If you want the suspension to be stiffer, lower, higher, etc you need to change the spring rate. Unless of course your struts are just leaking and you are looking to get rid of a bouncy suspension - then by all means replace the struts. KYB's are good. GD

I run Scotty's in all mine and it works just as well on the EA81 4 speed as it does on the rest of them. The redline shockproof is awesome stuff. If it's really dirty and shifts hard, fill it with ATF and change it after 1,000 miles.... or just leave it in there. Run it till the front diff frags and install a 5 speed. GD

Nope - the only turbo hatches made were built for the movie Cannonball Run. EA81T's only came stock in wagons, coupe's, and Brat's. And all of them were automatics. There's telltale signs of EA81T occupancy though - is your battery on the drivers side? Perhaps your vin is from a turbo wagon or 2 door coupe? Non-sequitur, but the EA81T was only 98 HP. The JDM dual-carb EA81's were 108 HP, and racing versions (dual carb as well) were higher still. GD

I would run it. Twice on Sundays even. I have yet to meet the non-turbo head that has cracked badly enough to be a problem. As long as I don't suspect coolant leakage I will run them. Generally you can tell - carbonized coolant, green gook, etc. I would put it back together and run it. Might want to lap the valves just because you already have one out. Probably not necessary though. GD