GeneralDisorder

Timesert is better than heli-coil for this application. Either one would most likely work, but the timesert is a much higher quality device. http://www.timesert.com/ GD

The choke has an fast idle cam that should cause it to idle around 1500 RPM when cold. Sounds like the idle speed screw is backed off too far, or there are vacuum leaks that is causing the idle to be too rough or too low once the fast idle cam pulls back when the choke warms. The EA82 Hitachi carbs are notorious for having broken choke bi-metal springs. The hook on the end of the spring wears through and falls off rendering them inoperable. There could be many other things at work here as well - there are several thermo-vacuum valves that control air supply to air metering ports on the carb body - if there were a leak in one of the valves, or a cracked/unhooked hose it would act similar. At any rate there are definately problems with your carb adjustments as the idle when cold should be much higher than what you have. GD

Clearly you don't know much, because the only simple "CV" joint used in an EA is the front outer joint. The rest are Double Offset Joints, which are a specific type of Constant Velocity joint that allows for stretch. It is not, however, refered to as a CV as that is not descriptive of it's entire function. Also not all EA series used DOJ's in the rear - they used to use u-joint axles like the Z cars in the 70's. At any rate, rear axles are always different. They have nothing in common with fronts on any Subaru. GD

Correct. The distributors are interchangeable - they have two wires for triggering the coil and nothing more. GD

A late 70's non-electronic Hitachi distributor from an EA71 would work but you have to change the drive gear, which entails redrilling the shaft as the spring pin placement isn't the same. The adjustment slot (there will be only 1) will have to be moved - so you might have to do some TIG welding to the case to modify the adjustment plate. Much easier to just carry an extra electronic distributor and coil under the seat wrapped in a shop rag. In the unlikely event that an electronic module fails, you can swap out both in less time than it takes to fool with points, condensor, and coil. Plus the 100,000+ maintenance free miles makes up for a failure once in a while as you save time on the maintenance end, plus the cost of the replacement components every 15,000 miles. The parts for them are also difficult to source should you have a breakdown. Although anyone with points that doesn't carry a new set, a used set, an extra condensor, and a coil is just as screwed as someone that doesn't carry an ignition module. GD

There aren't any black connectors for the ECU mode controls. They are green, and white. You are looking for a set of single pole white connectors - should be right next to the green ones. GD

Last year for carbs was 89 for the EA81 hatchback. Being it's most likely SPFI (there were a few '90 turbo Loyale's - including the RS), you should run a D-Check to determine if there are any codes present. GD

Depends on the size tires you run. I have broken axles with 28's on dry pavement. The bigger the tire, the more leverage and grip it has. 2,500 lbs of car can put enough load on the DOJ cups to blow them in half if you have enough leverage and grip. Stock size tires shouldn't break anything - will just be annoying. GD

I just pulled a column from the junk yard today and that ground wire you refer to attaches to the column mounting bolt on the left side. Such was the case with the 82 column I was pulling anyhow - it had a feedback ECU as well so I'm assuming it's the same as yours. GD

That's for the key warning chime. You can just leave it hanging if you don't care. Otherwise I'm not sure what to tell you other than you must be missing the mate to it. Got to be there somewhere I'm sure. Check behind the left front speaker. That's the usual location for the dash ground. You got me there - the ECU for feedback carb's has a built-in LED that flashes codes.... so I'm not sure what you are refering to. GD

Just make SURE there is no air in the system - air has the capability to heat and expand more rapidly than water/coolant, and air bubbles can easily cause overheating with the EA82's. But most likely you are wise to do the HG's. Get the Fel-Pro's and get the rest of the gaskets from the dealer. GD

Coolant, as all fluids, will expand as it heats. It does so pretty slowly, but yes it will overflow if you let it heat up long enough. It doesn't "shoot" out though - it just runs over the top of the filler neck and down the sides. Irregardless, no substantial heating occurs in the first minute or two of operation so what the coolant does as it reaches operating temp has no bearing on Major Lazy's original question - the problem being experienced here is no doubt a compression leak to the cooling system. GD

DSM is Diamond Star Motors. It's a US built Mitsubishi based product. GD

The ignition connector is pink, has 5 conductors, and a 6 pin plug. One of the corner pins is not occupied on EA81's (it's the hot-in-start pin as used on SPFI EA82's for the ECU start signal). So I'm not sure what you have there, but it certainly is not an ignition switch plug. Perhaps if you elaborate on the sitation that led you to this assumption and why not having it connected is a problem I could be of more assistance? GD

You are absolutely VERY wrong in that assumption. Any opening to the crankcase is a vacuum leak. It's a sealed system for exactly that reason. On a carb it wouldn't matter.... as it relates to vacuum leaks - proper blow-by gas removal is another subject entirely. And no - I'm not refering to environmental concerns. You need to replace the missing cap, get a new rubber seal and properly adjust the tabs so it doesn't leak. Check the dip-stick o-ring as well, and make sure the PCV and all lines are clean. GD

DSM's are junk. The ECU's last 5 years at most due to leaky caps, the engine's are prone to a host of failures, and the overal quality of the cars was very poor. They sold on looks and performance alone - how many older Mitsi's are still on the road? When was the last time you saw any 80's one's around? Oh yeah - they crushed them all. And I hate everything that's transverse. It's a general policy of mine. You'll find lots of folks like me around here. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, ect. GD

I'm sorry. That's a horrible, horrible vehicle. GD

As I said - you do not understand enough about the system. For example - you cannot allow blow-by gasses from the crankcase to "just escape". The air has already been metered by the MAF and must be recirculated to the intake or your mixture will be thrown off. The entire crankcase is part of the manifold vacuum system of the SPFI. If you just let it out via a breather you are creating a very, very large vacuum leak - poor idle quality, poor economy, ect. That's actually one of those rather obscure items that people often overlook - the o-ring around the oil dip-stick can actually be a vacuum leak if it's hard or missing, ect. You cannot just apply knowledge of carbs to an FI system. There are fundamental differences in their theory of operation. And I'm not asking you to "buy" anything. I'm TELLING you how things are. I KNOW what I'm talking about. Not only have I installed many SPFI setups on previously carbed engines, but I've also built fuel injection systems from scratch with MegaSquirt and other aftermarket systems. GD

You shouldn't be plugging vacuum lines unless you know what they do. Checking for leaks involves spraying something flammable (brake cleaner, carb cleaner - any fast evaporating degreaser really) aroung the engine bay at various "suspect" areas and listening to the sound of the engine. A smoothing of the idle or an increase in the idle speed indicates a leak of some kind. Spray some down the throat of the MAF (avoiding the hot/sensor wires) and listen to the change in pitch - that will give you an idea of what you are looking for. Beyond that, you should run a D-Check of the SPFI. It has the capability to self-diagnose many simple sensor problems. Do a search for D-Check or read the partial FSM linked on my SPFI conversion page for a full description: http://home.comcast.net/~trilinear/EA81_SPFI.html GD

There's nearly no emissions equipment on the SPFI. What exactly would you like to get rid of? There's the passive evap system but removing that would only get rid of a single solenoid (you would have to replace it with a 33 Ohm, 5 watt resistor), the charcoal canister, and leave you with a fuel smell as there would be nothing to trap fuel vapor from the tank on hot days. The whole point of the SPFI is that it doesn't *need* extra emissions gear. It's ECU and sensors regulate fuel and timing so as not to require any "help" from extra junk. That's why they are much, much simpler than carbs of similar vintage. Not to mention more economical, and better driveability. What you need, more than anything, is to LEARN how the system works, and what that "mess" does. Then you won't feel so lost and angry at that late-80's wonder of a fuel system you have. You'll be happy that it has nothing except what it needs to work - there's no extra stuff as on newer cars for the smog-testing nazi's, and there's no extra stuff as on older cars that needed it to perform at a decent level. It's just plain, simple, fuel injection without anything you "don't need". GD

Sounds like a classic vacuum leak. Check for leaks first. GD

What car? Model, year, ect are required for anyone here to help you. GD

That's a compression leak into your cooling system. Bad head gasket(s) or cracked head(s). Coolant only "shoots" out of the radiator cap when it's put under pressure. Otherwise it sits there and does nothing at all (especially without the water pump turning). Convection will slowely circulate it to some extent, by a gyser out the cap with the engine cold is a sure sign of the cooling system being pressurized by compression gasses. Since you also mention some overheating, you should STOP driving it immediately. You risk blowing radiator or heater core hoses, blowing the tanks off the radiator, or blowing out the heater core (not fun to replace). The cooling system was only designed to handle 13 psi, and the stuff is probably only pressure tested durring manufacturing to 25 psi or so. The cylinder compression gasses from just one cylinder can be upwards of 200 psi or more. I just replaced the heater core in my 91 SS for this same reason. The last owner (that drove it) didn't stop driving and all the tubes in the core split right at the junction to the bottom tank. Not pretty, and not cheap or simple to fix - removal of the entire dash is required. How high was the gyser? I've seen upwards of 4 or 5 feet of coolant spray from an engine with multiple, completely blown-out cylinders. Anyway - sorry for the bad news. And just so you know, turbo's do not circulate coolant at all. They have a flow through system and rely on the water pump to circulate coolant through them. GD

The SPFI engine has the wrong cams and the wrong compression for a carb setup. The timing will have to be retarded using the carb distributor. You'll lose performance and fuel economy due to the decrease in max advance. Pinging will be your new best friend. Carb distributors have a tendancy to wear out bushing and vacuum advance cans so it would be wise to have it rebuilt and recurved at the same time to get back some of the top-end advance. The fuel pump will have to be changed, additionally the ground to the fuel pump relay will have to be rerouted around the ECU, and a revolution sensor (fuel pump control unit) installed to safely operate the pump. A carb filter will have to be installed before the fuel pump to prevent damage to the pump as the SPFI has a high-pressure filter in the engine bay. The HP filter will have to be removed and routed around. The wiring for the carb ignition coil will have to be added, as well as a circuit for the choke. Carb manifold obviously. Carb and adaptor plate if you use a Weber. All-in-all - not worth it. Expensive proposition, poor performance, and the SPFI is vastly superior in every catagory. It's simple, rugged, cheap and easy to repair. That's why many of us who have tried all the various options multiple times end up converting carb vehicles to SPFI rather than the other way around. GD

No. In short the quench design of the heads could not withstand it. Detonation city. 9.0:1 would be alright - 9.5:1.... maybe 10:1 using the EA82 SPFI would likely be alright as the fuel injection can handle the ignition timeing better to allow it. Anything over about 9 would require computer fuel injection to control the ignition timing or you would have to retard it so far it would be worthless to bother. Massive compression without the ability to advance the timing is worse than lower compression. GD