GeneralDisorder

I'm sure you'll be learning as you go, but first thing to learn is that the 82 EA81 has no hydraulic lifters, so it can't tick. It will making "clacking" noises once warm if the rockers need ajustment. Valve rocker adjustment is called for every 15,000 miles on the EA81 solid lifter engines. Also of note - the 82 and earlier EA81's have 2mm smaller intake valves, and as such are rated for 73 HP instead of the later 74 HP of the "big valve" heads. Speculation goes that hydro lifter engines are around 80 HP although Subaru never really said anything about that. All hydro EA81's are big valve, but not all big valve's are hydro's.... Oh - and the hydro EA81's never tick either - due to the lifters being in the block rather than the head, they are much closer to the oil supply, the pumps are not prone to sucking air, and there's no cam tower o-ring to fail and no cam spray bar with associated relief spring, etc. And the lifters are a different design as well. GD

You don't have hydro lifters so you need to adjust them every 15,000 - it's probably WAY overdue for a valve adjust. Oil pressure dropping with increased temp is normal - first you should confirm the *real* pressure with a good mechanical gauge set before you do anything else - the senders are notoriously unreliable with age. You may just need a new sending unit. Good oil pressure for the EA71 is around 50 psi hot cruise, and no less than 20 psi hot idle. GD

Ok - so get this.... It IS a GT. But it's probably the only GT ever to have had the roof chopped off and a non-raised roof implanted in it's place. It seems (near as I can figure) that this car's "total" involved the roof. Only a guess, but I'm betting it was a fallen tree or something - storm damage total. They did a decent job of putting it back together although the finish work isn't the greatest - a bit wavy down the side of the car if you look close, and there's a few sags in the paint, but overall it's not a bad job at all. All other GT bits remain - interior, ameneties, rear sway bar, alloy rims, etc. Just no raised roof. WEIRD. Mechanically it's perfect - replaced the water pump and it's down the road no problem. Engine bay looks amazing - no rust anywhere and all the bolts just fell right out - no corrosion at all. I'm lovin it. Oh god.... just realized the whole damn collection is in that pic :-\. Glad to be getting rid of the two failed DD's though. One is sold and the other I'm giving away GD

Don't get me wrong, Brat's are awesome (Mine's an 85), and please don't take this the wrong way, but if you have a kid, a wife and limited income then I don't think an 82 *anything* is right for you - and most especially not at that price. Brat's are just like all other EA81's - they are carbed, and the stock carbs are finicky. The wireing in them generally sucks nuts, and while the EA81 engine itself is bulletproof you can't say the same for either the 4 speed or the 3AT transmissions that were possible. And the price being asked is outragously high for a DL. They simply aren't as desireable - no fun-tops, no tach, no oil pressure gauge (this killed a LOT of them off), no dual range, etc, etc. I'm not trying to pee on your donut, but cmon man! I just picked up a low mileage (132k) 94 Legacy that needed a water pump for $750. Probably an exceptional situation as she really didn't know what she had, but I see them all the time in running condition for the price you are paying. AC, heat that works, and power steering are really nice things to have..... take it from someone that did what you are doing - I bought the Brat first and am only now, after many uncomfortable years in beaters, getting something that I can actually not be ashamed to pick up friends in. Plus it allows for restoration of the Brat.... GD

I have double u-joints like that in my lifted EA81 - works great. GD

I rather like their tendancy to be boolean with respect to failure. If you have the right tools, and the knowledge needed to perform the proper tests then it's a simple process of elimination to get at the cause of the problem. Solid state components are much less likely to exhibit partial, or intermittant failure modes like many mechanical systems tend towards. But as with most things in life - often what works for one person/situation is entirely unappropriate for some other. There are places on this earth where I would rather have to fix a mechanical system than try to source a solid state replacement part. My policy personally is to use the right tools for the right job, and to know as much as possible about as wide a range of systems as possible so as to be confident in whatever equipment I happen to be using. If EFI is appropriate (as it often is in most developed nations), then I learn about EFI. If I were in lower-armpit Africa then I'm confident my knowledge of carbs and their fuel systems would serve me just as well. Sometimes all it takes is an Ethiopian in the fuel line to ruin your day. GD

It is a lot - considering he just joined a little over a year ago. Jeez.... have I really been here for 5 years? Good god. GD

You aren't mixing and matching hitachi & ND bits are you? The coil and disty should match in brand or you will stress one or the other. Also make sure the VR in your alt is putting out consistent 14.5 and no AC. GD

Sounds like the rubber donut has been removed, or replaced with a VW aftermarket urethane donut. I've done both - on my wagon because of the way the EA81's with power steering are setup it was easier to just remove the dang thing when I lifted it - thus no play at all in it's steering. On my Brat I used the VW urethane donut and it's also quite tight (and the donut is RED - COOL!). At any rate take a look at the steering linkage and see if someone didn't just remove it completely. Personally I like them tight and accurate like that..... it's a hell of a lot better than a 20 year old spongy rubber donut feel anyway. Just have to be careful about how you steer it. GD

It's a matter of skill - I can change a horizontal filter and never get a drop on me. Personally I don't care what the orientation is as long as it's easy to access. GD

Nope, not even close. GD

They are entirely different chassis generations - there's a few parts that will swap around (rear brakes, etc) but for the most part there aren't any real similarities other than you can see a logical evolution in most things. As stated, 84 was the last year EA81 FSM's were made. Any changes after that (and there were very few) were done with TSB's. As with most Subaru FSM's the 84 is availible from the dealer for about $80 GD

ALWAYS fill the filter with oil - it takes time for the oil to saturate the dry paper element. If you install it dry then the holes in the paper are large, and don't filter properly - plus it sucks air into the oiling system. GD

I see em all the time on craigslist - there's like three on there now. As for the wireing - just do it up with M/S GD

The spider motors were apparently higher HP, but that's not just the intake - the cam grind probably was changed too. I've heard claims of up to 130 HP for the later spider turbo's. Although I haven't seen hard documents to back that up. GD

Yeah - I meant clutch pack, not viscous coupling. I was thinking of the 5MT's. As for the rest, I was mostly going off my experience with the EA82 4EAT's which were considerably less advanced. In the ariticle you linked to it mentioned that they have undergone "continuous development and improvment" which I should have realized but wasn't really thinking too hard about. The newer ones are much more "nannyfied". The endwrench articles deal almost exclusively with Legacy's and beyond - the 4EAT was quite a bit less advanced when it first arrived. I frankly despise auto's in the first place and wouldn't consider owning one except for some very narrow applications where they make sense.... and for people who never learned to clutch. GD

An excelent idea - putting the red LED on the top of the door cards wouldn't be too hard either. Google search for 12v LED flasher module in progress..... GD

Hhhhmmm - wonder exactly what's different about *those*?!? I'm sure the cam profile is totally wack for an N/A engine but that does always bring up the possibility of a low-psi turbo setup.... maybe with M/S Not sure how the open-deck block would handle that. I'm sure 5 psi would be alright and probably kick out another 10 or 15 HP though. Need to inspect the engine condition - she said the oil was changed every 3000 - 3500 and she's a little old lady so probably not lying about that. GD

That's just crimping the return right after the regulator on the SPFI TB. GD

The EJ fuel rail must use more fuel - if you crimp the return line on the EA82 SPFI the fuel pressure spikes to 50 psi (dead head capacity of the pump) instead of the correct 21 psi. This results in it running super rich. The return is there to bleed the pressure down to the correct rail pressure. Think of the SPFI as an Antelope drinking from a never-ending river of fuel. GD

Eh..... you can get aftermarket adjustable ones from summitracing or other places for pretty cheap. It wouldn't be worth the effort since both circuits run through the stock valve and the aftermarket ones are smaller and control only a single circuit so you don't have to run lines all over the place to get the job done. I was half considering using them for my Brat as it would simplify the plumbing and make it adjustable for rally-x. Being able to kick the a$$ end around on command isn't neccesarily undesireable for such events GD

Nope - just valve float, fuel pressure, and injector sizing. It's got a fuel cut for overboost, but that can be overcome if a variety of ways. GD

I thought the exhaust configuration accounted for most of the gain in performance.... is that not correct? 7 HP is actually a fairly large amount - more than a 5% increase - as big as the increase the EA82 gained when it went from carb to SPFI, and that took a number of changes to accomplish (cam, compression, intake, fuel system, etc). Perhaps I just don't get how the exhaust y-pipe fits the same on a single vs. dual port exhuast head? GD

So assuming I had an engine with some blown HG's.... what fitment issues would you have dropping the 95 dual port heads onto the 94 block? I would need heads and a y-pipe of course. Anything else? Would I need the 95 cams or are they roughly the same? Worth the 7 HP gain if I'm going to be in there anyway? Purely hypothetical since I doubt I need HG's, but I'm curious to know for posterity. GD

Didn't notice it till later, but I should add something about it. I haven't yet built one though. And yes - turbo tanks have the baffles already because they are EFI vehicles. I found an article by someone that used a plastic housing for a tap water filter from home depot - modified of course. but it's nice because they are plastic and there's no chance of corrosion. Also it's desireable to feed the EFI pump using a tube fed down from the top to *near* (1 inch or so) the bottom of the surge tank (like a drinking straw). This way crap won't get sucked into the pump - it will just settle on the bottom of the tank. And it allows the bottom to have a drain cock instead. GD