GeneralDisorder

They gave you an EA81 axle. You can tell the difference by both the length (compressed - EA81's are shorter, so yes will pull apart), and the diameter of the inner wheel bearing sealing surface on the outer joint. One is bigger than the other by quote a bit. It's not that hard to pull an inner joint apart - all that seperates the joint parts is a small diameter wire in a groove inside the cup. GD

Owing to the fact that EA81's are not OHC, they don't have cam seals. GD

Easy - drill a small hole and thread a wood screw into it. One on each side if you need - then grab with pliers and pull. GD

Probably about a 25" or 26" tire - like a 195/80r13 would probably fit without cutting but there would be a lot of rubbing. I wouldn't do any trimming on a Brat as they are too valuable and rare to be hacking up just because you want big tires and don't have a lift. With 4" of lift 27" tires fit well, and as luck would have it that's the smallest interco swamper made.... With 5" I've got 28" (215/75r15's) on white chevy wagon wheels (standard trailer rims - $30 each) with modest trimming in the front and some beating of the body ridge in the wheel well. GD

Yes, but you would be unwise to run alloy's off road. If all you care about is looks those are pretty sweet rims for sure. I would run them on a street Brat. Alloys are too expensive to replace when (not if) you crack one by smacking it against a rock. The best you can hope for is to have to shell out big bucks for a new matching rim - the worst is a catostophic failure at freeway speeds assuming it's still holding air. Steel rims are inexpensive, and when confronted with rocks will flex some, or will bend. If they bend and the bead pops you can smack them back into shape with a BFH and then reseat the tire and drive on. Replacement is rarely more than $30 and even the most depraved, redneck town has a few lying around. You can redrill your hubs to accept 6x5.5" chevy/toyota lug pattern rims and the toyota rims are almost an exact match for offset, or drill most steels out for 4 lug using two of the existing hoes as a guide. GD

I doubt the fuel system is to blame - you could try getting a new O2 sensor and putting on a cone filter. That's what I have on the Brat's engine. The Nissan 240SX MAF adaptors fit the SPFI MAF. I would be looking at the timing - it's difficult to tell when just one belt is a tooth off for example. And your exhaust is a good place to start too - clogged cat can really hurt performance. You should run a D-Check on the SPFI just to be sure it's in running order too. I have a full stock exhuast - the muffler is a replacement, but appears to be a stock type replacement. I found it at the junk yard as the one on the car was hosed. Y-pipe and mid are stock originals, and I haven't gutted the cat on it as I've done with my EA81's. I think what you are thinking is a second cat is actually the resonator. All EA82's have a single cat as far as I know - even my sedan which was a CA feedback carb model has only one. Certainly not for me - both the on ramps two blocks from my house are uphill and I usually have to slow down from 60+ to merge as the traffic doesn't always comply with my desired speed in the slow lane. At any rate I actually feel that my sedan is quite quick for what it is - comparativly I felt it was an accident waiting to happen with the stock Hitachi when I got it. It wouldn't as easily maintain higher freeway speeds, and the low end grunt for things like uphill merging just wasn't there. The Weber and the SPFI are both excelent in my experience however. It really doesn't take much of a problem to lose 20% engine power.... in any vehicle. It's just that with the EA82's 20% is the difference between a decent, average car, and being run over. Take 20% of the power off a modern engine like the EJ25 and you still have enough power that someone who isn't familair with the vehicle may never know anything is wrong with it at all. That's the reason the EA series engines have such a bad reputation for being underpowered - they really aren't all that bad, but most have something wrong with them after 20 years that makes them seem worse than they really are. GD

Now here I think you have hit on something worth taking into account. I have an 86 carbed sedan which I installed a Weber on - the engine is original, and has 238,000 miles on it. It is currently my daily driver and find that it actually has an amazing amount of power. My SPFI Brat will beat it for sure, but that engine is rated 6 HP higher and the body is lighter. But the sedan moves more than adequately for a daily driver. I don't have any trouble merging, or maintaining 55 or 65 MPH up long grades even in 5th gear. Anyone familair with Portland knows the grade going from downtown to the Beaverton area via Hwy 26 - I can maintain 55 MPH up that grade in 5th gear the whole way, and I can pull it at 65 in 4th if I desire. Compare that to my ex-girlfriends 86 Hitachi carbed EA82 wagon that couldn't even pull it at 40 to 45 - I did a lot of work to that engine and never did figure out what it's problem was. I have a feeling though that the timing belt crank sprockets may have been reversed. Either that or the Hitachi had issues that I never resolved. It was gutless beyond beleif and I knew it couldn't be right....... I have to say that this $100 sedan I got on a whim from some dude's yard has treated me very well, and restored my faith in the viability of the EA82 N/A engine as a simple reliable tool to get the job done. I would say you just have an as-yet undiagnosed problem that's robbing a good percentage of your power because even with the older 84 HP carbed EA82 I don't find it scary to drive, or underpowered anymore than I do your average minivan for example. GD

Engine doesn't matter - tranmission does. EA81 transmissions, as well as later 2WD 5 speeds use a two-peice bearing assembly with the bearing pressed onto a cast peice with ears that contact the clutch fork. Dealer I beleive sells them already assembled to the holder..... I think NAPA does as well. The cost is significantly higher than reusing the old holder but the savings in labor is worth it probably. GD

Says the man that's never done the swap.... Let me ASSURE you that 130 HP is a LOT for the weight of the Loyale. You will easily smoke all 4 with an AWD trans. I would not put the EJ in front of a non-lifted 5 speed D/R. Perhaps an RX FT4WD box if I had one, but most definately not the part time box. It's too much power and could easily damage it. An EJ25 with 180 HP would disintigrate the EA 5 speed in short order. As a poor example..... I put an EA82 SPFI engine from a 93 Loyale in my Brat - a vehicle with only 74 HP upgraded to 90. That's a mere 16 HP increase in stock form, and the EA81 had a Weber prior to the swap. The thing is now quite fast - faster than it needs to be, and plenty fast to easily get me in trouble. It will do 100 MPH flat out, and probably more. It will be scary with my planned EJ22 swap and ANOTHER 40 HP. I can't see it holding to the pavement without AWD as it can barely take off now without melting the tires on the 5 speed D/R I installed at the same time. HP is one of those strange intangible elements that is often overstated - people claim huge HP benefits for things like Weber installs, etc. But between an EA81 with a Weber and an SPFI EA82 there exists a BIG difference. A Weber adds nothing to the EA81 other than throttle response and low-end torque. Peak power is unchanged. GD

Interesting - perhaps the ones I've seen were converted. Would make sense when the 3AT goes south. GD

Ah - didn't realize you bought seals without the lip. All the seals I've used (including Timken) have a dust lip (including you own dissasembly pictures). The OEM install in the FSM shows the dust lip facing outward from both seals. Perhaps you got seals without the lip, but I certainly wouldn't run without them - too much brake dust in that area. GD

That was the coupe - only the Turbo's were 4WD, and thus were single range 3AT's. GD

Ross is correct - the lip goes to the outside on all the ones I've done. GD

Your's are by far the best I've seen - I'll definately take two for me if you can... GD

I've seen a few. They weren't real common, but then none of the EA series "sedans" were common. Wagons and Hatch's were the most common. GD

Junk. This is a supercharged EA81 (200 HP dyno): GD

No worries - just tear into it and you'll be fine. GD

Could be a vast number of things - anything from loose leading rods, to bad tranny mounts, to loose axle nuts, to strut tops, to..... etc, etc. I've experienced no fewer than half a dozen reasons for "poping" or "clunking" when taking off. Just the nature of loose suspension components. You'll just have to troubleshoot and try to narrow it down. GD

It happens, and does happen, with every parts retailer and etailer on the planet. The way they handle the situation when it arises is the key. I've used them with good results but haven't had to return anything so YMMV. They have a decent reputation and you don't get that unless you create satisfied customers the vast preponderance of the time. For the parts that are easily screwed up (like clutch kits) I tend to go B&M with my purchases. I want to lay eyes on the part before I leave the shop.... and the shipping cost for a full clutch kit isn't usually a pleasant sensation on my anal sphincter. GD

Frankly MMO and Seafoam are both just heavy detergent oils. ATF works the same way but I trust it's lubricating properties more (there's specifications that ATF has to meet - there are none for these "miricle" products). Try cleaning your engine bay with ATF . Plus it's cheap. Buy the Seafoam or MMO if you must but the results (for this application) will be the same. It's only a few $$ either way but I like to keep my inventory of fluids small, and I can use the ATF in the power steering system too. The cam case o-rings are availible from the dealer, or from thepartsbin.com. Rockauto's shipping prices are too high for me. Try subaruparts.com or 1stsubaruparts.com - both are dealerships IIRC. Changing them isn't that big of a deal once you are already doing the timing belts - you just remove cam and it's case (8 - 12mm bolts), and then the rest is cleaning and reinstallation. I prefer RTV for the cam cases as that is what the FSM calls for. Anerobic is used by some, but it's very costly, and doesn't fill the groove in the cam case well enough for me. Careful application of RTV and allowing it to cure for a few hours before attempting to start the engine will insure that none of it breaks off and enters the lubrication system. GD

It's really preferable to use a relay rather than a button as it retains 100% stock functionality - many vehicles use a relay for this function anyway. Relays are very simple things - don't be afraid to learn about them. GD

You should definately do the cam case oil passage rings while you are that far into the engine. It's only 8 bolts per side, and some RTV to put them back. The o-rings themselves are like $3 each. They are a metal reinforced o-ring as the originals were not and will collapse and suck air. GD

Run Chevron 10w40. The higher mileage EA82's do better with the higher viscosity - helps with the pressure and the ticking. You can add 1 quart of Dexron ATF in place of a quart of oil if the ticking is persistent, but the real fix is to replace the oil pump seals, and the cam case oil passage o-rings to get the pressure up, and keep the air out of the oiling system. A new pump may even be required. I prefer to fix the ticking as it will eventually become irrepairable without rebuilt lifters. Air causes them to compress and uncompress rapidly, and while they will never fail, they will wear to a point where they will tick forever as the wear will not allow them to hold pressure. No - it will not "kill" anything. Your rod bearings will fail before a lifter goes (poor oil pressure, and Fram filters will contribute to rod failure). GD

No - that was left to the dealer/owner. Undercoating is ultra rare here on the left coast, and usually didn't help on the right. Glad your's is doing it's job. GD

Just ask for an 85 to 89 GL Wagon 5 speed 4WD transmission. Don't tell them what you *really* want it for cause they won't understand and don't need to know anyway. The 5 speed you want was *most often* found in wagons - the coupe 5 speed usually has a higher low range, and the sedans were rarely 4WD at all. Ask them for the clutch if they have it, and be specific that you want a GL transmission - the DL's were single range without the low gear. There should be a write up on it in the online repair manual - at the top of the page click the "USRM" link. As Bucky92 says - Subaru's are very, very easy to work on when you get used to their layout. Far easier than any other front wheel drive design because the engine isn't transverse. I find myself cursing and swearing anytime I have to work on a non-subaru. And I came from being a mechanic in the Army. GD