GeneralDisorder

Apparently YOU need to learn to search too. I said I have covered it. That means search for keywords AND my board name. And no, I don't like repeating myself. I've done too much of it. Take a look at my post count. We cover stuff such as this way too often and there should be a FAQ. But no one that runs this place has done it. There's FAR more information availible with a simple search than we can cover in just this thread. It's best to narrow your search criterion and read all the applicable threads. You will get more info that way. How many new threads do you see me make? 99.5% of all my posts are answering someone's question because either I know from experience, or I already did the search myself. GD

People need to learn to use it. We cover this stuff like weekly. GD

I wasn't refering to the feedback ECU. There's others. GD

Might have to have a chat with you Rob. I could use a new DD. If you are up around 2 am I'll be online. I only need one, but maybe that will put you in a position to fix one of the others. GD

Probably an intermittant TPS issue then. I would test it. GD

Did you follow the procedure - holding the pedal down, return to half throttle for 2 second, and then start and drive for at least 1 minute? Then after you have driven it, let it idle for a while and see if it pulls a code. GD

D-Check. GD

86 was a weird year - that was the introduction year of the SPFI (only on 2WD's). After they did away with carbs they changed it to "Check Engine". GD

Yes - EA81 oil pumps drive at 1/2 crank speed as they are driven off the cam. The pumps are similar in design and all other things being equal one would expect the EA82 pump to produce higher pressures. But the EA82 has more demand on it's oiling system with it's hydrualic lifters located farther from the pump, and it has more failure points with it's cam case o-rings and pump mickey-mouse gasket. It's also important to note that the EA82 pumps do need to be replaced just like the EA81 pumps. Many people argue for "just reseal them" but that is not always adequate. The pump pressure degrades over time. All the EA series engines I've owned were capable of 20+ psi hot idle with a decent pump, new seals, and new sending unit or mechanical gauge. Any less than 15 and I start looking for the reason. Having a rod come out the top of the block will do that to a man. :cool: GD

CEL is for fuel injection. ECS is for carb. GD

All years are not the same. GD

Swap the relays. GD

The connectors consist of a single wire from the ECU, and a ground wire. So the proper terminal (there's two) on the ECU gets grounded and that tells the ECU it should be in Ucheck, Dchech, Readmem, or Clearmem. All you need is Dcheck for setting the timing, but it's very important to have all the modes availible when you need them. They are insturmental in being able to diagnose problems effeciently, and in some cases there really isn't any other way since some codes can come only from driving with it in Dcheck. Sometimes a fault will only set a code while in Dcheck so that without it you will just have a strange operating condition but no code at all. The very first step in troubleshooting much of the system is to put it in Dcheck and run it though the diagnostic procedure. I don't recall which wires go to the connectors however. I may get a chance to look at one of my harnesses later tonight, but I'm not sure. GD

Once you put the ECU in test mode the timing is locked. Timing is set to 20 degrees for the SPFI system regardless of RPM (test mode locks it to 20 even if the engine isn't at idle), but the idle RPM should be 700 to 800. As for the pin - well shame on you for cutting the test connectors out of the harness. I guess you'll just have to figure it out. This will help some (from my write up): http://home.comcast.net/~trilinear/EA81_SPFI/ECU_pinout.jpg You don't need a timing light either - just set the flywheel to 20, and point the rotor at the #1 plug wire. There's not enough predetonation in all the land to break an EA rod in half. Their burst speed is well up into the 11,000+ RPM range. Short, stubby, and very thick. You would collapse the ring lands on the piston first or blow holes in it. But none of this ever happens with N/A engines. Only forced induction. As for your "concern" about BTDC - that's basic engine theory. The desire is for the flame front of the burning intake charge (which starts at the top of the cylinder) to reach the top of the piston just as the piston reaches TDC. In order for this to happen the fuel must be ignited BEFORE the piston reaches that point so the two can meet in the middle. The faster the piston travels, the more advance is required for them to meet at the right point. The piston's speed is variable, but the intake charge burn rate is not. Therefore the ignition must be set off at different times to accomidate varying engine speeds. "predetonation" occurs when either the ignition is advanced too far ("ping"), or when the fuel spontaneously ignites due to high compression (diesel engine for example) or from excess heat. GD

A lot of our officers are quite nice. My windshield has been cracked for like.... well ever since I got it in fact. I've been pulled over three times - twice by the Portland/Metro PD's, and once by a podunk female officer in some two hick town south of Salem.... only one that gave me trouble was the hick town officer. Said she would write me a ticket if I drove by her a second time with it like that even though I promised to fix it on my next payday () - that wasn't good enough for her despite the fact that I told her I wouldn't be able to afford it till then. I haven't been back there in that car since, but I've been pulled over twice by the Portland PD, and haven't had a problem. Just a friendly "warning". I've recently discovered that I have all the qualifications for the Police. And the starting wage is $40,000 - increasing to $70,000 at 5 years. Seems like a good way to go for me. They are lately concerned with hireing people that have "customer service" skills. I guess with the recent bout of folks being tazered, they have had to change their hireing priorities some. GD

Incomplete. LIQUID's don't compress, but steam will. A hot engine will vaporize small amounts of water and effectively steam clean the cylinders - same thing happens when you have a HG leak into a cylinder. Water injection was used in many WWII piston fighters - it lowers the intake charge temp similar to an intercooler. Anyway, all of this talk of carbon is foolishness - your problem isn't remotely related. You just need to adjust your timing, idle speed, and idle mixture. As I said - do a search - I've covered this many times. GD

I'm looking at applying for the Potland Police department right now in fact. I won't deny that I'll probably be quite biased when it comes to old-school soobs . GD

Ground issues will almost always dim both headlights. It's most likely a bad relay (if it's not a fuse) - swap the two headlight relays under the dash. If the other side goes dim then you need to replace one of them. GD

Most places dont. That's cool if they can do it, but it's all acedemic as it's not worth the cost unless it's your only option. And even then the money would better be spent on an EJ22 conversion. Sadly I don't forsee there ever being a need to *fix* major EA82 problems. Hi-Po EA81's and EJ22's are far superior in many (different) respects. The EA82 just isn't the engine of choice for discriminating owners willing to outlay that kind of cash. The EA82 will soon be marginalized as they are systematically destroyed by scrap yards, or replaced by EJ22's for street, and Hi-Po EA81's for off-road. It has many qualities, but they are sadly lost in a sea of inadequacies both in performance, and to a lesser extent maintenance-free reliability. Don't get me wrong - I own two of them ATM - but given the choice you are faced with I wouldn't hessitate to do the EJ swap if the vehicle really is worth that kind of money input. GD

Do a search, I've covered this many times. GD

Not if they don't have a bore plate for the engine, which I seriously doubt they do. Sure they can bore it - but it won't be correct. This is a bore plate (or deck plate as RAM refers to it): http://ramengines.com/db4/00320/ramengines.com/_uimages/deckplate2.JPG GD

EA81T's had oil coolers - no extra pumps required. You just need an adaptor that fits between the oil filter and the pump to facilitate a cooler. Do a search it's been discussed before - there's been a group buy in the past on the adaptors IIRC. GD

Yeah - the SPFI isn't so bad once you understand it's needs. It's not the system that has a problem, but rather the badly translated FSM's that make me scratch my head in wonder when trying to follow their troubleshooting. They are badly organized, with pertinant information often being located no where near the section it needs to be in. Basically you have to read the thing cover to cover, and then read between the lines to infer the information you actually need. Engrish sucks! GD

It *can* be done. But very, very few shops are properly equipped for it. The problem is that the sleeves, once installed, must be bored to the proper size and trueness, with the proper surface prep. This can only be properly done with a bore-plate - a 4" thick steel plate that simulates the head being torqued to the block. No one but a few shops like CCR or RAM have this sort of equipment - thus most attemts to sleeve these engines that don't include this crucial step fail in short order. Subaru engines even from the 80's have extremely tight tollerances - someone used to rebuilding american engines of the same period will not produce an engine that will last very long. GD

They can't easily be sleeved. They just aren't condusive to it - those that have tried ended up with the sleeves spinning in short order. GD