GeneralDisorder

Gee, I don't know..... maybe THIS: Not to mention the title of his post: "Earth physics and car..".... not SUBARU, but "CAR". He's asking what we think of this "spot" and if it effects cars in general - not what he can do to fix his subaru. Besides which people are blindly referencing the SPFI SB, when he doesn't even drive an SPFI anymore - he WRECKED it. Jeez - do I have to spell it out slowly? M. E. N. T. A. L. I. L. L. N. E. S. S. But this really belongs in off-topic or some physics forum somewhere. It's not subaru specific, and the question isn't even dealing with the car, but rather the earth's effect on said car when traveling over it. GD

He's claiming it's happening with: 1 carbed EA82 1 SPFI EA82 1 4.3L GM 1 Bicycle. So the SPFI long right hand sweeping turn oil consumption SB doesn't really apply now does it? I'm guessing he's hearing the suspension articulate in way that *sounds* like an engine issue to his (obviously highly calibrated ) ear. Or the tire hits a hollow spot in the pavement, or a slight dip or rise or something. It's obvious that it's not related to the vehicle, so there is either another logical explantion, or he's hearing things (quite possible given the track record here). And what in the natural world does this have to do with old gen, or Subaru's in general? Just cause he was riding in one? Cmon - this is rediculous. Can someone get this junk over to a proper forum?!? GD

Cool - well I guess I need to hook mine up, or drop a tube down under the car. Good thing I change my oil regular like. Thanks for the references - good info. GD

I see what you are saying. The valve would provide some exra flow for fresh air into the passenger side valve cover, but it would have to be hooked up to the valve covers such that one is attached to the PCV, and the other sucks clean air for it to work. Most hot-rods aren't setup that way, and the use of valve cover breather filters is pretty commonplace. I don't see it as being a huge issue. You don't see crankcase explosions from bad PCV valves. They just cause blown seals generally. The pumping action of the pistons creates a swirling action of the air in the crankcase, and it's going to do some fresh air exchange - the PCV would help it to do more, but I don't see it as being horribly detrimental to not have it. GD

Not a lot - I used to use the carb pump in my sedan to redistribute my free gas ability at my last job to all three of my rigs in like 5 gallon increments. It would take like 10-15 minutes for it to pump out 5 gallons. The pressure is like 2.5 psi, and it really doesn't move a lot of fuel at that pressure due to the small line diameter. More fuel at a low pressure like that would really require larger lines. GD

There's a FPCU (fuel pump control unit) attached right above the hood release cable bracket under the dash. It supplies power to the fuel pump only durring cranking, and by using the tach pulse from the coil, when the engine is running. If the engine stops turning, the pump stops pumping. Safety feature in case of an accident. It does provide a short (like 2 seconds) run of the pump when the key hits the "on" posistion, but by the time you get back there to check the voltage it will be gone. GD

"super" invisible? Wouldn't just plain "invisible" do? If the ground is in fact invisible, then I would put a call in to the authorities - I'm betting the FBI probably has an X-File on such things, and may want to have a speak with you. Could be an alien landing site - those are known to cause strange earth anomalies. BTW - since this does not relate to subaru's by your own admission, you should post it in off-topic. Or better yet - find a forum on physics. GD

Yeah - that's how I understand it anyway. Plus when a sealed piston travels up in the cylinder, it displaces exhaust gases out of the cylinder (which is somewhat offset by other cylinders that are travleing downward in their bore's, but it creates airflow anyway), and at the same time it sucks fresh air into the crankcase from the breather tubes in the valve covers. Blow-by is only a small fraction of the composition of what's inside the crankcase - with open breather ports, it's mostly composed of fresh air. GD

That makes no sense to me. If the crankcase "breathes" (and in a real sense it does - it pulls air in and out as the pistons pump) then it is exchangeing air through the valve covers. What action keeps it from exchanging the acidic portions of the crankcase air? "pressure" causes air to move. So "overpressure" is going to move the air around - and it's not a small amount of air either, so I just can't see a way for those gasses to build up with the constant pressure and airflow. GD

As a custom trike, I doubt he has to pass any inspections. The moisture thing just doesn't seem to be a problem in practice. If you were only taking short trips all the time there are many other problems that would get the engine before a bit of condensation would - especially with regular bi-monthly oil changes, which would be required for a vehicle with that sort of usage pattern. As for it "needing" the suction of the intake, the pumping action of the pistons creates a positive flow of air in and out of the breather tubes on the valve covers. I once put a rag over the breather tubes as a makeshift filter, but the backpressure was too great, and the poorly fitting drivers side cam seal was pushed out of the block creating a HUGE oil leak. Put your hand up to the breather tube sometime, and you'll see what I mean. Perhaps it's the opposed cylinder oreintation that creates this flow effect, but at any rate, manifold vacuum is not needed to "pull" the gasses out - they will evacuate on their own provided the the breather tubes are not blocked. GD

I see what nipper is driving at, but really, a bit of condensate inside an engine that is run regularly, or garaged should not make any difference. 180 degree engine temp will drive out any small amounts of condensate rather quickly once the engine reaches operating temp. Also, condensation will genererally collect on the filter element, and not actually make it inside the engine. As a theory, I see what you are driving at, but for a garaged Trike in CA, I can't possibly see this being a problem in practice. Also, I am pretty sure emmissions aren't going to matter for him either. Also, since I'm a really lazy gbastard, the valve cover hoses on my sedan have been OPEN (no filter at all, and no PCV valve connection) for the last 15,000 miles, and I've changed the oil 4 times so far and there is NO evidence of any contamination in the valve covers or anywhere else. And the car is outside all the time, and I live in a wet, wet climate. GD

Mine had the horizon stripe, but not the Brat lettering. Just about anytime is good for me. Being unemployed has that advantage. GD

Thank you for the clarification and the pics. Accurate information is most welcome. I too have noticed that the "pin" in the crank pulley is not always there. My 86 doesn't have one, but with the N/A's it doesn't seem to matter much. GD

Yeah - just as long as you use some filters on the valve cover breather tubes you'll be fine. The PCV, besides being useful for emissions, is also very useful when "sealing" an engine against weather intrusion. Having the valve covers loop back to the intake with a one way check valve is the most appropriate solution if you are putting on a snorkel, and are going through some deep puddles. For trike I can't see this being an issue though. Just thought I would toss that out in case anyone reads this and thinks it's ok to get some bling "V8" style mini-filters for his valve covers and then go hit the deep stuff. GD

Do you need one that already has the graphics on it? Mine needs some body work and paint before I go putting the graphics on, but if you want measurements and what not, that's no problem. I have a friend with an 82 that is pretty cherry - he would probably be up for it as well. I'm in West Linn, and he's in NE. GD

Ya know, if that thing is running well enough that you think you can make it back to your tools, go shopping for one of those solar battery trickle chargers. Neat to have anyway, and might just solve your problem long enough. Dealer doesn't carry the rectifier's - they just replace entire alt's. You will have to source the rectifier through another source. But if you don't have tools to dissasemble the alternator with..... a replacement alt (hopefully with a lifetime warrantee) would probably be the best bet. Go with a parts chain you have near your home, and you'll probably be good to go. Get a small cheap set of tools to keep in the car with you too if you go that route. Best to have at least a few tools just in case - especially with older cars (of any brand). GD

From some places. I see at least 2 to 5 every day, and those are just the one's I notice. It seems that *most* sedans are 2WD for some reason. It's comparitively rare to see a 4WD sedan. The 4WD ones I see are mostly turbo's. I did see a 4WD Loyale sedan a few weeks ago. But 4WD D/R sedan's like mine don't seem to be very common. I guess the people looking for 4WD were mostly in the market for wagons for the added cargo space for camping and such. I see hundreds of wagons every week, lots of sedans, and relatively few coupes. Not seeing a lot of EA81's anymore, but still the occasional hatch or wagon. GD

There's a whole ground wire system, and there's quite a few pins on the ECU usually that go to "ground". What that generally means is they all meet up and get grounded through one bigger ground wire. On the SPFI it's the wire to one of the manifold bolts (or thermostat housing), and then there's another that grounds through the coil bracket/engine block ground at the coolant pipe mount off the water pump. I'm guessing the EA81T is probably similar in it's routing. What I'm saying is you aren't neccesarily looking for a lot of grounds, but probably just one or two where all the ground wires meet up and flow to a single connection to the engine block. GD

The point is that the belt ribs are NOT "supposed" to line up, and this is NOT a factory "mistake". The difference in the belt routing (and thus the length) from the crank to each cam sprocket makes them completely seperate entities. Their alignment in relation to one another has no correlation what-so-ever. It is PURELY a function of the belt ribbing size, and the distance the belt must travel between the crank and cam. Which is different for passenger and driver cam's. This is just more irrational crap from BDG. He is unable to understand that the two belts, and cams are 100% seperate from one another, and so assumes that it must be a conspiracy against 2WD sedans. It's utter non-sense. GD

Sometimes they are a real pain to get out. I have a special tool (very, very special), and so I haven't tried to make any. I would think a peice of bar stock with a hook bent in one end could reach through and pull the pin out. Sometimes they slide right out, other times they require pretty strong hammering to knock em loose. Carfreak85 had this problem a while ago - might ask him how he handled it. The factory tool is a slide hammer setup IIRC. Mine is a split arbor tool that's very unique, but it's not something you can buy. Mine was made by Shadow on his mini-lathe. I think he made three of them total, and one was for himself GD

Flywheel/Clutch Tranny (85 to 89 if you want a D/R) Tranny cross-member and mounts Front section of the driveline (rear section is the same) Linkage/console Pedal assembly/clutch cable Rear diff if it's not already 3.9 Possibly the front axles if they aren't already 23 spline. If they are 25 spline then they won't fit the N/A tranny. They will fit a turbo 5 speed, but not the typical D/R. If you are already swapping out a bad tranny, then it's really only a couple extra hours to do the full 5 speed swap. It's completely a bolt up, with the only change being you have to jumper two pins on the automatic shifter plug to disable the park switch that prevents the starter from engaging. GD

You need to replace the rubber return lines as well. The SPFI fuel pump for example puts out 50 psi of pressure, and a TON of fuel. The regulator on the side of the TB steps the pressure down to 21 psi, and you STILL have 21 psi of pressure in the return system. Think of the fuel supply on the FI vehicles this way: It's a river of fuel flowing by at high speed, and high pressure. The TB regulator just "drinks" from the flowing river of fuel. The pressure in the supply and return are equal and thus both require the same high pressure hose. Go to a junk yard and puncture the return line of an FI subaru.... you'll find out real quick that there's plenty of pressure on both sides The vent lines are not pressureized. They simply carry fuel vapor to the carbon collector. Regular non-FI hose is fine. The hard lines are fine - the 20 year old steel lines in my Brat haven't shown any trouble carrying the FI pressure. And they are plenty large enough. You do have to step the sizes up from the tank to the pump. But really, this should be done at the surge tank fittings anyway. The tank in my Brat has no baffleing as it was carbed, and the FI does not like sucking air when the tank sloshes at stop lights and such. I have "ran out" of fuel before my fuel light even came on because the pump sucked air when the fuel sloshed around. If you sit for a minute and let the tank settle down it will restart, but it's annoying to not be able to use the last 2-3 gallons in the tank. A small surge tank will solve the problem. I found a web article where a guy made one from a houshold tap water filter canistor from home depot. I'm probably going to go that route as no one really sells anything appropriate for our application. GD

And what resistor is that? On the SPFI there's the coil bracket (ignitor transistor), and there's a capacitor in the wireing harness (black rectangular unit) for the coil ground..... but there's no resistor on an SPFI coil. Are you talking about the carbed coil, or maybe you are refering to the ignitor on the bracket (it's not a resistor though)? GD

Not really - you need to pull the piston wrist pins to get the block halves to come apart. Some say you can get to the rod bolts with the halves only split a little, but I couldn't on the EA81's I've taken apart. GD

Any chance you left the parking lights on? The switch on top of the column.... You shouldn't be seeing the AC voltage, but sometimes with an older alt you will get a little AC current riding on top of the DC. If it's not enough to make the indicator lamps on the dash glow (brake fluid, etc) then it's probably not enough to stop you from using the alt till you can source a replacement. Your mileage may vary though GD