GeneralDisorder

It's not that bad - about 6 hour total. I just did the one on my Sedan. I took parts of two days to do it as I went to the home cheapo and got some auto/marine grade weather stripping and replaced the foam on some of the ducting. It's actually nice to clean all the duct work anyway - I cleaned everything with pine-sol, and removed even more mouse nest over in the drivers side fresh air intake. It's nice to not have ANY piss smell at all. Smells like a clean car inside now. GD

Yep - no MAF. It uses the onboard MAP, plus O2, Coolant Temp, And Intake Air Temp (same GM $8 sensor for both temps). And of course the throttle posistion sensor. The new version 3 stuff can control all your stock igntion setups too - it can even signal a regular coil like such as the EA series engines used, and can work with both types of FI distributors - hall-effect with mechanical advance, and CAS from the hot-wire cars. Stock MAP sensor can also handle forced induction up to 25 psi boost, and sensors are availible that can handle up to 40 psi. GD

Yeah - that's a good point. I hadn't noticed that. Guess I was too busy trying to get the new core in with this freezing rain So it looks like the coolant is forced through half the core, around the bend on the other tank, then through the other half, and back out. So back flushing might do some good. Still need a LOT of pressure as those small tubes are going to turn your spray into a lot of little..... thinking about hooking up my pressure washer, and feeding it with the hot water tank in the garage GD

If I had to guess, I would say the XT6 ones are probably geared differently. EA81's used the same FWD manual too.... so really that tranny hasn't changed since like 1980. GD

Wireing diagrams 83 and 84 are near identical except the 84 includes the turbo, and in 83 that was a seperate manual. I have both and they cover pretty much all the same stuff. I would buy the 84 even if you have an 83 as it's going to be pretty much the same. If you need the whole EA81 series, 80, 82, and 84 are really the only manuals you need. GD

You don't have to program anything - you just have to setup the engine parameters. Fuel and timing maps - it's just a matter of plugging number into a chart. If you build a small air/fuel ratio meter and use your timing light to record the timing at various RPM's before you pull the engine it will give you some idea of what subaru had it setup for. Then you just use a cheap laptop on the passenger seat and dial it in by the seat of your pants. Wiring is super easy since the MS uses an onboard MAP sensor. The rest of the stuff is fairly minimal, and if you get a relay board, and one of the pre-made wireing harnesses it's really simple. All the wires are labeled - it's printed every 8" or something right on the wire. GD

You really should just get Fel-Pro HG's, and dealer for the other few you need - you are going to kick yourself later. Trust me. GD

GCK axles - Brand new from Autozone are about $100 no core. Beleive me, they are the best. www.gck.com 23 spline is what you need. GD

Replace your fuel filters. If that doesn't cover it, then you have a problem with your accelerator pump, or you have a partially sticking float. Either way it warrants a carb rebuild. GD

You are in Portland - land of the Subaru. Head over to Foster U-Pull-It and grab one for $25. GD

EA81T is 95 HP. Your Loyale is 90. Waste of time for 5 HP, and a huge mess to put it in. The Brat is probably an 81 GL. That's the only year of the Gen 1's that came as a D/R. The EA81T will take a lot of work to fit in there - steering linkage is in the way, and the crossmember won't fit the exhaust, etc. Plus it would be a shame to modify an 81 GL as they are really rare. I say put a 5 speed in the 84 turbo and drive it. Pass on the Brat unless it's in decent shape and cheap. Gen 1's aren't very popular. Or get both and keep all three. At any rate the EA81T is not a very good candidate for transplant into anything. It would suck in the Loyale as you would lose low-end torque (low comp. turbo engine), and gain only 5 HP at near 5000 RPM. You wouldn't notice it at all. GD

Propane would be a better alternative, and might actually save you money instead of costing more. E85 hasn't come into it's own yet. There may come a time when it's cheaper, but so far it's not. GD

No special changes need to be made to use E85 as far as the engine is concerned (other than compression). The problems will be with the fuel system. GD

Runs fine - just increase the base timing setting a bit for the lower comp. Maybe 22 degrees or so. GD

Yeah - I have chrome rings for my EA81 - commonly availble. GD

The MAF's are completely different (as in different theory of operation - one uses a hot wire, and the other a flapper door), as are the distributors, so the ECU, and the parts of the wireing harness used for those components are too. Most other parts probably would interchange fine. GD

Totally. I can cut with at a torch, but for some stuff - like EJ to EA adaptor plates, etc accuracy is key. I have some interesting ideas for suspension bits too. Might be a couple parts I could use. I just cut up a whole loyale with my sawzall so I've got a frickin driveway full of them too Hey - you don't by any chance have a good way to remove a windshield from it's frame on a Loyale?? No worries as the frame isn't part of the car anymore , but this thing was put in like last year by a glass shop, and MAN is it in there. The goop they used is hard as a coffin nail. GD

They are junk - only slightly better than saran wrap, or duct tape. GD

Nothing in particular - just curious what the plan was for it. Parts is parts Right on - I've got the skills, but sometimes lack the more specialized tools. I've got a couple welders, and access to torches and such, but a plasma cutter for certain specific stuff can really be nice. If you like, I'll help you setup a CNC plasma table. I'm also a software engineer.... GD

Yeah - the CA emissions model had "feedback" carbs. It's got an ECU, and a couple sensors. It uses rapidly switched "duty solenoids" to adjust the high speed and low speed mixture settings of the carb. Look at the "crotch" of your y-pipe. If you have an 02 sensor like the later fuel injected models, then you have a feedback carb. If the "ESC" light is comming on after driving for a bit it means the ECU has detected a fualt somewhere. It's usually either the 02 sensor, or the Coolant Temp Sensor. Both of which are cheap ($20 or so) and could easily be causing you to lose 5 mpg. The ECU is under the dash (black box attached to the steering column), and if you remove the kick panel and drive it till the lamp comes on it will flash the codes in long and short flashes from the front of the ECU. Count the flashes and tell me what you find - I can tell you what the code means. GD

Yeah - I think that maybe the problem with them is the cheap aftermarket rebuild kits. The float needle and seat assembly seem to be cheap, and I think that is the source of the sticking. It's a really tough problem since you can't really see into the chamber to tell what the cause is, and once you take the top off it's not stuck anymore. I had one that ran so perfect it could have been brand new - and then one day the float would stick. Would run fine for months then stick at the worst possible time. I finally just threw it in the dumpster, and I run Weber's and SPFI on all mine now. Check out my SPFI write up: http://home.comcast.net/~trilinear/EA81_SPFI.html GD

Oh - and probably should note that you need one from a turbo. Non-turbo will not clear the exhaust. That narrows down the donor cars considerably. GD

At this point it's not important as the information really applies to both. Pobably just want to ask other questions over in new gen. GD

Directly from Fel-Pro: http://www.enjoythedrive.com/content/?id=25826 "The surface finish should be fairly uniform across the entire face of the head and block. In other words, the RA finish should not vary more than 20 percent from one area to another." "Too rough a surface finish can also be hard on the gasket itself. A rough finish has more 'bite' and digs into the gasket more aggressively. This can increase the scuffing and shearing the gasket undergoes as the engine heats up and cools down." "If the surface finish is too smooth [less than 54 RA], it may not provide enough bite to hold and seal a head gasket securely. There can also be movement between the gasket and metal, causing the gasket to abrade and leak." "As a rule, the smoother the surface finish, the better. When the surface is rougher than about 113 RA (125 RMS), there are too many peaks and valleys on the metal's surface to seal properly. The gasket may not cold seal and could leak coolant and/or compression." ..... Basically, you need a finish of about 60 to 80 RA for the conventional graphite gaskets. The MLS gaskets in the newer EJ's need a finish as smooth as 20 RA. Herein lies the problem. A decent mill with a two blade cutter can produce RA as low as 10 or 12. Far TOO smooth in fact for a normal graphite gasket to "grip". Great if you are building up the new Ford engines that require RA of 15 or so, but bad for us older EA owners. A good shop needs to know that you need a ROUGHER surface than normal - belt sanding with an #80 grit silica carbide belt will land you in about the right RA range for an EA head. You CANNOT see these differences. You need a meter for it - it's a tool that drags a diamond tipped stylus across the metal. Touch, feel, looking at it cross-eyed in the light of a full moon, etc are not viable options for testing this. GD

It could work - wouldn't have near the power of the EJ22T in stock form though. Best bet is to go MegaSquirt and forget about the disty. Then you can run any engine you want. GD