GeneralDisorder

I second the mechanical secondary - much more "sporty" feeling than the vacuum units. That's one of the benefits to the weber over the Hitachi... along with being larger, and simpler in design. Although I prefer this: My plan is to offer some partial and full kits for the EA81/EA82 coversion fairly soon. GD

Oh! - yeah you could do that. Good luck finding one though. GD

There's really not much on the EA81 that can make that knocking noise other than a tossed rod - do a comp. check first thing. Harbor Frieght has comp. guages for like $10 if you need one. Or even pull the plugs, and use a drinking straw to verify that all the pistons are even moving..... GD

Check your exhaust for leaks. Probably just smelling exhaust. GD

Ok - in that case it sounds a lot like you snapped a rod. The metal hammering on metal, the loss of power, and the very rough idle.... sounds like a rod broke but didn't smash through the block like they usually do. Test each cylinder for compression. Drain the oil and see how many bits and peices you get out of it. Maybe you bent a push-rod, but that wouldn't really explain the continuous knocking. GD

Look under the engine at the exhaust - the ASV are large (3/4" or so) steel tubes that run from directly above the y-pipe flange, to an ASV valve on top of the engine. You probably have a functional ASV on the drivers side, and a blank spacer plate on the drivers side. That's the usual setup for a CA emmissions EA81. But look to make sure. You will see the plate - it's about 1" thick, and it's sandwitched between the head, and the y-pipe flange. Being you are in CA, you need to give CCR as much info as possible to insure you will have everything you need to pass. GD

Wait.... you have an EA81 in an 87 wagon? You *sure* this isn't an EA82? EA82's have timing belts.... GD

Any help you need is right here on the board. Feel free to PM me or contact me on MSN messenger if you use it. Once you have completed a timing belt job, I'm sure you will feel able to do almost anything to your soob. GD

That part is pretty easy. EA82 SPFI bolts on. GD

But he has an EA82T - it's an XT. GD

Valve covers have no breather line? That doesn't seem right. If the crankcase can't breathe the pressure will push oil past the rings and it will be burnt - that might explain the residue on your exhaust... GD

PCV (positive crankcase ventilation) keeps the crankcase from being pressurized by the pistons. It's a one-way check valve that allows the crankcase to breathe into the manifold. This keeps the combustion gasses that leak into the case from getting out into the atmosphere. Sometimes these valves can have a weak spring (or get stuck with carbon build up) and the engine vacuum will suck oil up through the valve covers into the intake and burn it. Since you have a manifold that does not have a PCV, this may not be your problem, but how are your breather tubes routed from the valve covers? Are they routed to the air cleaner or do they have their own filters like so many of the V8's like to do? Any evidence of leakage anywhere? The rings don't often fail on these engines.... if it's been rebuilt were the rings run-in properly to assure a good seal with the cylinders? How do the plugs look? Any evidence of oil fouling or burning? GD

Please - spread the love. I certainly try to... GD

I thread the nut on so that it protects the threads (just even with the top of the bolt threads), and then smack it with a copper hammer (I don't like brass except for drifts as it will shatter). This gives a nice dead blow, the copper deforms instead of the threads, and the added surface area of the nut and the bolt top keeps it from getting bunged up. GD

Loosen bolt, smack with hammer. GD

Wagon chop job - clearly a joke by the looks of it. The yellow wheel covers are pimp tho. GD

Not sure how common it is, but the FSM lists it as a possible poblem. When I was doing all my R&D into the SPFI (I'm about halfway through my write up - 10 pages of just text, no pics up yet), I did a pressure test and I noticed that if I crimped the return line the pressure would spike to 50 psi. Engine still ran, but the idle speed increased about 250 RPM when I crimped it. If the regulator was not keeping the pressure at 21, then the injector wouldn't be able to open (it might still drip some) and crimping the line will take the regulator out of the picture and dead-head the pump pushing the full 50 psi to the injector. Just don't run it this way for more than a few seconds. It didn't hurt anything when I did it, so I'm sure it will be fine for testing purposes. The disty is a possibility as it's an optical crank angle sensor with some fairly sensitive electronics inside it. It might have a problem with the optical pickup circuitry. GD

You can drill the strut tower on the EA81 to accept the 3-bolt legacy strut without any lift blocks or spacers, so that's no problem. The lower control arm has to be reemed out to accept the legacy knuckle style ball joint, but that's not really hard either. Or a custom control arm could be made with a some tubing and an old legacy arm. Tie rod ends should work fine with the legacy knuckles - the EA82 shares the same end ball joint (although the cast portion of the end itself is longer), and they work fine with the legacy knuckle. Brake lines should work basically the same. Something fancy would have to be worked out if you wanted a larger front sway bar as you are using the EA81 lower control arm still, and the legacy sway doesn't mount anywhere close to the same way. Rguyver showed me his solution at the show - he used an old sway bar from his Hemi Cuda, chopped the ends off and make a couple brackets for the control arms. GD

They won't - it's too unreliable for aircraft use. (timing belts ). So no one is willing to pay $15,000 for one to be built. It's also too wide, and too heavy. Broken t-belt at 10,000 feet would SuXor like you wouldn't beleive. And the head design, as well as the silly bolt system that holds it on, is not strong enough for that kind of power without major modifications. The EA81 has very strong heads, and already uses studs for the heads (higher torque is actually possible) Just get an EA81 if you want those parts. It will fit easily in an EA82 body. GD

Gotta love the closed deck, and head studs. Makes the EA82 look pretty pathetic by comparison. GD

Check out the fuel pressure - should be spot on 21 psi at the TB input. It sounds like the pressure regulator on the side of the TB may not be working. If that's the case it's easy to swap them. If you don't have a pressure gauge try this - crimp the fuel return line from the regulator with a pair of vice grips and some qaurters. If it starts shut it off IMMEDIATELY, but that will indicate a bad regulator. GD

Exactly - the rear suspension doesn't change at all in fact - only the hubs, rotors, and brakes get changed to accomidate the 5 lug rims. GD

The belts are not extremely difficult to replace. I would first remove the two outside belt covers and inspect them closer. They should be accesible with a small 10mm wrench or a ratchet and shallow 10mm socket. It can sometimes be hard to feel the belt through the inspection holes, as the belt is above the hole, and you have to use a good amount of finger to feel it. Even if the belt is still on, it's still a good idea to remove the cover and see if any of the teeth have stripped off the belt. That happens sometimes. GD

Bigger, better looking, and lighter rims, and ability to use legacy/impreza front struts mostly. As well as larger sway bars in the front. It's not easy with an EA81 if that's your plan. You wouldn't gain the sway bar options, and you need modifications to the lower control arm to fit the ball joints for the 5 lug knuckles, and then you need custom shorter axles that no one makes (have to cut the shaft, and weld them together with a steel jacket). It is definately possible, but it requires some work that's not just bolt on. GD

The flange surface where the y-pipe mounts is a machined surface, and depending on application could be milled shorter if needed. So it may be a difference in the post-casting milling process used - just as the passenger side EGR port is not drilled out. But if you look at the heads side-by-side you will see that the casting is the same for both. They are milled, drilled, and tapped differently depending on left or right side application, but the overall casting will be the same. Makes the engines cheaper to produce. GD