GeneralDisorder

Thank you captain obvious. With a Weber they are 10x better. With the SPFI they are 100x better. With SPFI and MegaSquirt..... we'll see soon GD

Oh and just so you know what engine you have - it's a 1.8 litre, EA82, and it sounds like you have a Carbureted model. 1987 was the last year for the carbs..... Now that I see what you have, the fuel pump may NOT cycle with the test connectors connected. I was thinking you had a fuel injected variety. Still a good idea to check it's power. The pump should have power any time the engine is being cranked. So maybe have a friend crank it while you check the pump for power... GD

Thanks! Ok - you say it starts on ether - does it sound like it wants to run and then stops or does it sound like maybe it's only running on two cylinders? There's a couple options here - it sounds like either it's fuel related, or you may have broken the passenger side timing belt and it's trying to run on two cylinders. Please try this: Connect the two green "test" connectors behind the drivers side strut tower, and turn the key to the "ON" posistion. Listen for the fuel pump. It will cycle every 2 seconds when it's in test mode. If you don't hear it you may need to take a look under the car and test for power at the fuel pump connector with either a multi-meter or a test light. The pump is on a shelf near the gas tank. There's only two wires in the connector - just put the tester on each one and see if you get 12v with the ignition ON, and the green guys connected. Also check all the fuses. If the pump doesn't run then it could be either the fuse, the pump relay under the dash, or the pump itself. If the pump runs normally, there is a black oval shaped plug in the front of the passenger side timing belt cover that you can remove to check the belt tension with your finger. Reach a finger in there and see if the belt is intact or not. If you can't feel the belt or you feel shredded belt with no tension you have found the problem. It is also possible for some of the teeth to strip off the belts and the engine to jump out of time. I wish I were closer - I would come take a look at it for you GD

Dangit - almost got it... Have you checked for vac leaks? Looks like your idle is the problem, and in my experience that is almost always related to missing at idle.... IE: vacuum leaks, or ignition related issues. When it drops back to idle can you hear any slight puffing out the tail-pipe? It's got to idle almost perfectly smooth in order to pass - just a few misfires and the whole cylinder's worth of fuel shoots right into the test nozzle.... GD

Can you get me a deal? GD

They don't. The EA82 windsheild IS part of the support structure of the roof, and does help to keep the thing rigid and together in an accident. The EA81 windsheild does not hold the roof up - it is not glued in place at all, and will simply pop out in an accident. The A pillar of the EA81 has a solid steel rod in the center for support. Cracks to the windsheild of an EA82 (like all newer cars) can be a safety hazzard as it weakens the overall uni-body structure. The EA81 could run with no windsheild if you really wanted as it's not part of the struture of the vehicle. GD

Yeah - as mentioned above the "feedback" systems tend to run rich when they aren't functioning properly. One cheap way to start diagnosing things would be to get an Air/Fuel ratio meter (or build one!) and monitor that while you are driving. You will learn SOOOO much about how the engine uses fuel and where you need to make corrections. It helps tremendously with getting your mileage figures up as it comes in handy not only for tuning, but also to adjust your driving patterns to get a nice lean cruise mixture. It's a cool project, and a great learning experience. AFR's can run as low as 12.5:1 at full peak HP, and as lean as 17:1 at cruise on the freeway. I would also consider just tossing the Hitachi. Sadly it has a lot of problems that are not easily corrected. A rebuild may help some, but probably won't get you into the 28-30 mpg range that a simple Weber swap would. That said, I have had non-feedback Hitachi's that would run around 28 mpg as well. I had a feedback that would get around 28 mpg in my 2WD wagon which I *thought* was good. I swapped to the weber and that car got very close to 33 mpg on the freeway. I would say that you should be getting around 26 with that roof rack. Those things really are a drag. GD

Not really - the pump on the EA81 is different. It does not ride in the block like the EA82, but in it's own housing. And if anything, the EA82 pumps last longer mechanically so the block bolts have nothing to do with it. Sadly, the EA82 oil-pump to block gasket (the micky-mouse one) fails about as often as the EA81 pumps do. So it's a toss up. It takes 2 hours to change the pump seal on an EA82, and only 15 minutes to change the whole pump on an EA81. You're the only one. It didn't help the oil flow any either. The EA81's generally have higher oil pressure, and almost never exhibit the lifter ticking of the EA82. I would take a Hi-Po EA81 over an EA82 anyday of the week, and I've owned a LOT of both of them. The highest mileage figures of all the vehicles I've owned have been EA81's. GD

Ouchies . Next time you need a set, tell me and I'll grab some and mail them in a letter envelope with cardboard on each side. GD

It depends. I blew an EA81 rod because of poor oil pressure, and drowning the engine in swamp water too many times. The car had a digital cluster originally, and so no oil pressure guage. Only an idiot light, which came on far to late to correct the problem. Consequently, I'm now the USMB oil pressure nazi. The engine had 165,000 on it - may she rest in peace. GD

Most likely the plug in question was for something your car didn't come with. Most cars have lots of things like this - cars are generally equipped to *be* installed with things like AC, even if they don't come with it from the factory. So you will see lots of plugs that just go nowhere. Can you describe exactly what happened when it broke down, and what it does now when you try to start it? GD

If you press on the inner race with enough force to install the bearing, you will cause flat spots where the ball bearings press into the race. This will cause premature failure. The proper way to install them is by pressing on the outer race. And if it's a "trade secret" then keep it to your self. The forum is for helping people, not giving them hints that will lead them to breaking their new bearings :-\ GD

Check your tire pressure to start with. What carb are you running? What size tires are you running? For comparison, my Weber'ed Brat got 28, my Weber'ed wagon gets about 20 with 28" tires. GD

Your expereince does not apply - the EA81 is not the same. I've done EA82 windsheilds as well, and they are easy by comparison. GD

For most folks, I think you are right. The wiring for converting most vehicles to an EJ series is the stumbling block. Mechanical fitment is really pretty trivial, and the adaptor plates are getting reasonable - $100 each at the show this year. My poison is going to be MegaSquirt, and the beauty there is that I could drop any motor I want without any wireing at all. I see a lot of import places with blow-out prices on the 150 HP JDM EJ20 (DOHC). Going MS first allows you to split the wiring from the engine so that all you have to deal with is fitment and software tuning. GD

I've been learning a lot with this Megasquirt stuff. You have to basically reverse engineer your whole engine/fuel injection system in order to set it up right. Pretty interesting stuff, but more than most people want to get into I'm afraid. GD

It's that much harder to clean, to get replacement belts over the cam sprockets, and to replace cam seals if you need to. Plus it just looks stupid, and they serve no purpose without the fronts on there. Cumulative I probably have about 50,000 on cover-less belts on various engines. And there's others here with far more than that. Make sure your v-belts are in good shape - if an old one shreds it could get sucked into the timing belts. Personally, the benefit of being able to put on spare belts in the breakdown lane with only a 12mm deep socket far outweighs the minimal risks. The alternative is towing the vehicle and doing a 3 hour timing belt job. There's really no queston at all if you have ever had a t-belt break on the freeway . And if you haven't then you clearly are a noob in the EA82 world. GD

Rod knocks are faintly metalic, and will be almost totally quiet at idle in a flat four. They mostly show up under load - accelerating, etc. Then about 1 mile before it blows it will get REALLY, REALLY loud and then it's over. GD

Because the coolant runs TROUGH the manifold - so if you have bad manifold gaskets, they can drain into the plug areas, and down through the drain holes directly onto the exhaust. There's also a few throttle body coolant hoses in front of the manifold that could be leaking. They provide coolant to the throttle body to warm it. GD

Ticking won't hurt your mileage - but you should definately consider new oil pump seals. MAF = Mass Airflow Sensor. TPS = Throttle Position Sensor. TPS you just test and make sure it's working as it should. MAF can be cleaned with some brake cleaner. GD

Out here they aren't all that rare - I did a clutch on one not long ago for an old dude. But they were only made for 89 and 90, so comparitivly rare. I do see them often enough tho. You aren't far from me - if you need help with the swap..... I've done a couple SPFI swaps so I know my way around their harnesses pretty well. With that many cars/parts I bet we could both win on a swap/labor deal.... GD

No - there are holes cast right into the heads - right near each of the spark plugs to drain water away from the plugs. They go all the way through the head from top to bottom. GD

Jeff is thinking N/A EA82, and you have a Turbo where the pipe runs around the front of the oil pan. GD

There are holes in each head near the spark plug where water (or coolant) can drain away. These holes drain right near the exhaust.... GD

Have you checked other stuff? Heater core hoses, intake gaskets, etc? For the record I install all my water pumps with RTV only. I don't use a gasket because I almost always get used pumps due to the vast ocean of soobs I have to pull them from (I always seem to find the car that *just* had one replaced before it was wrecked). Thus I never have the gaskets handy. GD