GeneralDisorder

Pretty much, yes. As you add RPM's, the injector is open at higher frequency, and eventually all the time. It's kindof interesting to note that the computer injector timing becomes almost irrelevant under high demand as the injector is open nearly constantly. Very much like the old VW CIS systems. You can get a cheap noid light and watch the injector pulses to see if they are in time to the ticking. GD

SPFI injectors usually tick a little when they open. TPS could cause some hessitation, but I would test it first as it requires a multi-meter and a feeler guage to install another. GD

Run a D-check on the SPFI and clean the MAF/air filter for starters. Contemplate changing the 02 sensor just for best possible mileage, and it can help with the hessitation. They only run about $30, and you'll save that much in gas mileage in a month or two. The FI fuel filters don't get clogged much - they are quite large by most comparisons. It's probably a late 87 or 88 being it's SPFI. Definately not an 86 - no 4WD's (most especially a DL) would have had the SPFI in 86. 85/86 2WD's were FI. GD

Your reverse harness is one of the plugs where the auto shifter was inside the car. It appears from my 83 FSM that you are looking for the Blue/white wire and the Green/yellow wire on the 4 prong inhibitor switch connector of the auto shifter for your reverse lights. Hook those to the reverse switch from the manual transmission and you should be in buisiness. GD

Incredibly messy, yet strangely effective. You earn the "USMB Tractor Mechanic Of The Day" award (it was a close race - you almost lost due to points deducted for the "repair" title - this is clearly a "modification", and worth at least 5 HP). Personally, I like it, but some might say it needs more bailing wire and duct tape.... GD

I tried both a 47 ohm, and a 68 ohm 10 watt resistor, and neither would correct my purge code. But who knows..... GD

You don't have to replace the whole throttle body - the injector pops right out with a pair of channel locks - twist and pull after you remove the top four screws holding the cover in place. Easy enough to try anyway but I doubt that's your problem I think your problem is either ignition related (Possibly a weak coil or intermittant distributor) or you have a bad coolant temp sensor that isn't telling the ECU the engine is cold. Could be a fuel pump that's refusing to kick over when cold. It happens. If the injector was a problem, then the engine wouldn't run right after it did start. GD

The EA81 electric AC fan fits some EA82 radiators, and not others. Depends of a lot of factors after 20 years - some models came with 2 row units (turbo's), some with metal tanks, and some with plastic. And then a not insignificant number have been replaced by previous owners. But it's not all that hard to *make* it fit virtually any radiator. And I would prefer it any day over something running through the fins. Remember that the clutch fan is only there to cool the AC compressor when the car isn't moving. In hot weather the compressor can get dangerously hot being in close proximity to the engine, and having nowhere to dump all the heat build up. Non-AC models of the EA82 had no clutch fan just as the EA81 had no second electric fan for this. GD

Really, unless you are a serious poser with lots of money to burn on a rig that will probabaly never see a trail (or you have a sponsor for your competition rig).... The Harbor Freight $20 set of 2 (or *insert any other reasonably priced, probably produced in china or tiawan set here*) do the job. Plenty bright - just use enough of them. And hey - you can afford to break them on a limb once in a while. You're not trying to light a whole staduim here, just throw some light further down the road in front of the car (or behind it as the case may be :-p). My veiwpoint FWIW. Spend money on stuff that will get you home BEFORE it gets dark. Or.... get a salad bowl, line it with foil and set the passenger seat on fire. Postscript - the hand-held battery operated "pistol" style halogens are great. I have one in my "kit". Get that and have the passenger hold it out the window. GD

I just had another thought.... what if the added ground of the test connector and the added CPU workload of the diagnostic functions were enough to overpower my ground connections causeing there to not be enough current flow to the purge solenoid?! Wow - that would be the strangest combination ever. Or have I jumped into the deep end trying to save BDG? GD

Well - I had thought the same - but if that's the case, then why does the code only show up in D-Check? If that were the case then the ECU would pick it up in U-Check and light my CEL. The solenoid's ground is provided by the ECU on pin 5. That's how it energizes it. The solenoid get's ignition switched 12v, and the ECU uses the ground to open it. I wired it to unswitched 12v with a 20 amp fuse, and directly to pin 5 on the ECU - total wire length was about 12 inches. When the ECU is off, no ground exists so it's safe to use unswitched voltage to the resistor. The resistor does get warm when you turn the ignition on, and it takes a while for the code to come up - about a mile I would say. Nothing I have tried has stopped the code, so it's either a ground to the ECU or it's senseing the purge isn't openeing through other means. I am still skeptical about the "other means" possibility, but unlike MS, I can't just rife through the code and check 02 Sensor is new (BRAND new in fact - as in three days ago). Seems to function just fine. GD

Any thermostat for a small block chevy will work - same size, and you can get them in any temp you could want. I like a 180 or 190, but some people prefer the 170 in turbo's and such. GD

Drivers side strut. GD

So now I'm wondering.... Since the ECU obviously can tell the difference when the solenoid is open and when it's closed (MAF signal? Something must change anyway), I wonder if a clogged carbon canistor can cause an otherwise working solenoid to appear to stay in the closed position, and so the ECU see's no change when it opens? GD

You check the rear drums out? I've had the shoes/auto-adjusters explode inside the drum and jam the whole wheel. GD

I fixed the idle this morning. For some reason the idle air valve (not the solenoid) has a weak spring or something. I had changed it to one I cleaned (left it in carb cleaner overnight), and the idle would not adjust lower than about 1000 give or take. I swapped back to the old (and still dirty) unit and now it works fine. Idle is about 700, and everything seems to check out ok. I'm going to call it good enough and focus on aquiring the knowledge and parts for Mega-Squirt. To clarify, I only get the purge code in D-Check (Dealer Check) mode - that's when the test connectors are connected, and you run the test procedure (ignition on, full-throttle then back to half for 2 seconds, start engine and drive at greater than 5 MPH for at least one minutes, etc). It has never come on in normal U-Check without running the tests. After fixing the idle, I still get the code, but since it only comes on in D-Check I'm going to ignore it like a good consumer than doesn't see his CEL , enjoy the good running SPFI that I have now, and in the mean time plot it's downfall to Mega-Squirt. The thing I really don't like about the SPFI is that without the purge solenoid and it's carbon canistor, the thing just won't idle right. It's basically expecting a small vacuum leak through the (correct diameter) port of the carbon canistor. But here's the real crappy part - it opens and closes the purge solenoid every 1.5 seconds. There is no easy way to approximate this action and "fool" the ECU, so you either put up with a rough idle, or you leave the system in place and have to look at it, and deal with it's hoses, and solenoid. I chose the latter for now. I don't wish to try and fool the ECU when my time is better spent working towards MS. I think I may add a few more grounds to it just for kicks. I did the power/ground test at the ECU from the manual, and it all checks out, but that doesn't mean something isn't corroded or only partially broken. It's strange that I only get that one code, and not the code-salad that you would think I would get with a bad ground..... I'm beginning to hate this SPFI stuff almost as much as the Hitachi carbs.....*almost*. There will always be a special kind of hell for the Hitachi engineers it seems - their fuel injection sucks almost as bad as their carbs. In truth the same problems with the old Hitachi carbs are still a problem with the SPFI. The added complexity of the "emmissions" equipment makes the fuel and ignition algorithms in the ECU software overly complex. It muddy's up the water such that it's hard to pinpoint the exact component that's failing or out of range. In the world of "reliable" fuel systems, less really is more for this 80's stuff. The ECU's in the newer cars have become complex enough (faster processors, etc) that they are able to do much more diagnostic work and provide more accurate feedback to the mechanic. That, and the advent of water-proof under-hood connectors has helped a lot to prevent often difficult-to-find corrostion related problems, and ground issues of the past. GD

*some* dealer gaskets are best. Namely: Intake, Exhaust, oil pan, oil pump, and cam tower o-rings. The rest you can (and should IMO) get from Fel-Pro. They have superior head gaskets to the dealer. Anything else I didn't mention is inconsequencial, or can be made to work well with RTV. Aftermarket pan gaskets aren't made with quality cork - the shape of the EA series steel pan flange is such that inferior cork will be cut in half by the bolt ridge on the flange. Dealer gasket, and a coat of RTV all over it. GD

I point them towards the sky - or away from the ground if you prefer. I own two without covers, and have done timing belts/headgaskets on many more and left them off without any problems yet. If they are off by just one tooth it's pretty obvious - one tooth is a enough to make them visibly lean out of vertical. GD

Yes - at least with MS I could tune it how *I* want, not what subaru thinks the consumer would want. I really want the stupid thing to idle back *immediately* after I let off the throttle. That, more than anything bugs the hell out of me. I guess comming from carb land the SPFI is maddening to me because I have so little control over the system. I am reduced to a monkey throwing parts at a computer I can't configure, and don't even know the algorithms used in it's software. With MS, I'm sure I'll have a whole host of other problems to contend with, but at least it will have a minimal set of sensors, and everything else is software. Literally it's got a MAP (no MAF yay! ), coolant temp and intake air temp (same GM sensor for both - $8 each), TPS, and 02. It doesn't need anything else. And all the components are off-the shelf. I could even use a different throttle body for more low-end if I wanted. And of course no emissions systems of any kind. I AM going to MS, it's just a matter of money right now. Being unemployed sucks. GD

Just take the sprockets off and remove the rear's. You could leave them, but you'll be sorry you did later. The cam sprockets are easy to remove, and you really should replace the cam seals behind them anyway. GD

To get the WP off, you have to remove the center timing belt cover, and to do that, you have to remove the crank pulley at least. You might be able to get the water pump out without removing the belts, but I have a feeling not. Plan on taking it all off. GD

I've tried 2 ECU's, so I don't think the ECU is at fault. I *thought* the donor car I got this engine/manifold from was good, but it turned out that someone just did a really good job with some black paint over the CEL. GD

I've been wondering that myself, but without knowing the interation in the ECU software, I'm forced to rely on the ECU's diagnostic. I have a feeling it's related to not being able to lower the idle speed even with the IAC screw all the way in, and that could be the coolant thermo-sensor. But that's just a feeling. I've tried a number of thermo-sensors without any real change. I've actually replaced everything in the SPFI system at one point or another. I'm just starting to get it to behave, and this purge code comes up that I can't get rid of. I'm about to just build a mega-squirt and screw the subaru SPFI. I can do it for about $400. GD

No - your point as you presented it was totally valid, but I wanted to also point out that while a closed system can't *increase* it's energy, it's also true that it can't *not* decrease it either. It must decrease acording to law #2 (which really isn't a law, because it *could* be broken, it just never is in practice. It's one of the few [if not the only] laws of physics that's really a "statistical law" - it's not always true - just in the vast majority of cases). You lose most of the energy to friction and heat durring each conversion. GD

Oh yeah - I should qualify that statement a little more - all Hotwire MAF fuel injection distributors are the same. Including the 86 SPFI. Just don't grab anything that has a vac can on the side and you'll be ok. GD