GeneralDisorder

Probably refering to a 90 loyale RS?? GD

The Holley-Weber 5200 was used on a lot of early Ford stuff - Pinto's and the like. It's a DVF weber licensed by Holley, but if you are just concered with the base pattern it's identical to the DGV weber as far as fitment. A lot of folks use them on the EA82 since the linkage is reversed - same adaptor plate works for both. Or you can hit up any VW shop and they can sell you a gasket for either one. GD

EA81 Turbo heads are MPFI. Still single port heads, but they have injector bosses on them. Theoretically you could run MPFI using the XT's computer and such (MPFI non-turbo) with the EA81 carb block, and EA81T heads and some funky mismatch of EA81T manifold/EA82 TB parts...... would be a real weird setup and to my knowledge it's never been tried. GD

hhhmmm - weight, yes. But more like 35 pounds if I had to guess. Compressor has a large chunky butt, and the bracket is no small potatoes either. More like lopping off your passengers arms, and one leg..... then lighting the passenger seat on fire for extra warmth (which, BTW, is the recommended procedure if you have a heater core failure.).... GD

No - I think it's just a single belt..... otherwise you couldn't really call it a serpentine belt.... GD

Nope. GD

you have the right idea - serpentine means it's a single belt - the "ribbed" style you refer to is basically synonomous. GD

You need the inboard side of the alt bracket (don't forget the little 3/4" spacer under the rightmost bolt). It has the hinge for the alt on it. WAY different than the cast iron thing that holds the AC compressor. GD

They aren't all that bad, but it's not the belts I hate so much as those tensioner and idler bearings. Those scare me in muddy water.... GD

I think the 85/86 MPFI (non turbo) was v-belt. At least I know the 85 GL-10 MPFI wagon I saw a while back was V.... Good to know the serp's are that cheap.... I still like the twin belts for redundancy, but hey - can't have it all I guess. GD

Frankly, with 27's your best bet is to either swap on the SPFI from a later 80's, or early 90's loyale, or to get a Weber. You will have plenty of power with either one - enough to break things and want more lift and bigger tires. Decent exhaust and the weber or the SPFI will probably get you up close to 90 HP, which is plenty. Above 20 MPG is about right too - you'll probably get around 20-22 depending on inflation etc. The EA81 you have is particularly well suited to off-road as it has no weak timing belts, and is extremely easy to fix on the trail should the need arise. EJ swap is a bigger headache and more expensive - and again I don't like the timing belts. GD

I've wrestled with this problem as well - my GF couldn't get the cap off if I bent the tabs enough to get it tight on there. Finally I found the reason was the seal - they get old and hard. I got a new seal, and the supple rubber makes it an easy on-off for her now. GD

Do not use a light flywheel - you will have no torque = bad for off-road low end response. Lighter means faster throttle response - but what use is that off the pavement? Quality OEM clutch works just fine. I can peel out with 28" MT's, and chirp them into second easily. Clutch slippage has never been a problem for my lifted wagon, and I would NOT go with anything that has more grab as it just makes it more difficult to slip the clutch for slow crawling. Most performance clutches are geared to a very fast lock up, and little to no buffering. That's not what you want off-road where speed of shifting, and acceleration are not the goal. GD

Basically there is a seal on the transmission end that prevents the cable from acting like an archimedes screw and sucking oil up into the head unit. Once the seal fails and the oil has contaminated the speedo head, it's pretty much fatal. The guage cluster has to be removed, and either replaced or the speedo completely dissasembled and cleaned... and some who have done the cleaning report that it doesn't help. Something inside the speedo doesn't like gear oil..... Sorry - not what you wanted to hear I'm sure, but with you finding oil on the speedo end, that's pretty conclusive. And the really high reading is always the result of oil contamination. GD

Let me revise that - later 80's MPFI XT's with the spider style intake have the serp belts. XT6 also has them, but so does the XT4 later on in the series. GD

Check to see how the mating surface for the radiator cap looks - I've noticed on the metal tank ones the surface gets pitted, and the rubber seal on the cap may not seal down tight. A little sandpaper will clean it up. Don't forget - there's two sealing surfaces. I think half the time people replace radiators thinking they are "clogged" when in fact the filler neck is just a mess and and cap can't seal.... New radiator is nice and clean so problem goes away and their assumption is "proven" in their mind. GD

No - it's a disadvantage really - extra tensioner bearings, more difficult to remove and intall, and the belt is more expensive. The two v belts are $11 for BOTH, and are easy to change. Plus if one dies, the other will carry you till you can replace it - if the serpentine goes...... GD

The "guys" at the dealer have probably never seen an EA81, let alone layed hands on one. Do as you like, but I guarantee they will leak in less than 10,000 miles if you don't seal em. All the newer engines the dealer works on regularly use rubber for the valve covers. Subaru made this change for a reason - cork didn't cut it for the valve covers. By using the RTV as I outlined, your are making you own "rubberized" gasket. Besides that - this aint rocket science. No matter how you do it, it will be easily and cheaply fixed if you mess up. Don't worry so much about it - start worrying and asking major questions when you have to tear the engine down for main bearings. GD

MPFI XT's were serpentine. GD

Yeah - sucks I know. I've seen some bad rad caps, but usually not. I replaced mine, and the radiator, and the t-stat. But on mine it's a little more clear cut - 227k miles - original HG's. I overheated it one day about two weeks ago when the AC belt broke, and popped the alt/WP belt off while in a construction zone. That led to the original water pump failing about a week later and another overheat. Replaced the pump but it's too late for the HG's I'm afraid. The fact they were replaced actually points suspicion at them - cheap parts, and or shoddy labor, and a tendancy for that engine to blow them already (ie: what prompted their replacement last time?) all sugests they may be at fualt again. All too often bad mechanics fix the symtoms and not the problems that caused them. GD

It sounds like the system is over pressueizing - and that usually means head gaskets. Yuckies. I'm having the exact same issue with my EA82 sedan. I'm going to do the head gaskets on it soon. I've tried everything just like you have. On the whole, I really hate the EA82 cooling system, and the weak OEM head gaskets. All the EA81's I've owned this has never happened. Fel-Pro's are going in this one fo-sho. GD

You probably need a new pressure plate. GD

Standard equipment for an 85/86 RX - they didn't become FT4WD till 87. It proabably is one of the few "not-RX's" out there. Not labled per-se, but still has all the features. GD

That would seem to be the difference - but wouldn't it have been easier for Subaru to just change the proportioning valve? hhhmmmm - still a bit of a mystery really. You sure that thing isn't a 90 Loyale RS? GD

Pads and Rotors are the same - differences are in the calipers and backing plates only. GD