GeneralDisorder

Change the whole diff - you'll have to buy one anyway to get the ring and pinion, and it takes special tools to dissasmble them and change the gear set anyway..... yeah - get the whole diff. GD

I always do it with one up, and one down, but it does take knowing how that should look and feel - if in doubt do it the book way rotating between belts. The reason it's done this way, is because with the mark lined up, all the valves are closed and there is no tension on the cam from any of the valve springs. Just makes it easier to fine tune the belt alignment. GD

Use a length of heater core hose (a couple feet will do - about $2 from the parts guy) and put one end to your ear. Try to locate where the sound is comming from with the other end. When it's loudest you have found the area of concern. It sounds like the timing belt rubbing on one of the covers or something..... but that's a wild guess. GD

We never got anything like that in the states - although that inclinometer guage looks a lot (like almost identical) to the ones in the Dodge Raider... which was a rebadged Mitsubishi Montero... not sure if the Mitsu's had them, but I have a cluster from a Raider around here somewhere that I've been meaning to install in my wagon. It's got Oil pressure, Voltmeter and Inclinometer. Probably just the same japanese manufacturer for the guage tho. The altimeter is cool - haven't seen an anolog altimeter in any kind of american car before... Find another one and ship it to me GD

Well - not TOO tight, you'll ruin the bearings in the alt, and the water pump. Basically I make sure the belt still has some "spring" to it - when you put tension on it, the belt should spring back a little when you let off. Shows the rubber is still good. Hard cooked rubber will slip against the pulley instead of turning it. Then I tension it so that it's tight to where I can't see any "flop" in the belt when it's running, and there is about 1/2" deflection in the longest unsupported section of the belt (usually between the alt and water pump). I also use the twist test - you should not be able to twist the belt more than 90 degrees on the longest section. Another overlooked peice is the radiator cap - I can't even count how many of those I've had go bad. Don't cheap out on it too much, but I've had fine luck with the Senki or Stant ones. I think it's .9 bar, or 13 lbs depending on make. One thing that people overlook when trouble shooting cooling systems is the pressure - you may not have any "bad" parts, but if the system will not hold pressure (and this seems especially true with subaru) they will overheat quickly. A cooling system that will hold a good temp at still idle, but will overheat on the freeway at 3,000 RPM is a good indication that you have a pressure leak somewhere (could be other things, but pressure test should be done before replaceing parts). Taking a good pressure reading, and if you can get one or access to one, a pump to pressurize the system when it's cold can really help find leaks. GD

Lubricate the latch with lithium grease - lack of lube (hard to pull) is usually what causes them to frey and eventually snap. GD

The heater generally isn't the culprit - it's the fan. The higher you set the fan the more amps it draws out of the accesory circuit, and the resistor in the temp sender has a smaller effect on the sensor circuit signal. I've run into this a few times - all the guages will change - including the fuel level guage if you turn on more power eating stuff. Generally people will see a net decrease in the temp gauge - but it may initially jump up a little as the electricity is faster to change the guage reading than the heater core is at removing cooling system heat. If your heater core isn't working well (like clogged perhaps) you may see the increase but not get much for a decrease in temp. May also indicate an alternator on the way out as a good running alt, and decent electrical system will not always show this effect. Try just turning the fan on high without the heater and see that you get the same effect - that will confirm which one is at fault. One thing I've noticed on the EA82 is that the alternator belt needs to be NEW (soft rubber), and needs to be fairly tight to keep the water pump turning and the coolant moving. GD

Yes - there technically is a difference between Auto vs. Manual, but they are interchangable, and work fine. The only difference is gear speed as one has a reduction and one does not. But it will bolt up and work just fine either way. GD

You said in post #1 you have a Carb - your timing is correct at 8 degrees. GD

Problem solved! Jerry is without computer right now, but I figured it I would lay out the solution for everyone..... interestingly this applies not just to EA81 conversions, but to EA82 as well. Tested a few things - hooked up the noid light as sugested - adjusted the timing, and tested a few sensors. Got it to fire for a few seconds, and then it abruptly stopped and stubbornly refused to do anything but crank. Looked down the throttle, and no fuel. We had fuel before.... so thought maybe the tank was empty. Disconnected the fuel line from the pump, and with the ignition on and the test mode connectors connected the pump ran but no fuel came out. I was sure at this point that it must have run out of fuel, so added a few gallons. Nothing..... took the pump out and tested it with water and a couple wire leads hooked to the battery and it shot water pretty decent..... had to be the wireing. Swapped the wires in the connector under the car and it started right up. So the interesting thing we discovered is the fuel pump WILL run in reverse and sounds normal - it just doesn't pump anything. GD

Yes - see above, and note that 140 is just the book recomendation. Imperical evidence sugests that tighter is better for these. As evidence to support this supposition, VW bus rear axle nuts are the same size, and require 250 lbs. GD

How's the water pump? Check the small right angle hose that goes into the heater core tube from the pump. Check the heater core hoses for splits. Fill it up with water, start the car and rev it while watching the engine bay - the leak should become apparent pretty quickly if it's that large. GD

Now go do a wet test - squirt about 1/2 fluid ounce (about 6 or 7 squirts from your typical pump type oil can) of oil into the cylinder and run the comp check again - if your numbers go up by a lot, then you have ring issues, and if they don't you have valve seat issues. Valves are more common.... For reference one of my EA81's is 160 on all cylinders and the other is 220 GD

Actually sounds like it might be pinging a little - AC could just be upping the temp enough to get the ping noticeably loud.... Try adjusting the timing, and maybe take a look at the air filter, plugs, cap and rotor, etc. A good general tune up is in order, and you may consider checking to see if there are any receipts or notes about the timing belts being done - if not it's about 20,000 miles, and 10 years overdue . 102 yrs old - she may not have done any maintenance since she killed the old man off...... GD

There is no solenoid for the vacuum secondaries - the EA81 Hitachi has internally routed vacuum for them, and the EA82 Hitachi has a single vac line about 3" long going from part of the carb to the vacuum actuator. No solenoids, no electricity - not related to your accesory problem.... Just figured you should know Of the craptacular non-FSM manuals out there, the Haynes has much superior diagrams to the Chiltons.... GD

Beat yourself repeatedly about the head and shoulders with a wrench..... seriously you need to give the Brat away, and invest in a nice stable car payment. Either your luck is horrible, or you simply lack the skills needed to repair this vehicle...... brush up on basic engine theory and operation - lawn and garden equipment is a good place to not make costly mistakes. Everyone is thinking it - I'm just saying it. My intention isn't to hurt your feelings, but really, you are killing this car, and it's a rare peice - give it to a proper mechanic. GD

Every kit I've bought from the dealer included the paper gasket. It's like 6 bucks from the dealer - just have em order it. I wouldn't install it without the gasket, but in a pinch I *might* use anerobic sealant (and not a lot either - very thin smear of it). I would not use RTV as any tiny amount could potentially clog an oil passage or lifter if you have hydro lifters. Anerobic at least would not harden if it got sucked into the oil..... That's my feelings on the matter - personally I would use the supplied paper gasket - only in a *must have now* situation would I attempt any other sealing method. If i had the time and tools, I would MAKE the gasket from gasket paper if I were unable to obtain it any other way. GD

He may not have done the comp check with the throttle plate and choke plate open, and all the plugs out.... lots of folks screw that test up. Any one of those would give a false low reading. Not so rare on the bottom end - the EA engines are 3 main bearing engines while the EJ's have 5. It's actually all too common, but it's usually the main bearings, not the rods that go. Enough swamp water WILL kill them tho. Bad juju. GD

Yeah - tigard is the sherwood yard - it's really between king city and sherwood, but Tigard is a more recognized name I guess. GD

If you didn't have oil pressure and drove around all day - most likely the main and rod bearings are shot. The knocking may be a lot of things - valves, exhuast leaks, rod bearings, etc. GD

Totally useless part - yank it and put an EGR on that doesn't have the pipe for it. GD

Only three that are U-Pull-It's.... sherwood, foster, and damascus. The Vancouver yard is no longer a u-pull-it, and neither is Salem. Ownership changed, prices went up, and two yards went to newer cars that only the employees are allowed to touch. There are many others not owned by FAP tho. Portland Auto Wrecking comes to mind - and some others near it. GD

Sounds like the head gasket let go on cylinder #1. Being an EA81 you have no belts, so valve timing is not an issue. A reading of 0 pretty much rules out rings, and unless a valve is stuck (unlikely) it's the head gasket. I've seen plenty of EA81 and EA82 engines that lost compression in just one cylinder. It's usually overheating that blows them from a coolant passage into the combustion chamber. Bought a wagon like that and was able to drive it 30 miles home stopping to check the coolant level a few times - even got it up to 60 MPH with three cylinders - compression was 0 on cylinder #3. Replaced that gasket and it was fine after that. Sinking it in a mudhole is BAD - did the engine flood out? I did that one too many times to the engine in my wagon, which when I started was in very good shape and only 145k on it. Only 20k later and my lack of replacing the oil pump, and too many dips into the swamp water did the rod bearings in - even with frequent oil changes. I blew one doing 75 MPH on the freeway. 200k is not "tired" for an EA81 unless it's been badly maintained (sounds plausible in your case). Your lack of oil pressure is disturbing, and I fear that even if you do the head gasket that at this point your bottom end may be so damaged that it would be a waste of time and effort. GD

Use the search GD

Proper jets for a subaru can be found in many previous posts - use the search. 140 is NOT too big. It's the size that comes with the Redline subaru kits. GD