GeneralDisorder

You don't have hydro lifters - that is a solid lifter pushrod. Hydro's are steel, solid are aluminium with steel caps. GD

Easy fix (and the way all my block are) is to visit your local metal supermarkets (it's a chain) and have 4 blocks cut from 1/4" wall 2x4 channel. Then you can double bolt it with no fear of the block collapsing. Block are about $5 each, and they will cut them for you in about 10 minutes. It actually makes the lift cheaper due to not having the added cost of the super long bolts. Short bolts are a LOT cheaper. The intricate design of the thin-wall tubing, and the center support is fine, but not neccesary for a subaru. It adds to the build labor, and to the cost for the bolts needlessly. The 1/4" wall stuff is so insanely strong.... I have never come even close to bending one, and neither has anyone else I've been out with. Even 5 or 6 inch blocks are solid with 1/4". Even if you did manage to need extra support, there is plenty of room on the blocks to weld sides over the openings and leave a slot in the center to get the bolts in and out. Plus the shorter bolts don't tend to work loose nearly as much. GD

You really should have used the bright green stuff tho GD

Wheel bearing. The "axle" that you grabbed is not - it's the stub shaft, and it's a solid moving part. The axle is splined to this on the back of the trailing arm. Here's the rub - when you removed the hub, you removed the wheel bearing outer support. The hub/drum sits against the back of the outer bearing and by removing it, the bearing will just flop around and slide off the end of the stub shaft. So actually, the stub shaft haveing lots of play like you describe is perfectly normal when dissasembled to that level. That said, your grinding is probably the wheel bearing - when they fail, they usually make quite a racket. Grinding with a lot of heat and smoke is common. GD

How many of you have *actually* expereinced a subaru rod knock? I have, and I'll tell you that it's nothing like that - it's MUCH quieter than lifters till about 30 seconds before it blows through the side of the block. It definately made noise, but it was only under load. At idle with no load you couldn't hear it at all. Ran real pretty - that's why almost without exception rod bearing failure results in the block being destroyed - people don't expect that "little noise" to be so important, and just keep driving till it's too late. I am with the seafoam knocking some junk in the lifter camp - sounds like just a single lifter is really pissed off. If this were a GM forum - rod knock all the way. GD

If the float is off, it won't sputter much at all - the idle circuit is very sensitive, and if you round a sharp corner with the clutch engaged the engine will drop and try to idle - but not have any fuel. It will pretty much just die out. That's what mine would do on hard left turns. If I kept the clutch out it wasn't real noticeable as the wheels drive the engine at a higher speed, and the float level is not as important off-idle. Try taking the corner with the clutch engaged but with your foot reving the engine slightly - use the hand brake if you need to slow down. That will tell you if it's dying because of fuel starvation of the idle circuit, or something completely un-fuel related. GD

I haven't personally done the conversion, but many people have. I would make a new post and see what others have done. You'll probably want at least part of the donor car's wireing harness, and you may need to run a couple wires, but it's not near as complex as the old system you have. GD

Actually I've picked up a number with my wagon - the 5 inches of lift, mud tires, custom bumpers, stickers, dents, mud, etc are what does it, not the wagon. If it were stock...... yeah... the camry would be better just cause it's clean and not old. GD

You won't have nearly as much fun with a 2WD 4 door sedan. Hard to pick up chicks with it too - want to check out the rims on my beige sedan baby? GD

Depends on how it broke - I've had them rip free of the joint (inners and outers) and start flopping around down there. Nasty things can happen including destruction of the brake lines. If you must drive it, take the axle out, remove the outer spindle, and reinstall it without the axle shaft or inner joint. THEN drive it in 4WD. GD

I used that stuff on my Brat's bumper - after about 6 months it looked pretty bad again, and now after a year or more it's gone. And yes - I properly preped it - I scrubbed the hell out of it, and removed it from the car for the paint. Used a couple coats too. The stuff looks great till it fades out - which happens all too quickly I'm afraid. The Krylon "Fusion" for plastics works amazing - I painted the 4WD writeing on the Brat's mud flaps over a year ago, and the stuff looks like I did it yesterday. Really bonds itself to the plastic. I guess there is some chemical bond it creates. The pepper red color is spot on for the subaru red on mudflaps. They have black - I'll be using that stuff on my bumper next time, and probably all the side trim and stuff too. GD

It's not that difficult to troubleshoot - there really isn't much to the system. Some vacuum lines, and some electrical stuff. Get a haynes manual and start messing around. You have a crappy mechanic. GD

Same as the DGV series adaptor - $38 for the EA82, and $46 for the EA81. www.carbsunlimited.com 5200 is a DFV copy, with emmissions stuff. Stock they have a smaller primary and secondary venturi, but retain the DGV 32/36 base. Better than a Hitachi from a simplicity standpoint, but won't have any more power - the 5200 also has a vacuum secondary like the Hitachi, not the mechanical secondary like the DGV. All that junk makes it street legal unlike the DGV "off-road only" carbs most of us run (more power, less emmissions junk). GD

I'll give it a whirl - I can always get some ECU's at the junk yards around here - there were 30 EA82's at least at my local yard yesterday. Many or them SPFI. I have a friend who's an EE guy from way back - got his degree 15 years ago. I'll probably enlist his help with the hardware portions of it. He's a software engineer now, and we are both assembly nuts - if it's straight C it should be relatively easy to dissasemble, or I could just go through the assembly code line-by-line too. I'm sure it's a simple chip - probably something like the 6800 as you say - that would be a perfect chip for a small closed system like this. What would be neat is to rebuild the interface of the ECU for a serial or parrallel connection and run the whole software interface from a laptop. GD

Usually it's just the switch contacts. They can be dissasembled and cleaned. GD

Float level is off - is it running a Weber? My brand new Redline weber ($400!) would die on hard left turns. Float level was off from the factory in Mexico. Anyway, even the Hitachi can have the same problem. If the level of fuel in the float chamber isn't kept correct at all times, the fuel pressure pressure can drop or spike and cause the engine to die. GD

What will really blow your mind is there are no adjustments for rear wheel alignment on a Loyale. The rear has trailing arms, and they are bolted to the control arms, and the "tube" with 3 bolts. Generally if you are seeing strange tire wear in the rear it's because something back there is bent, or the wheel bearings are shot (this would make horrible noises, and probably fail quickly tho). I've seen plenty of bent rear control arms - usually from sliding into curbs and such. I don't know what that dealer did, but I wouldn't take it back there again. GD

Sounds like an IC heat failure. Something electronic is failing when it gets too hot. Driving for 25 miles then parking in the sun - highest temps are reached right after shutdown. After the tow it was cool again, so started up fine. That's my theory anyway. Probably next on the list would be the distributor itself - the crank angle sensor might be borked. GD

The EA81 hydro lifter engine in my Brat (original) will easily hit 7k, and sounds just fine. It will lose power after 5, but will rev right up past 7. I generally shift at 5.5 in it. It's getting fuel injection right now As for the EA82 tachs - it seems to depend on the engine. My 5 speed sedan redlines at 6. The SPFI 87 Auto coupe I have right now redlines at 6.5 on the dash, and the 90 loyale 5 speed pushbutton I parted a few weeks ago - it's dash says 6.5 also. I have to assume that carb was 6, and SPFI was 6.5 regardless of transmission. GD

Power steering is easy - you need the pump, bracket, lines, power steering rack, engine cross-member, and some parts of the u-joint assembly where it connects to the column. There's no electrical in the power steering at all, so it's a straight bolt in. The trick is finding an EA81 car with power steering - it was a rare option on only the top of the line GL's, never on Hatch's or Brat's, except the turbo Brat. GD

I did decide the disconnect the EGR and the Evap stuff. I left the solenoids in place to fool the ECU. I turned the IAC over, and bent the two vacuum supply lines to the side to clear the intake hose for it. I'll block them off as they supply the EGR and Evap that I already removed. GD

You'll find lots of empty connectors on subarus - options not equipped. Rather than make many wireing harnesses, they made only a few each year, and just left some stuff out. Makes it easy to add things you don't have.... sometimes. GD

I'm not asking how to reset the computer, I'm asking if the computer is hard coded to expect exhaust gas or not. And I need to know if turning the IAC upside down will affect it - doesn't seem to be oreintation dependant, but then I'm not totally familair with it's theory of operation either - I don't have an EA82 FSM. GD

Probably - just make sure you go tighter on the torque this time (maybe 60-70 instead of 50), and they may not last as long. But yes, they should still work assuming they haven't been damaged from the unclean block surface. If the graphite in them is really fubar, then get new ones. The Fel-Pro's are only like $18 each. Clean the block REALLY well - I like to use a razor blade and VERY SHORT applications of oven cleaner. The stuff is extremely powerfull, and will etch itself into the aluminium if you are not careful. Keep a bucket of water to rinse it away with frequently. GD

I haven't played much with the SPFI, and so I'm curious what experiences people have had with disconnecting the Evap purge, and EGR systems. I'll leave the solenoids in place for the computer.... I have done this plenty of times on carbed engines with no effect, but there's also no software interface there. Does anyone know or has anyone experienced strange behaviour from the computer if the pre-determined amount of exhuast gas is not present? Does it run too lean from the extra oxygen present in the intake charge? Or will the rest of the system (MAF, 02, etc) compensate by telling the computer it needs more fuel? Am I making this way to complex? I'm a software engineer, and I would break into the silly thing's ROM if I thought I would be able to do anything with it. Sadly I don't want to risk wrecking the only computer I have at the moment... (but it's tempting to think about trying - just to save out the fuel maps for later mega-squirt use). I also want to turn the IAC valve upside down so the solenoid is on the right side - this will help to clear the disty on the EA81 - any problem with that other than it's hose routing? I took it off, and it doesn't seem to be oreintation dependant as far as I can tell.... GD