GeneralDisorder

Just unbolt the lines to the PS pump (they don't leak much if at all - a few drops maybe) - and flip them into the spare tire area. Leave the pump on the engine, as one of the engine hoist loops is actually part of the pump mount. As previously mentioned, the AC compressor should come off with the whole bracket assembly once you get the belts and the alternator off. GD

They strip the AL in the head - and they always strip when you are tightening them, not taking them out. No amount of PB blaster is going to help the situation. It's just from years of the exhaust being dropped for various repairs - the AL gets stressed and fails. GD

Probably 2 out of 10 of those studs will strip out - that's been about my odds on it anyway. 8 out of 10 of the things will unscrew the stud out of the head rather than the nut. There's really not much you can do - if they are going to strip they will. If they do, get a 7/16"x20 tap and tap it to the next STD size. The tap will thread in with an adjustable wrench without drilling. Then you can use bolt and lock washer. Works great. GD

Should be a 3 wire connector for the Hitachi - two of those are hot in run at all times - one is for the electric choke on the Hitachi, and the other is for the idle fuel cut solenoid. Just take the pig-tail off the Hitachi, and run the same wire to the choke that was being used before. GD

Recently drove about 20 miles with an 84 Magna in mine. Did fine at 60 MPH down the freeway. Goldwing is heavier tho. And I have a weber and such, so not a totally fair comparison. GD

No need to replace the head bolts. I swear by the Fel-Pro's myself. Better than OEM in my opinion. Don't have to be re-torqued, which is a huge plus on the EA82 as that requires removing the cam towers unless you make or buy the special socket. GD

Oil pump seals can leak too. Aftermarket gaskets are junk, so anything you replaced with non-OEM is suspect. Seals are usually ok, but gaskets other than OEM, and a few of the Fel-Pro's are crap. Especially pan gaskets, and intake manifold gaskets off the top of my head. GD

EA81's don't have cam seals. EA82's do. What vehicle do you have? Body type and stuff - 89 could be either engine. As for leaks, about the only place an EA series engine won't leak is between the block halves. If you have the capability, the best way to deal with oil leaks is to remove the engine and reseal everything. It's neither difficult nor expensive in the case of the EA81, and the EA82 isn't far behind really. GD

No, they are quite a bit different. It can be done, but it requires fab work to fit the XT6 knuckles into the existing struts, and the existing lower control arms, and requires custom axles be made as no axle exists in the correct length with the Legacy (XT6) style outer joint. Not a small job at all, and careful attention must be made to preserve correct camber. GD

R12 is a gas at room temp - it will evac itself right into the atmosphere if you open a line. Only thing left in the system will be compressor oil and possibly moisture. Generally a vacuum is pulled on the system to check for leaks, and to rid the system of contaminates and moisture. The R12 itself will be long gone as soon as the line is cracked. GD

That's an EA82 4WD clutch if the release bearing has anything to say about it. No - will not fit an EA81 of any kind. Sorry. They are smoking crack. BTW - that one also has the "naughty" pressure plate - see the gap all the way around over the top of the PP fingers? That will fill with mud/rocks/dirt, etc and render the clutch inop. in a HURRY. Been there. GD

I'm a lazy bum, and haven't got around to doing many - that one, and the axle cup mod ( http://home.comcast.net/~trilinear/axle_rebuilding.html ) are really the only two I have done to date. I plan on doing an axle removal/replacement one, and I really should do something on the rear discs.... but I need to shoot video for that one. Also about to embark on EA81 SPFI, but I went and cut the wrong tab off the disty I modded . My Brat sits patiently waiting for the 100 degree heat to pass. Really I should take pictures anytime I'm out there - plenty of write ups I *could* do if I quit my job and dumped my girlfriend.... really need to start on the t-case w/custom long travel suspension. All in time I suppose. For now feel free to PM me - I'll help as best I can. GD

R-12 and R134a are both "freon" just different types. How hard depends on your skill level. If you can change out a spark plug and can read at a 10th grade level it should be within your grasp. GD

This is EA82 land - no rockers being it's OHC. EA71's are a different beast. GD

Doesn't tick when going downhill in gear.... Gets louder under load and with more RPMS.... Does it tick when you rev the engine in neutral? I'm going with either an exhaust leak at the heads, or *yikes* a rod knock. I've had both, and the exhaust leak was louder.... the rod knock caught up with and surpassed the exhaust leak in volume about a mile before it threw it out the block. Check the y-pipe gaskets at the heads for evidence of carbon or loose nuts and studs, etc. Lifters are not your problem - they would tick no matter the load on the engine, and their sound would change only with oil delivery (hot/cold, pump volume, seals, etc) and RPM. Calipers.... now it's hard to tell from your description, but there's always the potential that the anti-rattle clips on the brake pads are missing or bent... I've had those tick too - but it sounds like it's comming from a wheel, not the engine. GD

Model and year please? GD

Sounds a lot like you blew out one of the Air Injection Valves, and melted the silencer material - the plastic from the silencer will get sucked into the carb, mess with your throttle plates and cause the high idle - the noise you hear is the failed melted silencer not silencing anymore - it's like a little mini-muffler for the AIS. You can block the AIS valve with a quarter at it's inlet pipe, and remove the silencer. Clean all the crap out of the carb and your idle should go back to normal. Probably won't have to rebuild the carb since it runs, but you never know. .... or it could be an actual exhaust leak - check the y-pipe studs in the head - notorious for working loose, and stripping out. Tap them over to 7/16"x20 if they are stripped and use a bolt with a lock washer. GD

Really not that hard to make - get a snap-on socket, and grind it down (use a lot of water - you don't want to overheat it an remove the temper. You have to grind from both ends, and taper the wrench side a bit for it to fit under the cam. There's actually a better alternative however - use the Fel-Pro perma-torque gaskets. They are superior, and do not require retorqueing. I've used them on a lot of engines now, and I love their design. Not 20 yr old parts from japan. Head gasket technologoy has come a long way in that time, and the Fel-Pro's are some of the best for any vehicle application I can think of. GD

Totally different on a soob. Get one from a junk yard. And yes, you DO need it. The axle will pull apart as soon as you turn a corner without that wire. BTW - a circlip to me is smaller than that thing... but I guess for lack of a better term that's what they call it. It's really just wire - it doesn't really even have much "spring" to it. GD

You can repack the bearings in the idler and tensioners, and usually reuse them - especially if you are running sans-covers. GD

Those are some very expensive parts. Even the dealership is under $100 (in fact I think it was under $80) for both timing belts, and oil pumps are about $65 from discount import around here (OEM part).... I think my dealer quoted me like $120 for one. Last time I got a pan gasket it was about $8 (dealer only on this one, all others are inferior). GCK - good choice, and no core so you keep you old ones for spares. They don't make rear's tho. Rear's are rebuildable, so get the parts from rockford CV and build them yourself..... but then again if you are stock height they will probably never fail. At least I've never seen it unless a boot was torn. XT6 clutch - I wouldn't think that neccesary, but up to you I suppose. In fact I'm not totally sure there is any difference in the clutch itself - the flywheel on the XT6 is lighter by quite a bit tho. If anything the pressure plate may be stronger, but it's really hard to say. Aftermarket may be the same part. GD

Jeez guys - stop scaring the kid - the bearings don't often pop out like that unless you have some serious issues with the seals and they are contaminated, and thus shot anyway. Besides - if the bearing comes out it's not the end of the world. Also - if you just do the boots without removing the axle, you won't have to worry about the bearing issue - and getting the axle out of and back into the bearings is the only marginally difficult part of the axle swap. Boot replacement is easy - like changing spark plugs. GD

Circlip? I'm not sure exactly what part you are refering to.... take a look at my axle write up here, and point it out for us: http://home.comcast.net/~trilinear/axle_rebuilding.html GD

Yeah - 83 grills all the way. I've confused a couple folks with that mod. :cool: GD

Really, you can just replace the boot if it's not clicking. It's easier than taking the whole axle out... you can pull the inner joint off the trans with only a punch and 12 and 14mm wrenches. The DOJ is easy to dissasemble and you can grease and install two new boots easily. For my money unless the axle show serious signs of wear or is making noise, the boots are like $8-$10 each (you'll need inner and outer), and the whole job can be accomplished in an hour if you have done it before - maybe 2 if you haven't. Mechanic isn't gougeing on the price - that's about right for a CV, but he did inflate the cost of the part to make his labor seem cheaper than it really is. That, and even $100 for labor is steep - most dealerships (and I'm talking good dealerships - Inifity, and Lexus, etc - high end stuff, not Kia and crap) only charge around $80 - $90 an hour. He of course has a lift, and air tools - he will have that axle done in 30 minutes or less if he's done them before. That makes his labor ~$300/hour figureing his cost for a QUALITY axle at $100, and I'm sure he gets wholesale from wherever he's getting his parts.... so actually he's makeing a HUGE profit from ya. Nothing that most slimy mechanics wouldn't do, but I've seen shops do axles for $175 or sometimes even less. My write up on axles will help you with dissasembling the inner joint to replace the boot if you go that route.... I haven't finished my write up on axle replacement yet..... yeah I'm lazy. http://home.comcast.net/~trilinear/axle_rebuilding.html GD