GeneralDisorder

Just the fact you say parts of your radiator are cool to the touch means it's clogged. Get a new one. GD

Pull each plug wire while the engine is running to verify the cylinder is fireing - it should run worse each time you pull one. If you pull one and there is no change, then you need to investigate further why that cylinder is not fireing. GD

Too low - change the pump. You should have at least 10 psi at idle. If you are going by the dash guage then get another guage to test with as they are not accurate. Even subaru says that it is "normal" for them to read 0 at idle.... of course there's no way the engine really has zero oil pressure (wouldn't run for long if it did) - it's just a matter of a cheap guage and sending unit. Good oil pressure for an EA82 should be above 10 psi at idle, and 50-60 at cruise Good pressure for an EA81 is around 20+ at idle, and 50+ at cruise. The experience I have had with oil pressure (I've managed to get decent OP from at least 6 different engines - EA81 and EA82) is that you will get a slight (3 - 5 psi) increase from changing the pump seals, another slight (3 - 5 psi) increase from changeing the sending unit, and a BIG (10 - 15 psi) increase from changeing the pump itself with a new one. All the engines I've done had over 100k on them so my general rule is to change the oil pump every 100k miles. The added difficulty with getting to the pump on the EA82 (timing belts must come off) makes it more worth just replacing the whole pump as this way you don't have to spend a second 2 hours of your life if just a reseal isn't enough. GD

Sounds like a bad DOJ on one of your front axles. Had one that was just like that. So bad I thought the engine was going to fall out. GD

Change your thermostat first. If it doesn't change, then you need a new radiator. GD

Well - the idle circuit in the carb could be partially clogged.... give the carb a redneck cleaning - rev the engine by turning the throttle valve - get it up there - 3 or 4,000 RPM. Then stuff a rag over the carb opening (with the air cleaner top off), till the engine almost dies. This will create a massive vacuum in the carb and hopefully suck out any gunk. As simple as it sounds, it really does work often times. Also see if your can move the main throttle shaft of the carb (up and down) - sometimes they are worn out to the point that it will never idle smooth without a new carb or having the throttle shaft rebushed. GD

None of that really sounds serious to me. Clock is normal - about 90% of these stop working I would say - it's a known problem. Actually easy to fix - you just pry the clock out, and remelt the solder on the circuit board and it should be good as new. Aftermarket stereo? Sounds like a hack-job installer that wired up the illumination circuit incorrectly - either that or the stereo itself is messed up internally such that the illumination control (it's supposed to dim when you turn on the headlights) has gone tits up. Just have a stereo shop install an aftermarket deck for you - they can be had cheap and installation is like $35. The park issue is probably just the shifter out of adjustment - the shifter is not "electric" it actually moves a rod connected directly to the transmission. If it's out of adjustment a little or the bushings are worn then you may have a situation where you have to jiggle it a bit or work it harder to "find" the park position. Not a really difficult fix anyway. For that matter you should be using the parking brake anyway (for your safety and mine), and you can just leave it in neutral if you like - the parking pawl in the transmission really isn't designed to hold the weight of the entire car anyway. GD

Yep - I took the ones off my sedan just cause I didn't know the mileage on them (209k when I got it). I drive it a LOT for work - like I've put 9,000 on it since I registered it 2 or 3 months ago . I keep a spare used timing set in the trunk and a couple basic tools. It's almost a neccesity if you aren't going to just do the whole mess and know what the mileage is. Plus the belts were a little loose and I tensioned them - sligt "tick" is gone now. When I get a chance I'll snag a good water pump and keep that in the car too. It's worth it not to have to call AAA and waste your entire day.... plus AAA is really for my off-roader in case I totally demolish it at some point or throw the tranny out of it . GD

You have to remove both timing belts to get to it - so no. Figure about 5 hours for your first time with one (if you still have the belt covers on). EA81 is like 20 minutes. GD

Here ya go: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=17625&highlight=jump+video+aus There's a video link in there from Junkie.. http://www.funonwheels.net/audio_video/fossvidhi.mpg Later in the post they mention that it crumpled the passenger side of the car, pushed the strut towers up into the hood, ripped the tranny cross-meber out of the frame, and bent the rear diff hanger.... probably more. The car was retired obviously... and the driver was real stiff for a while... lol Over 2 meters of air. GD

There was a video posted a long time ago with an austrailian EA82 wagon that was apparently fitted with a WRX engine. It must have been at least 10 feet off the ground. Someone who saw it first hand said the landing was so hard it buckled the roof. GD

Like it in operating principle only - the justy is transverse, and the drivetrain is totally different. It's simply a single range 4WD with a pushbutton style control. GD

Yeah - I bought one too - couldn't recall off hand what size it was tho. GD

27's are a sqeeze for a stock EA81 and even then you have to beat and cut something fierce to make them not rub on turns. I would say it's safe to bet 29's would be near impossible. *maybe* on an EA82 where 27's will fit without a lot of trouble, but not an EA81. What about the toyota? GD

That doesn't sound right - either you need to have the flywheel machined, you have something together wrong, or they gave you the wrong parts. Check to make sure the splines on the tranny and on the disc are the same... try to slide the disc onto the tranny by itself just to make sure. Don't use the alignment tool AT ALL. It will just make putting the engine back in more of a pain. Leave all the pressure plate bolts loose, and slide it onto the transmission that way. Once it's all bolted up tighten the pressure plate bolts through the starter hole. As for the rotation of the shaft and outputs - that's normal for an open differential. If you grab BOTH output shafts and turn them forward you will see the intput shaft turn. This "differential" action is what allows the car to turn corners. Also means the if one wheel is off the ground the other will have no power at all. GD

Ah - I failed to see "Iowa". Take whatever you can find then. Hehe GD

Loyle's were stripped down - they were the low end making way for the Leganus - get an 89 GL if you want all the cool gadgets. GD

Valve adjusters are hydraulic - cannot adjust them. Lifters bleed down after a long storage - very common. Officially subaru says up to two hour of operation for all air to bleed out of the lifters. Replaceing the oil pump is definately a good thing - just replaceing the seals is not generally enough in my experience - and if I'm going to all the trouble, an extra $60 is acceptable to me. GD

Sounds like a vacuum leak - you may have inadvertantly dislodged a vacuum line while pulling on the plug cables, etc. Use a spray can of carb cleaner while the engine is running to locate leaks - the engine idle will smooth out noticably when you spray around the leak area. For the seats - use a 3M green scrub pad (most auto body supply's carry these) to scrub off the oxidation. GD

It's basically the same principle as any other engine. You just don't bore or hone the EA81's - at least not without a bore plate. Usually you can still see the factory cross-hatching so there is no real point anyhow. Go to the library and get some books on engine rebuilding - you'll want a micrometer and telescoping guage set - and some plasti-guage for bearing fitment and such. Assembly lube for start-up lubrication. And you'll need to buy or make a tool to remove the piston wrist pins in order to split the block. Also need a 12mm? hex socket for the wrist pin access holes in the block. Really it's just a lot of measureing, labeling of parts, torque settings, and taking stuff to have it milled and waiting for the machine shop to finish... You'll want to mill the heads, have a valve job done including replacing the stem seals, and lapping the seats (at least - a grind you be best). Probably best to have the crank turned and get oversized bearings for it and the rods. New rings - I got the chrome rings from Fed-Mog - still looking into wether I should hone the cylinders a bit or not with the chrome jobbies. Tough call since you want to break them in, but you don't want to wear all the chrome off doing it and the subaru bores already have the factory cross-hatching, so it may serve to break them in by itself. If I do it will be a very light hone with like a 500 grit bottle brush. GD

If you don't have the flywheel on you can rotate the crank till the #1 piston is all the way up. #1 is the one closest to the disty - on the car it would be the front passenger side cylinder. You can tell when it's on the compression stroke by putting your finger over the plug hole - you will feel the air being pushed past your finger. Use a drinking straw to tell when the piston reaches TDC. Then just slide the disty in so that the rotor is pointing at whichever plug wire you want to use for #1. Most caps are marked. Fine adjustment you can do later by turning the disty with it's adjustment slot. GD

Being a Gen 1 4WD, your rear diff may be 4.11 or something.... better check the sticker. GD

Last one I sold on ebay I got near $300 + shipping for it. The datsun guys love em. GD

I'm a bit paranoid about the oil pressure thing. I had a digi-dash EA81 with no guage, and even though I resealed the pump when the idiot light started flickering at idle, I blew a rod out the top of the block about 4k miles later. Keep in mind that this car *was* a 2WD grandma car with perfect maintenance, and a beutifully smooth running engine with only 145k when I got it. I lifted it, wheeled the piss out of it - drowned the engine in swamp water more times than I can count (had water halfway up the inner door panels on it's maiden lifted voyage ). I changed the oil afer each run, and used quality filters (WIX). The oil pump itself is what did the engine in. Had I REPLACED the pump when I got the car it would still be running - that I'm sure of. On my Brat the pressure was low when I got it - around 15 at warm idle, and would go up to around 45 at cruise. I changed the sending unit and it made little to no difference - I resealed the pump - no change. REPLACED the pump ($60 from subaruparts.com)... now it's 20-25 at idle, and nearly 60 at cruise. On to the new engine in my wagon - got it from an 83 or 84 automatic that Turbone parted it. Sat in his shed for a long time - came to me and sat for another year. When I installed it I got some slight ticking (hydro lifters - actually a whole lot at first even thought I dead cranked the engine without plugs till I saw the oil pressure guage come up). It quieted down a little. Pressure was not what I wanted - so again I replaced the sender - actually replaced the entire guage with an aftermarket autometer setup. No change. Resealed the pump - no change. NEW pump - ticking is gone in the last 100 miles or so after the pump change(it doesn't get driven a lot being a lifted weekender), pressure is around 20-25 idle, and 50 cruise. This engine is awesome - it pulled 220 psi in each cylinder for compression, and I really don't want to blow it up like the last one. People say you can just "reseal it", but my experience has been that this is not sufficient to restore a pump with 100k miles on it to full capacity. Being the most important fuild in your engine, personally I don't take chances anymore. After you have thrown a rod as a direct result of insufficient oil pressure, and completely destroyed a perfectly good engine, you won't find the $60 all that expensive. I pay it now with a smile. GD

Neat - not something I want or need myself, but if you could take pics of it, or allow me to drop by and take some for the site - that would be cool. I have several regular EA81 intakes to compare against photo wise.... I wonder if the ECU could be re-flashed with the fuel maps and programming used in the JDM engine..... and I wonder even more if that information could even be found from either a JDM ECU, or from Subaru of Japan.... GD