GeneralDisorder

Brushes are NOT contacts. The contacts are in the starter solenoid, while the brushes are for the starter motor itself. GD

I've broken a lot of axles - but since I started using EA82 joints in the rear - and NEW gck axles in the front, I've been pretty happy. I've seen front lower control arms get bent - best way to prevent that is to box them - basically weld a steel plate to the underside to make them fully enclosed instead of just stamped. I've bent my rear diff hanger - fixed that by welding a peice of 1/4" flat bar along the length of the hanger - this will prevent flex foward and back which is the main reason for bending it. It will support the whole wagon now. I've seen the rear diff hanger mounts ripped loose - that can be fixed by welding them to the uni-body, or by fabricating brackets for them, and bolting them up like a solid axle shackle mount instead of just two bolts to the frame rail. Those raidus rods are a problem - I think possibly larger, thicker rods are the best bet there. Other things to do - skid plate for the fuel tank - or a fuel cell. Skid plate for the rear diff too. GD

You don't have one - no loyale did - except perhaps the 90 turbo model??? Anyway - very few EA82's got rear sway's. RX's, and GL-10's mostly. GD

Clutch cable adjusted properly? Did you have the flywheel turned by a competent shop? GD

""In most countries (including all of Europe and Australia) the "headline" octane that would be shown on the pump is the RON, but in the United States and some other countries the headline number is the average of the RON and the MON, sometimes called the Anti-Knock Index (AKI), Road Octane Number (RdON), Pump Octane Number (PON), or (R+M)/2. Because of the 10 point difference noted above, this means that the octane in the United States will be about 4 to 5 points lower than the same fuel elsewhere: 87 octane fuel, the "normal" gasoline in the US and Canada, would be 91 in Europe."" So your 98, is the same as our 93. No difference. GD

Yes - when the engine stops running, the FPCU (Fuel pump control unit) will shut off the pump to prevent a fire in case of accident. It will run for a few seconds when it's first put in the run position, and then it will run while cranking. If the FPCU gets no signal from the coil (tach signal, coil pulse, whatever you like to call it), the pump will be shut down. GD

Paint can opener works well I've found - cheap too. The short metal type with the little flat hook on the end. GD

I've noticed that heat tends to really help remove stuff - heat, and backflush. Sort of like steam cleaning I guess. It's important to note that a properly maintained cooling system will never require this procedure. The coolant has many anti-corrosion properties, but if it's left in there for more than a couple years, you'll have problems. If you live around salt you may need a new radiator, but that's from rust on the outside, not the inside. GD

In a nutshell - no. The heater core is like a mini-radiator. There is a valve that opens or closes to allow more or less flow through the core, but in principle it really doesn't matter which direction the system flows. You are running it this way? I would definately flush the system out as you probably have crud that is free-floating in your coolant now, and that will settle somewhere if you don't take action while it's loose.... maybe back in the core, but maybe in your radiator too. Get one of those cheap flush and fill kits with hose fittings for your heater core hoses - that way you can presureize the system with a garden hose and shoot that junk out of there. It's a good idea to replace the heater core hoses too - 5/8" core hose is like $1 per foot at NAPA, and the peice of mind is worth it. I've had them split open on a hot day and spill every drop of coolant on the road - that sucks. GD

You may need to bleed the master cylinder first before bleeding the lines. The systems uses two circuits controlling diagonal wheels independantly, in the case of a leak (or air) in one side of the system the master cylinder has a failsafe that will allow the other circuit to still operate - but with more pedal travel. Bleed the master cylinder first, and then the wheels - make sure you have the e-brake off when you bleed too. GD

No - lets be clear here - there's no guarantee that the ignitor was engineered for more than double it's rated output - but then there is no guarante that it wasn't either. It also can burn out the coil rather than the ign. module. Either way you are dead on the road unless you have spares. Granted this can happen with stock components too. My point is that telling people to do this or do that is irresponsible without also telling them the risks if you know about them. Making changes to your vehicle is irrespoinisble unless you have done the research and know the risks - both to yourself, your passengers, and anyone else on the road that you may encounter. Electronics, and electrical systems should not be trifled with lightly. There ARE such things as voltage, current, and resistance that all must be in tune or bad results may come of it. Anything from blowing a fuse, to destroying components, to fire! Ask a Jaguar owner about badly designed electrics..... It probably always seems that I'm the voice of doom about stuff like this. Sorry but someone has to take the side of rationality, and reason. It's all fun and games till someone loses an eye. GD

Changing the coil will result in higher voltages.... till you burn out your ignitor module, and have to spend $100 on a new one. The stock coil, and ignitor are a matched pair for resistance. If you want higher voltages, then you need to head to a disty shop so they can upgrade your distributor ignition module as well. GD

Crank it a bit with the plugs out. GD

http://www.philbingroup.com/ They are local to me, and I can vouch for their work. Excelent quality. All the rebuilders in Portland send their work there. GD

I don't run them on the road - but to keep the bearings in good shape, I would say probably keep them if you are going to get into any water. Mud only is fine as they are spinning fast enough to fling that away. It takes 2 hours to change the belts with them, and 20 minutes without - you decide. I would rather keep an extra set in the car and be able to change them on the side of the road, than have to have the car towed. that to me makes it worthwhile. Plus I've maintained several EA82's without them for many thousands of miles (on road only) with absolutly no ill effect. If anything the belt covers IMO tend to collect debris, and keep oil and other contaminates from draining away from the belts and pulleys. The whole setup is easier to maintain and keep clean without them. Makes belt and pulley inspection a simple matter of opening the hood. GD

IIRC, someone found them (aftermarket) for $40'ish each.... that's about $160 for a complete set - I think they are considerably more from the dealer. GD

Here's a direction you can research. I haven't followed it up much, but I did meet, and see in person, a guy who put an air locker from a VW Syncro van differential into an R160 subaru diff. It was on an '82 wagon, and he was a machinist - said it needed some slight modification to be installed, but "wasn't very difficult, and was just the perfect size". Alas, the guy is a real flaky nutball, and i haven't seen nor heard from him in quite some time. The problem is the Syncro's are rare, and the ones with the air lockers are really, really rare. They do exist, and yes they were imported here to the US, so it's possible that this might be done. If I could get ahold of one, I know a machinist that would probably do the deed for me... GD

Not sure on the coolant leak, but the big downfall to the Justy is the oil pump - they need to be replaced at least every 100k or so we hear. GD

This *should* work with 85/86 SPFI, but since the EA81T has the vacuum advance, I'm not totally sure on it's combatibility with a Loyale SPFI system.... I know John (Mudrat) used an EA81T disty for this swap (that's what he claimed anyway - since he oviously isn't interesting in sharing a write up, or even a parts list with the rest of the community ).... I'm just wondering what the vacuum advance will do to the Loyale computer - the loyale gets set with 20 degrees of initial advance, and the computer does the rest right? If the computer does all the work in retarding the spark, then I guess the vac canister could just sit there unused? GD

If you want good-looking old soobs, you have to come out west - just got this one for $100. It was about a week from being sold to the junk man for $35. I drove it home from where it sat in the mans yard for 3 years. No rust of course - he broke the ign. switch, and didn't want to bother fixing it:

Yeah - I had to switch to EA82 DOJ cups to stop that. GD

Replacement is expensive. If you need a Cat, then the best bet is to gut the one in the y-pipe, and add one in place of the "resonator" that is in the straight pipe right behind the y-pipe. You can get aftermarket Cat's on ebay for pretty cheap to use for this. You'll have to find someone to weld it in for you, as most muffler shops in areas that test will not modify a stock setup like that for you. Out in the country where there is no testing you may find someone. Really, you just have to cut the resonator out, and weld the cat in place - not hard at all. As to gutting the stock cat - remove the heat sheild on it, and cut (angle grinder - blue wrench won't work as they are SS) a big flap the size of a slice of bread out, and bend it back to expose the innards. Crush with a screwdriver and hammer and pour into the garbage. Weld it up, and put the heat sheild back in place and you'll never be able to tell it was done. GD

If you have a source for them, I'll take one. Carbs plus manifold that is... GD

The problem is the torsion tubes run at angles to the body, not straight across like the EA81 single tube. Easiest way would be to replace the whole rear end with one from an EA81. This would also give you better axles, etc - and you could effect a 4" lift with just some EA82 rear struts. GD

Depends on a lot of factors that you have not specified - wheel offset, tire size, and do you plan on leaving the sway bars in place? Most of us take them out for better articulation, and easier repair (easier to remove axles without em). I can say that with 5" of lift and 28" tires (15" Chevy rims) with no sway bars my wagons handles fine. The steering is a bit touchy to get used to, but at least the power steering doesn't mind the tire size. It steers very easily, and the tire's tend to walk a bit, so you don't want to go real fast in it. I've done 90, but seriously for safety, 65 should be the top speed on something like my rig. Ride depends on what you are doing to your suspension. Basically the heavier your wheel/tire combo is, the more inertia it will have, and thus the softer your stock suspension will feel. Ride is comfortable for my wagon - loud because of the tread, but not truck-like in it's feel. GD