GeneralDisorder

Sounds like you need to "dress" the governor. It comes out the side of the tranny, and the edges of the sliding mechanism get rought with years of shifting. The parts expand as they warm, and eventually start working, but in the cold state they have trouble moving freely. The procedure isn't terribly difficult if you have some mechnical skills. There was an article in the online repair manual addressing this - perhaps someone can dig it up for you. The other alternative is to replace the tranny. Good news there is that any EA81 or EA82 automatic will bolt up to your engine and work just fine. The 3 speed automatics (like yours) are not very reliable however. You could covert to a manual, but if you want to stay with an automatic, they did make a 4 speed automatic in the later years of the EA82 series that are reputedly the most reliable of the automatics that will bolt up to your car. I have one for sale in fact if you are interested. It would require some wireing to install, as it is computer controlled, but it's a 4 speed AWD from an '88 turbo. $75 if you come and yank it from the car in my driveway, or $100 if I yank it. Otherwise it goes to the crusher pretty soon..... I've got it posted over in the market place, but there hasn't been much intrest Too bad I don't have any use for it myself: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20646 GD

Ask them to find you another one for sale in as nice of condition. They have to do it, or fix your car. It's that simple really. If they can't prove it's replaceable for what they are giving you, then they have to give you more, or fix your car. That is the ethics of the situation, and I would spell that out for them in plain english. Ask the adjuster how they would feel in your sitation. Make it personal if you can, and just wait - you'll get what you want, but like we said, it takes time. Months maybe. It takes YOUR signature to close the deal, and without that, they are stuck. Just remember that YOU are holding all the aces - the accident was not your fualt, you were injured (although minor), you were highly inconveinced, and they need your signature on the deal. Tell them that, and then ask them how they think a judge would feel about the situation.... GD

Do a tune up, and get it running correctly. They really aren't that slow if you have them in proper tune. 80 HP doesn't sound like a lot, but Brat's are light. My 85 can move pretty good - better than my friends carbed EA82 wagon, and both are bone stock as far as drivetrain. Another thing to note, is you shouldn't be afraid to rev it up. The engine makes it's best power around 3500 - 4000, and I usually shift around 5500 myself. A Weber will help the low-end torque, but your high end isn't going to change at all really. For that you have to tear the engine down and replace the cam. A lot can be had with a different cam, a little higher compression, and a better flowing carb like the Weber. As mentioned above - do some searches on the stuff I mentioned, and you'll find a lot more specific information if you really want it. GD

My guess.... Junk in your carb float bowl draining into the jets. Time to do a rebuild..... Clogged primary jet - at idle it's using the idle circuit, and over 3 grand it's using the secondary. GD

The T-tops would be good, but for some reason, they don't really sell well. I have like two extra sets, and whenever I see them for sale, there just doesn't seem to be much intrest. Strange, I know - but such is the way of things. Grab the gaskets under the T-tops - if they are good. GD

This has been discussed at length in the past, and the consensus is that it's not needed on the EA81's. EA81's do not have proportioning valves anyway, and adding them does not seem to be needed for a disc swap. Swapping over to the disc's on the EA81's has been done by many, many folks (including myself), and no issues have ever been noted by anyone who has actually done it. Normal braking is not affected, and with the rear discs on a lifted rig, you can lock up all 4 wheels on dry pavement easily. GD

Stuff you should "obtain" from the Gen 2 Brats if you can... board members will want this stuff: Good seat covers (the bucket seats only came in Brats) Rear seats, head rests, and seat belts. Bed carpet Rear bed side moldings (black plastic - both in front and behind the wheel well) Rear mudflaps Tail gates Tail lights Tail gate chrome trim Chrome trim attachement "clips" (plastic - under the chrome around the bed and tail gate). Straight rear bumpers, and end caps That's all I can think of at the moment.... there's proabably more. All those parts are specific to Brats, and cannot be found on anything else. Most of these items will be worth more than you will pay from a junk yard as they are difficult for many board members to find. GD

Probably - but not if the gears are shot. Likely a Tractor Mech would just pull the driveline and diff and replace the driveline with a spray paint can lid, a plastic garbage bag, and some bailing wire to keep the fluid in. Oh - and of course a gallon of cheap wal-mart 90 weight to keep the tranny full.... other options include parking it in the back 40 and driving the chevy, or even dropping the chevy drivetrain into the Brat..... with liberal use of bailing wire, duct tape, and a dirty sock for an air cleaner. Replacing the gears is a bit of an operation, as proper shimming will be required with a different ring and pinion. Unless you have the right tools, and the knowledge, a transmission shop would be the place to look for help.... GD

This is AUS he speaks of - 3.7's are the law of the land over in those parts..... GD

You should be able to bolt on the entire drum assembly from an EA82 if you want. All the EA81/EA82 rear brake systems bolt to the control arms the same way - you just have to monkey with the hard/soft lines to get them properly routed. I *think* some of the later EA82 drum systems were also self adjusting.... could be wrong on that, but I swear I've seen some that were. I wouldn't bet on the drums fitting in place of an EA81 drum tho - being heavier, the EA82's were probably equiped with larger drums in the rear just as they were equiped with larger discs in the front. I have some extra EA81 drums laying around if you get desperate - several sets actually. At least two sets have the rubber covers for the adjusters! GD

But what fun would it be if a whole week went by without this question? But I digress..... A 27" tire is roughly a 205/75R15 - which is a common size. You can fit them, but you'll have to break out the sawzall and the BFH to do it without a lift. GD

Yes, there were most definately 3.7 diffs in '82. For one, the automatics were 3.7, and the 2WD's were 3.7. In AUS, all the Brumby's were 3.7 as well - weird, since all the Brat's here in the US were 3.9 It could be that the PO put the 3.9 in mistakenly, or thought he would get some strange benifit from it. If you ever ran the vehicle on dry pavement with a 3.7 in the front and a 3.9 in the rear.... that could account for the premature failure of the diff. I've seen a lot of diffs abused, but never seen one actually fail - except broken stub axles. Anything is possible of course. Without knowing the gear ratios of the tranny (who knows - maybe he put a 3.9 tranny in as well!), it will be difficult to figure out the diff ratio. I say put the 3.7 in, and see what happens on dry pavement - put it in 4WD and see if you can travel in a straight line without binding. If it does, then you'll need to source a 3.9 diff..... we have tons of them here in the states, and I'm sure someone would be willing to ship you the ring and pinion gears so you can have that 3.7 converted. GD

And pay attention to what coil you have now. 2WD and 4WD have different resistance values to match the ignition module in the disty. GD

Get one of these: http://www.busdepot.com/busdepot/details.jsp?partnumber=5748 Best tool for the job hands down. Most times it will take off the nut with a couple hits EVEN with the hub spinning freely - you just set the tool on the hub and whack it with a hammer - sure the wheel will spin, but a couple smacks and the nut will spin off anyway - inertia baby. Believe me - I use mine all the time. These tools are intented for older VW buss rear axles where the torque is 250 lbs. Makes short work of the measly 150 lb torque of a Subaru axle nut. Light, small, cheap, easy to use - what more can you ask for? Won't hear me curseing in the yard - I get the job done and get the heck out. It's just a matter of learning what works well. Take rear axles for instance - often frozen to the splines with rust. If I don't notice movement after 5 hits of a BFH, I move on to the next suitible car. If I HAVE to have that specific one, then I'll either beat the stub out of the wheel bearing and deal with it later, or dismantle the inner joint, pop the grease cap from the bottom, and unbolt the stub axle from the diff.... if it's a front DOJ..... well, your just screwed I guess - never come accross one of those that was rusted tho, as there is generally a liberal quantity of grease in the vicinity of the transmission. GD

There is no significant difference between the advance curve of a 2WD disty and the advance curve of a 4WD. This is a wives tale, and I'm not sure how it even got started. NOTE, that this holds for EA81's ONLY. EA82's have many different curves for different years/types of fuel systems. Have a look in the FSM if you do not beleive me.... One must also be careful to match the correct disty to the correct ignition coil. The resistance values of 2WD and 4WD distributors and ignition coils are different. Hitachi coils go with Hitachi distributors and ND coils go with ND distys. Per the FSM. The difference in resistance probably accounts for the "increase" in throttle response that people feel. The 4WD coil with a 2WD disty will make a hotter spark, but do not mistake this for a difference in the advance curve. Your just asking to blow up the coil or the ignition module by doing crap like that. GD

The sticker on the valve covers is gold (sometimes they look silver when the gold wears off, or fades.). 83/84 Automatics, and all 85 and newer EA81's are hydro lifter. Additionally, all 85 and up EA71's are hydro as well. There is a way to tell from the block casting, but it's difficult to describe without pictures. You can't tell from the head casting because the same "large valve" heads were also used on solid lifter EA81's in 83 and 84 (and I imagine on JDM models at some point as well - might have been earlier tho). So that leaves the "educated" block casting inspection, or a slightly more invasive approach. I won't describe the casting differences because without pictures it's just not going to be very helpful. Best thing to do then is remove the valve cover (have a new valve cover gasket ready, as the old one will probably come off in peices), and inspect the valve adjusters. The hydro lifter models have lock tabs on a special washer under the jam nut of the adjuster. Solid lifter models do not have these. Also look at the ends of the pushrods - they should be smooth with no "knurling" at the ends. The solid lifter pushrods are subtley different. If you still have doubt, drop the oil pan and look at the lifter bore's with a mirror - if the lifter can be removed from the block then you absolutely have a hydro lifter engine. If you still cannot determine what you have, I'll try to take pictures of the differences in the block castings for you. GD

Gen 2's are more friendly, and Gen 3's and 4's are even better. Converting an EA81 can be done (I've done it), but it's not "easy" - takes a bit of work. Converting EA82's actually is pretty straightforward, as is converting a legacy apparently. As Subaru got more into the 4WD and AWD game, the differences between the 2WD and 4WD models became more and more modular to save costs. Unfortunately, the first gen was just too different to really make it feasible. GD

I concur - I looked into this as well with the 78 2WD I have, and the frame is different. You *could* do it, but you would end up cutting a pasting a lot of metal, and the structure of the car would have to be modified to make it strong enough. GD

Just follow the metal tube from the exhaust spacer up to it. The big chunk of alumninium is the valve. GD

Just an alternative that's cheaper than the heli-coil kits.... you can run a 7/16" x 20 tap into the existing hole with no drilling at all. Buy a tap, and a bottoming tap (or just cut the end off of a regular tap to make your own), and just run them in there. This avoids drilling, which you would have to do with the heli-coil kit, and it's much cheaper (about $10-$12 for the taps, versus $30 - $40 for the heli-coil kit). Going up a size makes it stonger too. And if you decide you don't like it later, you can always still do the heli-coil! You can then replace the old stud with either a stud or a bolt - use stainless if you can get it. And don't forget a flat washer and lock washer as well. GD

I'm sure PK can hook you up. It's a simple matter to make the kit any size you want really (between 0" and 5" anyway - above that, and you will have other issues). He'll just use 2" square tube instead of 3", and it will probably be cheaper since the material is cheaper, the bolts are cheaper, and the kit will weight less for shipping.... but you'll have to ask him about it. GD

So from what I can gather of your post, you are concerned that the CV boot (the rubber part) is cracked? Is the boot actually broken open or just cracking from age? Small cracks in the surface of the rubber are normal for old boots, and they could last a considerable amount of time before they fail. It would of course be an excelent idea to have the boots replaced if they are showing age, and definately have them replaced if they are broken open. There are split boots manufactured that can be glued/bolted/zippered etc together, but they rarely last very long and no one will recommend you use them. The axle (assuming it's still good and not making noises) can be rebooted with new boots and new grease. The parts are trivially inexpensive, I think around $7 to $12 depending on where you buy the boots, per boot. So at most you are looking at $25 per axle in parts. Labor is a different story, as the axle must be removed (or if you are really good and know subaru's, it can be done by just pulling the innter joint off the transmission), so you are looking at approximately 30 minutes to an hour of labor for each side - depending on the skill of the mechanic. Figure about $50 in parts and new grease, and a couple hours shop time at the most. Dealership shop time rates are going to be around $80 per hour, while non-dealerships will probably be cheaper. The other option is to just have new axles installed.... since the axles have to come out to be rebooted anyway, it might be worth it if you plan to pay for shop time to have it done. The labor is essencially the same either way. Autozone sells brand new axles for $90 each. Get the NEW ones, not the remaned units. Check with the owner to see when the last time the timing belts were done - they are due every 60k miles, and usually the tensioners, main seals, cam shaft seals, and the water pump are wanting serviced at that time as well. Full timeing belt procedure and all labor would be around $300 - $600 depending on where you go and what all is done. On another note, you can pick up a used distributor for your 87 (that thing that the cap attaches to), and have your "guy" install it. Try the marketplace here on this board - you'll probably find someone with one for $50 or less. If all else fails, you can get a rebuilt one from roo-builders in Colorado for around $150 http://www.ccrengines.com/roobuilders/ GD

Sounds like it's time for a carb rebuild. You might have junk in the float bowl - the Hitachi's don't like that, as the jets act like a drain in the bottom of the bowl, and anythign in there will drain right into them. At any rate, your description of messing with the carb and seafoam etc just strikes me as an indication that your problem is probably mostly carb related. If messing with the carb causes the symtoms to change, then it's time for a rebuild I would say. GD

2500 - 3500 will give you generally the best fuel econemy. Depends on *what* '88 you are talking about - wagon, 3 door, XT, RX, etc. Some have different gearing than others. Generally speaking, soobs like high RPMS. The experimental aircraft guys run the EA81's at 7000 or more for hours at a time. This is of course only done with improved cooling systems - both oil and water. 4 or 5 thousand (or even shifting at 6) isn't going to hurt the engine. The short stubby rods are very well designed for high RPM's. GD

Ebay is a good starting place. You can contact WJM - he works at a Subaru parts department, and can get manuals. Not much online for an EA82. There is a recent post on here about online manuals with a few good links to some PDF's, but not much that directly applies I don't think. Worth a look perhaps. GD