GeneralDisorder

Hydraulic lifters started here in the '83 model EA81's mated to automatic transmissions (yes - that includes turbo's). '85 and up EA81's and EA71's have them as well. That means that the STD model hatchback, which came with the "fat case" EA71 from 85 to 89 has the hydro lifters. I personally own 4 hydro lifter EA81's, so they aren't rare - all of them have had the gold sticker on the valve cover's. The best way to tell if the engine is a hydro block, is to remove the oil pan, and check the casting to see if the lifter can be removed. The hydro blocks are cast such that the lifter will slide out from it's bore without splitting the block (for lifter service). This can easily be seen with the pan removed. If it were hydro, and came from an '85 and up STD hatch, it would also have the EA81 bell-housing, with the side-mount starter. These bell-housings are NOT the same as an EA81 bell-housing. In other words the bell-housing mate's to the transmission the same, but not to the engine. An EA71 bell, and the EA81 bell are not interchangeable between blocks. GD

Besides that, you can't replace them without splitting the tranny casing - so basically it means a complete rebuild. GD

They are fairly rare - but unfortunately, still a wagon, and as such - not worth much. They are more common here in the NW - I've seen a couple in the yards. GD

$25 + $2.50 core here in Portland at all the U-Pull-It yards. $50 is hilarious - you can get remaned units for $55 - $65 almost anywhere. GD

I just use my military discount. GD

Yes, but you also need the leading rod plates, and the cross-member, as the A/T isn't he same. Pedal box, clutch cable, flywheel, clutch, interior consoles, shift linkage, etc, etc GD

NO - that's the wrong stuff - you want 3M Window Weld - comes in a white metal caulk tube. The stuff you have is just a sealant - won't do a thing for mounts. Make SURE to allow them to set up for at least 48 hours prior to installation. I waited 24 hours once and they melted. Grainger sells the two part urethane - it's about $50 a quart..... you need 3 quarts because it's a 2:1 mix. Their brand I think is "Flexane". McMasters sells some too - cheaper. No name brand that I could see... Also check these guys: www.smooth-on.com They have decent prices on "trial" sizes. Their 3 lb "trial" kits are around $30 Basically, you want anywhere from a 60A to a 90A hardness. 60A will be like a strong stock mount, where a 90A will be almost solid mounted - harder than most racing mounts actually (besides aluminium of course ). I'm gearing up to do ALL the mounts and bushings in my Brat - sway bar links, etc. I *may* offer this service on a limited basis, but some things like the control arm bushings aren't going to be easily done unless you send me your control arm.... GD

That was probably your problem - the HH only works on one of the two circuits. So it will engage on one front wheel, and one rear wheel. I'm betting your rears are so far out of adjustment you just didn't notice.... GD

You can loosen the 4 bolts that hold the rack to the cross-member as an alternative to dropping the cross-member. Easy. Being over 6 feet, I don't really like getting under the dash to mess with the column myself, but that's a valid way to do it if you happen to be a midget. GD

Sounds like the choke isn't pulling off - what you are encountering is the "fast idle cam" - it's operated by the choke, and is designed to make the engine idle fast (2k is about right) durring warm up. It should rotate out of the way as the choke pulls off when the engine warms to operating temp.... probably need to figure out what's up with your choke - make sure it has power, and that the spring isn't broken. The bushing on the bottom of the shifter is availible from Subaru - my local dealer even stocks one still. Cost is about $4 - they snap onto the bottom of the shifter. Made of nylon I think. GD

Emily - does this apply to the 4 speeds as well? That third gear syncro seems to be a weak point..... Does CCR do trannys? That would be nice... GD

Won't hurt to ask - depends on the shop. I'm not a radiator repairman, so even if I saw it I couldn't tell you if it can be fixed for a reasonable fee or not :-\. Rest assured that it *can* be fixed. A competent repairman can just replace the whole tank on that side if neccesary. I have a friend that works at a radiator shop, and he went through an EA81 radiator for me at one point (free). He soldered a small leak, flushed it, and painted it..... told me it *would* have cost aroun $70 or $80 (US). That's compared to about $120 for a new aftermarket unit. Seeing as mine didn't have any corrosion at all (not to mention I got the repair done for free!), I chose to have my Subaru radiator repaired rather than take a chance with some aftermarket unit. GD

About the cheapest you can get the kit for is $350 or so - I haven't seen any "new" ones for much less. Might be able to find one on ebay for about $100 - $125 (that's usually what I see them go for), then you need the adaptor plate ~$40, and generally ebay models are used - so they may or may not be jetted correctly, and might be in need of a rebuild as well (fairly easy - kit is about $35). Search for "32/36 Weber" or "VW Weber" or stuff like that. It's common to see them on ebay from VW's. You can get a rebuilt Hitachi for about $250 from CCR in colorado.... apparently they do a great job..... I would rebuild your Hitachi, but I don't like doing it for people that aren't local to me, as often they seem to need tweaking after I take the first stab at it. I have successfully rebuilt a couple now, but it's still a crap-shoot. Frankly - CCR is your best bet for a cheap solution to your problem..... How mechanically inclined is he? It's possible to retro-fit the SPFI from an EA82 - the manifold will bolt up, and you have to change the distributor, and fuel pump and do some wireing for the computer, but all the parts should be availible at a junk yard for pretty cheap. Probably cost a bit less than a new Hitachi, and then you would have fuel injection. It's not a slam dunk tho - like I said there is some work involved. Personally I feel the SPFI is the best solution to fuel delivery for the EA81 in terms of cost/performance. They have a lot of low-end grunt, and are virtually bullet-proof once properly set up. Alternatively - he could try his hand at rebuilding the Hitachi himself. I will help as much as I can though the board here. Worst case if you try this - you are out $35 for the kit, and it doesn't run at all anymore.... however - if it runs fine now, except for the dying part - there's a good chance that he will be succesful just by cleaning out the float bowl, and putting in new gaskets, etc. This is all on the assumption that the carb is the problem of course..... which is hard to say for certain. Based on the "right turn" issue, I would have to say it's the #1 suspect, but it could still be a weak fuel pump. Testing the fuel pump pressure would be a good place to start I should think. Discount auto places sell guages for about $10 that you can hook up in-line with the pump to check the pressure. Also - start carrying a multi-meter to check if the pump has power or not when it dies. Might be the fuel pump control unit, which is a little black box under the dash..... Oh - and have the fuel filters been replaced? There are two..... and check that tank for rust. The way to tackle this problem is to isolate - then destroy. Throwing parts at it without a complete diagnostic is expensive. It might just be that you need to replace some filters..... One more thing - you should verify what carb it currently has - some of the EA81 cars and brats came with a "carter/weber" which is obscure, difficult to find parts for, and uses a different manifold that the 32/36 Weber WILL NOT bolt to. If you go with a Weber, then you would have to switch to a Hitachi manifold as well if you have one of these. GD

www.centerforce.com GD

Sounds like it's time for a carb rebuild.... perhaps somone turned up the idle adjustment screw because it wouldn't idle any lower.... hard to say till you get in there and tear it apart. Likely the carb has some part in it tho. Vacuum leak wouldn't cause it to idle high like that, but could be the reason it's been turned up. Could also be a stuck fast idle cam in the choke.... If it has AC, there's an AC idle up solenoid that's vacuum driven..... GD

'83 = EA81 = no crank angle sensor. Still - could be the ign. module in the disty.... which basically means find another disty. GD

That is a really bizzare problem! If you have a coil handy, I would try a different one. Perhaps when the starter is drawing current there's not enough left over to fire the coil?? That's a guess tho..... the coils do fail - it's not unheard of. Beyond that.... I would test the elect. ignition module in the disty, as they are reputed to fail on occasion as well. GD

The right turn sloshes the contents of the float bowl to the left, and then when you straighten out, the contents slosh back again..... right into the jets. Crappy design really. My Brat did that to me for a couple months before I figured it out. Count yourself lucky that it restarts right away. Mine would die, and not restart sometimes for hours, and once it took overnight. Luckily, if I made it to the freeway, and it started acting up, I could run it in 3rd gear at 55 MPH and it would keep going till I reached an exit..... ugly problem to have. The Weber's don't have this problem because the Jets are positioned above the bottom of the float bowl. This way junk can't drain into them. GD

Sounds like junk in the float bowl. The Hitachi's jets are down in the bottom, and will act like a drain. When you turn stuff gets sucked into the jets and blocks the fuel from flowing. Either that or the float level isn't adjusted right, or the pump can't keep up with demand (bad pump - blocked lines - clogged filter's - etc). Basically it sounds like a fuel delivery issue, and you should thouroughly go through the entire fuel system top to bottom to locate what's wrong. GD

Please enlighten us - what's the difference on the coupe? This has come up before, and no one has explained it to my satisfaction, and all the coupe owners I've talked to say it's the same. GD

The Fuel pump is not in the same location on all models. Brat's for example are right behind the cab on the drivers side.... and EA82's don't have rear filters. In the case of this 83 wagon tho, you are correct. GD

What I do, is beat them for a bit - 10-15 minutes. If they don't move, then I do what you did - push the stub through. Then I dissasemble the joint, pop the grease seal out of the bottom of the cup, and beat it out from that side... still takes a while, and often I just go to the JY and get another stub and a cup. They don't charge much for them - $5 or so. Torch can work too if you have one - heat up the cup, and before the stub has a chance to equalize in temp, beat on it. That will often break the rust up enough to get them moving. GD

EA82's don't have a rear fuel filter. The one in the engine bay is it. There's a strainer back there somewhere. GD

All EA81 windshields are the same. Although the EA81 line was known as the "Leone" not the Loyale. GD

That's indicative of a bad DOJ - the symptoms tend to come and go as they please. Besides - front end vibration isn't caused by the transmission - it would either be the axles, or the wheels (loose lug nuts - improper balancing, etc). When they vibrate under load, it's usually the axle DOJ. $1200 probably means the trans was rebuilt.... last I checked the going rate for Automatic trans overhaul was around $500 - but including removal and installation I could see $1200. Did they add an extra transmission cooler? If not, it would be a good idea to invest in one. Also have it flushed yearly and change the filter. Those EA81 autos are not known for reliability, but can be alright if you maintain them exceptionally well. As for the 5 speed swap, it's not a direct bolt in, but if you are willing to make some linkage changes, it will go in alright. Since you don't have a flywheel anyway, I would sugest using the EA82 flywheel and clutch setup.... or if you are buying them new (a good idea), get the XT-6 flywheel and clutch. You also have to either fab up the EA82 two-peice driveline, or have a custom driveline made. There's some wireing too if you want the 4WD indicators to work right.... GD