GeneralDisorder

If it was running fine before you did the water pump, then I would say you might have introduced a vacuum leak when you were working in there. Spray around with some carb cleaner and see if the sound of the engine changes. This will tell you if you have a leak or not. Timing shouldn't have to be touched to do a water pump, so unless you messed with something you shouldn't, I would think the timing should be correct already. GD

Sure - it can be done, but no one makes a "kit" for it. The problem area is the rear end. The torsion bars are mounted at funny angles and are difficult to install lift blocks under. The best method, as I understand it, is to fabricate in the torsion bar from a Gen 2 car. GD

The Weber is better for take-offs, but neither one will do anything for passing power. The only way you are going to get more high end on an EA81 is to change the cam. Compression ratio helps a bit too. That being said, I have no trouble passing in my Brat. GD

13 lbs is the correct pressure for your cap..... I wouldn't put anything but a 13 on it. 16 could cause an over-pressure condition to develop. This might not hurt anything, but it might blow your radiator apart or blow a nice hole in one of your hoses.... GD

I would like the price on the 85-89 Brat and Hatch FSM..... At least I'm guessing there is one.... if not then the 84 FSM will do. GD

I don't use aftermarket thermostats at all anymore. Go with the stock 192 from the dealer. Here's my reason: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=16277 Unless you have a modified engine, there should be no reason for needing a lower temp thermostat. That's simply a band aid. Make sure to replace your radiator cap as well. I like the Stant ones myself. GD

It doesn't really matter much frankly. Yes there will be less weight on the cross-member, but that will be held up with a jack anyway. The only thing that comes to mind that would be slightly easier is the steering shaft extension. But even that isn't hard with the engine in place. GD

How does it handle street driving? Or is it a trailer queen now? GD

When you buy Head Gaskets, Fel Pro makes a line called "Permatorque". I used them last time I did HG's, and they seem to work very well. I overheated my engine very badly (lost all my coolant), and the HG's didn't budge. Plus they are only about $14 each from here: www.pickproparts.com GD

Dangit! If only I had a turbo.... That idea rolled across the board a while back, and I thought it was cool at the time. I like simplicity when I can get it. That struck me as a very simple approach to cold air. GD

The difficulty you run into with that scheme is that the engine is driving the A/C system, and the more heat the A/C transfers from the condensor to the evaporator, the harder the compressor has to work to do it. With the A/C on, you are already losing power to drive the compressor.... I doubt you could get enough back with a scheme like that to actually get a net gain out of it. The amount of power drawn off by the A/C compressor would be more than the power gained by cooling the intake air. You might get a gain if you ran the A/C off of storage batteries and used a compressor from a freezer.... but the added weight of the compressor, DC inverter and batteries might hinder any performance gain there either. Although it would be an interesting experiment. I like the idea of using a metal container of dry ice as a simple intercooler.... GD

EA71..... my FSM says 3.8 quarts. GD

In my experience, older EA81's usually have a bad oil pressure reading due to crispy oil pump seals, and bad oil pressure sending units (when they start leaking from the bottom it's time to get a new one). With good seals and a new sending unit, my Brat (140k) settles down to about 15 psi when fully warmed at idle. Shoots up to about 40 psi or more at cruise. This is running 20w50. At the very least check those seals - a new seal kit is only about $6 from the dealer, and they get terribly crispy. The sending units are about $25. GD

Yeah - sounds like a blown HG to me. You should get Rob's opinion on it.... BTW - not a good idea to put water in a car that has overheated and has very little coolant in it. You should wait for it to cool down first. Rapid cooling from the introduction of cold water can cause serious damage. That actually may be what pushed it over the edge. It might have gradually run out of coolant and thus overheated - adding cool water could have caused the head gasket to blow or the head to crack. The loss of oil pressure doesn't sound good, but if you got it real hot, the oil may have just thinned out too much. Still not a good sign. If it has oil, and the oil pressure doesn't return after the engine has cooled down you should check the oil pressure sending unit, and the oil pump and it's seals.... if none of those are the culprit, start looking for a new short block as you have probably chewed up a main bearing..... GD

You rock dude. In a couple weeks I'm going to hit you up for an FSM..... GD

Mine aren't exactly the smallest, but they do have 6 ply construction, and I have yet to damage one to the point of leaking. Mine are 28" 215/75R15 Hankook RT01's.... I got em for $99 a tire mounted and balanced at a local Tire Factory. About the same as a Wildcat EXT, but the wildcat's are only 4 ply. Their rubber is unfortunately softer than the Wildcat.... grips like crazy, but not so good for street driving. My rig is off-road only, and it's street driving is limited to getting me to/from the mud. Just for comparison, the Interco swamper's are availible in some pretty small sizes for pretty cheap. You can get the bias ply's in the 27 and 28 sizes for less them $90 a tire if you look around. Not good for street use either, but they are 10 ply !!, and nearly indestructible. They have radials too, but they are more expensive. GD

Yeah - it sure does help having tons of parts cars availible. Heck - I have a great little Subaru dealership about 3 miles from my house that has a couple master techs working the parts counter. They have been there since shortly after the begginning of time, and are really helpful sometimes. One of the guys even owns an 82 GL wagon. They love to see my lifted wagon or my Brat, and lately they have been giving me wholesale prices..... GD

If you can get to the seal that easy, then get one from a junk yard..... The real fix for this is of course to swap to a 5 speed D/R.... As for junking our old cars because of a seal - that will never happen. I'll just start modifying to use newer Subaru or other brand parts. I'll use EA82 stuff till it dries up, then I'll start canabalizing EJ cars. And of course I buy up parts cars when I can find them cheap..... GD

What fluid are you leaking and from where exactly? I have never seen an EA81 crack a block.... possible I suppose, but unlikely I should think. The head gaskets will blow log before the block crack's..... manufacturing defect's do happen, but one would think it would have shown itself long before it reached the age it is now.... Sounds like you need a new mechanic - he's debugging your car with new parts - never a good sign in my opinion. Unless he can demonstrate that the block is indeed cracked, he's just speculating. When he points to a huge crevice and says "there it is", and you can both see it, you can believe it, but until then get another opinion. GD

Wow! Old post. Anyway - for the "jldskier" person who resurected this one - sorry to say that your Loyale is quite a bit different than a Brat, which my original post about it being "easy" was tailored to. Being no expert on EA82's myself, I can only say that it's "not as easy as an EA81". Other than that, I sugest you perhaps start a new thread asking about changing the water pump on your exact model. Wish I could be more helpful, but I'm really not an EA82 guy. *I'm not sure what monk was talking about nearly a year ago with that double groove pulley business, but all EA81 water pumps are single groove.... EA71's too. Just to clarify in case someone reads this post in the future.... weird * GD

That's actually a pretty decent price.... waiting around for the exact year I want to show up on ebay is time consuming. And I imagine that having it brand new will insure that it has all the proper updates included already. GD

Distance matters in as much as over a short distance one can usually avoid getting on the freeway..... backroads = slower speeds = safer. Also puts less strain on the tow vehicle. Also long distances are likely to encounter all sorts of different traffic patterns. When going a short distance one can usually time it so that you miss rush hours, and other impedances along the way. Another interesting effect that most people ignore is the tendancy for a person to get less cautious after the first 10 or 20 miles. When nothing happens after that point the brain starts to have stupid ideas.... "heck - this is fine - lets pick up the pace!", or "I took that last corner at 15, but I'll take this one at 25.... people are giving me dirty looks for going slow." Etc, etc. Slippery slope - and it leads to accidents and injuries. I flat towed my friends Paseo with both my wagon, and my Brat. Both did fine, but the speeds were pretty slow, and I had an experienced towee driver at the wheel of the yota. With the wagon we did take it for a short jaunt on the freeway, but since the problem with the Paseo that time was the clutch, he had full use of the power brakes and it's lighting system to warn other drivers. I still didn't go over 45 MPH. When I towed it with the Brat it was not running, and I didn't go over 25 MPH, and never hit the freeway. Still a very scary thing and something I will likely not do ever again as I now have access to a 3/4 ton Ford for this sort of thing.... GD

Great. Would love to hear about the wiring in particular. Maybe you could do a write up for the new online repair manual..... GD

What did it set you back? New I assume? Might be nice to have a new one for myself.... GD

Some poor NG type is going to be in a ****-pile of trouble over that one. I would hate to have to explain that one to my commander..... GD