GeneralDisorder

$15 from any good stereo shop. They will try to tell you it's for an EA82. You will have to lose your ashtray though.... GD

The guage may not be reading correctly, or the sending unit for the guage may not have the correct resistance anymore. Other than the guage is there any reason for you to believe it's overheating? Does the radiator cap blow? One of those laser temp checking tools would be good. Point it at the radiator and see what kind of temps you can get. Then try it on the sending unit in the maniflold... Of course if your radiator is broken, then a new one is the right thing to do. I probably would have got one from the junk yard myself and had it pressure tested and gone through. It's cheaper that way. New ones are around $120, and having an old one refurbed is around $70. But they can sometimes be hard to find depending on your location. And some people don't have time for JY's, so I completely understand where your comming from. GD

I've seen EA82's with auto-adjusting rear drums..... GD

Yes - all new subaru's still come with the little tool bag. Just remember - there are many right ways to do things. There are benifits to each type of design, and there are drawbacks. Some you can see, and some you can't. Sometimes the only benifit of one design over another is that it's cheaper to make, or it can be made of machinery the company already owns. Asking why they did this or that is like asking why it's raining - you will never get an adequate answer, although I'm sure someone will try. The answer to why did they use a HO designed engine is because they *could*. Subaru was trying to get into the US market - to do this they needed a vehicle that was both cheaper than the domestic cars, and more reliable and economical. Someone probably realized that up to that point in time (early 60's), the only foreign company to be widely succesful in this market was VW. They were an obvious choice for who to copy. The 360's look suspicously similar to the beetle in many respects, and the engine design wasn't far off either (air cooled, all-aluminum construction, rear-mounting, etc). When it came time to up the engine size, and build a bigger car, the choice was again VW, but with Subaru's own "improvements", such as water cooling (with that comes front mounting for easy radiator placement). GD

I will say it again - VERFIY your guage. They ARE NOT ACCURATE. Neither are the sending units. Thowing parts at a problem is not the best way to troubleshoot. It's very expensive, and it seems obvious that you did not need a new radiator. I understand your frustration, but one of the fundamental rules to finding a problem such as this is that you start cheap and work your way up. Sending units and junk yard guage clusters are cheap in comparison to a new radiator. Radiators here on the left coast rarely go bad. I have yet to need a replacement on any of the EA81's I've worked on. I've even sent a couple to my friend at City Radiator here in Portland only to find that they were in pristene condition after several hundred thousand miles and over 20 years of use..... GD

Nissan key blanks are all you can get these days. Same ignition. My key's (one's a cole, and the other is an ilco) both have a "62DT" on them. I'm guessing that's the model of blank you should use. One says Datsun, the other says Nissan. GD

Doubtful - others have complained of this too. The problem is the carbs are no longer made in Italy - they are made cheaply in Mexico where little things like casting marks mean little to them. If you saw the quality of the rest of the redline "kit" you would understand. It's WAY below what I expected for the inflated, rediculous price I paid. Besides that I doubt redline is interested in remaning a cheap peice of aluminium when they can just press out another one. The time and work involved in measureing and re-bushing all the little passages and throttle bore's and such is too expensive. It's easier to buy scrap aluminium and just make new castings. GD

I have never had problems with squeal on the EA81 front's. I do use the red anti-squeal compound on my pads tho. If the fronts alone were working properly you wouldn't have to pump the pedal. Sounds like a leak or something. Replace those rear cylinders and bleed the system well. Rear's will squeal when they are out of adjustment..... GD

Actually - strange you should mention this because in almost every case I can think of Subaru has copied someone else's design. The engine is a water cooled version of the VW bug engine, and the rod shift transaxle is also a bug rip off.... As for the lug pattern - it's always stronger to have your lugs spaced farther apart. Just another example of the over-engineering that went into the early soobs. GD

Yeah - For the Fram ones it doesn't list your year on the book - just use any Brat listing (87 works). Should still be in the book. But please don't use the Fram stuff at all if you can help it. GD

I see a LOT more XT's Jon. I see a couple a day. A Brat is still a rare sighting...... wait - no it isn't - I have my own. HAHAHAHAHA. Everyone wants a Brat - seems they are getting *more* popular. I stopped by Nicky Nighteyes place yesterday (smack in the heart of the ghettooooo), and got comments from his friends and neighbors. And mine has three shades of blue panels, and body damage! GD

Actually - most subaru engines are non-interference, so breaking a belt is no problem. This is not the case on all of the newest EJ engines, but for a long time it was. The EA82 is the same - broken belts are common, and a pain, but will not damage anything. The disty runs off the drivers side cam - so if that side's belt is broken, the cam doesn't turn, so neither does the disty. The inspection holes have little rubber covers on them - look close at the belt cover and you will see them. Basically you have to stick you finger in there and feel for a belt..... GD

It's critical that the engine not have any misfires while idleing. Get rid of ALL vacuum leaks as this will lead to a rough idle. Most problems with emmissions on Subaru's are at idle. Getting the carb tuned right is critical to getting the right mixture at idle. Make sure the ignition system is in top form (coil, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and points/condensor). Ignition problems will lead to misfires, and a single misfire will cause a LOT of unburnt fuel to contaminate your exhaust. GD

My bet is on the timing belts - try turning it over (by hand with the crank pully bolt) to see if the disty turns. If it does then check the inspection holes on the other belt to see if that one blew. If it's just belts and the price is cheap, snag it. As for getting to the ignition switch - you can take the column plastic off and unscrew the switch from the lock cylinder. The switch turns with a flat blade screwdriver. This won't unlock the steering, but it will allow you to start the engine. GD

The dealership is as cheap as any place really. WIX (same as NAPA) is good also. Fram is BAD - stay away. I like the WIX fuel filters - the engine bay mounted one is clear so you can see the element. Nice. Again - NAPA is the same thing. GD

Maybe leaf through a haynes manual for a 5200 equiped Ford at the local parts place..... or call a Ford dealership and ask them to look it up. LOL. Sounds like your data sheet will have the answer. As long as you know the size engine your carb came from. GD

If only there was a dry ice factory around the corner from my house. GD

Probably depends on which DFV you have. There are several with different sized venturi's. Is is a true DFV or a Ford version (holley 5200 series)? GD

Verify the accuracy of your guage before doing anything else. I changed the guage cluster on my Brat and the temp went down 1/4. The guages are not known for accuracy. Also - I know a guy that works at City Radiator in Portland, and he has done a couple radiators for me - it's around $70 to have one completely gone through (free for me of course!). Last one he did had a small leak that he soldered up but other than that was perfectly fine - this was on an 82 Brat. That just goes to show that radiators here on the left coast last a LONG time. You might look at the rest of your cooling system, but verify the guage first. GD

I shaved the heads on my Brat, and I notice slight pinging with the timing at 10 DBTC, but no problems at the stock 8. That is running regular of course. I'm currently at 9.1:1 compression instead of the stock 8.7, and with EA71 pistons I think the compression will be around 9.5:1. Might have to run meduim or premium but it should handle it without much trouble. Qman is running with .020 shaved heads and EA71 pistons in both of his Brats - one has a Delta cam ground for HP and the other is ground for torque. After talking to him, he seems to favor the torque grind over the HP one..... You also have to remember that the EA82's are running 9.5:1 already, and the high-output EA81's that were availible on the JDM were also running 9.5:1. There is a lot of room for increasing the compression since it's only 8.7:1 stock..... GD

Don't think so. But even if that's the case, it could be easily changed. I know the EA81's don't - but then they don't have ECU's at all for the most part. I also know that EA81's and EA82's use the same alt, so there's no special computer control going on. Also if the ECU did depend on the alt, then having your alt go bad would disable the car - and I know that's not the case. You can always limp home on just the battery with most cars..... GD

Would be better to just replace the syncro's on the D/R and use that. You would have to split the casing's on both to change the gears, and if you are doing that, then it would be smart to do all the syncro's anyway. And if that's the case, then use the D/R - no sense fixing a single range when you have a D/R you could fix..... GD

I actually took the struts completely apart now that I am thinking about it - that relieved the pressure of course. I didn't use a spring compressor to take them apart or put them together. I am not sure, but I may have had a friend press down on the cap while I started the nut. At any rate, I set them to the lowest setting possible, so you may actually need a compressor if you want to use the highest setting..... I wanted them spongy, and they went into my lifted EA81 wagon, so stiff was bad for my application. As for killing people - I prefer an aluminium bat - makes such a nice sound when it connects with skull.... GD

Last oil pump seal kit I got at the dealer = $5.65. Hehe GD

The tappets (called lifters by most here) are hydraulic and do not need adjustment. You could go with a smaller turbo that spools at a lower RPM. But Turbo engines are not designed to run at low RPM's. It takes getting used to, but that's how you have to drive it. 3500 or higher if you want the power..... Is this engine original? What country are you in? We didn't get EA81T's here in 82... and when we did get them it was with Automatic tranny's.... 5th gear?? Is this an EA82 4WD tranny, or a 2WD car? GD