GeneralDisorder

Yes - try another distributor from the junk yard. It very well could be the ign. module. GD

I agree with Ken - I have never seen a Hitachi that was "worn out". The dealership doesn't know what they are talking about, and told you that you get you to go away. The only thing that wears on the hitachi is the throttle base, and you can get rebuilt throttle bases from CCR in colarado for around $40. The Hitachi is a funny animal at times, and it took me about 5 try's to get the rebuild process down to where I could get good results..... but it CAN be done, and the ones I have rebuilt run perfect. The last one had 190k on it when I rebuilt it and I didn't have to replace the throttle base as it was still in decent shape. It's also very possible that your problems are not entirely the carb. One of the reasons that people get such good results with the weber is they do not understand what all the vacuum and purge lines do or how to properly troubleshoot difficulties of this nature. The Weber eliminates all that stuff, and then of course the engine runs perfect again.... GD

O2 sensor perhaps - I've had these go bad and cause similar problems in other cars I've owned. Try simply disconnecting it to see if the problem goes away.... If you have recently used any silicone based products near the engine bay..... it only take a whif of oder from them to ruin an O2..... GD

Crank the engine over - if it makes weird noises, then do something about it - otherwise don't bother. I've encountered all kinds of random junk the bell-housing on disasembly - there's usually an oil/dirt sludge down there that will trap it. Don't worry yourself over it. GD

Just wait till he gets into a soob - I bet the Audi's novelty (and expense!) will wear off quick. hehe. I have friends with A6's and S4's - I must say that some of the design aspects of the car are so increddibly obtuse and random that it boggles my mind. Non-replaceble ball joints? (must replace entire control arm instead.... and BOY do they have a lot of control arms and ball joints...) What idiot came up with this scheme? But I digress... On looks alone, I would go with a 3 door, or even an RX three door if you can find one. And if you like a few more ponies - try to find an XT-6. These had the 2.7L 6 cylinder version of the EA82 (known as an ER27). The ER27's can be built up to over 200 HP with no trouble at all. More than that if you do a low pressure turbo... GD

The fuel level sending units are indeed different - I forgot to swap that out when I swapped in the 4WD tank in my wagon, and the guage still worked, but was really wacky. Full was still full, but half a tank was nearly empty - stuff like that. Basically - the conversion can of course be done, but it's really too much work. Just fine a working digi. GD

Apparently, 4WD Brats are actually rare in Isreal. And if you are wondering, they did make 2WD Gen 1 Brats too. The brochure archive has a picture - Subaru called it the "shifter". GD

2WD Brats were availible only in countries other than the US/Canada. Isreal got a crap load of them apparently..... GD

Well - on start up they ticked pretty loud, and after the first 30 seconds or so got quiet pretty quick. There was still a tick till I test drove it, and after returning home it was gone, and hasn't returned. Looks like the adjustment procedure worked! GD

MUCH harder. Engine is wider, and longer. Frame rails have to be modified, and the radiator has to be moved. EJ22 requires no frame rail mods, and relocation of the radiator is not needed (although an EJ radiator ought to be fitted I'm assuming). GD

There is no need to vent the float bowl to anywhere in particular. It only goes into that charcoal canistor because of emmissions laws. Venting to open air is fine. Don't plug it tho. GD

Rear wheel bearings for all EA81 and EA82 4WD vehicles are either a single sealed unit containing two roller bearings and races and a spacer , or a three peice affair with a single race, and two roller bearings that fit in either end of that race. In both cases the two taper bearings are the same size. Under no circumstances should either of those bearings be a non-taper bearing. The front wheel bearings use two flat ball bearings on each side..... This is a rear wheel bearing *assembly* (1 per side): This is a front wheel bearing (2 per side): The only thing I know of that uses different sized bearings is the rear bearings on a 2WD - they are loose taper bearings and one is larger than the other. GD

Well - I dead cranked (no plugs) for about 30 seconds and nothing - then suddenly the oil pressure shot up to over 50. I pulled the valve cover and the spongyness is almost gone now so hopefully I'm good. We'll see later today when I start it. I'm meticulous about following procedures, so I think it will be alright unless some of my lifters are worn out. Seems unlikely tho since they were fine before, and only have 130k on them. GD

This actually doesn't appear to be all that difficult of a swap. You can order up some axles from CVAxles.com that will fit the trans so that's easy. The EJ22 is physically narrower than an EA82, so will fit in the frame rails no problem. All that's really left is to fab some mounts and strip the engine harness from a legacy. Some shift linkage and you are down the road. It's also been done both here in the states and in AUS. Even with Gen 1's.... the picture gallery has a number of examples.... Personally - if I'm going to do it, then I'm doing it with a legacy EJ22G and AWD 5 speed..... GD

I figure I'll dead crank without the plugs in. That will get it going fast enough I hope. I was under the impression that the procedure called for a 15 minute waiting period in order to cause the lifters to bleed down.... so which ones are correct - the spongy feeling ones or the hard ones? Seems like they both can't be right..... GD

I milled the heads, so I had to adjust the valves - I have the procedure for it, and I've followed it as well as I was able, but two of the valves on each side (#1 intake, #3 exhaust, #2 intake, and #4 exhaust) feel "spongy" is the best way I can describe it. When there is no load on the valve (valve closed) I can compress the spring in the lifter and get about 1/8" of play between the rocker arm and the valve. The other valves are always rock hard. It's seems strange to me that it's symetrical in this way, and why should those valves be different? Did the bleed-down procedure (I waited the full 15 minutes) not work on the other valves, or am I doing something wrong? Will the "spongy" ones pump up when I prime the oil system by dead cranking the engine after assembly? Any assistance or experience would be appreciated...... GD

Anyone who can measure the distance from the wrist pin to the top of the piston? I would like to figure out the exact increase in compression that EA71 or EA82 SPFI pistons would give when installed into an EA81. GD

I see - you're talking about me going to .035.... there is plenty of metal to grind away a 35 thousandths shelf so it would line up again. Easy enough to do. GD

No issues. I just tried it, and the size of the intake holes are large enough to cover .020 - at least that part worked out well. BTW - the FSM says .020 is the maximum you can remove, so it makes sense that the manifold fits - it was designed that way. The question is how did Subaru arrive at that figure? Was that the maximum you could do and still fit the manifold, or was there some other more mechanical reason for picking that number? If ovaling out the manifold holes was all that was needed, .035 would give me close to 9.5 compression without the need for piston replacement. Hhhhmmm.... GD

Yes - too high and the crank will beat it into a foam. Foam does not lubricate.... GD

I wanted to document before and after cleaning - I degreased them myself, so I wanted a side by side of one clean and one not. They are both clean now - and one is installed. Hydro lifter adjustment on EA81's is interesting..... GD

After trying to locate the coolant leak in my Brat, I ended up removeing both heads looking for the leak, and found that both heads were warped more than 3 times the allowed limit. So off to be resurfaced they went - had .020 milled off them (max allowed). So according to my calculations, that will raise my compression from 8.7 to 9.12...... When I build my hign output EA81, taking .020 off the heads, and finding pistons that are .015 taller will get me to 9.5.... GD

Less advance = lower emmissions. So they had the advance cut off under a certain temp (on some years and models, but not all. MANY systems were employed - some even had electronic timers and stuff associated with em). Anyway - feel free to bypass it and run a new line directly to the carb. That's what I did anyway. Basically a cold cylinder wall causes condensation to form and since liquid gasoline doesn't burn it gets shot right out the exhaust. Keeping the advance low causes the cylinder to get hotter due to compression and helps to reduce this effect. There's some other principles involved, but that's a start for you. GD

Yep - you need the engine cross-member from a PS equiped car if you are looking for a bolt-on. A regular cross-member might be modified to work, but I'm not the one to ask on that account - ask Mudrat - he might know. *edit* Mudrats says no - can't do it (well - not easily anyway). GD

I must concur that I have always been happy with MSD products. And they are that pretty red color.... not much more expensive than the accel.... Gd