GeneralDisorder

Yeah - this is a good point - they are cheap so you can't expect a really excelent product. I personally run a 20 year old stock coil, so I have no troubles at all. Hehe. GD

Front's are easy - Autozone sells GCK brand axles (brand NEW, not remaned) for $90 with no core charge. Rears are a pain, but I think if I called around I could get rebuild parts fairly reasonable. It's just that I keep breaking them. Probably going to convert to a VW vanagon rear axle setup at some point. Then I can use Porche CV's.... GD

Coolant into the exhaust you say? Sounds like a cracked head to me..... have the heads pressure tested just to be sure. They are very prone to cracking, and especially in the exhaust area's. Even if it IS the block, still have the heads checked as they are notorious for cracks, and it would be a pitty to not find out till after assembly. GD

The clutch is what I consider a "wear item", and considering what I've punished my clutch with on my wagon ('82 4 speed D/R), I would say that the EA81 4WD clutch (post '82) is nothing short of amazing. I've been off-road countless times now with a *used* clutch that was givin to me by Qman when I blew up the 2WD clutch that I shouldn't have been off-roading with in the first place. No, the clutch (if driven with any sense at all) is not a weak link in my opinion, but it will of course wear out faster with big tires, and hard off-road use. I doubt I'll get more than 20,000 from this one. At least they are way easy to change. Takes a couple hours. Good time to check the rear main seal too. I collect junk yard clutches now - $10 for a clutch disc - and often I find them with more than 50% left on em. Especially the 2WD variety. And as stated above, the EA82 4WD clutch is the same, and the yards are just littered with them. Can't say as much for the axles, which are getting hard to find in the yards. GD

Built EA81's are cool, but 15 lbs of boost on a stock EA81 is not going to be easy.... gonna be tought to keep it in head gaskets I would think. It does only have 8.7:1 compression tho. GD

The struts don't swap (without the knuckles), and to fit the knuckles you need the lower control arms from an EA82.... but they are longer, and you will have to weld the control arm mount to the cross-member after cutting the old mounts out. Miles Fox has done it - might ask him about it. Also - because of the difference in width, the strut tops will be at the wrong angle for proper alignment, so you will have to come up with some form of camber adjustment for the strut top.... GD

Axles - then rear differential stub axles - then probably third gear syncro's. Might explode a reverse gear if you put enough power to the pavement, but you would need something over 200 HP to do that I'm guessing. After many hard miles, the bottom ends on the EA81's go out, and usually end in a thrown rod..... but that takes MANY HARD miles. Like over 300k usually. Bad cooling systems are common in non-western states, and usually result in blown HG's and warped heads (mine are at the head shop right now being decked from PO neglect - they were warped over three times the allowable limit. hehe). GD

Except Brat's didn't come out till 77 . 73 Coupe lets say..... GD

Higher voltage should have been taken into account when designing the product. GD

Maybe an MSD or Mallory coil? Accel has never impressed me personally, but it's just a feeling I have. I think the whole angle thing is BS - the stock ones are fine with horizontal, so unless Accel is skimping on the oil level, I don't see why that would make any difference. Bad design if it overheats at ANY angle I say. But if you have a warrantee..... maybe get a new one, and sell it on ebay. hehe. GD

Tis true what you say. GD

PS is AWESOME with a lift and big tires. I am way more manueverable with it, and quick corrections on the trail are easy, and I never have to have the wheel jerked out of my hands. Plus having the PS pump is good if you want to drive other things like hydraulic winch's and stuff... GD

Check the model number on the float bowl of the "EA81" carb you used. The model of an EA81 carb will be a DCP-306-??. The model on the EA82 carbs is DCZ-308-?? or DCZ-328-??. The "306", "308", and "328" indicate the size of the barrels. All EA81's thus have a 26/30, and the EA82's are 28/30, or 28/32...... GD

Well - if you are close to being due for timing belts, then I say do it yourself, and do the front main seal, water pump, timing belts and tensioners all at the same time since you have to get in there anyway. Timing belts need replacement every 60k or so on the EA82, so if you are within 20k of that mark, I would just do all of it and be done with it for another 60k. If you don't run into anything really hairy, you should be able to do all of it in an afternoon if you are experienced mechanically at all. Also - you should enquire as to how much extra having your mechanic do all that would run. As I said all that stuff is right there, and there really isn't a lot more dissasembly involved in doing all of it at once. Maybe he will cut you a deal, although at $350 for a friggin water pump I think you should find a new mechanic anyway. I know places that will do axles cheaper than that, and if he's done it before it should only take 1.5 - 2 hours to complete. That's some expensive shop time if you ask me. Most dealerships are under $100 an hour.... GD

I'm tempted to shut that stupid carb base coolant passage off once and for all with some JB weld.... and I may do that at some point. Right now I've got both heads almost off (drivers is off, passenger side is nearly there), and the gaskets are comming in a few days. I'm actually glad I'm doing this, as 20 years and 130k miles has taken it's toll on all the bolts and studs in the engine, and they are *just* getting to that point where it's dicey if they are comming out in one peice or not. This way I can lube everything up with anti-seize and not have to worry abour breaking them off next time I need to work on it. The passenger side head nearly didn't come off at all - the center stud I had to actually remove using two nuts synched down together as it's stuck in the head (but oddly, still turns) with carbon and rust built up. I'm hoping that this is because of a partially blown HG and my problems will be solved. The drivers side came off easily, and no evidence of leakage was found there. Maybe I'll never know where the leak is comming from, but I figure if I throw enough gaskets at it, I'll eventually come out on top. GD

It could - VW Scirocco's wieght about 1700, and they aren't much smaller than a Rio. Add some lightweight composite fenders and such, and the Rio could easily wiegh that much. They are pretty stripped down cars after all - costing less than $10,000. However - a google search yeilded 2447lbs curb weight ('04 model), so something in there must be pretty heavy.... safety equipment probably, and all that silly interior. GD

Jeez - I really couldn't tell you, and it wasn't on a Subaru, so it probably wouldn't do you any good. Was an older Ford, and it took a little over 2 cans.... Just trying to be helpful with my technique.... GD

I'm not sure I understand what you are talking about.... we are talking carbs here, not throttle body injection.... maybe we are mixing terminology.... Or are you saying you can make new throttle *bases* for the existing hitachi carb? If that's the case, then the answer is no - haveing a larger throttle base won't do you much good at all, since the venturi in the carb is so tiny. The size of the throttle plates is actually not very indicative of the flow rate of the carb - as we were talking about above, different versions of the same "32/36" carb have very different flow characteristics because of the different venturi sizes. The Ford holley/weber 5200 series has a flow of only 235 CFM, while the same "32/36" DGV Weber has a flow of 330 CFM - because of the venturi sizes. Also - the EA series Hitachi's are not all the same. The EA81 used a 26/30 carb, and the EA82 used both a 28/30 (automatics), and a 28/32. Just thought I would toss that out for reference.... they also have different mounting surfaces between EA81 and EA82. GD

Wish I could have brought my soob down. Show your jeep friends what mine can do . Sounds like fun - wish we had abandoned mining towns around here.... GD

Try a weber, and you will see what I mean about torque. The Hitachi is fine with throttle response. One of the biggest drawbacks is the vacuum operated secondary of the Hitachi. The progressive linkage of the Weber allows both barrels to be opened quickly. You are of course right that the engine can't really use the Weber to it's full capacity, but the progressive linkage and larger primary really help the low end. Also remember that the total CFM of the Weber is 330 - that's with both barrels fully open. When your talking about partial throttle, the large secondary is closed, and the primary is only open part way. So the CFM of the Weber rises more quickly as you open the throttle plate. This changes the amount of air that the engine is allowed to draw at partial throttle, and gives rise to the better torque at lower RPM's. Call it what you want - throttle response, low end - it's a marked improvment over the Hitachi in several ways. I use the term "low end" because as you have pointed out the high end won't be affected at all with the Weber. The engine just can't use it. Thus the improvements are to be gained on the low end of the RPM range. This has been my experience with Weber's. GD

I concur with Turbone - use the search. Hehe GD

So far I've removed the drivers side head, and no evidence of leakage was found. I suspect the passenger side head due to the direction of flow of the PCV system.... it's sucking the water as vapor (small leak I think) through the crankcase, and up into the valve breather tube. Some of the vapor is condensing on the top of the valve cover and creating the nasty snot you see in the picture. At least that is my current hypothesis. Removal of the passenger side head will determine where I go next with my issues. GD

Your are forgetting that most of us are not interested in the maximum volume, but rather the low end torque that a BIG barrel gives you. That's why people run dual 40mm carbs on 1.6l VW's..... GD

Oil pump gaskets don't always fix the EA82 lifters. Although it's always the first place to start looking. Sometimes you actually have to replace the oil pump, or even some of the lifters. It's nice if it does work tho. GD

That's weird. Must be a strange manufacturing defect. Never heard of that, and I kinda doubt anyone else here has either. GD