GeneralDisorder

Bobbie-joe? wow! that's just hilarious. LOL. My ex girlfriends name is Brandy - now that is a white trash name! GD

head gasket can be fixed, but your problem may not be that. There are some coolant lines on the intake manifold, and you could have a leak there somewhere - look closer to see. If it's a head gasket, you can fix that by putting in another. Check for cracks in the heads, cause you will have to remove them for the gasket job. Oh - and get a manual. For bigger jobs like headgaskets, it will come in handy. GD

Yes - do nothing without the spring compressors. The springs are REALLY strong, and will hurt you a LOT if they get released that way. They get about 50% longer when not under load..... And Miles is correct about the strut caps - there's writing on them that tells you which way to put them in based on which car you have, what drivetrain you have, and if it's power steering or not..... GD

You should contact Brian (TheSubaruJunkie) - he may be able to get at contact information from EZBoard. I don't know for sure, but it's worth a shot. I live in Portland, so if you find some contact info on the guy, like an address or a real name or something, maybe I can locate him. GD

Skip hates the banana - can't say I like it much myself. He has said before that he will not answer any threads using emoticons. I think it's pretty funny actually, but I must admit - a good way to teach people to stop using them, and get their point across with real english words. GD

Yeah - I've had to adjust the timing as well, but I still have the same problem you describe - when I give it WOT, it tries to die, and then takes off. Also - when I take sharp left hand turns, the engine dies completely. My weber came from the weber official kit, so I don't know why it should act this way. Thinking I may have to adjust the float level, and I am going to check the fuel pump pressure as well - it sure doesn't seem very high to me. GD

Yeah - neighbors suck anyway - put two or three more out there - it's not like they can do anything about it. GD

Interesting - so the wiring was indeed different for different years. Good to know. GD

Bohica - Bend Over, Here It Comes Again. heh - always liked that one.

The first 4 gears are not the same - 4th is about the same as 5th on a 5 speed. The first two are shorter on a 5 speed too. GD

Not in a subaru, but I fixed a car that had the wrong Voltage Regulator installed. Worked fine, but drained the battery fast. To check if it's the battery, or wireing, check for continuity between the positive battery terminal, and ground. If there isn't, or not very much, then try a new battery. Otherwise - start pulling fuses as sugested to find the offending circuit GD

There was a post a while back where a guy mentioned a 280z alt. Haven't had time to look at one, but it seemed at the time to be a very intentional comment, with an exact model of car..... worth a look next time your at a yard. GD

Most people seem to agree that there isn't much to be had from changing to the 5 speed for off-roading. Since your in mostly 1st or 2nd out there. For freeway there is definately an advantage, as you can get better acceleration. GD

The 2WD 5 spd tunnel Miles is refering to is a LOT smaller than the tunnel in the automatic 4WD you'll be working with. The 5 speed will be a much easier fit in the auto. I have looked at both tunnels many times. My tunnel required beating, and some washers as Miles said - but it went together, so there's no reason why the auto, with it's bigger tunnel, couldn't accomidate the 4 spd, or even the 5 spd. John will sort all that out I'm sure. And I think that as long as he doesn't run it up over 6k RPM's (holy s#@t!!!??!!) all the time, the engine will be just fine. I think that's why Subaru didn't put this engine in front of a manual to begin with - they didn't want people blowing them like that. GD

Just some info for " Do It Sidewayz" - the japanese market had 1.0 Justy's. (998 cc I think). I know nothing about any of the cars, but have you had a suzuki torn down? Or a Geo? Not that I doubt you, but displacement, and stamped logo's are no guarantee that the engine wasn't designed by someone else. I sure would like to know for sure if the engines are the same - would be a nice bit of knowledge to have if I ever decide to build a justy.... GD

Replacement with standard shocks and struts seems to be the order of the day. The parts to repair the air-ride systems are really expensive new, and most of the used stuff has the same problem - doesn't work. I'm sure you can fix it, but Subaru will probably want a kidney for the parts. Brand new lifetime warrantee name brand (KYB for instance) shocks and struts can be had for $150 or less for all 4 corners... GD

Yeah - I've seen Miles car in person - it *was* a rust bucket by west coast standards. But we have some nasty cars up here too. Flowmasters Brat has more rust than the trashwagon, but it was from one of our coastal towns. If you really love soobs, WA is the place to be really. I see more EA81's when I go across the border in one day than I see in a month here in OR. Kinda werid, since it's only about 150 miles difference. GD

Awsome - I knew those tires would work out. Did you stick with 27 for all your runs? GD

Actually - I was once told by a friend of mine who was a subaru dealership mechanic for something like 20 years that the cars were designed to go 50,000 miles. I think that their reliability has a lot to do with the culture of the Japanse after WWII. In their culture, their job was extremely important, and I think to some degree, if a part failed early or often, it was looked upon as a personal failure on the part of the designer. Over hear, we set a spec for some part, and then we will add 10% more strength to it, to account for any inaccuracies we may have in our calculations. If I were an engineer then, at that time, I would add 50% to make sure my reputaion wasn't harmed. GD

does that go for all years? Cause I have one I pulled from an 80 wagon, and it has a switch that says "Passing Lamp" on it. So on the original car, if I hit that switch with the high beams off.... nothing would happen? Just curious, cause I was thinking that if it was truly meant to be used for passing, wouldn't it be dangerous to use the high beams when passing - simply so you could use the passing lamp? GD

Yeah - we told him. He emailed me and thanked me - said he didn't know that much about them, and was going from what his son told him. He sounded quite honest really. last year for Brats was: US: 87 Aus: 92 NZ, and Isreal: 94 That's the countries I know about anyway. I'm sure there are plenty more with other numbers. It does seem that the final year of production anywhere (at least so far as I know) was 94. GD

This all depends on *which* 4 speed you use - there were two, not sure on the years exaclty, but I'm pretty sure that 83+ was the lower 3rd and 4th gears. Junkie - that's why your revs are so high in 4th - you have a pre-83 4 speed. The 83 and up 4 speeds are higher geared in 3rd and 4th. For example - my wagon (pre 83 4 speed) runs 75 MPH at 4,000 RPM in 4th. But my Brat (85) runs at 75 MPH at 3,000 RPM in 4th. Both EA81's with the 4 speed D/R. GD

Problem with the Justy's are the engines are crap. Friend of mine had an 85 wagon and a 91 Justy - both brand new when he bought them. The 85 wagon had 330k when he decided it was tired, and sold it. The Justy had 120k when the engine blew up. He's very regular on the maintenence, and the Justy was his wifes car - driven very carfully. She loved the car, and wanted it rebuilt. He approached Mountain Tech about that issue, and they initially quoted him like $2,000 to $3,000 to rebuild the engine, etc. He said fine - do it. They changed their mind tho, and finally refused to rebuild it. They claimed it wasn't worth it. Guess money doesn't talk up there. Justys are cool - maybe for a rally car. I've always wanted to build one up. Problem is there's no lift kits, so it aint gonna go where a lifted Brat will, and engine reliability is questionable. GD

Rather have a justy than a Brat? shame on you. For one, you could sell the Brat and buy 12 Justy's with the money. Course - that would be throwing away money....haha GD

Replace your oil pump - the MMO will help as Turbone sugested, but for most people it seems to be temporary. A lot of people have replaced their oil pump, and had the ticking go away for good. With enough pressure, your valves should stop complaining. $60 or $70 for a new pump and seals sounds a lot better than a new engine. And if it does turn out to be that the engine is lunch, then you'll have a new pump for your next used engine. GD