GeneralDisorder

Yeah - dump that ECVT - you'll be sorry if you don't. If the engine is shot, chances are good that the tranny is shot, or going to be soon. I think those trannys go for like $2000 these days. Incredibbly silly. Put in a manual. GD

I completely dissagree with benebob - do it, you'll be glad you did. And damn the collector value. If I were a collector, I would rather see it with the manual anyway - much cooler, and more desireable. Also - it won't be a complete "dog" It's a 240 HP N/A engine, and the VW community uses them all the time to upgrade vanagons etc. It will be plenty fast - faster than the Auto - partly cause you have lost about 200 Lbs of weight. I wouldn't even drive one without the manual conversion. GD

If your in a position such that you cannot see the front turn signal, you will be able to see the rear one.... unless antother car is blocking it. They wrap around for exactly that reason I assume. I would leave it alone personally - mucking with the wireing unless you have a good reason can turn your car into what my Brat was when I got it. The ignition switch no longer ran the starter - there was a pushbutton instead, the right turn signal didn't work - but the clock flashed, the left front marker light didn't work at all, and the right marker light flashed with the right turn signal. Someone needs to have their head examined for what they did to the wiring on my poor Brat. It was all badly done to boot - wires twisted together by hand, and left completely bare just hanging there. No butt connectors or electrical tape or shrink tube - just nothing! BIG fire hazard. GD

They don't use salt around here because of the lack of it - they use chemicals, and sand or gravel mostly cause we have lots of that. I've heard that most of the road salt comes from the great lakes, so it's readily availible out there, but since there's no large bodies of salt water around here, we just can't supply it. GD

There's definate lagal issues with that - it's absurd. But unfortunately, they are probably in some other country.... someone want to do a traceroute on their IP? But why don't we just sign up for their board, and flood it with useless, horrible posts about how they stole our posts? With links in every post to the real board? GD

non-inductive must be connected in parralel with the plug wire - ie: you have to disconnect the plug wire, and insert the lead for the light into the circuit. Inductive does not require a direct connection in the circuit - it has circuitry to "sense" the surrounding magnetic field of the plug wire when the plug fires. GD

EZap and I both tried to check into those "lift kits" in Seattle, and the guy doesn't seem to be legit - at least not yet. They aren't availible, and I repeatedly asked for an approximate date, and pricing info, but never got anything - only "soon" and that they would have a price list "soon". Could be a hoax, or maybe they just aren't ready. GD

The EA81T is NOT SPFI, it's MPFI - that's why the heads are soooo sought after, because they have injector bosses for each cylinder..... No EA81 of ANY flavor ever came with SPFI..... that includes all Brats. Although the SPFI from an EA82 will bolt up and work with some slight distributor modifications. Also - Brat beds are the same from 82 to 87, nothing specific about the 86 model year. GD

the disty shaft turns when the car is running, and will stop in no particular position when turned off. Adjusting that gap must be done with the disty removed from the engine. Get a manual to show you how. You shouldn't have to adjust that gap, but if you do, it can only be done off the car cause you need to be able to rotate the shaft. The ND distys have a tendancy to be more affected by shaft wear than the hitachi's. They both suffer shaft wear at seemingly the same rate, but the Hitachi units will go longer (much longer) before any effect of that wear is noticed. I have seen Hitachi's with three times as much shaft wear as a ND that had stopped working because of it, and they were working just fine. It's just an interesting thing I have noticed. You want an inductive timing light - it's just how the light hooks up to the car, and induction is easier to use. Cheap timing light works fine for me, these cars aren't rocket science, so they don't need anything fancy. GD

for the electric choke - just look. And take a multimeter to the lead. Should pull off in the first 5 minutes or so if the temp outside is around 70. You don't need a fuel regulator. The Weber runs best at 4 psi, which is actually more than our EA81 fuel pumps generally provide at the age they are. Most places reccomend a Carter 4070 I think for the webers. I am probably going to get one eventually (about $80). They are high-volume 4 psi pumps. I think my car is giving me about 1.5 psi right now, and you can tell it's not enough.

At 3AM, this can be heard in Evan's neighborhood: "This is my friend Guido.... he *likes* knee caps..." hehehe J/K - find him, and then direct the cops to where he is. Also - if you have any correspondence on the matter (emails - threads from this board), print that and take it along so you have *some* proof that he was supposed to buy it from you. Too bad he has the title. Maybe it's still in the car - got a slim jim? I would probably find him, and steal the car back. It's not like he's gonna go to the cops now is it? GD

no - the mounting isn't the same - you will have to mix and match mounting hardware, as well as maybe modify the cross-member under the engine. especially if you are going to move it back into the spare tire area. another problem is what to do with the radiator. The EJ20 is long, and it may be hard to fit a radiator in front of it. GD

The transmisson (tranny) is the part that hooks up to the engine, and trasfers power to the wheels - you know - its the part you shift? Anyway, in your case, you have an EA71 transmission, which has a comletely different bell housing than an EJ20. There's NO way to put that engine in your car using the EA71 transmission. And if there were, it wouldn't handle the horse power of the EJ20 anyway, so it's no good trying to use it. You need an EJ20 transmission - maybe you already have one? Anyway - yeah, the swap can be done, but you will be fabricating a lot of parts for the job I would guess. Axles are going to be a major issue, as the hubs need the EA style axle, and the transmission needs the EJ style. So they need to be cut and welded together from the axles of the respective cars (and balanced too). once you figure out the mechanical side of things, the electrical stuff can be worked out. This is not a direct swap - expect to be welding / cutting / moving all kinds of stuff around to make it work. GD

Is your car right hand drive or left? GD

My wagon grinds going from 4th to 3rd - just a little. Smooth from 2nd to third, but not on downshift. It gets worse the faster your going when you do it (of course)..... anyone got any ideas? GD

Oh man - shawn you DO NOT want to drill those pins - MAN are they tough. Spring steel. Tried that once and gave up after chewing three bits up, and only going 1/8". 3/16" punch is the best bet - I'm sure you know that. PB probly help too. Problem I have is similar - except the pin comes out - but the stub axle (talking rear axles here), won't come out of the axle. I guess when it's time for a new axle, I'll just get another stub from the JY. Oh well. And the Ball joints are supposed to be tough to get out - that's why there's a puller for them. Pickle fork - only way to fly. Get one at autozone - the free tool rental program works great. All the WD-40 in the world won't loosen that ball joint a bit, since it's not rust that's holding it in..... GD

I think you are wanting to do a bolt in swap? Not gonna happen friend. Your tranny will not mount to the EJ20. Sorry. Check your other post for more info - I was thinking you meant a full on conversion to the EJ20 drivetrain. You would need a whole car - not just the front clip. GD

Yeah - I knew about the D/R EJ's in other countries - but knowing they exist just pisses me off even more. If subaru doesn't think enough of the US market to even offer it as an option, then I won't buy one even if I *could* get one from AUS and drop it in. It's the priciple of the thing - if I want something, and they make that something - why can't I have it? And the bed is WAY too small. Might as well get an outback wagon - the cargo area is the same size, and you get it dry with carpet! Why they made it a four door with four seats is beyond me. Two seats would have been just fine, and allowed for a bigger bed. Now - having said all that. If they offered a D/R tranny, factory lift kits, factory brush guards, and maybe a winch, I could get into it. But as it sits, it's an outback with no roof. BIG DEAL! Not trying to offend anyone - if you like it, good - buy one. I'll keep my Brat thanks very much. GD

212k? that's it? 2nd engine? Good lord, they must have abused it beyond belief. My parts wagon (that I sold recently) runs awsome at 315k on the original EA81. Can't tell much from that picture. But I have never heard of anyone cracking an EA81 block. I suppose that it's possible, but I've never heard of it. If it's as chewed as you say tho, I would just get a whole new engine, and toss that one in the yard for a bird bath. Sounds terrible. One thing - if the cracks are invisible... what will they do? Personally - if I can't see them, then I don't think they are going to bother the engine either. Get out the calipers and start checking tolerances - that's what we do in the Army.... never had to look for microscopic anything. And there was this one transfer case.... looked like a grenade went off inside - bits and peices everywhere, stuff embedded in the casing.... it was rebuilt. Seemed find afterwards. GD

Might be tight between those frame rails.... stage 1 or stage 2 body? And what will you do for a tranny? Not gonna use the old one - won't handle the power. Best to use the AWD EJ tranny. Axles will have to be custom, as they will need the EJ inner joint, and probably need shortening. Lots of wireing to figure out, and shift linkage etc. BIG job, but certainly possible. GD

Your cable will go before 160k - they don't tend to last very long. When they get "stiff" feeling, replace soon, as it's starting to wear through the rubber outer coating, and will eventually snap. I had one snap on an on-ramp to the freeway - good thing my dad has AAA. After looking at it, it had rubbed till a single strand broke, then it was downhill from there, every time you push in the clutch, that bit of wire would catch, and rip more wires loose. Bad times. Good thing they only cost $19. Takes about 20 minutes to replace and adjust properly. GD

Well - that dipstick is technically in the front diff... but it's the same oil as the tranny. To be sure i have not seen others like this either, never seen any independant diffs with em either. It is kindof strange now that you mention it. Never had given it much thought tho. Soobies are kind of strange mechanically speaking - especially our old skool stuff. You get used to it tho. I personally like the layout of the whole system, it works well. I can't stand transverse mounted FWD cars - what a pain to work on. GD

Yeah - no problem. I try to help with what info I know. I have a friend with a 65 T-Bird - he uses that place too - I think it's called "The Birds Nest" heh I've learned a LOT from this board - I sugest you buy a Haynes manual, and do some maintenence yourself maybe - use this board for questions you might have. Many things can be done yourself, and NEVER go to one of those quick lube places. See this post: http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2899 We don't need them jacking up a perfectly good vintage soob now do we? GD

I'll add to that (also EA81 numbers) GL 2WD - 3450 Brat GL 4WD - 3460 Turbo 4WD - 3510 GD

Hey - thanks - you put me over 600 posts. hehe GD