Ross

There is some difference, cos they flash a code telling you whether the car is a manual or auto. It doesn't seem to matter though, my ea81t has been converted to manual, and so has my friends '87 ea82t (crank angle sensor type). Both work fine.

Cornflake type boxes work well (suprisingly) if you use some gasket sealant (not silicone/rtv type - the thin black stuff, consistency of oil) as well. Still, not the most elegant solution!

I wish i could find a '70s wagon for sale here - ive only ever seen two in New Zealand!! And i think they may have been the same one! You don't know how lucky you are.....

Welding them will cause premature wear of engine and gearbox bearings, spose you know that though?

i would agree that 50 thou play is probably too much for a disty shaft.

Could be caused by a weak spark also. Sounds like what happened when my condenser went bad - it probably got elec ignition though does it?

My 81 used to do that if someone sat on the front of the bonnet - it seemed to push the latch too far in or something. Anyway, the only way to open it once thet had happened seemed to be for someone to push down on the bonnet over the latch while i pulled the lever from inside (quite hard). You might want to try that.

I'm running castrol magnatec (smi synth) and crc lifter cleen now. The sound its making isn't really a chatter, its a lot deeper than that.

its really quite disturbing that this topic is even being discussed!

You could just tow a donor car around on a trailer everywhere you go...

Old subies do seem to have a lot in common with the old nissans part wise.

It wouldn't be the first time!

My ea81t sounds like a dog for the first second or so when started, and the oil pressure light stays on for this period also. By "sounds like a dog" i mean it has a deep knocking growling noise. As soon as the oil pressure light goes out it sounds fine. Does anyone know if this is a problem, or if its just normal ea81t behavior (hla s filling up or something??)? Cheers.

As long as the springs do point outwards when it is off the flywheel, it sounds normal. Are you sure the throwout bearing is the right one?

Did it have an 02 sensor on it???

I wouldn't think so, but you can hook up a multimeter to the oxygen sensor and monitor the voltage if you are worried about it.

My '81 has been affectionatly known to all as simply "The Wagon" since i bought it in '99, although it has been called, upon occasion, "the brown weasil" or "the turd". As for the '83, shes just "the 83" for now.

Do you know whats in that?

No, when one wheel is toed in, it will just mean you steering wheel doesn't sit straight when your car is going straight. There is no "center reference" point on your rack, so one wheel being toed in by 1mm is the same as both being toed in by 0.5mm, and so on. Your car will still try to go in a straight line if your camber and caastor settings are equal.

I take it you can't replace the entire head? you could always just lock up the ratchet mechanism.

hmmm, so say if i got the impression from somewhere that 83 ea81ts didn't have hydro lifters, and i adjusted them (not much, just a little), is that going to cause a problem?

Toe setting will not cause the car to pull to either side. Pulling to the side is caused by unequal camber or castor.

My haynes manual states that '82 (yes, only 82!) 4wds used u joints. It does seem pointless to use cvs on a rear axle when the two joint angles are always approximately equal, but they probably last much longer.

You're joking, right?

If you dismantle any of the rotating components the shaft will have to be balanced again. If you can do it without, it will be ok.