Ross

I agree, ive also seen a dark green ea81 cruising around (Goes by the name of "The Gremlin"), and it looks pretty sexy!

You should be sweet, theres a good gap between the top of the block and the top of the piston at tdc on std ea81. Are you planning on using standard or metal head gaskets?

Sahara beige, all the way! That perfect mix between gold and brown! White brats arn't uncommon in these parts.

I can take some pis of one of mine if you want (there are some in the gallery, but not directly side on). What exactly do you want?

So, Callum, if you put some SPFI pistons in there and plane the head as much as Matty B has, you should have a pretty useful compression ratio! Just a question as to whether the heads will stay on, but theres only one way to find that out!

Maybe a bent wheel?

Can you feel it through the steering wheel?

weve got quite a few 3 door rx 's around new zealand, but i suppose they are probably imports...

The pitting is the dull area on hte bore, at the bottom of the pic. It is a form of corrosion, and is called pitting because it consists of many small holes or "pits". In this case, id say it was caused by who ever took hte heads off. When they are taken off htere is usually some water left in the passges, and it can end up sitting in the bore. This can also happen when a head gasket is blown and the engine is left sitting.

Are you sure you don't have the RX in oz? We have quite a few in new zealand.

I know the sound you talking about, but i dont think its knocking. An aluminium block will not take more hammering the a CI one. yes, CI is a lot more brittle, but is also stronger, and has better fatigue properties. The pistons in htese engines are also nothing special, and these are often the first things to break under knocking. Maybe the sound is simply lifters, or valve slap. An aluminium block, and especially aluminium head does reduce the tendency for knocking to occur, as it transfers heat much faster than CI.

Was the condensor replaced with the distributer? They can do horrible things when the go bad.

Yeah, i think it might too, just didn,t want to say so in case i'm wrong!

This is mainly for callum, but any comments would be helpful...

Your hp figure would be significantly higher if taken off the flywheel, remember.... The ea81 has a very low compression ratio (8.7:1???), so taking it up to 11:1 or so would see some pretty big hp gains. Or lpg could be utilised, then you can run up to aroun 16:1 or so i think Whether the engine would stay together with such a compression ratio is a different story though!

The connector is on the computer wiring loom on ea81s, i presume its the same for ea82s. You read the codes off the o2 sensor light, same deal.

Oops! That would be one beast of an engine though!

check breaker points (if equipped), spark plugs, leads, etc. In my opinion, the ignition system should always be ruled out before looking at anything else when misfiring is the prob.

Myself, I wouldn't bother. A few leaks here and there dont do any harm.

With pre ignition, its not just the higher pressure that does damage. Most damage is caused by the resulting shockwave from the two flame fronts colliding. Hence the noise and the impact loading on the head and pistons.

Check out the megasquirt website, http://www.bgsoflex.com/megasquirt.html

Probably higher compression ratio. Lots of room for improvement there. I would think that if the 150hp is at high enough revs, the std. 9" clutch would hold. You don't need very high torque at 700rpm to make 150hp....

And if you think you can hear it, stop whatever is causing it immediately. detonation/pre ignition can cause seriuos engine damage very quickly.

I would suggest testing oil & coolant flow first, as they are much more likely to be the cause. After this, the yes, try adjusting as you mentioned. Note that the timing or mixture would have to be out by a considerable amount to cause this. Check the timing with a light and set it to spec. If you suspect the mixture, i'd say it would be a computer prob rather than an adjustment?

Having owned both ea81 and ea81t cars, i believe that both have their off roading advantages. As noah says, the ea81t has plenty of power from 200rpm onwards, and is great for 4wding where a little speed can be kept up. What this engine does lack in, however, is low end torque. The ea81 carb is better in this respect, and is therefore better for offroading where a lot of slow crawling is necissary, such as rock hopping and the like. so, id say it really depends on what you will be doing the most of! good luck!