Syonyk

With properly installed hood pins, faster than an EA82 Subaru will go. Faster than even an EJ modded one will go. -=Russ=-

Good luck. I'd strongly suggest getting deposits/down payments on these before committing to the order. Not to discourage you, but over in the RX-7 community, there have been a LOT of "Who wants XYZ?" type posts, with people saying "I'll buy one for sure!" then when the time comes to pay, "Uh... maybe next paycheck... yea." I'm not currently in the position to buy one, but I have been considering something like this. Do you happen to have numbers for the stock hood weight vs what the CF one would weigh? I know the stocker is *heavy* - I'd guess upwards of 60lbs. -=Russ=-

There are two bolts you need to loosen, yes. There's the 12mm in the pivot that you drew, and then there's another bolt/hut on the other side of the pulley that holds things tight as well. You'll need to loosen both of them to move the pulley. You should feel the pulley free up a bit when you have both free. It doesn't take more than half a turn or so on either one to free them up, though. -=Russ=-

Snow tires. They rock. -=Russ=-

Uh... The key is supposed to lock/unlock the other doors? Hm... My guess would be that something is worn. The interior panel comes off easily, and you can check out the mechanism. -=Russ=-

Done and done. Now I don't care a bit about the water in my headlights. ... what happens when I sober up? -=Russ=-

I totally stripped my covers as well when I had things apart. The way I look at it, even if things go HORRIBLY wrong, I'll probably be only changing timing belts twice as often as with the covers. And, realistically, as long as I don't leave rags in the engine bay, I shouldn't really have problems. However, changing the belts with the covers on is a ~2hr operation. Changing the belts without the covers is a ~15min operation. And, I can easily inspect the belts for problems without the covers. So, I'm pretty sure that I'll be saving time over the life of the car without them. -=Russ=-

Hm. I guess 150k miles does do something. -=Russ=-

Yea, 4WD, ebrake to max, remove the cotter pin, and stand on the breaker bar. If it's still trying to move, have someone stand on the brakes. ... beyond that? Impact wrench. I suspect you could also, if desperate, try using the engine to undo the nut. Set the breaker bar on the ground in the appropriate direction, and try to creep the car forwards or backwards to pop things free. -=Russ=-

Glad you got it back! Hopefully you can get the money from the insurance company for the repairs, do the work yourself, and have an upgrade/repair fund left over. -=Russ=-

*downloads the engine pr0n* So THAT'S what our engines once looked like? -=Russ=-

Clogged fuel filter, bad fuel pump, bad coolant temperature sensor, bad throttle position sensor, ignition timing off, bad spark plugs/wires, clogged fuel injector... Any of these could cause it. What have you done so far? Cheap things would be spark plugs, spark plug wires, cap/rotor, ignition timing, fuel filter. If you haven't done those, it's probably worth doing them anyway. Then, you can fairly easily check the throttle position sensor & coolant temperature sensors with a voltmeter. Beyond that, good luck :-) Cleaning the injectors (taking them out, sending them in) & a new fuel pump might be in order. -=Russ=-

Which is exactly why, when you change the belts, you keep the old ones in the back. If I'm going to be dinking around with belts, I prefer to just change them. I do a lot of highway driving, and I'd rather change a belt 10k miles before it was done than be on the side of the road changing it (or, worse, not having one) a few miles *after* it's time. -=Russ=-

Agreed. Differences in valve timing or battery voltage can affect the compression, the length of the hose going to the compression gauge has a major effect, even the temperature/humidity on the day you're running the tests can have an effect. Even compression & that low of oil consumption? The engine's got a lot of life left in it. A quart every few hundred miles would be cause for concern. -=Russ=-

Faster than a bone stock Loyale? Sorry, Google didn't turn up much. -=Russ=-

What do you have for accessories? AC? On mine, which is a '92, I have the inboard AC compressor & outboard alternator (there were different locations depending on where things were installed - dealer or factory). To tighten the alternator drive belt, I loosen both alternator bolts, use a big long wrench wedged through the hinge of the alternator, put some serious force into it, and tighten the outside "clamp" bolt to hold the alternator in place, then tighten the hinge bolt again. The AC belt is a bit more of a trick. If you look, you'll see the idler pulley has two bolts - one is an extended head bolt (or nut, one of the two - it's about 2" long), and the other is the pivot. The magic trick is that the standoff for the pivot bolt is a 17mm hex. Loosen both, get a breaker bar & 17mm socket (you might need a deep well), put the socket over the pivot & use that to tension the belt, then clamp it down the the long-head nut. Then tighten the pivot bolt. While you're in there, if they're squealing, you may just want to replace them. -=Russ=-

Check your timing. If it's retarded from spec (~20deg BTDC), it will hesitate. Mine had a nasty hesitation & was generally gutless, it was somehow set at ~10deg BTDC. Also, I believe a bad TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) can cause issues. Is it only when cold, or always? -=Russ=-

Adjust the cable so there's not much slack when the pedal is at the idle position. There's a set of adjuster nuts at the business end of the cable (where the sleeve ends) that let you adjust the slack. Tighten things up until there's very little slack, and things should improve dramatically. -=Russ=-

I'll test that tomorrow. Clutch in, try to move the crankshaft forwards/backwards. If it moves much, look for a new motor. Check. Much fun as a rebuild on this engine would be, if it needs a rebuild or such now, at 145k miles, I don't think I'll be able to reuse much. And... if the people at the junkyard were correct, there's an EJ22 of some version with 113k miles on it sitting in a local junkyard. -=Russ=-

How would I go about detecting this? And I assume fixing this requires a rebuild (or, more likely, excuse for an EJ22 swap)? -=Russ=-

I didn't pull the heads. -=Russ=-

Erm... Someone else suggested that my PVC system may be clogged, causing pressure & leaks. Is this possible, given that the inside of my engine was pretty dirty when I opened it up? Also, I noticed while nosing around that the oil fill cap was on tightly. I recalled that I've tended to put it on, then twist it back a bit so it seals tightly. When it's in the "normal" locked position, it rattles around & definitely seems like it could vent some pressure. I had assumed things were just a bit worn. Is this another thing that could cause leaks? -=Russ=-

I suppose it's possible... only 145k on the clock, though. Unless the metal had all rusted away. There was definitely no metal in the o-rings when they came out, and they were (as expected) rock hard & brittle. -=Russ=-

Sorry for the bump, but just another data point: My '92 Loyale had pure rubber o-rings in it when I pulled the engine apart. I asked at the Subaru dealership when they changed things, and apparently that was a change after the end of the EA82 production, according to one guy. Not sure how true that is or not, but mine definitely had pure rubber. -=Russ=-

How much of a groove is too much where the rear main seal sits on the back of an EA82's crankshaft? When I replaced the rear main, there was a fairly noticeable groove where the seal rode, so I pushed the new one in just a bit further than the old one sat. Now it's leaking again (under a week later). I put it in using a screwdriver/hammer to tap it into place - it may not have been perfectly even side to side. Would this be enough to make it leak? Or is it possible that the groove on the crankshaft is deep enough that it's affecting the seal even with it being slightly deeper into the engine? *sighs* And I won't have the new oil pan gasket until Monday, so I can't even pull the engine this weekend to do it. -=Russ=-