bushytails

Did someone plumb the solenoid into a fuel line? heh

Might want to clarify what year range/models you're working on. I'm guessing a few years of EA82? EA81 came in a few different varieties, none of which are anything like that.

Or add to the lift! Drop the subframe.

If you're building a "road hugger", start with a cheese wedge! I've never actually seen the EA82 3-door in person, only pictures... I think they were pretty rare. I'd put a dual range in anything I built, but I may not be everyone.

IIRC, the ecu pinout table in the FSM is wrong, and you need to *not* ground the pin if it's a manual. Does the DOHC even fit in the frame rails on an 89 hatch? I know it doesn't on an 84. The wiring isn't bad. Takes a weekend if you're good with a wiring diagram. The mechanical aspects of the wiring (mounting the computer, getting the harness to it, etc) takes as long as the actual wiring part. I'd suggest keeping with an EA82 transmission, and using a bellhousing adapter and redrilled flywheel. The 5-speed dual-range is pretty much the ideal old gen transmission. Sticking with it will be direct bolt in (no messing with mounts, linkage, driveshaft, etc), and you get low range! There's several people who make the adapters, like https://awdadventure.com/products/ea-ej-adapter-plate . Sticking with an EA82 tranny will be a much faster swap, and having low range is very, very nice.

Since turning doesn't make it worse, it would have to be the inner joints. What was wrong with your old axles, and do you still have them? You might try frankenaxles with your old inner joints and shafts, and your new outer joints, assuming the inners weren't bad (they rarely are) on your old ones.

I've never heard axles that bad going in a straight line...

Were these new or reman axles?

It's kinda hard to know what's up without being in the car, but some other things that make noises... most of which I've seen before... Does the noise get worse when turning? If not, it's not outer CV joint angles. I've only broken one joint from exceeding its angle, and it was flexing the suspension while at full lock. Does the noise go away if you have a passenger (or 300lbs of bricks, or something) in the front seat? If not, it's probably not inner cv joint angles. Feel if the shaft can wiggle in and out a bit, or if it's jammed up against the side of the cup. Wiggle the inner cups up and down to make sure they're free on the splines, not jammed downwards by the shaft. Bad wheel bearings or loose wheel hubs (the hub nut needs quite a bit of torque), causing brake rotor to clip caliper bracket. I've seen this a half dozen times... Also make sure no gremlins stole the cone washers when you were putting it back together. Jack it up and make sure you can't wiggle the wheels in any direction. Lug nuts are tight too, right? Bad transmission; differential going out. Not sure how to diagnose this one. I haven't seen it myself, but I've heard of it for that year range, especially on full-time transmissions. Does it do it in reverse too? Worn transmission stub shaft splines causing the inner cups to flop around. I've only seen this cause vibrations, but noise is possible too. Bad driveshaft u-joint. Probably not if it's a part-time transmission; possible if it's a full-time. Broken transmission or engine mounts (including pitch stop), and you're hearing the transmission banging the crossmember or tunnel or such. Wrong axle length, I guess, Never seen it, but it's a possibility. Hop on the fender while watching the shaft, and make sure it can move in further than the resting position. Defective axles. Some of the chinese ones are really crap. I have GSP ones now and they seem better than the other chinese brands I've used.

'84 wagon here. I did a 2" lift about a decade ago. I have an OBX and a Torqlocker waiting to install. 5spd d/r with two-part driveshaft. Rear disc brakes and an EJ22, though neither of those matter much for offroading. Spec stage 1 clutch.

File or saw (hacksaw, sawzall, portaband...) the notches 1.5mm deeper in the castle nut. I absolutely would not run without the cotter pin. I've had multiple wheel hubs loosen up over time, and threadlocker does not sound sufficient to keep the nut from unscrewing once there's no compression force on it.

I wouldn't expect any reasonable repair to hold... And if it did, it'd just pop somewhere else next week. It's not like a tire where an object punctured it - it exploded because the material has failed with age.

They're fairly easy to clean. The one gotcha is, unless you have a full rebuild kit handy, be extremely careful not to tear the gasket between the top and middle sections. There's a little passage right in the middle that's easy to tear the gasket around, and it will run like utter spoob if you do.

Time for a disc brake conversion!

That's a lot cleaner than any you see here! Good choice for a project. Stuck thermostat also can cause overheating and foaming, but head gasket isn't too bad of a project. The stock carbs aren't terrible, and often can be fixed with just a cleaning, being careful not to tear gaskets. Brake booster and master cylinder are usually reliable; no need to replace them unless you have issues. Try ebay or junkyards for better headlights.

I'm the one who suggested that the cylinders were washed. lol. The piston rings seal with a very thin coat of oil on the cylinder wall. If you ever get fuel without starting, like trying to get a bunch of old gas and a dirty carb to run, the fuel washes this thin oil coat off the cylinder walls, and you lose compression. Fixing the problem that caused it not to start (i.e. flushing bad fuel, and dismantling and cleaning a gummed up carb), and starting it, will get oil slung back onto the cylinder walls, restoring the ring seal, and restoring compression. Sticky valves or such aren't going to happen simultaneously to all four cylinders from a running engine... Mechanical things that could affect all cylinders at once are a broken crank, broken cam (I saw this once! ... but there was a lot more broken too), broken timing gears, slipping ring gear (so you're not actually cranking the engine), etc... But if the accessories and dist are turning, those are all going to be fine. Broken cam or timing gears also cause a distinctly different sound, since some cylinders will be stuck with both valves closed, and compress each revolution - the sound of an EJ ready for a timing belt and half the valves replaced.... Am I positive I'm right? Of course not. They could have blown both headgaskets at once, or some other simultaneous multiple failure. Or the engine is total crap and never actually had any approximation of full compression but was limping along. But, based on my experience, I think it's the most likely diagnosis, which is why I said "probably".

I doubt it's anything actually mechanical, just because it's all cylinders at once.

If everything is turning, you probably just washed the cylinder walls, and it'll sound normal again after you fix the fuel problems and get it running for a bit.

Are the accessories (alternator, etc) turning?

The California Hitachi actually flows pretty well. It gets you several horsepower over the 49-state Carter version. There's also a 49-state Hitachi, but I've never seen one here in California. Unless you pair it with other upgrades, I don't think a carb swap will give noticeable power gains. It is, however, more complicated to work on.

It should run best with the solenoids plugged in. Make sure the green test connector under the dash is not plugged together, then get your 'scope on the o2 sensor line. Keep in mind it's an unheated sensor, and you may need to rev it a little to get it to come to life. It should be switching between around ..2v and .7v every couple seconds. Check at idle, at a constant no-load slight rev, and during gentle driving. It'll always be rich at full throttle, by design. If the o2 sensor is switching at idle, but you have more power with them unplugged, check to make sure the power valve isn't stuck closed. On the topic of power valves, make sure not to damage the gasket around the tiny passage in the middle of the carb when taking the top half off. It's easy to tear, and will smoke and run like total spoob if you do tear it. Also check secondary is opening correctly - it's semi-vacuum-operated and can be sticky. And, of course, clean every single passage and jet in the carb... Also check timing. Rich mixture can hide overly advanced timing. Check timing with vacuum advance unplugged and idle set correctly.

That's normal operation. The duty solenoids allow extra air to mix into the fuel in the emulsion tubes, leaning the mixture. Off all the time, mixture is too rich and you get black smoke from the exhaust. On all the time, mixture is too lean, you knock and can't go up hills. The ECU varies the on/off duty cycle (hence the name) to adjust the fuel mixture in the middle of this range, until the oxygen sensor is happy, cycling just above and below stoichiometric.

Those springs do not affect the feel of the clutch in any way, and they're often simply missing... If you felt something change, look elsewhere.

That radiator looks due for replacement. P.S. The little powerstack battery works really well in that ratchet.

They're going 65mph in the photo... at that speed, it should be firmly at the bottom line, where the thermostat opens. EA81s aren't picky about thermostats, since they're on top like most older vehicles - it's the newer EJ motors that have them on the bottom that are super picky. My first guess would be a clogged radiator. Where on your temperature gauge does the thermostat open? From a cold engine, keep feeling the outlet side. It'll be cold and then suddenly hot when the thermostat opens. Then keep watching the gauge, and also note where the electric fan kicks on. These are your reference points for where the gauge should read. On level highway it should be at the point the thermostat just opens, and it should never exceed the point where the fans kick on, at any speed.