TheSubaruJunkie

Here's a simple modification that can be done to your carburator: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49976 I performed this mod to the HItachi 2BBL carb on my old EA81. The EA82 has a similar carb, and the mod can be performed to it as well. Make sure you use new carburator gaskets ( i believe i have a set Im not able to use since my car is MPFI, PM me if you want em ). Besides, new carburator gaskets should add at least 5hp, since they prolly leak -Brian

I've done this modification to my carburator with great results in acceleration and highway speed's. This modification may impact emissions results so if you need to pass emission tests in the future you might want to get a spare carburator from the Junk Yard to perform this operation on. NOTE: This modification will only work on the EA81 series Hitachi's. Although the same modifcation is possible for the EA82 Hitachi's, I have not performed it, or do I have images available for the modification. Just alittle background about this modification and the reason why I did this. The Hitachi carburator has 2 barrels, but only the primary barrel will open under acceleration. It is not until the gas peddle is fully depressed and a certain amount of vacuum is created in the intake manifold that the 2nd barrel will open up. This modification will bypass the vacuum actuator on the hitachi and force the 2nd barrel to open when the 1st barrel reaches 1/3 throttle. Lets Get started shall we? Here are some diagrams of the part of the carburator we will need to play with. You will not have to dissasemble the carburator at all, so almost anyone should be able to do this mod. Here in this figure we see the diaphragm that will need to be removed. It is held on by 3 screws (#2 in the diagram) and is also held on by the snap ring at the end of the diaphragm arm. You will want to plug the hole in the carburator that the diaphragm connects to. After you have the diaphragm removed, play around with the carburator alittle and notice how there is a lever for the primary and the secondary barrel. Here is a closeup of the moving parts that we will play with. #3 in the diagram is the actual throttle lever that connects to the throttle cable. #4 is the secondary lever that we need to make move. I've put red arrow's on the contact point where we need to atatch the primary and secondary plates. I have heard of people welding it together right there, but I dont have a welder, nore do I like that idea all too much. I took a piece of coat hanger and cut off a piece about 4" long and bent it to the desired shape. Here you can see how the wire should go. It might take alittle time in order to get it just right. Here are some pictures of the actual modification on my carburator: And here are some short movie clips of the modification in action: [ Movie #1 ] [ Movie #2 ] Both movies are under 500k in file size, so it wont take long to download them. --- Additional Info: Throttle responce is iffy. It actually creates a huge dead spot when you step on it. Because you are forcing the secondary open, the jets arent primed and you end up sucking in alot of air, with no fuel. Only until the jet for the secondary gets fuel, then everything's a go. Power is felt past 1/3 throttle when you step on that. If done right, you can rev the engine alittle and get the secondary to open up, force the jet to prime. Then when the light turns green dump the clutch and romp on it... seems to accelerate alot better than stock. But if your just cruisin everyday driving, the dead spot can suck if your not expecting it. I suggest doing this to a spare carburator. I did it to a junkyard carb and swapped back and forth between the 2. -Brian

***edit on Nov 4 2014*** Apologies for the missing images. Im almost certain I have these images somewhere and will make an effort to retrieve them and re-post them with this guide. -TSJ Installing Rear Disk Brakes All Non-Turbo Subaru's come equiped with rear drum brakes... while all Turbo EA82 Subaru's come with rear disk brakes. Wouldn't it be nice to swap those ancient drum brakes with some nifty rear disk's?? Well, you can Even your EA81 Subaru can use the rear disk brakes off of any EA82T Subaru. I recently did the conversion, and here's how its done. First off, lets tell you where to find rear disk brakes. Pretty much any turbo Subaru built after 1985 will have rear disk brakes. You can use these rear disk brakes on any EA81 and EA82 Subaru. If your Subaru is 4WD, you will need the rear disk brakes off of another Turbo 4WD Subaru. If your Subaru is 2WD, you will have to find rear disks off of a 2WD Turbo Subaru. I found my rear disks in a junk yard on a 1986 Subaru XT Turbo Coupe. Any Subaru RX, XT Turbo, GL-10 Turbo (both wagon and sedan) will have rear disk brakes. Next, lets go through the tools you'll need to remove and install your rear disks. 1) 14mm socket 2) 14mm wrench 3) 36mm socket 4) Socket Wrench 5) Hammer 6) 10mm wrench 7) Plyers (needlenose prefferably) 8) Flat Head Screwdriver. 9) Breaker Bar (long piece of pipe for more leverage) 10) Jack & 1 Jack Stand The parts you need from the donor car are the Disk Rotor, Disk Caliper with the flexable break line attatched and the backing plate that the caliper mounts to. <-- Parts Let's Get Started! First, if the car is on the ground, use the screwdriver and your pliers to straighten out the cotter pin. Then remove the cotter pin from the spindle. *tip* I use my pliers, and grab the rear of the cotter pin, right between the loop. Then I take my hammer and gently tap the pliers and the cotter pin should tap right out. After you have the cotter pin out, use your 36mm socket with the breaker bar and break the nut loose on the spindle. Do not remove the nut just yet. Then go ahead and break your lug nuts loose. Use your jack to raise the car and support it with your jack stand. NEVER work on a car that is supported by just your jack (or cinder blocks, 2x4's or wooden planks!). Always use a jackstand! After you raise your car, go ahead and remove the tire and then remove the 36mm nut. Make sure you keep the nut, washer and cone-washer as well. Sometimes the cone washer wont want to come loose, use your hammer and gently tap the spindle and the sides of the rotor until the cone-washer pops out of place. Now you should be able to remove the drum and expose the mounting bolts. Remove the 3 bolts on the inside of the drum, holding the drum to the trailing arm. You will need to use a 10mm wrench to loosen the metal brake line. Take care not to strip the 10mm nut on the line, or break the line itself, you will be re-using it. Clean as much of the brake dust off of the hub assembly. Remove the drums from trailing arm by rotating it and tapping the backside with a hammer or mallet. Once its removed it should look like this. Once you have everything cleaned up, you should be ready to install your disk's. All the hardware is the same, bolt the backing plate onto the hub. Once that is done, you will need to install the rotor. You must do this before you install your caliper. Its not neccessary to torque the castle nut just yet, just fit the rotor in place. After the rotor is on, you can install the caliper. Bolt the caliper bracket into place, and slide the caliper into its bracket. After youve installed the brake pads tighten the caliper and everything and attatch your metal brake line to the rubber line leading from the caliper. You might need to bend the metal line out of the way. Make sure its safe from being pinched or crushed. Repeat the process for the other side.When you install your rotor, make sure to use the cone washer, then the flat washer, and torque your 36mm nut to 145lbs. Install the cotter pin, i find nails work just as well You may want to bleed your brakes afterward, then take the car out for a brief test drive. Good Luck & Have Fun, -Brian

Awesome Dave! You better get a shot when it rolls over 300k, no excuses. Although, doin donuts in a parking lot is a pretty good excuse. With all the rain we've been getting here, its not hard for me to get alittle fishtail action going in the jeep. But it makes me miss my subaru even that much more. -Brian

Ok cool... keep me informed, you have my AIM. Feb is cool, i can wait -Brian

Hey Noah... are you still in SD? When do you make your trek up to Seattle? You taking I-5 the whole way? Let me know, cause im sure you'll be passing through here, and it'd be cool to meet up for some lunch or dinner, depending on what time you roll through. -Brian

Yeah i doubt any Legacy rotor will bolt to a GL10, unless youve done the 5lug swap. -Brian

Here's some closeups of the mounting hardware. Its mounted to my gutters. EA82 gutters are different, so maybe Noah can get some pix of his since his is an EA82. -Brian

Never need an excuse to put a safari rack on your wagon. Definatly helps the look. Here's a before shot of my Wagon with no rack: And this is a pic with the rack I had Tony (Soobme) build for me: I recieved it as bare metal. Not 100% sure what the spec's for the material he used was, but the rack is very sturdy. After I got it, I primered it and used a DIY bedliner kit and coated the rack in a truck bedliner Here's a shot that might help you in your construction: If you have a welder, I say there's no reason not to do it. -Brian

Lets just let things rest. The EA82T is a dog. Try to get enough power to beat any other car... and clear a spot in the garage. Cause 2 weeks later, you'll be replacing the blown motor with another. Call B.S. Will.... but you know its the truth, how many engines has your RX gone through? -Brian

There are no real special tools to teardown the engine. You can get everything off of the block with standard tools. You shouldnt need to split the block. -Brian

Ah i need a '74-'75 to bypass CA smog. -Brian

I'd say $1500 to $2000 for a car in as good condition as yours. I bought a '84 GL Wagon with absolutly no rust or damage. Car had 130k and, other than bald tires, looked like it just came off the showroom floor. I paid $1300 for it. However, no one other than us crazy subaru lovers are gonna pay that much for a old wagon. Best of luck getting money from his insurance. I say you ride that "my neck is killing me" story and try for some more money that way. -Brian

SPFI Loyales dont have knock sensors. Only MPFI Turbo's and N/A MPFI XT's -Brian

What year is this thing? -Brian

Thats a pretty famous wagon. Known around here as the "Water Wagon". Austins the brainiac who did the EJ swap, hope that car lasts a long time for you Welcome to the club, -Brian

Yeah its from a SAAB 900. It worked out great, more pictures of the setup in my gallery. -Brian

Depends on how good your welding is. I broke my welded diff off-road and it was just my welds giving way. No CV damage. But there are plenty of others here who have sheered off axle stubs and snapped axle shafts. -Brian

You sure could. But then you'd be driving a $600 subaru with a $1800 rear diff in it. -Brian

I dont know the term for the pieces I used. I just used some metal I found at home depot. I used my bench vice and clamped the metal into it then bent pieces into 90 degree bends. I was lucky that my Intercooler had 2 mount holes in the rear. I had to make one of the holes in the metal alittle larger, but then I was able to screw the metal to the IC and i used self tapping screws (some large ones) to mount the metal to the spare tire holder. What intercooler are you using? -Brian

An intercooler would be your best bet at 1st. A bigger turbo can be had, but your ECU wont like anything above 11psi, so swapping for a bigger turbo still wont let you run more than 11psi. You could always go hard core and do a swap with a high compression block. But i'd say the best mod you can do to your XT is to replace that Auto with a 5spd But no matter what you do... im affraid you still wont beat that honda rice-boy, not with no 1800cc subaru motor. -Brian

Do you remember what you paid? I was thinking of hitting the junkyard and trying to find something suitable. -Brian

There was no AC in the car when i got it (thanks Russ ) I just so happen to have a EA81 with both fans on it at my disposal. I might have to see what fits. Will and Dr.K, are you guys using EA81 AC fans or the smaller stock EA81 fans? The AC fans are thinner and wider. -Brian

Eric, you talkin about the same location in Hood River as the WCSS6?? -Brian

Oh yeah.... duh, im still 1/2 awake i guess. The A/C is already gone. The radiator is a brand new 2row, so Im thinkin 2 fans will be enough. But maybe I will just put the clutch fan back on instead of spending even more money on an electric. -Brian