asavage

On a motor in a JY? Hard to do. Also, the cracks that are the ones to worry about are not going to show up on a compression test. They're the ones in the intake ports and exhaust ports. You can (supposedly) see the ones in the exhaust ports on EA82T engines, but to see the intakes, you have to remove the intake valves (according to Aluminum Head Rebuilders ) and look near the casting seam. The cracks between the valve seats seem to be non-worrisome -- at least, that's the majority concensus here for Subaru heads.

Do you think they retorqued the engines at the factory when new? Nah. My opinion: mfgrs put that retorque BS in the manual so that when something goes awry they can say, "did you retorque the heads? We told you to retorque the heads." I'm not retorquing my EA82's heads. I don't know anybody who does (except Lance, I guess). On mine, the gasket surfaces are at least as clean as new, and the castings are now more stress-relieved than new through multiple heat/cool cycles. If it's not going to seal well with a single torque, retorquing wouldn't have helped. Not the official line, but that's my opinion. Just my .02 (.03 CDN).

Oh, I got my 20% off, so I only paid $5 ! But for that price, they drove it 100 miles, so that's not so bad :-p Heck, our margin on parts we sell that cost us <$25 is double. All you have to do is make a part change hands four or five times and it begins to add up, with markups like that. Seeing as I only had to buy one, I don't gripe much, but multiply this across a whole lot of parts and it gets kind of expensive. The dealer can't pay somebody to stand at the counter and ring up a sale for their cut of $6, so they're selling the o-ring at a loss, I figure. Another example is the gasket between the air filter housing's top half and the MAF, it costs me about $22. That's about $0.35 of paper, but the die to cut it and the guys all down the chain that have to label it, print a package for it, invoice it, take an order for it, dust it when it's on the shelf -- well, the overhead can kill you on these little parts. You can see why dealer hate to stock small parts.

You ever try measuring an o-ring's diameters? I'd need something like a ring sizer to do it (cone-shaped rod). I tried freehand, but it's very difficult. I could have measured the OD & ID non-contact and averaged it (x+y)/2 but it would have been pretty inaccurate that way. So I measured the cross-section and the groove it goes in, then went ahead and installed my distributor so I could make smoke before the night was through. O-ring cross-section is .090" +- .002" (using dial calipers and a light touch). Other dims shown below are +.002" -.001"

I have a spare set for a NA. If the non-turbo ones will work for the turbo, I will put them all in a box and you can have them for $10, shipped (basically, free). I know that two of the lower tabs are missing nuts, but I just run longer bolts for those and put nuts on the backside. One of the covers has about 1/2 cracked off one tab. I bought a used engine to get a decent shortblock, then I put new heads on it and transferred all my external stuff, so I've got these left over. The shoulder bolts rust pretty solid to the nuts here on the west coast, so I can only imagine how bad they must be on the salty end of the US.

Doesn't work for horizontal pistons (Subaru, Corvair, old VW, Citroen 2CV). You can't get the oil to the "topside" of the piston. Cylinder leakdown test (or the low-rent equivalent) is the only accurate way. I don't know about "normal" for a T engine, but my SPFI -- which has higher compression, though not by much -- all cyls were within 10 PSI of 155 except the one that got scored (by me), and that one was at 90 PSI. It ran . . . OK, but you could tell that one cyl wasn't pulling very hard. When I tore it down, there were more or less normal carbon deposits. Alldata showed my 155 to be in the middle of the normal range for a used EA82 NA. Based on that, I'd say you've got toast. Whether your toast is just two slices (the heads/valves) or four (the bores/pistongs/rings) is unknown.

I hope you don't use that machinist for her professional skills! Hmmm. Here's food for thought: why were aluminum motorcycle engines from Jap mfgrs painted silver for so many years? That's right: to keep the corrosion down. Aluminum alloy corrodes pretty easily, though not as easily as steel. Metallurgical dermatology! Subaru engines with pimples! I got a real chuckle from this one Painting aluminum parts (or, indeed, any parts) adds insulation. Some paints impede heat transfer more than others. It has been said that flat black radiates heat better than gloss white. I'm sure that someone better grounded in thermodynamics can confirm and explain this. Skip's last question in this area made me think too hard Automotive radiators with cores of copper are almost universally painted flat black -- coincidence? And aluminum core radiators are unpainted. Summary: if you need the best absolute heat transfer, I think that unfinished will yield the best results -- in the short term. Long term, and for most applications, some kind of finish may be desired, to keep the corrosion down.

You can delete you own posts (but not others' posts). When viewing your post, select the "Edit" button, and near the top of the next page, on the left select the "Delete post" checkbox, then on the right select the "Delete" button. Post goes away. I've used this on a couple of posts that for some reason I posted twice. You do have to be logged in for this to work.

More, better info this time. This is the bulb that is used in the center of the analog instrument cluster, the one with the car ideogram, height control, rear gate lock, defrost, high beam, 4WD, LO, park brake, seat belt, door lock, and PRND21 indicators (depending upon model & options). (no picture at this time) It may also be used on the digi-dash on one side: The plastic/rubber base used on the bulb is apparently different for the digi-dash (white) and the analog dash (black) and is a different shape, but the bulb itself seems to be the same. The sample I have measures .163" x .438". This is apparently a 7752, 7753, or 7754: The above image is chopped up from Chicago Miniature Lamp's minature lamp PDF . I have not found a definite supplier for small qtys of this lamp, but there is at least one good possibility. Mouser's min. order is 1000, none in stock, $0.46 ea. Newark's min. order is 1000, none in stock, $0.41 ea. Sager's min. order is 100, none in stock (?), no price given. Atlanta Light Bulbs' min. order unknown, stock may be good (?), $2.40 ea. They also list the 7753 & 7754 bulbs, for $1.20 ea. For completeness, I should call the dealer next week and see what they want for one. (other URLs for reference, though not really useful: this is so I can find them next time. Generic overseas bulb supplier: Tair L.S. Micro Development, Inc. Miniature Lamps 17 DonsBulbs: #7752 - bulb lamp - bulbs lamps )

Wow. Is there a good aftermarket source for the distributor o-ring for EA82? The std assortments have one the right diameter, but the cross-section of the Subaru part is pretty slim, and if I used one from an assortment, they're all too fat. I ended up ordering one from the dealer: 491762001, but it lists for $6.31 . Wow. I've got mine, but was wondering where you got yours, if not at the dealer.

I put a dial caliper on the bulb, and it's only .164" dia., so I was completely wrong about the 2162. I am still looking . . . I found a slightly shorter version in a '91-95 Caravan/Voyager light switch. It uses a white plastic twist-lock base like a PC series. The bulb is identical to the Subaru one, once it's removed from the base. I'll keep trying to track down the industry number for this.

Just guessing, but isn't that a digi-dash? It sure does not look like my analog '93 or the '88 GL that XSNRG sent me. I think it may be the same bulb. 5.5mm = .220": about one-fifth of an inch diameter. Bulb length for the 2162 is just a smidge over 1/2", which scales well with your needlenose pliers, I think. See if your bulb can be removed from the white base, by straightening out the leads. That's how the one I've got here came out (black base with female holes, in my case).

There are a couple of ways of dealing with this without taking the pan off (which is not a lot of fun in this chassis). Method 1: Now that you no longer have parallel sides (the vice grips took care of that), you can't get good purchase with anything like a pipe wrench or vise grips again. You can hand-file or use a 4" grinder to restore two or four parallel sides, and try the vice grips again. Method 2: You can center-drill it for a moderate-sized EZ-out (about 5/16" minor dia.). Then use 4" grinder to grind off the entire face of the plug. This is tricky, but I've done it on other rigs. With the face gone, only the threads -- and only the threads -- will be holding it. If the threads are undamaged and unglued, an EZ-out will spin it out easily. Method 3: use wire-feed welder to weld a cheap 17mm box-end wrench to the plug's remains, then use a pipe over the cheap wrench to apply real torque. After you've busted it loose, cut off all but 1" of the wrench. Be certain to be careful positioning the wrench before welding it, so that you have room to swing the pipe (or hammer). Do not worry about the oil pan bolts' holes becoming damaged. Just some fun suggestions. Some people are welders, and some are not -- and the two groups have different ways of approaching problems like this

That's Good News! That means that you can fix it without having to spend $2k. I don't know turbo EA82s, but the std EA82 has several common leak points: Oil pump mounting "Mickey Mouse" gasket/o-ring, and oil pump shaft seal. You do have to remove the timing belts to replace these three seals, which means removing the fan clutch (if equipped) and electric fan (ditto), but you can easily do this in an afternoon, including finding replacement 10mm head bolts to replace the ones that always disappear. Oil pump mounting kit is Beck-Arnley 039-6320 and runs about $20. I haven't purchased this from NAPA, but it looks like they list the parts separately: Mickey Mouse gasket is NGA B45702 at $7, and the oil pump shaft seal is NOS 7205 at $5. Front crankshaft seal, camshaft seals, camshaft seal carrier o-ring: cheap to fix, these also require taking off the timing belts. For the cam seals & carrier o-rings, you also have to remove the camshaft sprockets, which I find a lot easier to do with an air ratchet, but can also be done without: it's just a bit harder. You can buy the seals & o-rings separately, or as a Victor-Reinz kit from NAPA, part No. JV-1028 for about $56, which includes a set of all the timing covers rubber gaskets that are often a soggy mess. Harder to fix are the camcase o-rings, and lastly the headgaskets. Both are fairly common leak points. On the NA EA82, the camcase is glued to the top of the head -- no gasket -- and there is an o-ring that seals the oil feed passage to the camshaft. After a while it leaks to the outside. It can get pretty bad. Cameron's page has this pretty good picture: It's a bit of work to replace these o-rings and re-glue the camcase to the top of the yeads, but it's very cheap. Just have to buy two o-rings (from Subaru, recommended), some high-temp RTV (orange or red), and a valve cover gasket set (to reseal the valve cover). The head gasket can also leak. Same reason as the camcase: the head gasket has an o-ring built into it for the same oil feed passage. Naturally, replacing the head gasket(s) is a lot more work than any other fix I've outlined, but it's still a lot cheaper than having a scored cylinder or broken piston. If you've got a black light, this does work, but your leak is so gross that I imagine that a can of brake cleaner ($2.50) and one minute under the running engine will spot the leak. You don't even have to drive it, I imagine.

Off-road folks are snapping up a lot of the older LPG equipment, it seems to have really caught on (again). CNG tanks are pretty expensive, but the rest of the equipment is pretty std stuff. I bought an IMPCO Model E vapouriser/regulator by mistake, on eBay last summer, and I'd make you a heck of a deal on it if you want it. But unless you can get CNG filled really cheap where you are, I think you should consider LPG instead, which is generally easier to obtain. For a Subaru, I'd think you'd need about a CA100 or CA125 mixer ("propane carb"), a Model E or Model J regulator, and a VFF30 filter/lockoff. About $200 or less for all three. Add some high pressure line ($3/lf) and a tank (the hard part) and the rest is just fine tuning. Add an O2 sensor and another $200, and you can buy an electronics package that will auto-adjust the mixture on-the-fly. For dual-fuel use (ie, running on propane or gasoline), expect about 10-15% less MPG, and about that much reduced power when running on propane: propane has less heat energy per unit volume than does gasoline or diesel. However, if you went to a single-fuel design (run on propane only) and modify the engine (raise the compression to better utilize the higher octane of propane) and/or advance the ignition timing, you can almost achieve fuel economy and performance on par with gasoline. Oh, and your oil lasts "forever". Doesn't get black. Note that I have not actually done a conversion -- I've merely done a lot of haphazard research on the topic in the last year, and have bought a bunch of LPG conversion parts and pieces for the day when I will get around to doing one, probably on my next fullsize PU. I've got VFFs, Model Es, and a couple of 425s: everything except the electronics pkg and tank and fuel line, enough to do two conversions. Oh, and I've got one CA300 mixer that I'll never use, if someone wants it cheap. Too big for a 4 cyl.

The '78 Olds 350 gas->diesel conversion wasn't reliable until '83, the last year of production. Until then, they had broken crankshafts, blown head gaskets, and misc. injection pump ills. That engine did more to kill off automotive diesel sales in the US than any other make. Through '81, the only Chev diesels were that Olds conversion engine, and the Isuzu diesels in the Luv (and maybe the Chevette?). In '82, Chev introduced the 6.2l engine (later, 6.5l) in their light truck line, but it isn't a conversion engine, it started life as a real diesel design. Hmmm. I can only think of the Rabbit, and that's not a good engine, either. Can you say "blown head gaskets"? I thought you could. They became a lot more reliable after '83 or so, with the fourth (or fifth?) head redesign. I had an '80 that was very worn, when I tore it down it had .030" bore taper. You read that right. That was the most worn engine bore I've ever seen, for an engine that was running. I sold the car to someone who wanted it for a gasoline conversion. I was the 2nd owner. It wouldn't fit in a Subaru, but the Nissan LD28 straight Six, sold in the US in the 810/Maxima from '81-83, is a honey of an engine. NA, it's 80 HP SAE. It is also used in a couple of Nissan truck chassis, though I have no info on that. It flat ran away from my 3.0l MB, left it in the dust. Very long legs, great high speed road trip car. Getting to be a bit hard to find these days. Like to shred its injection pump timing belt, leaving the engine dead. Loosely based on the famous 280Z engine, yes it's OHC. Very smooth runner, similar to a VW TDI in that respect. But fairly long by today's standards. I bought one from the original owner in '95, sold it to a friend in '99, and am getting it back as soon as I finish fixing up his new '93 Loyale. Looking for a turbo retrofit in its future

Water pump. Best time to do it. There are two different ones (at least), the hub height is different. Cam seals and the carrier o-rings behind them -- the o-rings are always hard as a rock. You can get the cam seals, o-rings for the cam carriers, front crank seal, plus all the rubber seal strips for the timing covers in one kit from NAPA (JV-1028 for EA82) for about $50. If you don't need any of the rubber strips, it might be slightly cheaper to buy the seals separately. At least reseal the oil pump. The mickey-mouse gasket + shaft seal kit is about $20 or so (Beck-Arnley 039-6320 for the EA82). See what mine looked like! Think hard about the timing belt tensioners (both sides) and idler (driver's side only). You can replace the bearings on the idler (BCA 203SS works) and save a few bux, just using a bench vice and a couple of largish sockets to press them out and in, but the tensioners you have to buy as assys (Beck-Arnley 024-1008 & 024-1046). Flush the cooling system before you start on the timing belts, so that when you refill the system, you're done! And you're not working in all that green slime while fighting the fan clutch or timing belt cover bolts.

On my N/A, when I bought it I had no vacuum at the PCV valve at idle. Pulled it out, it was clogged solid, and so was the intake manifold, where the valve screwed in. I had to fish around in there with some aerosol gasket remover and a No. 0 screwdriver to break it all up, replaced the PCV, and ran a wire through the cam cover hoses. Later, I've had to replace both cam cover hoses, because after hoseclamping them, eventually they cracked right above the clamp. Not too expensive at the dealer, about $28 a side. A cylinder leakdown test would be a good idea, just to rule out excessive blowby, but not everybody has a cylinder leakdown tester. I've borrowed one for years, but just bought one from eBay (hasn't arrived yet), but a leakdown test tell you more things than a compression test. Here are a couple articles on how to build on yourself: http://www.xs11.com/tips/misc/misc3.shtml http://www.650motorcycles.com/LeakDownTester.html and a good PDF on how to use one: http://www.goodson.com/instr/LDT-50.pdf If you've got oil on the outside of the engine, then you've got a leak, right? If it's a std leak, then it's repairable. If it's a leak caused by a presurized crankcase, it's still repairable, but not nearly as easily nor usually economically. I'm likely not saying anything you don't already know. At a qt/<100 mi., this is not a minor issue. I'd get out the engine degreaser, hose it down, idle it dry, then do ONE full-throttle run through maybe 2nd gear -- get it into boost for a couple of seconds only -- then look under the hood. Oil coming off the oil fill tube? Out the dipstick tube? Bad news. I hope it's good news, but you really can't drive it like that. But you know that. (When diesels get excessive blow-by at the rings, they'll run on the PCV system. I've had two old worn-out Rabbit diesels do that to me. It's a really weird feeling, driving along at 70, take your foot off the accelerator, but the car doesn't slow down! Makes the phrase, "running on fumes" take on a whole 'nuther meaning!)

That's the EGR valve itself. Don't fool with that for now. That's the Purge Control Solenoid. The EGR solenoid is directly to the front of the PCS solenoid, it looks identical to the one you've shown, except that it has the two wires in the connector oriented differently, so that you don't inadvertantly plug the engine harness connector for one into the other (which would make it run pretty oddly). The third pic would show the EGR solenoid, if you removed the air intake plenum (the biggest rubber hose from the air cleaner/MAF to top of the throttle body) and the Idle Air Control bypass hose (the 3/4" hose from the plenum hose to the front of the throttle body).

What, do you unwind them? Do they usually go open in an accessible area? I never even thought of unwrapping one. I've replaced the wrapped-in thermal fuses on wall-warts, so I'm familiar with the idea. For the OP: the PCS and EGR solenoids are mechanically identical, except for the wire connector, which can be swapped, and the electrical spec is close enough to work. I detailed this in this thread . And they are a very high failure rate item.

I bought an '88 GL cluster from XSNRG from which to rob the temp gauge. This afternoon was slow, so I took it apart. It's from a MT car, so no PRNDL but the same top-view car ideogram, and the basic parts are the same. I yanked out a bulb and am holding it now. I have never seen this kind of bulb afore. These bulbs look like maybe a PC36, but with a female socket base with two holes; the dash's PCB has two pins upon which this bulb slides on. I have a bulb catalog at work, I'll try to run down the industry number for it, but it sure doesn't look like anything in the automotive arena that I've seen. And it's definitely not a wedge base like a 168/194. <later> Oh, the female pin base can be removed, and the bulb's pigtails straighened out. OK, this looks more like what I've seen, just a round cylindrical bulb with two bare wires hanging out the bottom. Might even be able to take a PC36 and swap bases. It sure is, at least on the analog one I've got here. Lots and lots of screws, but as long as you don't have to swap the fuel or voltmeter gauges, it's straightforward and doesn't require any more attention than keeping track of which screws go in which holes -- there are several different styles and lengths, so it does require some attention.

My general rule is, "Sell it to avoid fixing it, don't fix it to help sell it." IOW, it's almost always a better idea to sell a car as-is and deeply discounted, than to try to add value to it by repairing it. Unless you can perform the repairs on the cheap (ie DIY).

Yes. It's possible (and common) for the Start contact on the ign switch to work fine, but the run contact (to the coil, and other things) to be bad. I agree with Skip: check the fuse for that wire run first. If you decide to use the jumper wire, make damned sure that you connect it to the '+' side of the coil, because if you connect it to the '-' side, kiss the ignitor goodbye.

I've been using Bruce Titus Nissan Subaru, mostly because they work within the Valentine Wholesale group, so I get free delivery out here in the sticks, three days/week. Monday, I tried to find an EA82 distributor o-ring, it's an odd cross-section diameter, smaller than usual. Local guys struck out, so I ordered it, should be delivered Friday. On the exhaust stud: I don't know about EA81, but the EA82 is 10mm x 1.25 pitch, and I have other info on this in this old thread .

He said, "I pulled the plugs but could not see which cylinder was leaking , all the plugs looked the same, black like it was running rich but none of them looked white. " Can't be an intake coolant leak if the plugs are black and dry.