hatchsub

Doesn't really matter what year the motor is. The procedure for adjusting the hydro valves will be the same.

If it ran good before chances are you are still fine and you just adjusted it incorrectly. I am not looking at the HTKYSA manual right now but there should be a writeup in there about how to adjust hydraulic lifters. If not....im going to tell you how its done on small block chevy and make a educated guess that its the same principle for a subaru (double check this before continuing however!). On a sbc you set the valves so they are both closed (TDC) and then you turn the adjusting nut until there is no play in the pushrod. At that point go 1/4 turn past that and lock it down. Move onto the other valves doing the same procedure. Your car is probably running like poo because the valves are not opening all the way.

You might very well get lucky in the junkyards. You have a blue interior which was a pretty common color back in the day. I kno that a few years ago i got lucky and scored a crack free tan dash in a brat.

Yup forgot to mention that. Head studs will remain on the block and will need to get cleaned up a bit while the heads are off. It can be done in the car its just going to be a bit harder but still not too bad.

Just out of the curiosity is this the white one that has been on and off CL out that way for about 2 years? If so bravo for getting it lol. I tried multiple times to get in touch with the guy and wondered what his deal was.

If you have already done a overhead cam engine you did the harder motor IMO. I would get yourself a "how to keep your subaru alive" manual. They are very detailed and actually pretty fun to read. Now are you pulling the motor to do this or doing it in the car? Its really not that much more work to yank the motor in one of these cars and you will be able to do the job easier with the motor out (though it can be done in the car). Basically instead of dealing with the timing belt you are dealing with pushrods. No big deal really. Either way you do it you will need to pull the rocker assembly's off and pull the pushrods out before you can yank the heads off the studs. You may need to tap on the heads with a rubber mallet a bit to break the seal.

Eh I've done a few EA81 dashes. Not that bad really. I lucked into one in a junkyard and i think i had it out in about an hour even. The hardest part if i remember is getting at the 10mm bolts that are hiding under trim up near the windshield but you can do it without taking the windshield out. You just need a very small socket set that fits back there.

Im in Connecticut and i sold mine to a board member on here in Virginia. In fact i drove it all the way down to his front door and he dropped me off at the train to go back home. It worked out perfectly. As for mileage when i bought my coupe it had sat around for a few years and needed everything. I basically bought it for the almost rust free shell. It had 52k original miles on it but everything needed work. I basically rebuilt the car over the course of ownership and added some extras to make it more daily driver friendly. I loved it but it was time to move on to something else. Now I'm half on the hunt for another coupe but I'm spoiled on sunroofs and power windows.

Just as a comparison i sold a few years ago a 83 2 door 2wd just like yours but with a few more options and some period accessories. Mine had around 89k miles or there a bouts if i remember right. Might have been a bit more. But at any rate i got around 2500 for it. It was very clean as well. Just food for thought. Id say that is probably a 2500-3k car all day. If it had a sunroof and power windows id be a buyer lol.

The coupe still puts a smile on my face every time I turn the key. :-) It's the only one in my fleet I don't have to work on..........lol Dan As i said before...glad it went to a a good home. Im still on the hunt for one but they don't show up often and I'm spoiled from that one. Its gotta have a sunroof and power windows. Cruise i could do without but thats fun too.

Just had another thought....i know that Connie (bucky92) had an extra sunroof and gasket that we pulled from a sedan in PA years ago. In fact that sunroof she has is from the same car your 5 speed trans is from. At any rate it might be worth a PM to her to see if she still has that seal and sunroof and wants to part with it. Car had 74k miles on it and seal was in good shape if i remember right.

Just saw this thread Dan. Give Backwoodsboy a PM or email him (not sure how often he's on here anymore). He is a subaru parts manager and a lover of anything EA81. If he can't find it it doesn't exist in subarus inventory anymore. Hows my old coupe doing?

I would pump my former weber a few times...3-4 if memory serves and then it would JUST start. Ive never had good luck with old subarus starting well when it gets this cold out.

Also another tip from the HTKYSA book....get some wheel bearing grease and fill up the inside sealing surface. This will protect the seal for the first start up until it has oil in it. For the outside of the seal Use permatex #2 gasket maker and put a thin layer all the way around the seal.

And the piston pulling back sucks the charge in...so yea I'm really not too sure why they put that in...maybe to lessen turbulence?

Subscribed. I think that ridge your referring to was meant to direct airflow to both cylinders equally. I bet you could cut it down and sharpen it without any ill effects however. In fact i think when i had a set of non-turbo EA81 heads done up he got rid of it all together.

I think it would be very possible if they turned the adjusters all the way in and cranked the motor over that the valve did not fully close and the piston kissed the valve.

Rather than trial and error tuning the carb main jets i suggest you get yourself a good Wideband O2 sensor and wire it up. That way you know what the car is doing. I tuned a weber that way and got it dialed in really well. Idle you want it somewhere in the 15-15.5:1 afr. Wide open throttle you want 13.1-13.2:1 or there a bouts. you can do it seat of the pants but i really don't like that idea of guessing what the car is doing. It might feel really great wide open but you could be running it way too lean and not know until it is too late.

There are two bolts....a 17mm and a 14 if memory serves....its been a few years. I did it a few times on my old car and everything can be accessed from above. Just make sure to disconnect the battery before taking the starter out. At this point in time I'm going to say your contacts are probably no good anymore. I wish i had seen this earlier to save you from the trouble of trying out a relay.

Have you checked your clutch cable and made sure that its fully disengaging? The throw-out-bearing should not be riding on the clutch fingers at all times. There should be a bit of a space there. The best way to adjust it is to disconnect the hill-holder entirely and loosen the clutch cable adjustment nut until there is a bit of perceivable play between the throw-out-bearing and clutch fingers. Then reconnect the hill holder and you should be golden assuming your clutch is not fried.

HAHAHAHA i was wondering when someone would pick up on that. Def a hard CL ad to read but I've seen way worse.

Found this in Oregon. Just throwing it out there. I just want the light blue one. The other two look decent too. He says non have rust but we have all heard that before. https://medford.craigslist.org/cto/4858641959.html

Yea you won't have a problem with the magnaflow rotting away. I had an entire exhaust made by a local shop from the heads to the tailpipe out of 2" stainless. I just got really sick of replacing parts of it every year just from driving.

Did you end up picking this car up? I tried PMing you but something happened with your response? If you would like the motor parts id love the rest of the car if that is the only reason you bought it.....

I used to have a sound clip somewhere. If i have time during this blizzard we are going to get ill throw it up of of my old system...that is now down in VA.