markjs

I use 10W30 isn't that correct for the PNW?

NEVER use Fram!!! They are the worst! I have read comparitive studies and they are utter CRAPOLA!!!

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/80s/specs/mechanical/engine-specs.html

Well here's the crux of my problem....I have hoses up the butt, on my carb but I have no O2 sensor....I searched thoroughly, and there is no sensor. I have been getting about 33MPG highway and like 20MPG city.....Mind you I do a paper route so I do a TON of stop and go and lots of idling....This doesn't sound that bad to me for a car with no O2 sensor that is suppoesd to have one.

It goes down when its idling but at 2K its back up to 70-75, so if the pressure relief vlave is bad then what have I got to do? BTW I have 2 EA81 parts cars at my disposal and one has a low miles engine but I prefer to keep that one whole.

The gauge I am reading is the factory in dash one, so those are inaccurate?

And which does not require the oxygen sensor? My car is an 84 GL Wagon 1800 OHV FWD.

The oil pressure on my EA81 is too high. It hovers around 75PSI (top of the gauge in the red area) when running at around 2500RPM. The front seal and possibly the distributor gasket and I think oil pump are all leaking a small amount. Collectively it loses about 1/2 quart in about 400-800 miles. This is heavy stop and go traffic use. What are the most obvious things to check and how do I check them? I was told it could possibly be the PCV valve, but I replaced that and if it eased the oil pressure at all it's been barely noticeable. So whats to check next?

I had to wire my fan to engine on power because the switch burned up. So no big deal right? Well some guy told me my engine is running too cool due to the full time fan?!? Sounds like utter crap to me, but just to be safe is there any truth to it? I think the cooler any engine runs the better for engine life right?

</H2> http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a980227.html

OK thanks.....not too much info at all....very informative!

But someone please do explain the differences between the engines? And what is it that I have? From what I gather I think I have an EA81 but do not know....

I have an '84 1800 OHV and I used to have another that did 300K miles and was running fine and not burning oil when I sold it. Is that an EA81? What is an EA82 and all the designations? Please explain....

18 wheelers do it because they have to. You don't slow down 20 tons with ease!

I drive a 5 speed 84 GL Wagon (FWD) and when I brake I use the brakes (In neutral or clutch out). It seems to me that its much more sensible to put the wear and tear on your brake pads than to use the clutch to slow the engine down and end up with a very expensive and difficult repair job. I have heard the opinion that compression breaking does not wear the clutch but I am 99% certain that that is hogwash, not to mention that it puts extra stress on engine components. Sure I compression brake on long hills, but not when coming to an expedient stop. Have any studies on wear been done about this subject?....Just curious (and bored today).

I live in Port Townsend WA, and I swear to god that 1 in 10 cars here is a Subaru. The populace is mostly highly educated progressive ex hippies and the like.....Smart people? Maybe, but seriously are there lots of Suby's where you live? What kind of people own them?

Why do manual transmission cars "whine" when you run them in reverse gear?

When I go downhill and the forward motion of the car turns the engine it backfires quite a bit. It seems to run good on all four, never backfires or misfires on acceleration, so why does it do it when compression braking? I have noticed this on many other manual transmission cars and motorcycles. It can't be normal because I have also noticed that new cars do not seem to do it.

I believe CO is Colorado.

I had some holes in my pipe on my 84 GL Wagon and the auto parts store guy had a cool idea. I am sure many of you have heard of it before, but its still a good idea. What he suggested is that I take a tube of exhaust sealant (I guess the stuff you put on joints to seal it) and a tin soup can. You cut out the ends of the soup can and slit it up the side, then goop up the inner surface of the can with the sealer and then wrap the can tightly around the pipe and clamp it with exhaust clamps or hose clamps. This fix saved me almost $400! The pipe the cat is connected to was bad, so I hope I get a lot of miles out of it. So far so good

Specifically is it same between 2wd and 4wd?

The tranny looks different to me but both are 5 speeds....

How fast can one of those things go? Is it a 2 cylinder or 2 cycle?

Bingo! There is no O2 sensor..... :| So what the hell? It does run fine but am I getting lousy mileages as a reult? I suppose if I ever end up having to do an emissions test I am screwed too? And about the coolant sensor.....Is it normal to read at the very bottom of the scale on the temp gauge or could that use replaced and is it cheap? How could I go about rigging an O2 sensor without buying a cat or drilling mine and ruining it? Or can I fix this at all cheaply?

I have searched the exhaust pipe and the front of the cat and no O2 sensor! The ECS light is on and O2 sensor is one of the codes displayed, but it just does not seem to exist! I was also told by a mechanic that specializes in Subaru that the ECS in 84s was wildly inaccurate and that if the car runs well chances are there is no fault in the O2 sensor. The car does run well but the miles per gallon is not what I think it should be.....? Also the other code displayed is the coolant monitoring thing. He said if that was truly malfunctioning the car would also run badly. I do suspect something is amiss though because the fan failed to ever come on til I wired it to power so that its on full time with the engine. Also the temp gauge reads almost non existant (the needle stays almost at the bottom of the range even when fully warm). So whats the deal? do I need to replace these items? If so are they not both cheap and easy fixes? If I could find them it might be lots easier but unfortunately Haynes didnt think putting the locations in their manual was necessary.....Thanks in advance.