DaveT

EA81 don't have cam towers or o rings.

Checking the governor sounds good. I have not had that combination of trouble. There are a couple of servo tubes that can fall out and loose functions. Drop the pan to check those. I had one fall out, lost 3rd and reverse. A factory service manual has a very detailed description and diagrams explaining the workings.

They are supposed to log more than 1 code at a time. I may have had 2 at the same time once or twice since 1988. Supposed to blink them out sequentially. I have not seen a failure of that speedometer sensor. EGR & Evap mods: http://www.dynahoedave.co.nf/solenoid.html

spray some carb cleaner into the throttle body or carb for 1 to 2 seconds. crank. Does it fire for a few seconds?

Start by just pulling the rocker cover.

Looks like one of the pins they put to align halves of the block, or heads, or engine to bell housing. Kind of odd to find one in the pan I guess . ..

The oem solenoids are notorious for failing open. I replace them with ones from toyota. I came up with that mod around 1989 +-. Still using the same ones that I bought at a junkyard back then.

where do you get one of those for only $20.00?

That low pressure could be something as simple / stupid as a broken valve retainer. I had that happen to my 78 once, ran it home on 3 cylinders. I am running an 87 GL and a 93 Loyale. For as long as I can, just because I can. I prefer the size shape, etc. Been doing repairs on them since 1988, have all the special tools, tricks, FSMs, spare parts from others that rusted away from me. Don't want OBD II or airbags. More power / speed would just make it more likely to get in trouble. If the body is good on yours, find a parts car with the stuff that's shot. Or if someone on here parts one out.

Oh, nuts. Missed the EA81. Sorry.

I've taken a couple of doors apart. As I recall, all of the window mech unbolts from the door, so it should be possible to swap everything.

My 86 had crank wondows. Also had manual mirrors, but I discovered that the wiring was there for the Power mirrors. I got a pair of power mirrors and the switch, plugged them in. One of the simplest upgrades ever.

I agree, might as well do it.

Sounds like headgaskets. Re using a headgasket. .. asking for trouble. From what I have seen on this new generation forum, it is very similar to my experience with EA82 engines- if the coolant gets low, for any reason, and the temp Guage goes above normal, head gaskets are damaged. A bunch of variables effect how badly. But the point is, it is too late. You can't use the temp Guage to monitor the cooling system for level, or leaks. You have to check the level in the overflow, air in the upper hose, and that the tiny fins are attached to the tubes in the radiator core regularly. The 1st 2 a lot more frequently than the 3rd.

O ring

The original is between the head and cam tower.

Very likely it needs headgaskets. With the noise, assume you will do a full rebuild or swap a known good engine in. Adjust the price accordingly. The gurgling water got my attention - that's a sign of low coolant. VERY bad for headgaskets. The rest of the description regarding the cooling system is a huge red flag.

The bezel pops off. Sometimes the little catches are sticky. Just have to be careful, etc. try pushing different angles, etc. The post above tells about the screws, etc.

I've been using 10W-40 Amsoil since around 1988.

I think I have a bunch of extra gaskets that are for versions other than SPFI non turbo.

For cleaning the head bolt holes, I have an extra head bolt that I ground a notch into. Think of what a tap looks like. Use that with wd40 or similar to clean out. Flush out the crumbs also. The bolts are supposed to be installed and torqued with engine oil on the threads, per fsm.

The un even pulses in the exhaust in these engines doesn't help to go dual all the way. You can go up a pipe size or 2. For EA82 engines, this makes a very small difference due to other limitatons. For a 98 forester, you really want to be in the newer generation sub forum. There are a lot of differences between anything before 94 and after.

this is confusing. There were no foresters in 1989. The ECUs in 89 had no way to know if you have cats or not.

yes, get the dash harness. changing the wiper switch stuff should be less of a deal than the engine stuff... I have access to a large scanner, but not until Monday. Some of the schematics are big fold outs. I have changed a fwd to 4wd which is a lot simpler, but having manuals for 86 and 90 along with extra wiring from a few other similar cars helps a LOT.

A hand powered vacuum test pump from a car parts store would help a lot. Makes it a lot easier to test individual parts, etc. Check the vacuum reservoir under the hood. There should be a check valve in the line between the manifold and the reservoir. A line runs from that reservoir to the buttons. From the buttons lines go to the actuators. The heater blend door is operated by a mechanical cable . It only changes the air flow through the heater core or around it. There is a vacuum actuator that selects fresh air or circulate air. It is roughly behind the glove box. It's a bit of a pain to get at the control buttons. Remove the plastic piece that goes around them and the combination meter, and the AC vents. There are wires, cables and vacuum lines all connecting to that button assembly.