DaveT

If you don't have a n old belt, take a piece of 3/8 rope, wrap it around the belt path, mark it. Bring it to a parts store, and match it up. It might take a try or 2 the first time. One of my EA82s had different belts than the others. The adjuster on one didn't have a lot of range, so one belt barely fit, and the next longer wouldn't get enough tension.

Oh, you reminded me - before I put the timing belts on, I use a drill with a socket to spin the oil pump to prime it after a reseal.

The "crankshaft sensor" is actually electronic points in the distributor. Yeah, without the exhaust it will be loud .. I didn't worry about that, as I knew the bottom end was good on mine. Yes, you can just hook up the radiator if that's easier / more convenient. The biggest deal is to be sure there is not a big air pocket in the water pump. There are 2 tapped holes on either side of the crankcase, right along the oil pan. I use pieces of square tube with bolts into those holes for the mounting. The rest of the stand is wood bolted together. I built it a long time ago.

The size of the leak required to get bubbles in the radiator is TINY. Very hard to see looking at the old gasket. The pressure of the fuel exploding is a LOT higher than the 13lbs in the cooling system. The un even compression is a concern, especially if it is that noticeable without using a proper gauge.

Yes, you would need the ecu and wiring to run the spfi. Yes it's a bunch of setup. The water - when the thermostat is closed, not much will flow through. This is why there has to be a way to limit the pressure. That can be simple, just a T in the supply with a same size hose or pipe that ends a foot higher than the top o the intake manifold would do it.. water circulating through the block and (loop in place of the heater core) is the main part. The water intake is right into the pump. The outlet is the thermostat end. Adjust the supply flow to just get a little overflowing the T. When the thermostat opens, the t line will empty, and hot water will come out the thermostat port, so it needs to be routed somewhere safe. Any way you go it's a gamble as far as risking time spent vs time saved. I don't think I'd replace the headgaskets, just seems like everything else was done right. Either swap it in, or do the test setup. Testing, you for sure spend a bunch of time, makes retorque easier. Swap in, saves the test setup time, makes retorque more fiddly, but it is do able. Main risk is the time if something is wrong, you have to swap / reseal / whatever . If the car is down now, and needed quickly, swap might be more worth it. When I did the test run, the car was drivable, and I could not afford to have it down longer than the weekend to swap the engine.

If they have not been replaced within the last 10 years, and or 100k miles, cam seals and the orings are likely leaky.

When I test ran one, I bolted it to a transmission [my stand holds both]. Alternative, get a junk trans and remove the bell housing to mount the starter. I set up a slow, pressure limited feed of water through the radiator hoses. At least make a loop for the water to circulate, you don't want hot spots. I've had so many of these fail head gaskets when low on coolant, and even a little over normal temp on the gauge. NOTE - the temp gauge is right on the thermostat housing, separate from the block, so without FULL water / cooling system, neither the gauge or the thermostat will have correct information. I took an extra 17mm 3/8" drive socket and ground it to clear whatever was in the way on the 1 or 2 head bolts for the re torque.

Almost has to be the throttle isn't closing. Maybe the choke isn't moving of f the fast idle cam?

I'd probably set it up on my stand for a test run and retorque unless a car was down and I needed to swap right away.

It was crushed 1-3/4 years ago... long gone.

There is a temperature controled air valve in the air cleaner that selects the heated air or the regular under hood inlet. And when the air is cold, you do want a real amountil of warmed air going into the intake. It helps when the engine is cold, and when the conditions are right for carburetor icing. Low temps, high humidity and light throttle can combine to make ice in the air path.

What kind of fuel system?

Definitely not the bumper.

Remove the fans. You can also remove the radiator to get more room to work. Follow the procedure in the FSM. And don't forget to turn the crank one full revolution between installing belt 1 and belt 2. My added steps - After the initial install of the 2 belts, start the engine, let it run for 5 to 10 seconds. No water pump drive, so don't go longer. Check that the belts are tracking well [not crammed against a guide, or a cover,etc. Repeat the tensioning steps as if you were installing the belts, following the steps [timing in the correct position for each belt, one turn between belts] in the FSM. Re assemble everything if all is well after this. Then you are good to go.

Generally. .. starting at the air cleaner, it should angle back and to the side, then turn down toward the exhaust pipe. The should be a heat sheild with. Pipe stub, same size as the one on the air cleaner.

I had an 86 wagon that had cruise. Don't know if it was factory or dealer.

I just thought of that, reading the post above about the lighted gripper. The one I have would fit at least part way down the tube .

I have one of those (or similar) I had it way before Lowe's existed. Anyway, it might work. But the hole is kind of small, and a dips tick on end is going to need quite a bit of grip to pull out, unless the tube is a straight shot. That's why I didn't think of it.

A magnet isn't going to have enough contact area with the dip stick. Also, too thin to get really strong attraction. And it's in a steel pipe, which will also tend to stick the dip stick to it, since the dip stick will carry the magnetism to the pipe. I had an idea, might be a long shot. It would be helpful if you have another dip stick to make this tool - take one of the stainless steel strips from the side if a windshield wiper refill blade. Cut a notch near one end, and bend it in a way that makes a hook / catch that can snag the edge of the dip stick. Once you have something that can grab one in free space, time to go fishing in the tube..

High rpm doesn't hurt them. Looks like it's running smooth? Skipping? Check the deposits on the spark plugs. Sounds like one of the exhaust header gaskets is failing. Hard to tell from recordings.

How far down the tube is it?

The best option is to search high and low to find an oem axle. Clean, regrease, and reboot.

Reseal is replacing all the gaskets, o rings, shaft seals. Rebuild is new main bearings, new crank bearings, maybe new pistons, piston rings, maybe valves, or at least a valve job, which is possible, as long as you don't need parts... piston pins, lifters, all that sort of thing, depending on condition. That said, IF the engine has always been maintained well, not badly overheated, it probably doesn't need a rebuild.

It is not possible to rebuild, unless you can make the NLA parts you want... OR get lucky, and discover NOS parts here and there. I recently heard of someone who found a NOS EA82 turbo [2 row] radiator - nearly a miracle.

Ah, that indicates the thermally sensitive spring is broken, stuck, or way out of adjustment.