DaveT

It drains back to the oil pan. That's a few inches lower than the bottom of the rockers / head channel. Some can be pooled there, but not a lot if on level ground.

A lift won't help get at the lifters. Pretty sure you have to remove the heads to really get near them. Might be able to get them just by removing the rocker shaft, but it's a long reach....

If your engine has a carb, it will definitely do that. SPFI also has high idle when cold, but the ECU controls it. High idle is normal to get the engine warm enough to stay running at lower RPM regular idle.

Also check the voltage with the engine running above idle. I've had the regulator fail full on. This could shorten bulb life, among other things.

Since I built my exhaust with the cat in a different place, I have had fewer problems with the boots, so it might help to add something. But there never was anything other than the shield on the cat itself.

When I went through looking through a couple I have, to investigate 3D printing new ones, I found there were 2 different kinds. They must have had rims with different thicknesses at some point.

Egr light was what this reminded me of, on my 86 4WD wagon. Wasn't sure if Brats were the same.

The coolant temperature sensor can cause trouble with cold starts. And running. If it doesn't report the engine temp. correctly, the ecu won't deliver the proper amount of fuel. Worth testing that. 2 wire sensor on the housing the thermostat is in.

Intake gaskets on an ea82 are not paper, even if aftermarket. They are around 1/8" thick. Every time I have used aftermarket intake gaskets, they failed much sooner than expected. And of course, caused low coolant over normal temperature operation, so I then had to replace headgaskets. I've seen the gasket sealant dissolved away from the intake ports. I had put it on. Later, when dissasembled, it was gone. Intakes ports carry fuel. It dissolves anything non fuel resistant away over time. Short term, lots of things seem to work, or will work. I am talking long term.

Make sure the faces are flat and clean. Use the OEM gaskets. I used no goop of any kind. They are slippery, so I doubt anything would stick. I might consider Hylomar Blue if I were to use anything. Anything you use must be rated to resist fuel. Fuel dissolves most gasket goops. Many state not to use for fuel applications, and [before I knew better] I have seen them disappear from similar situations.

some of this sounds like a U joint failing in the drive shaft. When in 4WD, the tiniest difference in tires sizes & path will cause a load that will silence some noises. Until the wear gets worse. If they are original, they are old enough to be bad by now. With the car on it's wheels, get underneath. Look for any rotational movement of 1 shaft to the other across the U joints. Also, dark red / orange dust near the legs of the cross on the yokes.

I liked the oem radios, as they were very good at am. But they started failing about 10 years ago. I put in Nakmichi units, and new speakers, using the existing wires. Now I also have Bluetooth and hands-free cell phone.

It's odd. I see so many seem to have trouble with the 3AT. I'm heavy on gas. Use the shifter to control upshifts. Got over 200k miles on a few of them before needing anything more than a vacuum modulator. I do run Amsoil synthetic ATF in them.

That's odd... any oem speakers are likely shot just due to age by now. Wires in the link to the doors can break and be intermittent.

I am not sure about EA81 heads.... But hose cracks on EA82s are common as dirt, and don't matter. There was a TSB for them. EA82 I think would bolt onto the trans - but the EA81 is more reliable and simpler.

Short ebow on water pump top. Thin one under intake from thermostat pocket to the block. Slightly bigger one from back of the throttle body to a tap on one of the heater feed tubes.

That explains that.... I killed a catalytic that way. Running a beater that had a cracked head for many months.

Hoe to get to the end result - running reliably. There are tradeoffs in how you spend the time and $. I've dealt with numerous leaks, from simple loose hose clamps to failing headgaskets. With ea82s, many times since 1988. You can try replacing the easy stuff first. But if you don't meticulously monitor the coolant level and air in the system, things will just continue to get worse with every over normal temperature event. I can only decide if it's headgaskets after about a week of drive cycles with detailed monitoring. I've done it both ways, if I got the leak before it caused an overheat, no problem. If I got the overheat before I knew of the leak, it has always eventually or immediately required headgaskets. I no longer bother to spend all the time to sort it out if the overheat was high enough or repeated, it's too late at that point. I limp the engine in the car (adding water every day ) while i am resealing a spare, then swap. It's actually been a good while since I had any of these problems, because of catching them early.

It can be. The oem intake gaskets are the only way to go. Need to resurface both sides if it has been leaking for a long time. These kind of intake leaks are one way to lead to headgasket failure. In the beginning, they sneakily drink the coolant, without smoke at first, and if you check the coolant level by relying on the temperature gauge, that's where you end up. BTDT. The engine temps usually don't start going all over until things are pretty bad. Save yourself a lot of trouble by checking the coolant level and air in the system frequently.

You sometimes cannot tell a fuse is good by looking at it. I have had a few that had a hairline crack in the metal that was near invisible under a magnifier. Checking the voltage on both sides while under load, then you know a fuse's condition.

A general thing - when you want to disconnect the battery, ALWAYS disconnect the negative first, and move the wire away from the battery. The reason is that if you slip with the wrench, the only thing that is dangerous to hit is the positive terminal. IF you remove the positive first, Every piece of metal nearby is a possible short waiting to happen. Your spark sounds like it happened the other way around, but if the negative had been disconnected, you could hit the positive all day to the car body and nothing would happen. Just another piece of basic info - the big terminal on the back of the alternator is almost as dangerous as the positive battery terminal, so if you ever have to do anything with that, again, disconnect the negative battery post, and you are safe. I quick short circuit / spark probably didn't hurt the battery. If it was old and iffy, maybe - I just had one die when I tried to start my car. It will light the lights and stuff, but starter it can't handle. It's a good idea to draw little sketches [and / or take pictures] of things like this before you disconnect the wires, especially if you don't have a second identical car to check for reference... Someone on here with a Brat will likely be able to help sort out the wiring.

I think you mean 8 pin relay?..... because a 2 pole double throw would need 8 pins, 2 for the coil, and 6 for the contacts. I have been thinking wtf does such a simple thing need an 8 pole Double Throw relay for. For a few days... 8 pole refers to a switch or relay with 8 seprate sets of contacts. Double Throw refers to a common terminal, and a normally closed and a normally open contact. Also, an 8 pole relay is not a common thing, it would be really pricy.

Yeah, for temporary. I have run non identical pairs, but kept them front & back. And only use the 4WD for getting moving on wet or snow. No long term 4WD running. Usually did it to use up an odd pair of tires from a parts car, during the summer when I rarely need 4WD.

Doesn't matter which pair are bigger / smaller. All have to be the same.

Definitely.