DaveT

All of mine do this. It's annoying. I have been using the speed reading on my gps for years. I has to be gunk or dirt in the needle movement. I just never spent the time to get in there andand try cleaning one.

It looks a bit odd, but I never had an EA81. It doesn't look like earlier or later ones though. The 2 steps look funny to me. The earlier pumps and the ea82 pumps have one round part past the flange, and a short shaft sticking out.

Taking things apart is a good way to learn about how they work.

EA81 are OHV. gear driven cam with push rods.

Bad bearing screech in the compressor could be carried by the manifold. This is why the hose method along with the screwdriver method is helpful. Removing the accessory belts will also confirm / reduce the number of possible sources.

Did you also check those.locations with the piece of hose stethoscope? Sometimes the combination is what helps locate the noise.

In CT, we get snow and road salt. Decent quality aftermarket exhaust lasts about half as long as oem. Usually a flange rots off or the catalytic dies. Or a bracket. That's why I made my 100% stainless system. If I have to do anything that requires any part of the exhaust system moved, it is no big deal to unbolt and move it. Trying to deal with the muffler and center pipe as one piece? No way I want any part of that.

You might be lucky and have it be related to the slop. Some of the guys who have ea81s probably know how to check.

I don't think the running in RWD would be the problem. It's a good idea to get up to speed on doing your own repairs on these 30 + year old cars. And scrounging your own parts. Getting hard to find anyone who knows them well enough to do the work properly and or affordably.

Thermostat end with the spring must be down in the housing on the intake. The sensor is a 1 wire on the lower housing for the gauge. There is also a 2 wire one there for the ECU. That one is only for engine control. Any time you open the cooling system, be sure to remove ALL air before driving. The water pump can get an air bubble, and this can cause an overheat, very bad for head gaskets. Form a cold start, idling, the engine temp should slowly rise. The temperature of the radiator hoses should get very uncomfortable to touch once the thermostat opens. One of the ways to help get rid of air is this - once you fill as much as possible, leave the cap off. Squeeze the upper hose and release it. add water and repeat until it stops taking more. Start the engine. Rev it a few times, watch the water get sucked in. shut off. The idea here is not to run long and get the engine warm / hot, just to purge air. Add water. repeat. Once you can't get any more in, close the cap. Monitor the level in the overflow and check for air in the upper hose before each drive until you are convinced it is stable. One of those funnels that connects to the radiator filler neck is really handy to aid this process.

I've run EA82s since 1988. The only thing I ever did regarding lifter tick is this - new shaft seal on the oil pump. [and it's other o rings] Resealed from head gaskets up when the leaks got ridiculous. Usually by 150K miles / 10 years. Run 100% synthetic Amsoil 10W-40. The synthetic changeover gets made shortly after owning any car / engine. Sometimes it went away quickly. Sometimes, on engines I got with more miles with unknown service quality, longer. Sometimes would come and go for quite a while while the Amsoil slowly cleaned the gunk out I'm guessing.

I never saw anything in that area on the several I have owned. No turbos.

Probably one of the flanges is out of plane. Those gaskets don't have a lot of give to take up slack. I make up my own gaskets now. Layers of woven fibreglass with copper rtv worked into it. Make at least 4 layers. Goop them and stack them. Use a gasket as a guide - you only need the rtv where the gasket will remain. Set the goopy stack on a piece of aluminum foil. Lay a second foil over the top. Place the sandwich on a flat surface and lay a flat surface on top of it. And weight it. Give it a few days to set. I also put thin spacers to prevent the weight from crushing the stack all the way down. You need some give left. About the thickness of the fibreglass layers resting dry. Once set, leave the aluminum foil as part of it. Cut out the gasket. I've been running a set of these for quite a while now, no leaks.

I have run a few that were missing them. Not aware of any problem. I have moved one from a dead axle to a good one. Never looked for replacement ones.

In the USA ones, that middle thing is not a resonator. It has a catalytic element. I have had them fail emmisions testing due to that part burning out.

It's been a long time since I had a car with a carb. But the high idle stays on for minutes if you don't touch the gas. Yours may or may not be out of adjustment. But in cold temperatures, minutes of high idle were normal. Like long enough to scrape the ice off most of the windows on a wagon long enough. Those old mechanical systems were not as precise as modern computer controlled engines. Don't expect it to drop on its own until close to normal operating temperature, not just warm to the touch / warmer than the air.

The choke might need adjusting.

Another common cause of the lifter tick is air sucked into the oil via the oil pump shaft seal. Replace the seal. There are o rings between the heads and the cam towers. Those can add to leaks, loosing pressure at the lifters. Oem only. If they are original, they are long overdue for replacement.

2 cats in EA82s is not a CA only thing. All in the USA have 2 cats. 1 in the y pipe, one in the middle pipe.

I'm looking for a good quality creeper - Preferences - Padded / comfortable. Low is better than higher, will be used on smooth garage floor. I prefer to avoid cheap made in china stuff, even better if made in USA.

to gather solar, you want surface area. The energy density is low. Long black plastic pipe will be far better than a couple radiators. The thermal gradient is low, so you need LOTS of surface area.

That thing is a clip that holds a plastic shield in place. The bottom of the plastic thing had a part that fit in the clip, and the top had a clip that went over the approximately 1" hose up on the front of the throttle body.

There is only 1 air filter. I am not sure when they went to 2 catalytic converters. Ea82s have 2.

With those pits, either a new pioe, or a thin layer of rtv in the groove. With smooth surfaces, I have found that plumber's silicon grease works well for helping seal, and when you have to remove, the hose is not stuck to the nipple. Also I have used it on the oring.

Doesn't look familiar to me. Just a mangy odd colored o ring.