djellum

Hello, 87 GL 4wd wagon, carbed with EA82 and high/low 5 spd. so Im getting ready to reseal and retime my spare EA82 and drop it in my car. pricing out kits and found this on Ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Subaru-1-8L-EA82-1800-Loyale-XT-Coupe-8V-OHC-85-94-Engine-Kit-/301477427087?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item463174778f&vxp=mtr I was going to just do a reseal, but my mechanic buddy who is going to do most of the work at his shop suggested just rebuilding the whole thing. its not a terrible lot of expense and I don't even have to do the work so I'm inclined to do it. my main question on this kit is that if I order the kit with SPFI pistons would that give me the bump to higher compression or do I need connecting rods from a SPFI as well? I was going to get subaru intake gaskets anyway so if the kits for the SPFI don't have carb gaskets its not an issue. going to get this for timing kit, provided the kit above doesn't have one. its not listed but I want to double check first. my only issue is that it shows 1 cam seal and not 2. http://www.ebay.com/itm/85-94-1-8L-SUBARU-1800-GL-Loyale-RX-XT-NON-TUR-TURBO-TIMING-BELT-KIT-EA82T-/400176384460?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5d2c5f09cc&vxp=mtr Mainly want to know about those pistons, but any input is welcome. know of a better deal, or pitfall I need to watch out for?

i prefer paper filters. you cant flow more air without letting more stuff in and I never liked the oil system much. if you were wheeling in a dusty environment (or perhaps if you live in one) and will be changing air cleaners often, then I would go K&N for the reusability of them. for normal stock applications where extreme longevity is desired I would go with the paper one. you wont see a performance increase unless the filter you replace is extremely clogged, and you would see that with both new cleaners. that said if your a micro manager and will change the air cleaners every oil change or something then get the K&N since it will save you some money. if you will change it once every couple of years like the rest of us then stick with paper.

Tie rods?

play at 3 and 9 is classic for a bad tie rod. that is the rod that goes from the steering rack to the front of the wheel bearing housing. the inner tie rod end is within a boot, and the outer tie rod end is visible and bolted to the front of the wheel bearing housing. there shouldn't be any play at either end of the tie rod, if there is then you need to replace whichever end is worn. generally if you jack up the car you can lay underneath and wiggle the tire while holding on to the actual rod section of the tie rod. it should be apparent which end is bad. theres a special tool to do the inner ones, though you could likely make something if your crafty enough. having a slight amount of play in the axle isn't uncommon. unless you have other symptoms of a bad axle I wouldn't mess with them. id agree about the tires being a likely culprit, but if you are getting tie rod play you should fix that asap. they're pretty robust but an actual failure where the rod separates will likely throw you into the ditch or rip out other suspension parts/fenders.

did you use the sealed bearings? I've heard people say that they don't put enough grease in them sometimes. the way you describe it may indicate that the grease in the axle or bearings are a little light and maybe when the temp goes up and it goes more fluid its not lubricating properly. where axles are concerned on these I would not assume anything. I can easily believe that a wrecking yard axle is bad, thoughI agree that if it didn't change from the old to the new the problem likely is something else. don't discount the axles completely though. maybe check driveline or carrier bearing. kind of a long shot but just in case.

carrying a spare fuel pump might not be a bad idea....

in general I keep my 36mm axle socket and a breaker in the car at all times, jumpers, some fluids, basic tools. some other good ideas, some fuses, (and fusible links for these cars), a roll of electrical wire, timing components as mentioned earlier. a clutch cable is a great one to have around, they do break and your dead in the water when they do. maybe a few feet of fuel line and vacuum line. a cigarette lighter air pump is great. I have fixed tires with screws actually. if you get a nail or small puncture you can throw some gasket sealant on it, and put a larger diameter screw in the tire to get out of where your at. I've actually gotten lucky and was able to drive on the tire for a while before replacing it. not great but if it slows the leak down enough to get to a schwab its worth it.

could check your inner tie rods. I had a clunk in reverse real bad and that was the culprit.

I dropped the full 2 inches when I finally got down to doing mine. I did have to mess with the linkage at 2 inches. I used a torch and bent a Z in the 4wd shifter. the platform for the linkages still attaches to the peg that holds it in the back, but barely, I have it spaced down as far as I can and still have to wedge it there. looking at the style that the linkage is you can probably fab up something with normal hand tools. I didn't need to do anything to get the shifter to work in the car, just to clear the console, so depending on what your interior is like you may need something different. the one think I didn't do was the radius rods and I think that is causing me some problems. nothing undrivable, but I think its pulling the control arm backwards and twisting it a little more than I want. with less lift on the radius rods and cross members I think it pulls inward just a little too much for my liking. Im kind of in the mind that 1/2 an inch isn't worth worrying about, just do 2 inches all around and call it a day. then you know for sure that nothing is going to bind or pull and your suspension will be stock. its a little more work, but with some planning it shouldn't be too much of a deal. I tried a few different methods but in the end it took too much tinkering and ate up too many axles. I have to do mine in segments since I need it for work. I have all the Xmembers dropped 2 inches and I'm much happier with it, the next step is to build the blocks for the radius rods to return everything to a true stock geometry. if your still debating after i finish ill let you know what it changes.

I have a cat back section that is still useable you can have. Im not terribly far, I'm between Battle Ground and La Center which is only a county or so away. probably needs some small repairs since it had a few leaks but its far from rusted out. Cats old, but it was on a running car till a week ago when I swapped over my nicer setup.

if you plan for a short exhaust you may be able to get away with a bit larger diameter pipe. the longer the distance the more velocity you need to clear it, but if you are shortening it then it may clear out quick enough before it looses its oomph. I don't know the actual math on it, but if you end the exhaust in front of the rear tire (like side pipes usually do) then you are eliminating a few feet of exhaust. you may be able to get away with a more standard diameter as long as its close. also you may look at a system with 2 sizes. much like a cat back exhaust will increase the diameter of the rear segment of the exhaust but leave the front half stock. run stock sizes off of the motor and increase the exhaust diameter behind the muffler, or just before the side pipe, or whatever. I don't know the actual viability of this, its just a dart board idea, but could you maybe take the original manifold and open it up at the front chamber (resonator I believe). weld in a baffle to separate the chamber into 2 halves, leaving a small portion open to act like a y pipe, then run 2 separate pipes as outlets to your side pipes in whatever diameter is appropriate. i don't know if the effect would even be achievable in one piece or if the 2 pulses would interfere with each other instead of running out the proper exit port. again I don't know if this would allow the exhaust to work properly, but if so it would allow you to use free/cheap stock parts for a lot of the system, and even the custom welding isn't difficult so should be moderately cheap. it also makes it stock parts up front and any standard size out back so you won't have to get too creative with diameters. you could technically make your own box as well if this is feasible with flanges so you just need to weld a flange on the appropriate pipes and make it very modular and easy to replace segments at a time.

the body of scientific knowledge has proven time and again that it can be wrong, and wrong by a long shot in some cases. simply being Science with a capital S doesn't give it any more credit than any other label or name. there are new discoveries every hour that contradict what has been established. sometimes it gets proven, most times its shown false, and many times its just considered "interesting" but not definable. being over aggressive and closed minded, even about something as grounded as the laws of thermodynamics, is a terrible attitude. nobody on this post has stated that they are buying anything, or shown any adds for complex systems that cost thousands, or anything else that you keep mentioning while your insulting the people who are exploring an idea. we are all participating in a debate and experimentation, while not in a lab since we don't have one available, which is exactly what "science" is. If i had a full lab id show you numbers when I build one, but I can't in most cases. neither could most of the geniuses that built the modern beliefs of science when they first had the idea that changed the world. the law of thermodynamics is quoted a lot in any of these discussions, but were not talking about an isolated system where were simply measuring energy output. the power that is supplied from the alternator is for lack of a better word a waste energy. the fuel is used to create kinetic energy (sorry if I am misusing that term, idk the actual definition) which spins the crank and pumps the bellows. most of the energy created when that happens is used to push the car and a small amount is used to create the electricity for the system. that electrical output is variable without significantly changing the power or the mileage of the vehicle. Alternators can push 50 amps, 100 amps, 200 amps, without a large change to the system other than wiring or the loss from running tandems. Not saying its free electricity, but you cant just use the raw electrolysis numbers, you have to weigh the cost of the electricity against the final output of the motor not the fuel, since that is what produces the electricity. from a non scientific logical outlook this is what I see as evidence for the possibility. 1) Hydrogen has at least as much potential energy as gasoline. many times more depending on what your reading, but I think we can agree that hydrogen "can" add energy to the combustion of the engine. 2) you are replacing a portion of the intake charge of gasoline with something else. whether its cow farts or Mtn Dew there is less space for gas and atmospheric air so you will 100% reliably use less gasoline per cycle of the cylinder since it cant fit. 3) as long as what you add to the combustion chamber can react like gasoline and produce similar power to it, then you will at least get added mileage equal to the reduction in space for the gasoline. the cost of the second fuel must now be evaluated as well to properly tell if its a gain. the cost of the hydrogen is a huge consideration, I'm not saying it isn't. theres also the point I mentioned before about using needed life materials for fuel. I dont think this could be some self contained system that will run itself for free, energy just doesn't work like that. but I do believe in the possibility that you can take a small to negligible loss to the power of the car due to added electrical production and gain money from using less gasoline. the system needs to be evaluated as a whole though. I think a lot of the terminology doesn't translate well. in reality your not getting any more efficiency out of a motor running dual fuels, you just aren't measuring the second fuel so you see high numbers on the other. that said the gasoline fuel is the only one that has a significant money value to most of us so as long as your water is cheap and available its the one we value more. it is also true that the extra draw on the electrical system will reduce power to a degree. but nobody has come up with any dyno numbers or anything to measure actual power loss compared to mileage gains. The butt dyno says its not much, but until you actually get some measurements its a guess at best. the current HHo craze is admittedly a frankenstein application, and its completely fine to doubt it from an efficiency standpoint. there are no good test numbers, no good flow rate equipment used on most of the motors, and many other gaps that would add precision to the system. Its important to remember though that people have a very specific use for this, which is high gasoline mileage (not fuel mileage, people don't actually measure or care how much actual fuel they use, as long as the gasoline portion is less). I for one am not saying its the best fuel, most efficient fuel, most efficient process, or that it produces more power. the only claim I make is that I see potential for added gasoline mileage for little cost to the car and dollars (if I build my own).

what sub? model and year?

check out SJR, or High Guys lifts. also check the 4x4 section here for some more do it yourself designs. with your generation of subaru you will want to do a full drop, don't just push the struts down.

like said the actual lift that people install, simply takes all the suspension and spaces it down whatever distance they want. if done right it will make minimal difference and won't change the way the suspension operates. whether or not it will be out of your desires isn't something any of us can tell, your own butt dyno will have to be the judge. I don't think an inch or 2 will make a ton of difference though. also if you do go with a standard style lift, its 100% removable if you don't like it. if you want to add a mod to stiffen the rear you can add a rear sway bar.

id double check the timing. these motors can start and run at some pretty amazing timing variances.

the basics are that in between exhaust pulses (each cylinder expelling its gas is 1 pulse) is an empty space. too many or too large of empty spaces reduces the the velocity of the exhaust gasses (the same problem with overlarge pipes, which are higher flow, but less pressure). if the gasses don't clear the end of the pipe before they slow down too much then your motor has to push all the gas in the exhaust at once, rather than in short fast bursts. thus adding backwards pressure to the motor. its like cars on a freeway, front car going 65 and everything is fine, it slows to 40 and traffic backs up. obviously most old dual exhaust cars swap firing orders from side to side, but even then people open up the exhaust too much. I have a 70 Torino SCJ with a big block and even then my motor guy recommended 2.5" as the largest I should use. I've seen people throw 3 inch onto some random car and all it does is hurt performance. basic principle is to flow as much as you can (larger pipe) while maintaining enough velocity to fully clear the exhaust (smaller pipe). you have to balance it. not much noise reduction in a side pipe, you could mount some kind of muffler underneath if you want though, run the pipes along the middle, angle 90 behind the front tire and install the muffler, angle 90 again running the pipes on the side. if you just want dual for looks, then install one high flowing muffler and run 2 outlets from it to each side.

if you want a cheap dual exhaust setup, get another stock exhaust. it will have the same bends so you can just attach it next to each other, and you just have to fab the the connection to the manifold. I make no claims to the proper diameter or whether or not it will be a power increase or decrease since I have never tried it, but it will save you from having to get exhaust built for 90% of the system. short exhaust isn't terrible as long as you have some pipe on there. the main problem with that is when you run without any manifold or only a foot or 2 of pipe. the reason is you don't want normal air to get back to the valves from the exhaust side. as long as you have a muffler or some pipe after the manifold you should be fine. you could run it to behind the front tires, out the fenders, side pipes, etc. some of the older drag racers used to mount the mufflers and end the exhaust right under the front seats.

depends on what you mean by not affecting the suspension. any mods will change things as stated above, but lifting the rear doesn't change the angles or way the suspension moves, it just spaces them down equally. do you not want to mess with the suspension at all, or just want to maintain the stock angles and geometry?

which side, and is it inner or outer joint? might help narrow it down.

jack up the car so the tires are off the ground. grab the front and back of the tire and check to see if it makes noise and/or has slop when you twist the tire. if so then it needs to be replaced. can be serious so don't let it get too bad. if they fail and actually break then your wheels will turn independently and might yank you into the ditch or into the other lane. generally has to get really bad for that to happen, but you never know. if theres no play or noise and its got tight steering, then clean it up, add some grease, and fix the boot.

there are 2 screws, one is the idle on the linkage and the other is the mixture which is on the bottom front. the mixture from the factory is hidden behind a roll pin, make sure you can get to it. turn in the mixture till it bottoms out (lightly), then start 2 full turns out. go from there.

I think the complication of a 2 fuel source car, and the fact that water is a commodity that is in short supply a lot of places makes it much less attractive to manufacturers. much the same way as Nos or other systems like it are not installed on even the premium sports cars. I don't doubt they could make an amazing machine if they went all out, but considering warranties, repair and maintenance, it just doesn't make much sense for them. they cant control what type of water you use and wouldnt want to deal with someone putting fish tank water in their HHo when they should be using distilled. I don't think its in the corporations best interest to take chances in general. they will move on what they must but you won't see them going to anything like HHO anytime soon. they have plenty of options yet to use to increase their mileage. I don't really think its the absolute best even, just that its worth looking into. it seems very geared towards those of us who are tinkerer's, and who live in a wet area where water is plentiful. I think using water for fuel is a bad idea for us as a race, we need to put the research into making fuel out of substances that human beings don't benefit from or at least don't need to live a life. I happen to be in circumstances that could make use of it, so until something better comes along Im interested. the thing I like most about it, is that it seems like it would have little waste. to combust you need heat, fuel, and oxygen, which is all that HHO produces (except the heat of course). in normal gas combustion that uses atmospheric air theres a large portion of non reactive gasses as well as the small amount of liquid fuel that doesn't burn (which is hopefully not much if your running right). the fact that it produces its own oxygen in a much purer state, and runs completely off of gasses, is what gives me the most hope. We know that mileage and power come from efficiency so a more efficient fuel source has merit.

seems like solid ideas to me, I've looked into it multiple times and have some scrap stainless around to make one if I ever get the running gear sturdy enough where I have time to do it. Hydrogen cars are fairly well established through the years, as are propane cars so its safe to say that is plenty of evidence that alternate fuels will work. I don't think its as simple as plug and drive, you will have to tune to the new normal since hydrogen and pure oxygen have different characteristics than gas and atmospheric air. the main problem from my research is flow. its hard for the normal small automative size generators to produce enough liters to fully power the car, thats why currently its just used as a bump to the standard gas. I could see where it could cause a lean condition. your adding 2 chemicals to the combustion though, pure O2 and hydrogen, so pre-detonation may be dramatic or non existent. haven't done it myself to see. running lean won't really get better mileage. better mileage is achieved through efficiency and lean isn't much more efficient than rich.

id probably put a spring compressor where you can, but don't try to actually compress it, just get it tight to help limit travel. then a floor jack under the ball joint. remove the sway bar and radius rod bolts and let down the floor jack. I'm actually kind of in the air as to whether the spring compressor is safer or more hazardous in this case, id probably just use the floor jack. make sure the jack goes at an angle so you are not right beside the wheel well when you lower it.