ferox

2WD XTs (5 lug studs) have a smaller center bore in the backing plate, but I think it's true that the 4-lug vehicles should all be compatible.

It certainly sounds like a linkage issue, but I am surprised that a mechanic with 30 years experience would be baffled by that. Have you removed the interior plastic trim pieces around the shifter to examine it?

Thnx

I am flying down to San Diego to do a timing belt job on my buddies '96 OB because it's significantly cheaper than taking the car to a mechanic. I ordered the Lisle cam seal puller, but it's back ordered and not expected to delivered until after this weekend. I can use a pick, but I thought I would ask if anyone has made one. I was thinking of modding a butter knife or copper tubing. The copper wouldn't be a risk of scratching the cam shaft, but maybe somebody has a better idea (?)

What vehicle? If it's an ea81 Hatch, then order parts for an '84.

If I were doing this, I would probably find the fuse that controls the lights and install a switch from there (as you mentioned in your original post). It will probably switch off more than the lights you are looking for, but that may or may not be a problem if you're parked and camping. It's also easily reversible/removable. You could also just pull the fuse(s), which is a boring solution, but no mods required.

HoboBob, have you been to Burning Man under that moniker?

Backfiring through the carb is usually caused by improper timing. Timing is of course the most basic setting of the engine, and is something that must be checked, at the very least, for any kind of carb tune. Many timing issues get blamed on the carb and it sends people that don't have much carb experience down a rabbit-hole because they think the problem is their lack of carb rebuilding and tuning knowledge. Many a carbed Subaru has been towed to the junkyard because of this. Your EA82 may need a timing belt kit or distributor more than it needs a new carb. Also, carbed Justys share the same carb base and phenolic spacer as the EA82. U.S. Justys were carbed from 87-89, and 90-91 were mixed between carb and FI.

I can't tell for sure, but it looks like a vacuum switch that Subaru uses for idle-up control. Is there another vacuum nipple on the side not shown in the picture?. If so, you probably just need another vacuum switch. If it is a simple vacuum switch, there are many makes and models that you can swap in.

Looks like the idle-up solenoid. A vacuum solenoid from several different makes will also work. It's just a simple electronic vacuum switch on/off-open/closed or versa vice. '89 Justy's were also carbed, so the part you were looking at may work just fine. I may have one in my Justy parts if you don't find something to your liking, but I will have to verify.

Fel-pro Perma Torques are popular and can be had at Rockauto.

Badassedness, not sure I am ever going to lift mine, but the rear wheel well sure doesn't give much room to trim fenders. Nice work, that's some Justy respect right there.

I sprayed my trailer frame with a different brand 7 years ago. I never painted over it because I still had more welding to do, and I haven't gotten back to it since. It has been stored outside the whole time in western Oregon, so it's been rained on a little bit. I noticed that rust is just now starting to show on the edges of the metal, which I thought was pretty impressive.

Do you have ~11-12v to the choke? Also, what kind of throttle return spring are you running?

The electric choke is heated electrically and is unaffected by coolant temp. You haven't mentioned timing. You cannot tune a carb or engine, for that matter, without proper timing. It's the most basic and important setting on the engine and dramatically effects how the carb works. Once you verify/set the timing, then you can tune the carb, which may then affect timing again...adjust, repeat. Tuning a newly installed carb is an iterative process. I may be persuaded to swing by this weekend with my timing gun, but I won't have time before then.

PM sent. You should just stop by my place this weekend, and take a look at my Hatch. I can walk you through anything that isn't obvious.

turbosubarubrat mentions a good point, your problem may not lie in the carb, but all the out-dated and defunct emissions parts that should be removed.

Set your idle mixture screw between 2-2.5 turns out from lightly bottomed. Check to make sure your timing is set at 8 degrees BTDC. Then use the air/fuel mixture screw (different from the idle mixture screw) to set the rpm. Check timing again to make sure it's still at 8. Then begin lean-best-idle tuning. If the idle mix screw is not making a difference in the way the engine runs, that means you are bypassing the idle circuit, which is the main metering circuit for your carb. This can be because the circuit passages are clogged and the carb will only run by bypassing it, or other specs of the carb were adjusted from stock location such as the fast idle screw (which should not be adjusted unless you really know what you are doing). Both situations seem to be common.

With the low miles, the 6 will be nice. I was in the market for a 6 for quite a while, but I talked to a local trusted Subaru mechanic and he steered me away. His reasoning was the increased difficulty with maintenance. I believe he suggested that it's almost easier to just remove the engine from the 6 and do a lot of extra maintenance when it's out, as opposed to the 2.5 which is relatively easier to work on as needed with the engine in the car. So if you plan on maintaining it yourself, you might want to think about that. If you don't work on your own car then maybe the 6 will work for you long term. I decided I would rather go with the 2.5 and see what I can do with customization since I am the only person that is allowed to work on my cars.

Not that you asked, but I have noticed over the years (and I could just be making this up) that the ND disty seems to tolerate the ignition timing being advanced 1-2 degrees more than the Hitachi in general. But if that is true, then it would seem to indicate that the Hitachi produces a more rapid fuel deflagration rate which would imply a stronger more effective spark (an oversimplification for sure). Said another way, if the ND allows the timing to be more advanced, implying that the spark initially ignites less fuel (reducing the deflagration rate), then it simulates burning a slightly higher octane rated fuel. I've always seemed to get 1-2 more mpgs with a timing-advanced ND system too, but I still prefer the Hitachi. I would posit that the perceived performance enhancement from the ND disty may not necessarily be from a stronger spark per se, but rather the distys effect on the timing and deflagration rate. This also means that if you want the ND performance (as yet unproven scientifically), then you have to be able to advance it the 1-2 degrees more than the Hitachi, especially if you're running a Weber. The ability to do that is highly affected by the individual EA81 engine. Some will take a lot of timing advance and some will hardly take any. So my point is, if you are able to advance the timing to 10* or more, then you may be able to get some advantage out of the ND over the Hitachi. But if your engine won't do that and your settings are close to what the Hitachi would take, then you will probably experience less perceived power with the ND and will notice it most on hills. I'm not trying to present this as fact so much as testimonial and thought experiment. I have also found a much higher percentage of worn out ND distys than Hitachis in the yards.

Yes the cap and rotors are different, and technically an ND disty will work better with the coil it was designed for. They do have different ohm ratings. The part numbers for the hitachi and ND distys should be different. There isn't any real difference in power between the two units. They just accelerate differently for the most part. I prefer the Hitachi myself.

So did you just add a wheel and fender to each side? Still not sure what was modded mechanically other than the obvious.

If you don't need a new distributor right away, the Philbin Group in Portland rebuilds these distributors, so I would recommend calling them. That would be where you would get the highest quality, and we are lucky that they are local. Any LAPS or internet parts supply house reman disty is going to be hit-or-miss. It's almost impossible to generalize about the quality of remans for this particular part. You basically have to get the unit, install it, and see how it goes. If you don't go with the Philbin Group, you might try a local over-the-counter store, so it's easier to exchange units until you get a good one, if needed. Just a quick bit of advice...if you want people to respond to your post, then it will need to be shorter. Most people don't have the time to read all that, and many people use their phones to check the site, so when they see a block of text like that they simply don't read it. Maybe separate each question or issue into individual threads if it's difficult to pare down the text. Also, photos of the parts you are asking about would be helpful and would likely garner more responses.

I've also seen the backing plate loosen, causing a clunk on hard braking.

Have you checked the caliper bracket bolts, caliper bolts, and the pads? If they have been replaced recently, they could have loosened up. I've seen it happen many times and it creates the same kind of symptom you are experiencing.