ferox

To the best of my knowledge and memory, the smoking in high-g corners was a design issue and I believe there was some kind of fix that Subaru offered. I think the PCV system sucks up oil in the high-g corner, but I don't do ea82 so I am not 100% sure. This was discussed quite a bit on the old site, not sure if all that information made it over when we switched, but if you search you should be able to find a better description of the problem and solution.

Get a carb kit for an '84 wagon so there's no confusion. In '86 Subaru was still producing Brats, but in '85 they changed their wagon line to the Loyale body style so auto parts kids are constantly confused by what their computer says. I usually get my kits from AutoZone because they carry the Beck and Arnley brand kit which I prefer. Other parts houses might also carry the B & A kit. The ea81 Hitachi kits should be the same for '83-'87.

I believe timing specs are usually given as 8 degrees BTDC plus or minus 2 degrees, so 6 degrees is within spec, but 8 degrees is the timing setting that the engine was designed for.

Are you asking because you have changed the filters and the problem persists?

What do you mean when you say it runs weird over 3500 rpm? Your timing should advance quite a bit with rpm, so far that sounds normal.

As others have mentioned, fuel filters, I have had the same effect you describe from clogged fuel filters on ea81s on several occassions. It's the first thing to check. I would just replace them anyway since they are cheap. When you say the carb was jetted for a Brat, what where the jets? Most specifically, the secondary idle jet.

Yeah the question about raw fuel in the canister was one I had as well when I realized what was happening. I wasn't concerned about liquid fuel getting to the canister so much as the amount that could potentially get to the canister. I replaced the canister system and kept an eye and nose on it, but never had a problem. It's not ideal, but it will all go away when I EJ, so I left it alone. That car also had a bit of a rake to it's stance, which probably changed the angle of the gas tank, so the fuel tank was sloped toward the front of the car and may have contributed to the vent line discharge. As far as your other questions, I think the vented gas cap is still probably the simplest option. With a vented cap the filler neck should act as a small reservoir for the expanding fuel. As Gloyale mentioned, the tanks at the fueling station are underground so they're significantly cooler. They're also between 5,000-10,000 gallons in capacity and double-walled at a minimum, so the temperature of the liquid fuel underground stays a lot cooler on a hot day. There could easily be a 30-40 degree difference in temperature between the station fuel and the fuel in your tank.

It has happened to me. When I Webered my wifes '84 in the summer I initially left the vent hose unconnected, with a full tank it started dumping a lot of gas out of the hose in the heat of the day. So much gas poured out and evaporated on my driveway, that I thought I got hit by a siphon-thief. I refilled and had the hood open when it started doing it again, so I figured it out pretty quickly, but I was surprised at how much gas pumped out. The elevation of the hose was greater than the elevation of the tank, so it didn't prime it just expanded.

Rebuild kits are around $30.

On an '81 you likely have more issues than an oxygen sensor. The O2 sensor in the '81 was mostly used to provide feedback for emissions systems, which are undoubtedly not functioning correctly. The best thing you can do is remove all those ancient emissions doo-hickies and tune your carb to run correctly without them. Your car will run with good emissions without all the emissions gear in case you're wondering, but the O2 sensor won't cause the issues you are experiencing.

Rockauto typically has excellent customer service and returns.

The fuses by the battery are the fusible links everyone was referring to. An '81 will have two in-line right off the terminal. I recommend switching them to the fusible link box* that the '83-'84 maybe '82 wagons used if you see one at a junkyard. The heater fan uses a Nichrome wire resistor pack that is located down by the driver's side right foot area, kind of on the tunnel (someone correct me if I am remembering that incorrectly). It has two phillips head screws holding it in place. If you have blown a fusible link, it stands to reason you could have also blown the resistor pack. Check your fuses with a multimeter. On '81s there are also like three inline fuses tucked under the driver's side dash, but I can't remember if any of them go to the heater. *The fusible link box goes where the external voltage regulator goes on the '81. I highly recommend deleting the external VR and switching your car over to an internally regulated alternator. RenaissanceMan posted a thread on how to do so on the old forum, doesn't look like it made it over here unfortunately.

Here are a few pics of my de-emissioned ea81 with an ea81 Hitachi on it. I have the following items hooked up. Fuel supply and return Bowl vent to canister Tank vent to canister Ported vacuum to canister Purge line from canister to manifold Ported vacuum to distributor Manifold vac to choke pull-off with orifice restrictor Manifold vac to climate control I deleted my egr, but only because the egr valve I had was bunk and I did not feel like buying another one.

I think he's talking about using an ea82 carb rather than a Weber. The canister can still be used, but you would want to check to make sure the diaphragm valve on the top of the canister does not leak. If it does leak, then you just have to replace the canister or you will have a pesky vacuum leak. I recommend finding one on Rockauto of a similar vintage from a different make. I used one for a '91 Jeep Grand Wagoneer because they are $30 and I have a Wagoneer. It's a lot bigger than stock, so I am sure you can find one closer in size to stock for a good price.

I am referring to the main drive line between the trans and the differential, not the CV half shafts. It rotates anytime the car is moving, regardless of whether 4WD is engaged. The rpms of the drive line are directly proportional to the speed of the car, so if the u-joints are going out the drive line may not make the car shudder until you get it rotating fast enough. This will be even more pronounced if the trans mounts are shot also.

I forgot to mention that worn out u-joints in the rear drive line are a common cause of shuddering at speed as well.

"Could it really be as simple as the mounts to cause such a violent shudder?" Nope, it's the lack of mounts that causes the shudder. With a car that old it's probably a combination of things. The engine-transmission assembly is attached to the car through two engine mounts and two transmission mounts. The trans mounts blow out easily leaving the engine mounts to hold the engine and transmission in place while they apply force to the rest of the drive train. With an open differential the applied force can shift from one side to the other and with a transmission that can move around you can get all kinds of harmonics and amplifications. It will wear out CV half shafts prematurely too. There is a lot more I could go on about, but the mass of the engine and transmission can make the car shudder for sure. I'm not saying throw money at it, but plan on replacing many parts if you want your 29 year old subie to ride smooth. Work your way out from the center checking components (engine-transmission mounts)(inner control arm bushings)(leading rod bushings)(tie rod and tie rods ends)(ball joints)(struts)(tire balance)(tire alignment). You kind of have to use some leverage to check the ball joints and tie rods can be difficult to tell when their shot also. I've pulled plenty of ball joints that didn't seem that bad until I got them off the car and it was obvious they were completely shot. Luckily these cars are really simple so relatively speaking there isn't much to go through. It took me a little while to get all my stuff replaced but now that I have, the car rides smooth and straight and feels solid. As for the tranny, you would have to get another speedo drive gear, which I presume would have to come from a used trans, so you could go to the junkyard and try to remove one and see whether or not you think it's doable. The '84 at the Foster yard still had it's trans as of Friday. If not, there's always gps, and if you've got a tach you can judge speed pretty well by rpms.

I would suspect your transmission mounts and check the engine mounts pretty aggressively. The engine mounts are fairly robust, but the trans mounts are ridiculously puny. I've got some NOS engine mounts that I would sell you if you want(I think I am going to EJ before I will need them). You can get the trans mounts at Rockauto along with a new EMPI CV halfshaft. Definitely check the tie rod ends before placing your order. There is also a backlash adjustment on the steering rack. The 4MTs are not the greatest transmission, but I have been running one for years even though I have a perfectly good D/R 5MT and conversion kit from Jerry. I take care of the 4MT and it just won't die. There are at least a couple threads about simple mods to take the slop out of the shifter linkage on the 4MT which can help, and adding some Rislone to the tranny fluid seems to help the 4MT. That seems a little like an old wives tale, but the Rislone definitely seemed to help mine and I think it's right around 250K now.

You might have a build up of crusty solidified oil on your valves and or valve seats. It could also be damage, but when I changed out the headgaskets on my ea81 I discovered that the back-side of the valves were absolutely caked in the stuff. I was surprised that they were seating at all. If you pull the driver's side head again you should pull the valves and check their condition. I also recommend replacing the valve stem seals at that time as well.

Not trying to start an argument capn_r. It's nothing personal. "So are you saying someone found it easier to slot some holes than to line it up the way it was designed?" Hell if I know. Never underestimate the power of a PO to F spoob up. I think to most likely scenario is that the car originally came with a 200 mm clutch disc flywheel and they went to 225 mm when they changed the clutch at some point in the lifetime of the car and they probably threw an ea82 flywheel on there. They could have used an ea81 and had a hard time lining up the bolt holes and didn't use all the bolts, whatever, I don't know. But if the timing marks don't line up when the #1 is at TDC then the flywheel is clocked wrong. "I gave a solution for checking the timing marks that doesn't involve pulling the flywheel where you would determine if the marks are on or off." I am not telling him to check the timing marks by pulling the flywheel. I am saying if the timing marks don't line up then he can either make new ones or get in there and find out what's going on with the flywheel. If the marks don't line up correctly and he wants to use the stock timing marks, then he's going to have to pull it and reinstall it in the correct position. "????" Even though the assembly formed by the piston, rod, crank, and flywheel rotate it's still a static mechanical connection. Every time the #1 piston is at TDC the timing marks should show up every time, there's no variability. There is nothing in between the connection of the piston and flywheel that would cause any variation between the timing marks and #1 TDC. If the marks aren't in the right place at the right time, then the flywheel is clocked wrong.

Technically, yes the bolt pattern goes on one way due to the spacing of the bolt holes, but they are close and a flywheel can be installed incorrectly if someone makes it fit. I would also recommend checking everything else again before pulling the flywheel, but it shouldn't be that far off. The only way for it to be that far off from #1 TDC is if it's not connected correctly. The piston and rod are connected to the crank, the crank is connected to the flywheel, if they don't line up, there isn't anything in between.

Your flywheel must be clocked wrong. When the clutch was changed last, the flywheel was probably removed and reinstalled with the timing marks in the wrong location. You could do one of two things: 1) the best option is to remove the flywheel and install it correctly. 2) the second option is to try to transfer the timing marks to the place where the flywheel currently sits at #1 TDC. You can either use a punch or some paint or other method of your choosing. Obviously this approach is less accurate. I would also recommend adjusting your valve lash if you don't have a hydro-lifter engine.

Yes, there are lines like on a ruler embossed in the flywheel that show degrees before top dead center BTDC. Most likely there is enough rust on your flywheel that they have filled in and are not visible. Maybe take a scotchbrite pad or something and kind of scrub the visible portion of the flywheel as your rotate it around TDC on the number one cylinder. They'll show up eventually. I like to clean up the marks really good and highlight the #8 BTDC mark with white paint as well as the reference marker arrow on the bellhousing...makes setting the timing a breeze and takes out any guesswork.

I am running the sealed units you listed from Macquire. I did not add grease, but I only have about 1,000 miles on them. If you're concerned about the long-term, I would recommend paying a little more for some higher-quality sealed bearings and run them as they are.

I believe the most common remedy for the power steering interference is to put a small peen in the power steering reservoir with no ill effects.