ferox

It would be my guess that you are looking at a mechanical failure issue with a connecting rod or piston. You might be able to combine parts from your original engine, and/or just buy new pistons. Since there's only three little ones they aren't terribly expensive. These engines are super simple. My buddy just rebuilt his for around $700 (machining+parts+clutch kit). He disassembled it and reassembled it himself though, so I if you aren't willing to do that it will cost considerably more. However it was the first rebuild he has done and he did not know much about it before he started. It's doable for a novice with patience. Like I said before, get yourself a Factory Service Manual. If you are not willing to really work on the Justy, it's probably not worth keeping. If you rebuild it and maintain it, it will run solid, with good mpg's and push button 4WD for a long time. With a good carbed rebuild you will get 35-40 mpg. That's good but not stellar. A little Toyota, Honda, or Geo can get that or better and have plentiful replacement parts to choose from but no 4WD. A Justy is a committment. If you are not willing to make that committment, it's probably best to pass it along. I hope you rebuild it, but I am Justifiably biased. Good Luck

Did you do anything to the balance shaft or balance shaft chain? I am curious as to what kind of mileage you get after doing so little to the engine. Please let us know how it is going.

If you go so far as to dismantle the thing and pull it from the car you're welcome to bring it out to my place and throw it in the shop press. I also have a fairly large puller, but it may not be big enough. Last time we talked you mentioned you were getting a wire feed welder...you could rig up a hydraulic puller with a small bottle jack. Some thoughts anyway

I don't follow you. Is it frozen at the diff. or spindle to hub?

So this is referring to the problem with the oil pumps. The steel oil pump rotor shaft turns in an aluminum housing. If the softer aluminum wears down too much then you end up with oil pressure issues. Sleeving the housing refers to pressing a bronze/brass bushing into the housing where the rotor shaft goes through. I have heard much talk of this but never heard of anyone actually doing it. Some people think it is unnecessary. If you have precision measuring tools you could measure the shaft bore, or slide the new rotor into the housing and try a feeler gage to measure wear. A machine shop could also do it for you. Some people I have talked to say you should just replace the rotors and keep up on your oil levels/changes. If you have oil pressure problems later though that would be the likely culprit. I don't see why the sleeve wouldn't work...you just want to make sure you have good info before doing the mod. I would like to learn more about it myself, or hear from someone who has done it. So ThreeEyedBandit if you have some experience, dimensions, or tolerances to share that would be very helpful and appreciated. I have a couple extra housing plates I wouldn't mind refurbishing.

Looks like I was wrong about the roll pins. The punch I used was a 3/16, and the used roll pin diameter measured .2 inches/5mm.

The radiator support looks like it's spot welded, but it's actually held on by a couple nuts...same with the center bar. For the minimal amount of removal work you get a lot of clearance for engine/tranny removal and installation. The roll pins for the axles are smaller than for other subarus, but I can't remember what size and I couldn't find any info in the FSM, sorry. I'll try to remember which punch I used and post the size a little later, I just have to dig through my tools. I know you just want to get this thing running, but you might consider a carb rebuild before installation. They are ridiculously difficult to remove from the engine compartment. Also, it's probably hard to believe, but a carbed Justy will drop to EA81 and EA82 mpg's pretty easily if the carb needs a rebuild. At that point you might as well be driving a wagon. If you do the rebuild, they have an internal duty solenoid that is easy to break fyi. The Justy is like a small animal, it has a higher metabolism. There's only 3 cylinders, the parts are small, and they wear out faster. I know you probably don't want to replace all this stuff and put in more time, but it's worth it. Do it while the engine is out. If you don't, you won't get the mpg's, it will run like s**t, and you will be pissed because you will have to pull the engine again to fix it. It is for this reason that Justy's get neglected. Nobobdy wants to pay a mechanic to do the work, because it costs more than the car is worth. It then becomes a disposable vehicle. They drive it as long as they can and then sell it for $25-$250. You got a screamin' deal on your car. Put some time and (relatively little) money into it and it will reward you, if you don't it will piss you off. With two engines you're set. You can rebuild one really nice while still having a DD, when it comes to the maintenance removal you just swap them out. You can get .002 over-size ring kits for them and/or bore out the cylinders 1 mm and get new pistons, so you can keep this thing going for quite a while.

The axles are held onto the transmission with a single roll pin on each side of the transmission where the axle meets the tranny. They are fairly easy to remove, so if you have to use excessive force then you are probably using a punch that is too big and may be jamming it into the hole. The driver's side is easy. The passenger side is a bit of a PITA. You have to support the engine and tranny and remove the engine support that runs from the front of the car to the cross-member to get proper access to the roll pin. My Justy is an '88 (Gen 1) yours is an '89 (Gen 2), so they may be slightly different. On my Gen 1, I don't have access to the passenger side roll pin from the top, so I have to get under the car to tap it out. Important note: make sure there is enough space behind the roll pin as you are tapping it out. If the roll pin is pointed toward the engine, there is not enough clearance and you can pound it into the aluminum like a nail before it has cleared the axle cup. I make sure mine is vertical. You don't have to pull the suspension. If you are having trouble pulling the axles off the tranny you can remove the control arm bolts at the inner pivot point for more range of motion, just remember to put them back in after you get the axles free. You might start looking for a factory service manual now, because there is essentially no aftermarket manual. There is a Chilton's that has a section on Justys, but it is not to be bothered with. FSM's range from $30-$60 on Ebay. Don't bother with the CD version. Also, is you Justy carbed or FI?

Definitely replace the oil pump, water pump, alternator belt and balance shaft chain while you are in there. You will be glad you did. I would also recommend a new clutch. As for splitting the engine and tranny, I would recommend pulling both at the same time and installing them connected. There is not enough room in the engine compartment to easily line up the tranny with the pilot bearing. The key with the Justy is maintenance. The oil pump is actually a maintenance item. Since you basically have to pull the engine to get to it just replace the oil pump rotors when you change your timing belt. You might consider having a shop recondition your pistons too if you have the engine apart already. FSM highly recommended. There is not much aftermarket support for the Justy, but they are awesome little machines if you take care of them.

That's interesting. Based on what I have encountered in the junkyards here, a lot of Cali. models migrated north. More than I would have guessed anyway. Thanks again for the clarification GD. I have been trying to figure that one out for a while.

Alright...I understand what feedback is I just obviously did not know which systems were feedback or non. Thanks for the clarification GD. Not to belabor the topic, but if I understand your two posts correctly, then any 4WD with an ECU is a Califonia model. Orginally posted by General Disorder:

OK. I have seen a lot of dialog about feedback vs. non-feedback without a proper definition. If I understand this correctly then non-feedback systems stopped in 1981? Will there be any other effects from removing the ECU?

I just worked on this same problem in my girlfriend's '84 wagon. Her's was a lot worse actually. The PCV filter material was crust. We replaced the filter material and valve, but not enough time has elapsed to say it definitely took care of the problem. If I doesn't, we will install an additional in-line PCV filter somewhere on the hose. I am wondering if there is extra blow-by occuring in the crankcase to produce so much oil.

If you can find an industrial bearing supply place in your area they can probably find the seals from the part # or other information on the seals themselves. If that doesn't work, then you can go to matching dimensions with them. Prices are often better too.

I have an '81 4WD M/T 1.8 California model hatch. I removed all the feedback/emmissions stuff from the engine compartment a long time ago. I have an '83 hitachi carb in right now with non-feedback jetting, and I am wondering if I switch out the ECU to one from a non-feedback hatch if it will help mpg's or overall driveability, or even just idle stability. Or should I just unplug the ECU since the non-Cali '81's didn't come with ECU's? If I should swap, will an ECU from an '89 hatch work? Any thoughts on the best (most compatible) year. I have a couple '84 hitachi carbs I am going to rebuild to swap out the '83 also. The '83 works pretty good (25 city/31 hwy grandma style driving), but pretty good isn't good enough. My point here is that an ECU swap will be working with an '84 carb not the '83. Thanks

I have a 15365 on my ea81, but it could be a bit different per individual set-up. I estimated with a string and bought three belts. I returned the two that didn't fit.

The 100 amp GM's come in a lot of cars. When I did mine I think I found 1980 chevy blazer v8's and cadillacs had them. It's part #7157. In the Engine Electrical section of this forum RavenTBK did a write up on the install. My install didn't go quite like described in that write-up, but it wasn't too hard and was well worth it. That said, you might also consider the 90 amp Nissan Maxima alt. as well. I chose the GM because I know just about every parts store has one, I thought there were minimal mods, and it seemed like the best option for swaps in the field. I did have to do more grinding of the ears than I anticipated(angle grinder required) which defeats my reasoning for going with the GM. I am sure there is some variability in the space between the ears...pun intended but not directed. So if you get one you may not have to grind as much. I also had to put a spacer on the pulley for belt alignment and a spacer on the adjuster bracket (see pic). You will probably want to do some wiring upgrades. I went to #6 for the power supply wire and #12 for the field sensor wire. I have an '81 so I was removing an external voltage regulator at the same time, but yours should be similar. The ignition power wire was factory spliced into the alternator power wire about 16 inches down the alt wire from the fusible link box. If you replace your alternator wire you will have to locate that splice and connect ignition power to your new alt. wire. Here's the bracket spacer. I will make a new one out of thicker metal someday. This one works great so far, but it makes me a little nervous. The field sensor wire should be upgraded and run directly to the main power supply wire just before the fusible links. You can kind of see where the f.s. wire splices into the supply wire (please excuse the toddler-like mouse-writing skills) Finished fitment GD helped me out a lot on this, so if I have made a mistake here he will surely correct me. I would check the Maxima alt. before jumping into the GM. The GM is great, the mods aren't much, but it could/would be a difficult, time consuming swap on the side of the road. Hope this helps

I check out this site from time to time. They may be able to give you more precise info. http://www.japanoid.com/

I ordered one from 1stsubaruparts 3 weeks ago. It was on back order from Japan and they just cancelled my order. Other parts places said they are no longer manufactured, so I guess it's ebay, etc,...Obviously the valve lash can be adjusted manually, but it's kind of a PITA. If anyone has got a line or info. on some of these I would also be interested. The Justy uses the same tool. I have "customized" some tools for this procedure, but no matter how hard I try, I can't get the gaps to be consistent with each other. It seems like they are reasonable similar when I am setting them, but if I check a week later they are all different from each other. Getting them within tolerance is easy, but it seems like the engine would run better if the valve lash was consistent all around. Any other pointers would be appreciated.

I'm not sure on the Carter-Weber carbs, but the Hitachi carbs have a little round window on the driver's side of the carb. You will probably have to take off the air cleaner to see it very well. It allows you to look into the float chamber. There is a little dot in the center of the window, your fuel level should be close to that dot. If you can't see fuel there, you may not be getting gas to the carb, or you have float issues. You can also disconnect your fuel line from the carb, put the end of it in a container of some kind, jump the pump, and see if you get gas.

I assumed you were checking and re-installing you disty, but reading your post again I realize you didn't mention that. If you haven't done that, try it the way GD described. I see you have a couple brats so I am not sure what tell you to trouble shoot. If your engine is in decent shape and just needs to be tuned, the ea81 is super easy (relatively speaking) and the manual will have all the necessary specs with pic's on hand. If you have two ea81's in the brats I would swap out the disty from a known runner and see what you get.

Which distributor do you have? Nippon Denso or Hitachi? And did you line up the punch mark on the disty shaft with the mark on the disty casing above it? I think your rotor should point directly at the #1 pick-up when the flywheel is at 8 degrees Btdc. It will still be pointed in the #1 direction at 0 degrees, but it's on it's way past it. The pick-up and rotor blade are still interfacing, but it's not pointed straight at it at 0 degrees. I guess I'm thinking you might be a gear tooth off.

+1 On Richie's shop. The only problem is that they have such a good rep. that sometimes they can get stacked up. They're fast, but Portland has a lot of subaru owners. Even if you do the work yourself you can get parts through them. I get almost all my parts there even though I now live about 35 miles away. He'll give you a good price, good advice, and you know you are getting the correct part.

What do you mean by higher octane? It's great that you have such ambitious plans. Are you generating your hydrogen with solar or wind power? I don't want to sound like a Doubting Thomas, and my questions aren't rhetorical, but if you are making hydrogen from household current, then water will not really be your fuel, it will most likely be coal. How much hydrogen per gallon of gas are you planning on using? Do you have to do anything to your valves or valve seats? I could probably figure out sixteen more questions, but I'll spare everyone. I am honestly curious about your project, keep us posted, good luck, be careful, hydrogen is potentially very dangerous.

An '84 should be internally regulated (built into the regulator). I can't tell from your post if your are planning on swapping out the alt from your '80 ea71 onto the '84 or just using it for comparison. If the '84 is an ea81 and you mean to swap from the ea71 I couldn't advise you on fitment, but stock reman's for the ea81' are pretty inexpensive. Snag the hatch! You'll be glad you did.