Twitch de la Brat

Ok, trying to eliminate the blow-by oil suction issues in my PCV system, as having my engine drink a quart every 1k miles sucks. And since I'll be redoing my intake gaskets and a few little hoses in the intake system/area, I figure I could update my hose routing to fix the brown coating on my intake and eliminate some risk of lighting my intake hose on fire from the turbo encountering errant oil. Any suggestions? Twitch

Turns out its that god awful little coolant feed hose that keeps the throttle body from icing up. And my vacuum modulator for the 4WD broke right before the hose started spraying everywhere. Both plastic nipples snapped clean off. With very little force mind you. Bumped the damn hose and they happily detached. And they were oil soaked, so I get to figure out why my goddamn pcv system is drinking the oil. Sorry for the language. Tonight has not been my night. And I have to drive my parent's Buick to work tomorrow. I hate that car. Twitch PS: And to make it all worse, there a forecast for snow tomorrow. Kill me now.

EA82T popped a hose or a gasket. Either one, it's spraying water like a tiny fissure. Gotta fix that before it blows itself (and me) to hell.

Miles probably nailed it with the tilt mechanism. If that's loose, misaligned or worn out, you'll get some weird movements out of your steering wheel. Good call Fox. Twitch

I can say for a certainty the Blue Devil works. But you have to use Distilled water with it. If you have any minerals in your water after doing it, it will bind to those and create issues. So if you garden hose flush before adding it, make sure to flush the cooling system again after treating it. I have mechanics that use Blue Devil without issue. My only recommendation that they don't say on the bottle is to flush the system after sealing it, before you add antifreeze. It doesn't seem to react well with Antifreeze. Twitch PS: But intake gaskets sounds about right for your symptoms.

Check the lower mount and check out the joint in the engine bay. Make sure there's no play in either. If neither of those are your problem, I'd be looking into Tie rods and possibly the steering rack. Twitch

Sounds like a fair candidate I apologize for the wall of text, as my new phone doesn't like to format properly with USMB's text boxes. Enjoy your build, as I drove a worse "wreck" than that for 4 years, and happily at that. It should be fun to put together. And if you lift it enough, you won't have to worry about the Tranny hitting the tunnel Twitch

Well, as cool as that sounds, what kind of shape is your BRAT in? Clapped out ready for a rebuild or still fresh and mostly rust free? These things are getting rarer and rarer, so the more we as a community can save of the nicer ones, the better. Anyway, your best bet for a 2.5L is the EJ251 out of the 99 and up Imprezas, as the EJ25D is a giant pile of crap comparatively. The EJ251 is the SOHC 2.5L, where as the EJ25D is the Dual Cam. The EJ251 has a slight power increase over the EJ25D as well as reduced complexity since it only has 2 cams instead of 4. As for transmission choices, Pretty much any EJ 5sp will mate to the engine no problem, 4 or 6 bolt bell housing. Getting it to fit in the Tranny Tunnel will be a different trick. If you go with an EA Dual Range you'll need an adapter to bolt it to the engine, but it will fit better and give you that lower range gearset. However, you are sacrificing strength in that the D/R's were only designed to see 100hp or less from the factory. Mind you, it doesn't mean they aren't tough. People run EJ22's in front of them all day every day. But they won't have the same strength as a Newer EJ 5sp gearset that was designed to work with 165hp+ every day. Lifts are easy to find instructions to, so are finding wheels that will fit/adapt to your usage. So step back, calculate your budget, your skills and your car before you start hacking into anything, and decide if you'll be saving/enhancing a classic, or hacking up an icon. Twitch

I thought that looked familiar Stickers are just in the wrong place. Looks good, if I do say so myself I just got done backflushing my cooling system again since the blue devil decided to combine with the old stopleak that was leftover in the system since my more recent flush. Love to find gelatin in the radiator. No wonder my thermostat has been hating me. Also tying to figure out if the blue devil was gelatinizing the coolant, because the goo was also green on top of being yellow/vomit. Now I have to buy more coolant. Yay. And brakes. And a new CTS. Damn stuttering ignition. Does anyone have a thermostat housing? Mine is leaking right around the front-most bolt, and as neat as it is to see white and yellow bubbling on my housing, its not all that reassuring of reliability Twitch

Post it for sale in here before you toss it to the resst of the world, please. We'd love to keep it in the family Or at least tell the new owner about this place Twitch

You found it. Post in the WTB forum, and you may find some bites. Also, junkyards are your friend. That's probably your most likely find location. I haven't looked into it, but you may still be able to buy one from u-haul. Don't be too shocked if they want as much as you paid for your car for one. Twitch

Look into your MSD ignition. It may be causing the issues, as I know MSD's don't like water. At all. Twitch

Another note, Di-Electric grease is amazing. Put it on every connection. Twitch

That bra is sexy. So very Sexy. Twitch

I think you may have a short showing up in one of your wires. Or possibly a bad connection somewhere. The excessive moisture may be causing a short somewhere. Also, check to make sure your exhaust isn't clogged and your air filter is clear. Check you spark plugs after a short run time (before it warms up) to see if you have a cylinder misfiring. Also, a quick shot of wd-40 in the disty and the wiping it out with a low lint paper towel/cloth may help relieve some of the issues. Also double check all of your spark plug wires for solid connection and their respective wire connects on the inside of the boot. Twitch

I know the BRAT has been talking to the XT. Well, more or less yelling across the driveway considering their respective parking locations, and I imagine kinda in the same way a crotchety old veteran yells at a youngster The XT may only be one year younger than the BRAT, but its seen a lot less, I know this for a fact And I'm keeping it that way, no matter what the BRAT tells it... On topic, I'm becoming suspicious of my coolant temp sensor. My temp gauge seems to be a little odd and there is a little hesitation between fully warm and cold. Twitch

If you're swapping in an EJ22 (EJ22's are SOHC, way better than any of the DOHC motors until the WRX engines) I'd recommend getting a 5 speed. 4 Speeds break with just EA81's in front of them (ask me how I know ) So the 5sp d/r (short for 5 speed dual range) will be way more suited to taking the power. Plus if you're already making an EJ fit in there, its not much more to drop in a 5sp. The only thing to look out for on the 5sp d/r's is that the 85's had a different gearing setup than the rest of the years (ask me how I know about that one ) And you'll have to get a custom driveshaft as none of the driveshafts for the 5sp d/r's will fit properly in your car. If you have any more questions, ask away. Twitch

MIles? Condition? Known problems with the engine (eg: overheating, burning oil, etc)? Twitch

Can't be an EA82 with OHV (overhead valve) EA82's were OHC (overhead cam) motors only. Is it a slant back like a fastback or a curved back like a traditional hatchback? If it has a 4 speed, then its most likely a standard hatchback and that's the transmission that came in it. Yes, hatchbacks came with 4wd transmissions too. If you're going to work with us on this car, you need to forget traditional 4wd setups. The 82-87 BRAT, 80-89 Hatch, 80-84 Wagon/Sedan/Coupe all share the same axles, aside from turbos. Twitch

While you're technically right about the transfer case being intermarried, there technically is no transfer case. Its just a gearset at the back of the transmission that locks the rear output shaft to the front. And the low range gearing actually engages before the power hits the rest of the transmission. That gearset is right up front in the transmission housing and its actually a totally different part from the 4 wheel drive. Disom93, that will require an engine swap to make it work, as the 'fat case' and 'slim case' EA bellhousings are incompatible. Twitch

No flywheel modification necessary for the 5sp aside from resurfacing it to the right clutch spec. Modifying shift levers is minimal, the biggest issue is the crossmember, and that only requires downspacing, and if you want to retain a chrome shift lever or not. Everything else is pretty straight forward for the swap. Just talk to Jerry (Bratsrus1) and he can hook you up with one of his kits. You just supply the transmission, clutch and the driveline (and the money to buy the kit of course ) You can go that route, look for a low mileage one. I have killed 2 of those transmissions myself, 1st gear in one and 3rd in another. Find a low mileage one that has clean gear oil. That will be your clue to its life so far. Also, if you get the chance, check the magnetic drain plug. Lots of metal shavings, bad juju. Very few metal shavings, good news. No metal shavings, somebody flushed and changed the fluid and cleaned the drain plug. Who knows... Twitch

If the starter is on top, the motor isn't an 84 The last year for starter on top I believe was 81 or 82. After that all the EA71's were "fat case" and had the side/corner mounted starter. I haven't ever seen a dual range top mount tranny myself, but they may exist. Twitch

Try blasting compressed air through your heater system. The core fins could be packed with dirt and crud. And the back flush works good, but it works even better if you put vinegar through the cooling system first. No, it doesn't hurt anything. Just pour about 2 cups or so of vinegar in your radiator and drive it for a while, then back flush the system. You'd be amazed at what comes out. Twitch

People liked the dirt and crumbs? Thanks again to the staff and judges! Twitch

WOO! Amazing show this year guys and gals. Staffers, amazing job wit the show. Saw a bunch of amazing cars and greatly appreciate all those who attended. Especially our east coast crowd. I could never do what you guys do. Twitch PS: Thanks so much for the trophy and thank you Russ for not bringing your car