RavenTBK

Its the same thing you're thinking of. The oil pump seal is in the shape of Mickey Mouse's head.. thats why most folks call it that.

The front main seal is easy to do. Not as involved as you'd think. Pull it out with a pick, and drive it back with a large socket. Since you'll have the engine out, the rear wouldnt be that much harder to do either. Valve cover gaskets are always good to replace.. cheap insurance against possible future leaks. Where are you located? You profile is empty.. so we cant point you to parts sources in your neck of the woods.

EA81 valve cover gaskets.. are they cork or rubber from SOA? I see that the only aftermarket selection in my area is cork from fel-pro. I believe cork is unacceptable for a solid lifter engine where removal and replacement happens "often", and for long term sealing, I dont believe cork can compete. Also, I've seen "grommets" listed with the aftermarket gaskets.. where do these fit into the equation? I dont see anything about grommets in my diagrams. This ends the "stupid question o the day".

It hasnt happened to me, but I have had to fix it. My 93 Accord.. previous owner was DUI, so the county decided to take it away. Single car accident.. off curb into ditch on the passenger side. Passenger control arm was bent back, so far that the tyre rubbed on the innder fenderwell. The funny thing is the leading rod remained intact.. the control arm folded on the outboard side of the leading rod's attachment point. In the process of replacing the control arm (which was a bitsh btw), I got pissed and beat the crap out of the old control arm, which bent the mouning flanges. The bent flanges made it another bitsh to get the arm bolted up.. and even more of a bitsh to get the leading rod attached... since the flanges were bent, the control arm wasnt pointing the right direction, making for leading rod bolt up an impossibility. Thats when the Ford Wrench comes into play (read: BFH). A couple mild whacks, flanges straight, leading rod bolts up, and I'm on my way to the alignment shop. Did I mention it was a bitsh to replace those parts on the Honda? Alignment shop managed to get it about 90% right.. its got the slightest pull off to the right when you let go of the wheel, but its completely tolerable and safe to drive. Thats my story. :cool: I believe yours could fall into the above.. nothing permanent, easily fixed.. but at the worst, 90% and tolerable.

I wholeheartedly agree. I thought I made it clear in my original answer though.. if I didnt, I'll rephrase: only if the flanges where the control arm (if straight) is bolted to are bent, is a hammer acceptable. The flanges are part of the unibody, and will need to be bent back into form to allow the leading rod to bolt back to the control arm. A couple mild blows on the control arm will straighten them (the flanges) right out. If the control arm is bent, replace with a new one, do not try to straighten it yourself.

Actually, thats a very good possibility.. Best case scenario, just a bent leading rod.. replace and forget. Alignment OK. Worst case scenario, bent control arm, bent control arm mounts, and fscked up leading rod attachment point. Replace offending parts and forget. Alignment slightly off, but a good shop should make it tolerable if not fix it completely.

The leading rod's attachment point should be fine. I believe it would either be that lower control arm itself, or the two "flanges" that drop from the unibody where it bolts on would be slightly out of shape. If its the flanges, and the control arm is straight, yes you can try hammering it back straight again.. it just has to be good enough to let the two bolts from the leading rod bolt up. If the control arm is bent, replace it and try again. Take it to an alignment shop afterwards for a checkup.

Since you've got EFI, dont even bother with the thermostat swap. All you'll end up doing is waste fuel. Why? Because when the engine is "cold" the computer tells the injectors to run rich, to get the block up to operating temp. With a low thermostat, the block will never get up to operating temperature, forcing the computer to keep the system in "warmup" mode...dumping more fuel.. wasting it away. --- AFAIK, the dizzy swap was only applicable to the EA81 models. Your Loyale is different, and there are no other options.

yup

Holy bent suspension Batman! At least you were honest in saying you did it at about 40mph.. cause if you said you did that in the WalMart parking lot I'd have to call you on it seeing the carnage. Yes, you can replace the leading rod (yes, thats its official name) without special tools. Nothing crazy will happen when you unbolt it. Just drop it out, and pop a freshie in. As I recall, 14mm for the two bolts up front, and 19mm (i think?) in for the backside. Get new bushings if yours are worn out.. and while you're at it, replace em on the other side too. As fer the balljoint, just go on and replace it. Better safe than sorry, right? Cheap insurance. Also, since you bent the leading rod, I'd bet $1 that you bent the control arm (or its mounting point) as well. You'll know if you did right away...when the leading rod wont quite bolt up to the control arm. It should be readily apparent. I'd have another control arm handy from a PAP that allows returns. Good luck.

Oh sure.. respond to everybody else's posts and leave me out in the cold. :-\ :-p

Heh.. whatever host you've got those pics on does not allow hotlinking. read: no pretty pictures in your post. Just thought I'd let you know.

Or... you could always just call it quits and give it to me.

heh.. its much more accurate if you measure it in pony power instead of horsepower. As I recall, when new, the NA EA81 specs were 72hp/90ftlbs peak.

Hmm... I dont know how I missed your buildup of this. More pics pls.. primarily of the transfer case & mounts, and of the shackle points for your springs. I'm curious how you've got the leaves secured to the unibody. Lookin schweet!

Hmm... I coulda swore I read that dang thing twice.. and it said 4spd D/R. Either my eyes, or my brain was not cooperating. Since its a 5spd D/R EA82, there isnt any adjustments on the pitch stopper. Just the bushings to check. And yes, I'll now lean more towards the (engine/tranny) mounts now that I know whats really going on. Heh.. oh well. I know that eventually a newbie will come along with a similar problem in their EA81.. it'll be helpful for them. I'll go back to my hole in the wall now and let the EA82 gurus get back to assisting you.

I dont believe I've seen an article from Petersens that would fall in line with whats done at WCSS. GM/Ford/Toyota/Dodge yes, but anything else? Slim to none. It would be cool if they did do something though. Check out "Off Road Adventures". Published by the guys at 4wpw. They may be more apt to doing a spread. They're always printing things that dont "fall in line" with the other major magazines, but are kickass nonetheless. http://www.oramagazine.com

Look up at post 25 within this thread. It plainly says that the 8202 Blaster is made in Mexico. Thats why it says Made in Mexico on your box. :-p Get a Blaster3. Thats whats on meh Brat.. The Blaster3 is listed as "quality" above. Ride on meh bother!

Today, I played musical trailers and got the Brat back home. I saw no point in taking up a space at the shop for a week or so while replacement parts travel to Florida. After I got it off the trailer and turned around gto face the right direction in the yard, I immediately went to pulling it apart so I can see exactly what it is yall say broke. I see, and understand now. Took me less than 5 minutes to get done, and now I see exactly what I need to do to fix this mess. To aid others, I've attached several pics. Strut removal is easy. Two bolts, and two nuts is all thats required. The two nuts are on the strut tower, and the two bolts are on the bottom of the strut. One faces the inside, and the other would be facing front on the strut housing (see forth attachment.. look at the red arrows). The one facing inside is 13mm, one facing front is 14mm. Undo the top mounts, and bottom mounts, then you can twist the strut back and forth to free it from its lower mounting space. Lift it out and you're done.

Since I brought my Brat home today, blown strut and all, heres a pic of what you're looking for, to make my last description a bit clearer. The picture was taken from the passenger side fender looking in. Where my finger is pointing in the picture is where it would be loose if the pitch stopper is your culprit. Cheers.

Now that picture with the yellow circle is of an EA82's pitch stopper. Theres no adjustments on it. Since you said 4spd D/R, that tells me EA81. If you look in the same spot as in that yellow circle picture, you'll see the pitch stopper. As in the picture referenced in my other post (the "imagedump" one), thats what yours should look like.. without the 6" bolt welded in the middle. Look at the far right of my rod in that image. Thats where it attaches to the rear of the engine just in front of where the tranny bolts up. You might have to remove your aircleaner to see it if you still have a big stock aircleaner. Its threaded on that end.. like this: unibodymount----rod----[]|/::/|[]---- --- is the rod [] is a 12mm nut | is the metal washer / is a rubber washer/bushing :: is the engine's mounting point. If that makes sense.. where it would be loose is the nut on the extreme far side away from the unibody's mount point. That far nut, and the nut on the unibody are the ones that are removed so allow removal of the engine for that clutch job you recently had. You dont need to remove the engine to check it, just remove the big aircleaner if you've got it. I would take a picture of one mounted up so you can see exactly what to look for, but the Brat is up at the shop right now with a destructed strut. Hope this helps..

The description coupled with the recent clutch replacement just screams pitch stopper! First check for general tightness of the stopper. Theres two 12mm nuts on the bar where it attaches to the engine.. thats most likely the area where its loose. If not, check the rubber bushings. Theres two of them where the stopper attaches to the engine, and one at the top where it attaches to the unibody. Either end could cause the play you describe. If all else fails, look at the motor/tranny mounts for signs of rubber death.

So its just a broken "part" and not a total strut failure? Outstanding. In the condition that its currently in, missing the top part and all, will that spring have a desire to sproing off the strut and kill me when I unload that corner? Also, since used parts dont exist down here (beyond rare), that means a complete strut replacement doesnt it. Any cheap/easy fixes? I guess I have gotten pretty dang agressive with the Brat. I will admit I feel a lot more comfortable wheeling in it than I ever did in my Bronco. Its 10x more capable, so I tend to get on it 10x as hard. Hehe... GitRdone!

84 Brat, 6" lift, 30x9.5 tyres, Weber 32/36 - 18-22 mixed mode city/highway/wheelin 24-27 at interstate cruise (65-70mph) I've found my highway mileage swing even further outside those numbers depending on the terrain and prevailing winds. South Florida just about perfectly flat road with a tailwind for 90% of the route netted me 33mpg once, but I think that was just a fluke.