BEECHBM69

Ok boys and girls, if you own a hatch, or even suspect you may own a hatch in the future, YOU NEED TO DO THIS! It took me all of 20 minutes to take my old ones out, drive the pins out, and put the new ones together and in. They are spectacular. Also, you can just snip the corners off of the spring and it will fit fine. No need to round it, as it won't be seen anyway. One tidbit of advice I hadn't seen mentioned; There is slight adjustment in the original attaching hardware. Mine were sticking out a little far until I noticed if you shove brace on the glass all the way forward (or down, or both) before you tighten the screw, it tucks things in nice and pretty where they belong. It's not much movement, but it makes a big difference as to how things look when latched. Good job Will! Thanks for the effort. Dan

Nevermind.

I'd let him pay me to haul it away for him. It's got an EA81. If it runs, you can use it for parts on something else, but $500 seems steep. Dan

I resealed the oil pump, replaced the front crank seal, oil pan and valve cover gaskets. Replaced that leaking PIA bypass hose on the top of the water pump. Cleaned the blown oil grime off of everything and anything I could touch. I wire wheeled and painted what needed painting (oil pan.) While I was waiting for parts, I replaced the plugs, wires, cap and rotor. What did I get for my troubles? Skinned knuckles, sore muscles, and a grin so big it almost won't fit on my face. I took it for a spin, and it's dry as a bone. No leaks anywhere . The only smell was that of engine paint getting hot for the first time. No oil on my exhaust for the first time since I've had the car. This has been an ongoing project I started about a week ago, tinkering here and there. My gaskets came in yesterday so today was the big push. And a good day it was Dan

The consensus is it will eat axles like candy. It has been discussed numerous times. Dan

You did indeed. That was my fault, not yours. Judging by how clean everything else was, and the fact you said you had never seen one of your own damaged that way, I was going to go with it as is. When I pulled the plate off, everything looked great, no scoring on the shaft at all. BUT, the big O-ring was hard as a rock and had two splits in it all the way through. I think I found my oil leak........ Thanks for your indulgence GD. I will read and heed next time. Dan

Holy Hannah I'm glad I kept poking around. This boys and girls is why you should search beyond the first page. In a six year old thread, there was something found I hadn't seen before. I'm off to take that old pump apart now and replace the internal o-rings. I know there were some other guys looking for this information so I'm bumping it for their sake. My apologies if that is poor forum etiquette. Dan

You were right . Check this off the list. Is there anything I should be looking for in particular? I'm not in possession of micro measuring tools, so anything not obvious to the naked eye I wouldn't be able to find anyway. The only reason I even ask the question is due to the increasing difficulty of finding these pumps. I would hate to replace a perfectly good one when finding another spare might become impossible as time goes on. If it was a readily found part, I wouldn't hesitate to replace it. And thank you GD, most of the information I gleaned from searches came from you. Dan

87 GL Hatch EA81 with 125,000 miles on it. My oil pump was leaking pretty bad, so I ordered a reseal kit and new pump. (Yes, you can still get them, yes, it takes 6 to 8 weeks.) Coupla silly questions: Should I just reseal the original pump and keep the new one as a spare? (I read through search bad things can happen while trying to get them off so I had another on hand before the reseal.) Or just slap the new one on and call it good? I had no issues with oil pressure, and outside of the leaks, the engine appears to have been maintained fairly well. I also read through search that lack of oil changes contributes greatly to pump failure. That doesn't appear to be an issue. Second question. Upon getting the pump off, there was some oil residue under the crank pulley. Not the shiny, clean, "there's been a massive leak here" type thing, just residue. Could that have been transfer from the pump leaking? There doesn't appear to be anything around the top side. (Read where failing crank seals can fling oil everywhere?) I'm leaning towards leaving it alone as it wasn't that difficult to get the radiator out should I need to get to this point again. I'm planning on keeping the car long term if that makes any difference. Thanks to all who contribute here. I wouldn't even have attempted this had it not been for the mass of information assembled in this one spot. Thanks, Dan

I grew up here, and still live here. All I'm going to say is, know EXACTLY what you are doing with these guys before you do it. Just a friendly heads up. I won't say anything more, as it didn't involve me directly. If you guys get serious about this and need or want eyes on, I'm close. beechbm1969 at yahoo. Dan

You don't have to do that at all if you don't want to. I bought some open ended lug nuts (flat on top) and tightened up on the two factory holes first to center the rim, then put the other two lug nuts on upside down (flat side on the rim.) They are centered and I haven't had any issues. Just another option. Dan

Tape glue melts, allowing the tape to shift around slightly, resulting in you getting tape glue all over your clothes. I hate to tell you, but that is going to wind up being a nasty mess eventually. Dan

Sorry about that It would be 4wd or FWD. Dan

Unless I'm missing something, it just says MANUAL, it doesn't specify gearing. One thing I just noticed in one of the pictures; is the driver side window busted out? There seems to be something covering it up. Somebody chime in if I'm wrong, but I thought I remembered reading finding door glass for these things was fairly difficult? If it is indeed a 4sp, the synchros are notoriously weak. Enter the 5sp swap. You can use that as a bargaining chip if nothing else. Dan

Rust is the only natural predator these cars seem to have. Coming from Buffalo that's the first thing that comes to mind. The oil leak is probably non consequential, as long as it wasn't allowed to run dry. There are a bazillion threads on common areas of leakage on EA81s. Most of them are easy fixes. I've had mine up to 70 a few times. Where as it didn't seem to mind it, I don't know that I would want to do it for extended periods of time. That's just me. My normal beat around driving I get mid to high 20's for mpg. The more you mod, the lower that will go. One other thing, 4wd versions of the EA81 only came in 4 spds. If it has a 5spd it was swapped. Dan On edit: I could have just waited and said "what he said" lol

So the badge on the gate and mud flaps are add ons? Dan

This guy did exactly that. LINKY Dan

When things of that nature occur, I've ALWAYS found it to be destructive......... Dan

I have a 4" lift, minus the steering part, ready for install. I just haven't been able to find a suitable donor to have the steering extension made. I didn't want to use mine as I can't weld, and I know how that sort of thing can go in a shop. I want to have it on hand when I start this in order to reduce total down time, and have a stock part available should I ever return it to stock. You guys seem to have parts cars coming out of your ears , I wish we were so lucky on this side. Thanks for anything you can do for me. Dan

I'd be interested in a steering extension. Unfortunately we don't have ANY EA81's around here for me to source a core from. There seem to be a bazillion of them where you are. I'd want to have a stock one (mine) on hand in case I ever want/need to put it back stock. Not to mention I'd probably come out ahead to pay you $30 an hour to get me one rather than ship mine to you....... If we could work something out minus the core I'm in. Thanks for your time. Dan beechbm69@aol.com

580,000 Japanese yen = 6,499.48 U.S. dollars Dan

I ordered from them and had no issues whatsoever. I will say, after seeing an EMPI axle up close and personal, I will never buy another brand for any of my vehicles if they make one for it. The difference is night and day. Dan

Props for wanting to support local business. I absolutely struck out around here looking for EMPIs and found THIS place with free shipping. Hope that helps. Dan

Ok, I know this is child's play to most of you guys, but we only get snow like this once every 20 years or so. I had to drive to my parents house this morning for a rescue. I had to decide what to drive (yeah right.....) My other children in the driveway, my favorite in the foreground of course: The big scary bridge: Through the woods: The cousin in need of rescue: 1985 Toyota Tercel. Distant cousin of sorts : Lets go play: You guys that have real snow, please don't hurt yourselves as you laugh out of your chairs.......... Dan

Fixed. I think. Dan