Alex C

Ahh, good point, sorry I missed that. Alex

worn bearings will still produce low readings. The only vehicles where oil pressure is not affected by worn bearings is in roller bearing mains applications. Low pressure can also be caused by bad seals in the external pump on subarus. Alex

I am fairly sure there is an adjustement for the band on the outside of the housing. try adjusting this and see if you recover third/final gear. Goodluck, Alex

Here is an interesting pic a friend just sent, lets hope it was dead first. http://www.kineticsculpturerace.org/images/2004/2004-Images/20.jpg Alex P.S., the link doesnt quite work, sorry. you just need to copy and paste.

I agree with the long stretches of driving at high rpm, (baltimore to joliet, joliet to cheyenne, and cheyenne to ashland, with only stops for gas/food, and sleep the two times). What is this recurving? Can you show us how? Alex

From what knowledge I have gain the peak torque is around 2800, and the peak HP at the 4000+ range. The motor also starts to really pull above 3500RPM. Also, as stated elsewhere on this site, it cruises nicely at 4000 RPM for many hours at a time. Alex

while I dont have an 82 EA81 wagon 3AT GL, I do have an 82 EA81 sedan 3AT GL. I bought it with 96k and its now sitting at 217k. These do not have hydraulic lifters. I am very familiar with the tick in this motor, and I wouldnt go so far as to say its a tick of death, more a tick of its working. However, I would adjust the valve lash, which will quiet it up a bit and make it run cooler, and more efficient. As to the growling, could be a wheel bearing (which seems likely since it occurs at two speed/rpm ranges), But, mine thrums/growls at freeway speeds, which is all tranny noise (diff mainly, its old and never had anything replaced in the diff or tranny in 217k miles). There are a lot of noises that these trannies will make since the cruise RPM is so high (mine is 65mph=3900rpm, yours should be a little higher on the rpm, as the gear ratio to the final drive isnt overdriven in the wagons). I would definately get all the wheel bearings checked out, and if any are even suspected of being worn I would replace them pronto. It is very easy to do and I did them having never done it before. Good luck, Alex

Napa has a nice push putton, has worked nicely for the last 4 years for me. Payed about 16$ for it give or take a bit. Alex

I am dying to hear why overfilling causes it the pump to whine. I have been curious since it happened to me. The 3AT isnt as bad as people say it is. The average life expectancy of a auto tranny is 70k-100k miles before needing a rebuild. As I am sure many will say, these are good for about 200k miles. Pretty good for all the abuse the trannies suffer at our daily driving. Alex

When I tell you this you might want to change it out. I have 217000 miles on mine with no maintenece (not counting the fluid I had to add when I had to replace the radiator or when I had to change hoses). It still shifts firmly with no slushiness, but the gears are wearing out and wine like the reverse gear on a manual. You might get very old waiting for it to fail if yours wears anything like mine did. Goodluck. Alex

ok, probably just pump whine then, dont know the life expectancy of it though, but I think peopl ehave had success with additives. Also, mine has whined for 50k miles, so who knows. Alex

Never heard of that happening, but I can imagine the havoc that would be wrought if those fluids were mixing. Make sure the tranny fluid is redish and low in viscosity, and the gear oil is smelly and thick in viscosity. If it is a louder higher pitched whine when first accelerating, it could just be a noisy pump in the tranny. which can happen from too little or too much tranny fluid (happened in my case). Alex

for reference the cracks between all of my valves you could fit a fingernail in. I would suspect you either blew out a freeze plug, or just blew the headgaskets, which is pretty normal to do. I would trust the heads with the cracks. If you still have doubts, take some pictures and post them. Alex

So I guess this means you do not need me to take pics of mine tomorrow for wiring help? What type of hum is the tranny making? Did you check the fluid?

Hate to say it, but they all have cracks between the valves. If you pressure checked it they should check fine. They are OEM cracks. Mine has had cracks forever, as long as its not all the way through(which happens very rarely) it is fine. What caused you to take the heads off? Alex

ok, since I seem to be nearly the only one on the board with an EA81 and still having an 3AT Ill try and answer the AT questions. The wire going to the tranny should be for the electric downshift (if you notice when you push all of the way down on the pedal you will hear the click of a switch). This tells the car that your flooring it and to downshift to the lowest gear. Make sure you dont overfill the tranny even a little bit, makes it act weirder than normal (i.e. slipping when first started etc...), also if you try to put too much fluid in it will dump out of the vent on the top of the tranny, needless to say, very messy. The1982's will eat alternators every few years. Get a lifetime warranty one from your local shucks/autozone. you will also have to do some hinky stuff to get them to fail the stores test when it stops charging the car (easy trick of snapping a wire inside for the brushs(yes I know it sounds underhanded, but if it didnt work in the car, what are you supposed to do)). As to the starting problem, I might have an answer to check symptoms. Try running a starter switch. Basically run a wire fromt he hot side fo the battery to a starter button switch (napa, about $12), and then run the other end of the wire to the top fo the starter where the normal ignition start wire connects. Its a brown clip with a female blade connector on the wire. This trick solved my "dead" battery problem I was having. the normal wires for the job were only passing 11.4 volts, instead of 11.8 or so, which cause me massive starting problems. If you could take a close up pic of the chewed wires, I will then take pics of how my car is and we can compare. Goodluck, Alex

Hi Mike, I talked with my coworker today and his answers jive with Raven's. B+ goes to the pos battery, and D+ is the hot with ignition lead. You dont need a voltage regulator with this setup, it is already in the alternator. Just hook up the two wires, make sure your battery isnt dead, and give it a go. You can pretty much ditch the rest of your old charging system. If you want a voltmeter in the gauge cluster just hook one up to the battery and the ignition so when the car is off so is the meter. Goodluck, Alex

Ill ask at work tomorrow about volvo alt's. Ill bet someone knows. If I get a decent answer i will let you know. Also, I have next thursday or friday off from work and can help you fix it if you would like. Alex

The EA71 manifold is not long enought to fit on your EA81. But, the EA82 will fit. Goodluck. Alex

Hey Mike, what keeps dying in the alternator? Also, Schucks carries a lifetime warranty one, though as you know I had to replace mine every few years. Call me if you need help Mike, 778-4708. Alex

Dont know if it applies but on my 82 EA81 I had my fan stop working. After two years with no fan I figured it out. There is a glass fuse to the left of the ECM, this was popped. I replaced it and the fan worked fine thereafter. Alex

My EA81 turns 3900+ a 65mph(when it ran), but its also a 3AT. Alex

Glad to hear it was simple. However, you shouldnt adjust the valves at any temperature except what the book recommends. Good luck, Alex

Ive had some pretty loose valves in my day on my solid lifter EA81 (to the point I had a pushrod come out once, would you beleive same mechanic that did the flexplate trick?), but Ive never heard them make a clang, just clicks and clacks. You can see if the flywheel or flexplate is loose by shining a flashlight into the timing hole while its running. Good luck, Alex

I had a funky noise many years ago, thought it was the Y-pipe. Then on top of the noise the car wouldnt always start, just clicked. The noise wasnt constant either. Long story short, I finally figured out what was making the noise and causing my starting problem. That someone shined a light into the timing hole in my bell housing, and it was plain that the flexplate and torque converter were going on a mad ride that wasnt straight round, there was a distinctive random wobble. Turned out the mechanic I had rebuild the motor had over tightened the flexplate bolts to the crank (supposed to be 37 ft lbs), and do to crazy laws etc.. all 8 bolts had backed out of their holes about half an inch. Then I had to find a new flexplate, and once it was all installed, never had a problem again. Also mostly solved my starting problem(the extra juice from all the jump starts I had to have to start a misaligned ring gear fried the wiring, and only let 11.4 volts through from the key). Anyway, get it started and make sure nothing is wobbling. Alex