GeneralDisorder

+1 to what Noah said - pull tranny and go from there. We aren't fortune teller's but you definitely have your very own white, wedge shaped, fortune cookie - just crack it open and see what's inside. GD

No problem - happy to help. That's what this place is all about. GD

That is troubleing - they don't typically fail if they are properly remanufactured. Although of the two the Nippon units seem to be more troublesome. A Hitachi set will also work for you if you get a matching coil. The numbers are meaningless for this - any EA81 distributor will work for you as long as you have a matching brand coil for it. In fact the Hitachi units are prefered since the module can be replaced for $50 or less while the ND module's are around $250 to $300 GD

If the front diff were going out - you would know it and it would happen all the time. The noise would also change with vehicle speed rather than with engine speed. Since your noise seems more related to throttle posistion and therefore engine RPM, I conclude that your noise is probably not transmission related. If it's very intermittant to the point that you can't even locate it..... I'll tell you what I tell everyone about such problems - wait till it get's less intermittant. For now it's not an issue that you can't drown out with the radio. The exception to that is if the alternator is putting out any decent amount of AC current - replace it immediately. A full check of the alternator output is definitely in order. GD

Check the voltage from the alternator - the dash gauges are notoriously bad indicators of proper alternator functioning. Use a mechanic's stethescope of the end of a screwdriver handle to listen to the alternator as you rev the engine a bit by hand. Whining as you describe is generally a good indication of issues with bearings - alternator is a possiblility as are other bearings such as timing belt ilder and tensioner bearings, etc. See if you can locate it with a stethescope. GD

Don't need to with a carbed EA81 - if there is power to the coil, and the coil checks out - then the module in the disty is bad. The distributor relies on the coil power and that is all. There is only two wires from the distributor and they go to the coil +/- and nowhere else. Yes - you need a new module or good used distributor. Post in the wanted section and I'll look and see what I have to offer you. Is the car a 2WD or a 4WD? That will tell us what brand of distributor you need. 2WD will be a Nippon distributor, and 4WD will be a Hitachi. The brand must match the coil as well - sometimes it's easier to tell which coil you have from a sticker or printing, etc. Look at the distributor comparison pictures here on my SPFI conversion page and tell me which one you have: http://home.comcast.net/~trilinear/EA81_SPFI.html GD

There are places that can rebuild distributors much more reasonably than replacing them. www.philbingroup.com GD

If it gives you more trouble after you do the plugs and wires (and cap and rotor would be a good idea as well), then you might have an intermittant failure on the ignition module inside the distributor. Those are harder to test and it's easiest to just install another and see if it makes a difference. Glad to hear it's running for you as of now. And yes - the EA81 in that wagon you have there is a wonderful engine - near bulletproof and very simple to work on. Exactly the type of car I would want for a daughter if I had one . GD

I think the turbo's used the 225mm clutch as well as the 4WD's. But the flywheel step may be different. Measure your step and your diameter - if you have a step of about .8" then you need an XT6 clutch setup, and if you have a step of .9" then you need an EA82 4WD clutch setup. The problem you run into is that all of this stuff will swap around and even though it may not be correct, by and large it will work to one degree or another (usually poorly in some respect). So you'll just have to go with what you have for a flywheel or replace/regrind it to what you want it to be. I highly reccomend an OEM pressure plate. The rest of the parts don't matter so much but with all the trouble I've had with step-heights and clutch kits/pressure plate specs - I doubt I'll be buying another pressure plate from anyone but the dealer. It's best to bite the bullet on that one. GD

Those values sound just fine to me. Do you have power to the + side of the coil with the ignition on and while cranking? GD

I have an old Sears floor jack that I got at a yard sale for $25. I think it's 2 ton model. As mentioned I use a 4x4 to get some extra height on things like my lifted wagon, and big trucks, etc. Jack stands are a must of course - you don't want the ambulance to show up and laugh at your stupidity for crawling under a car lifted with a floor jack and a wooden block . I will often use the jack only if I'm only doing a brake job, etc. Just make darn sure you don't put any limbs *under* the car and that the vehicle is chocked or the brake set. And I probably wouldn't do it with a chinese jack either. My sears jack is probably from the 70's or 80's and is American made. It doesn't have the rapid rise feature like the newer stuff but it's been a very reliable tool. You won't really find much in the way of inexpensive floor jacks that lift farther than about 25" to 27" or so. If you need to go higher than you need a Hi-Lift jack - which is a great investment as well. Though you will need bumpers to accomidate it. The Hi-Lift's are cheaper than a floor jack and can be used as a come-along and can lift to rediculous heights - 36" no problem with the 48" version and they also make a 60" version . GD

I have FSM's for '80 and '83/'84. I just don't have any time to scan or take pics right now - if you need to, PM me and I'll give you my number if you don't have it already. GD

0 is a dead short - that's not good. It should be about 1.5 to 2.5 ohms or so. The 12.45 is likely kilo-ohms so it's really 12,450 Ohms which would be correct. Check the range setting on your meter. You might not have it set low enough for it to read the primary resistance. GD

It might be useful at times. You would need two different torque wrenches - the water pump bolts are going to be in inch/pounds because they are so small while the cam bolts and the crank bolt will be in foot/pounds. Nothing wrong with using one - I just never do for stuff like that. I use them for lug nuts to avoid warping rotors (especially on EJ's), axle nuts, and head bolts. It's very subjective though - if you don't feel confident that you can "feel" them to the right tightness then a torque wrench is the way to go - also not a bad thing to have on hand since there are times when you will need one - might not be a Subaru or maybe not even a car at all, but there are times. One place they come in handy is on dead-axle wheel bearings where you have a nut that sets the tapered roller bearing preload - usually that involves torquing to some value then backing the nut off a specified amount. Hard to do without the proper insturment. One thing I've noticed - for "small" torque wrenches, quality makes a big difference. When you are talking about inch pounds the mechanism is small and delicate and a quality tool is much better here. Especially if you need one that goes down to 1 inch/pound increments. For the foot/pound units the cheaper models seem to do fine. 150 ft/lbs is a lot of force and even the chinese seem to be building wrenches that can handle this type of measurement GD

They might carry the same stuff at A1 - I'm not entirely sure. I was told it is perfectly safe for gasoline and I've used it for that and never had a problem. Looking at the gates web site it does say "do not use unless approved by their H/C division". Which, if you read between the lines, means that some applications involveing gasoling and diesel are, or have been, approved for use with that hose. Ultimately the stuff is capable of 300 psi and ought to handle the ~50 psi of the EJ22T's pump without any trouble at all. It's a nitrile based hose - so it's basically completely impervious to gasoline if that's the case. I would run it - all day and twice on Sunday's. But I've done it before (apparently without knowing this Gates reccomendation business ), and I also know a bit about rubber and seal technology and what is acceptable with regards to nitrile (buna-n), and viton, silicone, polyurethane, neoprene, teflon, etc and the fluids they can withstand. When I worked for RMC I had occasion to buy a lot of this stuff from A1 and used it for diesel and gasoline applications for generators, etc. Never had a single problem with it. Experience would sugest that it will do the job. I probably have some that I've used on FI conversions and such as well. GD

I think he's refering to the micro-car engines - like the 500cc to 1000cc stuff. Though I have no experience with any of these. That's just my guess at what nipper was refering too. Subaru probably uses the same pan as they do here - but an EJ16 is not much smaller than the EJ18 we got in the early impreza..... but isn't that a fairly large engine by most european standards? A "big" engine here in the US doesn't even rate on the scale unless it's 5.0 Liter's or higher. Frankly a 5.0 is only a 302 cubic inch and my old GMC truck has a 350 which in the states here we refer to as a "small block" . The big, bad engines that were availible for towing in my old truck would have been the "big block" 460 cubic inch variant - which is a 7.5 Liter engine. That's what "BIG" means over here. Subaru engines are all small to us, and the engines found in lot of euro mini cars are motorcycle or moped engines to me. I've seen bigger power plants on riding lawn-mowers over here GD

I think the set I used was a Beck-Arnley (which is very often repackaged OEM parts I've noticed) and was around $20 when I bought it a few years ago. GD

Never heard of that place, but sounds like they have no clue about their products. A1 is an industrial supply house - they know their products and they make custom hoses all the time for all kinds of things - you can have custom brake lines made in any style and length - and they can do it while you wait. When I worked for a local machinery manufacturer the A1 rep would come by and pickup the hoses we needed replaced and have new one's to us the same day. GD

I don't use a torque wrench on them - just a 1/4" drive ratchet and make them evenly tight. Never had one leak yet. GD

What about something like this - mounted to the driveline (assuming it's a 4WD right?) http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RPC-250-4165/?rtype=10 If the sensor is mounted above the driveline then it should be pretty much out of harms way....maybe GD

Aftermarket one's are very often paper - I use a small coating of RTV on that style but not the OEM syle metal gasket. GD

Carter/Weber = Fail. Trust me - you don't want to deal with that thing - especially if it's a feedback unit with a computer (sounds like it is based on you haveing the blue FPCU). But it sounds like your problem is electrical. I doubt you have a fuel pump power problem - the little blue fuel pump control unit will only supply power while cranking or running based on the tach signal. You problem is a lack of spark. You need to check for power to the + side of the coil and check the primary and secondary coil winding resistance. Where are you located in the PNW? If you are around the Portland, OR area I might be able to help. GD

They are anti-rattle clips. Designed to keep the pads from vibrating in the caliper bracket. You can get a new set from Subaru for pretty cheap but they aren't entirely neccesary - my lifted wagon is missing a good number of them and the brakes work fine - can't notice any noises on it with all the road noise, etc. I replaced them with a full new set on my Brat and didn't notice any real difference there either. They are pretty cheap though so might as well replace them if you feel the need. GD

It's like night and day. I wont even drive a Subaru with the stock carb. Painful. It's got to be a Weber or fuel injection. The Weber improves low-end torque by a lot. Top end is about the same. Smoothness depends on how you drive it and how you jet it. They are progressive linkage carbs so at 2/3 primary throttle the secondary starts opening - no vacuum or demand driven secondary. GD

The dealer does not carry bulk fuel line. You would have to order the exact part number for the specific hose. I recently asked my local dealer about this in fact. Other dealers may be different but the same scenario applies with dealerships as with auto-parts stores. The price is going to be rediculous when down the street at the hose and coupleing industrial supply you can get hose that is impervious to just about everything, has a working temp of 250*F, and a pressure rating of 1800 psi for a little over a buck a foot. Why would I bother with the dealer? As to why you would need some - engine swaps mostly for me. Sometimes the lines are damaged when replacing fuel filters, etc as well. Though I've developed a technique that rarely results in damage on these lines - I've done a lot of them though and trial and error has resulted in damage in the past. GD