GeneralDisorder

That's old school alright - but eventually stuff like that as well as loose belts will wear down the pully's till they just need replacing. At least we aren't talking about multi-rip belts - as the pulley's wear the peaks between the ribs sharpen up like knife blades and then the pulley's have to be replaced or they just shred belts. GD

If you sanded the pulley's with some emery cloth and tightened the piss out of the belt it would stop - but you would destroy the bearings in your accesories. You need a new belt AND you need to degrease and rough up the pulleys a bit. They may even need to be replaced if they are widening out inside the V. Your voltage guage pegged out at 18+v is BAD. You need a new alternator ASAP or you will be buying a new battery, alternator, and quite a few bulbs. GD

1.5 to 2.5 IIRC.... somewhere in there. Weber's like 2 to 3 so they typically work just fine for those as well. GD

The guy has pictures of like 4 different cars there - one of which is red, and another is an automatic - he claims it's a 5 speed. Perhaps he just absconded with someone elses pictures but I would take a look at it first and drive it before I traded a PS3 (I have one also and love it!). GD

While richness and timing may be part of the problem - without oxygen there can be no combustion in the exhaust. He has leaks that are allowing in fresh air which mixes with the unburnt fuel and ignites in the exhaust. Typically the backfireing can be solved simply by eliminating the ASV's - either by blocking them with a quarter or by welding up the holes in the spacers. GD

If it's not overheating then these bubbles are likely just air in the system. EA81's have no overflow bottle so the radiator will seek it's own level (usually 1" or 2" below the cap) and stay there. It has to have room to expand as it heats up. If you aren't using coolant or overheating I say call it good and run it. Only reason I go to 65 pounds is that I want to be absolutely sure I don't have to retorque it. But I'm anal like that. GD

Yeah - people have gone to great lengths to install Weber's on the EA82's and avoid that power steering reservoir..... till I came along and hit it with a hammer a few times. Straightens the whole deal right out. Just installed one a couple days ago - the woman took a liking to an '86 sedan and I can't abide the Hitachi for more more than the 20 miles it took to get the car home. Weber power FTW. If it hasn't already been done, you will want to remove the ASV valves. Cut the tubes off about 1" from the mouting plate to the head. Flatten the remaining bit of tube and run a weld bead across it. Instant block off plate. GD

You have exhaust leaks or bad air injection valve reed's. GD

Yeah - the 4WD hi/lo in the 4 speed's is massively obtuse. I also hate working on the 4's. Just wait till you crack open a 5 speed though - it's like a breath of fresh air! (much, MUCH simpler). GD

PO just didn't try hard enough. Use the Hitachi plastic spacer under the adaptor plate to gain some height then take a ball-peen hammer and create a dent large enough to clear the choke on the Weber. You will have to HIT it pretty hard. And it takes quite a bit of a dent to get the choke to clear. I degrease them, peen the reservior, then paint the area to prevent rust. This in no way affects the operation of the power steering. It only reduces the reservior volume by a tablespoon or so. The rack is likely fine if the lines aren't contaminated. GD

No idea. Probably not. Nothing that can't be corrected with some brass hose barbs. GD

Most of us use the Fel-Pro's on the EA's. This is primarily due to the fact that the Fel-Pro's don't have to be retorqued like the OEM one's do. And they are $15 each - half the price of the OEM's. They have proven very durrable for the EA's. Like you, I use nothing but OEM on the EJ's. GD

Yes - Nissan 6 lug is the same as Chevy and Toyota. 6 x 5.5 GD

The exhaust is hard-bolted to the transmission. Putting it in 4WD could simply be reducing the vibration or masking a bad u-joint in the rear drive line. GD

I've always had excelent dealings with Quimby Welding Supply. They are a competitor to Airgas I suppose. My former employer used Airgas for our bottle supplier but I never liked them or their product line. They have a lot of "Airgas" house brand stuff and it sucks balls. I bought my first 75/25 gas bottle at Quimby several years ago on a sale price for like $80. Quimby deals in Miller/Hobart and Thermadyne (Thermal Arc). They have a couple locations in the metro area - I frequent their Tualitin location - it's about halfway out Tualitin Sherwood highway from I-5. The guy there that runs the store is knowledgable and laid back. He gave me pretty deep discounts on the stuff I bought - the Welder was $625 - it was their display model - I think they only stock one at a time. They did have a TA 190 there for $500. It was used but their service department went through it and it's got a 90 day warantee. It's got a BIG Tweco gun on it and I didn't want a machine that large nor that large of a gun - mostly I do 1/4" and smaller. The torch setup was $280. The bottles are actually some of the biggest cost. I think one was $170 and the other was right around $200. But I own them and it's like $27 to fill the O2 bottle (big one). Gas is cheap - bottles are not. I feel like I got a good deal. Could I have got stuff cheaper? Probably. But I don't mind supporting my local economy, and they are much more likely to treat me right if I have a problem when I take my business there. The machine has a 5 year warantee on the major components, 3 years on the minor stuff - if I have an issue I can just tool on down to the store and have them make it right as they are the service shop for Thermadyne. Good guys to work with and very helpful. I may have spent a couple hundred more than if I were to buy online, but when you are talking about a purchase of this magnitude - I would rather have the brick & morter location and the face-to-face interaction than the extra $$ in my pocket. Oh - and if you are going to buy bottles - NEVER buy them from any place except the place you will be having fill them. You WILL have a nightmare of a time getting bottles filled by places that didn't get your business for buying/leasing them. I know people that have bottles in their garage that they can't get filled because of stupid purchases like that. Trust me - they would rather turn you out in the street than get the $25 for the gas. These places frown on that big time. GD

You sure it's not an exhaust rattle? Like a loose heat sheild or something? GD

Those are probably the air suction valves - they provide fresh air to the exhaust for the cat to work properly. Best bet is to just add an aftermarket cat to the mid-pipe and toss those valves in the round file. They are WAY more trouble then they are worth and modern cat's don't need them anymore. GD

It really depends on your skill level and attention to detail. I don't want to insult you, but a lot of folks just don't have the attention to detail, clean work environment, and knowledge of what they are looking at in order to properly and effectively rebuild a carb. And as carbs go in general, the Hitachi's are not the most forgiving creatures. The quality of the rebuild kits that are easily obtained these days leaves something to be desired as well. If you aren't afraid of dozens of tiny parts, heavy duty chemicals, and are willing to do the job on your kitchen table (no joke - that's where I do carbs), then go order the kit. Problems are often blamed on the accelerator pump (I suppose because it's one of the few parts on a carb that people can identify and understand) that have nothing to do with it at all. More often than not, off-idle hessitation and poor running are due to vacuum leaks, improper idle speed/mixture, and poor timing. Usually a good cleaning, adjustment, and replacement of the top gasket will do wonders for a carb (Hitachi or Weber). On the other hand you could buy a Weber or do the SPFI swap. The Weber is the "easy" way out. Buy a new one and slap it on - you won't have many issues beyond mounting the throttle cable and clearing out your old carbs paraphenalia from the engine bay. If you go the rebuild route - make sure before you buy the parts and tear into it that it's even worth the effort. Crack open the primary throttle and wiggle the shaft - if you feel any real play in it then the throttle base is worn out and you might as well find another carb. They aren't worth rebushing. GD

I make it a point to do charity work once a decade just to remind myself what being an rump roast is all about. I really don't mind helping folk - it's just that a lot of the noobs around here don't listen to good advice. Can't say as I always listen either, but that's part of being an rump roast. You know what they say..... "Do unto others..... before they do unto you." GD

Most of us go 65 Ft/lbs on the Fel-Pro gaskets. +1 for resurfacing - it's $35 per head or so and takes about an hour. GD

Yeah - he had a bad modulator that burnt up all the ATF. Thermostat was the overheating issue (cheap aftermarket one failed). GD

Yes - that's a low pressure pump. It lists 5 to 9 psi. The EJ engines need about 35 psi. You must use a high-pressure fuel injection pump, not a transfer pump or a carbed pump. GD

Thanks! I'm rather pleased with it so far. I need to stock up on steel now. If you ever move up here we can weld whatever you like. I'm pretty accomplished with a MIG gun and I've done a bit of TIG work. I would really like to build a TIG machine using an alternator and a gas engine. I have an old wood chipper that I've been saving for it's engine and lord knows I have plenty of alternators laying around. Harbor Freight has TIG torches for like $45.... GD

It was no trouble at all. Glad I could get it fixed for you without spending a bunch of money and time on it. GD

Subaru used RTV on the case halves - probably could use anerobic as well. But I've never seen one leak at the case joint so I would probably stick with the OEM equivelent (ultra grey is close) - OEM is some flavor of Three-Bond which is a Japanese brand of sealants. If you want tough sealant - we used some german stuff where I used to work for the C-face mating surfaces of SIHI liquid ring pumps - the tube said "Dichtstoff" on it (which is german for "sealant") but I couldn't pronounce the brand. It's REALLY freakin strong though. Like so strong that sand-blasting and wire-wheels will barely touch the stuff. It hardens underwater even. HARD like a coffin nail that stuff. Makes automotive sealants look like butter. I think you could glue a woman's lips shut with the stuff and be reasonably certain it would hold for a few hours. GD