GeneralDisorder

The heads won't flow that much. If you wanted to hit numbers like that with the stock heads you would need forced induction. The JDM dual-carb engines (with reversed valves, higher flow heads, and matching cam) were still only 108 HP. And DGV's aren't suired to pairing. GD

Your best bet is to simply upgrade to the 5 speed D/R from an '85 to '89 EA82 then. bratsrus1 (Jerry) makes a nice kit for $100 that will make the conversion very easy. Then you just need to install the EA82 driveline or have your's lengthened and it bolts right up. They have better gearing, better linkage, better syncro's, and it will look 100% stock in the interior - only difference is the extra gear. GD

This post is not about the tools needed to be a "professional" mechanic that puts food on the table by getting jobs out the door. This post is about ONE man that needs ONE axle installed into ONE hub. My reply's were carefully tuned to HIS ear, not your's. No one is arguing the utility of a hub-tamer if you have need for one on a near daily basis. I put plenty of clams into the Snap-On truck and I don't regret a cent of it. But I don't do these every day and as such if it takes me a couple hours to make my one one-off tool that does the job for a specific model and saves me hundreds of $..... I have no problem with that either. Plus I'm used to it - with the equipment I am used to working on, there simply is no tools unless you make them. It's really nothing to me to whip out a bearing driver or puller tool. I have dozens of them. GD

That's nice and all, but all your sources are wrong. 1984 Factory Service Manual: At any rate this valve is NOT the cause of major backfireing. As I said this is only to prevent the small pops durring closed throttle coasting. I don't have a single one of these currently installed and I don't have any backfireing either. GD

You won't make 100 HP, but you can improve it a bit. You are on the right track to make 85 or 90 HP most likely. SPFI would be a better choice than the Weber. GD

So just to be clear.... It is possible to swap in the 1.59 low range set, as well as the RX locking center diff, but some of these may have front diff ratio's lower than 3.7 thus making the low range swap more difficult? I guess the question then is - did the Liberty come with the D/R in anything other than a 3.7 final drive? If not then the only variable seems to be the locking center diff, which can be sourced here in the US and the low range ratio which can also be sourced here. Does the EJ dual-range also accept USDM front diff's? GD

So can the low range be swapped out with the 1.59:1 from the EA D/R? GD

Not a good idea. It WILL get worse over time, and ultimately you WILL blow soft-ball sized holes in the muffler. Don't ask how I know this. It's relatively easy to fix if you know what you are looking for, and it is indicative of problems that are robbing power and economy from your ride - plus it attracts *unwanted* attention from the authorities who (trust me) have nothing better to do than hassle the guy with the weird, old Subaru. Don't ask how I know that either . GD

The "anti-backfire valve", for which the correct terminology is "anti-afterburn valve" is not your problem. It's sole purpose is to prevent the engine from sucking fuel through the carb on closed-throttle coasting. Even if it were not functioning (or removed as in the case of every one I've owned [they fail anyway]), it will not produce large backfireing. What it will do is allow the engine to ingest a small amount of fuel through the idle circuit on closed throttle coasting (down long, steep hills, etc). This will produce suttle popping - completely harmless and pretty standard for every car made prior to 1980. No - your backfiring between shifts is due to exhaust leaks and possibly a rich mixture and/or poor ignition. The poor ignition/rich mixture is allowing an excessive amount of unburned fuel into the exhaust system - the exhaust leak is allowing in fresh air (oxygen) - they mix inside the exhaust and are spontaneously ignited by the high exhaust temps. Generally only leaks in the header (y-pipe) will cause backfireing as leaks farther down don't get hot enough to ignite. Your leak is either at the heads, air suction valve(s)/piping, or in the y-pipe itself (they often like to crack at the junction to the cat - check under the heat sheilds). And you need to fix the source of the unburned fuel. Sounds like you have quite a few problems. Perhaps you should go through the engine in general and give it a decent tune up. For comparison - my '83 hatch, running a Weber, and with one cylinder running 20% lower comp. than the other's - I get 25 MPG daily, and I just ran out to the Beach with it ~ 250 miles. I pulled in 30.5 MPG on that tank and the first 65 miles was in town. Running properly in top condition, an EA81 4WD hatch can turn in 27/32 MPG figures easily. You definitely have issues. GD

Try some of the other online US dealerships: www.1stsubaruparts.com www.subarupartsforyou.com www.subaruparts.com You could also have a member here buy one and ship it to you. GD

I'm not totally clear on what the technical differences are between the RX FT4WD D/R with diff lock and the EJ dual-range.... besides the obvious bell-housing difference. If someone could answer these questions that would be great: 1. What is the low range ratio? 2. Are they FT4WD with diff-lock or are they AWD? (with diff-lock?). 3. What is the final drive ratio? IIRC, most of the Aus/NZ 4WD stuff was 3.7.... Thanks and I'm sure other's would like this clarification. GD

Being you have a FWD 5 speed you can replace it with any comparable transmission from '81 through '89 as well as from the '90 to '94 Loyale's. They never changed the 2WD 5 speed in all those years. The gear is, unfortunately, not accesible without splitting the transmission open. If you don't have experience doing this then you are MUCH better off just finding a good used one (this is not a common failure if they are kept filled with fluid). Check in the wanted section of the board - someone will probably give you one for free. They are entirely undesireable because everyone want's the 4WD's. GD

LoL - ok. I guess they are cheap enough that it doesn't matter if you are doing them yourself. But still - you couldn't vist the Home-Cheapo and snatch a pipe nipple that would drive on the inner race? I'm pretty sure 1-1/4" would have worked although that's an armchair guess..... You must try harder next time or I will take away gold stars. GD

That's REALLY bad for the bearings. You are using the ball-bearings to transfer the force of the hammer blow from the outer race to the inner race and drive them over the shaft. Chances are that those bearings won't last more than 10 or 20 thousand. If you must do it that way, you have to find a peice of tubing or pipe that will slide over the axle shaft but still contact the inner bearing race. But even then it's also quite bad on the axle joints for the same reasons. If I were doing it that way I would also pull the outer boot down and put the axle in a vice resting on the OD of the outer CV joint. It probably wouldn't go in easily because the shaft had a few high spots. It's not at all uncommon to have to dress a shaft in preperation for an interferance fit like that. A thin coating of anti-seize thinned out with a few drops of oil helps immensely in lubricating the fit as well as locating any high spots. It's the small details that make the difference between axles/bearings lasting 100k and lasting 10k. I've owned dozens of EA vehicles and I've replaced a LOT of axles and bearings - but one thing I haven't had to do since I learned the right/wrong way to fit machined parts together is replace one more than once. When I do axles, they STAY done (except when I blow them apart off-road of course). GD

80w90 gear oil - fill it to till you hit the top of the full line on the dip-stick. Should be less than 4 quarts. GD

If it came from a '92 and is setup for a cable clutch (non turbo) then it's a 4.111 ratio tranny. Only the turbo's had 5MT's with 3.9 in those years and they were pretty obvious animals being setup with hydraulic clutch's. GD

You will have to pull the tranny and split it open. Probably not worth the time/effort. GD

Almost done fitting: GD

The CTS doesn't need to be cleaned except for the connections. It does not rely on it's ground connection with the threads for it's function unlike older sensors and the one for the gauge. It is a thermistor and rely's only on heat transfer (which is negligably affected by cooling system deposits). The 200 setting is too low for the sensor when it's cold. You need to click through the settings on the MM untill you get a reading. IIRC it's up around 2,000 Ohms (or maybe it's 20,000) when it's cold and it drops as it warms. You should never be putting the probe's on the threaded "bolt part" of the sensor - that has nothing to do with it's reading. You need to test through the electrical connections on the green plug. You should get a high reading cold, and a low reading warm and it's sounds like your MM is not auto-ranging so you WILL have to switch ranges on it to get a proper reading. I sugest back-probing the connector while it is installed and watch the reading as the engine warms. That will give you a proper idea of the range the CTS is reporting. You can't do more than a cursory inspection with a lighter as you cannot control the temp accurately enough to insure the resistance is low enough at 190 degrees. It may be that the sensor is "out of range" and isn't reporting a low enough resistance till it hits 250 degrees or higher - which is easily obtainable with a lighter but you have no way of knowing for sure. GD

Could it be that you just need a new key cut? That is often the solution with these.... As for a new ignition lock - the dealer is the only source for them and I'm sure it won't be cheap. As Mick says the better option is to remove the lock (not really that hard - pull the wheel and cover's, remove the bolts from the back using some needle nose vice-grips, and pull the whole thing off) and take it to a smith to have it rebuilt. GD

The STD came in both 4 speed FWD, and 4 speed, single range, 4WD. They were made from 80 to 89 along with the DL's and GL's. Early models differed in the front headlights/grill just as the GL's and DL's did in 80/81. After that they adopted the single sealed beam round headlights and the DL's had the single square's while the GL's sported the dual square's. GD

Yep - seen plenty of them over the years. I haven't owned one personally but I've known several people that have. I've seen two or three at the junk yards in the last several years. GD

I beleive that is the case. From my experience swapping SPFI over to the EA81 I know there are two 12v leads to the FP relay, one ECU controlled ground for the relay coil, and a 12v output to the pump. So on one side of the relay contacts you should be able to take a resistance reading through the pump to ground. The pump is grounded but I'm not sure if it's grounded near the pump or through the harness to one of the engine bay ground points. Probably the latter from what I know of Subaru harnesses in general. GD

How common are the EJ22's with carbs down there? (I thought the carb models were EJ15's or EJ16's?) I ask for all the folks that would like to have one of those distributors for their EJ22 here in the US. If you could aquire those distributors (even a few) or get a part number for them there in Latin America.... I'm sure folks here in the states would make it worth your time. If there are any junk yards down there - the manifold's (if they fit an EJ22) as well as the distributors would be useful up here. GD

If I were you, I would just buy a brand new set along with new rotors. Rockauto has loaded front calipers for $47.79 each (Beck/Arnley - which is often repackaged OEM). It's just not worth the trouble to buy used one's with these - the integrated parking brake makes them a pain to rebuild if you don't have the right tools and by the time you add the cost of the used one's plus the rebuild kits plus new pads plus your time..... I'm not thinking you would save more than $50 tops. Just not worth the frustration. GD