GeneralDisorder

Have you checked the intake manifold gaskets? Perhaps one is leaking - they are notorious for being difficult to install and for non-OEM gasket failures. You are probably right about the water pump. If you can spin it by hand with the belt still on then the belt was not tight enough. Belts do stretch and perhaps it wasn't all that tight to begin with. Start by removing the manifold and inspecting the gaskets there. GD

It's almost certainly wireing. The sending units rarely fail. If it really is the sending unit then any sending unit from a non-digital dash EA81 will work. GD

I wouldn't say it's scrap. The EA81's can take a lot of abuse. A bit of coolant burning will just clean the combustion chambers up real nice. Do you know what was making the whining noise? Could the water pump have failed for some reason? You NEED to at least find out what happened. If you don't it will ruin all the work you did. You have to learn something from it to make it worthwhile. Investigative mechanicing.... it could be something simple. GD

You don't want to oversize the cylinders unless you have someone with a bore plate. These aren't chev 350's as much as they aren't swiss watches and one of the thing you MUST do on an all-aluminium split-block design is use a bore plate when boreing them out. The cylinder liners are cast into the aluminium and are prone to spinning if they aren't bored true - which they won't be unless you bore them with the block in it's stressed posistion (as if it were bolted to the head). The bore plate is about a 4" thick steel plate that has all the holes for the head studs as well as through-holes for boring the cylinders. Not easy to produce and not economical for a one-off. Better to ship it to someone like RAM and have them do it. They also sell oversized components IIRC. Although if it were me I would just give it a rough and finish hone with my 1/2" drill and be done with it. As long as you don't do major boring you shouldn't have a problem. Don't use chrome rings - they will take 15,000 miles to seat and make any oil burning worse if you don't have a perfect finish. If you use plain sintered iron rings you should be fine. It will seal up and run in ok. GD

Yeah mine starves for fuel as well. Sometime when I get around to it I'll install a surge tank to keep that from happening. GD

The one that is scored - what's it look like? These aren't swiss watches and I bet you could hone it. Just give it a good rough hone and see if you can get rid of the score mark. GD

Why not just do the head gasket and drive the car? The mileage it has is no problem. You can always trade it in or sell it later. Throwing away a perfectly good car just because of a GASKET leak is terrible thinking and indicative of our throw-away society. Do the head gasket yourself - borrow or rent a car for week while you do it. It's not difficult - these aren't swiss watches. You don't need to spend $12,000 on a head gasket GD

Motor oil on your exhaust will not generally catch fire. Fix your leaks and you won't have to breath the smoke though. GD

Slide the lock to open on the inside of each t-top. Pop the lifting hinge and push in on both sides of it's metal hinge pins. They are spring loaded and will disengage from the roof. Then you just lift them out. As far as EA81 crank pulley's.... I've owned a LOT of EA81's, rebuilt several, and know just about all there is to know about them.... I have never heard of anything bad beyond people loosing the key out of the shaft or forgetting it. GD

I'll try to get a picture of both brackets (EA81T and EA82) and see what the differences really are dimensionally. I'm reasonably sure that an EA82 version would work with modification. GD

This has been a debate for many years here. If you search you will find about one post a month asking the same questions and bringing up the same concerns. Points against: 1. Without the covers, debris can snap the belts. A dropped shop rag while the engine is running will snap them instantly. 2. Lack of protection from grit and weathering could shorten their life. Points for: 1. They often break upon removal, are not easy to find in good used condition, and aren't cheap new. 2. Without the covers a belt replacement takes 15 minutes and requires only a 12mm deep socket and whatever your setup requires to remove the accessory belts. With the covers it's about 2 hours due to removing the covers and crank pulley - not to mention the extra tools required to do this. 3. The belts don't last very long anyway, and aren't particularly expensive to have an extra set on hand. 4. Oil and the acidifying gasses dissolved in it are not kind to rubber. Removing the covers allows dust, dirt, and oil to drain away and be cleaned off regularly. 5. The engine is non-interferance and thus will not be damaged in any way if (when) they break. 6. Without the covers, maintaining the proper tension on the belts is quite simple and it's easy to visually inspect the tension, wear, and listen to each of the tensioner and idler bearings for potential problems. 7. Any leaks on the front of the engine become trivial to diagnose. Without the covers you can easily see where leaks are eminating from - water pump, oil pump, front main and cam seals are all much more accisible. 8. Water pump replacement becomes much easier. ..... In summary I always point out that trading 15 minutes on a road-side repair vs. having to tow the vehicle and spending 2 hours doing it when they inevitably fail anyway is worthwhile IMO. I also feel that people who don't agree with that should probably not be driving an EA82 in the first place as it obviously won't meet their requirements for reliability. If you don't have the tools and knowledge to do a timing belt you should go buy something with a warantee and have roadside assistance added to your insurance.... and probably ask your mommy for your blanky. GD

I doubt your timing is off, but try this method instead: 1. Drivers side cam mark straight up. 2. Passenger side cam mark straight down. 3. Install both belts. Make sure to compensate for where the tension will be applied to the belt and be sure to have any slack at the tensioning point. 4. Position the #1 cylinder at TDC on the comp. stroke using your finger over the plug hole while you rotate the engine. 5. Rotate the crank BACK to 20 degrees BTDC. 6. Install distributor such that the rotor is pointing at the plug tower you wish to be #1 (it doesn't matter which one you choose). 7. Install wires counter-clockwise in the order 1,3,2,4 starting with the one you picked in step 6. GD

It's not easy to properly fill the coolant in the EA82's. Because you have had the engine out several times I am leaning toward there being air pockets that you have not bled out of the system. This will cause overheating. Try filling the radiator on a slant with the cap pointing uphill and the rest of the car sloped down. Massage the upper and lower radiator hoses and run the engine with the cap off while you do it. Keep filling till it won't take another drop. Drive it around a bit till it's at operating temp then repeat the procedure again when it's cooled off. EA82's do not have a water valve on the heater core. Those went out with the EA81's. The core is always in the cooling system and the air is simply directed through or around the core. GD

The top one on the left, and the middle one on the right are manifold gaskets. Both are inferior types but the top left one at least has a combustion seal ring. The others are for the mid-pipe to exhaust pipe flange mating right before the rear axle. It's not as critical that they have the seal ring in them but all the OEM one's do. The OEM gaskets are best and they are similar to the bottom right style - graphite/metal with a seal ring. GD

Yeah they were designed to do that. The ECU is using the VSS to indicate the vehicle is still moving and runs the idle high to prevent wear to the clutch. It won't idle back till you come to a stop. GD

It got hacked but nothing was really lost. You need to change your user config to display all posts instead of just recent posts. Of course if you search it will search everything regardless of your topic display settings. GD

May not be a rebuild problem (probably isn't). It's likely just jetted way too rich. Find out what your jets are, and in the future note that this is exactly why you should do your own rebuilds of things like carbs that have to be carefully setup for each vehicle.... or buy new one's that are already setup for you. Very often with old Weber's it's cheaper in the end to just buy a new one or the whole kit from redline after you pay for the lost time and hair. GD

We have given you the common failure items. Beyond that we aren't there and can't hold your hand. I sugest you do all the maintenance items mentioned and then start driving it. It's an old car - it cannot be made new again and it's going to do what it wants. It will jerk you around. It will frustrate you at times. You WILL have to repair things. Live with it. If you have to ask you probably shouldn't be doing it. That's about as simple as automotive electrical gets. You have an existing electrical fan 12" away from where you would like to put another one..... it shouldn't be difficult for you to copy the example that you already have. It's also much better if you use the search function as that topic has been covered dozens of times and there is more information availible than you will ever get by asking as dozens of people have received dozens of different responses by skilled board members over many years. That's your call. Some people find it invaluable, other's don't care. It can be cheap to fix if you can work on refrigeration systems or know someone that can. It can be very expensive if you don't. If you like. It will run fine with just one. Remember to replace it when it's old and/or worn. GD

Do it yourself for a couple hundred. Learn something. Be self sufficient. Etc. Or drop in a used 2.2L instead. They didn't suffer from these problems. GD

All you have to do is a bit of machining on the SPFI distributor. Take the escort drive end and splice it to the shaft of the SPFI distributor then TIG on the mounting ears and lower housing from the escort unit. Can't be all that difficult. A bit of cutting and pasting, some TIG, and maybe a little lathe work to true up the shaft but really not difficult at all. You would have to adapt the SPFI throttle body to the EJ manifold. Again probably some TIG welding and/or adaptor plate making involved. But easily done in an afternoon I would think. Not a bad idea really - retains the stock wiring which is always nice. I think the SPFI computer should have the overhead needed to handle the extra 20 odd HP. GD

Depends on which you are doing. The EA81's are pop-in, while the EA82's are glue-in. Either are pretty easy. I did an EA82 one using the rolled butyl commonly availible at your auto parts house. It's getting the old one out without making a mess, and the prep work that's tricky. If you prep it right and use the butyl stuff properly I can't ever see it leaking again. The stuff is pretty disgustingly sticky. The EA81 pop-in style are easier as there is much less prep work involved. You just cut the old gasket, make sure your surfaces are clean, and pop the new one in using a bit of cord in the groove. GD

That worked fine for my install, but to have truly accurate proportioning would require an adjustable valve. They aren't real expensive from Summit, etc. GD

Commuting is fine if you don't mind 74 HP or you are planning a Legacy engine swap. They aren't well suited to hauling..... first you have to understand that they aren't "trucks" at all. They are 100% identical to an EA81 Subaru wagon of the same vintage with respect to suspension and hauling capabilities. That includes an 800 lb max load rating including passengers. I have transported other Subaru engines without problem (Aluminum) and other light things, but it didn't like transporting a Hyundai 2.5L (mitsubishi. cast iron block), and transporting a Honda Magna 500cc motorcycle wasn't fun either. The bed is little more than 5 feet long... hauling anything real long is basically impossible. It's also difficult to justify using them as dump-haulers when you consider their collectible value and current going prices on ebay and other places. A decent Brat will set you back $3k to $5k, with pristine examples commanding closer to $10k. They don't get spectacular mileage (all are 4WD, so around 27 max). Brat specific parts are rare, aftermarket non-existent. Currently it can take many years to completely restore one. Perhaps in the future some of that will get easier as more people with the desire and the funds can sink money into aftermarket for restoration. It is difficult to source even simple things like door seals and windshield gaskets etc.... Gen 1's ('77 to '81) are smaller, and less desirable. '82 is a weird transition year but other than a lot of small changes it is basically similar to 83+. '83 to '87 are near identical. The body's tend to have rust issues in the eastern states especially around the wheel wells in the bed. Other than that they are just as reliable as any other EA81 4WD. Which is to say they are VERY reliable with only a few minor problems that are easily fixed. The carbs are crap but can be upgraded to fuel injection or a Weber, and the 4 speed transmissions do suffer from some linkage and syncro issues. Those can also be upgraded to the later EA82 5 speed's. Doesn't sound like it's really the right choice for what you want though. GD

Air shocks are better, and you don't want firm for the trail - you want soft to conform to the terrain. All wheels down gives max traction. Too firm and you'll have two up all the time. GD

It's a 60k mile interval that triggers the light. You reset it by swapping some single-wire, two-pin connectors under the kick-panel. I believe two are green and one is blue. You disconnect the pair that are connected (whatever pair that is) and connect the other pair instead. So if you have green/green connected now with a lone blue, you disconnect the greens and plug whichever one fits into the blue. If it's already plugged into the blue you swap it back. It will then trip again in another 60k. It's got nothing at all to do with the ECU. It's merely a maintenance reminder to remove, clean, and reinstall the EGR valve. GD