Ross

So your talking wheel bearings here? Definitetly not normal. What do the bearing cages look like? Mangled? A pic would be good.... A bad cv can put shock loading on bearings, but that sort of failure shouldn't happen at all. What brand of bearings are they? Beware of cheap chinese ones.....

I really need to see one without ac, but with ps - i think i could make a standard bracket from an N/A engine fit (with a little modification), but it would mean i couldn't mount the ps pump. The fsm shows an engine with ps but no ac i think.

Yeah, one of the water lines (bottom one i think) goes to a banjo fitting on the 1-3 cylinder head coolant drain hole, the other goes into the thermostat housing, where the dash temp gauge sensor used to go.

I wanted to leave the compressor off on this engine. A/C hasn't worked since i had the thing - no refrigerant in it, dont know why - so the compressor is probably worthless by now. Problem is that there is no bracket for the alternator without the ac compressor. Cant put a bracket from an N/A engine on, as they use the same mounting points as the power steering pump, and the pulley offset is wrong. So did the ea81t ever come out with no AC, and if so, what does the alternator bracket look like? cheers.

Just unpulg the compressor. I've never seen a car with that pneumatic crap that didn't go down overnight, making the first 5 mins of driving in the morning rather.....uncomfortable. Just not worth it. If you want height control, find one with the other setup that uses springs as usual, and just pumps the height up a wee bit when you hit the "hieght control" button. They tend to be much better lasting.

They are coolant lines, one joins on to a heater hose i think, not sure about the other one...... Im putting my one together today or tomorrow, so ill take some pics for you.

Finally getting it done, old engine is out, new is assembled minus turbo, intake manifold and accesories, should be going in tomorrow or the next day. heres a pic of it on the bench the other day: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showphoto.php?photo=9760&sort=1&cat=500&page=1

Only reason i took mine out was that it was utterly filthy, no point in spending a grand on an engine and having dirty bits in it still! I never planned to re-use it, so getting it out wasn't too bad since i didn't have to worry about damaging it. They are really cheap from subaru.

Ah, got it in, just had to beat it a bit harder with a mild steel drift.

Just trying to get my new oil strainer/pickup into its hole in the block - very awkward. Have pushed it in by hand most of the way, but its gonna require some kind of beating to get it in the rest of the way. Any tricks people have come up with?

So in what way are the rockers different? Reason i ask, my ea81t has had solid lifters retrofitted, and still has the hydro pushrods and rockers.

Na, power is always torque x rotational speed (x some funny unit correction for you guys who are stuck with imperial units!).

Oh, and dont touch the hand brake till youve got it back together, otherwise all your hard work turning the %&** caliper in will be undone!

Ay? only if you regrind it - very different profiles between hydro and solid - solid has a slower initial slope to take up the clearance, running a hydro cam with solid lifters is no good. Not sure about using solid cam with hydro lifters, might not be a problem, but i wouldn't be keen to risk it. As far as i know, the rocker shafts are the same.

Wont have done any harm, and you dont need to use the special tool - various other things do the job, a large ROE spanner with a screwdriver through the ring end works well. Linemans pliers work well too.

One (flapper VAF sensor, disty controlled ign) came in '85 and '86 (perhaps some early '87s???), the other (hotwire MAF sensor, computer controlled ignition timing) came in the '87 onwards engines.

New Pistons are also available - both the standard ea81 ones and the higher compression ea71 ones - not terribly cheap though, i was quoted NZ$450ish (US$315) for a set of ea81 pistons - not including rings.

Another vote for ea81, for no other reason than the fact that i think they have more "character".

Hmmm, looks like the only option is second hand. Off to search the wreckers.........

Just a note on the "83 and newer" bit: not all '83s have vented discs (my ea81t wagon doesn't) - so look before you buy!

Having some trouble finding where to get these. Tried subaru, no longer available for ea81. Anyone know if there are any other engines that use the same size clips?

Yep, sounds like thats your problem - try cleaning the connector before you replace it, mine was doing that at one stage and cleaning the connector did the trick.

Tried Submarine spares? Its in Christchurch, they specialise in suabrus and hae heaps of older parts. Also, Rossco's in Ashburton is worth a try. I'll get phone numbers if you need them...

Looks like glass from a muffler - those small sausage shaped ones.

A friend of mine has a mid 90's impreza with an ej15 in it, nice wee engine actually, and very good on the gas.