Ross

Im sure you can buy a repair kit from parts shops, never actually used one though.

Have you checked for coil firing with the test light as above? If not, i would try that to rule out a bad coil. Has this engine been retrofitted? If so, are you sure the ecu is getting power when the ignition is in the 'start' position? It really doesn't make sense that the ecu wouldn't give a code 11 if the distributor was at fault, thats why i suspect it may be an ecu or coil issue.

You shouldn't need to replace the distributer if its got that few miles on it. Should be fine.

Eh, maybe you should check your front brake pads.

Correct, unless something else is wrong.

wont stop the car from starting altogether, but the coolant temp prob may make it very difficult.

OK, if its a con rod, it will be a heavy "clonk", and will probably happen most at idle (lowest oil pressure). Valvetrain noise will be a much lighter tapping sound. Have you checked your oil pressure?

Not sure i understand what you are meaning about "on for a time then off or is it pulsed"??? Does the ecu not turn the valve off under WOT conditions?

Yeah, tried that, it is a bit cheaper, US $313.50 for a set, still pretty steep though.

Have a look at your engine running in the dark. If its the leads, you will sometimes see sparks shooting off where they shouldn't.

On the engine block, just to the left (1-3 side) of the centre. i know its carb'd, but it will still have the boss for the knock sensor (it wont have the knock sensor, and may not even have a hole drilled for it) if it has hydraulic lifters.

Any leads on where to find these would be much appreciated. I am willing to buy from anywhere in the world, new or second hand. Just as long as its cheaper than NZ $513 (US$380)! Cheers.

That is comlpetely negligable for what you are talking about (moving LIQUID fuel)

We do have them here, they just arn't called XTs. Most of them i have seen in nz are called Vortex, altough i have seen the occasional Alcyone.

One way to tell if its got hyd lifters is to see if there is a boss where the turbo knock sensor is threaded into. On a non turbo engine, i believe the boss will have no hole in it, it will just be a small circular raised section. If its present, you will find it by looking behind the intake manifold and to the left (looking at the engine, so the 1-3 side), maybe 50mm from the crankcase joint. just to add to the confusion, ea81s fitted with automatics from around '83 also had hyd lifters (and thus the knock sensor boss).

bump..

Your sure its the fronts? The drums at the rear can do that if you don't file off the leading edge of the new shoe.

It says it is a 4 cylinder crammed sideways into the car?? Justy? And cheap oil? Nooo!!!!

One of the injectors from the ea81t has a cracked 'injector hat' (the orange plastic bit) - can you buy these things? Cheers.

Your oil would have to be very overfilled to cause damage. Just a little won't do any major harm.

Gaskets are very cheap for these engines, even oem ones. I'm picking up oem headgaskets for my ea81t for nz$30 each, intakes for nz $7each, so if you can find enough engien parts it may well be cheaper that way.

Are you sure your Grade 5 isn't equivalent to metric grade 4.6?? 8.8 is a high tensile bolt for use on friction joints.

The mark is for cold level, and like everythig else, oil does expand somewhat on heating. For a noticable change however, you may be looking at water and petrol dissolved in the oil, which is quite normal. does the car get a lot of stop start driving?

Because of the geometry of the casting, I would recommend a pre heat to reduce teh risk of cracking. You really need to find out what condition the material is in now and bring it back afterwards. If you can't find out the actual condition from the manufacturer, you could do hardness tests at various points, you will then be able to estimate what condition it is in. Take it to a reputable welding shop experienced in aluminium welding, or if your doing it yourself, make sure the head is TOTALLY clean and TOTALLY dry.

That does sound odd. If you are suspicious of compression you should have it checked. Aftermarket gaskets exist, oems are better for important ones sych as head gaskets, inlet manifold gaskets etc. I would use reputable grade 8.8 bolts for most applications. On some engiens, especially diesel, the oem ones are grade 10.8 or higher, probbaly not on subies though. You have to re-torque head bolts after warm up. I don't THINK ea82 head bolts are yielding bolts, so they should be ok to use again. Not sure on that though.