Ross

is that RON?

am running the ea81t on 91 octane (RON) gas. seems to be knocking going up hills, just thought i'd check to see what fuel others use before checking timing/plugs etc. as far as i know, the engine is stock standard.

Agree with this. Have been many fatal accidents in new zealand lately involving what we call "boy racers". Has led to laws being introduced so that their cars can be confiscated if found racing. These "boy racers" are usually driving a car far too powerful for their driving experience, and seem to have no appreciation of the many things that can go wrong when driving at such ridiculous speeds in buisy, residential areas (or even anywhere). One thing they are good for: Their increasingly huge rear spoilers and silly interior lights make for a great laugh on an otherwise mundane drive...

SHould be ea82 (ohc) in that model. if so, it will have black plastic covers over the cam belt at the front of the engine. The ea81 does not have this.

Regarding the rattle: try accelerating while in 4wd: It sounds very much like a rattle my 81 wagon used to have. It was caused by worn driveshaft universals, that let the shaft rattle around when under no load (ie in 2wd). If this is the case, the rattle will dissapear when in 4wd.

on 80-84 models rear wheel alignment can be adjusted - sort of - you have to loosen the three bolts holding the control arm to the torsion bar arm, and then move the hub around using jacks. I havn't done it, but have talked to a wheel alignment specialist, who said he had done it once - and would never do it again. I assume a similar adjustment is possible on the later models, but i certainly wouldn't bother trying it myself.

Just spent an entire afternoon trying to find out why the ea81t was misfiring - changed leads, cleaned plugs, checked vacuum.....etc etc.... only to find one of the injectors was unplugged!!

Fusible link maybe?

Should measure flow fine if the float chamber is properly presurised?? Look at bernoullis equation - the pressure and head terms will cancel out leaving only the velocity term, as on a venturi flow meter. Am I missing something?? Oops i am missing something - bernoullis only for incompresible flow.

Any one ever checked out this website? The company is in new zealand, but if someone wants to build a really nice ea81 up...... They have heads (twin spark, 4 port), dual carbs, fuel injection systems etc for ea81. Designed for airoplanes, but i emailed them and they said could be used for automotive application with a few simple mods... http://www.sub4.co.nz

Anyone ever removed a windscreen from a 80-84 body?? Without breaking it?

Have you hit any stray cats lately?? Seriously though, if its leaking at the wheel, its probably brake fluid.

Wouldn't have thought the wheel bearing is at fault. Although turning corners will change/remove wheel bearing noise, i have never found that accelerating will remove the noise completely. I would be thinking more along the line of axles and gearbox. It could also be some really bad breaks..

How hard is it to remove the windscreen? (without breaking it!!). Have heard on some older cars it is next to impossible....

DOne a few gearboxes, but not a subaru one. Generaly fairly straight forward, if you have the right bearing pullers. There shouldn't be anything that will fall out. (More likely have to beat everything out with a large hammer!!)

Looking at buying a 83 turbo wagon. Only rust on the whole thing is a spot on the bottom of the A pillar (bottom corner of windscreen). I have heard that rust in this area on ea82 models generally meant that the pillar would be rusted out the whole way down (under the front guard). Anyone know if the ea81s had this problem as well?

I wouldn't bother with a two point, the one i made was three point and was made in a weekend. hardest bit was bolting it to the firewall!

Anyone know if you can still use high voltage ignition coils with the electronic ignition?

Dont' know about over there, but in new zealand, new light assemblies are still available. I bought one two years ago for NZ$100. I have found on many ocasions over here that the new price of old subaru parts is only 10 - 15% higher than that paid at a wreckers!

Just find a good open area and roll your car over...

Sounds a little odd! The distributor may be 360 degrees out. Only way i can think of that the engine would run with the disty cap rotated by 180 degrres like you describe..

Not sure about a 91 automatic, but the 87 ish autos sucked a whole lot of power, and didn't have a torque converter lockout. (At least in the version we have in new zealand anyway....). Probably a different unit to the 91 though.

You could get one made at an engineering workshop for a resonably cheap price i suspect.... I made one (bolt on) for my 81 wagon - made a huge difference.

Not sure about noisy oil pumps, but i have heard some pretty strange sounds coming from water pumps before. Are you sure the water pump is good?

Have a mate who is having awful trouble with his 87 turbo wagon. Straight after he bought it, he found that it had previously blown a head gasket, which had been replaced earlier, but not after sitting for some time with water in the cylinder, so the engine was a write off. Got a new engine, this has now blown a gasket, and cracked the head at the usual place. Strange thing is, it hasn't been overheating at all. Any ideas what might be causing it, and how to fix it??