Syonyk

How much should a kit cost? I just priced one out at NAPA today, it was almost $300. Is that the right kit (sounded like it included everything soft, gaskets, seals, etc), or is there a cheaper option? -=Russ=-

*quirks* Really? The most common tapping noise is the lash adjusters cycling, and they can do that for all eternity without causing any major problems. -=Russ=-

Any chance of pics? This sounds like a fun project to work on after I replace the oil seals. -=Russ=-

I try to make a point of showing people my engine bay after cursing at working on other cars. Sort of a "That sucked. Here's what an easy to work on engine bay looks like." 87 GL, SPFI, 5 speed. Once they finish laughing about the spare tire under the hood (I need to get myself a full sized spare under there), most people are quite impressed. As I describe it, "Everything is just hanging out there, easy to work on." I then point out that with the radiator removed, I have access through the front grille to the front of the engine, with PLENTY of space to work (oh, and the fact that removing the radiator takes 5 minutes if I'm being lazy). Overall, I think the old gen Subarus have one of the easiest to work on engines of any car I've met (trucks aside - you can almost stand in the engine bay on many trucks). ESPECIALLY when compared to modern transverse mount V6 FWD cars, the engine bay is wonderfully simple to work on. So, do you show off your engine bay? And, if so, what do people think? -=Russ=-

Agreed. Things like this are *usually* bad ground related. A good place to look would be where the negative battery terminal cable is connected to the chassis. -=Russ=-

What kind of economy are you seeing? -=Russ=-

Well, gas prices are going up, and I finally have some money to spend on geeky things. Instead of making a 400WHP RX-7, I think I may spend a bit of cash on improving the Subaru, in my own geeky way. So, questions. 1. How difficult is a MPFI swap onto a SPFI engine? I would assume it's more or less a straight bolt-on mod physically, and electrically will be handled separately. Also, where does one find a MPFI manifold? Are they easy to come by? 2. MSD6A/Crane HI-6: Who is using one, and what kind of benefits do you see? I'd be using this to make sure everything burns nicely. 3. Megasquirt/etc: Again, what kind of benefits are seen? I'm hoping to put a Megasquirt in charge of all the ignition/fuel, with a wideband O2 sensor and possibly an ion sensing setup for combustion chamber pressures. 4. Switching to a crank angle sensor: Is there a good way to do this, or do the SPFI engines already have something? With the megasquirt & such, I'd like to be able to do some pretty fancy timing advance if needed. 5. Switching to a direct fire setup: Can I use a waste spark arrangement? RX-7 twin coil packs are a dime a dozen in my world. :-) 6. Higher compression pistons: IIRC, the EA71 pistons are higher compression when put in an EA82. Are they still non-interferance? Thanks! -=Russ=-

Hrm. Truck-like riding while empty is *not* a desirable trait. It's my luxury car. Or something. I think I may just stick to trying to leave the random engines out as much as possible. -=Russ=-

Sweet. I called around, $70 will get me a set of springs from an Accord with A/C & an automatic transmission (the stiffest set available). Are there any major problems with fuel economy from jacking the rear? Also, will the struts take the additional load without issues, or should I replace them while I'm at it? -=Russ=-

Condensator! That's why I couldn't find it when I searched! I spent about an hour searching for variants on "Condenser" and all I found was A/C stuff. I do believe I'll try to whip one of those up. 2-3mpg would be nice, though I'm not sure it affects the SPFI engines as much. -=Russ=-

On this topic, what kind of gains have people seen from going to a Megasquirt or such, as opposed to the stock ECU? I know that with emissions removed, you can lean things out a bit and get better economy, but I haven't see actual numbers posted. ... otherwise, I guess I'll just have to do a MPFI swap in mine and test it out. -=Russ=-

I've noticed the back end of my wagon sags a lot when I keep 200lb rotary engines in the back of it to cart around to assorted places. One option would be to not haul heavy stuff, but then what's the point? Are there stiffer aftermarket cargo springs, or something along those lines (air bags?) that could be installed to help keep the rear up with load? -=Russ=-

Amusingly enough, the same things you'd want to do for best power are the things you'd want to do for economy. Make sure there's as small a gap as possible in the rings, for best compression. If you want to put higher compression pistons in, that will help. Make sure the valves are opening fully and sealing properly. Depending on how crazy you are, you might want to try Motoman's engine breakin method. Google for it, but he has convincing evidence that a typical gentle breakin is actually bad for the rings (and therefore compression, power, and fuel economy), and that the best method is several (many?) full throttle runs up through the RPM band (and engine brake back down) in the first 5-15 miles. If I ever rebuild a boinger, I'm definitely giving his method a shot. If you have the money, putting a MSD6A or Crane HI-6 in would most likely help some - multiple hotter sparks, so if the mixture doesn't catch the first time, it'll get lit by a subsequent spark. And, if you're in a state you can do so, remove the stock ECU, remove all the emissions control stuff, and use a full standalone ECU to tune the engine. You can get noticeably better gas mileage when you don't have to keep a catalytic converter from melting into slag. Other things you can do would be to use high quality synthetic oil, as well as good quality synthetic gearbox/differential lube, run the tire pressure high, keep the car waxed, etc. -=Russ=-

A new pump should be $150 or so. How much is getting towed? Also, I suggest jetting over to the classifieds section and posting a "WTB: Loyale fuel pump" thread. You might get some responses. I love side of the road repairs as much as the next guy, but I've also learned that if something is nice enough to give you *warning* before it fails, take advantage of that and fix it. -=Russ=-

What is this condensor thing you speak of? -=Russ=-

Does it get worse in corners? The CV (constant velocity) joints are on the front axles (and rear if you have 4WD). They allow the wheels to turn & flex up/down without breaking anything. They do tend to go bad, especially if the boots protecting them get ripped & allow dirt into the joint. Replacing them is most easily done by replacing the front axle(s). IIRC I paid $80 for a reman axle. It took a few hours to do, and was not *easy*, but it's not difficult either. The biggest trick is pulling the new axle through the hub. You just have to use a lot of washer shims and keep at it. There are "axle puller" tools you can get that make life easy, but most of us don't have them. -=Russ=-

I only drove it a mile or so like that, mostly with the clutch in, so I wasn't too worried. But, I can't imagine it's good for the engine, with shock cooling the exhaust valves & such. -=Russ=-

*sigh* The only reliable way I've found to get parts for a Subaru is to take the old part in with me. Last time I did a tuneup, I took the cap & rotor off in the parking lot, took them in, told them what it was from, and said "It looks like this." Three or four caps later, we finally found the right one. Subaru in the late 80s apparently used the "Part of the month" on their engines, and the parts database at every auto shop I've been to just has a big list of parts. The proper part will most likely be in the list, but good luck finding it without the old part. I've started keeping part numbers in my glovebox for common things. -=Russ=-

EA82, SPFI. Leaking a good deal of oil, which really doesn't bother me, but my landlord is starting to get rather pissed about the mess on the driveway (I parked in a gravel lot previously, and it wasn't a problem). One of these weekends, I'm going to pull the engine, take it halfway apart, and reseal all the soft oil seals & such. I know there are seal kits that have basically everything you need to do this. Where would I get one? And, while I'm at it, what else should I replace? The engine has 145k miles on it, give or take. I'm thinking maybe I should replace the oil pump and water pump while I'm in there. I'm also debating sending the fuel injector in for a nice professional cleaning. -=Russ=-

I burned out a Blaster coil, though I didn't have the suggested ballast resistor installed. I'd love to put a MSD6A unit in with a Blaster coil, and see what that did to power & economy... goodbye misses! Seriously, though... I'm realizing that keeping a spare coil, cap, and rotor in the back probably is a good idea. They're cheap, easy to replace on the side of the road, and can make your life miserable if they fail. -=Russ=-

The Y-pipe is sitting in my garage, and I had to take the Subaru out for a quick spin to get gas (rumors of a $3.50/gal spike, I needed gas anyway - it didn't happen, but I've got enough gas to last for the better part of the month now). Wow. It sounds like crap, and runs about the same. Very "blatty", no low end torque at all... I don't suggest it. -=Russ=-

Check your cap & rotor again. I just figured out the reason my Subaru was running like crap (missing badly on startup, if it would run long enough it would smooth out, but still didn't run great) was because the button in the center of the distributor cap came out and there was a nice gap (slowly widening as the bits and pieces eroded away) in the way. -=Russ=-

Yup. Start looking around for someone with an engine lift you can borrow. When an EA82 starts slipping the clutch, it's pretty close to gone. If your car is leaking oil, it might be a good chance to reseal all the major points while the engine is out of the car. -=Russ=-

Yea, I know. I think some of the debris is from the charred center electrode. It's just about 6 months old (I replaced it when I got the car). I'm pondering keeping a spare in the car, though. I'll get the warranty replacement, because it's free, and I might snag another one just in case it does this again. It's not like it's difficult to replace, and I'm well into "shouldn't be spending money on stuff" right now. -=Russ=-

Two weekends ago, my Subaru was cranky to start, but once it fired up it was fine all weekend. It had a nasty miss when I first started it, but a quick blip to 4000 RPM and it was perfectly happy for the rest of the weekend. I tried to take it to Ames this weekend, and it started, did it's high idle warmup, and then died. I tried to restart it, and it wouldn't start. It would occasionally sputter, but nothing resembling running. The coils are known for going out and causing trouble. so I threw a timing light on the output of the coil. Solid pulses, no missing. I threw it on a plug wire, and got occasional flashes but nothing solid enough to actually make the engine run. At this point, I left for Ames in the other car, because I was late enough as is, and there wasn't any way I was likely to fix a distributor problem in 5 minutes. Come back from Ames, pull the distributor off, and... wow. I think I found the problem. The center contact was laying in the bottom of the housing. This is on a 6 month old cap with under 10k miles on it. Fortunately, it's under warranty. -=Russ=-