Sapper 157

Im currently running 10W-40 Valvoline High Mileage Blended Syn. I am going to be doing an oil change pretty soon and I was gonna go with Valvoline 10W-30 High Mileage Full Synthetic for my winter oil.Thoughts? Concerns?

So I have been having trouble hunting down the right thermostat. I found one on a website called subarupartsamerica.com but the stupid website only displays a stupid diagram and gives no info on the thermostat itself. I want to make sure it is the standard 180 degree opening temp but it does not provide that info which is really irritating. Can anyone confirm or deny that this is the right stat? Or does anyone know of a website where I can get more info on OEM parts? here is the link: http://www.subarupartsamerica.com/parts/1984/SUBARU/GL/Base/index.cfm?action=partDetail&section=COOLING%20SYSTEM&group=COOLING%20SYSTEM&subgroup=COOLING%20SYSTEM&component=THERMOSTAT&partnumber=21200AA121&vehicleid=45717&siteid=216122 Thanks all

Ditto everyone else.... do them now so you wont have to worry about them later. And use only Fel-Pro gaskets or OEM ones.

Probably a plugged emuslion tube or partially clogged jet, could also be a malfunctioning accelerator pump. Like jonas stated, Get a rebuild kit or weber it. I have also had a bent accle. Pump arm once and it caused said symptoms

UPDATE: Okay so I got my valves adjusted and it fired up after two cranks! Runs good except I think the electric choke on the stupid Hitachi is still messed up because the high idle wont engage when cold and once when it warms up it idles at about 1200-1300rpms (instead of 800-900). tried to burp the cooling system (got it on an incline, let it run up to temp with the cap off, heater on, also squeezed the upper and lower hoses multiple times to try to force any air out.) but I think there is still a bubble in the system because it seems to be getting a little warm still... of coarse I am still going by the dash gauge which is pretty inaccurate. Other than that, the ol' EA81 seems to be purring right along!

How has the car been going? have you tried burping the system yet?

What do you mean it looks like a pain?? Its one big screw that holds it in and once when you unscrew that it pops right out. Super easy.

True That!

My EA81 with stock Hitachi gets 30-32 mpg on th highway... just sayin

Yes. Park on an incline, turn heat to high, undo the rad cap, and let it run up to temp. You should get at least several bubbles out of it. When my wagon was overhating a while ago i later found out it was just a stupid air bubble.

That looks like good stuff. I think im gonna try a can.

Almost sounds like you could have a clogged heater core. Theoretically the flushing should have unclogged it but maybe there was so much build up that even that did not help. There should be another member on here who could give extra clarification if that is the problem but that defiantly sounds like a possibility to me.

Did you follow the instructions on the flush kit? And if so did you get any crap out of the cooling system?

What I do is put the t-stat in, then coat both sides of the new gasket with RTV silicon or Right Stuff gasket maker... it helps it stick to the intake manifold and hold that little bugger in there while I get the thermostat housing on.

I use Prestone 50/50 with Cor-guard. It claims to have more rust prevention than other brands so theoretically it should be better for our older cooling systems. Also its cheap at only 8-10 dollars a bottle for the 50/50 mix

I would also back flush the cooling system. You can buy radiator flush for about $2 a bottle. Buy two bottles and put them in your radiator and run it for 100-200 miles and then do your back flush. You can get the flush kit, rad flush, and 50/50 antifreeze all at walmart for about $25. After you flush it, replace the Tstat (make sure giggle pin is at the top!) and put the fresh coolant in. Run the engine until it comes up to running temp with the heater on while on a slight incline with the rad cap off. this will burp your cooling system and get rid of any air bubbles. then top off the coolant and you should be ready to rock n' roll

I would say start with the thermostat. Get OEM from Subaru. If you are unable to get an OEM for some reason then go with Stant superstat. 180 is the standard temp.

Alright so I switched the rocker assy and it runs now but EXTREMELY rough. So I guess I need to adjust the valves. I found some info on a website about how to do it. Does this look like the proper procedure to you? 1)turn crankshaft until dist points at cylinder 1 (trace the plug wire from the passengers side --left as your facing it-- back to the dist.) 2)make sure crankshaft pulley mark is lined up with center of crankcase (the seam where the two halves meet) 3)pop off the valve cover 4)intake: .010, exhaust: .014 spin crankshaft CLOCKWISE 180 degrees. this is 1/2 turn, until the mark on the opposite side of the pulley is lined up with the case seam. now you adjust valves for cylinder 3, which is FRONT, passenger side. turn 180 adjust #2 valves (drivers side, front) turn 180 adjust #4 valves (drivers side, rear)

Thanks for your help/advice scout! I will try swapping the rocker assy and if that fails then I guess i will just figure it out later

Okay thanks, I will try swapping them and if that fails then I will just have to figure it out later. You mentioned something about the push rods? Are the push rods different sizes? they all looked the same length to me.

Would swapping the rocker arms back fix the issue without having to readjust? I really need to get this done tonight, and if that would fix the issue than that would be worth staying up a few more frustrating hours.

I didnt adjust the valves at all. I got all the push rods back in...

yeah sorry I had that backwards. So thanks to your answers I figured that out but now I have a new issue. I got my heads back on and got everything reassembled and now my car is acting like it has no compression. A friend who is heloping me says that the valves are "stuck open". it is really just wining and does not sound like it wants to start at all. So this is my question and it might be a stupid one. Do each of the heads have their own rocker arms? eg. the right side rocker arm will only work on the right side valves and vice versa? Because I think I may have accidentally switched my rocker arms and I was wondering if that is what could make my car do that. Is there anything else that could cause my car to do this if that is not the case?

so I have the heads off and am currently in process of cleaning everything and I found something interesting. For some reason I have no valve stem seals on my intake valves, only on my exhaust valves. Is this the way it is supposed to be?

If you can afford it, KBS Rust Seal is impenetrable