critical_max

Thanks styles... I figured it was just a case of less load on the circuit = more juice action. Funny story: to remove that bumper, I removed the wiper reservoir and intake muffler because I was trying to get to the wrong side of the bolts that hold the bumper to the frame. 1 hour later, I figured out that the *head* of the bolt was inside the engine bay, not in the fender. O well. I'll post pictures of the transformation when it's finished.

I removed my badly-tweaked front bumper on my RX, gonna replace it tomorrow. Question: since I removed the yellow lights that are mounted in the bumper (white connector clips) the turn signals go really fast, like double speed. Is this going to hurt anything until I get everything back together?

See this thread on this issue, I list all the cars that they come from on page 2... basically late 70s and early 80s GM V8 cars. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?p=253522

The EA82 that was getting 30mpg city/highway was a carbed 5-speed GL wagon. Had the tappety thing going on too.

OK, so to get this straight I can bolt on a TWE down pipe to my stock IHI turbo, without further modifications to exhaust? And then after any TD04 swap, I can use the matching WRX DP, again with my stock exhaust? Also, I've heard it's good to just redo everything back of the DP, to install free-flow performance cat, etc. for the EA82T. What's your advice there? how much should I pay at a muffler shop? is this something a shadetree mechanic should attempt with the help of a buddy who knows how to weld?

In the past, I've gotten 30MPG average city/highway mileage from a loaded-down EA82 NA wagon, seems like you should be getting much better mileage. Not sure of the timing on that car though.

What down pipe do you recommend for an EA82T? I've been quoted $199US for a DP from Techworks...

Oh, ok. (Maybe a stupid question: would there be any point to a tranny cooler on a manual gearbox?)

Thanks everyone for the advice, the same thing just happened to me after installing a new alternator in the RX. I will tighten it up. On the bright side, the car fired right up first time after charging the battery, cleaning all battery and alternator contacts and replacing the alternator!

Which EA82's came with the tranny cooler? the new radiator in my 86 RX has the "extra" outlets, it's nice to know what they're for. Was this an option with the later EA82T cars?

OK, we have a new twist to the story. I put a good battery in the car, still no spark at all when I turn the key in the ignition. No headlights either. So it seems that the battery cables should be cleaned (duh). Even more ominous: ignition coil measures infinite resistance from negative terminal to primary lead, and 40 ohms from neg-pos terminals. This could explain why the car was running a little rough... I think I need to replace that coil. UPDATE: I figured out that I was measuring from the nut, not the terminal itself - the coil reads at the proper ohms. The old alternator had bad corrosion on the plug that runs from the "E" terminal. Also, a shot-to-heck ball bearing fell out of the alternator when I pulled it off the mounting bracket! After seeing the BB fall out, I got a new one from Brook's ($55), but it doesn't quite fit on the brackets... needs to be shaved down a couple of millimeters. Back to the store for a file.

OK, the consensus so far has been that I should replace with the GM alternator due to the higher output and lower cost. The parts website says it comes as standard equipment in these cars, in case anyone needs to pull one from a junkyard. I assume this would be for the V8 versions of these vehicles only, not the V6 which was an option in many of them. http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?mfrcode=QLT&mfrpartnumber=P7157&sourcepage=SEARCHRESULTS BUICK 1977 CENTURY 1978 LESABRE 1977 ELECTRA CADILLAC 1980 COMMERCIAL CHASSIS 1980 - 1985 ELDORADO 1982 - 1984 COMMERCIAL CHASSIS [What's a commercial chassis? Funeral coach, ambulance and limo, I'm guessing?] 1979 - 1985 FLEETWOOD 1980 - 1984 DEVILLE 1980 - 1985 SEVILLE CHEVROLET 1984 - 1985 P30 VAN GMC 1984 - 1985 P35/P3500 VAN OLDSMOBILE 1979 CUTLASS 1979 CUTLASS CRUISER 1979 CUTLASS CALAIS 1979 CUTLASS SUPREME

Yeah, I'm going to price the GM units this weekend and test the current unit with a fresh battery, everything hooked up. At Gary's, I had a low-miles JDM EA82T engine swapped in to replace the blown-head-gasket-badly-overheated hunk of junk that the car came with. Price was on par with other JDM swaps I've heard of. Engine runs great, until this alternator thing (the alternator was not replaced, etc... I've never replaced the battery either). I had him put in a new radiator and clutch at the same time, since there was minor damage to the radiator from a front end collision, and that damaged radiator was only a single core, not even OEM spec. Cooling is important to me with this car. Both systems gave no trouble after that... When I first got the car, I also had Gary's pull front suspension from one of their parts RX's to replace the front right assembly on my car, as it was bent past the point of realignment - I assume from that same collision. So this is definitely a "build trust by means of replacing everything" vehicle.

I like the GM alternator swap idea. That could be a pretty easy, cheap way to go. I should probably also mention that I was running an AC inverter from the cigarette lighter to play a boombox, prior to this failure. Didn't have a problem for quite a while, but I bet I made a mistake there. A web search on the GM alternator part number, P7157, tells me that it can be found in a 1980 Cadillac Coupe/Sedan Deville... Apparently, people swap these things into DeLoreans. Must be the "De" connection.

Hello all, lurker going public here... I finally have a question not answered by searching the forum archives. My '86 RX has a serious charging problem. Couple weeks ago, all the idiot lights started coming on, and the voltmeter got pretty wobbly. Soon after, it wouldn't start at all. Dead. Turn key, no clicky. I'm gonna do some tests on it this weekend, check voltage from output lead under different loads. But I suspect the alternator is just toast, based on my research of the symptoms. Here's my question: What is a recommended replacement for an EA82T alternator? I know I can just go get a stock replacement, but if there is a cheaper/more reliable alternative that would be great. I've heard that rebuilt Bosch units are solid... also heard that the stock units in these cars have reliability issues. Suggestions? Or if you have a spare that works, I'd love to buy it. Rebuilding the existing alternator is another option, I guess... but probably more time than it's worth. Here in Eugene, I've been going to Gary's Subaroo Specialties and been satisfied with work done there, but I'd rather not pay $$$ for a simple part/swap job. Thanks in advance!