EA82 Rebuild

dommie13 · Post by **dommie13** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 3:06 pm

Hey,

Well my brother has a 1991 L Series Wagon with an EA82. For a while now it's had a leaky head gasket and we've finally decided to do something about it.

Now the decision is either to take out the EA82 and rebuild it, clean it up and chuck it back in OR to do an EJ20 conversion.

So far I am favoring rebuilding the EA82 as it will be a fun project and a good learning experience and I don't think my brother or I have the patience or skill to do an EJ20 conversion.

I am just asking for opinions on the matter. Should we do the rebuild or the conversion?

Cheers

,Dom.

ZefleR · Post by **ZefleR** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 3:26 pm

Not long ago i was faced with the same decision. I got a valve regrind gasket set... pulled the motor out. did all the top end gaskets and put the motor back in in a day. No more leaks and still brilliant offroad. A lot cheaper then the ej conversion if you dont have the money right now.

dommie13 · Post by **dommie13** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 3:38 pm

ZefleR wrote:Not long ago i was faced with the same decision. I got a valve regrind gasket set... pulled the motor out. did all the top end gaskets and put the motor back in in a day. No more leaks and still brilliant offroad. A lot cheaper then the ej conversion if you dont have the money right now.

Yea, I think it will probably just do the rebuild as I'm not too concerned about power output, Still looking for other opinions though.

,Dom.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 9:30 pm

ZefleR wrote:A lot cheaper then the ej conversion if you dont have the money right now.

That really depends on how much you pay for the EJ parts to get the conversion sorted and how much of the conversion you do yourself.

I rebuilt my EA82 MPFI (injected) engine last year - new bearings, piston heads (40 thou oversized), seals, timing belt, oil pump seals/moving parts, water pump and gaskets all over. The heads were shaved, no reconditioning apart from me lapping in the valves. That exercise cost me near $1000. The gasket kit was the most expensive part at near $400!!!

I'm partical to the EJ job as I'm over working on the EA engines - dodgy cam box design requires more work to get it back together and now I'm experiencing stripped threads left right and centre...

My bet would be on the EJ conversion, there's enough experience around to help you out with the mechanical stuff for you to do it yourself. The only bit I would suggest sending off to be done by someone else is the wiring loom.

Check out the sticky about EJ options for the MY and L series.

Cheers

Bennie

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 9:50 pm

Just what the doctor ordered

eBay EA82 rebuild kit

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 10:20 pm

That sounds like a good deal. Just dunno about the standard rings... My EA used standard bearings, there was very little wear on the 300,000+Km crank and conrods.

Anyway... Ultimately its up to you to decide, either way you'll have some fun and learn some new things along the way.

Cheers

Bennie

vortexxt · Post by **vortexxt** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 9:21 am

Another vote for getting the ebay kit which seems like good value to me and giving the ea82 a new lease on life.

Best of luck which ever way you go.

dommie13 · Post by **dommie13** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 10:20 am

I'm definatley just gonna rebuild the EA at the moment but my brother works at Eagers so he gets a big discount on all eagers dealers so hes just gonna get the rebuild kit through them. It will probably be sent away to get the rings done as we don't have the knowledge/tools.

Just bought a 1250kg engine crane and 340kg stand for about $250, so got a pretty good deal there. My brother also works at Super Cheap so we get 25% discount there which is really gonna save us some dosh in this rebuild.

Thanks for your help and opinions and I will definatley be posting in here with updates when we start the rebuild.

Cheers

,Dom.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 10:49 am

stripped threads in alloy are not a complete disaster but an opportunity to shell out hard earned dough on the thread repair kits and learn a new valuable skill. I paid a mobile thread repair guy $55 eight years ago for a special M11 thread (EA81 head stud) repair and since then invest similar money in the complete kit to do each thread size as I come accross them. Initial purchase hurts, accomplishment is priceless - so whip out the credit card.

You could learn to do the rings in here if you are patient and have the time. I know a former subie wrecker rebuilder who reckons he always got away with head job and rering - never rebored

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 2:58 pm

I suggest you get hold of a 2nd hand EA82 - provided the one in the car can soldier on a bit longer , rebuild the 2nd hand one and fit it in a day .

We had access to two EA82T engines and a micky mouse pair of uncracked heads , we were also very lucky that the Subawreck supplied Vortex engine had been previously rebuilt properly so it was all really good inside .

Another solution may be to just buy another clean L series and use the best out of both cars .

A .