Things to replace on an EA82T?

[Venom]

Got a dead one thats in my backyard. This is my first foray into any sort of engine work so comments and suggestions are appreciated. Pro EJ comments are not (EZ is better anyway), but feel free to whinge about EA82s.

Motor is in pretty much unkown condition. The coolant lines to the turbo have disintegrated and the coolant line banjo bolts have all snapped. Looks like brown coolant has boiled out of the radiator cap and overflow bottle judging by the stains. Obviously i can't fill it with any coolant to check things because of the broken banjo's. And this isn't the original motor. Looks like someone got lazy and was filling it up with water. Good chance its been driven around over-heating, a shame.

Plan is to pull the motor out and do HG's and have the heads checked. Since its had such a shit life I figure i may as well do any major maintanance work while the engine is out.

Credit to Porty for getting me started with his EA82 HG replacement thread - http://www.ausubaru.com.au/showthread.php?t=14094

Obviously a few of these ideas come from posts by Disco, Steptoe, Bennie and others...

Shopping list is:
HG Set http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/190477104414 ... 1423.l2649
Timing belt kit (2x tensioners, idler, cam and crank seal) -http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/400176384460 ... 1423.l2649
Water pump (which size???) 105mm or 110? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1781-SUBARU- ... 563975a8dc
Oil pump seals
Rear main seal
Dual core radiator (32mm)


Plan is:
Refurb heads (if possible) - if not find some replacements and get them refurbed.
Replace all rubber hoses with silicon
replace turbo coolant lines
obviously replace any seals in the above kits

From what i've read replacing every hose in sight (and out of sight) is a must. Obviously manifold is off to do HG's anyway. Water pump because everything is corroded so the impeller probably is too.

Now i've seen some smart cookie run the turbo coolant return line to a small radiator at the front of the car, almost like an oil cooler. I will definitely look at copying. Same person also had the face of the block skimmed after doing 3 HG's in a short space of time, might do the same.

Anything i've missed? Opinions on those ebay kits i've linked? I would like to have everything sitting there ready to go before the silly season and everyone goes on holidays.

Cheers

[TOONGA]

are you going to do the bottom end or leave it and hope for the best?

TOONGA

[Venom]

I've thought about it but haven't planned for it. There doesn't seem to be anyone rebuilding the bottom end unless they're going for some power. Plan is to keep it stock, with some better cooling the exception. Is there anything in particular that goes wrong with the bottom end?

the basic idea is to cover major service items and everything that commonly goes wrong with them for a modest amount of money.

[El_Freddo]

There doesn't seem to be anyone rebuilding the bottom end unless they're going for some power.

Or if the bottom end knocks. Might be a good idea to start it and have a listen but don't run it long enough to over heat it - if you can get it running. This will give you some idea about the health of the bottom end. You're going to do the head gaskets anyway so it doesn't really matter if you cook them!

I'd also look into what Jonno did with his spider manifold in terms of the coolant lines where the metal tubes are for the rubber hose to join to - his were all rotted and if your banjo bolts are in that sort of condition then I'd reckon that these coolant line pipes are the same way.

Or look out for a spider manifold I always wanted one for my EA82 MPFI, but since I've got the EJ I don't care for one anymore...

Oops, sorry about ^ "that" reference!

I'd also be reading up on what disco did with his EA82T - cams etc, I've got a set or maybe two MPFI NA cams like what I believe disco ended up using in his donk.

Oil pump - subaru will sell you a new shaft, seal and pump rotors, much cheaper than a full oil pump assembly! Also look at either replacing or beefing up the oil pressure relief valve (ball) spring, this is apparently a common problem for the dreaded lifter tick as the spring can become soft.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

Cheers

Bennie

[steptoe]

Gosh, Bennie went close to what I expected him to say........replace th entire EA82T with the EJ series

Those turbo coolant pipes are still available from Subaru ex Japan for about $550 for the pair from/to the hair dryer. Or do them exUSA and you will be up for just under $200 for same thing. Ebay has stuff for EJ turbos at about $40 with banjos, but careful, ask them, I think you need M12 thread banjos not the M14 a lot of EJ stuff had. I now find a more affordable way to go with those metal turbo pipes is go see a hose maker, like hydraulic hose dudes, can do metal pipes cheaper than new from US I hear. I also went with $56 a metre silicone heater hose and a uni coil bendy corner helper

[steptoe]

I can also suggest genuine head gaskets from Subaru - worth the extra , for in my twice now experience with genuine HG's they do not take anymore from the torque wrench on the "retension" after initial warm up and cool down as rquired with these. Every other aftyer market HG I have used have taken more torque, genuines did not and I swear by them!!

[Gannon]

Things to replace on an EA82T?

By the sounds of it, you need to replace the EA82T

[Brumby Kid]

How much are genuine Subaru Headgaskets? For my EA81 i was quoted $2500 for the job.
What do you mean about the torque tension thingy?

[discopotato03]

I always thought the correct way to retorque head bolts/nuts was to back them off 1/4 of a turn and then retorque them . Also don't forget to back off the bolts holding the inlet manifold to the heads or they won't move inwards (compressing the H gaskets) properly . And be carefull you don't get coolant going places you don't want it in doing so .

If I was going that far with an EA82T , again I'd do the bottom end because if the rings don't seal properly its a lot of time and money wasted . If the oil and or water pumps are dodgy they can kill your engine as well .

The biggest drama I'm told with gutting the bottom end is getting the gudgeon pins out because I think they get a bur or ridge somewhere and don't come out easily .

I haden't heard of anyone using silicon hoses and I wouldn't be paying extra for them over good quality rubber ones . The only reason factory originals fail is because they are so old and have god knows how many heating/cooling cycles on them . In many cases you don't have to use genuine hoses because locally available similar enough ones do the same job . Often even straigh hose in the correct size will do the job .
Steel coolant lines can be replaced and the pressed in ones if not easily available can be replaced by tapping the holes and using threaded fittings .

Early EJ turbo engines used VF series turbos so you can scrounge the banjos/bolts/steel lines off those if in good condition . My lower one , before the Garrett BB turbo conversion , was off a VF10 and a huge advantage because its longer than the std POS and the transition from rubber to steel is out from under the turbo where you can get at it . This is a MUST do mod to any EA82T running the std turbo and header .
For the unwary you can't get the banjo bolt out of the turbo on the inner side because its head fouls on the engine casing before its fully unscrewed . Someone shoot the moron who allowed them to be like this .

Me personally I wouldn't put an EJ in the replace an EA82T because firstly who knows how good the EJ is and secondly there are plenty of inexpensive EJ powered cars available . I know some people like the challenge of conversions which is all good but I wouldn't do it from an economics point of view . Cheaper to buy an EJ engine with its native car and electrics bolted to it .

My 2c , cheers A .

[steptoe]

A few schools of thought on head retension after the initial warm up. Factory manual says to back off, reoil threads (must be referring to nuts on head studs and the editor missed its reference) wind bolt back and forth , then retension.

One old timer that used to work in the pits at Bathurst says this is the way to go, and on a rebuild, do first stage, wait a few hours then do next stage....

then my trusted machine shop guy says never back off a head gasket for retension, N.O W.A.Y. !! been following this advice lately

genuines are about $80 each and quality see FROG

[Venom]

Cheers guys that is exactly the kind of little details i was after, thank you very much.

I'm going to pull the motor out to do this work anyway, so the bottom end is probably on the cards. Now in light of Gannon's pearl of wisdom, is there any potential reason why it couldn't undergo a full rebuild? Looking for a good cond. second hand EA82 seems problematic to me.

[El_Freddo]

Now in light of Gannon's pearl of wisdom, is there any potential reason why it couldn't undergo a full rebuild?

Nope. Parts are out there, details how to do it are too. It'd be a good time to add a little more punch to it if you do some research before you go head on into the rebuild - if there's a part out there that will do a better job for about the same price it would be worth the effort to use it.

I'd look into a rebore, new piston heads to accommodate the larger bore size, 40 thou oversize i usually the go unless things are really out of shape - the cylinder can be warped or no longer straight! Also check for cracks in the cylinder bore and take note of any parts you remove that look damaged due to heat - this will give you some indication as to the potential disrepair you might find the further you go into it.

Very important to properly replace any threads with the appropriate helicoil and make sure it is as long as the old thread - I failed to do this with my newly rebuilt EA82, the first major over heating pulled all the threads in the block that was holding the heads on

You'll have a lot of fun doing it, a rebuild is the best way to get to know how your engine works and gives you the piece of mind that it's been done as you wanted it to. I have trust issues with re-builders so would rather do it myself...

Cheers

Bennie

[Gannon]

Me personally I wouldn't put an EJ in the replace an EA82T because firstly who knows how good the EJ is and secondly there are plenty of inexpensive EJ powered cars available . I know some people like the challenge of conversions which is all good but I wouldn't do it from an economics point of view . Cheaper to buy an EJ engine with its native car and electrics bolted to it

Since I have started the EJ conversion on my RX, I have noticed that early WRX's have become very cheap. It makes me wonder if I would be off saving myself a heap of time, grief and money and just get a WRX. But at the end of the day, I have always wanted an RX, but to make it fun, one must turn up the boost, which costs money in supporting mods. An EJ20G has the power of a worked EA82T, but the fraction of the cost

[Venom]

If i was going to EJ an L series again i wouldn't fk about - http://www.ebay.com/itm/JDM-Subaru-EJ20 ... 5016wt_905

One day when i can afford it . Would a 6-speed fit in a 4EAT tunnel? Must... resist....

Love it like Fuji made it, cheap(er) and simple (sort of). Love these crazy 80's Jap cars.

[discopotato03]

Gannon the Impreza has the brakes/steering/cooling etc etc to go with the EJ20 turbo engine so anything on one of those is pretty much remove and replace .

As I said recently projects can be a great learning experience because of the hands on . The thing is that the Impreza would always be a better overall package because squillions in factory engineering virtually always beats anything we mortals can do .
As you know I sunk a lot of time effort and money into my RX L Series and most of it still is L Series , XT4s are considered an L by Subaru .
The thing is that there will always be compromises and its very easy to paint yourself into courners reengineering older cars . I've been there before with major changes which is why I stayed with the EA82T .
I think there are driving characteristics with these old girls which is part of the charm of them being what they are . Some of my efforts went into making my car handle a lot better than an original RX but you'd have to crawl underneath and know what you're looking at to tell the difference . You can't see the Spider or the header or the turbo or the AWD L box amd all thats different inside is begrudgingly a manifold pressure gauge on the left side of the steering column shroud .
I've seen Ls with 5 studs and bigger wheels and lower profile tyres and they look so unoriginal and very obviously played with . To walk past my car in the street all you may notice is the slightly larger pipe out the back and the typical L up in the butt stance . Anyone that can service an injected L can service my car , though only Coxy or I get our mitts on it nowdays .
I could have gone the other way and ended up with something that wasn't quite an L and not quite an Impreza - sort of confused misfit . The real issue is that an RX L can never be an Impreza and if the Rex was what you wanted its cheaper and easier to buy one rather than try to recreate one in to the degree the factory would have had a turbo EJ L Series .

Anyway as I've mentioned if you love projects go for it but the cost effective option is just to buy the Impreza and have it as a factory developed sum of its mostly improved parts .

My opinion only , cheers A .

[steptoe]

agreed. drive something old and you retain those driving skills that wane when you get into something new - an example would be to turn off traction control and see if it has been saving you from disater, unknowingly. Beng able to drive and survive an old school motor car will soon be a thing of the past - skills lost for the everyday driver. Victoria is leading the way in that department with their no stablity control - ping off approach.
I know someone who got an early Rex , spent just as much replacing the gearbox !

[El_Freddo]

Beng able to drive and survive an old school motor car will soon be a thing of the past - skills lost for the everyday driver. Victoria is leading the way in that department with their no stablity control - ping off approach.

???

"please explain!"

Cheers

Bennie

[NachaLuva]

agreed. drive something old and you retain those driving skills that wane when you get into something new - an example would be to turn off traction control and see if it has been saving you from disater, unknowingly. Beng able to drive and survive an old school motor car will soon be a thing of the past - skills lost for the everyday driver. Victoria is leading the way in that department with their no stablity control - ping off approach.
I know someone who got an early Rex , spent just as much replacing the gearbox !

Yeah I was wondering bout that too...

+1 please explain

[discopotato03]

I think what he's saying is that Victora has legislated that manufacturers can't sell anything new there without active stability control . Stupid bloody minded Green Socialist Psycopaths trying to rule our lives again .
Like I've said elsewhere 1984 is in the future not the past and while the masses glibly wear this sort of garbage the lefties will continue to push it .

A .

[Venom]

Interesting turn in the conversation EA82T rebuild to stability control and vic road laws?




Thought these were funny and appropriate :twisted::twisted: