smleod Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 So I have a 1978 project Brat with a 1.8 liter and a DR 5MT. I was very excited to get it running for the first time, but realized I don't have a primary driveline that fits. I have the original one that is too short. I also have one off of a 92 with a center bearing but it is about 2 inches too long. My question: is there a driveline that will bolt right up, or should I have mine modified? If I have them modified, what one should I use, the solid or the two piece? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratsrus1 Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Hi This is Jerry, as far as i know no stock drive line will fit. Take your stock drive line to a drive line shop and have it lengthen to fit your brat. Thanks Jerry 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willy Fisterbottom Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I have 2 a couple of Gen 1 Brumbies I want to convert 2 L series 5 speed, So this topic is of great interest to me too :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertmann73 Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Make sure the rear end matches the transmission ratio...good chance that tranny is out of a gen 2 wagon and will be missing it's corresponding differential given it was not swapped out at the same time the trans was. I know there is a thread on gear ratio here somewhere. this will make no difference on dirt surfaces but will bind up the gears in 4wd on pavement and compromise traction on wet or icy conditions due to front and rear wheels gripping out of tandum. if the rear end was swapped then no worries. take the drive shaft to a reputable welding or drive line shop and have it shortened. I have long wanted to swap over but reading here gives me the knowledge of needing a whole donor wagon to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbosubarubrat Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 As long as the trans isn't out of a early turbo(3.7 gear ratio) he should be fine. Seeing how they're scare it's unlikely he has one. Most of the 5 speed d/r cars had a 3.9 gear ratio which is the same as the 1st gen brats. I started to convert the my dads 78 brat with a ea81 weber'd and a 5 speed d/r too. Sweet comb and can't be beat for reliability and simplicity. Need to get the engine in to do more fitment. I had to do a custom ea81/ea71 cross member since trans was going to hit the streeing. Also looks like a custom trans cross member is in order too along with a bunch of other stuff to be sorted out later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertmann73 Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Great information. thats why i love this forum. just fit the drive shaft and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smleod Posted December 3, 2014 Author Share Posted December 3, 2014 (edited) Thanks for all the info and help. Turbosubarubrat, I was able to use the same mounting points for my 1.8 engine. There is some issues with the steering clearance. What is the best solution? I was thinking some alterations as opposed to swapping parts/pieces out. I am rather good with a welder and a grinder so I think I will do the drive shaft myself. It is an experimental/learning vehicle and learning new skills are always good. Just to clarify, what is the gearing of a DR 5 Speed Manual, and what is the gear ratio of a 1978 brat? Edited December 3, 2014 by smleod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbosubarubrat Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 (edited) 5 speed d/r out of a non turbo has 3.9 gear ratio and so does the rear differential. All brats have a 3.9 gear ratio in the transmission and differential as long as their manual. Subaru didn't make the first gen brats auto since they didn't have a 4wd auto back then, so you don't have to worry about it have a 3.7 gear ratio like the automatic second gen brats. I've heard of people grinding down the bell housing and transmission case till it fits better. Other than that fabricating till they fit right. Edited December 3, 2014 by turbosubarubrat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smleod Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 thanks for the advice. I figured I would take a look at the grinding solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertmann73 Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 absolutely. I ground my bell housing and shortened the stud. the rest is in adjustung the engine stabilizer bar on top of the engine to the sweet spot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironworkerboomer Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 If you have to lengthen the driveline just take it to a shop and have it done. The cost is minimal, and it will be balanced. If it isn't balanced you will get serious vibration and joint failure, or worse. I have shortened them before and then had them balanced, but the cost wasn't that much cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smleod Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 I think I will try and update the driveline to a two piece. I have it already and I would only have to shorten it a bit. I got it running today, and it is smoking like there is no tomorrow. I have the weber upgrade and the adapter plate wasn't tight enough so it pushed coolant into the cylinders. I hope I didn't damage anything but it is still smoking after I fixed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbosubarubrat Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 I think I will try and update the driveline to a two piece. I have it already and I would only have to shorten it a bit. I got it running today, and it is smoking like there is no tomorrow. I have the weber upgrade and the adapter plate wasn't tight enough so it pushed coolant into the cylinders. I hope I didn't damage anything but it is still smoking after I fixed it. You need to run it until it warms up all the way so it burns all the coolant out since it didn't hydro you should be all right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smleod Posted December 9, 2014 Author Share Posted December 9, 2014 Yeah, about that... I had it running last night but it smoked for about 5 min. I thought it was due to excess fluid in the exhaust so I did some more investigations. Before the engine was ever started after a supposed "rebuild" I had to remove the drivers side head to fix a plug thread. Because it had never been stared I reused the head gasket. ( I know this is not recommended but thought I would give it a shot) Now when I do a compression check on that side I don't get any compression in either cylinder. It has hydraulic lifters that I had to back off when I removed the head. I hand tightened them after I reassembled the head. I then tightened the lock nut. Did I adjust them incorrectly, or did I mess up reusing the head gasket. I did a compression check on the passengers side and got 110 psi on the front and 10 psi in the rear. I am going to try and test to see if there is water in the oil, and see if I can somehow test the quality of the piston rings but am not entirely sure how yet. Any recommendations on what to do next? Oh, the passenger side cylinders did not seem to have any coolant in them, however the drivers side had about a quarter to a half cup of coolant. I cleared them and was able to start the engine. it did not seem to have any issues other than the smoke which we have discussed. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbosubarubrat Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 You should have at least some compression in all 4. 110 isn't great or really bad. I would adjust the valve clearance on both sides with in tolerances according to the hydro lifter adjustment sequence and see what happens. On a ea81t i partially rebuilt the adjustments were way off so it had almost no compression in 2 cylinders. After finely adjusting it i had 175-180 in all cylinders huge pain in the rump roast but worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smleod Posted December 9, 2014 Author Share Posted December 9, 2014 Thanks for the help. I can do standard lifters, but what is the numbers for this one with hydro lifters? My manual does not give any info for this ea81. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbosubarubrat Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 My factory 83 manual says(not word for word though): 1) perform adjustment on cold engine coolant temp 68-104 degree fahrenheit 2) tighten head bolts/nuts if needed 3) a. perform adjustments in 2 sequences. Sequence 1- position #1 cylinder at TDC and adjust the valve lifters for intake and exhaust valves on #1 cylinder, for exhaust valve on #3 cylinder, and for intake valve on #4 cylinder. Sequence 2- position #2 cylinder at TDC. Adjust intake and exhaust valves on cylinder #2, for intake valve on #3 cylinder, and exhaust valve on #4 cylinder. Valve clearance is different on hydro than solids too. Can't seem to find that at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smleod Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 So I spent about 10 minutes on it today. I removed the valve cover and loosened the valves a little. now my compression is at 175 psi. I found another thread that says initial valve setup with hydro is .25 on intake and .35mm on exhaust. I will complete the adjustments, do a compression check, and see if my head gasket needs to be replaced. Thanks for the help everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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