alillie449 Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 Hi guys! I'm the proud owner of an '83 GL wagon, and I've been working on rebuilding the engine for a while now, but before I went to put it back together, I noticed some... cracks? Right at the top of the cylinder. I'm fairly new to engine rebuilding, and yes, I've heard that rebuilding the engines is a losing proposition for these cars, but I'm already elbows deep in this project...... Anyways, does anyone know if these need to be fixed before I start putting everything back together? And if so, does anyone have a good recommendation for a machine shop in the Portland area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 How far do you have the engine torn down? That is not an easy thing to fix. In fact it probably isn't economically repairable. That said, most likely it will continue to run like that for some time. That appears to be deterioration of the aluminum above the cylinder liner. It's not a crack - the aluminum is deteriorating in that area due to the corrosive nature of exhaust gasses, etc. If you want to completely rebuild the engine, bring it to my shop and we can see what can be done. Most likely we would start with a different block. While anything can be repaired, the machine cost of sleeving a block (if we can buy sleeves from Darton, etc in that size) is around $1000 plus the cost of the sleeves. Getting parts for these engines is becoming next to impossible as well. Just finding intake valves for the 83+ heads is nearly impossible. GD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alillie449 Posted June 10, 2017 Author Share Posted June 10, 2017 I have it torn all the way down, the only thing I haven't done yet is taken the connecting rods off of the crank yet and taken the valves out to check the seats. I do have another block, but I don't know the history of it (bought it from a guy on Craigslist). It's from a turbo gl, but it has some damage to one of the cylinders that looks like this: I would love to get together and talk about it though! I'm a little over my head, I think, but I'm really interested in getting this running and doing it the right way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 Yeah that one would have to be bored oversized. Which means oversized pistons would be needed.... It can be done. The primary issue with rebuilding involves the acquisition of parts, and the steep, treacherous learning curve with machine work and assembly of Subaru short blocks. As simple as they seem, there are several traps for young gamers. Aluminum does not have temperature stability, it does not stay the same shape with age, use, or repeated assembly/disassembly. It is highly unforgiving and the bearing clearances are exceptionally tight when cold. Rebuilding a Subaru short block is much more rebuilding a Ferrari or Corvette engine than it is a Chevy small block - let alone the Briggs and Stratton that it appears to be most closely related to when viewed under the hood. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrsn Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 I've gotten some work done at M&B Cylinder heads in North Portland. When iI dropped a fly wheel off the other week the guy who runs the place was showing me some 2 ej22 turbo engine rebuilds he was doing. He razzed about redrilling my flywheel for an ej swap but was a super cool guy and his ej22 builds looked sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 I've talked to M&B - they can't do main line honing on Subaru blocks. This is mandatory for engine longevity. The one job I sent there they lost the customers parts. Not impressed. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alillie449 Posted June 12, 2017 Author Share Posted June 12, 2017 So far, what I've heard is that there aren't a whole lot of parts available for ea81s anymore, and that getting the blocks I have machined would be more trouble/money than they are worth... I think I'm beginning to understand why EJ swaps are popular... Would it be worth it to continue trying to rebuild an ea engine or should I start thinking about swapping to something that has a little more parts available for it? Also, thank you to everyone who's replied so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 It depends. The EJ swap option isn't *that* much better of a situation at this point. All of the ones that easily fit the EA81 engine bay are also 20 or more years old. For the moment (and that moment is fading fast), parts can still be obtained to do an EA81 rebuild. Takes some legwork and it's neither super cheap or quick to do so. But for the moment you can get most of the stuff to do it. 6 months from now that could change. I've seen it change that fast in the past. Engine swap can be a rabbit hole also. It depends on how nice of a job you want to do and how much you enjoy wiring, etc. EJ's are fuel injected and that comes with it's own set of skills needed to get the job done. Generally you also would do a 5 speed D/R swap at the same time (due to clutch components), and this will add to the cost. These transmissions are getting tough to find. All the pre-1995 stuff is getting pretty long in the tooth and hard to come by. It's not going to be as simple as calling the parts house no matter which way you go. Subaru was, and still is, a relatively small, fringe player in the Automotive industry. Older stuff is scarce and getting more so by the day. GD 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrsn Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 That's too bad about your experience at M&B Cylinder. The owner was really friendly but I could see some stuff getting lost in that shop... it wasn't highly organized looking... I just had a flywheel surfaced there, which is a much simpler task than an engine rebuild. I've also gotten some motorcycle engine work done at Portland Engine Re-builders a long time back. If you search their price list, they actually have the ea81 engine listed but I have a feeling that price list is a bit old so I'd call down there. I've gone with a 5spd/ej22 swap myself but its true, low mile engines are hard to find, i felt lucky to find a great running parts car with 120k on it... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 Best machine shop in town (my opinion) is Bearing Service Co. They aint cheap. They are the only place I know of that can do mainline honing on a Subaru block. They are the go-to for race engine machine work. GD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrsn Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Best machine shop in town (my opinion) is Bearing Service Co. They aint cheap. They are the only place I know of that can do mainline honing on a Subaru block. They are the go-to for race engine machine work. GD Good to know, I've always wanted an excuse to go in there and check out their awesome looking machines. I always peer through the windows when I walk by... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 (edited) Good to know, I've always wanted an excuse to go in there and check out their awesome looking machines. I always peer through the windows when I walk by...Tell Brian that Rick from SSI sent you. ;o) Last time I was in there he was rebuilding a 1930's Rolls Royce aluminium block inline 6. Apparently the cost to rebuild was 5 digits to the left of the decimal.... and it didn't start with 1, 2 or 3. GD Edited June 15, 2017 by GeneralDisorder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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