13 replies to this topic

[dragonwingsubaru]

like the title says, the disty is from an 85 carbed ea82 and wonating to know if it will fit a carbed ea71 that is sitting in an 87 justy

[dragonwingsubaru]

forgot to mention the current disty in the ea71 looks exactly like the nipendenso one i have on my 87 motor in my soob. tried a search but did come up with much info

[GLCraig]

It would take some modification to make a EA82 distributor fit in a EA71, some electrical mods maybe need too.

Now tell us how you got a EA71 into a justy, or do you really have a hatchback, or do you really have a justy and are mistaking the 3 cylinder engine for a EA71?

[dragonwingsubaru]

lol craig actually its my landlords car and im posative that it has a ea71 motor in it since i seen it there myself stamped right on the block lol. its stamped ea71 right in the same spot my motors are stamped ea82. he bought the car with that motor already in it, i could tell it really didnt belong though since among other things the upper rad hose was about 2 feet long and curved back into the thermostat housing.
electrically wise it looks to hook up the same ,if im looking at the crappy haynes manual right the one i have to put in. looks like a hitachi disty, what kinda modification otherwise would have to be done to make it fit?

[dragonwingsubaru]

ok almost 30 views but only 1 comment does nobody know what has to be done to make the disty fit??????

[GLCraig]

you need to cut off one of the mounting ears and modify the oval on the other. You also need to swap the drive gear.

[GLCraig]

i could tell it really didnt belong though since among other things the upper rad hose was about 2 feet long and curved back into the thermostat housing.

It looks like your neighbor has an Gen2 Body style hatchback, the description of the upper hose is dead on for Gen1 and Gen2. Here's a link to the 87 sale brochures, there are pictures of both justys and hatchback.


http://usmb.net/gallery/album80

[85Sub4WD]

yes, it will take modding, and I don't think you can just swap gears - if the electrical side is identical - just swap electrical components and keep the housing (assuming it is in good shape)

hatchbacks were still made in '87 - and an EA82 motor/tranny would be a good upgrade for it

engine sideways - justy
engine in strait - hatchback

[dragonwingsubaru]

well it looks like it will be too much of a pita from what you guys are saying to switch the disty in, mainly im thinking it is that pickup coil inside it so i guess ill just tell him to replace that then, btw in my last comment i meant it as a joke and apparently forgot to put lol, i know it takes a while to get something answered sometimes.
do you have to pull apart the disty to replace that?
the one he has looks like the white one in the front

http://usmb.net/gallery/album80/1987_j

im curious did they have both styles in 87??
ok then lets make sure im looking at the right thing here it doesnt seem to be getting spark to it, the coil is newer and just to make sure that wasnt faulty he tried a working one for sure and tat didnt help, also has a newer cap and rotor on it. basically he said when it died it was staying running but a little rough and as soon as he had shut it off it wouldnt start back up again

i would agree with the ea82 swap but 1 he doesnt have a clue on doing it and 2 after he fixes it he is selling it anyways he has it for sale now for 350 obo but since soobs arent popular down here nobody wants to buy one that isnt running.

[dragonwingsubaru]

85sub just noticed the last part of your post i guess it would be considered a hatchback then since the motor is in there straight, i always thought all the little ones liek that were justys, shows what i know lol

[bajavwnsoobnut]

well you could also find a EA-81 disty and swap it out cause that is a direct replacement and as for the Hatch get it especialy if the bellhousing looks like your EA-82's cause it is one of the ever increasingingly rare Fat Ea-71's with the side starter bellhousing

[dragonwingsubaru]

i think it is the same type of bellhousing as the ea82 ill have to look again later on though, actually i offered him $100 as is but he wouldnt take it, lol all i would use it for is sell the motor since it didnt tick or smoke and use it as a guenie pig (sp) for my hydrogen experiment, since its got a 5 spd in it and its alot lighter than my ea82 wagon

[dragonwingsubaru]

and as for finding an ea81 disty, thats about mission impossible around here since soobs are so rare anyways, i can be out driving around all day long and i might see 2 older (ea81-82) in the course of an entire day

[bbbs53]

I don't necessarly agree that the EA82 is a better engine, especially for a hatch. In order to swap it, you would need to swap its wiring as well. Then you get timing belts and a host of other fine upgrades that really don't make it worth the effort. The EA 71/81 series of engines were great for their time, they are getting dated, but many went a huge amount of miles, I have one of each with over 200,00 and going strong. It would be a lot easier in this case to figure out what is wrong with the disty and fix it rather than hack a part that someone else may need to get their ride going. The pickup is a good place to start, but there are a lot of variables to look at. It has been my experience that throwing parts at something until you get the right combination to make it work is not the most efficent way to get to the bottom of the problem. Most mechanics can fix the simpler things on an older Sub and if the owner is not a wrench and not willing to learn, then maybe he would be better off finding someone that knows what they are doing. Most of the "old timers" here learned by doing things and living with the results. As mentioned I still run both engines and have learned how to keep them going. It is getting increasingly harder to find parts. My '77 Brat had better not break anything, and the '82, which gets roaded daily has to have its own parts car for spares, another plan of action that seems to be a must if you are going to run one every day. Most around these parts would kill for what I am using for a parts car. Bottom line, at last, fix the problem, don't create a new one.