Gyoas759 Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 I just bought an 84 GL wagon 4x4 that I have up and running (sort of) The tranny has a lot of trouble shifting into reverse. Mostly it wants to just grind. The guy I bought it from had swapped an EA82 engine into it and it runs fine. I bought a low miles GL-10 parts car with an EA81 Engine and Tranny that I may put into my GL. I'm new to deeper workings of Subarus. So can anyone tell me how to check whether I have an EA81 or EA82 generation trans in my GL (If the trannies even changed between the generations) and what would be the best bet in swapping or not swapping trannies in the GL. Thanks Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86BRATMAN Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 Is it a 5spd or 4spd. ALL EA81 4wd are 4spd. And the EA82 will be 5spd. If you are swapping back over to an ea81 4sd 4wd you'll have to swap out driveshafts with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyoas759 Posted June 9, 2007 Author Share Posted June 9, 2007 It's the 4 speed. Thankfully, the GL-10 is a 4 speed as well. My only other question is, if there would be any difference to work with since the GL-10 is front wheel drive and the wagon is a 4x4?Would it still be a direct swap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86BRATMAN Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 That gl-10 should be a 5 spd fwd. It will bolt in place, but you'll lose your 4wd, and the shift console won't fit the new lever's position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RelicGL Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 I just bought an 84 GL wagon 4x4 that I have up and running (sort of) The tranny has a lot of trouble shifting into reverse. Mostly it wants to just grind. The guy I bought it from had swapped an EA82 engine into it and it runs fine. I bought a low miles GL-10 parts car with an EA81 Engine and Tranny that I may put into my GL. I'm new to deeper workings of Subarus. So can anyone tell me how to check whether I have an EA81 or EA82 generation trans in my GL (If the trannies even changed between the generations) and what would be the best bet in swapping or not swapping trannies in the GL. Thanks Matt Before you do anything drastic like change a transmission do one thing FIRST! If it's not shifting smoothly into reverse because of what feels like slop in the shifter and you just can't seem to find reverse without it grinding then try this: If, when the engine is not running, the trans seems to shift ok, but when the engine is running it's slop city and grindarama then do this: Check your clutch pedal free-play travel. If it's excessive, like lots of sloppy, dead travel before it seems to meet resistance [disengaging the pressure plate from the flywheel], then the clutch cable needs adjusting, and pronto. Lift hood, remove spare tire and right under there you'll see the Clutch Release Fork with one or two cables attached to it. The main cable goes from the Release Fork to the clutch pedal. The attachement at the pedal is fixed and non-adjustable [i think] but at the Release Fork there are two nuts that travel along almost a couple of inches of threading. The small nut is the locking nut and the larger nut is the adjusting nut. With open end wrenches on BOTH nuts, and a shot of penetrating fluid, crack loose the smaller locking nut and then start turning the bigger adjusting nut closer towards the firewall. The Factory Service Manual states that The Clutch Release Fork should have 2-3mm of free-play, [which will be more at the pedal] and the full stroke of the Release Lever is 17-18mm [for a full clutch-pedal stroke]. Note: If there is a second cable and that one acts as the return spring for the Release Lever and heads over to the driver's side and connects just around the brake master cylinder, then that is the hill-holder clutch cable. A sight search here of the forums will tell ya all about THAT thing. Blew me away!! Never heard of it before. If so then that cable has to be disconnected [just grab where the cable hooks up at the hill-holder device and turn it to create enough slack at the Release Fork to disconnect it at the release Fork]from the clutch Release Lever when doing the above adjustment. Hook a bungee cord to the Release Lever and run it over the air cleaner and attach it to the front bumper or something. That's what I did. The object is to SIMULATE the return spring that was on the hill-holder cable. Bungee cord worked fine. Once the big nut has been turned down the threaded rod end until the adjustment seems to be within the given parameters [the 2-3mm of freeplay of the Release Lever] then turn the smaller locking nut down the threads and tighten it tight to the larger nut using BOTH open end wrenches. Check your clutch pedal free-play travel and give the clutch a good full stroke. I ended up with under an inch of pedal free-play. If this seems well, disconnect the bungee cord [temporary return spring] and reattach the hill-holder cable the same way you took it off. That system is now adjusted on its own. Search the Forum, you'll find lots of info I hope. Hop into car, stroke the clutch pedal and shift some gears around. Start engine, find reverse now and I'd bet it finds it, and ALL the other gears, right away with no grinding whatsoever. One of the tells for me on initial diagnosis is the transmission shifted fine without the engine running, but once the engine was running it was slop city and grindarama. Adjusting the cable has made it feel like a brand new car! I had the luxury of finding a brand new cable already there in place but was merely extremely mal-adjusted. Caveats might include whether or not your cable has stretched so there is no more adjusting room. or, perhaps, the clutch disc has worn and with a stretched cable there may not be enough thread left for adjustment. Either way, perhaps buy a new clutch cable [they are reasonably cheap] and repeat above adjustment process. Heck, you're gonna need a new one eventually and, of course, they will ALWAYS break while in traffic, leaving you FOOKED, unless, of course, you subscribe to the theory of creative driving. Good to have a spare and carry the wrenches to change it should the need ever arise. The stretched but serviceable one could always be the spare. Good Luck, and I hope this simple and long-winded explanation solves your dilemna. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 the clutch cable is new, although it may posibly need adjastment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyoas759 Posted June 9, 2007 Author Share Posted June 9, 2007 the clutch cable is new, although it may posibly need adjastment Miles, you'd know better than anyone. You think it's just a clutch cable adjustment? It only seems to want to go in reverse if I already have it rolling backwards. On another note- Does Subaru heaven have a good number of EA81 gen subarus? I'm thinking of running up there soon to get some new glass for the wagon. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86BRATMAN Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 Some people seem to have trouble with the non-syncronized reverses in these cars as well... Have you tried putting it into first and then going into reverse. Let out the clutch, then push it back in and then try reverse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NV Zeno Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 Some people seem to have trouble with the non-syncronized reverses in these cars as well... Have you tried putting it into first and then going into reverse. Let out the clutch, then push it back in and then try reverse. Let out the clutch in neutral ,then push it back in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86BRATMAN Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 Let out the clutch in neutral ,then push it back in... Yes, thanks for catching that... I was on the phone when typing that, I'm suprised it made as much sense as it did... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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