washakie

I'm no expert as you can learn from looking at my other posts... but, I'm currently an owner for my second '83 wagon. My old one was a 2wd, 5sp that was amazing. I put 44,000 miles on it (from 73k to 117k) in one year. Sadly in the next month I hit a deer doing about 70 on I-91 in the winter in VT. I rolled her three times! My dog and I walked away without a scratch. So, for highway driving, the rig is great, safe, and I never felt too underpowered (except the one time I was in Montana and I was TRYING to get a speeding ticket... ) As for my new ride, it's a 83 dl 4sp, 4wd. I acquired from a good friend, and I knew it's history well. I drove the hell out if it from 195k to 205k. Now I've just put in a new motor due to headgaskets. But at 205k for a vehicle that provided support to many an Arizona river trip (i.e. rafts on top, gear in the back = HEAVY) down hot, dusty, and LONG 4wd roads, I think it's proved itself. I'm hoping for another 200k out of the new motor.

A year ago I bought a new set of axels (CV for front left/right) from Kragen (autozone - esque store here in California). The driver side has been fine, but the passenger side boot keeps ripping open, throwing grease all over my engine compartment, tranny, etc... the store honors the warranty and gives me a new one, but today, if I put one in it will be the third one! So... third's a charm, right? Any suggestions on what may be causing it to tear open?

Just hoping someone can give me a heads up here...

How do you check this?

Ok tomorrow turned into... thanksgiving in Toledo... now I'm home, the fluids have been added, and I started her up! All is well... with one exception. I'm watching the water in the radiator (started the motor with no cap on the radiator), and I can't really tell when the fluid is cycling. Also, the fan wasn't coming on. Well, I realized I had forgotten to connect the temp sensor on the radiator so STUPIDLY I tried to connect it while the motor was running... I heard a 'pop' as if I blew a fuse, but I've looked around, and I cannot find any blown fuses. Is there an inline fuse somewhere?? Any suggestions on how to check all of this: Proper cycling of coolant, proper temp sensor behavior, etc. Thanks!! PS: I promise... a write will be coming as a reference for future newbies.

Thanks everyone!!! The motor is in. I'm dog tired... Tomorrow, I'll fill 'er up with fluids and see how the it goes... Thanks again. Also, tomorrow, I'll make a complete write up ...

New question: There are some 'pins', or mounting studs on the flywheel housing... there are two in the old motor, one in the new one, so I guess I need to transfer one over. Any suggestions for a method??

Yeah, I cleaned out the lines... remember the brown sludge that was in the engine, remember I said I drained 8 quarts out of this thing (honestly), well... Once it's running, I've got a mechanic on the hook, he's said he'll go over it and clean the carb for me. I just had that done to my motorcycle... miracles, man, miracles! To have a clean carb, properly floated, etc...

Well, just an update again... Done with swapping everything over to the new motor. Thanks folks for the help! Tomorrow I'm cleaning out the engine compartment and waiting for some friends to come by for the lift back in... All seems to be going well... a few glitches, but no 'show stoppers' so far...

Agreed. Rope trick was SUPER easy.

And another... do the new gaskets get any kind of sealant or just go on dry? I was told (by the auto parts guys) to put them on dry, but the old ones seemed to have some 'gummy' stuff on them.

Great suggestion. Worked like a charm. Now, flywheel bearing? Is a puller the only option? Which way does it go in/out?

Geez... any tricks on getting the pulley off?? Is it reverse threaded? Man. Seems maybe I should have broken this loose before disengaging from the tranny.

Thanks GD, I guess if I ever go to the 5 spd, which as I recall requires the EA82 flywheel, I'm ahead of the game...

Instead of posting on a bunch of threads, etc. I'm going to make one post here.... To start: 1) I had to figure out what the hell I needed to do... After several queries to the group: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=65611 http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=65639 I decided to install a new motor. Due to several factors (my location and the lack of nearby soob mechanics, mechanics/friends whom I trusted for help, lack of personal knowledge, etc) I decided it would be best to pull the motor and replace it with a CCR. 2) Bought motor, followed these instructions: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=617 Specifically, Oh Noah's comments 3) I'm in the middle of it now. I've had a few questions as I go: a) Timing considerations: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=617 Finding Top Dead Center (revived and old post) http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=42015 4) Now I have an issue - first one so far... It seems the flywheel cover on my CCR motor is different from the flywheel cover on my old motor. It's the bottom. On mine the 'gap' is 6.5 inches (or so) and there's a plate to cover it. On the new one the opening is 7.5 inches, and it didn't ship with any kind of plate, and there's no where to place one that I can tell... I've posted a few pictures: http://jfbpix.blogspot.com Any thoughts on what I should do? 5) Keep updated.. eventually I'll finish this out with a complete report for the 'next' guy taking this on!

I'm going to do a complete 'trip report' once completed with costs... etc.

Wanted to revive this thread... So, if the springs are loose, then I'm at the top of the compression stroke for #1, however, shouldn't the rotor then be pointing to the #1 wire?? Mine is pointing to #2. Do you think I've been running around with it 180 degrees out! Man, this thing is going to be HAPPY when I'm done if that's the case ..oh wait, just thought this through a little further... at TDC #1 should be taking IN fuel/air, so it's not until the second stroke that the spark should fire, eh? Okay.. So, here's the question, if I get this orientation way off, will I be able to adjust it later when doing the timing?

Just to add to this, I posted a pic of the carb close up: To clean or not to clean??? hmmm, doesn't seem to want to post my pic: http://jfbpix.blogspot.com/

Hey all, one more post.... When I transfer everything off of my old engine to my new engine, should I clean anything? It's a bloody mess... I would have liked to have upgraded the carb as some recommended, but for time and money I just need to stick with what I have... here's my concern though. If you look at my pictures (jfbpix.blogspot.com), there's some of that brown goo all they way up inside the air intake - which means it must be into the carb!!! What can I (should I) do at this point prior to starting her up? Thanks for the replies! I greatly appreciate the tips you've provided so far.

Thanks all! Yeah, pretty gooey mess in there! Emily - now you know what the core is... but all in all, it doesn't seem too 'manged up' inside.. just gooey. Well, off to transfer the parts over now.

Howdy all. Thanks for all the great tips/tricks. I successfully pulled my EA81 out of my wagon today... it took about 3 hrs or work, 5 hours total... Here's a few picks of what I found: http://jfbpix.blogspot.com/ Now, I'm going to swap everything over to the new CCR engine.. but aren't there some things such as timing, top dead center, etc I need to pay attention to when I put on the distributor?? Any tips regarding swapping out the flywheel? I've got a new clutch to install too... Basically, if anyone feels there something I need to know at this point, please let me know now...

Well folks, I'm biting the bullet and buying a CCR EA-81 for my '83 DL wagon. I need to tell them if I have ASV plates or not. Anyone know how to locate them? Pics? Thanks, jB

Blown! All the above. Coolant in the oil, smudgy nasy brown sludge oil, overheating (I can imagine, haven't dared drive it since I've been home).

Folks, Me again - blown headgasket... Just wondering, I really only need the car to limp around for about a month, then I'll be moved into a new place abroad, and shipping the car over to where I can truly work on it and do 'wonders'... that is, really convert it from my street car to a rally ride. Thing is, I do need it for the month. Does anyone have experience with 'Blue Devil' Sealant? I just bought a bottle for $60 bucks, but if it's junk I don't want to waste my time or money... the alternative is teardown, beginning monday. Thanks for your honest assessment. -jB

Okay, thanks for the tips! Considering the amount of time I have (little) it sounds like rebuilding myself is possibly the best way to go. This is an embarrasing question, but is there a good online guide to this? Or a book you'd recommend. I'm not afraid of diving into these things, and have done it a bunch with VW's, but this will be my first time on the EA81, so some guidance probably wouldn't hurt Thanks again GD for paying attention to this thread.