greggbrat

If you are going to use a fuel cleaner I recommend BG44K. Its about 20 bucks a can at NAPA but this stuff rocks. It cleans the entire fuel system and the combustion chamber.

Did you do the tranny swap? And what is the correct answer to the parts used? Which pressure plate? Throw out bearing? Clutch? Flywheel? Any other surprises in the swap?

I just swapped my radiator today. I found a two row radiator in a junk yard and the difference is amazing. I put in a 180 degree thermostat. All is well.

If I mate an EA81 motor with an EA82 5sp DR Use the EA81 flywheel and pressure plate Use the EA82 5sp DR clutch and throw out bearing Is this correct? And are there any other surprises to be found when doing this conversion?

Is a single row radiator standard in an 87 RX? I was having problems with my RX Turbo almost overheating after a while on the road.......the temp would slowly creep up towards the red zone. I was looking through a junkyard and found a 1988 EA82 Turbo Wagon with a 2 row radiator that appears to be aftermarket.....but not sure. I snagged it and put it in my RX and its running nice and cool now. Wandering through a junkyard is like tiptoeing through the daisies. Love it!!!

The fuel injector was not firing at all........not exactly sure how that corresponds to the problem. Perhaps it was somehow firing as the turbo stopped.

It was all about a bad fuel injector.......a little bit of good old fashioned detective work figured it out. Now it runs great......no hesitation and lots of power!!! Thanks for all your help. On a side note......if anyone in the Denver area wants to join in the fun of a head gasket change on a 1982 Brat let me know. :-)

I havent done any mods to the engine or turbo. This is a new problem that happened since I replaced the intake manifold gaskets (I had a major coolant leak). In the process my MAF went bad and I just replaced it with a junkyard MAF (it is running much better but still not quite right), I also readjusted the TPS and while it is within spec (as defined by chiltons/haynes) I am still getting much hesitation. I dont seem to have much power until I nurse the gas pedal to get the turbo kicked in just right........usually after about 3K RPM. Odd issues..........I need a magic wand. The extra second of acceleration just seems odd.......I need to better understand the wastegate valve and how it works. I have no intention of increasing the boost but I am curious as to how it is done. I have worked on old Datsuns, Mercedes, Toyotas, Scouts, Jeeps........and now Subarus.........my 87 RX is the newest car I have ever really worked on. I am finding the fuel injection/computer issues to be quite confusing. It seems the computer takes over and confuses fuel/air issues that would be apparent on a carbed unit. Can a MAF be slightly bad? How much an issue can a slightly maladjusted TPS cause? How does one check for vacuum leaks? (I have used ether in the past on carbed models)

I am familiar with turbo lag (I am still trying to resolve a hesitation problem on my 87 Turbo RX) but I am now having an issue where the Turbo stays kicked in for an extra second after I let my foot off the gas.............its acting as if some strange force is keeping the throttle down for another second. Could a maladjusted TPS be causing this? Any other ideas?

I had the car towed to the shop and it magically started. Go figure!!!! In the end I found a bad MAF.

Go figure........I replace the intake manifold gaskets and never even touch the MAF........and in the course of all this the MAF goes bad. I picked up a MAF at a junkyard for $14 and it resolved the major problem. The only problem left is that it is running slightly rough until the turbo kicks in. I figure there is some carbon fouling that will burn off in due time. YAHOO!!! My RX is back to being street worthy. Thanks for all your help. Gregg

My check engine light came on and I found a code. Its code #23 and from my manual seems to indicate an Airflow Meter issue. Now I am trying to test the Mass Airflow Meter but the chiltons/haynes manuals are not very informative. The MAF connector is firmly attached. Help!!! :-)

Everyone makes it sound like taking the motor out is a breeze......having done a motor swap myself I know its a bit of chore to get it back in doing the job by myself. I will try to replace the head gasket with the motor still in the brat. And now I get the fun of making a special tool. Will the fun never end. :-) I did get a quote of $250 to have the head gasket replaced.........is that a good deal? Gregg

My neighbors are going to love me when I disconnect the exhaust system. Thats a good possibility.........I know that I had much coolant flowing through the exhaust for a short while........would that plug a catalytic converter?

Before I changed out the intake manifold gaskets the car was running great. I never touched the timing.........but I will double check that tomorrow.

I recently posted another thread about how I changed out the intake manifold gaskets and then the motor would only run for about 4 or 5 seconds. That problem magically went away when I had it towed to the mechanic.......go figure. But the mechanic (which specializes in subaru) was clueless about the lack of power. (I am not impressed with this shop......."Roos Only" here in Denver) OK, so now its running and the coolant leaks are gone but its basically running very very poorly. I adjusted the TPS according to haynes/chiltons specifications but the thing wont idle and the lag is horrible. I have readjusted and fixed that. But the lack of power still exists.........it now idles fine but if I give it full throttle it just bogs out to zero power. If I nurse the gas pedal I can get a little bit of power up to about 4000 RPM but any higher RPM's and the power is just gone. I have seen the turbo kick in a few times but its almost impossible to get enough exhaust going to activate the turbo. I checked the firing order.....all is well. I double checked the fuel lines and evap lines.....all is well. All the electrical from the wiring harness is hooked up. Please note that this is not just a performance issue.........it barely runs and I dont think I could get it past 40 MPH on the street. Any ideas???????? Thanks, Gregg

I have both a Haynes and a chiltons manual but neither one indicated if the motor has to be removed because the instructions are part of an engine rebuild. I should be able to figure it out.........as long as it is assured that the head gasket can be replaced on an ea81 motor in an 1982 Subaru Brat WITHOUT removing the motor.

I have never opened a motor before but I did just recently install this motor into the brat. I am willing to tackle just about anything........and I generally do all the work on my vehicles. But never having removed a head I am not sure how much space I need to pull it out. It looks like there is only about 2-3 inches between the valve cover and inner fender. Is removing the head as simple as the following?????? 1. Remove intake manifold 2. Remove exhaust manifold 3. Remove valve cover 4. Remove head Perhaps I will go do a practice run at a local junkyard.

I have a 1982 Subaru Brat with an ea81 motor. The head gasket on the drivers side appears to be leaking a lot of coolant. What are the instructions for replacing the head gasket? My biggest question is do I have to pull the motor or can the head be removed with the motor still in the vehicle? Thanks, Gregg

I think its time to give up and take it to a mechanic. I am probably fighting the ECU.......once a computer takes hold of the car all the symptoms get quite confusing. I am well confused. :-) Thanks to everyone for you advice and help. Thanks, Gregg

I didnt disconnect the plug wires from the distributor........and I labeled them all at the spark plug side. Would a bad knock sensor (or disconnected knock sensor) cause this problem?

Update I checked the fuel lines and they are all hooked up correctly. As stated earlier in the post I didnt even disconnect the fuel lines when this problem started happening. I just pulled a fuel injector and watched it spray gasoline.......apparently the injectors are getting power. This is the most confusing problem.............

I checked a few more things The engine runs fine if I spray fuel right into the throttle body. While it was running (with me spraying fuel into the throttle body) I watched the fuel pour into a container from the fuel filter. This tells me my fuel pump is working just fine. So the following works. Fuel pump all electrical ignition components Apparently my engine is fuel starved. What would inhibit the fuel from getting into the cylinders given that the fuel does get through the fuel filter? What I dont know is if the fuel injectors are actually firing. How can I tell/check? And how can I tell if the fuel regulator is working as it should? I dont think its the fuel regulator because I just replaced the entire intake manifold assembly. The only thing I reused from the old intake manifold assembly was the wiring harness. Any more ideas? Thanks, Gregg

The fuel pump is working correctly. It cycles on for about 2 seconds when I turn on the key and then runs continually while the engine is cranking. I pulled off a fuel line and pumped gas into a jug to check the operation. Any other ideas? The vehicle ran fine before I replaced the intake manifold gaskets.........so I am assuming I broke it somehow.

I replaced the entire intake manifold (from a junkyard) since I thought perhaps I cracked the intake.............after I put everything back together I had the exact same problem. The motor starts.......runs for a few seconds and then dies. Does anyone have any ideas?????? Thanks, Gregg