Subieguy

Well I went and picked up the Brat today. One word, ROUGH! It is definetley only a parts Brat. Still, It does have some good parts. I think it was worth the 4 hour drive to get it. It has a blue interior. It has Blue powder coated Jackman wheels that are in pretty good shape. It came with extra fenders and one of the fenders on it might still be good. Still can't find the elusive unbroken left tail light lens:banghead: . Bumpers are both straight but the front one has rust. It has ate the chrome off the bumper but it looks straight. It has 2 Ea-71 engines and 3 transmissions with it. I was told one of these tranny's came from a 81 Brat with the ea-81 engine. If so, How can I tell which transmission is the EA81 tranny?

Well head gaskets don't seem to be a real problem in the older Subarus. The mid 80's EA82 cars well, That is a different story. But you got yourself a good one there. At least the old Subarus are fairly easy to fix even if you are not the most experienced at working on cars. So don't worry about that. And, If you have questions the people here on the board will without a doubt be able to help you out. So, good luck with your new Subaru toy;) .

huh?

I had the same problem a few years ago in my 88 XT. It gave me no reading at all. I drove with it like this for at least 2 years. It ran fine. After I did the timing belts and oil pump seals I tried again. Still nothing. So I took the gagues out and discovered that the oil pressure gague was water damaged. That was due to somebody not sealing the windshield right when it was replaced sometime before I owned it. It was quite obvious too. So I pulled one out of my extra set of gagues and just like that I had oil pressure. Would not have thought that would have been the problem but it was.

Looks like it could have been worse. Looks like you are running without timing belt covers. So at least they did not get damaged.

Could also be a bad oil pump or oil pump seal. A bad seal would cause the ticking. It lets air get sucked up into the engine and it will make the engine "tick".

Yep, I have a extra one. The whole thing right? Housing and lens? I have one. Just dug around and found it in my garage. Let me know if you want it.

Once the cam housing was removed it made it a lot easier to get the head out.

Looks good! You should put a grill over the speaker though just to keep it from getting damaged by a stray elbow or something. But otherwise sweet!:cool:

Well then, shoot me his info. I might be interested in making a trip down there to try and get it.

What happened to the one in San Diego Jon?

I did them both on my 89 GL-10 about 6 months ago in the car. I had nothing to take the engine out with so I had to do it in the car. Drivers side was the harder side. That is for sure. But it is not impossible. Just a bit tighter on the drivers side.

Man! Sweet! Wheels look great Jon.

Did not have a box laying around at work for it. Now I will have to go out and find one for it. Should not be a problem though. I will look for one tonight while I am out.

I am possibly heading to Arizona this weekend. I am taking a trailer with me. Now all I need is a location and maybe I could drop by and pick it up!

Well Superu any progress yet? Did you get that Brat running again?

I don't know about not cracking them. I had a 89 GL-10 wagon I got from a guy and he had cracked the gen 3 heads on it BAD!!! I ended up replacing them with gen 2 heads and no problems. I honestly think it has a lot with how you actually take care of your engine. Abuse it, epecially a EA-82T motor and you are asking for trouble. Take good care of it and it will last a long time. But if you do change the heads make sure you use genuine Subaru head gaskets. Best quality for your Subie.

Will any ea-81 motor bolt up to the 81 Brat 1800 tranny? I have got to find out. If this is the right transmission then I have to go find myself a ea-81 engine or car to pluck it out of.

You can use Gates timing belts. They work great. I have used them on two ea-82 engines with no problems. I am sure you can find others on here that will agree with that. Oem Subaru head gaskets are a must. Best quality for head gaskets.

Don't spray anything in there. CV's were not designed for that. I think you had better get prepared to replace a CV axle or two in the near future. They may be quiet now but the problem is there. Maybe not all the time but it is coming. The boot does not have to be bad to have your joints to go bad. I had a 88 XT that just made horrible noise when you turned left. It was the drivers side. I replaced it and when I took it out the outside joint or the one closer to the wheel just flopped around. It bounced back and forth like it was a rubber band. The boot was perfect on it too. Easy enough to replace though. Just make sure you buy good ones when you do.

That sure does make me miss my 88 XT. It was after all my first Subie. Well maybe one day I will find the XT-6 I have been looking for. Sweet ride by the way:cool:

No unfortunately it is not a 4wd. But it is rust free. I will hang on to it until that elusive 4wd wagon comes along. Then I can use it as my parts vehicle if necesary. The brat I am going to get is up in the San francisco bay area. Also, if the transmission that is coming with the Brat is the one for the ea-81 will any ea-81 work with it? I would really like to put that setup in my 78 Brat. Would I need anything else special to make it work in a 78?

I am just going off what the guy told me. I am not familar with the 81 Brat setup with the 1800 in it. I know I would like to have it and hopefully it is the correct 4 speed for the 1800. He did not send me pictures of it so I will have to wait till I go get it to tell for sure what it is.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot Mike, I will not be home tonight. I have my company Christmas party. Jon, paypal or money order will work for me. I will let you know when I have a price for you. Thanks, Richard.

Yeah Mike I am getting a 79 wagon. I figured you would need some parts for the Brat. Not sure but I figure I will probably keep the wagon. It is in pretty good shape from the pictures I have seen. But I am parting the other Brat I am getting.