pitscars

Hi all - I have been offered a 2007 Forester XT (cooked motor) for $500 - my question is it possible to fit a standard (non turbo) motor ? I can possibly get a 2.5 quad cam motor (EJ 254) ? for cheap - maybe needs head gaskets - and possibly get it on the road for $1500 all up ? Cheers

Does anybody know if an inline 4 has been fitted to replace an EA81 (or thinks it could be done ?)

Hi all - my 82 sportswagon 130,000 kms has always worn the inside of the rear tyres (the right one the most) - you had to be careful on the dirt as the rear end would wander around but seemed fine on the bitumen - I had the car over a pit and I could not see anything loose - used a prybar to try and find worn out bushes etc. - recently I fitted 4 14" rims (Sunraysia) and tyres - now on the dirt the car is downright dangerous - the rear end will kick out badly and throw you offline and it doesn't feel "right" on the bitumen - is there a common problem that somebody could point to ? I have had a few of this model with many more kilometres on the clock and non of them have done this - Cheers

Well - yesterday I drained out about a litre of oil and added half a litre of Mobil 1 5-50 - started it up - and as it warmed up the lifter tick was still there but was varying in loudness - by the time the radiator fans came on the tick had all but disappeared ! - maybe a lifter was sticking in its bore ? - not rotating ? - had some crud in the oilways that dislodged ? any rate I am pretty happy - the self healing EA81 !

There is a saying - that ANY oil is better than NO oil

Hi all - a friend has a 2008 outback (auto) - some time ago he had 2 new tyres put on the front and the old fronts put on the back (by the local tyre place who assured him that this would be fine -- after I had told them that Subarus need 4 tyres the same brand and wear -- they looked at me as though I was stupid) - the tyres were a different make but same size - after this he noticed a vibration - I advised him to get 2 more new tyres of the same brand fitted (which he did) - (the tyre place - when asked why they did not know that Subarus need matched tyres said ---- we are not mechanics - we just fit tyres)- any rate - this solved the vibration issue - now some months later the vibration is back and he wants to sell the car - I reckon damage has been done to the transmission - personally I would not sell the car without mentioning the potential damage - and if it is damaged who should pay to get it repaired ?

I didn't disassemble the core at all - apart from taking the sump off - it was a bit of a gamble - I had 4 short motors to choose from - all very unknown quantities - any rate I took the old girl for its first drive last night (after it sitting around for a couple of years) and it went well - I even thought the tapping had slightly changed - not such a sharp tick - anyway I will take it for short drives around the place and hopefully it will self heal - I do have a recon EA81 motor that has a loose camshaft drive cog - my next project - will be my first effort at splitting the cases - Cheers

Thanks for the replies - I am going to re-adjust the valves (solid lifters) (it seems only one is ticking) - I did set the exhausts at a tight 0.20 thou - the motor is a bit of a Frankensteins monster so maybe things need to bed in over time - still - the tapping doesn't sound like the usual rocker shaft tick - the car (Brumby) has no oil pressure gauge but the oil pressure light goes out within a couple of seconds on startup - using this core was a bit of a gamble but it seemed to be in generally good condition - no ridges in the bores - no sludge in the sump - a slight golden hue to the internals - from memory the guy who gave it to me said that he used the heads off it for another project - any rate we will see what happens - Cheers

Hi all - have just installed and got going my "mystery" EA81 (short block that had been in the shed for years) - runs very well - starting from cold the motor sounds as it should but as it warms up a valve train tick appears (not TOO loud but annoying) - it seems to be coming from the centre of the motor but its difficult to be sure - I am thinking it could be a worn lifter - any thoughts out there ? Cheers

He finally took it back to the tyre shop and they went over the car tying to diagnose the vibration - in the end my friend got two more tyres on the back (the same as the fronts) and the vibration has stopped - shouldn't tyre places know what tyres go on what car and why ? and advise their clients accordingly ? and when it comes down to it ignorance is no excuse.

Hi all - a friend recently had two new tyres put on the front of his 2006 outback auto (different brand than the rears) and afterwards had a vibration at road speed. I had previously told him that ANY new tyres must be the same brand and size !! I also told the same tyre place this when I had new front tyres fitted (our 2007 Impreza auto) and they assured me the two tyres I got were the same circumference - I had my doubts and when I got home I measured them and there was a 25mm difference !!! - I disabled the AWD and took it back and got two more tyres fitted the same as the other new ones - the guys at the tyre place were looking at me as though I was an idiot - any rate I reckon my friend has done damage to his Outback (he did a few hundred kms with the vibration) what are the implications of this ? is his car safe to drive ? Cheers

There is a good chance it is the gearshift linkages - once you get the console and rubber boot off you will soon see any problem - on mine the bolt securing the gearshift to the rod coming out of the gearbox was badly worn (could not get reverse) - but getting a new bolt in there is a PITA - also the base of the gearstick is like a little ball joint - that can get dry and worn out as well and could potentially pop out making it difficult to get any gears - good luck

I too have a few parts motors and wrecks for bits and pieces - my now retired Brumby (from public roads) has 435000 kms on the original engine (I did replace the head gaskets once but I did not really need to as it was a welch plug in one of the heads leaking) the old girl has done an incredible amount of work on only basic maintenance and still starts instantly (although the oil pressure light takes a second or two to go out) uses a bit of oil and fouls up number three plug - gets fed our other cars second hand oil and is a bit tappity (cant be bothered adjusting them) - I am sure I will be using it for many years to come as my motorized wheelbarrow. The only other motor I know of to be as reliable is the Mercedes 280 (twin cam) in my now dead W126 (wasn't the motor - that still ran) --- 380,000 MILES.

Well I got the motor installed - and started it up - seemed to be running fine - idled even - I could hear a bubbling sound and there was half a bucket of coolant on the floor at the back of the car - turns out to be a crack in one of the heads inside the exhaust port - didn't see it before installation - anyway I do have another head but of course I need another gasket - can anybody recommend a good source (in Australia) to get one - or three - they seem to be getting a bit scarce - Cheers

Well - I have almost got the motor ready to install - a couple of things that are a bit odd - the pushrods I am using come from the motor that was overheated (EA81) - they have two knurled lines on them which the Subaru Workshop manual say come from an EA71 ?? the rocker arm adjustment seems ok although it is near the end of the threads (winding in) and comparing this with another motor I have the threads are about half way - according to the manual the EA71 pushrods are approx. 10mm shorter than the EA81- the other thing was the O-ring that sits between the flywheel and crankshaft is different (the new motor was from an automatic) so I fitted a manual flywheel and left out the O-ring --- Cheers