markjs

I have found that the standard pullers and ball joint fork are very cheap and work well. The fork is less than $10 at any auto parts store, and all it requires is a hammer. I never ripped a boot with it. I suppose if you jam it in there and wildly whack on it maybe but care and slow but firm tapping will eventually do the trick.

The axles are easy to change. Simply use a 2x4 scrap and a hammer to whack the axle out of the wheel bearings in the knuckle. The only special tool I ever needed was a ball joint fork if you go so far as to remove the knuckle (not a bad idea to service or replace the wheel bearings). I know nothing of comparitive axle quality but any lifetime guarantee half shaft should do the trick, and don't damage the core.

No idea how long they sat.... Just was willing to try anything to get this goin. I see no choke at all, unless it's only over the primary. Will give that carb cleaner a go and see what gives.......Anyone else with ideas please chime in!

I have an '82 GL Wagon with an EA81 and it was running like crap after much prolonged sitting. Anyway I had had a spare carb on another parts car that had run fine prior to the car being wrecked so I slapped it on the '82 and voilla! The thing runs a LOT better. Trouble is there is still a midrange hesitation. At around 1500-2500K RPM it's falls flat and picks back up above 2500. Is there some obvious thing I am missing or does it simply need stripped down and cleaned?

What hoses are the bare minimum required to run good ignoring emissions concerns? What should be plugged and what should be the vaccum source for each hose? I know this may be a tough question but if someone can please walk me through it.

My FWD EA81 ('84 GL Wagon) has way more balls than my friends EA82 (85 GL Wagon 4WD). What gives? His has good power after 3K RPM but has nothing before 3K and my EA81 has plenty of power at 2K in 4th gear. Maybe it's just that I don't like the feel of such a high revving engine that I am afraid to take all that the EA82 has to offer. Maybe there is something wrong with his carbed EA82? Surely it can't be the difference between 4WD and FWD?

It loses near on 1/2 quart daily! It seems to come from the valve covers. Are these changeable without touching the timing belt covers? Is this a potentialleak that large?

Because A. I like the joys of timing gears that never break, B. I have two EA81s and tansmissions laying about, C. I like the low end power and torque of the EA81. You have to rev the piss out of an EA82 to get any power. The EA82 turns 3K when doing 60, where the EA81 does about 2500, the EA82 begins to have power at 3K and the EA81 develops power at 2K.

I get em too tight and they make noise.

No matter what I do I can't seem to tighten the castle nut on the front wheels. It's always etither too loose or too tight. I tried using one of those cheap old school torque wrenches but no joy.....What is the trick here?

It's an 85 GL Wagon with an EA82. Will an EA81 and trans fit it?

I didn't mean that as much as I meant, that while a Suby of that era isn't "fast" You can drive "quick" in one and I've seen speeds as high as 80MPH and "Mr. Suby" feels pretty dialed in and stuck to the road.

Well unfortunately I have a 365 day a year job so I can't travel for a car. This tells me it's gonna be hard. I may have to settle for an early 90's Legacy.

150K or lesss....

I'm looking for a whole car, has to be a GL or DL wagon with 4WD and I'd love to have an EA81. People are steering me twords a Legacy, but really I only need part time 4WD and like the gas mileage of it better as well. I can't get over the reliabilty and ease of maintenencee of an EA81, and from all I've heard I am convinced the EA81 is Subaru's best design. I am so fanatical about them I'd be willing to slap an EA81 in a newer 4WD Suby if thats possible..... What do ya think? How much should I pay for say an '84 GL Wagon with EA81, no signifigant rust and in good condition? They sure don't have blue book value, but what are they worth?

I have just been noticing that for what it is and how cheap it was, my '84 GL sure handles the road better than most cars do! Put some good tires on it and some power under the hood and it'd be quite the little roadster.

Sorry but I must defend the Chrysler /6 as the second most reliable engine I ever had behind my EA81.

?

I got one that is just fine at Walmart for about $25.

What should I expect to spend? Used, and new?

See if I had my ideal car I'd find a long garaged and maintained 100K to 200K '84 GL 4WD for about $1500 to $4000 depending on how perfet it is, but those are rare beasts to find. Seems the EA82 are all over the place and personally I thing pushrods should never have been gone.

No, man what you have to see is that the estimates I see of mileage, the Legacy scored 25 highway and 21 city or real close to that. Well a paper route is kind of like extreme mixed driving including intense city driving conditions and quick harsh maneuvers. I decided if I go legacy it'sl be a 5 speed, because my route is rural enough I can use it well because Mr. Suby is a 5 Speed FWD. I guess they can get up to a possible 27 MPG if you drive right on the highway, but you got to take the city mileage and knock off about 20 percent to estimate about what a paper route cost's in gas. So if you get about 22 in the city, I'll get about about 17.6 mpg, and all that power? Wow maybe a legacy 5 speed is whats up for me? PS Mr. Suby gets a solid 20-22MPG on the route, he's a lean mean workin machine as long as I show him that love that I got

Mr. Suby is a rustbucket, but he's still got the heart of a champion yet. I don't want to brag and jinx myself but I been doin the route a few days now in Mr. Suby and had no troubles with him (after a period of several front end and carburator breakdowns in the recent past.). Seems to be having a great time right at the 150,000 mile mark engine wise. Lately one of the songs I rediscovered is Sublime's "What I Got", and Mr. Suby Plays it so beautifully through his 200 watt Pioneer in dash deck (simply installed by me and looks nice}, and his 4 12" Full range but bass heavy, with tweaters in nice little cabinets that fit in the hatchback nicely and deliver a lot of punch for very low $$ (Wal Mart....I Know, yuck, but honestly, where else you gonna find Roadmaster speaker cabinets for 14.95, to about 24.95 that kick major sound and don't blow up too quick if you don't abuse them too hard with songs they cant handle at full volume. Anyway, Mr. Suby and I say *singing* Lovin',....is what I got....I said remember that! Happy holidays to any who read this thred now.

Well I have to say I am VERY unimpressed with the miles per gallon that all wheel drive gets. I need a car that can get up to at least 30 on the highway and it seems the only way I am gonna get that is with a 4WD which seems to put me back in the market for an EA82 powered 4WD older model. The Legacy seems to have nice power from what I can hear, but without the ability to switch back to FWD for normal usage, I'll be really sorry when it gets to the pump. This paper business does not keep up witht he high cost of gas and you need an efficient machine. It's seems hard to find one like I need online, I may have to scan local papers for a while.

Well I have to say I am VERY unimpressed with the miles per gallon that all wheel drive gets. I need a car that can get up to at least 30 on the highway and it seems the only way I am gonna get that is with a 4WD which seems to put me back in the market for an EA82 powered 4WD older model. The Legacy seems to have nice power from what I can hear, but without the ability to switch back to FWD for normal usage, I'll be really sorry when it gets to the pump. This paper business does not keep up witht he high cost of gas and you need an efficient machine. It's seems hard to find one like I need online, I may have to scan local papers for a while.