RedRat

Ahh, so my bunk thermostat WAS a NAPA brand. I swapped the bunk NAPA brand tstat with another NAPA. Oh well, I will get a dealer thermostat and put that in there. Its cheap insurance to keep my EA81 running cool. I freegin love these engines. They really keep the speeding tickets to a minimum.. Does anybody know aproximately when the radiator fan ought to come on? Today the temp guage was at midpoint, no fan action. It is cool outside (35 degrees). Just wondering... Bring the snow!!

Bummer! I guess I should have done a little more homework. The one I replaced was a NAPA brand....with another NAPA brand! Well, I will grab a T-stat from the dealer soon (like tommorrow). Its such an cheap and easy thing to do, and good insurance for not blowing an EA81. I freegin love these engines! They really keep the speeding tickets down. Also, does anyone know approximately when the radiator fan should kick on? After test driving today I noticed the fan didn't come when the temp guage was half way up. It is cool outside right now (35 degrees), just wondering what you guys think. thanks.. Bring on the snow!

Yeah, I changed the thermostat with on that I got from NAPA and it seems to have done the trick. After a 5 min warmup and a 10 mile drive (mixed town/freeway) the temp guage went right up to the mid point and stayed there. I think this is a done deal, but I will monitor my temp religiously from now on... Thanks all, and if you live in NW Washington, look for more snow soon! p.s. Frank B, is that NAPA brand t-stat a P.O.S.?

Ok, Thanks guys. I will replace the Tstat and let you know how that works out. As far as toasting the engine- I have had it get just to the red on a couple of occasions before I pulled over and shut it off. Does anybody have an opinion as to wether I have caused any damage already? I know these EA81's are tough, are they susceptible to heat damage if the guage is just at the red briefly?

Hey, EA81 new water pump (1k), overheating after about 15 minutes of mellow driving. The radiator cap and body is cool, lots of pressure in the radiator. The water pump is really hot, but the coolent line from the radiator to the water pump is cool at the radiator end. Sometimes revving the engine hard will clear up the problem. I figure I have a clogged radiator, does anyone have any suggestions as to how to de-clogg? Or is it basically replacement time? Also any leads on new radiators in the NW Washington area? Man, this unseasonably cold and snowy weather sure is nice up here. Makes me glad I have a soobie to scoot around. As long as I don't blow my engine, that is..

Yeah, that dieseling would make me cringe everytime it happened. It was pretty bad. Now the redrat is much happer and dies on commmand. Yay.

Yeah, so lowering the idle to 800 and setting the timing down a few notches seems to have done the trick. The RedRat has died on command every single time since! Thanks G.D.!

Hey thanks for the quick reply GD. The vacuum advance is hooked up to a port on the carb that in just below and foreward of the choke body. It is right near the base of the carb, but I'm not sure if thats the manifold or what. I will lower my idle to 7 or 8 and back the timing off a degree or two before my trip tommorow, and let you know if that helps.

Hey everbody, My 84 GL just doesn't know when to quit. It has a problem, dieseling I believe its called, on shutdown the engine likes to sputter sputter and not die for a few seconds (sometimes more like 5-7 seconds). Then when it does die, it coughs really bad out of the air filter. Its been doing this for a few weeks now. Not everytime, but too often. It has a weber carb that I have been tinkering with (idle is steady at 1000, choke is set really low becuase it was getting stuck and idling at 2000, and mixture is, well, mixed:). It also has a MSD coil and wires, and Bosch plugs that are the recommended types for a stock setup. Also a new distributer cap/rotor. The dieseling started about a month after I put in the new ignition. Do you think that switching to cooler plugs will help? Could there be a short in the ignition? Also, when I pulled the old plugs, I notice to my horror that the #1 cylinder plug threads are all torn up, and I barely got the new plug seated. Now I am pretty nervous about replacing it, or I guess I am just putting it off a proper repair. Has anybody ever mixed and matched plugs on these babies. I am thinking 3 of the cooler plugs and the one stock plug. This doesn't sound right to me, but I thought I'd throw it out there. All in all, I love my 84 GL. She's skookum (tough) and reliable and fun. Tommorow I am going to drive down to Oregon (350 miles) and I don't have any worries. Until I turn off the motor, that it is!!! thanks and happy hollerdays -redrat owner in bham wa

Hi there! I've got an 84 GL wagon (186K) with a Weber Carb installed when I bought it two years ago. Of course the carbuerator base plate is a "custom" job completed with silicone. Its got a decent vacumn leak of course. Does anyone know of a place to find a Weber base plate made for the EA81? Also any ideas of why my Sube is so cold blooded in the morning? She won't idle until I've revved her up for a couple minutes, and never starts the first time either. The electronic choke works intermitently at best. Once she warms up she idles at 1000 rpm steady. Once she warms up she runs okay. 25 miles per gallon freeway. The carb is clean. Filters are new. I've got newer plugs. The timing is set about right, distributor seems okay. Could I look for a hotter coil? What about getting more spark out of my plugs? Thanks for any advice! Happy New from NW Washington, where its Subaru Country all year round!

Thanks guys for the info! Yeah, I'm pretty sure that my 1984 EA81 engine has hydraulic valves. I saw some cheap valves and rings (and solid brake rotors, new, too) on ebay for a 1982 and 1983 EA81, and was wondering if all the years were compatible. I just picked up a 1982 EA81 engine that was pulled from a GL with a bad tranny. Supposedly ran fine when pulled, something like 150k on it. It has the alternator, H2O pump, stock carb, air filter and distributor all attached, and came with the starter. And the clutch too, but that is likely toasty. $40 later it is sitting on a couple blocks in the back on the 84 GL and moving down the road again. Should make for a fun rebuild for a soobie newbie like me. It probably doesn't need a rebuild (these things run like the energizer bunny, eh?) but it could make a good learning project. Should I bother? Or just drop it into the first perfect hulk I can get my hands on and cross my fingers? Cheers fellas! Dan Bellingham, WA

Hello out there to all you Subaru nuts! This is my first posting on this (awesome) site. I have a couple questions that some of you may know the answer to: Is there a compatibility issue between the stock front brake rotors on an '84 1.8L GL Wagon (the "vented" kind, I believe) and the stock front rotors on an '82 or 83 Wagon or Brat (non vented). Does anyone see a problem with putting the stock rotors from an '83 1.8L onto an '84 1.8L? Also does anyone know if the '84 1.8L engine (EA81) is different that the '82 or '83 1.8L? Specifically, are the valves and rings the same size? Thanks for any and all help! -dan 1984 GL 4WD Hi/Lo, Weber carb, Pushbar, Hella 500's, Sunroof, 184K, slight attitude. 1991 Legacy AWD wagon, 280K! Great soccor mom mobile.