Hi

 

I'm new here. Just found the page. I just purchased my first subaru, an 86 gl wagon. Well, i purchased it back at the end of August. Has been running great for me. Only has 133k miles on it, which isnt bad I figured for a 23 year old car. I'm now wanting to do a few things like put on a nice homemade brush guard, lift it, and throw some bigger tires on it. I notice there is a lot of talk about EA81/ea82. How do I figure the difference, or know what mine is. Its the 1.8L 4wd gl wagon...so what else should I be going off of? Thanks- sorry I suppose i could search the forums, but when I type in either ea81/ea82, as you can imagine there are a lot of threads that pop up.

 

thanks

Welcome aboard!

 

To answer your question, if you have a 1981-1985 wagon, it'll be referred to here as an EA-81 wagon. This designation derives from its engine model, the EA-81, a 1.8L pushrod H4. Wagons built from 1986-1992(?) are referred to as EA-82. This is also derived from its engine model, the EA-82, a 1.8L overhead cam engine.

 

EA82 wagons are larger and somewhat boxier than the EA81 wagons.

Faux', welcome aboard.

 

I've had both era of cars ... the early 80s vs the late 80s, and I prefer the older models like yours. Just my two cents and reflects my own experiences but I had fewer issues with the EA-81s.

Welcome! I also have an 86 Gl 4X4 Wagon and love it!