OK I have a 86' Gen 2 brat. I am jealous because my buddy got an 82' and his has power steering...and mine does not (sigh)

 

OK so, How hard is it to add power steering to a model that does not have it??

 

Can I buy the pump and hoses off a wagon some where?

Is there some kind of sensor that controls it?

Do I need the full knuckles and linkage?

 

I have not had the opportunity to crawl under my buddies Brat yet, so all I can see is the pump, bracket and hoses, I'm sure there is a hydrolic piston somewhere.

 

is there a link w/ pics anywhere??

Hi, welcome to USMB!

The power steering swap has been done many times and is simple.

Let me show you a couple of things about the board - first, at the bottom of any topic's page, you can see related posts - they may be for-sale posts but check them out in case they have a list or a link to one.

Second, give our search a try. It doesn't like words of 3 characters or less so try "power steering swap EA81" but not "add power steering to EA81."

Good luck!

My bad, should have done a search on that one.

In addition to the search - your friend's Brat did not come with power steering so you might just take a look at his to see what they did to convert it.

 

You will need an entire engine cross-member from a power steering equipped EA81. Not the easiest thing to find in some parts of the country.

 

GD

If you have all the pieces for the power rack and cant get the crossmember off (like being stuck at pull-a-part), you can drill out the spot welds off the lower plate on your existing crossmember to remove the plate and drill the required holes for the new power rack, just bolt it back on when done and dont over drill. You will need all the parts from the power rack though and the rubber grommets as well. If you closely look and compare your friends crossmember and yours, you will see what I mean.

I have a pump I can sell.

like said, power steering can be added to any car. If you want it to work, you need the entire front rack, crossmember, as the racks are different from non-ps to the PS model.

 

If you have the rack and all parts, go for it. BTW good luck

I have all the parts needed to swap over to PS, if anyone is interested.

 

Hard lines

rack

X-member

rubber grommets

hardware

pump/tensioner bracket

OK carfreak. what's it gonna cost me shipped?? I think I can get it at the junk yard here, but if you have a good price and it's ready we'll talk

I also have the pumps and bracket, thermostat housing too, but no hoses or rack.

I also have the pumps and bracket, thermostat housing too, but no hoses or rack.

 

Good point on the t-stat housing... the ea81 power steering quipped vehicles had a differet t-stat cover to allow for clearance of the rear of the pump....

 

if you go here Subarus of the 80s

to the "Some Helpful Diagrams" link in the middle column, at the very bottom of htat page, is a drawing of the diffferences....

I put PS on my '85 Brat and didn't swap the crossmember. Used the non-ps one. PM me and I can give you a list of "watch outs" that you'll run in to.

OK carfreak. what's it gonna cost me shipped?? I think I can get it at the junk yard here, but if you have a good price and it's ready we'll talk

 

No idea where Sugar City is, so its hard to give an estimate. If you can get the parts closer to you, I would do that, some of the stuff is pretty heavy...

If I do it, I'll need to whole set up. Like I said I may be able to get the deal from the junkyard. I just haven't gone to get prices yet.

 

That being said, I can never pass up a good deal

 

 

Sugar City in in SE Idaho here's a zip for shipping est. 83448

wouldnt EA82 such as GL and Loyales also work for the Brat ?

wouldnt EA82 such as GL and Loyales also work for the Brat ?

 

It can be done... but it is not a simple "un-bolt this and bolt this on" type of swap.

 

I "stumbled upon" a bracket that would allow me to bolt the EA82 PS pump onto my EA81 engine. Had to modify the belt pulley, make a tensioner up, then decided to drop the whole thing. Couldn't get the belt to stop squealing.............. Do still have PS rack, just no pump.

 

Did find that Turboed EA81's, had a PS pump that mounted similar to the EA82's. Maybe that is the bracket I have, but I still had to modify it to fit engine and for belt clearances.

 

EA82 PS rack will physically bolt under the EA81 crossmember, after removing the plate mentioned earlier in this thread, and opening up the hole where the input shaft of the column attaches. Tie-rods can be a bit of a challenge to get right. Found some that would not work......

what if use eA82 rack lines ect... just use an EA81 pump ? or would there be issues with mating Ea81 pump to EA82 Lines ?