Twitch de la Brat Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 Those would be SPFI pistons that have the valve reliefs. These are EA71 Pistons. I thought about SPFI, but I'm not sure the mapping could keep up with the high compression setup. And the last thing I want is pinging on the freeway. .030" off the total intake chamber plus pistons that are a .005"s taller, makes for a fun little geometry project. Lets just say, if I snugged the head down without the headgasket, there may be piston/head interference. That pic is a little closer to TDC. I'll get one either today or tomorrow that's at absolute TDC. Along with a shot with a straightedge up against it. Just so you guys can see I'm not kidding. Twitch PS: If a crappy little blue wagon kicks your butt getting up to the speed limit, don't say I didn't warn ya 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykeys Toy Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Hmm.. Sounds like a challenge to me! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 Yeah. Hella flush. Also, after feeling it with the straight edge on it, there is the slightest raise from the piston vs the cylinder. Its .001" or less, but its still there Lets hope my valve clearance doesn't cause too much havoc on initial startup. So as long as my head gasket doesn't smash down below .030" I should be ok. Should. Twitch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted August 16, 2014 Author Share Posted August 16, 2014 (edited) The heads are on, so now I just need to adjust the valves before I apply the valve covers and check my head to piston clearances. I'm still debating on the best method for this. Any suggestions? I'm tempted by a non-sticky putty that I can fit down the spark plug hole and then retrieve after a rotation. Maybe an aluminum foil wad? Still thinking about that. Got a new water pump at work today because putting a used pump on a new motor is stupid when a new pump is just a little more than a Jackson. Going to acquire a "new" oil pump from the JY because my current one is more scarred up than my crankshaft pre-grinding. And a Beck Arnley reseal kit is only $5 ($6 after shipping) on Rockauto. Twitch Edited August 16, 2014 by Twitch de la Brat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 Don't forget a new thermostat!The build looks good! These things take time!CheersBennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted August 16, 2014 Author Share Posted August 16, 2014 Of course! The car never actually had a t-stat in it originally because of the (unbeknownst to me) blown HG's. So I will be acquiring one from my work as well, as Napa carries "Tama" (under Altrom) thermostats that look identical to the original ones. I'll also be posting all my part numbers so if anyone needs to look up a certain part to fix their EA81, they'll have a starting place. Soon enough, 4wd burnouts will be possible (I hope). At least after the engine gets broken in anyway. Off to the JY to get a new intake and hopefully a decent looking oil pump! Twitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykeys Toy Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 I realize sourcing a new intake is easier but why not just have the ea81 ported n polished. I will flow at least as well as the gen 3 intakes. Custom is so much better to look at and the sleeper factor is awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted August 17, 2014 Author Share Posted August 17, 2014 I realize sourcing a new intake is easier but why not just have the ea81 ported n polished. I will flow at least as well as the gen 3 intakes. Custom is so much better to look at and the sleeper factor is awesome. I'd have to machine far too much on the SPFI intake to make it work with the Weber. So I guess my cable extension for my dremel will come in handy And the reason I wanted an EA82 intake is because they are physically larger inside and my current intake is a cali spec, so its got all sorts of extra junk on it. But I'm going to make it work. I found an oil pump with only minor scarring and I have a reseal kit coming from Rockauto. So I'm going to seal it all up and clean it all up and see where I can go from here Twitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 (edited) INCOMING PICTURE WHORAGE Whole Album And the main course all you picture lovers desire... Post Valve adjustment Post Oil Pump and Pan install Post water pump install And if you scroll through the album you can see some of the work I did to my intake to clean up the casting edges. Soon to have more done! Twitch PS: Shoutout to the little black speaker you see in the last 2 photos. Best working buddy I've had in a long time. 6 hours of play time at near full volume and loud, clear sound. Streams right off my phone and is pretty tough for those "oops" bumped off the table incidents. Edited August 25, 2014 by Twitch de la Brat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idasho Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 Nice build! Glad to see you finally getting around to building a real motor! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 Nice build! Glad to see you finally getting around to building a real motor! Oh hardy harr harr Yeah, it's going together as quickly as I can manage. My XT has a thermal short somewhere in the fuel pump power circuit or the control circuit. But when I drive it a little while in the heat (80's F) and leave it to sit for 10-15 minutes the fuel pump won't engage. Wait about an hour and the thing will fire right off like no problem. So I need to find that wire before I can rely on it during the day. At night when it's cooler, it's fine. Anyway, back on topic, had to buy ANOTHER intake because stuck/broken bolts are a pain in my arse. And apparently Subaru makes their thermostat housing bolts out of adamantium. Dulled every bit I threw at it. So upon frustration, a drill press and flexible drill bits, I ended up taking a bunch of aluminum out of the housing next to the bolt. Yay for $20 for another California spec intake from Pull and Save because apparently there are no other EA81's in the whole yard. WTF? Anyway, house sitting so I'm stopped by there to let the doggies run on my way home to clean this intake up and bolt it on. Oh the joys of 30 year old cars... Twitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted August 30, 2014 Author Share Posted August 30, 2014 (edited) Sooo, I haven't a computer to post the new pictures with right now, but let's just say it looks like an engine again! As soon as I get a chance the engine is going into the car and it'll be test fired. Also, cranked it over by hand to check valve movement and timing and the thing has some serious compression even before the rings have seated. This is gonna be good Twitch Edited August 30, 2014 by Twitch de la Brat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 So after all the ignition drama (as seen in this thread) and my soon to be eaten pie, IT'S ALIVE. Had to swap around a few oil pressure senders and oil pumps, but realize that the low oil pressure reading is just the sender/head unit. And that sucker is LOUD. I never thought I'd have valve rattle louder than a honda, but guess I have one now. Qman, will the cam, lifters and valves quiet down as they wear into each other? But overall, I'm VERY happy with this engine. I got it up to 50mph without breaking 3000rpm in a stretch under a mile, which may not sound all that impressive, but if you've driven an EA81 wagon, you know that's pretty fast Also, TORQUE. How I have missed that so much! Planting the throttle at 1500rpm creates this swelling roar from the engine bay and the front tires try to maintain traction. Y'all will get a video as soon as I can nail down my mild overheating issue. It's not getting "hot" but above middle temp and it's making me uncomfortable, especially on a fresh rebuild. But for now, VICTORY Twitch 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Loyale Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 So after all the ignition drama (as seen in this thread) and my soon to be eaten pie, IT'S ALIVE. Had to swap around a few oil pressure senders and oil pumps, but realize that the low oil pressure reading is just the sender/head unit. And that sucker is LOUD. I never thought I'd have valve rattle louder than a honda, but guess I have one now. Qman, will the cam, lifters and valves quiet down as they wear into each other? But overall, I'm VERY happy with this engine. I got it up to 50mph without breaking 3000rpm in a stretch under a mile, which may not sound all that impressive, but if you've driven an EA81 wagon, you know that's pretty fast Also, TORQUE. How I have missed that so much! Planting the throttle at 1500rpm creates this swelling roar from the engine bay and the front tires try to maintain traction. Y'all will get a video as soon as I can nail down my mild overheating issue. It's not getting "hot" but above middle temp and it's making me uncomfortable, especially on a fresh rebuild. But for now, VICTORY Twitch Happy first rev! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 Happy first rev! Thank you! It didn't sound too happy to be awoken from it's slumber, but I think it'll take it just fine as it warms up to the idea of actually operating Maybe soon I'll get to pull off a roadtrip in it like you're doing But for now, time to make it dead reliable, which involves buying an oil filter relocation kit to allow me to attach a cooler and a bigger filter as well as hook up some proper gauges. Oil pressure, oil temp, water temp and volt meter. The 3 that are already on the dash I trust about as far as I can throw. Twitch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykeys Toy Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 If you are going to run an oil cooler I wouldn't bother with the oil temp. That alone will have it cooler than most cars. your volt meter is actually one of the few gauges that is pretty accurate.. If you wanna go another route Stinger makes a digital VM that is adjustable so you can set it to match your VOM. They are about $20 on Amazon. Another option is a place called speedhut.. They make some darn nice gauges and are more affordable than some Autometer and Dakota digital.. I am seriously thinking about a few of them myself.. The best part is they can be customized at no charge for most stuff. Check it out. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 If you are going to run an oil cooler I wouldn't bother with the oil temp. That alone will have it cooler than most cars. your volt meter is actually one of the few gauges that is pretty accurate.. If you wanna go another route Stinger makes a digital VM that is adjustable so you can set it to match your VOM. They are about $20 on Amazon. Another option is a place called speedhut.. They make some darn nice gauges and are more affordable than some Autometer and Dakota digital.. I am seriously thinking about a few of them myself.. The best part is they can be customized at no charge for most stuff. Check it out. Mike Ok, I'll check those sites out. And I'm getting a voltmeter because the one on the dash doesn't work I'm getting an oil temp gauge because even with the cooler I want to make sure I'm not cooking my oil when it passes through the engine. Twitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idasho Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 So after all the ignition drama (as seen in this thread) and my soon to be eaten pie, IT'S ALIVE. Had to swap around a few oil pressure senders and oil pumps, but realize that the low oil pressure reading is just the sender/head unit. And that sucker is LOUD. I never thought I'd have valve rattle louder than a honda, but guess I have one now. Qman, will the cam, lifters and valves quiet down as they wear into each other? But overall, I'm VERY happy with this engine. I got it up to 50mph without breaking 3000rpm in a stretch under a mile, which may not sound all that impressive, but if you've driven an EA81 wagon, you know that's pretty fast Also, TORQUE. How I have missed that so much! Planting the throttle at 1500rpm creates this swelling roar from the engine bay and the front tires try to maintain traction. Y'all will get a video as soon as I can nail down my mild overheating issue. It's not getting "hot" but above middle temp and it's making me uncomfortable, especially on a fresh rebuild. But for now, VICTORY Twitch FYI, by HC build still has considerable lifter/rocker noise. I think decking the heads tossed the valve train geometry a bit. Though after 5k+ miles, it all seems fine. Just a bit noisier than Id like, and makes the most noise when up to operating temp at idle. I have resorted to 15-40 in the summer, and 10-40 in the winter. Rotella synthetic for both. Once I finally admit to myself that the valvetrain noise is normal, Ill simply run the thinner stuff year round. And yes, the torque is fantastic. I routinely cruise around town in 4th gear at 25-30 mph ( I have a DR 5-speed). Love the low RPM boxer rumble! Mine also seems to run a touch warm, but have yet to have any troubles. 205 is about normal in town, it drops all the way to the t-stat (195) on the highway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 FYI, by HC build still has considerable lifter/rocker noise. I think decking the heads tossed the valve train geometry a bit. Though after 5k+ miles, it all seems fine. Just a bit noisier than Id like, and makes the most noise when up to operating temp at idle. I have resorted to 15-40 in the summer, and 10-40 in the winter. Rotella synthetic for both. Once I finally admit to myself that the valvetrain noise is normal, Ill simply run the thinner stuff year round. And yes, the torque is fantastic. I routinely cruise around town in 4th gear at 25-30 mph ( I have a DR 5-speed). Love the low RPM boxer rumble! Mine also seems to run a touch warm, but have yet to have any troubles. 205 is about normal in town, it drops all the way to the t-stat (195) on the highway. I'll be running Schaffers 5w40 all year because solid lifters Got it licensed today, insured and wiring inspection/replacement and valve adjustment tomorrow, order gauge set and remote filter kit tonight and that should be it. I'm double checking my valve adjustment because the amount of rattle in that engine bay is just too much. Twitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 So I redid my valves, and cylinders 1 and 3 were upwards of 1/4" off. Not .025 out of spec, .250. Yeah. WHOOPS But it has quieted down, so I'm guessing I'm all good as there is no residual rattle aside from the norm. Got the timing set dead on, I was only 2-3* out of spec there... Curious on the dieseling issue, are there any solutions with the weber to stop that? I ran it for about 20 minutes solid, idling and driving and let it cool down a bit before I shut it off and it still dieseled. I know why it does, I mean, .030" off the combustion chamber is a lot of material to take off and that's a lot of compression and therefore lot of heat. My oil filter relocation kit/cooler won't get here until next week and neither will my gauges, same shipment. So cooling down the oil is soon to be had, in case that was a suggested solution. I have 2 fans on the radiator, both "stock" EA81 fans, one a standard 4 blade, the other the slim fan. Standard fan runs all the time for now while the slim I have on a toggle. I have relays coming for the fans... I think that's all the updates. It's licensed, insured and drivable, aside from a slow leak in the driver's front tire. So if you see a crappy looking blue EA81 rolling on chrome Jackman's, give me a wave or a honk Twitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykeys Toy Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 Weber has a anti-dieseling solenoid available. I will be rollin through cda late morning so I will watch for you as well as Idasho. I will be the lunatic in a charcoal Neon making for Montana. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 So now that it's driving, I can finally acquire a new windshield for it and another project I have... Took it on a nice long drive (35-45min) and it performed flawlessly. I'm going to set the alignment myself (crazy, I know) and put some sort of temporary fix on the separated transmission mount. And I missed you Mike, but at least you made it safe and sound. A 5sp d/r is a must for this wagon though. I'm happy with the torque curve, very happy actually, but I have to get a better ratio for in town. 35mph in 4th isn't so bad as I can still accelerate fairly well, but being able to drop a gear without putting it over 3k to overtake would be nice. At least until the little guy wears in. After that... Twitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idasho Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 The weber can afford more timing. Add some timing, until the dieseling stops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted October 22, 2014 Author Share Posted October 22, 2014 The weber can afford more timing. Add some timing, until the dieseling stops! Yeah, but when does the pinging begin? Twitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 Soooo my temp fix (ignoring it) on my tranny mount ended up eating an axle. Oh well. I'll just yank one off the BRAT and drop it in, as soon as I dig the BRAT out of the snowbank... Also, we finally have aftermarket transmission mounts! So $30 and a few bucks shipping from amazon and I'll have 2 fresh transmission mounts. Hell, I'll just order something for $5 and skip the shipping Anyway, thats the major updates. Still slowly sanding off the old paint with wind, rain, snow and the occasional brushing against with clothing Twitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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