1. Is there a reference somewhere regarding the models and the meaning of EA 81 and EA 82 T etc

 

2. Which engines are not interference. And which models were they used in? 

    In other words if the timing belt breaks on a 1999 Legacy for example is it easy or more difficult to fix??

 

Thanks, John aka Kenneth

 

I can answer your first question.

In the 80's the subaru engines were named on an EA series basis. There was the EA81, and then it's successor the EA82. Any "T" in those names just indicates that the motor was turbocharged. EA82s are non-interference. EA81's I believe were as well but can't be sure. Here's a great wikipedia article about the EA series engines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_EA_engine
 

1. Is there a reference somewhere regarding the models and the meaning of EA 81 and EA 82 T etc

 

2. Which engines are not interference. And which models were they used in? 

    In other words if the timing belt breaks on a 1999 Legacy for example is it easy or more difficult to fix??

 

Thanks, John aka Kenneth

# 2.........answer.........if you break the timing belt on a 99 Leggie, you are guaranteed to have valve damage, as the 2.5 motor is an "interference" motor.

 

Lets go back to basics..........What Subaru year and model are you specifically wanting answers about??

ANY Subaru engine after 97 is interference.

If the timing belt breaks, valves get bent. Bottom end damage is not common.

Used heads are probably the cheapest route.

Having your heads rebuilt can be costly depending on how many valves bent and if any of the guides need to be replaced.

A whole used engine generally isn't needed but its easier for some if you don't have the time or space or ability to deal with pulling heads off.

 

Generally a T at the end of the enigine ID means its a Turbo.

EA82T (80's models), Ej20T (WRX turbo), EJ22T (early 90-94 legacy SS turbo).

A small correction:  ANY Subaru engine after '96 is interference.  In other words, interference design started with the '97 MY.

Thanks for the responses, particularly the Wikipedia artcle.

New to Subarus, daughter has a 1990 Legacy, I like it, just trying to get up to speed.

Reason I asked about the interference engines is they pop up on Craigslist occasionally: "Broke the timing belt, easy fix" and I want to know which ones really are an easy fix! Thanks again, John aka Kenneth

I probably should put it this way.

ANY 2.5 is interference.

97 -01 2.2 is interference.

Any 2.0 turbo is interference.

 

90-96 2.2 is non-interference.

90-96ish 1.8 is non-interference.

 

Early 90s 2.2 turbo I'm not sure about. Hardly ever see those though, and usually have blown turbo or something else.

Edited February 22, 201412 yr by Fairtax4me

Very rarely is a timing belt an "easy fix' - or THEY would have. Right? 

 

So, if apparently it was too hard or expensive for them, it could still be a nest of snakes for even a qualified mechanic. What happens when the belt breaks is that the cams go out of time and the pistons hit the valves. Valves get bent, which could damage the valve guides, and the pistons could get dented or more likely cracked. The roller rockers from valve to cam are in the way, too, and the bar they ride on gets stressed. 

 

Somebody in the life of that car was negligent about changing the belt, which usually includes the water pump at the same time. So it's an indicator the car had poor maintenance by an uncaring or uninformed owner. What else was ignored? 

 

Interference motors in certain cars are causing a lot of depreciation and loss of credibility, the public is noticing, and the makers are responding by moving back to chains which don't have those catastrophic blowups as much. On the market of used cars, tho, too many attempt to sell them by glossing over the real reasons and give powder puff answers that don't really express the reality of how badly they broke it. They are just trying to bail out and make as much money as they can. 

 

I would assess the car for it's used car value less the cost of another used motor less the cost of labor. That might be enough that if it was just torn down and sold off for parts it would pay for itself. People need struts, fenders, transmissions, etc. Taking an example very close in my experience, a $2400 used Forester with blown motor, less $1,300 for the motor shipped in from another state, or $1,900 for a cheap reman, less the $500 labor (which I spent in tools and aggravation) means the price of the car on craigslist would be about $600 to even get any attention. Most that I see sell for less when cash is pulled out of the wallet. 

 

That is why so many get junked. You only lose a few hundred, rather than get stuck driving a car with 220,000 that now is has $3700 in it and couldn't possibly sell for that. Nonetheless, some still do it. 

 

Who knew the AWD trans would shell itself out three weeks later? Oh, my. 

 

Moral of the story is that any car over 150k has a short finite life left in it measured in tens of thousands of miles and the downside of replacing major drivetrain parts will result in expenses beyond it's book value. You will sell for a loss or be economically forced to drive it until the next major failure just to get some of your money out of it. If that happens unexpectedly I will part it out and junk the rest. 

 

Or, put an ad in the local craigslist saying "easy to fix." Yeah, using your credit card. 

Edited February 24, 201412 yr by tirod

All 1.8 liters are non-interference

 

If you buy one with bent valves, just replace the heads with a set of used ones.

Super easy to do on 1998 and earlier EJ22's - headbolts are external and a cake walk.

Much more work on 99 EJ22's and all EJ25's.