I am about to go through an ea81 motor for a friends brat. Is there a recommended brand for a gasket set. (Head, intake, valve covers, etc). Also with a lot of miles on it, what else should I think about doing to it?

 

Thanks

Felpro permatorque

Felpro permatorque for the headgasket and OEM for everything else. As well, while you are in there why not replace the pistons with EA82 SPFI pistons, get the cam reground by delta, and go weber or SPFI conversion for a mild upgrade in HP on the cheap.

yes, like he said.   Felpro Permatorque for HG and Subaru OEM for all else.  Especially for intake and valve covers.

  Depending on the condition of the current Hitachi carb and associated 1000 vacuum lines.... I would definitely install a Weber... at the very least.

How's the clutch disc, pressure plate?    Always install a new pilot and throwout bearing.  They're cheap.

  Rebuild the oil pump.   New contacts in starter.  New hoses and belts (keep old for emergency spares).   Plugs, wires, cap/rotor.  New water pump and thermostat.

I order "stone" brand headsets through WorldPac.  They always come with Japanese OE headgaskets and ussually always good NOK japanese seals.....sometimes the seals are THO but the headgasekts are always OE.

 

Sometimes same sets listed as Ishino.  Same deal.

 

I personally would not use FelPro.

 

Japanese made only for me.  My $.02

 

Oh yeah....I would not ditch the hitachi carb unless there is has excessive throttle play.  Otherwise, Hitachis are easy to clean out and reseal and will run GREAT if properly working, which ussually just requires a $25 carb kit and clean out and reseal.

Edited October 24, 201411 yr by Gloyale

You can always find a backstreet old school Engineering shop and have the Hitachi re-bushed to fix the throttle shaft wear, they are a great carburetor when working well especially off road.

I can't figure out what year the ea81 motor is. Does year matter when ordering gaskets. Also are the ea82 heads the same as an ea81.

     As far as gaskets you should be able to order for an '83-'84 and the gaskets should be the same for pretty much any year. I have found over theyears that ea81's are not a sensitive as the others to which head gasket you use but hate aftermarket intake gaskets. NO the ea81 and ea82 heads are not the same!

Edited November 5, 201411 yr by silverhelme

Thank you very much for the info.

 

Dp213

On the subject of EA81 overhauls, any recommendations for sourcing a rebuild kit?

Or better to do piece by piece via the local Subaru dealer?

 

NE

I used ITM ( I think that's right ) for all my parts and gaskets but order intake and exhaust from Subaru. I order from a place called Rockerarm supply in Spokane but it is also available on ebay but like I said the ea81 doesn't seem very sensitive to aftermarket rebuild parts. I have several running around here that I have done in the past.

I found this link and shop the other day. The owner, Ron seems like a decent guy. I enquired about the kit and his responce was:

 

"The part number and price for the engine rebuild kit is SU1781LEK $288.94 plus $16.80 shipping to a U.S. street address.

This kit includes: ITM pistons, wrist pins and rings, Clevite main bearings and rod bearings, ITM complete gasket set, and ITM wrist pin bushings.

The oil pump is no longer available.

Topline is the manufacturer of the re-ring kit and all parts are Topline EKSU6R $267.25 (1.2mm top ring width).

This kit includea: premium rings, main bearings, rod bearings and complete gasket st including Viton valve seals.
 

Of course, we will need to know the size of the pistons and bearings. The pistons come in std. (or .020" over sizes) and the bearings come in std. (or .010" or .020" or .030" over sizes), all the same price."

 

Is anyone familar with some of these part brands?

i know this is an old thread but i just wanted to give my two cents worth. when i rebuilt my fathers 99 legacy motor i went all oem and took my time and no leaks but oem is cost more but it is worth it bought my parts a import auto in cour'd alene