j-karr Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Hi guys! I'm sorry if this topic has been beat to death and I've done a little research with the search function but I still have some concerns. I have a low mileage (67k) '79 4WD wagon with the EA71 and a 4-speed---as we all know this trans can be a bit of a dog, especially for long distance drives. Mine also has a not-so-great habit of being pretty hard to get into reverse and grinding between 1st and 2nd gear, so it needs to go sooner or later. My goal here is to get bulletproof reliability and a little more comfort on long trips as well as the better offroadability that the D/R trans provides. My question is: would it be a good idea or even possible to keep my EA71 and mate it to the trans? I have access to a complete D/R parts car with an EA82 (non-running at the moment) so it would be possible to pull as many part from that as necessary. I like the simplicity of the EA71 engine and mine runs very well. Am I correct in thinking it would be possible to mate the EA82 bell housing to this engine, or do I have to seek out a bell housing from a 'fat' EA71? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbosubarubrat Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 You could try to make the ea82 bell housing fit on the ea71 engine but i'm sure it's a different bolt pattern. I would think you would have to drill new holes in it but the problem would be getting everything to line up right. I would try to find a rare ea71 fat case bell housing or find a ea81 and put a weber on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertmann73 Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Agreed.....there are rare ea71s with a fatter bell housing that will fit the newer trannys but very illusive. best bet is to find an ea81 as they are very similar to ea 71 with little added boost of power and same simple dependability. also easier to find parts for ea81s. ea 71 setups are lighter and chances are that without modifications to the engine it may be reluctant to pull a heavier dual range tranny which has the same gear ratio at the single range. as for making the bell housings fit it just wont happen as the bell housing also has the rear seal and the crankshafts are different sizes. im not saying it cant be done, but i would bow down to the first one to do it. since you already have the donor car to make your wagon the one that i have dreamed of.....find an ea81 or rebuild the ea82 that you have and run it. EA82s ar as i hear from this forum a very reliable engine as long as you dont neglect it. however you can beat an ea 71 or 81 like an unwanted stepchild and it ill always run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbosubarubrat Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I finally took apart a destroyed ea81 i had and put the bell housing next to a ea71. It will not work it has a completely different bolt pattern so i didn't even bother looking further into it. Since there isn't enough support to drill any more holes in it. bertmann73 is right about the rear seals and crankshaft size too. I'm sure the ea82 is the same way. The ea82 is a great engine if taken care of. A lot of people on here say they are crap and aren't worth keeping. They can last in the 350k range without a rebuild. My dad had 7 different ea82 wagons none of them ever had any major problems he just liked fixing and selling after driving everywhere with them. They're not a power maker for sure but still better than a ea71. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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