January 2, 201511 yr I am pretty sure that I really didn't need another old EA82 Wagon. I was just looking late one night at red85celica's thread basically saying the same thing... and also thinking about how cool it is The things we do for these old cars. Then my wife looks over and says, "whats that?" I said "oh just another old Turbo wagon." Expecting that to be the last of it I went on to read about one of my other many projects. She asks me, "where is it?" I said, "I think it's down south somewhere." "In this state? Lets go get it, call him right now!" I'm thinking wow it's almost 11:00 pm on Christmas Eve and this guy is going to think I am nuts! I called him anyway and left a message. Two days later and we own it! red85celica is a super nice guy and a really good tech. I am humbled by his projects 'Turbo' has some issues and I am prepared to deal with them all. I know the EA82T horror stories all too well. Please with all due respect, help by offering knowledge and support, or save the negative comments for another thread. We have 4 EA Wagons (2 are EJ swapped) and an 04 L-GT. Here is the new little bull in 946 Rio Red; Thank you red85celica More to come... Edited January 2, 201511 yr by Crazyeights
January 2, 201511 yr And not one picture. Shameful man i shame you! On the other hand your wife is the coolest ever, i usually get the, "you better not be looking at subarus." Haha
January 2, 201511 yr Author I have a stack of pictures ready to go. Finally figured out the drop box account! They sure don't make it easy for an old dog. Like I said before, I seem to be better at working on these things than posting pics. I finally won... [EDIT] Drop Box seems to be the ticket for now. Had to read up on the right hoops to jump through to make it work. Edited January 4, 201511 yr by Crazyeights
January 2, 201511 yr Well now i just feel like turd, look at all them pics! Haha Whoa it even came with pugs! Extra score. Edited January 2, 201511 yr by Scooner
January 2, 201511 yr Author Finally I manage to own one of these that rust hasn't attacked yet! The Lil baby stock turbo still hiding in it's original shielding. I forgot how TOASTY WARM these little snails run. I took this picture ^^^ after idling down from a little drive. Although the engine was running at normal temp when I took these photos, you could feel the 'Heat Wave' coming from the Turbo area. I can see why an Intercooler would help greatly by extending engine life. Over $4000.00 in receipts for mechanical repairs over the last 10 years or so. The list includes a fairly recent pair of new heads, radiator, water pump, timing belts, etc. Also low mileage JDM 4EAT transmission was installed at about 180k from the looks of the paperwork. Much more to come... Edited January 2, 201511 yr by Crazyeights
January 2, 201511 yr Author And not one picture. Shameful man i shame you! On the other hand your wife is the coolest ever, i usually get the, "you better not be looking at subarus." Haha Thank you for your kind words and yes I agree she is the best! She actually has more cars than I do including some classics. I'll post some pictures of her Snow-White themed 1965 T-Bird with a 390 Tri-Power and a C6. I wouldn't own any Subarus if she hadn't convinced me to buy my first one. It's a Lightning Silver 1983 GL 4x4 Wagon and we still own it. It's a lifted snotty little EJ swapped 'tuff guy' right now. Edited January 2, 201511 yr by Crazyeights
January 2, 201511 yr ... I called him anyway and left a message. Two days later and we own it! red85celica is a super nice guy and a really good tech ... That's Awesome! Congratulations on your New Subaru, Looks Super Clean and Well Maintained. Looks Beautiful with the Peugeot Rims, and bright Red Colour! I'm glad to know that it is on Good Hands. Kind Regards.
January 2, 201511 yr ...Whoa it even came with pugs! Extra score. Not only the Peugeot Rims are an Extra Score, The Rare Third Gen EA82 Heads are an even Better Score! Kind Regards. ► More information & Photos about the Three Generations of EA82 Heads, on the link at the underlined Words
January 2, 201511 yr Author Now for the rescue part. All people and things have a past, this is a real rags to riches story. Look at what red85celica had to work with not even a year ago More to follow...
January 2, 201511 yr I hate when people abandon their Cars... It used to had Nice Chromed Rims in the Past!
January 2, 201511 yr Author I noticed that too. They look like Calmasters missing the center caps. I am trying to move away from 13" rims or I would have asked him about them.
January 2, 201511 yr That first pic of the cylinder head - is that a hole in the head that I see by what looks like the exhaust manifold? As I'm new, what is the horror story with these engines?
January 2, 201511 yr Author @Wolfman01 It sure looks like that to me too! I have 2 other EA82 engines I'll have to look at them if I can see anything on those. Specifically the EA82T (only the Turbo version) has a poor reputation because they lack power even when turbocharged. They overheat easily, and blow head gaskets really quickly. The design of the cooling system internal to the engine has flaws in the way that the coolant circulates. In my opinion this cannot be easily corrected. I suggest watching the coolant temperature on these and perhaps even adding an overheat alarm like is used in some marine applications. They are not very forgiving if they get abused or neglected. They will also crack cylinder heads like egg shells especially on the right side where the Turbo is. Part of that problem is the lack of an Intercooler from the factory The stock EA82 (non turbo version) will run almost forever it seems even without proper maintenance. That version is an exceptionally good engine reliability wise, it's just not very efficient. Once you fix all of that and put it back together the EA82T WILL almost always develop a rod knock due to all of the extra heat and pressure from the Turbo. Now you are back in to the lower end for pistons and a crank. Most people will give up long before this point and buy a Legacy. I say that an EA82T built stock and driven as intended by Subaru can last quite a while when properly maintained. I would put it's reliability in this situation up against many of the newer vehicles that I work on. I am seeing really bizarre and unexpected failures on newer lower mileage vehicles due to apparent cost cutting measures is design. I don't think the newer crop of vehicles will be around as long as cars made before about 2004 or so but that may just be me I spend more time around machines than people so... Edited January 2, 201511 yr by Crazyeights
January 2, 201511 yr I've got a buddy who had an 88' GL-10 and he didn't want the turbo to give him problems so he took the turbo off and basically ran it like a normal EA82. I even drove the car and it had alot of power still and he never had a problem with it after taking it off. What are your plans with this one?
January 4, 201511 yr Author I am thinking of just keeping it stock. I had a chance to get out and drive it some today. The combination of the 4eat automatic and the turbo make this a fun little car.
January 4, 201511 yr The 4EAT on these EA82's is hard to Find. You have a Real Beautiful Gem, Worth Keep it original! Kind Regards.
February 14, 201511 yr Author This car has had the "click no start" problem ever since I have owned it. I picked up on it the first time I started it. There would always be a slight hesitation with the key, and if you had the heater or the radio on, forget it! It wouldn't start. Others have tried multiple starters, replacing parts of the starter wire, etc. One shop even installed a hidden "Emergency Start Button" under the dash at one time according to the invoice. LOL, they even charged them for this! The relay fix would have been far easier. Still this car had the "feeling" that it wasn't going to start every time, even when it did. . Like you had not paid homage to the electrical Gods that day Adding a relay to the starting system (crank wire) totally solved this problem! With a car that has an automatic transmission this is quite important. I don't care to get under the hood at night with my wife or friends in the car to "jump it under the hood real quick" I do this as my day time gig and that doesn't look so good LOL. It's basically a 4 wire low dollar fix. I used a Bosch relay and Weather Pak connector from an S-10 Blazer, heater blower I think. Now I can move along again with some other repairs this car needs. The EA82T's lower end engine bearings have been a little noisy since I bought it (I knew that - surprise! ), The oil pressure is low too. This was indicated on several previous repair invoices too. I picked up a low mileage JDM EA82T from Foreign Engines in Lynnwood, WA. They still had one in stock! It came totally complete with the Turbo, PS pump, Injectors etc. Basically everything but the alternator. Even the exhaust on it looks like new. They supplied a new oil pump from Subaru with all of the seals. I'll update with some pictures of the engine in the back of my truck and now on the stand in my garage. I am going to re-seal it completely before I install it, new head gaskets, the works. I was able to drain just enough of the old oil to send a sample to Blackstone Labs for analysis. If the lab finds any unusual quantities of metal in the old oil then at least I'll find out before I open it to do the re-seal. I am waiting for the results of this test to return before I proceed on any more engine work. In the mean time, more cleaning now that the Sun is returning outside! If anyone is still here reading my ramblings, then let me thank you.... Edited February 14, 201511 yr by Crazyeights
February 15, 201511 yr This thing is so clean. I wish I could find j-tin around here in this condition. At least it gives me a chance to see more of the country as I go to get them, and bring them back! Both of my legacys are having that starting issue, I really need to get around to adding a relay to both of them (oddly enough they are both auto, to manual swaps) and on occasion they like not to start. Jump starting my winter beater with a screw driver is getting old, it has been in the negatives the last week and its not getting any warmer... I have never owned an ea82t, but always found them intriguing, hope the test come back with good results!
February 17, 201511 yr Author @ ford'ssubaru's Thank you! Here are some pictures from the day I picked up the "Low Mileage" JDM engine. Edited February 17, 201511 yr by Crazyeights
February 17, 201511 yr Author And some more after it is safely secured on an engine stand... More to come soon... Edited February 17, 201511 yr by Crazyeights
February 17, 201511 yr With this Low Mileage Turbo EA82, your beautiful Wagon will become even more Awesome! May I ask, for curiosity, if the Heads on this JDM engine, are the Second or the Third Gen EA82 Heads? Kind Regards.
February 17, 201511 yr Single underline on the EA82 logo ... Yes, those are Gen 2 EA82 Heads, you can see photos of the three gens, here: ~► http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/122276-the-bumble-beast/page-2?do=findComment&comment=1115736 Even a Video of a Running DOHC 16 Valve EA82, with prototype heads... Kind Regards.
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