i have a 79 hardtop, with an EA71. the crankshaft is, well... cranking a lot. can i swap the engine for a more modern and reliable one? i have a  5 gear manual.

i am not looking to make it a race car. i just want it to drive nicely, and not to worry the engine is gonna die on me.

Those Old engines are very reliable. But hard to find parts for now.

An ej swap is a big project. I'm not sure how severe the frame mods are for fitting on into that older style. Typically ej swaps are into ea82 powered cars. The frame rails AR narrower in the older cars,.

You need an engine, wiring harness, ecu from a doner car, and an adapter plate, at the minimum.

Edited March 26, 20179 yr by DaveT

The ej will be a big power increase due to bigger displacement and more sofisticated technology.

An EJ is narrower than an EA82, not wider (except the DOHC EJ, obviously).

oh, oops!  I'm going to edit that, so no one gets confused.   I must have mixed up whatever I read, or it was about the DOHC.

Sure you could do it, but it will take some modification but doable. If you want to keep the old rig you have to upgrade to a newer motor, but the again you get more HP and reliability. But then again the old rigs were pretty reliable. 

1st gen's require frame rail mods to fit a sohc ej.

Yes, those old engines were reliable as anything.  I had a 76 and a 78.  Drove over 250,000 miles on the 76.  Forgot how much on the 78.  The 2 worst things that happened is once, I overheated the 76 while low on coolant, blew the head gaskets.  Got that fixed.  The second, was one of the keepers that hold the valve spring to the valve disappeared while driving to work.  Ran crappy, but I got to work, then home, where I fixed it on the car.  NEVER got stranded anywhere in one of those cars. 

 

EA82s, broke a few timing belts, but that's been the only engine related thing that stranded me.  Low coolant overheats due to sneaky leaks caused a few head gasket replacements over the years - since 1988.  How I learned that watching the coolant level is #1 thing to ensure saving lots of work.

 

About your current ride and power plant , is that a GF or FE model?

 

If it's an FE it's very efficient , thrifty , easy to maintain , and becoming collectible for someone continuing to use who prefers to keep the car more period correct.

hello all - thanks a lot for your answers. i have a 79 hardtop, but this is no longer the original engine - a previous owner put in an engine from a pickup (BRAT?). it appears the crankshaft is making quite a bit of noise, and i am afraid the engine is going to die. i know they say a subaru never really dies, but still. having a modern EJ, with fuel injection, would make me happier. but apparently this is a lot of work - so perhaps i'll just either sell it, or hope it behaves like a subaru, and never dies...

Have you thought about a rebuilt EA81 with SPFI ? This gets you more power, better running, and is almost drop in (a small amount of wiring). Much easier than an EJ install, much cheaper, and a well proven (if dated) solution.