Jump to content
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

Help! Ea81 wont turn over.


 Share

Recommended Posts

Try a factory coil and make sure your negative terminal on the coil isn't grounded.Also, your distributor could be 180* out of rotation. Try pulling it, rotating it 180* and sliding it back in.If you can, snap a pic of the coil wiring setup, and label where you have everything running.Twitch

So I put the coil it came with back on it.Everything is as it was when I first got it and it ran .. I don't think I'm getting fuel into the carb.. i mean it's flowing from the fuel line and the looking glass on the side of carb fills up but when I manually pull throttle on carb I can't see gas pouring from anywhere .. and it doesn't smell like gas when I've been,trying,tk start it for a bit . . like it's not flooding . How do I make sure the negative terminal in the coil isn't grounded?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I pulled the #1 spark plug and out my finger over the hole til I felt air push out then hand cranked it the short distance rest of the way to line up the flywheel to the zero degree mark . the Rotor on my distributor is pointing at the #1 wire position on the cap which is between 12 and 1 o'clock if you're standing in front of the car looking towards the rear. The dizzy I have in it has a black and a blue wire coming out of it .. I have another one that has a red and a white wire coming from it, but looks like the module thing that the one in the car has in it, is missing . Or it wasn't made to need one? idk. Also have another carb . Same brand as the one in my car but looks like it has less going on on the outside . I have that one completely disassembled as I just cleaned it and am gonna try and do a mechanical conversion so the secondary opens more like a Webber

Edited by Jaysus
Link to comment
Share on other sites

my buddy here was a quart or 2 low on oil so i,figured he can have some of mine since I ain't using it and it's all new oil I just put in there.. popped the oil plug off and what looks like water and smells like gas came pouring out!! Wtf!? And just last night i noticed a nice puddle of gas on the driver side about where the driver door and the back driver side door meet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gas leaks further back, find and repair, just because fire hazard.

 

Gas mixed in the crankcase?  If you crank long enough, enough times without firing, you could eventually get enough by the rings to be noticeable.

 

Not a good idea to be trying to run an engine that low on oil, even if it was good oil.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IF you have no spark, first thing to do is find that problem.  There is no system that will stop spark due to no gas, bad carb, bad oil, etc.

 

It's power to the coil, ground, distributor + whatever the electronic drive is [i'm guessing it's not just old style points as I'm not specifically familiar with EA81 ignition systems, just before and after], or the coil.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have 2 distributors .. One has that module thing in it that screws right into the inner wall of the distributor. Has a blue and black wire that are attatched to the module that go out,the side and to the coil .. The other dizzy appears to be a bit older and doesn't have that same module thing as the other .. does have some kinda small magnetic module of some sort in it tho that's right there on top of you pull the cap. It has a red and white wire coming from its little metal thing that go out the side and to the coil . How do I test them (at home) to see if either of them actually work??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

time to spit out those distributor part numbers

 

do any of them have shaft below the drive cog?

 

All my EA81 dist with module the module screws to the inside floor sits on a pair of 8 to 10 mm tube stilts to get some air under module. You said screws to inside wall - makes me think of an EA82 dist that have shaft below drive cog. EA81 do not have shaft extension

 

what is in the car now ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In it now's the one with the thing that bolts onto the wall under the cap. Has 2 small screws that hold it in place that you screw in on the outside of the dizzy right below the cap . The dizzy that looks rather empty in comparison does not have anything being held to the inside by anything coming from outside of itself. And the simpler of the the 2 has the red and white wires

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Still haven't figured this out . .. Neither distributors will start the car.. It ran before just fine . Wtffffff. I'm literally ready to light it on fire and push it off a cliff I'm so frusterated . I'm sure it's something simple but I've spent so much time on it I feel like my brain refuses to work when I'm under the hood of this thing now ha. Anyone in grants pass Oregon want the spare motor in exchange for coming to get this thing running !? No prolly not

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I fixed the problem! .. Ish... I bought an 85 AWD RX yesterday

oh man.  you just bought more problems.

 

ea82 turbop cars are piles of trouble.

 

fix the ea81.  learn how to test and fix things proper before wasting more money on trouble.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I fixed the problem! .. Ish... I bought an 85 AWD RX yesterday ????

As someone who owns both, you moved from one of Subaru most robust engines, to one of their biggest problem children ever built.

Check your coolant like an obsessive helicopter mom. Watch your temp gauge like your life depends on it never going over the 3/4 mark. Keep good oil in it or suffer the consequences of a gummed turbo oil passage. Replace all your hoses if they even seem slightly soft. Get an OEM thermostat from Subaru. Start preparing for a headgasket or engine rebuild now. Get a spare set of timing belts and timing gears to keep in the trunk/hatch.

And everything is going to be different for this than your EA81. This is the breed of monster that even the most dedicated Subaru nuts have said "f*ckit" to. And owning one, I know exactly why.

 

Twitch

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm getting a new distributor ordered up tomorrow for my GL and I've been looking online since I read all this for a ej motor to do a swap. Either gonna throw the ea81 into the rx and ej into the gl or ej into the rx but finding out what lies ahead with this ea82T has definitely prompted me to start the ej swap process lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm getting a new distributor ordered up tomorrow for my GL and I've been looking online since I read all this for a ej motor to do a swap. Either gonna throw the ea81 into the rx and ej into the gl or ej into the rx but finding out what lies ahead with this ea82T has definitely prompted me to start the ej swap process lol

The EA81 won't swap into the RX without almost as much modding as the EJ, so just stick with the EJ to RX swap. More power with more reliability.

The EA81 to EJ only nets more power.

 

Twitch

Link to comment
Share on other sites

People bagging the EA82T again!?

 

Man, some are 33 years old - how did they get this far?

 

I reckon both my turbos are great and reliable and dependable to get me home. My non turbo - still to find anyone run non ecu controlled at 22 * BTDC timing. Mine is very flexible, quiet and smooth

 

I think k the only reason I am about to tinker ej is it is cheap opportunity, and sure I will bag it as soon as something goes wrong with it , got 300,000 km on it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As someone who owns both, you moved from one of Subaru most robust engines, to one of their biggest problem children ever built.

Check your coolant like an obsessive helicopter mom. Watch your temp gauge like your life depends on it never going over the 3/4 mark. Keep good oil in it or suffer the consequences of a gummed turbo oil passage. Replace all your hoses if they even seem slightly soft. Get an OEM thermostat from Subaru. Start preparing for a headgasket or engine rebuild now. Get a spare set of timing belts and timing gears to keep in the trunk/hatch.

And everything is going to be different for this than your EA81. This is the breed of monster that even the most dedicated Subaru nuts have said "f*ckit" to. And owning one, I know exactly why.

Twitch

 

I haven't said it yet

About to get one rebored to fit ea71 slugs :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...