November 17, 200421 yr if any of you remember this post from January.... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9555 Well anyway, I got it from Chef Tim, and have been working on making it my daily driver. I have done the following so far: resealed EA81 with 86k miles from a 83 Brat valves adjusted rebuilt a water choke weber 32/36 and installed it rebuilt disty from eBay new ea81 radiator ea81 radiator fan ea81 power steering pump (after this weekend) new clutch kit for the 5 speed different starter replace heater core (in progress) new MSD coil/wires replacement right rear tail light other stuff planned: RX black checkered front seats. RX checkered seatbelts Yakima Load Warrior Rack had it running last night, but had to keep on the gas. once the core swap is done, will need to check the timing...
November 17, 200421 yr curious why the EA81 instead of EA82 reliability? Hmm. Thats a pretty nice wagon, I saw it at Chef Tims before you picked it up. Good luck.
November 17, 200421 yr curious why the EA81 instead of EA82 reliability? Hmm. Thats a pretty nice wagon, I saw it at Chef Tims before you picked it up. Good luck. My timing belt pullies at Castana prolly helped influence that decision
November 17, 200421 yr Author the EA82 HG's were blown and Tim already had the engine out. I let him keep the motor, since I had the 86k ea81 just sitting around in my garage.... and I'm an EA81 guy anyway
November 18, 200421 yr Author I picked up my core from the rad shop, and found out they do gas tanks too, so now my 82's original gas tank (rust free Arizona) can go in and get all the varnish boiled out of it yay!
November 23, 200421 yr Author got the core in tonight, and got the dash all back together! what a pain.... still have to hook up the hoses. since I had the front seats out, I started to put in my checkered RX seatbelts. got the 4 center rear pieces in. just have the outside ones front and back to go.
November 23, 200421 yr why does everyone love the rx seats so much? have you not seen xt6 seats!? they are muy more classy. muy muy! and very comfortable. come up here and sit in my wagon with them you might be hooked =]
November 23, 200421 yr The bolsters in the RX seats are more pronounced and a little stiffer seat. I have the XT6 seats in my beast and I enjoy them. The Impulse seats in the "Beauty" are nice too.
November 24, 200421 yr *tear in my eye* Gald to see it's coming along McBrat- and very glad someone had the time and space to take her in!
November 24, 200421 yr i had a 91 impulse rs, nice seats. the hondas with the 4 wheel steering from early 90s rule too.
November 24, 200421 yr It's okay Caleb, I wasn't going to let Radio go anywhere except the best of homes. Micky do you still need that pitching rod bracket?? Tim
November 24, 200421 yr Author Tim, just a stock rod, but that's a maybe. I got a bracket from Turbone. still unsure how it's gonna work on the ea81 engine. (How did you do yours?) looks like I'll be pulling the RX belts our from the back seat. they don't roll properly. the parts look identical (same numbers too), but it keeps locking up. I won't be working on it again until next week sometime. I did get most of the RX seatbelts in. the front went in without issues, and for the back seat belts, I used the RX center belt pieces, and the RX recievers, but had to use the wagon side retracters. had to tweak the hole a little, but all works fine now.... next some removeable carpet pieces. though this is gonna be my daily driver, I still want to have it off-road ready... had thought about putting stock carpet back in, but decided against it....
November 24, 200421 yr Author why does everyone love the rx seats so much? have you not seen xt6 seats!? they are muy more classy. muy muy! and very comfortable.come up here and sit in my wagon with them you might be hooked =] I've got the red "pimp" seats in front right now. they are identical to the RX seats I have, but all cloth. they have the height adjust too. I have had a set of XT seats before, but they reeked of mouse piss!!!! the red ones will do for now. Thinking about getting the covers fixed on my RX seats. I like the black/white checkered flag look
November 24, 200421 yr what are ya doin for the back seat? I've got a complete set of the checkered seats but noticed that a sedan seat is different than the wagon because of the fold down part.
November 24, 200421 yr Author what are ya doin for the back seat? I've got a complete set of the checkered seats but noticed that a sedan seat is different than the wagon because of the fold down part. for now, the back seat is staying as is. it's perfect shape, but it's brown. will be good for now. next spring I'll decide on if I need to go back to gray or not...
November 30, 200421 yr Author It's okay Caleb, I wasn't going to let Radio go anywhere except the best of homes. Micky do you still need that pitching rod bracket?? Tim Tim, just a stock rod, but that's a maybe. I got a bracket from Turbone. still unsure how it's gonna work on the ea81 engine. (How did you do yours?) I got mine in fine. I used the bracket from Turbone, and some square tubing to raise the bracket up because of the EGR valve. fit's perfect with the Extended Rod I had.... so I for sure don't need a stock pitching stopper rod... I decided to go carpetless for the winter. put in some deep rubber mats, and got the seats cleaned up and back in. Even the sheepskin cover... Got the stereo amp in and a CB installed. Also got the PS pump put on, and will be trying to get fittings for the PS lines today. Left to do: PS pump belt & hoses Radiator Fan Reset Timing put heater core into coolant loop. swap wheels so I can get my new tires... Install Yakima Rack. Clean rear cargo area Fog Lights
November 30, 200421 yr Author Also got the PS pump put on, and will be trying to get fittings for the PS lines today. I ended up just getting a new PS line made with the old fittings. bottom fitting from the EA82 PS line and top fitting from the EA81 PS line. fittings were cut and welded to new stems, and new hose and crimps added... for the PS return line, I just used the stock EA82 PS return line. it's a bit long, but will work fine I'm looking forward to PS again. haven't had it since I sold Mountain Grizzly..... it really won't look much different than how it looked when Caleb had it. (well, the engine bay will be a lot different..... ) I found another pic of it on the revamped HP site... almost forgot. I'm putting on my old brushguard too from my Brat... the fogs will mount to it....
December 1, 200421 yr Author it's alive!!!! had to reset the disty, and change my ea81 radiator mounting so I could fit the fan in. just need to add some PS fluid (why does my cap say use ATF Dexron?) Then I'm ready to get the new treads gonna need a windshield too.....
December 2, 200421 yr Author cleaned out the cargo area last night and put in my MTX RT boxes.... there's more room between the rear wheel well in an ea81 wagon !!!! I couldn't put the boxes side by side there like I did in my 82... ended up putting them along the sides at the far back of the cargo area. a little Febreeze on the seats/cargo carpet too. took of the small bra on the front of the hood. and added PS fluid. got my 14" alloys on. new tires will get put on next week hopefully. 225/70R14 http://www.lemanstire.com/tires/catalog/lemans-at.jsp replaced broken right rear tail light. have brushguard temporarily mounted with big screws into the rubber bumper but figured out how I can do a proper mount though... looks funny though with the "shelf" bumper but it's a nice place to put tools while your working on it I should be able to get some pics of it this weekend....
December 4, 200421 yr Author it's dead (well, actually dying...) majorly bummed. anybody close to IA have a spare ea81?
December 6, 200421 yr Author it's dead (well, actually dying...) majorly bummed. anybody close to IA have a spare ea81? cylinder #3 bad. either the piston or connecting rod bolts. will be swapping heads to a different shortblock.... sometime in January.... fun fun fun....
December 6, 200421 yr Aw man that really sucks I saw two EA81's at a local junkyard if you are interested. Been a few weeks now though... hopefully they didnt get crushed yet :-\
December 6, 200421 yr Author Aw man that really sucks I saw two EA81's at a local junkyard if you are interested. Been a few weeks now though... hopefully they didnt get crushed yet :-\ nah. got something lined up already but on a good note, I was able to drive it long enough to burn out all the coolant that got into the exhaust when the previous ea82 blew the HG.... bet that was a site as this soobie was followed by a humongous white cloud.. at about 1 AM too and I had forgotten how good the side bolstered RX type seats felt
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