I am in the process of building a Subaru powered off road buggy. It sounds like and E81 with the dual range transmission is what I should be looking for. What year model wagons had an E81 with the D/r?

I am in the process of building a Subaru powered off road buggy. It sounds like and E81 with the dual range transmission is what I should be looking for. What year model wagons had an E81 with the D/r?

 

generally all '80 to '84 4wd wagon will have the gear you are after.....

 

the ea81 is an 1800, just make sure you dont find a 1600 4wd, apparently they do exist.... thats an ea71.

Get the engine from an 1981-1984 cars, up to 1989 two door hatchbacks, and up to 1987 BRATs.

 

They'll probably come with a 4 spd D/R. I'd go with a 5spd D/R from an EA82, which will be 1985-1989 Sedans and wagons. Some of the 3 door coupes come with a higher low range which you wouldn't want, as well as any turbo that came with a D/R.

84 and up EA81 engines have hydraulic lifters and larger valves.

 

The EA81 is tough, so much that it's uses in airplanes!

 

Toss the stock carb and put a weber on it too, among other things. But you;ll find all that info if you do a search on this board.

84 and up EA81 engines have hydraulic lifters and larger valves.

 

85 and up are hydro. 83 and 84 turbo are hydro also.

 

GD

82 was a particularly good year for D/R trannys that need to be made into off-road Buggies!

 

What are your evil plans?

Glenn,

82 SubaruHummer

84 GL Mad Max

01 Forester

82 was a particularly good year for D/R trannys that need to be made into off-road Buggies!

 

81 is the same, but they have no advantages over the 5 speed - indeed they suffer from all the same problems of the 4, but have better 3rd and 4th gearing for lifted rigs.

 

GD

85 and up are hydro. 83 and 84 turbo are hydro also.

 

GD

 

Um mines an 83 and its got hydro lifters. And it def aint a turbo.

I thought 83 and 84 Automatics had hydros, then 85+, which includes Turbos cuz they only came in Automagic.

oh well that would make more sense cause my car was an auto..its in the process of being converted.

Right - sorry. 83 and 84 AUTO's had hydro. Including the turbo (only came as auto).

 

GD

wow never thought i would say this but i guess im glad that my car WAS an auto so that i got the EA81 with hydro lifters. Never knew that about the diff years. so is it (for EA81s only):

 

80, 81, 82 - all solid lifters

83, 84 - autos (turbo or carbed) got hydro lifters, manuals got solid lifters

85 and on all had hydro lifters

 

If this is wrong feel free to correct.

 

EDITED now

The EA81 was introduced in 1980 I beleive, but yeah, I think you're correct.

 

Also, I think its 82 and up have larger valves?

Allow me to lay down the field here:

 

80 through 82: Small intake valve, solid lifter, 73 HP

83 and 84 Manual: Large intake valve, solid lifter, 74 HP

83 and 84 Automatic: Large intake valve, hydro lifter, 74 HP

85+: Large intake valve, hydro lifter, 74 HP

 

The only difference is that solid lifters require adjustment every 15,000 miles, and generally make more of a racket - especially when cold or out of adjustment. There is NO difference in power, but there is a slight increase in torque with the hydro engines - due to a change in the cam, not the lifter itself.

 

NO - you cannot covert from one to the other, or use a hydro cam with solid lifters, etc. To remove the lifters from a solid lifter engine requires splitting the block. Also the cam, push-rods, and rocker assembly are all different. Putting the hydro lifters into a solid block is asking for trouble as you can NEVER service them without a complete tear down of the engine.

 

GD

If you're looking for an ea81 d/r tranny (4 spd) give me a holler. I've got a spare sitting around (and a 3.9 diff to match up with it).

GD's write-up about the differences should be a sticky or something so that people can find it easily. I dont know about other people but im lazy and would not like to adjust valves every 15,000 miles.

Thanks for all the information. My evil plans are to build one of the buggy plans from Rhino. I haven't decided on which one at this point.

 

How do I know if I'm lloking at an E81 or E82 motor when its in the car? I live on an Island in alaska and parts may be hard to come by.

Thanks for all the information. My evil plans are to build one of the buggy plans from Rhino. I haven't decided on which one at this point.

 

How do I know if I'm lloking at an E81 or E82 motor when its in the car? I live on an Island in alaska and parts may be hard to come by.

 

EA81 or EA82 is stamped on the engine.

85 and up are hydro. 83 and 84 turbo are hydro also.

 

GD

 

Not for brats in sweden had a -90 brat it had NOT hydraulic lifters, but i guess yore not going to look for a brat in sweden

Not for brats in sweden had a -90 brat it had NOT hydraulic lifters, but i guess yore not going to look for a brat in sweden

 

Well - for one we didn't have Brats in 90, and yes - all that data is for the US market.

 

GD

Not for brats in sweden had a -90 brat it had NOT hydraulic lifters, but i guess yore not going to look for a brat in sweden

 

 

That is very interesting.... I suspect that new zealand ones might be the same....

And my grey/white/black kamouflage one is a non hydralic lifter -88.

How do I know if I'm lloking at an E81 or E82 motor when its in the car?

 

Also the ea82 has black timing belt covers on the front,where as the ea81 has push rods and is a very plain looking engine.The engine model is written right behind the ea81 distributor(up in front of the engine and a little to the left.)Also the ea82 has the distributor on the rear most drivers side of the engine.

 

To another subie fan from Alaska like myself!

I'm looking for a 4SP D/R.

 

Reading the thread I see northguy's:

 

"If you're looking for an ea81 d/r tranny (4 spd) give me a holler. I've got a spare sitting around (and a 3.9 diff to match up with it)."

 

I get excited. Then I see:

 

Chugiak, Alaska.

 

Then I yell:

 

CRAP! I'm in N.C.!

 

Man, that is Waaaaay too north for me.

 

Peace....Ron

 

 

Happy Holidays to the Board!