Pulling A71 pistons

[jlgreen8]

You gotta be kidding me! Who was the rocket scientist that designed the A71? Yeah the car is 28 years old, and doesn't need service that often. They put a steel plug in the aluminum water jacket under the water pump and expect you to remove it to pull the piston pin to seperate the cases. True the 2 at the rear of the block are no-brainers, but the piston pins do not just come out ..."using a hook tool". Right ... not. I've been doing this stuff all my life and I have never seen a more imposible way to get to a broken piston.

Does anybody have any tips for pulling pistons from my '79 Brat?

The engine is out the cases are split, but you won't go any further without pulling piston pins. I could freeze'm with the 'ol ladies keyboard spray ... any thoughts? .... Oh yeah, I'm the new guy here, I just bought a $300 Brat with a bad motor. I worked for Subaru in the 70's (when it was with Lincoln Mercury), fell in love with and owned many 360's, a 1600 Wagon and this is my 2nd Brat. Don't get me wrong, I loved all my Soobies, and this one is no exception. But to service the engine by pulling the pins in the block is just wrong.

[DerFahrer]

This actually belongs in the Historic forum since your car was built before 1980.

 

That's how it works with all boxer engines dude. The halves of the block have to be split to get into the short block.

 

The piston pins are probably varnished with old age, so that's why they're not coming right out.

 

Having never torn down a Subaru engine past the short block, I can't say this will work 100%. But if you can't get the piston pin out, why don't you just take the oil pan off, and take the rod caps off, then get someone to hold the crank while you pull the block halves apart with the rods still attached to the pistons? Then you can just hammer the piston and rod assemblies out of the block halves and use a press to get the pins out?

 

Again, if that's a stupid idea, forgive me. I've got a Subaru engine that I'm just itching to tear down but simply don't have the time.

[GeneralDisorder]

That's how all Subaru flat 4's are made. It's not that hard to pull the plug, and it definately is not part of the water jacket. It is under the water pump, but you will find once you break it loose that there isn't really any rust on the plug - just a tiny bit around the edges of it before the threads. Coolant has additives to prevent rust if it's properly maintained.

 

The tool to remove the pins is a hooked metal rod that has a "slide-hammer" action to it. Alternatively it's possible to make a split-arbor tool that can grab them from the inside and allow them to be pulled out - but that requires a lathe, and the member that made them no longer frequents this board. There was a site about rebuilding the EJ25 for use in an experimetal aircraft that had detailed pictures of the principle of the split-arbor tool but I have lost the link - you might search google though.

 

Anyway I've rebuild plenty of engines and they all have quirks - I'll gladly trade the split block design for it's higher dependability. To each his own though - it's nice to be able to rebuild a bottom end or pull a piston out the top with the engine in place on inline 4's too - I just don't like transverse mounted engines where you have to pull them or halfway remove them to replace a timing belt. Overall, the things that matter most are easy to access on a Subaru, and the stuff that isn't (engine internals) lasts so long that it's not really an issue in practice if it's given proper maintenance.

 

GD

[jlgreen8]

I got it apart ... mostly. Pulled 1 pin, dropped a rod cap. So the cases did come apart. Still can't get the rest of the pins out even using a slide hammar.

 

It's got 2 broken pistons and a bad crank. Think I'll leave it together. That's why they sell short blocks.

 

Anybody got a line on an EA71 priced right?