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EA81 Head gaskets..again?


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BTW I know I cursed your name once ..or maybe twice yesterday:-p;) Had to do with the power steering pump:grin:

 

I always just take them loose and set them in the spare tire area. At any rate it's something you have to take loose regardless whether you do a new engine or the head gaskets.

 

Sounds like you are doing well - good luck with the rest of the engine.

 

GD

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Steve..you are gonna help me get the Weber set up hooked up and tuned once Briggers is done with it right??

 

 

Connie, I will try my best. If its on a weekend when there is nothing going on then yes for sure. Let me know ahead of time when you want to do it and we can compare schedules.

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Thanks Steve...you know I have no life ...so scheduling something isnt too much a problem.

 

I took a break from it today...well..cause I need to get some degreaser...Lots of it..like maybe buy stock in it now.;)

 

maybe start the ripping apart and cleaning tomorrow after work.

 

Oh the power steering...why I was cursing...what was failed to mention is the 500 bolts holing the derned thing on...Everytime I thought I had them all...there would be another..I know as a fact every curse word in the book ...and a few new made up ones..came out of my mouth:grin:

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Connie, don't forget to clean up that whole engine bay ;)

 

It IS fantastic to work on a car with bolts that aren't stuck, isn't it???

 

Measure your radiator real carefully and I will compare it to the NOS radiators my uncle somehow got ahold of.. I have one here at my house that I could easily find a box for and ship you, for minimal charge, IF it will go in and be sufficient. Brand new old stock subaru radiator, but I don't know 100% what it is for.

 

Sorry; I guess nobody really warned you that a few bloody knuckles ARE a part of the game... nobody likes em, but everyone does it ALL the time so its certainly nothing that makes you special :-p

 

Measure that radiator, just an overall dimension on the tanks. if thats a close match I will dig up the measurements I took and send them to you to check against your radiator; i think i even drew a rough sketch at one point.

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I took a break from it today...well..cause I need to get some degreaser...Lots of it..like maybe buy stock in it now.;)

 

 

Kinda late now, but what I do before working on a nasty old engine is get a few cans of degreaser and take it to the local coin operated car wash before I work on it. I like gunk brand engine brite. I spray it down with that really good let it soak for about 10 minutes and use the high pressure rinse hose on it. That way all the greasy mess goes down the drain there and not onto me.

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Kinda late now, but what I do before working on a nasty old engine is get a few cans of degreaser and take it to the local coin operated car wash before I work on it. I like gunk brand engine brite. I spray it down with that really good let it soak for about 10 minutes and use the high pressure rinse hose on it. That way all the greasy mess goes down the drain there and not onto me.

I have a pressure washer..and stuff..used to own my own detail shop many years ago..I am fine doing it here..plus I wanted to do the engine bay ..without the engine there...its just that nasty.

I am just more a body/cosmetics person..minor mechanicals..the major stuff I usually leave for someone else..and to me this is a major mechanical

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I know - I see it in the pic. I beleive the carter/weber pipe is different. Correct me if it isn't, but it looks like it.

 

Also it's generally easier to take them loose at the head. That way the manifold doesn't have to slide sideways to come off. Just straight up.

 

No - you really do want it. It's just one vacuum line from the front of the Weber to the valve. That's it. And you watch the valve to be sure it opens with increased throttle.

 

GD

I'm going to agree with GD on this one. Keep the EGR. It's already fully connected already anyway. You don't have to do anything with it other than screw the pipe into the block since the vacs are there and I'm leaving the pipe I have on it, on it, when I send it back. The threads on your intake, for the pipe in question, were miserably cross threaded. Don and I had to fight to get that thing in there, and taking it off again would probably just be an uber pain for you.

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So Far ..its 10:30 am and this is what I have done so far..the passenger side head is off...clutch removed flywheel removed...Not the prettiest in there...Flywheel was missing a bolt and the clutch has some funny wear.

 

Anyway..linky to pics

 

http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f335/Bucky92/Head%20Job/

 

Question..are the Flywheels the same between FWD and 4WD??

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Someone may need to correct me but im almost possitive that 2wd flywheels are different than 4wd flywheels cause i remember someone saying that the clutches for the 2wds were smaller. As for your engine, for 235k it looks damn good on the inside. Cylinder walls look nice and clean. Thats cute that someone didnt put in one of the flywheel bolts :rolleyes:. And holy leaking rear main Connie!!

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Dunno about flywheels but one piece of advice I can offer from pulling, restoring and replacing my EA81...

 

Take the oil dispstick out!

 

I have snapped the two I own. They can easily get caught when jostling around the engine bay - especially when you're trying to get the engine lined back up to the tranny....

 

Have fun with the cleaning :) Its good to see the shine come through... A brass wire wheel on a drill does wonders to remove the tough stains after you have cleaned off the loose crusted oil and wet slime with engine cleaner. In fact I used a regular wire brush to clean off the crusty stuff with a newspaper underneath to catch it all. Then I used engine cleaner to clean up the brush.

 

Looks like the caked on oil has preserved a lot of your exterior components - they'll come out looking sweet when spruced up.

 

Have you got a car parts cleaner??? Cheap at Harbour Freight.... and worth there weight in gold - if you have space in your garage... I store things on top of it when mine's not in use.

 

Steve

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Well..the clutch needs replaced anyway cause its glazed...someone did not know how to drive stick..Just trying to save me some money here..I am already tapped out on this project..now I need to dish out for a clutch kit too.

 

I am already ready to throw in the towel on this project...Anyone want an 83 coupe in a billion pieces??

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See connie your like me. As long as ive got it apart i might as well replace it and save me some time and trouble latter. Sure the old one works kinda but i want new so i dont half to rip this thing apart. Thats why when i do brakes i do all 4 corners pads, rotors, and whatever kit.

 

Ben

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Well mines an 83..

 

It doesnt matter..since the new clutch that was installed in the car is already toast ( by PO )..it just went over budget and this project is now on hold..maybe indefinately by the way I am feeling right now about it.

 

Easy job ...yea right..screw this thing.

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Well mines an 83..

 

It doesnt matter..since the new clutch that was installed in the car is already toast ( by PO )..it just went over budget and this project is now on hold..maybe indefinately by the way I am feeling right now about it.

 

Easy job ...yea right..screw this thing.

 

Just about the only thing that keeps me going when I'm just about to give up on the EJ22 conversion is watching youtube videos of EJ22 powered lifted wagons blasting over sand dunes. Imagine how that baby's gonna purr when it's all said and done. I kinda see it as a form of meditation... you should try it out, when it comes to reviving old soobs I think it's very important.

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+ a BILLION on what GD said, with the hot water and the pressure cleaner. Hot water melts away grease, just like in your kitchen sink.. You can't get that nasty fish fry pan clean in cold water, no matter how much soap you use. Hot water gets into pores.

 

If you get into cleaning in the engine bay or on the engine itself, and encounter any grunge that is particularly resistant to detergent and hot water scrubbing, then rinse it, let it dry, and get some carburetor cleaner, diesel oil, parts cleaning solution type stuff. Try to find carb cleaner that doesnt evaporate too quickly. Old or Cheap Toothbrushes are great scrubbers when you don't want to use wire brush (ie, painted surfaces in the engine bay.) Green scotch pads are one of mankind's greatest gentle abrasives. Once you get it good and scrubbed up with carb cleaner, blast it off with fresh carb cleaner from an aerosol can, scrub it a little more, then another hot water/detergent blowdown.

 

This engine bay could look BRAND NEW when you are finished; samneric mentioned above that the caked-on oil acted as a preservative, and he wasn't lying. I cannot WAIT to see what this car looks like when you are done. I know you well enough to know that by the time you have defeated all the mechanical issues, you will have restored that engine bay to a showroom shine. The paint doesn't need to shine, but some rubber dressing on the hoses, wire harnesses and any plastic will make the thing look so nice.. I am looking forward to you finishing this. :D

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Al the parts that originally were ordered showed up today...Of course now more are needed...but I have...upper and lower rad hoses,new water pump,head gasket kit,exhaust manifold gaskets,oil pan gasket,front and rear mains ( OEM).

 

and pics of the now NOT oil dreanched parts:

 

heads030.jpg

 

heads032.jpg

 

even the oil pump cleaned up nice...it was black under 1/4 inch of crud:

 

heads031.jpg

 

I work tonight then have a 3 day weekend so..we will see what happens

 

 

and if you dont want to go back to find it..here is the link to the nastiness that came out of the car:

 

http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f335/Bucky92/Head%20Job/

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They are only the same after 1983. Pre 1982, 2WD had smaller clutch disks than 4WD.

 

After 1983, everything is the same.

 

It's the other way around. Pre-83 were all the same, and 83+ got larger clutch sets and different flywheel for 4WD only. 2WD's stayed the smaller size.

 

So it depends - is his 4WD flywheel an 82 or older? If so it will work. If not it won't. Simple.

 

GD

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