a friend of mine just blew a rear shock on his 84 brat dl, but he has 13in mazda rims and larger tires , will ea82 rear shocks and springs work and fit ok , since i have aleast 2 sets just sitting around, thanks

a friend of mine just blew a rear shock on his 84 brat dl, but he has 13in mazda rims and larger tires , will ea82 rear shocks and springs work and fit ok , since i have aleast 2 sets just sitting around, thanks

 

No it won't, The ea81 (the brat) has just a shock, no spring.

 

Unless he modified it to take the ea82 suspension, which some folks have done.

i am thinking the ea81 shocks are shorter than ea82 which has the springs , if he did make it work , the rear end would be a alittle higher, he priced the rear shocks at a local store and they wanted like 65 bucks ea,

The EA82 uses struts, not shocks. If you disabled the torsion bar suspension, you could put in the EA82 rear strut/spring assembly, but with the stock suspension, you can only put another shock on it.

Regular KYB GR2's will be fine, or for a bit more have him try the KYB Gas-A-Just's. See related link...

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=90530&highlight=aba4430

 

$65 for rear shocks is absurd for the Brat. With installation, may be OK.

I'm for the GR-2s which I installed on the rear of two Brats in our family. I don't expect I will ever have to do it again since the GR-2s lasted close to 100K miles on our Legacy wagon.

 

However the issue of installation might be another problem. In theory it should be a 10 minute job for each side. If you're fortunate, that's all it will take. There are only 2 bolts at the top and a nut at the bottom.

 

The upper bolts pass through the frame and extend about 1/2" past the frame. That 1/2" rusts over time and removing the bolts can be an issue. Lots of quality rust breaker (PB Blaster is not sufficient) like Yield or Kroil should do the trick. Allow it to soak in and have patience and spray more rust remover and you'll be able to do it. The trick is not to break the bolt in the hole; that presents a whole other problem to resolve.

 

Heat from a welding torch will help in extreme cases. I've been fortunate not to have to resort to that.

 

As to the issue of cost, $65 per shock is a rip-off. The link gives you the part number for the KYB GR-2 and you can see what they cost. I got all of mine on ebay years ago. I would suspect there might be a few more to find there.

Edited February 8, 200917 yr by edrach

That GR2 is only $35 at CSK/ Partsamerica.com. Did he price out a pair of shocks or something?

Here you go:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KYB-KG4183A-Subaru-DL-Shock-Absorber_W0QQitemZ180324346273QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090129?IMSfp=TL0901291210007r13581

 

Still on ebay and 10 available. Buy it now price just under $37 each and free shipping.

thanks will pass in onto him, the price he got was for subaru shocks

I would choose between the GR-2 or Gas-A-Just based on the type of driving the Brat is being used for. My '81 hatch and wife's '84 wagon are daily drivers, and we put Gas-A-Justs on them. They are possibly the best thing I have done for increased driveability (acceleration & cornering). I love them. Some people think they are too stiff though.

 

If you are doing more offroad bumpy stuff, or like a softer ride, the GR-2's would probably serve better.

I will second what Edrach said. I installed GR2 rears about 7 years ago on my Brat, still fine. I soaked mine down with CRC and busted a socket on them a hour later. Sprayed them down again and left them to soak over night. Made a world of difference and was lucky it wasn't the bolt or my knuckles!

thanks will pass in onto him, the price he got was for subaru shocks

OEM Subaru shocks are made by KYB. But I think the GR-2s are an upgrade in quality.