want to do an EJ swap and hard up for cash?

If you have an old useless EJ block and a recip. saw and a few hours of time....

 

Cut the bell housing off of the EJ block and use that as the adapter.

 

Picture of the finished product pending.

 

I am not sure if this will work with an EA block, but I would assume that this would work as well.

 

BW

haha.. sounds good. I just sold an adapter I made for $60 to someone. I dont plan on EJing another subie of mine for a long time.

 

Cut the bell housing off of the EJ block and use that as the adapter.

 

 

I don't get it, how does this help? The important part of an adapter is that the center of the crank and the center of the trans shaft are in the same place. If you cut the bell housing off of the EJ block, you loose that reference right?

 

yes, pics please

I'm assuming he means cut half inch off a useless EJ engine's bell housing. Then drill the holes needed for the EA gearbox. Then use it as a adapter plate for another EJ engine that still has its bell housing.

I figured it was something like that, but how are you going to get the holes for the EA side in the right place?

 

I was thinking of ways to make an adapter without all the expensive tools in a machine shop and what I came up with was to take a piece of aluminum or steel sheet and drill (and preferably ream) a hole in the center to be a good fit on the nose of the input shaft of the trans. The you can take an EJ trans and stand it up on end so that the nose is sitting in the hole and the Bell is resting on the plate. Take a transfer punch of the proper size and mark the hole locations then replace the EJ trans with an EA one and mark those locations.

 

This, of course, involves having one trans of each around.

Holy crap, 202 you just reminded me that I do in fact have an EJ trans bellhousing and several useless EA81 4 speed trannies and access to 1/2" plate! Time to make EJ adaptors for a couple of my rigs......

-Bill

Holy crap, 202 you just reminded me that I do in fact have an EJ trans bellhousing and several useless EA81 4 speed trannies and access to 1/2" plate! Time to make EJ adaptors for a couple of my rigs......

-Bill

 

Awesome! Post the results, with pics of course! I don't have any EJ trans laying around and I work in a machine shop so I'll be doing mine the "easy" way but I'd love to know if this would work.

 

Will-

Prolly wont be working on it for a while though, gotta finish up my current project (this one actually will be driving out instead of rolling out of my shop), and I still need to make a lot of parts for a lot of people...

-Bill

and I still need to make a lot of parts for a lot of people...

-Bill

 

Story of my life! I'm so behind at work I don't know if I'll ever catch up!

 

Whenever you get around to it, we'll be here..

I just used a thick piece of cardboard (not box type, single layer type) and placed it against the EJ engine and used a ball peen lightly to mark the cardboard. Then placed it against the EA gearbox lining up the two bottom holes (because these two bolts are the same alignment EJ to EA) and marked it agian. Cut the cardboard out, placed it against my 12mm thick alloy plate, measured the distance between the two bottom bolts got that right on the cardboard template. Mark it down on the ally, drill and a jigsaw and there ya go I had a adapter plate. That was the one I just sold because I ended up playing around with gearboxes instead of using an adapter plate.

i went the easy way lol bill that was great how can you forget you have access to soo much haha kinda like oh yeah i have millions of dollers it dosent happen that often haha thats great.

The bottom two holes in the EJ and the EA are the same.

 

Take your newly cut piece and secure it to the EA tranny w/a 10mm bolt.

Then take a transfer punch and mark the hole needed for the EA tranny.

 

The EJ top holes and tranny pin mark are already there.

 

I guess it helps if you understand how the purpose of the adapter and where the holes need to be.

Ah yes, if there are two holes that are in the same place, I do see how that would work.

 

Sounds like a great way to do it. Too bad that piece of bell housing isn't a bolt on thing like on the EA motor, that would make it even easier.

 

Looking forward to pics!

i think buying scotts at sjr for a 150 bucks sound better to me at leat you know it works and its strong and that you wont be the dumb a@# on the side of the road with your trans on the ground (there are some things worth buying ) nobody wants to build A P.O.S :banana:

If you know what you are doing you wont be building a POS. Some people actually DO have good fabrication skills and take pride in knowing they BUILT their rig, not BOUGHT a bunch of bolt on parts.

-Bill

im just blowing smoke but there is pride to be had in doi something on your own its a great feeling.

 

but for the people who have more money than time or space there is SJR or bill omlin monster lifts... its prefrence

 

thanks Rob

i think buying scotts at sjr for a 150 bucks sound better to me at leat you know it works and its strong and that you wont be the dumb a@# on the side of the road with your trans on the ground (there are some things worth buying ) nobody wants to build A P.O.S :banana:

 

I agree.

 

The EJ BRAT project I built my own b/c I was unemployed and had a ton of time and some scrap metal sitting around.

 

The EJ22T RX I used the RGuyver adapter.

 

this is more for laughs and giggles. Once again, if you think about the needs of the adapter plate it's not rocket science. Plate fills in the 1/2 inch difference between the EJ bell housing and the EA input shaft. Bottom two bolts are the same. Top bolts are offset a little.

 

Use of a scrap bell housing will take care of the EJ set of the holes. For the EA side you just have to drill and tap the other hole.

 

Re: tranny on the ground off the side of the road, you have way more problems than a POS adapter plate if this happens.

 

Like I said. This is an alternative to the vendor provided adapters and its a lot easier than making one out of scratch. Don't go out buying an old EJ block for this purpose.

 

If someone could measure an EA bellhousing and see if there is a 1/2 of material that can be cut off, then you could take that piece off of your engine that you are replacing.

 

Once again, times being what they are, i thought it would be something to help save some money while doing a swap.

 

BW

I think it wise to consider the source, and consider what you write before you submit a post.

 

Sko' has done two EJ swaps that he is currently running. Additionally he has offered countless insights and techniques to others on here to keep their vehicles running or in turning them into the vehicles they want them to be.

 

How many swaps have you done, and what have you contributed to this board? Maybe you have done quite a few, but Sko is a known commodity here and his ingenuity and contributions are appreciated.

 

Maybe it won't work, but the one thing you can always count on is that he will be thinking differently than others, and that in most places is called innovation.

 

Keep doing what you do Sko. I personally think the reasons and applications are spot on.

 

 

i think buying scotts at sjr for a 150 bucks sound better to me at leat you know it works and its strong and that you wont be the dumb a@# on the side of the road with your trans on the ground (there are some things worth buying ) nobody wants to build A P.O.S :banana:

Problem I see is that once you cut it off, there still isn't any meat to drill the 2 EA pattern holes? It isn't a wide enough lip to be a full plate, it would basically just rim the EJ motor.

 

Plus trying to make the full cut around with a Sawzall? and still end up with an excacly 12mm plate?

 

Seems crazy to me

Problem I see is that once you cut it off, there still isn't any meat to drill the 2 EA pattern holes? It isn't a wide enough lip to be a full plate, it would basically just rim the EJ motor.

 

Plus trying to make the full cut around with a Sawzall? and still end up with an excacly 12mm plate?

 

Seems crazy to me[/quote

 

i agree with gloyale im not tring to put the guy down for thinking outside the box but when your driving your subie like u stole it in that back country ur puting alot of stress on that bell houseing,and if you want to do it your self then get a peace of steel and make one its not rocket science u put the bolt pattern of the motor and trans on the peice of steel and cut it out .

hacking up an ALUMINUM bell housing an making that work is a pain in the a@# and a cheap half A@# way of doing things :banana:

there is a reason why sjr uses a half inch steel plat for an adaptor

no afence to sko but thats my opinion oh and i didnt buy sjr's adaptor i just saw how he made it and fabed one up cuz im cheap but i should have just bought it buy the time u factor in the cost of the steel and my time and gas for the torch and drill bits and grinding crap it would have been about the same price less the headache:banana:

hacking up an ALUMINUM bell housing an making that work is a pain in the a@# and a cheap half A@# way of doing things :banana:

there is a reason why sjr uses a half inch steel plat for an adaptor

 

There is nothing wrong with using aluminum. Both the trans and engine parts that mate are aluminum. SJR probably uses steel 'cause he's got a source for good prices on laser cutting, which you can't do with 1/2" aluminum. The bolts that go between the engine and trans are only one part of the equation that makes up a stable situation. The engine has mounts, the trans has mounts and the remaining force is divided among those four bolts. I bet there is plenty support to spare as far as things actually breaking.

 

Gloyale has the right of it when he pointed out the problem of using a hand tool to cut off a 12mm section of the bell housing. I bet it could be done if one were to buy a 20 dollar caliper and an aluminum grinding wheel (or 3 or 4) and do the anal retentive version of the "measure and grind" game, but I can tell you right now that's not how I'd want to spend my weekend.

 

Then again, if you have more time then money and a bit O' the OCD, I bet you could do it.

 

 

BUT, then we're all jumping ahead huh? S'ko has yet to post the pics that he promised. Maybe he's already thought this out and didn't expect this barrage of premature speculation...

 

So how 'bout it S'ko? Pics please!

ya where,s the pics sko chop chop LOL

don't forget the duck tape and bailing wire

no im just kidding

Aluminum you can cut with a carbide wood saw blade, you can cut heavy sheets on a table saw and really, you could do the project in your wood shop if you have a stable enough saw with a slide jig and outfeed table. It would take a few hours for jig building out of scrap wood and a few passes but the housing would be pretty close to perfect. It would need some cleanup, but not much.

 

If you had a variable speed router with good horse and slow speeds you could fab up a wooden end mill jig and smooth out your sawzall cuts if you went the junkyard route. Fresh sheet stock would be better, whatever you choose, but aluminum you can cut like wood, sort of. Your labor vs. someone else. I bought an sjr, way faster! You pay to play, one way or the other! Just takes some brain:burnout: Powwah! And OCD:lol:

Edited February 20, 200917 yr by Yo'J