Is it absolutely necessary to do work to the distributor to get it to work on the EA81 with SPFI? I cut off the mounting tab on one side of the EA82 disty and it seems to slide down in where it's supposed to be just fine. Am I missing something?

Hi This is Jerry, yes you are missing something the gear is in a different spot and the gears are different. You need to redrill the hole in the EA81 gear to match up where it was on the EA81 disty or it will eat up the gear on the cam. Thanks Jerry

Hi This is Jerry, yes you are missing something the gear is in a different spot and the gears are different. You need to redrill the hole in the EA81 gear to match up where it was on the EA81 disty or it will eat up the gear on the cam. Thanks Jerry

 

ok, so if I just swap the gears between the two I should be ok? Alrighty, I guess I will add that to the list of things to do today! Thanks

ok, so if I just swap the gears between the two I should be ok? Alrighty, I guess I will add that to the list of things to do today! Thanks

 

If you read my write up on it you'll see that it's not as simple as swapping the gear - you have to drill a new hole for the roll pin.

 

GD

also the hole on the mounting ear needs to be enlarged. The mounting bolt is a little closer in to the body of the disty on the ea81

 

I found I also had to unbolt the little plate covering the wiring coming out the bottom. I unbolted it, reworked the wires, then hammered the plated back down flat.

 

As for drilling the disty shaft, it's easy, IF you use a drill press.

Bah, drilling is over rated... I just cleaned mine up real well, lined it up, and welded the gear to the shaft. I might have cut the shaft a bit short as well so I could get a good bead on the inside of the gear... I don't remember. I know it was a bit shorter, but I don't remember if I cut it or if it was just that way.:-\

 

Just another option.

Bah, drilling is over rated... I just cleaned mine up real well, lined it up, and welded the gear to the shaft. I might have cut the shaft a bit short as well so I could get a good bead on the inside of the gear... I don't remember. I know it was a bit shorter, but I don't remember if I cut it or if it was just that way.:-\

 

Just another option.

 

With how plentiful they are, that's not too bad of an idea. Although it does make it a huge pita if you ever want to dissasemble the thing. But then you can just find a good used one in that case as they are everywhere.... for now.

 

I don't personally like it because I'm just anal that way and I prefer to be able to replace the needle bearings and clean the optical pickup if needed. I also don't like welding on electronics - and the possibility of warpage is never good either.

 

Drilling it is made a LOT easier with a drill press and some small v-blocks to hold it.

 

GD

I got it all drilled and fixed! Thanks guys. GD I did read your write up and it was a huge help. Thanks!!

I got it all drilled and fixed! Thanks guys. GD I did read your write up and it was a huge help. Thanks!!

 

Right on - always good to hear that another person has been succesful. When I wrote it there was almost no one that would try it out - been about 4 years now and there's a lot more people converting. I'm glad it's been helpful to so many.

 

GD

Right on - always good to hear that another person has been succesful. When I wrote it there was almost no one that would try it out - been about 4 years now and there's a lot more people converting. I'm glad it's been helpful to so many.

 

GD

 

It was! It took me some time to find it, but gotta love that search function!! Oh and so everyone knows, I'm sure some already do, EA82 motor mounts are not the same as EA81, but can be modified to work. I got all ready to drop the EA81 into my car and went to put the only set of motor mounts I had onto it, and found that they were not the same!! But I just notched them and welded a washer on while in place and they work like a charm. There were many little details that had to be looked at during the swap and it took a lot longer than any motor change that I'd ever done. I'm used to being able to change a Subaru motor in a few hours, this took the better part of two days, with all the tools you can imagine, except a lift. Thanks again to everyone that helped!!