mikeshoup

Your Pontiac Grand Prix must be an exception. A friend of mine has a 92 (?) Grand Prix and has had numerous things fail. ECU, Transmission, cracked intake manifold (that one blew me away when I saw it!), shredded factory alloy (the alloy split in two!), and coolant hoses blowing on a trip to go skiing with her (that wasn't a fun trip!). If you're running the original rubber hoses on your Grand Prix, you're lucky they haven't blown. I had an 88 Chevy Celebrity with rubber lines and coolant hoses that were falling to pieces. I would say its really hard for one person to judge the reliability of a platform based on ownership and personal experiences with one vehicle. You'll also notice the problems people have had with the EA82 Turbos is due to neglect on the cooling system. People consistently driving them when they overheat. The only weak point in these engines I would say is the cooling system. If well maintained though, it will not have any problems.

Prospeeder: Sounds like you got a lemon. They really aren't terribly unreliable, if properly upkept. You probably got one where the previous owner never took care of. 35,000 miles doesn't make up for the fact that the rubber is 20 years old, cooling system is 20 years old, etc. I believe that if properly taken care of, an EA82T can be just as reliable as an EA82. Problem is, majority of the EA82Ts were neglected at one point in their lives. IMO, the only time they'll start getting unreliable is when upping the boost.

Looks like a Datsun scoop. May not be wide enough for a WRX intercooler, but it'd look pretty decent I think on my wagon.

Since the ER27 is basically an EA82, yes, they will both have similar TOD problems.

XT suspension is exactly like the EA82 stuff. XT6 suspension has five lugs, and has better suspension bits, similar to the stuff found on EJs. With XT6 stuff, you can even put on EJ struts, or use EJ knuckles and get EJ brakes and what not. Though, from what I gather its quite a bit difficult to do so on an EA81.

I'd definitely say downstream of the turbo. That way the oil cools off before entering back into the engine.

You can make the SPFI look like original equipment, and there were some 86s with SPFI on it anyways. The Weber on the other hand would be hard to make it look like original equipment.

Intercooler, FT4WD trans w/ rear LSD, upgraded suspension (get rid of the torsion bar in the rear), take a hack at a 5 lug swap from an XT6 (supposedly difficult with an EA81), two pot brakes for the front. If you need more power, a TD04 or VF11 with upped boost, bigger fuel injectors, MS, etc. I think an EA81T would make a good platform for rally.

I think the Weber would. Preferable thing to do is an SPFI swap. I didn't write the article on it, but here it is: http://mshoup.us/docs/spfi_conversion_manual.pdf Its not too terribly difficult, and will probably run you in parts just as much as a weber would + the SPFI runs very clean and is super reliable.

Who has put a hood scoop on their EA81? I've got a fancy intercooler sitting in the back of the T-Wag, and if I installed it, there'd be no air for it. Looking for some ideas as to what would look good. I dunno if a WRX or 2.5RS hoodscoop will look okay on it.

Sure: http://gallery2.mshoup.us/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=998 You can even download the full sized image if you chose (2048x1536).

Is this an SPFI or Carb'd motor? If its Carb'd, is it a feedback model (IE: does it have CA emissions on it)? In other words, you sure you're supposed to have an O2 sensor? Otherwise, the ECU will be under your dash, below the steering column.

This much: Two more and you can make 2.7L: Its like a pla-doh factory! Don't flame me for leaving a block out in the snow, I know, bad mojo. At least it gives me something to take apart and not worry about breaking.

You're gonna start a debate here. The cracked heads things is nothing. They blow more head gaskets than they crack heads. As was stated, they get cracks between the valves. Subaru published a TSB saying that unless the crack is too deep, its nothing to worry about. One of the heads I put on Dorothy had a small crack between the valves, and its not causing a problems. I even have a head gasket on my wall to prove that I blew the head gaskets, not cracked the heads.

Legacies are a bit heavier than EA82 Bodied cars. For that reason, I'd say you shouldn't do it. However, I'd think you can. It'd be like a reverse EA->EJ swap. Use the EA transmission though, because the EJ transmission isn't going to bolt up to an EA. You'd also have to have custom axles, driveline and further. Wouldn't be too difficult, bit I think you're the only one here who really would care to do so

If the MAF checks out good, the next thing that can be of trouble is wiring. You may get stuck having to run new wires from the MAF straight back to the ECU. My EA81T is having MAF hissy fits. Running wires back to the ECU helped.

I'm positive the 86 lacks the potentiometer. Your acceleration issues were caused because the car wasn't registering full throttle/was registering full throttle when it wasn't the case. I doubt the TPS will cause idle problems. But to be sure your TPS is adjusted correctly, pull out your multimeter and check continuity at full and closed throttle between the two respective switches. Low idle after hot start is a bugger. As if the AAV isn't opening up (the device on the thermostat housing), or a vacuum leak is introduced somewhere only at startup. I seem to remember my 86 XT Turbo doing that when I first got it. The AAV was full of oil and gunk. Check that maybe? I only mentioned compression as it can cause idle issues such as this. Checking compression is never a bad idea (especially if you have access to a tester) and gives you peace of mind that the engine in your vehicle is in good shape.

This is getting quite long here... I'm terrible at hijacking threads, aren't I? So now, because the PCV valve is closed, wouldn't that be the same as plugging the PCV valve? I agree that as the engine cools down, it will suck air in through the valve covers. How does the PCV valve seal the valve covers though? I could see this instance on an engine like my old toyota where the only vent was the PCV valve. Though on our Subarus, you have the valve covers as well, and I don't see how the PCV valve closing seals those off, or if it does, how this is any different than plugging the PCV valve closed permanently.

I edited my old post too late. I'm still confused though. Just because the PCV valve is closed, doesn't mean the valve covers still won't suck in air using the original setup, as the valve covers are still open. Am I missing something?

Scratch the old post. Still doesn't make sense to me. Just because the valve is sealed, doesn't mean the valve covers are sealed. I would still think the valve covers would suck in air as the engine cooled.

Wouldn't that be the case though with the PCV system in the intake? The air the engine breathes in is the same air as the air outside, so I would think there would be just as much humidity in the air tube as there would be outside it...

Curious, why would just plugging the PCV valve and connecting the valve covers to a breather filter be a problem?

Originally, the engine vented its crankcase gases back into the intake. The PCV valve is a one way valve, and simply controlled when the gases were vented, and prevented the gases from going the wrong way. You can just plug the PCV valve and put breather(s) on the valve covers.

I don't see why you couldn't fit the battery on the driver's side. That's where its at on the EA81T. Drill a couple holes for a tie down, then put in new battery cables.

Good info on which sprocket is which WJM! I doubt yours were aligned BGD, unless someone put two of the same sprocket on :-\ The fact they're "misaligned" has nothing to do with the cams. They are misaligned because the cam sprockets are the same, so in order for the belt to fit correctly, and still have the camshafts exactly 180 degrees apart (which they should be... if not, something IS wrong), one sprocket needs to be set slightly off from the other. Read the FSM sometime, even my 86 mentions this. Plus, one belt has something like 48 teeth between the alignment mark on the cam sprocket and the crank sprocket, and the other has 44.5. The FSM even says this. The fact that your carb's sprockets are perfectly aligned is not a factory job, it was someone who didn't know what they were doing and probably put two of the same sprockets on.