Caboobaroo

So I just got the engine swap done in the Brat, YAY! Now I have a new problem. Once I got everything hooked up and double checked everything, I started it up. This is not the alternator that was on the previous engine that blew a front main seal either. So I started the engine up and the alternator light, brake light, parking brake light, and one other (I can't remember) were on. I figured the battery needed to charge. Well I let it run for a few minutes while I did some tuning on it and the lights were still on! I don't have a volt meter with me anymore but I kinda checked it with a test light and it was very bright, like brighter then 12 volt bright. Any thoughts? it drove just fine but I need to fiddle with the mixture screw a bit cause it backfires a little.

duh silly me, I totally forgot:-p

Also check the grounds on the headlights to make sure they're clean cause if its pulling too many amps, it'll get the wires, fuse, plastic, etc. hot enough to melt.

ok the gurgling coming from behind the dash is the heater core. You might want to see about flushing the coolant system to help. Also, you failed to mentioned if the heater worked and how good it works. If it just blows cool air when the heater is all the way on with the car at operating temperature, then you'll need to flush the system or if all else fails, the heater core might need to be replaced *shudders*

Make sure you have a good drop light down there too. A fluorescent one works great because they generate very little heat.

I would shoot for a bad MAF. When its plugged in, its still sending a signal to the computer even though its totally wrong. When you unplug it, it puts it into "limp mode" where the computer will put in a variable for the MAF sensor calculated off of the other sensors. Just my $.02

Yeah thats what I told him. It makes this awesome turbo whooshing sound when it hits 15psi. Makes a lot of people look especially the ones in the car... Makes me go YEAH!

Very easy I must say but you must get a few parts from a donor vehicle ("83 and newer EA81) before starting. You'll need: left/right vented rotors/hub assembly left/right calipers The reason for the calipers off of the donor vehicle is because the vented calipers are a little wider then the solid calipers. If you compare the vented rotors to the solids rotors, you'll see a major thickness difference. Tools you might need: 36mm socket for the castle nuts 14mm wrench Pliers for removal of e-brake cable 12mm wrench if you need it Extras: new cotter pins or reusable cotter pins for the castle nuts new brake pads turned rotors Jack up vehicle and put on jackstands Remove front wheels Remove e-brake cables from calipers Disconnect brake lines from calipers (you can remove them from the back of the calipers) Unbolt the calipers and remove Unbolt the axle castle nut and remove rotor/hub assembly Install the vented rotor/hub assembly Install new calipers Install e-brake cable Connect brake lines Bleed brakes in this order: Passenger rear, driver rear, passenger front, driver front Now go out and test your car's braking once you get everything else buttoned back up. This mod is great for a brake upgrade and less likely to warp rotors too under heavy braking. Gen 1 cars wil now stop a lot easier and combining this upgrade with the rear disc conversion on a gen 2 vehicle will make it stop on a dime. In mid '83 is when the vented front rotors came out. Earlier '83 EA81s don't have vented rotors so ake sure you check the build date.

unless you have lots of money into an engine, its not worth it to run something thats so expensive, that in 3 oil changes, you've paid more for oil then the whole car. Water wetter is good stuff but not worth it unless you're running a turbo and even then, if your car is getting warm, then you're having a cooling issue. My '89 RX has Mobil 1 5w30 in it just because A. its turbo and B. there's mroe money sunk into this car then you can shake a stick at.

eh, I was up late last night doing an engine swap in a gen 2 Brat.....

don't see why not. As long s you use some assembily lube when you go to put it back together, you should be fine. Just make sure you get all of the solvent off of the inside of the cam towers and the bearings or it'll eat the oil alive.

here's a con for you Granted the EJ has fuel injection, it's 10x more expensive to fix then a carbed EA81. I finally realized how much easier it is to work on a carbed EA81 then it is on my own RX with fuel injection. EJ = waaaaaay too expensive to fix so why bother wheelin it if you're gonna get butthurt about putting a little dent in the fender? This is why EA's are so much cooler! I can go out and bash the crap outta a 4wd wagon and not think twice about it cause why? I can get a donor vehicle for cheap/free or get the parts I need for free too...

first question, why not stick with the 4 cylinder? Way easier to use then the ER27 and weight is also an issue. You're not going to find something that bolts into the front end that will support the weight of it. Second, the 4-speed won't handle the power (ask achemities) and third, there's so much structural work that has to be done to the body of the Brat since its a unibody vs. the Eagles frame. Not worth it to drop that engine in that bodystyle of Brat. I would go for an EA81 thats built, running a hundred and a half, maybe more horses cause the Brat is light enough that it'll fly. Trust me on this one, I had a 1600 JDM engine in my '78 and that thing moved!

sweet, that works for me pretty well. Now I just gotta get directions to see where exactly I'm going.... or I can follow Laura unless she decides to come with me:D

well I think I figured out the clunking coming form the front end. Turns out the castle nut on the driver side axle was loose with no cotter pin so I tightened it and put a pin in. Then to be on the safe side, I checked the passenger side and there wasn't a pin either. It was tight though so more poking around may be needed. I also figured out why the transmission was so sloppy feeling.... damn bracket which I need to fix. So the saga continues on the BRAT!

Hopefully LUVMYBRAT will be comin down with me as well in his.... dum dum dum!!!! '84 TURBO BRAT!!!!!! If he can, then we're gonna have a few Brat at this meet as well.... I just got a stupid meeting at work at 6:20pm even though I got the day off, its mandatory... bah

Hmm is Andrew's homade boost controller working anymore (a couple pinholes in the wastegate line). My thought was possibly the spring on the wastegate is getting a little worn...

Wow I can tell its been awhile since I've done this swap. Got the old engine and tranny out by myself in about 1 1/2 hours which isn't great considering I had the engine in my '78 Brat in and out in about 45 minutes. Anyways, I got a question about the tranny... Looking at the tranny going into the car (4-speed, d/r 4wd) the shaft for the 4-speed selector coming out of the tranny has the bracket that goes around the shift lever which is bolted keeping the bracket tight on the rod. Now the tranny in the vehicle has major problems like the bushings are shot but they're not (I checked). I noticed that this bolt mentioned before comes loose and makes it feel very sloppy like a bad bushing. Maybe this is why the tranny won't go into reverse? The shift lever hits the 4wd lever. The bolt on the tranny going into the car was loose and I just now noticed it. Thoughts? Any suggestions on doing this by myself? Pretty easy, I remember almost everything that I've had to disconnect/reconnect so no issues there. Oh, also I noticed there's this funny clunk coming from the front end. I'm thinking its a loose castle nut but I'm not sure. Gonna poke around on it some more tomorrow. Oh and the brakes need to be bled and the passenger side front caliper seems to stick a little cause it makes a knock after you let up off the brakes and get on the gas. Coming with this slight brake work is a rear disc brake conversion as well.....

unless you have someone ship them to you from the US but its kinda a pain in the arse...

Look in the USRM. I just put the 5-lug conversion list back in there since it got deleted while they were switching it around. Click on the link! 5-lug conversion list

at work, we use a sledge hammer while the car is up in the air. Normally we hit the tires so not to damage the rims but sometimes, we've got to take desperate measures;)

Sorry, I ment the 22nd of March since its on a Wednseday and I would have more money since I wouldn't be paying rent out of the previous paycheck.

I have found that the round headlights came more on the Standard series then the DL. I've seen the DL's come with single sqaures before. Bratwerst has converted the front end on his Brat to rounds from a STD.

I have done a conversion from points or older electronic distributor to a newer electronic distributor for gen 1 vehicles. It was very easy to do because the hardest thing to do is the distributor timing. Anyways, you will need 2 parts to do the conversion. First, you will need a distributor from an '83-newer EA81 (or gen 2) vehicle. Second is the coil and bracket to match it since you will be eliminating a couple things from the points distributor which are bolted to the bracket for the coil. I find it very easy to start off with the engine on TDC. Search for tips on how to get TDC in your vehicle. Next, remove the distributor cap from the original distributor but do NOT remove any plugwires yet. Figure out which plugwire is going to the #1 cylinder and the rotor, if on TDC, should be pointing to it. Now you can start removing the plugwires but do them one at a time. Transfer them over to the EA81 distributor cap one at a time. Mark on the original distributor before removing where the rotor is pointing. Now unbolt the original distributor with a 10mm wrench. Next, drop the new distributor into place, making sure it lines up with the #1 plugwire on the cap. Now compare the the mark you made on the original distributor in relation to the rotor on the new distributor. If it's not lining up the same, remove the new distributor and try it again, making sure to rotate the rotor in the corresponding direction. Once you get it lined up, bolt the distributor into place and install the distributor cap. Now comes the coil. Remove the wires going to it making sure you mark them either "Positive" or "Negative". Now remove the coil with the bracket and it should also have a small part bolted to it looking like a small box. It'll be white in color and be directly bolted to the top of the bracket. This part is no longer needed since it helped control the points distributor. Bolt the new coil into place and connect the wires. Remember! There are two wires on the new distributor that have to get connected to the coil as well and put those in their corresponding spots. Before you start it up, make sure you have a timing light handy so you can retime the vehicle. Also make sure all of your connections are tight on the coil. Start it up, time it and be on your way! The main reason for the conversion is to help aid the fuel mileage and it helps increase spark as well from what I have discovered. Like I said, I've done this to a couple of gen 1's now and it has worked pretty nice. My '78 Brat was getting 30mpg easily and that was driving with my lead foot! Go ahead, give it a shot;)

Taken from a post long ago made by SubaruTex, I decided to add it into the USRM for easier access for people interested in doing the swap. First, I will start of with the original post from Tex which includes a parts list for what is needed from donor cars and what cars to get them from. Here's the original post... So now for some tips on the conversion. 1. Where it says on the front control arms and how Hondasucks had problems with a different size bolt, I had the same issue and since I was the one who modified the crossmember for Hondasucks's '87 GL turbowagon, I did the same thing for my '89 RX. I drilled a larger hole where the bolt goes through the crossmember and through the control arm to 1/2". Then, I welded washers with the original bolt from the original control arms (regular EA82) onto the crossmember at the bottom of the hole I drilled (put bolt through the washers and through the crossmember with the washers on the outside of the crossmember). Made it work pretty easy and the control arm doesn't rub on the crossmember. He's been running like this for a couple years now with no problems and that includes a couple rallycrosses. 2. Next, if you plan on using Impreza struts in the front, you either have to A) modify the strut tower on the vehicle to match it (ream out a couple holes for the studs on the tophat) or change out the Impreza tophats for the EA82 tophats. I did B on my RX and I had no issues running the EA82 tophats on the Impreza struts. ***NOTE*** If you plan on modifying your strut towers for the Impreza tophats, you then have a wide access to upgrading to camber plates made for '93-'01 Imprezas or Legacys. 3. If you plan on running an Impreza coilover setup, it'll bolt into the front with the strut tower mod listed in #2 but the rear is totally different EA82 vs. Impreza. The rear will fit nonetheless BUT you HAVE to use the original EA82 tophats in the rear. I have yet to do this portion of the conversion and I have only read that it would work so I have not yet found out myself if it does or not. If you have ANY questions, PLEASE feel free to PM anyone on the board that has done the 5-lug conversion and they'll either be able to help you or send you in a direction of another board member to help.