bratman18

ok sorry

I have done that before, but yeah, not worth it. My back already hurts from work. So who is that anyway?

So I drove it to work and back today. On the way to work, it never got above half way on the gauge between the bottom and the red, and then this afternoon, it stayed at 1/4 for half the ride and then slowly crept up to half and stayed there. It's so weird how it's so inconsistent.

I have not tried another yet, I guess I will try that next. Thanks GD So is it really bad to drive it like it is? It is my daily right now so I have been driving to work and back everyday.

I'm really happy to see you taking the time and restoring this car instead of giving up on it. It is a nice car and one of the very few that are on this side of the country. Keep up the good work!!!!

Well, I just took it for another ride and it's the same. But it does not go above 2/3rds, so maybe it is just the difference between the two motors, and the temp sensors. I dunno. It runs great and there are no leaks anywhere. So I will just drive it and hope for the best. Thanks again for the help!

No, but I do have the fuel injection manifold on there. Where is it located? and what do I have to do?

The fan is working properly, I just double checked that. I let it run with the cap off and it just slowly ran out of the top. There were some bubbles, but not a lot. But as it ran longer it started to run out faster. Then I shut it off and it shot out all over the place........that sucked:-\ . I'm pretty sure the temp gauge is working properly. It seems like the motor is definitely hotter than it should be. It is still running at 2/3rds. So again, this sucks!!! I wish I had a hoist and everything right here, I would just yank the motor out of my Brat and put it in. But it's not that easy!!

So I just got back from a ride. I changed the thermostat, and checked for leaks, and Connie, I did check for cold spots. It definitely isn't clogged. The hoses are very hard after it gets up to temp. I also checked the oil and there is no water in it. I smelled the overflow and it smells like just plain old antifreeze. It did take a long ride before it started getting hot. It stayed at about half, and then after about 10 minutes it finally started climbing and held steady at about 2/3rds again. It does not go into the red at all, it stays about 1/4" below the red line. It does not matter how hard I drive it, it stays at that level. But it will idle and stay normal for as long as I let it. How safe is it to drive at that temp level? This sucks, I have a camping trip planned in a couple weeks, that's why I changed the motor!! Thanks for the help!! And keep the ideas coming

So what happened? Feel free to pm me if it's not a totally public thing, but again it would be cool to know if I think about going in the future. If not I understand. (I'm not trying to be nosy:grin:)

So since my motor swap to the EA81 into my EA82 GL, it has been off and on, running hot. Today was the worst. I was driving home from work and it crept up to about 2/3rds maybe a little more on the temp gauge. It's mostly only when I'm driving down the road. If it is just sitting and idling it stays nice and cool. I have a new water pump, and the only other thing is that I have 3 Hella 500's mounted on the front bumper in front of the grill. But I had 2 of them when I still had the other motor. So I dunno. I'm really hoping it's not the head gaskets. They are not visibly leaking, and when the motor was in the Brat I took it out of, it ran great with no over heating problems. So any ideas? I am going to try installing a thermostat, but it doesn't really act like that. Thanks ahead of time! -Jason

Sounds awesome! Can't wait for pics

As I have posted before, I have this same issue on my 2000 RS. It's the head gaskets. I tried the radiator cap, and it wasn't that. I bet if you look under your car, the HG's will be a little wet. Just make sure you keep the level up in your radiator and you can get away with it for a while. I actually use a turkey baster to transfer coolant from the overflow back to the radiator, it works pretty well

I just went EA81 in my 89 GL and love it. Runs great and really don't notice too much of a difference in power. I also highly recommend Bill's power steering kit!!

So it's been a while but I have done some more to the car. I still have to get some pics but here's whats new. Roof Racks installed, just cheap ones, EA81 installed with Bills EA82 power steering conversion bracket, 3 Hella 500's mounted on the front bumper, just got them wired up today. And a new CV axle installed. It's starting to look better and better. I might put my LSD rear diff in as well. I will be taking a trip to Northern Maine in a few weeks and will get to test it's off road capabilities, and the new Hella's will come in very handy while trying to avoid all the Moose that will be out after dark!!!

On any 80 or 90's Subaru, with a lift, and tranny jack I can pull a tranny in about 1-1.5 hours by myself. So about 3 hours for the whole job. It took me about 7 to change the tranny in my Brat when I did it on the concrete floor. The lift is sooooo nice!!! My record is on a woods beater 87 EA82 GL wagon. The d/r tranny blew and we wanted to have this car to bomb around in for a big party we were having. My friend and I swapped it out in an hour!!!

He sold the car

I never said it couldn't be done, but it SHOULDN'T be done!! It's just not safe. I have seen way too many trucks that have jack knifed and/or gone off the road for hauling too much. I had a friend who hooked onto a double axle car trailer with his 86 EA82 GL D/R wagon and then loaded a Brat on the trailer, and then towed it about 20 miles. So things like that can be done, but it's just not a good idea

Little older American trucks rust just as bad. I've seen both, but the only that I've seen that will take a beating everyday and be worked HARD everyday, is Toyota and Nissan. My friend does have a very nice 86 S-10 but even he says it will never live as long as a nice Toyota, and the Toyota has every bit of the hauling and carrying ability as the S-10. And anyone that is hauling 2 tons in one of these small trucks is just asking for trouble

I hauled a very similar Simplicity riding mower in the back of my Brat a few years back. Nice!

no nothing will need to be extended.

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!!

Ok so what did you use for paint and where did you get it? I definitely want to go gold now. I was pretty sure I did anyway, but this was the clincher!!! Looks awesome!! Great job

I'm finished!!! It all works. It took a lot longer than I thought it would but it's done!!! So like I stated, this kit does work with the SPFI, it is very close to the IAC but it does work, so now I have an EA81 in my EA82 GL with fuel injection and power steering!! A+ to Bill for making this kit, it had everything needed. I will get some pics later, but I'm going to bed soon so I can get up and go to bed tomorrow!

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