bratlife

No, not at all. Thats whats kinda weird about it. I can't make it budge a millimeter. It is as firm as if all bolts were still cranked down as hard as I could get them. But the bolts aren't even in at all. I know sometimes things like this get pretty stuck, but I don't know whats up with this thing.

I'm swapping out oil pumps right now and I can't seem to get the old one off. Its the four bolt kind on an EA81 and all the bolts are off, but it still won't budge. Is there something else I don't know about? Am I just and idiot? This is just so simple but I just can't get it off. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks for the tips guys. Yeah the longer bolt works perfect. good as new. I actually had another post going the other day asking about why my inner CV joint keeps going out. Its always the inner cv on the passengers side and the boot on that one is right above the catalytic converter. I'm thinkin it just gets too hot and maybe some oil hitting it causes even hotter steam right there, maybe even hot oil splatters up on the boot a little bit I was thinking. I'm thinking of welding a little metal heat shield in there. I thought about trying that heat tape just right on the cat, but I've never used it and I don't know if it even really does anything. The drivers side CV lasted about 45k miles. where as the passenger side (next to the cat) only lasted about 10k the last couple of times.

Ok, so I just changed one of my front axles for what seems like the hundredth time and when I put it back together everything went as normal, except... a bolt striped out. It is the bolt on the steering knuckle that pinches the ball joint on the end of the suspension arm, if that makes sense. So, the ball joint on the suspension arm IS popped up into place in the bottom of the steering knuckle. There just isn't the bolt that keeps it from popping back out. How important is that bolt? It seems like the upward pressure of the suspension arm and the snug fit it has in the steering knuckle would make it pretty hard for it to come out, but I really have no idea. I don't know if the threads on the inside of the steering knuckle are stripped or not. I just wonder if its ok to drive around without that bolt just to the hardware stores to try to find a new bolt and see if it works. If the threads on the inside are toast, is my only option to find an new steering knuckle at a junk yard? This is kinda hard to explain. I hope you guys can sorta tell what I'm talking about. Thanks for any help or thoughts anybody has on this for me.

I guess I'm not really sure about it. I do know that when the boot finally rips, a ton of grease flies everywhere for a while, but it wouldn't hurt to get some of the grease you recommended also I guess. I'll try that for sure. Thanks a lot.

Thanks for the write up. All good info. I try to be carefull with u turns and such, but I'll admit I can be a bit hard on them sometimes. I don't use grease because I'm not changing out just the cv joint. On the EA81's the whole axle is sold as one piece with both cv's on it. Maybe I should pack it with grease myself also? I just figured it was best to not open it up at all. But if I did I could throw zip ties on instead of the metal ones. Although the boot has never ripped at the edge, its always in the middle of the boot, the tear. Also, I should have mentioned that the INNER CV is the only ones that have ever gone out on me, and those are the ones with the bigger boot already. I feel like maybe I need a better heat shield in there too. That might be my biggest problem. That and having to do a u turn everytime I park in my driveway.

Yeah thanks for the reply. I kinda need to stick to the Napa brand even if I gotta change them out a lot, because they are free every time they go out at least. Do you know of any tricks to protecting the boot a little bit more? I could try to weld a little plate in there, but there isn't any super good places to weld to. Do people use rubber or anything that you know of? Thanks a bunch.

Hi there. first I want to thanks everybody on here for helping me out so much over the past few years. Without all you, my Brat would not still be charging at 308k miles. I hit 300k last winter and snapped a photo for kicks (attached). My current problem: I have a 85 brat with an EA81 and I have had to replace the right axle about every six months, and the left one twice over the last four years. Luckily its not too hard or long of an operation and napa's have a lifetime guarantee so it doesn't cost me nothin, but its still kind of a pain sometimes. Why are they going out so often? The boot on the right side is directly above the catalytic converter. the exhaust has an extra layer of metal around the catalytic converter but I don't know if there is supposed to be something else, like a shield somewhere between that and the axle. Also I leak some oil (I think just from the oil pan) that I'm sure hits the exhaust somewhere under the boot for the CV. Could that cause some sort of extra heat or hot oil splattering that could cause the boot to crack and then tear prematurely? Any help or thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

thanks for all the help. I put in new u joints on both ends yesterday and it is working perfect. All the vibration is gone. I heard that it is a huge pain in the ars to do the u joints, but it all seemed pretty quick and easy I thought. I'm gonna change the diff oil tomorrow as well. I looked at the tranny mounts and they seemed to be alright, but I don't really know what they are supposed to look like either. I mean, its still hangin on there, but I don't know how much play they should have or not. any body have any more specific info on that. Sorry for having late replies to everybody, but I live in a place that doesn't get internet so I gotta drive to the next town every couple of days to check emails and stuff. thanks again for all the help.

sweet. thanks a lot for all the replies. thats what my plan has been. just swap out the u joints and then see if I still have a problem. Just picked them up this afternoon, so I guess I'll start in on it a soon as I get a chance. probably in a couple days. somebody said something about replacing the entire driveshaft itself. Is there any reason that it can go bad? I was just thinking all I needed to do was replace the u joints and keep using the same drive shaft. any thoughts on this. thanks a lot.

So did you end up having to replace the whole thing? Do you know if there is a way to somehow check if it is going out without taking it out? or what part of it is failing, like the outer bearings or something? thanks for any help with this. -scotty

thanks a bunch for the replies. I was thinking it was more than just the rear u joints because the vibration is still pretty crazy even when just in 2wd. its worst at around 30mph and gets pretty bad again around 50 mph. It was rattling so bad that everything around the whole car was making noise. Still think it is just u joints? I have to change them either way. thanks again for the help.

Hi there, I have had a ton of help from a bunch of you on here in the past and I really appreciate it. It is the reason that my brat is still on the road these days, even at just over 300k miles now. But, I have some more questions, that hopefully some of you could help me out with. I have an 85 brat thats running great these days, but having some drive line issues. the u joints on the front end of the drivetrain ( the end that is up against the back of the differential) is completely shot, so I'm replacing that as soon as the new ones come in. But I am worried that there is more to the vibrating than just the u joints. How can I tell if the differential is going out? thanks a lot for any thoughts you all might have on this.

I'm living up in Glacier WA right now and was wondering if anybody lives around here that has any good spots to find some old GL's or anything to pull some parts off of. I have an 85 brat with an EA81. Thanks a lot for any tips.

Thanks a buch for the reply. Do you know if the company really makes a difference with these things? or are they all pretty much about the same quality? DO you know? thanks a lot for your help.

OK thanks for the reply anyway. Did you order them from rockford driveline or find them somewhere else? Don't know if it makes a difference or not, but the ones on the rear end of the driveshaft seem fine, but the one at the end that connects to the differential has sheared off completely. It vibrates so bad that I worry something else might going out as well, but can't feel or hear anything beyond the vibrating from this. I changed out both front axles in the fall, so those should be fine at least. Thanks for any thoughts that any of you might have on this.

I just read something on a different thread that said its best to just change out the entire driveline. Anybody have any thoughts on this? I'm pretty familiar with the u-pull-its around portland but I'm living up in glacier WA right now, so does anybody know if there are any junkyards around Bellingham that have some older GL cars in them? Thanks in advance for any help.

I looked around on the boards here for the part number for u joints but couldn't find the exact ones I need. It looks like its best to order them from Rockford Driveline, but I need to know the exact part number to do that. Can anybody help me out with that? 85 brat EA81 4wd. thanks a bunch.

Sorry to keep dragging this thread out, but I just wanted to check something real quick before I head out to the u pull its in search of a new coil. I know I need the coil and distributor to match. and I know I have a Hitachi disrtibutor (I double checked the serial number online). but the coil I pulled out of my car has no numbers or writing of any kind on it. I was just going to get one that looked just like the one I had, but realized maybe somebody had put a crappy after market one in here, and thats why it went out on me? So... is there a quick visual test to see if it is a hitachi coil or not? does anybody have a photo of each by chance? thanks a bunch for all the help

thanks a lot. It looks like it is the coil after all. I think. I don't have an OHMS reader but I used a tester light on the coil: Light on, on positive, nothing on negative even when cranking it. So I got power coming in, and nothing coming out, which from what I understand, makes my coil the culprit. I think I remember reading somewhere that it matters to get an OEM part for these. Is that true? If so I doubt I want to pay what they charge for them, so would it be better to get a $35 one from the local auto parts or get a used, but OEM one from the u-pull-it?

Thanks, i'm trying this in a minute. But I don't really understand what you are talking about when checking for open winding/bad fuse by "looking for 12v at coil". I'm not sure what you're saying to do there. thanks.

Yup, rotor is spinning. i'm not sure how fast it should be spinning, but it does spin when somebody cranks the engine.

I checked all the fuses, but didn't think about the rotor, i'll go do that right now. I still need to check the coil thought, but can't seem to find what ohms it should read.

anybody know what ohm it should read?

I have an 85 brat with an EA81. It just shut off while driving the other day and hasn't started since. It was running perfect up to just shutting off out of nowhere. All you guys have helped me out so much in keeping my brat on the road, and I really appreciate it. Hoping you guys can help once again though with this one. I'm getting fuel, but no spark. I took the distributer cap off and blew a hot hairdryer in there for a few minutes just to make sure there was no moisture in it, but it didn't make a difference. I wasn't getting a spark at the plugs, so I pulled the wire off the coil and held it close and it didn't arc either, so I'm guessing that might be the culprit. So what I'm asking first is: am I on the right track here. what else should I be looking at? Also, what ohm should my ignition coil have? When I was searching for answers on old threads there was talk about an "ignition amplifier", but my car doesn't seem to have one. Is that possible or am I just an idiot. thanks in advance for the tips.