skishop69

So I started the swap a week ago Sunday and farted around with it during the week. Finished it Sunday. What a world of difference. no more winding the rubber band to oblivion getting on the freeway or climbing steep grades. lol Some things I would like to mention about the swap.... If you wish to keep your stock interior and don't have access to a welder and good fabbing skills.... BUY JERRY's KIT! lol I did not as I have done more fabbing then I can remember. It was not fun and I'm sure Jerry's (bratsRus) kit would have been worth the money in time saved alone taking measurements, tack welding, fitting and readjusting. If you don't care about the stock interior, then be sure you grab the floor center console, the 4wd shifter and radio center console so it 'looks' like it's stock. The old parts won't work without making it look funky and even with the EA82 parts, you're still going to be fabbing stuff. A lot of you know I am somewhat of a purist when it comes to my Brats. If I can't modify it without permanently altering the vehicle, I won't do it. This means no drilling of holes or cutting of metal. This made things a lot more fun for me. Other than grinding the inspection opening at the bottom of the engine bell housing, everything I did is completely and easily reversible. And.... I still wonder if it was worth the effort. lol The only thing semi permanent was the drive line center support mount. I didn't really find anything substantial on how people were doing it other than drilling things and bolting.... If you have access to a welder, 2- 5" long pieces of 1 1/2" by 3/16" angle iron fit perfectly with the angles of the tranny hump and the angles on the carrier (support) mounts with minimal bending. Drill the appropriate sized holes in each piece in your chosen location, weld nuts to the inside, bolt them somewhat snug to the carrier, brace the driveline in place and tack weld them to the body. Remove the driveline and complete the welds. You need to fully weld them, or the body will eventually crack around the welds. Now I know someone is saying, "That's permanent!" Kind of... the angle iron can be cut above the weld and ground off, re-undercoated and no one will ever notice. Something to point out here... Remove the seats, pull back the carpet and place a folded up, wet towel over the area you will be welding. You don't want to catch the carpet jute or the sound deadening tar paper on fire. No, I did not find this out the hard way. lol Well, I did, but 20+ years ago.... The stick, linkage and stick 'shelf' or mount were modified in such a way that the shelf is attached only to the transmission and not the tranny and body. This required some extra support on the shelf mounting tube and from the shelf to the mounting plate on the tranny to keep it from eventually breaking. I also modified the bolt on 'ears' to the tranny that hold the tranny mounts. This dropped the tranny down far enough to not hit the inside of the tranny hump and keep the factory driveline angle as well as the exhaust angle.The two latter items are not terribly crucial, but I didn't want to beat the tunnel to fit or listen to the tranny thumping it and put extra stress on the poorly engineered exhaust manifold mounting studs. There have been questions as to the wiring for the 4wd and 4lo switches and lights. EA81 4wd is switched from the stick itself and the 4lo is switched from the tranny. On the EA82, both are switched from the tranny. According to the EA82 schematics, there are 2 switches to do this. Not the case. It is one housing containing both switches. If you wire it up as suggested by others, you will get a 4lo light in 4wd and a 4wd light in lo. If I read the posts correctly. Looking at the schematics, it shows 3 wires coming out ot the switches. 4 technically, but the the black 'wires' are joined for ground and then the blue/red for 4wd and the green/black for 4lo. If you look at the switch on the tranny, you only see 2 wires. The blue/red and the green/black. This indicates that the switch is grounded internally through the tranny and the black 'wire' does not even exist. Mind you, the tranny IS supposed to be grounded to the body with a black wire. So, this means that when you shift to 4wd, one switch is closed to ground lighting the indicator. When you shift to lo, the other switch is the closed to ground turning on the lo indicator. If both switches are closed to ground, then there is continuity in the blue/red and green/black wires. If you use these 2 wires, then you get the backwards indicator lamps. If you use the blue/red wire from the EA82 tranny and connect it to only the blue/red wire on the original connector for the EA81, you SHOULD get the correct indicator lights. I say should, because I was to ramped up to drive the damn thing after all the fabbing to worry about reverse lights and indicators. lol If this is not the case, I have already figured out a way to correct the problem using a relay but I won't go into that until I test the other wiring in the next week. One last thing I noticed after the swap. The clutch cable had to be adjusted so that the throw out bearing has constant contact with the pressure plate to achieve proper clutch pedal throw. From a mechanical standpoint, this is no bueno as the TO bearing is supposed to be slightly off the pressure plate when disengaged so as not to keep it spinning/loaded and cause premature TO failure. This would indicate that the EA82 has more throw than the EA81 at the top of the clutch pedal. IE: The distance from the EA82 clutch pedal pivot to the top of the pedal is longer than the distance on the EA81 pedal causing the clutch cable to pull farther than on an EA81. Again, this is an assumption because I am was lazy to go uncover my XT to check it. I will check it as well, and if correct and possible, it would be wise to swap the EA81 pedal with the EA82 pedal to maintain proper throw to maintain proper throw and avoid premature TO failure. Yes, it works fine now, but it's not 'right' and I am anal about such things. I will update on the last 2 items. If you haven't considered this swap, or have been putting it off... DO IT! lol It's a whole new vehicle!

If it's what I think you're referring to, it's called a pulsator and really has no effect on flow. It's there to dampen or smooth out the pulses caused by the fuel pump, and Bratman is correct, it doesn't need to be there. We pull them all the time on older Chevys with no issues.

Yeah, they look sweet and IF I had a set and IF they sat around long enough..... I might just do it. lol I do have one Brat I would, but just because by the time I'm done bringing it back from a rust pile for off roading, it won't be worth much anyway. They would be super cool though.

Bed rails were an aftermarket accessory, not factory so it's up to you where to put them. I love how they looked, but I personally wouldn't drill holes in any Brat that was in good shape. JMTC

Feel free! Just send me a quick pm with your name and what you're driving so I know when you show. Lol Got a few more things to do on the Brat. Finish out the bed, re-dye the plastic and put the trim back on.

Has nothing to do with highbrow. I said DIRT cheap or donated. Like $300 and needing work.I don't have a lot of spare income now that our household is do to one. And since you decided to open your mouth about it, I doubt there is anyone who doesn't know about or check CL first. To mention it would be a little insulting like, "Hey I know that sink fitting is leaking. Did you try and tighten it?" or "Hey, I noticed your head on fire. Would you like me to put that out?" Pardon me for trying to do something nice for someone. XT off Canton you say? Ummmmm.... Red perhaps? Or blue under a tarp? That would be my backyard and my daughters XT and my 87.5. lmao I had to do HG's and a few other things, and she's coming up with the money to register and insure the red one. If this is going to turn into a bashing thread or more smarta** comments, then moderators just delete it as I don't need that kind of BS when I'm trying to help someone out. And a sincere thanks to the Legacy referral, but it's out of the range we can afford to do. I appreciate it though.

Really!? CL??? Never thought of that..... +1 for not cheap and most likely getting a snow job. I trust the members here because I've done business with quite a few and never had any issues. I did this once before for another friend and picked up a decent XT and brought it back to life. (Twice now actually. Our daughter has it now) It's a great group and people help when they can. If it doesn't pan out, I'll keep looking.

So we just found out a friend of ours has been car-less for 5 years because her d-bag ex won't pay child support for his 3 kids. Anywhoo... I'm trying to throw something together and looking for a little help. Anyone who has a non-runner sitting around or something that just needs work and who would be willing to donate it or sell it dirt cheap would be greatly appreciated. I'm going to be footing the cost for this and my wife just lost her job (love this economy) so the cheaper the better. I know it's tough for everyone, so just seeing if anything is possible. We just couldn't believe it ourselves even though we usually only see her when we're out since she lives way north. Thanks in advance!

Engines don't normally seize on there own all of a sudden without neglect or catastrophic failure. You drove it in fine with ONLY 84 K and now it's seized??? Pretty sure in CA he is responsible. Call the Ca BAR (beareau of automotive repair). He owes you an engine. I know every placed I've worked in Wa, if we had the vehicle when something went wrong, we ate it. I just don't see an EA81 with only 84K just all of a sudden seizing unless it were run bone dry on oil or someone free revved it into oblivion.

Major bummer dude.... major....

+1 on the bezel. Also, you will find no aftermarket harware for mounting the stereo. You'll have to fab up a mount and faceplate yourself.

What you have is EMI coming from the alternator. Install a ground loop isolator on the switched ignition and ground circuit of the radio. Guarantee this is where it's coming from. Because of the modulation of AM broadcast and the internal amplifier of the radio, the AM frequency is more prone to pick up the EMI. As you throttle down, the need for voltage from the alternator is reduced and it takes some time for the regulator to 'see' this, so you have an increase in line amperage that isn't really going anywhere at the time. You can get the ground loop isolator from Radio Schmuck.

This is an internal problem that a fluid change will most likely not help. If you're getting a grind, or a temporary 'lack' of shifting, Your blocking ring for that gear is worn and will continue to do so. IF it's gear specific. If it's all gears, I'd say you've got some kind of clutch issue. Possibly not fully disengaging.

I couldn't remember if the RX came non-turbo. Thanks for the correction!

Platinums are designed to run a hotter coil, so they can give you trouble in older applications depending on the coil. Yes, they are better, but only when paired with the correct ignition system. NGK all the way. Don't waste your money on something else, especially the Bosch crap. Horsepower and fuel economy gains my butt. In older cars, negligeable at best. I've tried them all in different ages of vehicles and noted nothing worth the extra coin.

Not a Loyale. American equivalent looks like a GL Coupe, or possibly and RX. Either way, it you order a cap a rotor for an American 89 RX, non turbo MPFI, you should get the right one.

It's all dependent on doing it correctly as has been previously stated. My 84 Brat... 10 years on the same clutch, roughly 80K miles and I'm just about to change my SECOND set of pads and the rear shoes are still on my first set. My 95 3/4 ton, BB, king cab Chev... 60K on the clutch I installed when I bought it, and just into my second set of pads and this truck is used for my camper, boat, sleds or hauling. I don't care what the *experts* (coughing noise *bullsh*t*) say, no where I can find has anyone actually ever done a real world study on this. I've got enough proof sitting in my driveway to know there's nothing wrong with it. Yes, there is a little extra wear on your TO bearing, but if you bought good parts, it shouldn't matter. Synchro's.... Negligeable wear if you shift properly and your fluid is up to snuff. Gas mileage.... No effect what so ever. Just because your RPM's come up does NOT mean more fuel is being added. If you don't step on the gas pedal, the ECU does not see an input from the TPS and will not add fuel. In fact, if you are decelerating, depending on the car, foot off the gas, the ECU will do one of two things: Take the injectors down to bare minimum, or shut them down all together, IE, deceleration cutoff. In the case of a carb, unless you step on the throttle, the throttle plate stays closed and vacuum at the carb does not increase, and therefore does not draw in any more fuel than idling. I've got a 60 mile round trip commute each day on the freeway in stop & go traffic. I may actually use my brakes to stop 12-15 times on the trip. It makes people pay attention, and the stay the hell back when they see you've slowed down and there were no brake lights. I do pay attention to the schmucks behind me to make sure they are paying attention, but then again I always do. Reality trumps theory every time.....

You want to use Loctite 1104 or red anaerobic sealer/gasket eliminator to seal the case. Burring is not that common unless abused.

Did you use the EA82 flywheel, PP and disc? If you didn't, I believe that's your problem. You can't use the EA81 flywheel unless it's 84 and up.

Never said any of it was dumb EXCEPT for mounting the tank in the cab or engine compartment. I'm all for zero emissions. I also do the hybrids and the Volt. Just pointing out you're looking at thousands of dollars (3 at least) for a safe, viable system. You legally can't use a forklift tank. Huge fine if you get caught. I'm not trying to be an a**. I just know people who have been killed trying to half a** this stuff, or worse, kill someone else in an accident. I do all kinds of sh*t just for grins. Lifted a J10 pick up 8" with all custom suspension I built. Ramped 786 and would still carry a camper with only 2" of squat. Dumped in a 400hp SB400, 5spd, 3/4 ton corporate Chevy running gear and built a 30 gallon fuel cell for it since the pos came with a 16 gallon tank. people asked why.... Because I can! lol I get it. I'm just saying don't cut corners and do lots of research.

Wow.... is all I can say to that.

A few things to point out... You can't just throw a regular carb on and go. Won't work. Second, you need a minimum of 9.5:1 compression or a small engine like that will be a gutless t*urd and run like garbage. Third and most important... The tank CANNOT be mounted in the engine compartment or inside the passenger compartment. Aside from the absolute stupidity and safety issues, it's a violation of federal law. You have to have a specially rated horizontal tank mounted where your gas tank was and should build a safety cage around it. Lastly, if you want any kind of dependability out of it, IE: long life, you'll want forged pistons, moly rings and stainless exhaust valves. I'm the LPG tech along with being the driveability and diesel guy at work. I've rebuilt more than a few LPG and propane engines and conversions on carbed rigs time consuming and frustrating. What was #1 at the top of this thread.... Are you very patient? Not trying to discourage you, but you really need to research this. There's a reason LPG didn't really take off until fuel injection came along

There are a few things it can be, but unfortunately they are all internal. Bent shift fork, seized shift rod or a bad synchro slider. You can try snapping the throttle open and close while driving so the car is jerking and pull back on the stick at the same time. It may come out, but unfortunately it will most likely stick again.

There is another possibility here.... The mechanic is still a schmuck either way. The way I read it is a cam seized up. If it got low enough on oil, the first things that get starved are the cam journals. It is possible to gall a cam journal causing it to seize, break the worn belt and then be freed back up. I have freed 'seized' cams on Hondas before. If it starts and runs, check the oil pressure with a mechanical gauge and see where it's at. If it looks good or not, you'll have an accurate reading of where it is. Find out which side seized and pull that cam tower. Remove the cam and inspect the journals. If the damage is minimal and the oil pressure good, you could theoretically get away with smoothing the journal with emery cloth an reassemble it. If it's bad, you can replace that head and cam tower with used parts WAY cheaper and be back on the road right. No reason that motor can't hit 300K if it's not abused and you maintain the cooling system. Be nice to the mechanic until you get the information, then fire his sorry a**.

It's not the studs. You have to have enough material to tap into and there isn't with a booster. Trust me, I have experience with this. It is a BAD idea. What 'seals' are you looking for?