IsLegend9

Thanks so far, guys. We've got a voltage regulator on the way here - since it was only $25 or so, even if it isn't the problem, it'll be good to have. I might try to convince my dad to get a new battery today, just in case. I'll post again once we do a little diagnostics later today.

So I was driving the good ol' '81 GL down the highway today, and my gas gauge was getting low. Right as the light came on, the car turned off. My first thought is, alright, I must've missed the light come on before and that was it. Then I remembered that when I started it about 15 minutes before that, the accessory lights [the ones that come on right when you start the car, that show all the door lights and the parking brake and such on the little diagram of the car on the dash] as well as the battery light on the voltmeter stayed on for quite a long time longer. I manage to start the car again, and the lights stay on, and I make it maybe 300 feet before the engine turns off. So, I get my dad to bring me some gas and see if that's the problem, and the same thing happens again - the car turns on, the engine turns over and such... and then it stops. Those lights never turn off. And the voltmeter never goes right up to 14/16 and stays there - it wavers very strongly around the 12 volt marking before it turns off. Any ideas on what the problem could be? Alternator initially comes to mind. Maybe a cell is going in the battery? Any thoughts or tests to try would be great. Thanks guys.

A few opinion questions for the EA81 buffs on here. 1. Best spark plug for stock '81 auto EA-81? 2. Any particular brand / size / shape of circlip pliers for installing circlips on piston pins? 3. Any particular brand / type of silicone sealant for the case halves (and wherever else it might be used in assembling the engine)?

They didn't do any high-end tests with my GL and it's fine. I live upstate, right outside of Albany - it might be different if you're closer to the city.

GD, I'm gonna end up taking you up on that offer. I sent you a visitor message and will send you a PM once the buddy list request thing goes through. This forum is set up differently than the others I've been on so that's why it took me so long to figure out how to send you a PM. If you would rather just dart me an email, my email is IsLegend9@gmail.com.

Nah, we're not looking to rebuild the busted EA81 we have. We do realize it's probably beyond the point of safety, but here's the situation we're in. a: My dad and I have a reconditioned replacement short block, crank, rods, and new pistons, camshaft, etc., all set to assemble. b: The heads are off the old engine, and they are what's in the picture at the beginning of the thread. c: From what we can tell, apparently the crank is seized on the old engine, keeping it from turning. d: We need to reuse the torque converter, flywheel and rear engine plate (not correct term, but I don't have the book with me) on the "new" block. Those are parts we didn't get, hence why we need to remove the TC and put it on the new engine. e: There just doesn't seem to be any availability of used EA-81 engines in upstate New York, which is where we're located. These cars all seem to still be living life wonderfully on the West Cost, which is where we got the engine [Washington state] and there's nothing over here at all. Thoughts?

Alright, a bit of a bind [literally] we're in here. We had to take the torque converter off with the engine when we removed it. The problem is that the engine doesn't turn, and in order to take out the 4 [i think] bolts on the torque converter, the engine has to turn. The only place to view the bolts is through one place on the shell. Any suggestions from someone who's done that before to help at all? One way or another, the torque converter has to be removed to split the block safely, and the engine doesn't turn...

Mileage on the car is around 92k. Not sure about whether or not the engine is the original engine yet. As we've been taking it apart, it's seeming more and more like someone went in there and did something and didn't tighten things up correctly - the oil pan screws were barely tightened and one light tap with a rubber hammer took it right off. Appreciate the replies so far, this is just the start of an engine replacement project. I'll keep on putting the pictures up the further we get into the old engine if curiosity peaks. Just so you guys know, here's a picture of the car... Got it in November with less than 90k miles on it, went from there and drove it up until April when it ran into problems and hasn't run since. Engine failed because whoever replaced the filter before me didn't take the gasket off of it and it caused the oil to siphon out of it and, without realizing it, it got driven when it had little to no oil and there went the engine. About 300 miles or so shy of a change, too.

Interesting thought. My dad had a thought that the PO hadn't changed it for maybe 10-20k miles, which to me is just terrifying. I've only had the car for about 2700 miles and the place we got it from claimed they changed the oil right before they sold it to us. The nondetergent oil could make sense though. Anyone have an idea about that carbon buildup in the exhaust ports? It's about the same amount of buildup on both heads and only in the exhaust ports. The other two ports are almost completely clean. If it helps, it's an auto transmission on an '81 GL.

Taking apart an EA81 engine that most likely has a broken bearing - seems as if it got caused by a poorly changed oil filter that was changed before I got the car. But looking closer into the cylinder heads and the oil pan makes my dad and I think that's not the main reason of the problem. Took the heads off and we're looking at this sort of thing on both cylinder heads, but only in the exhaust ports. We did have some exhaust and cooling problems - mainly the car going through coolant very quickly and what we are almost positive was a head gasket needing replaced. Would just those two problems explain the huge buildup of what appears to be carbon or whatnot in those ports, or is it something more? Massive sludge on the top of the cylinder heads. Goes pretty "well" with the sludge in the next picture. Tons of sludge in oil pan. This was pretty sad to find when we took this off. This is what was beginning to make us think it wasn't just the oil filter that was the initial problem. Yet another disturbing sight was the oil pump screen. What is probably at least 40-45% of the surface area covered in carbon buildup and bits of sludge. But we're not just talking something that could be wiped off with a shop rag, this stuff was legitimately caked on and possibly through to the other side. That'll take quite a while to clean up, since we didn't end up getting a replacement in the replacement EA81 block we got. Just looking for some thoughts from the guys who probably know Soobie's a little better than me [this is an engine we're replacing from my first Subaru] and my dad, who's a British car enthusiast. What kinds of things were really going on in that engine? I'm glad we got a new block to replace it...