el_freddo

Can those hose connections be drilled out, tapped and an aftermarket tab put in there? Just trying to think outside the box. Also to help with general coolant temps I've got a mate that has put a small motorcycle radiator between the turbo's return line and the engine - the radiator mounts neatly out the front of the stock AC radiator up front. He's done this with both of his EA82Ts and reports no heat issues in summer stop start traffic (35+ deg C). Cheers Bennie

Three main things to think about with the EA82 and the cooling system: 1) Is the radiator clean and in good condition? Over here I destroyed an engine with a blocked radiator - it was over 50% blocked when the end tank let go due to age and heat cycles. Get your radiator rodded (remove an end tank and carefully clean out each cooling channel with a fine metal rod), or get a new radiator if it's old. 2) Water pump - if in unknown condition it's a good idea to get it sorted with a new one. I prefer the cast iron impeller rather than the pressed metal one - for the reasons mentioned above 3) Thermostat: Make sure it's still working properly - test it in a pot of water on the stove, suspend it in the water rather than sit it on the bottom of the pot - sitting it on the bottom of the pot will create inaccurate results as the heat from the heat source will be greater than the temp of the water, so if it's faulty it can appear to still be opening at the correct water temp. Also make sure you've still got the little pressed metal plates under the radiator/engine on either side as these help create a low pressure air system in the engine bay to draw air through the radiator when moving - sitting in traffic they don't do much Hope this helps! Cheers Bennie

Awesome work mate! With the engine up that high, how are you going to do the drive shafts down from the gearbox to the hubs? I'm thinking you might be using a divorced transfer case but can't work out how that would actually work... I'm curious! Cheers Bennie

No worries guys, thanks for the heads up I might just stick with modding a set of stock heads with a screw in injector boss... I'm still some time off starting this project Cheers Bennie

You wouldn't happen to be keen to send a set of matching heads my way would you (Oz)? The only problem I can see is that this project is about being a tight arse, I hope I don't offend if they are offered and I turn them down due to the cost. Regards Bennie

Check your cam tensioner pulley mounting bolts. I've seen several that have come loose and sound like a knock in the bottom end. Hopefully it's something as simple as this... Gearboxes - the EJ AWD would be the easiest to find. You can fit one of these in an L series gearbox casing without any troubles - just need a single range EA gearbox to use the front casings on the EJ box. The speedo drive gear on the EJ gearset is different to the L series one, so your speedo might be out unless you can work out what follower gear is needed. Then you'll need to mod the gearbox crossmember, shifter linkages and prop/tail shaft. By putting the EJ internals into an EA set of casings you end up with a bolt on AWD gearbox to an EA82 with the stock clutch setup... Clear as mud? Cheers Bennie

For the radiator? I believe the TS183 is the one in the radiator to trigger the thermo fans. This isn't interchangeable with the temp sender unit. Cheers Bennie

Very normal! It would kind of be like disconnecting your diaphragm and seeing if your body still operates as expected... You should probably also reset the ECU after doing this, otherwise you may get a check engine light or a stored code. Cheers Bennie

Easiest would be to drop in the single range 4 speed, it'll bolt straight in from what I know. That would work, just make sure you don't slip it into 4wd Cheers ​Bennie

No worries, I've been trolling Google images and have found a few good ones. But if you could still take those pics and get those measurements that would be awesome help in working out what I'm going to do. Been looking for injector bosses but can't find anything that looks like it would suit my needs. Cheers Bennie

There is an EA82 MPFI "spider manifold" that points the throttle body towards the firewall much like the EJ's do. But that should be able to be unbolted and placed where ever you want. With the NA and turbo MPFI "run of the mill" EA82s the throttle body is positioned straight up. This part should be relatively easy to move to where I want it come the day I get to this point. I would be using the hot wire MPFI system for the management on this engine - only because I've got a couple of setups stashed in the shed. Will EJ20 pistons actually fit in an EA81? I'd reckon that the EJ18 would be more like the go due to the same capacities if they were to fit at all - or do you have to more out the EA81 block for them to fit? Drilled oil feed holes - on the piston head or for the turbo? Just curious! The tick tick ticky tick drives me nuts with the EA82s! I love how EFI setups look after them selves, return good fuel economy and good performance when needed. I'm hoping the EA81 MPFI will do the same thing with the same EA81 reliability they're known for! That's the aim. Cheers Bennie

Yeah it is interesting. Will have to do some research on this one and see what I can dig up over here to play with! Cheers Bennie

I believe the autos use a sort of clutch pack arrangement to engage 4wd. If these are worn out you won't get any drive to the rear end. How ever if you get one that's never been used offroad they're pretty bloody tight when engaged in 4wd! As for the wiring, make sure everything on gearbox is connected and undamaged - one broken wire and the system won't work as I'm sure it's all electrical even with these old non TCU operated autos. Cheers Bennie

It's greatly appreciated! Sounds about right Ivan, I didn't know the trick with the lower radiator hose. Why do you specifically need an '85 EA82 throttle body? I was going to adapt an MPFI one to keep it all related to the wiring harness and associated sensors... Regards Bennie

That's awesome mate! Could I please be a pain and ask for the last photo to be reshot and have one from the front and rear of the head to look at angles a bit better? I'm also keen to see what the factory fuel lines look like since you've got them in that last pic; and the last thing, a measurement for the face of the injector boss that's cast into the heads, how high it sits off the outside of the casting. This is pretty exciting stuff for me over here as we never got the EA81T from factory, even their heads are super rare! Does anyone know of injector bosses that can be purchased to have welded in place like the above? I'm wanting to do this to a set of NA heads as a shits and giggle project. If not I guess I'll have to machine up a set. Thanks heaps for the pics and help so far BRATMAN! Cheers Bennie

It will rotate the correct way. The IFS diff in the toyotas effectively runs backwards to what the gears are cut for - I can't remember the technical term is for this. Anyway it can work, the hardest part will be working out how to attach the rear drive shafts and how to make them shorter and still have the full movement of the rear suspension. The long shaft of the IFS is removed, 6mm shaved off it's mounting face and then you'll be able to fit a matching oil seal and output shaft that's used on the other side from factory. I've done the research on this, just haven't had the time to play with it. Once this is sorted out there are a range of diff ratios available from factory and aftermarket, and the lockers... well, that's the aim of the whole thing! Mounting it in the rear wouldn't be hard to work out, lengthen the prop shaft and you're sorted. I've thought about this combination for quite some time, even have an IFS yota diff in the shed to play with that I've not had time for Sorry for the hijack! Cheers Bennie

That'd be great Bratman! Cheers Bennie

Been a while on this one - did it end up turning out as a successful conversion? Cheers Bennie

Thread dig: I'm wondering if you've got any pics of this conversion, I'm namely after how you mounted the injectors as I too am interested in doing this to an EA81. The subaru MPFI system works fine for what I want and I think that and the EA81 should make for an interesting combination for a cheap daily driver. Regards Bennie

Total thread dig while looking for info on EA81 MPFI custom setups... This engine above Miles, is it mechanical injection or what? I can't work out what that cluster of fuel lines are on the Passenger's side. Regards Bennie

Yeah maybe, but when going remote for 5-7 days you need to be totally self sufficient. Plus we're touring so leaving stuff at camp isn't always an option and I don't trust others that might visit our camp when we're gone - there are some real bastards around here This is what my subi looks like all loaded up with my wife and I for a 9 day trip that incorporated a wedding, a stint in a remote area for 7 days then a trip to the high country (snow) - so we needed to be prepared for the wedding, hot summer like weather plus remote touring and have our gear to rug up in for the high country. Here's Ruby Scoo with all of that: And Ruby Scoo loaded up with three, wasn't really cool but she did it well: Too true monstaru! Love the remote stuff - gotta drive 5 hours to get there but it's worth it! Cheers Bennie

I've made up a rear cargo storage area, I'm still refining it but the main sections are there: Milk creates replaced with proper storage containers that have been carefully selected for their size to fit in and to what they're carrying. Light for night time. The most has been made of all storage areas, these are behind the rear seats and fit in really well. Then came the walls of the setup and this has added a lot of easy organisation of the whole thing... Just about all the tools I need are carried here - jack, handle, block of wood, random bucket of tools containing things like a spare rear bearing and replacement tool kit (custom), deep socket set, tub of high temp grease, G clamp, welding gloves for hot stuff. Then there's my electrical box, socket/spanner set, ammo box of other tools and small air compressor, soft hammer and small mallet. Dual battery for running the 40L engel - goes well, still sorting out appropriate gauges to watch what the battery is doing. Also this setup allows me to use the cargo area under the floor in the rear of the L series, random stuff gets put in there at the moment. As for spare drive shafts, they live down the side of the setup on the LHS, I only carry one front and one rear shaft, plus the 36mm socket and 3/4 inch drive breaker bar to do the tough work for me. Cheers Bennie

If you want the best torque you can't go past the H6 with a manual gearbox - period! A mate of mine has a 2.5L liberty converted to a H6 and it simply FLIES! The trick to getting good fuel economy is to build a box that will suit the engine - keep those revs lower than the H4 and you'll come out on top - but flog it all the time and that will go out the window, not that I can see you doing that all the time! Again, I think the manual with a lower 5th gear would be best for this. Check out All Drive Suparoo in Australia for the lower 5th gear set, it's not expensive and I believe it's not difficult to swap it. Looks like a very interesting project, certainly a strange looking machine! We don't get anything like that over here... All the best with it! Cheers Bennie

Here's my write up That's basically how I did mine Cheers Bennie

I hope this helps things along And before a few of the above pics - is this offroad enough for you?? Love my subi - Ruby Scoo, but we've not been out enough this year due to work mainly - oh, and living in an un-interesting flat country doesn't help! Cheers Bennie