jeffroid

Can't really offer any specific advise on fixing rust, never tried to do it. Of all the EA81s I've owned, only one had a serious rust problem, and that was on the rockers (parts under the doors) and bottoms of the fenders. That seems to be fairly common. The rust and a minor front end fender bender turned that car into a parts donor. Around this area, it's easy to find old cheap Subaru bodies which makes fixing extensive rust damage not really worth the trouble. I posted yesterday about picking up an 83 Gl-10 sedan for someone in need that needs a windshield. That car has fairly extensive surface rust on the top part of one of the front fenders, and much rust on the chrome front bumber, which I thought was kind of unusual. Luckily, there doesn't appear to be any rust around the windshield, which I am hoping will greatly simplify it's replacement.

Welcome. You have come to the right place. I really don't have any particularly clever answers to your general questions, but I have had a lot of experiences with Subarus of your era. I am fairly new here myself, but I have found this site to be an incredible source of information, and frequented by some very nice and helpful people. Just keep reading here, use the search function, and ask specific questions when you need help.

My girlfriend's son has been bugging me to find him a cheap car. I saw an '83 GL-10 sedan today on Craigslist today so I went and looked at it. Long story short, I drove it home. Cutting to the quick here, it need a windshield. What's the cheapest most resonable way to get a replacement? Unfortunately. all my EA81 parts cars have cracked windshields. If a junkyard is the way, how does one go about getting one out without breaking it? Any other options? I'd hate for the kid to have to pay more for the windshield than what I picked up the car for.

Sorry, Bro, I just looked and couldn't find the tread either. I distinctly remember a thread a couple of months ago that had photos and everything. I've read that adaptors are available from stereo shops, but I've never actually seen one on an EA81. I saw one on an EA82 and I didn't like the way they looked so I made one for my EA81 myself out of aluminium. I do have access to an NC milling machine, so that certainly helped. I can take some photos of mine if that would help, but I haven't gotten around to figuring out how to link photos on this site yet, and I'm going to be pretty busy this week. If your internet connection can handle photos via e-mail, let me know an I'll e-mail a couple of shots to you. Seems like what most people do (and what I did) was to take the coin tray out, enlarge that hole, and install the new deck there. Then put the coin tray where the factory radio used to be. That works slick, and you still have the coin tray.

It is too deep. You have to buy or make a spacer to extend the face of the tune unit out in front of the face of the console. Do a search. There has been much discussion on this topic, including many photos.

I didn't know either, and after a while I figured out that it must mean replying to the post in question so it gets bumped back to the top of the list.

Yes, I've had several EA81 wagons. The ones that didn't have the factory racks sounded like a drum, the ones that did, didn't.

There as been much discussion about this very recently. It is definitely very easy to do without a press. Whether or not doing it without a press reduces the life of the bearings is subject for discussion. Since I don't have a press, and don't have anybody that I would trust to do it even if I was inclined to pay them, I do it myself without a press. Again, there has been much discussion recently, and I haven't done it in a while, but I seem to recall just tapping them out with brass drift, cleaning everything up real well, and tapping the thoroughly greased new ones in using only the outside races. You can also use a block of wood to hammer on, or use the axle and nut and assortment of washers to pull the new ones in.

Like everyone is saying, if it's a clicking or a clunking sound, it could be the CV's. My experience has been that wheel bearings make more of a scraping sound. The way I could tell mine were going out is to coast down a relatively long section of downhill street if you can find it. If you barely turn the steering wheel from side to side, you can hear the sound of the scraping change as the loading on the bearings changes. Whereas when my CV's were going out it got loudest when the wheel was cranked under power. There was much discussion very recently, like a couple of weeks ago, in regards to whether you needed a press or not to replace the bearings. You can definitely do it without a press. If doing so reduces the life if the bearings or not is subject for argument.

Can't say for sure because I am sitting at my desk supposed to be working. But when I was changing the oil filter on my EA81t it appeared that there were extra oil lines attached to the oil pump. I presumed that these were the oil lines to the turbo. So, unless I am wrong, that would be a difference.

In my case, hanging around this board has definitely changed my perception and given me confidence in the older subarus. I have owned EA81s for years, but only stumbled across this board a few months ago. I found it when I was looking for a replacement engine for my '83 wagon. Well, after a few weeks of posting and searching, I went from looking for another engine to figuring out that there wasn't really anything wrong with mine. I got it going again and have been driving it ever since. Subsequently, I picked up an '84 turbo wagon in near cherry condition but with a toasted motor. I am now trying to bone up on information and all the parts I will need to rebuild or replace the engine and swap the AT for a five speed. There is no way I ever would have considered any of that without this board.

Man, that is awesome - thanks very much. I'm off this Friday. I'll make some calls ! ! !

Many cars use an air injection system with an air pump. Some of these systems are designed to bypass the air from the pump back to the air cleaner when the cat gets too hot, preventing the cat from getting even hotter yet. I know this because that's the way the air injection system on my Toyota works. I don't recall ever seeing a Subaru with an air pump, but that doesn't mean anything. I don't know much about Subaru emission systems, but I have owned several EA81s, and there is much difference from year to year with all the different emissions systems. I don't recall ever seeing a probe in any of my cats, but that doesn't mean anything either.

I agree, and thanks for the link to the old thread. Again, it’s just a matter of degree I guess. A little misalignment should not be any problem, but if you get it off far enough loads will be transferred through the rubber to the bearing. I think I’d rather go one piece, but I don’t see anybody stepping up with recommendations for a shop that can lengthen my driveshaft for a reasonable price. So I guess unless somebody does, when I get ready to do it I’ll have to make a bracket using all this helpful advice. When I get more time I’ll scout around and see if I can find some driveline shops that will give me some estimates and post the results.

Well, here I go answering for someone else. I’m not a mechanic or an automotive engineer, but I will presume that the carrier bearing should be mounted so that the circular plane of the bearing is normal or perpendicular to the centerline of the car in both the horizontal and vertical directions. In other words, the bearing should not be “leaning” forward or backwards, or “tilted” to the left or right. It should also not be mislocated left to right or front or back. Again, I don’t have an EA82 to crawl under any more so I don’t know if the front shaft is constrained at the tranny or if it slips in, but for the rear shaft, if the bearing is mislocated up or down, I would guess it will put an axial load on the bearing, similar to mislocating it front to back. Any of these conditions will have a tendency to wear out the bearing prematurely. This is relative, of course. We are not building a watch here, and I will not attempt to guess at what acceptable tolerances would be for the location of the bearing placement.

Well, I feel bad about starting an argument between veterans, especially after hijacking this thread. I would tend to agree with Shawn, not only in regards to balancing and vibration problems, but because the carrier bearing is just one more thing to go wrong, especially if it's improperly installed and subjected to side loads. On the other hand, if I don't go two piece, I'll have to find a shop that can lengthen and balance my driveshaft, right? Do any of you Western Washingtoniers have a shop you could recommend to perform such a function and a SWAG as to how much it would cost? I'm guessing a couple hundred bucks at least, which would, well, SUCK ! ! !

Thanks very much for the help, man, I really appreciate it. I was having a little trouble following along, but I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out when I get the parts in hand and crawl under there and take a look. I've got full access to a machine shop at work, which will definitely help. I'm not going to be doing this for a while. Right now I'm still tormenting myself trying to figure out exactly what to do with this turbo wagon. Regardless, the engine has to come out, and while it's out, the auto tranny will be replaced with a five speed and I'm just trying to make sure I get all the parts lined up. I don't have an EA82 to crawl under anymore since I traded my '88 GL-10 to Northwet for "future considerations". One thing I don't understand is how the carrier bearing is attached to the car. Is it a bearing housed in a bolt-on bracket, or is the housing welded on to the car such that I'll have to cut it off? Thanks again.

I guess I have to apologize for hijacking this thread, but while I have the floor . . . OK, I gather I can't use my EA81t driveshaft with a 5speed DR in my '84 turbo wagon. Do all EA82 wagons have the two piece driveshaft with the carrier bearing? If so, that means I'll either have to use the two piece set up and weld in the carrier bearing, or take my EA81t driveshaft to a shop and get it lengthened, correct? The second option sounds easier since I don't have a welder. But now that I think about it, if I use the EA82 driveshafts, will I have to do both - install the carrier bearing AND modifiy the length of one of the driveshafts?

What about putting a Dual range five speed from an EA82 into an EA81t? Will the drive shaft from the EA81t work?

I'm not Ken, but someone much wiser than myself in regards to Subarus pointed out to me in a post a while back that all you had to do was look for the boss for the knock sensor. Just behind the carb (towards the rear of the engine) there will be a raised boss casted in to the engine block if the engine has hydro lifters. This raised boss is for the knock sensor on the turbo motor. If you don't have a turbo, you won't have the knock sensor of course, but if you have the raised boss, you do have hydro lifters. At least that's what I was told. I've been following along because I am facing a similar delimma. I just picked up a near cherry '84 turbo wagon with a toasted motor. I can't decide whether to rebuild it or drop in a spare EA81 non turbo block, use the turbo heads and nuke the turbo. I'm curios to see how your situation turns out. Anyway, sorry for hijicking your thread.

Can't really help but I am curious too because I'm looking for some different seats for my two ea81 wagons. I looked into swapping in seats out of an 88 GL-10. The passenger side was quite easy, but the drivers side with the height adjustable mechanism would have been a huge ordeal. If I find something that works I'll post back.

Well, I guess not having to adjust your valves would be one. Maybe it's easier to keep them from ticking too, but I don't know about that.

Someone much wiser than myself in regards to Subarus pointed out to me in a post a while back that all you had to do was look for the boss for the knock sensor. Just behind the carb (towards the rear of the engine) there will be a raised boss casted in to the engine block if the engine has hydro lifters. This raised boss is for the knock sensor on the turbo motor. If you don't have a turbo, you won't have the knock sensor of course, but if you have the raised boss, you do have hydro lifters. At least that's what I was told.

One problem with trying to categorize something like that is your category is only valid or useful if you assume the EA81 in question has the original engine in place. It has been my experience that many or even most of the EA81s running around these days have had engine swaps.

Could also be an intake manifold gasket.