General Mechanic Questions??

[SnowRat]

Hey Guys,

 

I've just got a few subject points, in which I've tried to research on this site and many others that I have some questions on that I haven't found answers for yet.

I know some of you older subbie guys might disagree with me on certain things I'm going to ask, which is fine, but I'm still curious.

 

I have a 1984 Sub GL Wagon 1.8l 5spd 4x4. Current plans for the car is to lift it 4" put slightly bigger tires on it, and use it for an exploration rig up here in Alaska. I'd like to do the following if possible.

 

TURBOS: I found a subaru I believe it's an 89 wagon with a Fuel Injected motor, It has a turbo setup. I'm wondering if I can salvage the turbo and setup and make it work on my Carbeurated setup. Has anyone done it? Any writeups on it??

 

Removing the Emissions: I live in Alaska, and we no longer have emissions. I'd like to remove all the emissions / rats nest, and possibly get a weber carb, with a different air filter stack. Anyone know how to remove everthing safely and correctly??

 

Any other horsepower mods available, besides exhaust and the minor tune ups...?

 

Thanks Please share your responses and criticism.

[idosubaru]

turbo is going to be a ton of work for little gain. you'd be better off swapping in an EJ22 - far more power, more reliable, not much difference in work really.

 

i would think the best bang for your buck, with better performance and reliability is probably going to be going with SPFI and junking the carb stuff altogether. there are write ups on here about that swap, i'd read through that and see what you think.

[edrach]

Weber works well (much better than the original) and is a significant improvement. I think a full write up can be found in the old USRM forum.

 

A torque cam would also help in getting more "dig" out of your motor.

 

http://www.deltacam.com/tech.php?p=3 would be your best bet.

 

Just a comment, If I remember correctly the '84 GL wagon in a 4WD version was only a 4 speed. If you truly have a 5 speed, either someone before you made the conversion :banana:or you actually have a FWD transmission:eek: which did come in a 5 speed version.

Edited December 13, 2010 by edrach

[SnowRat]

Ya, so it's a 4spd, not a 5spd... don't know what I was thinking there.

 

This motor has 138,000 miles, and is still running ok, but I'm starting to have certain small problems with it, and I'll need to run a compression test on it soon. Only problem is that it is -30 degrees right now up here, and well I don't have a garage.

 

I'd be open to swapping in a Fuel Injected motor, I'll try and look for the threads on the swapping. I'd be interested in taking the complete motor and turbo out of this car that I found in the bushes up here, but would have concerns that the motor it's self is bad. Are there markings on the engine casing to easily find out what type of motor it is?

 

Would my 4spd tranny engage and fit to this new motor?

 

My basic goal is to get as much power as possible without cramming a v8 into the engine compartment, if I need to get a bigger more modern sub motor and it has and can be done, I'm open to ideas.

 

Thanks

[heartless]

if you open to the idea, then EJ22 is the way to go - much more hp for not a whole lot of work considering. biggest obstacle is getting the adapter plate to mount the EA tranny to the EJ motor - but they ARE available so a search for info would be in order there.

 

as for the EA82 turbo motor - the majority here will tell you not to waste your time with it - they are not the most reliable motor. that swap would require a lot more work for very little gain HP wise, and a downgrade in reliability - especially for "off road" use.

 

Good luck whatever you decide!

[idosubaru]

the engine series is stamped onto the heads, EA stuff can be plain, underlined or have a box around it indicating what gen heads they are. giving us year and model should tell us what it is too.

 

the EA82Turbo isn't terrible necessarily - just at 20 years old everything needs replaced for it to be reliable at all. hoses, seals, turbo needs to be in good condition, etc. avoid leaks and overheating and they can run quite a long time. and they start at 115hp. i believe some folks were getting some decent track times out of them.....matty something or another (username) comes to mind.

 

if you start cranking the boost, working it, don't maintain it well, etc - it blows head gaskets, cracks heads, and worse with relative ease.

 

the EJ22 is 140 hp and one of the most reliable engines subaru has ever made. down here they're really cheap and easy to find. so if you're up for the wiring and such you get a modern engine, far more advanced technology, performance, 4 valves per cylinder, better ECU's, etc. but it's also not a turbo so it's not really a modifiable engine in terms of huge gains. you only get that easy power increase with forced induction. but there are futher EJ options just depends how high you want to go.