EA82 Exhaust Manifold Interchange/clever ideas?

[a2labs]

Curious if anything other than a Loyale, GL, or Brat Manifold will bolt up to an EA82, such as one off of a first gen Impreza or Legacy single port head. I only need one side. What's happened is the 90 degree flange bent on to the end of the exhaust pipe where it meets the head has broken off (not the thick flange that the bolts go through) on my 1985 GL, and now it sounds like a late model stock car.

 

I tried to check interchange data using exhaust manifold gaskets as a reference, and it's not looking like anything else is the same size. I'm on a budget, and I'm getting ready to move across the country, I'd rather not be deaf when I get there, not to mention the fact that all the noise might attract a citation, which I can definitely do without.

 

Just wondering if anyone has had this problem, and what routes they took to solve it. I can weld but I'm worried the pipe might be too thin. I was planning on going to a pull-a-part yard 1.5 hours away that's historically always had lots of old soobs, but wouldn't you know it, there's not a single one there now. Any advice/ideas are much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

Edit: I swear, as soon as I get to Washington and find some work, I'm dropping an ej22 in this thing.

Edited June 25, 2012 by a2labs

[tractor pole]

where are you located?

 

I know that trying to find a single port EJ exhaust manifold is damn near impossible.

[a2labs]

I'm in southwest Virginia. The pull-a-part yards I normally go to in North Carolina are listing a few first gen legacy's and impreza's, but the way those places work, they don't keep a list of individual parts, so I'd have to go there and see. I'm going to check the local places tomorrow around here. Most junkyards around here are just a waiting area for the crusher since steel has gone up so much lately.

 

I see you're in Washington tractor pole. If I can find some single port heads, should I bring them with me to Seattle?

[tractor pole]

I see you're in Washington tractor pole. If I can find some single port heads, should I bring them with me to Seattle?

 

I'm not in need of single port heads, Thanks for the offer.:-p I just bought a custom single port unequal length header after an intense search for a stock exhaust manifold (all the junk yards around here cut them up) and no one in the area has one they want to get rid of.

 

what if you just picked up some pre-bent exhaust tubing at the auto parts store and weld it up?

or local exhaust shop?

 

Good luck with the move across country.

Ben

[a2labs]

The problem is the 90 degree flange that's bent in to the top of the pipe where it mates to the head, that flange is broken off, so there's no way the thick flange that the bolts go through can hold the pipe against the head. Kinda hard to explain, sorry.

 

And I didn't mean single port heads, I meant manifolds, doh. Been working too much and staying up too late. Thanks for the kind wishes, I'm going to need them!

[987687]

A picture might help, but regardless. An ea82 manifold is all that's going to work. EJ manifold won't come close to fitting, in any dimension.

I suppose if you find an ea81 manifold with cali card it could work because it would have an o2 bung... Needle in a haystack find, though.

 

Also, I've never found an unmolested ea82 header in a junk yard. They always cut the cat out, and the cat forms the Y in the header. So they always get cut up and ruined.

[a2labs]

Well I spent the entire day visiting all the junkyards in my area, only one had a car that would have worked but the entire exhaust was gone... breaks my heart, the body was a lot nicer than mine.

 

987687, my cat is behind the crossmember a few feet behind the Y. The Y on my car is just two pipes welded together in a 90 degree intersection. And I guess I don't need an o2 bung, as it's a non feedback carb and non EFI? The cat has an o2 bung with a bolt in it, but I've never noticed any wires for an o2 sensor and it seems to run fine. I don't know, this is my first soob so maybe someone was in there doing modifications before I got it? Again it's a 1985 ea82 carbed GL wagon. Date of mfg is actually 10/84 but it's got the 85 body, so I guess it was one of the first 85 year models made.

 

A buddy of mine has a 1984 GL sedan with an ohv 1.8 in it, I'm going to check it tomorrow to see if the manifolds are still good, although he parked it many years ago due to it needing an entire exhaust. Failing that, I'll be taking a 4 hour drive to the nearest pull-a-part yard that has soobs that match mine.

 

At this point I'd even consider an aftermarket "performance" exhaust, anyone know of any that include the manifold pipes?

[djellum]

I would talk to an exhaust shop. they can probably just repair what you got. most of them can do custom work and fixing a flange wouldn't be much of a trick for them.

 

if you do need the part, just cut the part out of a junk yard rig and let them weld it in place in the exhaust you have. you don't need the whole pipe, just the broken part and a few inches on each side.

 

they really can fab up most anything you need though. Even a basic weld/fab shop can just fix your existing pipe, likely in less than an hour. If money is a problem, try craigslist. I'm sure there are plenty of out of work welders looking to make $50

[maozebong]

the 2 bolt flanges are easily had, and i had an exhaust shop make me a complete 2" exhaust, with the cat moved out of the Y-section, where it robs power and roasts the passenger cv axle boot as well.

 

300, out the door, including labor, parts, et cetera. and that is a COMPLETE exhaust, from the flange at the head to the 3" chrome tip the guys at the shop gave me for free because they loved my lifted soob.

[a2labs]

Alright guys like I said I appreciate any ideas and advice but I have to laugh since I've said some of this already

 

I can weld, that's not an issue.

 

I don't have a cat in my Y pipe, my cat is way back behind the crossmember.

 

The 2 bolt flange isn't an issue, it's the flange that's bent on to the end of the exhaust pipe (manifold) at a 90 degree angle where it meets the head that's broken. Welding that to be strong enough and leaving enough room to allow for play in the 2 bolt flange for everything to line up right would be tricky at best, I'd say. This .080 flange is only about an eighth or quarter inch wide. From the top down it goes: head, manifold gasket, flange bent on to the end of the pipe, 2 bolt thick flange that squeezes all of that together.

 

I'm on a budget. While I know there are competent exhaust shops that can make a custom exhaust that might work just fine, I can't afford that. I'm a do it yourselfer. That's why I'm looking around in junkyards (eliminated that possibility today) and pull-a-part yards... (will check on that option tomorrow) and asking about interchange possibilities from first gen impreza's and legacy's, (which there are plenty of close to me) and 987687 has informed me that isn't an option.

 

I did ask about aftermarket (bolt-on) exhaust, (which I would install myself) because I'm seeing some kits for around $100. That's closer to my price range but still more than I want to pay just to fix one little tiny problem. A 4cyl exhaust manifold is $19 at a pull-a-part yard, how can you beat that? If I needed a whole new exhaust it would be different of course.

 

So my main question has been answered. Thank you 987687. Tomorrow or at most by the end of the week we'll find out if a stock part can be reasonably obtained. Then I'll know whether or not I'm going to be deaf by the time I reach Seattle. :-p

 

Again, I appreciate all your feedback, I tried to give as much detail as possible in my original post, and I probably should have provided pictures of my problem, that's my bad and I apologize. I'm still looking for a free image hosting site that doesn't have a time limit where they remove your pictures if you don't sign in for a while.

[987687]

987687, my cat is behind the crossmember a few feet behind the Y. The Y on my car is just two pipes welded together in a 90 degree intersection. And I guess I don't need an o2 bung, as it's a non feedback carb and non EFI?

Oops! Sorry. I guess I just assumed you had efi because you said ea82

[a2labs]

-checks email and messages on USMB before 2nd cup of coffee-

 

-reads 987687's post-

 

-twitches-

 

-runs out to car half naked to check-

 

Yep it's a carbed ea82... I didn't think I could forget something that simple but hey we're all human right... I'd feel really stupid if I'd wasted everyone's time with the wrong information!

 

UPDATE: In a way I sort of did, sorry >< read on...

 

I got lucky today and found 2 Loyales and an '82 GLF, at the Knoxville TN pull-a-part. Never seen a GLF before in person, what a nice looking car that is. Of course all the cats were cut off as we expected, but I pulled what was left of the manifold off the GLF and one Loyale, bolt pattern's the same between the two, both 1.8's, so I'm pretty sure I have what I need to fix my car, yay. 4 single manifolds that are long enough to be welded easily and 4 good gaskets for $7.40, can't beat that. I was particularly impressed with the gaskets from the GLF, they appear to be stock and made of solid metal. Amazing to me that any gasket from a 30 year old car would appear to be reusable.

 

Now these manifolds I got today look nothing like what's on my car, so I'm pretty sure a previous owner had a custom exhaust put on it. And a pretty bad one in my opinion. This is my fault for not taking pictures when I stated my problem originally, I realize now that if I had done that it would have prevented a lot of confusion I'm sure. I apologize for that. I'm going to a shop with a lift on Friday to weld it up, at that point I'll take pics of old and new, and some other things too. Then I'll see if I can find an image hosting service I can live with.

Edited June 27, 2012 by a2labs
not double-posting