87 GL Wagon (picture heavy)

[ystrdyisgone]

Thought I would move from the meet and greet and start my build thread. So here goes. A little repeat info.. got this 87 GL a few weeks ago, paid waay too much, but I plan on having her for a while.



I picked up an ea81 off of CL for $150.

To do list:
Reseal ea81
Swap ea81 in
2" suspension lift from BOSS
6-lug hub and drum redrill
Replace front seats

Took the ea81 apart tonight, got her all shiny

Before




After

Edited May 9, 2014 by ystrdyisgone

[Subaru_dude]

I'm assuming it's a 5spd d/r? That car, with an EA81 and SPFI is my absolute dream car. You should plan the SPFI swap down the road. I LOVE the EA82 body but don't care for the engine. That's my favorite color too, and it's pretty common.

[Subruise]

you should put your spfi pistons in that ea81 block, i read that helps compression. also i would caveman machine those heads and get rid of the fire ring mark, they should be perfectly flat. GD has a thread on diy head resurfacing, my ea82 is loving it.

[O.C.D.]

you should put your spfi pistons in that ea81 block, i read that helps compression. also i would caveman machine those heads and get rid of the fire ring mark, they should be perfectly flat. GD has a thread on diy head resurfacing, my ea82 is loving it.

 

Glass table and some time, lol.

[ystrdyisgone]

My current ea82 had a hitachi carb originally. So would the pistons be SPFI? I was assuming no..

 

And yeah its a 5sp d/r. Tried out the Lo range in the mountains last week, pretty frackin awesome, now I just need bigger tires.

 

I'm really digging the color too. Thinking about bedlining everything below the trim panels.

 

I will search for GD's thread. Any kind souls care to link it for me?

[sosubeme]

My current ea82 had a hitachi carb originally. So would the pistons be SPFI? I was assuming no..

 

And yeah its a 5sp d/r. Tried out the Lo range in the mountains last week, pretty frackin awesome, now I just need bigger tires.

 

I'm really digging the color too. Thinking about bedlining everything below the trim panels.

 

I will search for GD's thread. Any kind souls care to link it for me?

 

Here it is: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=126868

 

Good luck!

[Subruise]

oops, didnt catch the hitatchi part, no it wont have spfi pistons. they are out there tho, im pretty sure i even have some. have fun with your glass slab:popcorn:

[ystrdyisgone]

Thanks for the link sosubme.

 

I went and got all of the materials for the slab planing. Got a piece of 14x14 granite countertop for free. Couple packs of sandpaper and two bottles of pb blaster for just over ten bucks.

 

 

Subruise, I would like to put in the spfi pistons, but I don't trust myself splitting open the case. I'm pretty comfortable right now just doing all the outer gaskets. I'd hate to F something up at this point.

 

Just placed an order on RockAuto for all of my gaskets, new pilot bearing, water pump, etc.. Should be here in 5 days:headbang:

[Subruise]

you dont have to split the case. there are 4 14mm plugs in the block. these are the wrist pin access holes. pull the circlip out of the front so you can get behind the pin and slide hammer them out. "but I dont have a slide hammer," you say. neither did i lol. i used a j bolt that i squished in a vice that barely fit in there. then i threaded a nut and washer on, clamped with vice grips and tapped it witha hammer til it came out. some "taps" were harder than others, and cussing is required when using this method, but hey, its cheap. if ya do this, make sure you keep each piston in line with its specific cylinder and right side up, or the ground will swallow you instantly and youll never be heard from again.

 

RV

[ystrdyisgone]

Hmm, I guess I should look into this a little more. Did you say you had some spfi pistons? How much would you want for them?

 

I brought my slab down to a shop by my house, had them test it for levelness. It was about .001 off in one spot, but only in one direction. The other direction was perfect, so I went for it.. Hoping the gasket will make up for any minor discrepancies. Finished one of the heads

 

Before:

 

 

After:

 

[Subruise]

i have some, gotta find em. i forgot to mention that to get the pistons out after removing wrist pin you need to turn the piston 90* so the rod pushes it out. also, youre not done sanding yet, the indentions from the fire rings need to be completely gone. BACK TO WORK:Flame:

[ystrdyisgone]

Yeah yeah... haha I ran out of PB so the sanding stopped. I will admit, I was going to call that good enough though. Thanks for holding me accountable, might as well do the job right..

 

Postponing the engine build to work on the mystery clunk in the front drivetrain. It's gotten much worse in the past few days. I can actually feel a sort of hesitation/pulsating upon acceleration. PO said he replaced the passenger CV, going to check the other side. Can't think of what else it could be if not CV's..

[ystrdyisgone]

 

Two hours later, with a new half shaft in and $75 poorer, I took her for a test drive and she still clunks.. I'm out of ideas at this point. Come on USMB brains I know you have the answer. Help please?

 

The noise, as best as I can describe it: Usually starts when shifting into second gear. Sometimes I can hear it already in first. IS related to speed/rpms of something.. (Noise increases in frequency as speed increases) Definitely sounds like a signature CV clunk. Sometimes is more exaggerated when turning. Definitely in the front drivetrain. Ball joints are not loose, tie rods are not loose. As of today I began to actually feel the results of the sound, sort of a hesitating/pulsating feeling from the front end. Imagine a coffee can rolling with a bit of weight glued to one spot inside the can. This is what is happening somehow.

[TomRhere]

Could be,

the PS axle that was replaced,

bad spot in a wheel bearing.

 

If you think the DS axle you took out is still good, swap it into the PS side, see if eliminates the clunk.

 

My 1st Subaru, an '86 BRAT, had a noise from the front, usually after driving a few miles and getting some heat into the moving parts. Could feel it in the steering wheel too.

Found the inner bearing on the PS had a bad spot in it

[ystrdyisgone]

I'm going to check out that other axle today. The thing is, the drivers side axle that I pulled out was definitely worn out, so I thought that was for sure the problem.

 

In my experience of wheel bearing sounds, I would assume that this is not a wheel bearing issue. It is a definite, knock/clunk/clicking noise, not a howl or grinding sound.

 

Got my gaskets for the EA81 today, from some threads around the board I saw people using just gasket maker for the oil pan. Is this better than using the cork gasket? Or would a combo of both be better?

[Sonicfrog]

 

Two hours later, with a new half shaft in and $75 poorer, I took her for a test drive and she still clunks.. I'm out of ideas at this point. Come on USMB brains I know you have the answer. Help please?

 

The noise, as best as I can describe it: Usually starts when shifting into second gear. Sometimes I can hear it already in first. IS related to speed/rpms of something.. (Noise increases in frequency as speed increases) Definitely sounds like a signature CV clunk. Sometimes is more exaggerated when turning. Definitely in the front drivetrain. Ball joints are not loose, tie rods are not loose. As of today I began to actually feel the results of the sound, sort of a hesitating/pulsating feeling from the front end. Imagine a coffee can rolling with a bit of weight glued to one spot inside the can. This is what is happening somehow.

 

Certainly sounds like a CV with a hitch in it. I had something similar on one of my Subes a while back.

[ystrdyisgone]

I jacked up the other side of the car and checked out the passenger CV, definitely shot, looks pretty new too, must have been a reman..

 

 

Finished sanding the heads tonight, no more fire rings!

 

 

Noticed a little chunk missing in one spot though. Will this be a problem?

 

 

Had some fun removing the old gasket on my oil pan tonight.. Anybody have any tips for getting the rest of the residue off?

 

[SmashedGlass]

Goo Gone, acetone, or good 'ole gasoline

[czny]

3" Wire wheel from hardware store chucked in electric drill.

Wear eye protection.

[ystrdyisgone]

Until you mentioned it, I forgot that Goo Gone existed. Thank you sir

 

Wire wheel sounds fun, haha. We'll try the goo gone first.

[ystrdyisgone]

Got the oil pan all shiny, as well as the bottom of the engine.

 

 

There's a couple questions I have though. Before I reseal the oil pan on, are there any seals behind the bellhousing that I should do first? I can access the rear main seal just by taking off the clutch and flywheel right? Also, when I do seal the oil pan, I have some Permatex Ultra copper I was going to put a light coating of onto the gasket. Yes, No?

 

And yes, I am building the engine in the back of my car..

Edited September 13, 2012 by ystrdyisgone

[ystrdyisgone]

Any ideas what could have caused this??

 

[DT250a]

.

 

Little drops of muriatic acid . . . . . or some worker dropped his Nerds at some casting foundry in Japan

 

.

[ystrdyisgone]

haha definitely some dropped nerds..

 

So I replaced the PS CV today and.................... No more clunking! Made my day. Now there's just a little shudder in the steering that I'll have to diagnose in the near future. I'll wait until it's a little worse so I can pinpoint it better. Pretty soon I'll have a completely new front end!

 

Went ahead and put the oil pan back on the ea81 today, replacing the water pump and seal tomorrow. Still can't get the oil pump off for the life of me. I might just leave it until after I swap the engine in. There is definitely oil residue on the block around it, but it's hard to tell if it's from the front main seal or the oil pump seal.

[ystrdyisgone]

Haven't made much progress lately. I will probably get the EA81 back together sometime this week. Then I have to figure out how/where I'm going to do this swap..

 

Picked up 4 of these puppies the other day though:

 

 

They're off of a 76 wagoneer. 40 for the set:D