KnuckleBeast Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Hey everyone, I've searched through he forums for a bunch of different things and couldn't really find what I was looking for. SO I'll just ask, I'm a brand spankin new owner of my first Subaru BRAT, I've always been a Ford guy but lately I've been getting into this Subaru thing. What things should I know about these awesome machines. You know the basics, what kinda gas should I use / can I use regular (EA81) is there a certain type of oil these engines like? any common problems people have. I know this is a very broad question, but if anyone has any info that would be great. Just trying to learn. I've been reading a lot of threads and learned a lot so far, as a newbie, it's hard to wade through he non brat stuff. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l75eya Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 (edited) Not too knowledgeable on the ea81, but I do know that all the guys here really recommend NGK spark plugs, and the wires too if you can find them, but especially the plugs. Edited January 9, 2015 by l75eya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbosubarubrat Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I just run regular gas in my stuff and they're fine. Lately i've been running 10w40 oil which quieted down some noisy lifters. If the transmission and rear diff oil haven't been changed in awhile i would do that(75w90 gear oil). How much oil does she leak? You might need to ditch the oil pan gasket with rtv after cleaning, replace main seals, and valve cover gaskets along with valve clearance adjustment on that solid lifter motor. How many miles? You might be looking at getting a full gasket set so everything will be ready to go for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfman01 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Rust. They are getting up there in age, and they suffered from many of the same rot issues as other Japanese vehicles of the era. Keep an eye out for it, and get after it as soon as you see it to avoid having it consume your very rare and precious little trucklet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhelme Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 One of the things you need to look out for are your friends. I loaned mine to a friend who just had to go and test the 4 wheel drive. I got it back with dents in half the body panels, a broken shock and water in the gas tank ( don't know haw he did that one ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonas Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 PICS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnuckleBeast Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 (edited) Right on, It doesn't leak oil actually, and it doesn't have any rust... I know pretty unbelievable (I'll probably find some when I start taking things apart) How many miles are on it, 160,000.. or 180,000 something like that I don't remember sub 200k, which is pretty remarkable, the things in pretty dang good shape. Just needs a new head gasket. Thanks everyone. I'm going to give her a big tune up so I'm going to buy the gasket's, oil, filters, plugs etc today and get this bad boy on the road. Never worked on a boxer engine or a subaru period... but I'm about to learn. Edited January 10, 2015 by KnuckleBeast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnuckleBeast Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 I'm going to take pictures this weekend when I work on it for sure! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hsoj Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Doing the head gaskets is a great way to learn about subarus! So, I'll go....It will be tempting but dont put it in 4wd on the pavement. It can do bad things to your transmission. Use true subaru intake gaskets. Most people do stick with 10w30 maybe if its a really worn out motor and an ea82 10w40, but I have seen no difference in an ea81 so you might want to stick with whats recommended. Do go get the 190F thermostat and not the 180F one It keeps you and your car at a better temperature. As long as you gap your plugs right and use ngk stuff you should never need to use any weird coil as it wont give you any difference. If you have a nippon denso disty, you have to have a nippon denso coil. The hitachi doesnt care what coil you have but the nd ones do and they are expensive to replace. Oh, the brake pistons....they turn in, they dont press in like most model cars. On the clutch, you can just leave it sorta in place, loose and tighten it down through the starter hole, makes it easier. I dont think you need to go down that road yet though. I think thats about it unless someone can find the strange and odd subaru only thing I forgot. Except that this is the best site for knowledge on old subarus. If its been done, its referenced here. "Search" is your friend, Google can be way faster than the search function here, just put "ultimatesubaru" at the end. Enjoy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilySapphire Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Not really a mechanical "what you should know." but you really should take a ton of pics before you start doing anything, and a few along the way. In a few months, you'll have done some improvements and wish that you had documented it to show off on this site. Also, pics help out us mechanical idiots to make sense of what is being posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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