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Sorry to ask this question again in ref. to Brat motors 1982 to 1987


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Hey all, sorry to ask this again I know it has been asked in the past....

I know that the brats had two different types of motors with the same ea81 model number...

1. I was wondering of the two different types which motor out performs the other when it comes to power and acceleration????

2. which one is better as far as maintenance????

 

3. and finally of the model years of 1982 to 1987 which motor was in what years??? I hope that made sense... Thanks Joe

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I am far from the expert on this so take it with a grain of salt( I'm sure to be corrected if I dispell false info, and if so, I apologize in advance) but I believe the 82 and 83 ea81 motors in Brats had solid lifters and the later years had hydraulic lifters. As for performance specs, I couldn't say if there is much of a difference. There may be some other differences, but that's what initially comes to mind. (I await the onslaught of corrections).

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83 and 84 hydro engines came on automatics only, and ALL EA81's from 85 on were hydraulic. Sadly, 83 and 84 manual's (the most prevelant EA81's in existance), are solid.

 

Now, previously I had thought that only the hydro engines had the larger intake valve, but it has recently come to my attention that ALL EA81's from 83 on had the larger intake valves. It's not a matter of hydro lifters or not, simply a change that took place in 83.

 

That beign said, there is NO difference (according to the FSM's, and parts manuals I have) between the engine in a Brat and the engine in anything else. And that includes the distibutor advance. The advance curve is the same regardless of 2WD or 4WD. It just happens they used a different brand. This also goes for the cam - same part number there too. There ARE two cams listed - one for hydraulic, and one for solid. They are not interchangeable without changeing the rest of the valve train (rocker assembly, push rods, and lifters). The hydro lifters will fit into a solid caseing, but will not be removable like they were in the hydro caseing, as the block casting itself is different to allow removal.

 

GD

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As with Northguy, I'm not a complete expert on this, but...

 

The last year of the EA81 was '83 or '84. After that it was the EA82. All the EA81s had solid lifters. The EA82s had solid lifters and hydraulic. The 82s I believe, also came injected. If you want more power without a lot of hassel, just replace the EA81 with a carb'd EA82. Straight swap, no problems. If you like challenges and are good with wiring, replace with a 2.7 Xt-6 motor. Also bolts straight up to the 5 spd hi/lo gearbox,but requires many mods. Hope it helps. Ski

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I'll not rain fire and brimstone down upon this one, due to his low post count, and I already answered with accurate information above. It's still disturbing tho. Left me almost speechless, as I haven't seen that quantity of innacurate information in a single post in a quite some time!

 

GD

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I can only speak for US models, but that sounds likely, since we switched to nothing but hydro lifters in 85 on the EA81. And to bigger intake valves in 83.

 

Should be a gold sticker on the valve covers that says "Do not adjust valve clearances" or something to that effect.

 

GD

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I'm aware the info is wrong. When I first enter a new site I like to 'explore' the attitude of the community. Since the previous post to mine contained the right info, I thought this would be a good test. It turns out you guys have a good sense of humor. I know it wrong when I typed it, since I did'nt know the answer until about a minute before that. Part of learning is risk... and I'm here to learn.

 

FLAME ON

 

'I sling a little bullsh*t myself, but ocassionally I like to listen to a real pro... Please, continue on...'

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Hey, first, welcome to the board. Don't get too bent, we're not here to hurt anyone's feelings or make anyone look bad. You'll find a lot of people here with a great sense of humor, but we are also pretty die-hard Subaru enthusiasts and pride ourselves in the knowledge of our cars, albeit in my case somewhat limited. Rather than put out bad info, it's best to defer to those who really know their s***. But don't be offended. If you hang around here long, you'll be scoobied up in a hurry. There are a lot of good people here with a wealth of knowledge.

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GD, I hate to burst your bubble, but you've given some not so accurate info more than one time lately.

 

Whether pertenant or not, your latest was to tell everyone that Ken had a hood scoop at WCSS5. Not so.

 

_____________________________________

New guy. Dissinformation given on purpose is an EVIL THING.

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You're right Zap - I have given out bad info a time or two. The spirt of the hood scoop thing was to illustrate that it's been on there a while.... I fogot that he did that for the rubicon run, not WCSS. I knew it was some major event..... as far as technical information, I try my best to get accurate information, and since I'm fairly good at retaining that information, I'm happy to dispense it when people ask. Everyone will be wrong now and then, especially with the volume of posts I have. I hope that I have been right more than I have been wrong, as I have no wish to see others badly informed as I have been in the past. It's frustrating to find out that the coversion you are halfway through is a lot more complex than people made it out to be.....

 

GD

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