nrwphoto Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 I have owned my 87' 4WD wagon with 119,000 miles for about a month now and I am planning to make some needed repairs and upgrades next week to make sure it lasts for years to come. To start it leaks oil when driving, which blows on the exhaust and fumigates the town. Also it seems to hit a wall at 55mph. You have to keep it floored in 4th for about 2 miles to get to 65mph. The plan is to reseal the entire motor... head gaskets, valve covers, cam seals and the rear of the motor. Along with a new oil pump, timing belts and a carb tune up. I am tempted to put new cams in it for some extra GO while it's open but I can not find any. Is there anything else I should address while it's out of the car and being pulled apart? It is often stiff to get into 1st gear but other wise it shifts easy and does not slip. Do you think this could be the clutch or should I replace it while the motor is out? Thanks for any feed back and ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrwphoto Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 (edited) I am also looking for a set of 14" wheels that will work (made to work) for it. I have come across a set of Mazda truck 14" 6x5.5 wheels that look like they might work. I was thinking of running 185/75R14 tires. Will these fit without rubbing (no lift and I'm not going to cut or hammer a pristine wagon)? Or should I stick with 185/70R14 when I find a set of wheels? Edited October 9, 2015 by nrwphoto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 There are a good number of threads about modding ea82 engines. You have to spend a lot of cash and time to get small improvements. Is yours carb, or SPFI? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 These cars are on the slow side, but that sounds a bit slower than normal. Keep in mind, if you put tires that are bigger od on it, it will be slower. Check all the typical tune up things, check for obstruction of the intake and exhaust. Consider replacing the water pump while doing the reseal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrwphoto Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 It is a carb, so I know that a Weber swap is popular. However I don't know which is better for a cold Montana winter. The factory carb or if a water choke Weber works just as well? Yes I am familiar with the tire mods. I come from the Jeep and Toyota 4x4s. I've done lifts, gear changes and bigger tires (nothing extreme). I am just looking to keep this as an economical car that has the foul weather muddy forest road benefits. I have one family member recommending that I have the heads shaved .02 to up the compression a little. Not sure if this is done often on these motors? Not looking to get to spendy on mods. Will probably do some minor clean up of the valve ports and a 1 3/4" exhaust from cat back and deciding on the Weber still. One thing I know I don't like about them is their height and the lack of a decent air filter set up. Water pump would be a good idea. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferp420 Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 start with a good tune up plugs wires cap rotor timing than if you want to go crazy port the heads intake manifold and make sure theres mo ruff welds or obstructions in the exhaust and the one best mod i ever did to my ea82 was multi spark ignition box like a msd or a procomp mallory or what ever brand you like my ignition box was $100 old stock new in box i got the procomp becaus well it was $100 there alittle cheaper now that most cars dont or cant make use of one of these units from what ive been told herd and or read cams wont help much just move the powerband around porting heads your self takes alot of practice and patiance and you wont see much if any gains unless there are alot of other mods to go with it im running 30s on my ea82 and with all the mods im almost equil to my 2.2 impreza but uses almost twice the gas but then again the ea82 is lifted hacked up and tubed out with big tires Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Hopefully a couple of the guys with weber can add to this. I think they can help a little with power. Switching to the SPFI system gets you something like 10hp, but it's a lot of work, since you need the computer and all that too. Porting is tons of work for very small gains from what I've read over the years here. Not sure if raising the compression is a good idea. Easy enough to get pinging as is. Headgaskets and cooling system are sensitive also. Cooling system is just adiquit for the stock engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrwphoto Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 Thanks for the info. Yes it will definitely be getting a nice set of spark plugs (prob. NGK), wires and cap and rotor wouldn't hurt. I have heard great things about those multi spark units on Jeeps. I'll have to check into it for the Subi. Yeah I am not interested in a SPFI swap as you said chasing down the computer and all the sensors is more grief than it's worth in my opinion. Plus the Weber is much more simple, just don't know how much of a benefit you get and if there is any cost to cold weather (0 and below) starting vs factory. I talked to a mechanic in the area about machining the heads and porting. He had a similar response as I had expected. Not worth the risk of pinging and little to no noticeable performance gain on the porting (w/o tons of other work at least). Better to keep a nice running reliable engine as is and enjoy it for a long time. Side question. What size gas tank do these GL wagons have? I read online they are 15.9 gal. but mine takes 12-12.5 gal when just above E. Do I really have 3 gallons left? If so is it a usable 3 gals or do these have a bad pickup where you can never use the bottom of the tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 I've always thought they were 12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opus Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 I'm 120 miles west of you and my Weber works just fine. Go for it! Dont spend much money though, you wont get much gain. Gear oil in the tranny makes things difficult here in the cold. Not saying thats your trouble but its been mine a couple times. I always run ATF in my 5 spd D/R. I'm sure there will be some poo poo on that but I've been doing it for 15 yrs now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferp420 Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 if you have the time porting is fun and easy and its a good base for all future mods but the ignition upgrade was huge for me i could pull hills at 55 insted of 45 and i could do second gear starts again over drive was also usable again the bigger tire took alot oUt of the little ea82 there easy to hook in to the stock wireing i dident have to mod my stock wirering at all and im still running my stock coil they won give you more power just make use of every last bit of power you should have look on ebay i bet you could find one for under $50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrwphoto Posted October 10, 2015 Author Share Posted October 10, 2015 (edited) I've always thought they were 12. Well I'm pretty sure I am not sucking it dry since it is above E. I hope it's not off that much. I had a truck once that 1/3 tank was empty. Found that out the hard way.... I'm 120 miles west of you and my Weber works just fine. Go for it! Dont spend much money though, you wont get much gain. Gear oil in the tranny makes things difficult here in the cold. Not saying thats your trouble but its been mine a couple times. I always run ATF in my 5 spd D/R. I'm sure there will be some poo poo on that but I've been doing it for 15 yrs now. I will have to keep that in mind for ATF. Thanks for the info. Did you notice any difference in MPG with the Weber swap? Do you have your Subi modified or stock? Perhaps we could meet up for some exploring if you know any good trails. I just recently moved up here from AZ. Edited October 10, 2015 by nrwphoto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opus Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Well I'm pretty sure I am not sucking it dry since it is above E. I hope it's not off that much. I had a truck once that 1/3 tank was empty. Found that out the hard way.... I will have to keep that in mind. Thanks for the info. Do you have your Subi modified or stock? Perhaps we could meet up for some exploring if you know any good trails. I just recently moved up here from AZ. I have 2, this one and a turbo that I'm selling. This one is stock except for the weber. You could always take spin up the north fork, towards Glacier. My son lives in Kalispell, I get there often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdweninger Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 don't forget the idler and tensioners when doing the timing belts. Cam seals and O-rings. Cam tower oil o-ring (reinforced). Rebuild oil pump. Replace all water hose (5). New contacts in starter. Clutch, PP, TO bearing, Pilot bearing. Fuel tank is 15 gal. When my gauge reads Empty, only takes 12+ gallons to fill. So I guess it has 3 gallons left in there. But always best to keep the fuel tank full .... cuts down on condensation in the tank (read water). Go Weber. You won't regret it. Delete cat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrwphoto Posted October 14, 2015 Author Share Posted October 14, 2015 don't forget the idler and tensioners when doing the timing belts. Cam seals and O-rings. Cam tower oil o-ring (reinforced). Rebuild oil pump. Replace all water hose (5). New contacts in starter. Clutch, PP, TO bearing, Pilot bearing...... Thanks for all the info and suggestions. Some of those I was already planning on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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