Zebbadiesel Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 ok so i have a 1987 gl hatch, its the 4wd d/r 4spd. im newish to subies, but i LOVE this car, and have big dreams for it, but i ran into a snag doing the clutch that has led me to doing ceaseless fruitless research on this site and a few others, and also to look deeper into my car. so i ordered up a 1987 clutch kit from ebay that had the right part number for what i "needed" and my gl was on the list of matching vehicles, oh forgot to mention that its a 3 owner all original matching numbers car, never had a tranny or motor swap, but when the clutch came in and i pulled my motor to install i find the throw-out bearing in my car to be like 1/4 inch smaller than my new one, so bviously it was different, the spline alignment tool for the new one was too large for mine, it was a disappointing mess. so i put everything back together feeling defeated, and drive her home to spend the night studying my factory and chiltons books, upon further digging it appears that my entire tranny, clutch release fork and clutch are the '84 style, i think it has the hill holder in fact, but its not working properly atm, needless to say that had me baffled. but the exploded diagram of the 83/84 style clutch release arm and clutch kit are exactly what was in my car, and the one that i had ordered matched what should be in an 87. so i did a little digging, under my rear seat, i beleive i have the adjuster for the rear susp. which to my understanding was discontinued in 84 right? i shouldnt have it. so i get in touch with the guy i bought it from and ask what clutch he ordered when he replaced it last, it was an 84, he said he also lowered the rear end 2" b/c his mom thought it was too squirly that high. at this point im dumbfounded. i thought i should turn to yall pros for some opinions or answers. the car just hit 135000 the other day, still lots of life in her, i want to make her beautiful, lol. also, i have a freshly cleaned and vatted ea81 in my bedroom, the heads were cleaned and shaved a lil, i think only 10 thousandths. im ordering some ea71 pistons for it, wondering what i should do as far as a cam and stuff, any advice or links appreciated.its carbed, so wondering if i should go weber, if a weber will pass colorado emissions, or i have a turbo from a 86 gl10, aqnd some of its piping, if i should go spfi, i would be putting it all together when i dput in the new motor. i want to go to a d/r 5spd if someone can get me a link to the guy who does the complete conv. kit on here.also i found locally a 5 spd from an 84 dl, its supposed to be a d/r but i cant find an 84 5 spd d/r any where i look. not sure if he knows what hes talking about or if im looking in the wrong places. once again any links or answers are greatly appreciated, ill be taking pictures of everything i can that i mentioned. thanks for your time. hope i get this figured out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 (edited) just being 4 speed gives it away as being EA81 engine the clutch throw out bearing in car was likely a cast iron lump machined up to shape in most markets after late 84 for 85 model year everything was EA82 5 speed. Clutches for these were all the same for 4WD and turbo FWD. Plain FWD were different. The EA81 4 speed had two 4WD clutch choices known as 200mm or 225mm people count splines on gearbox input shaft as well. Is clutch fork blue or black painted ? EA82 flywheels use a 21mm step, where EA81 4WD flywheels used a 23mm step what ever makes you think you have an 87 model? Edited March 27, 2016 by jono Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 The EA81 Hatch was sold here in the USDM thru 1989. BRATs thru 1987. Best way to insure correct parts purchase is to go with the 1984 Model year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 aha !! Same case for AUDM Brumby/BRAT/MV then. Is always just easiest to get stuff for any model after 84 is just say it is an 84 model - otherwise 90% guarantee any aftermarket supplier will kit you out for an EA82 series .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebbadiesel Posted March 27, 2016 Author Share Posted March 27, 2016 Lol, the title says 87, the manufacturing date in the door jam says 02/87, the vin number when I look in my manual says it's an 87, like it's an 87. They clutch fork is a light blue, I ordered up an 84 clutch which should be here any day, thanks for your quick responses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norcalbratcap Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 How many headlights do you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonist Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 As others have said, Subaru continued 2 of the early 80s models into the late 80s. That being the 2 door hatch like yours & the Brat/Brumby. Whilst these might be post 85 models, 99.9% of shops will confuse them with the later models which had a different (revised) engine, gearbox, suspension layout, etc. Your car is the same as an 84. If you quote that when trying to order parts, then you should get the correct bits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 get used to it, happened nearly thirty years ago !! And, to think of 1992 here in Australia, we had the choice of an EA81 4 speed 4WD ute - Brumby - BRAT to you or: EA82 5speed 4WD wagons - the L Series or: EJ powered Liberties - Legacy to US, and Impreza and maybe even the four pot inline Fiori and the Sherpa - 2 cylinder ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l75eya Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 Yeah, to basically sum it all up, an 87 Subaru GL and an 87 Subaru GL hatch are two COMPLETELY different vehicles. It's confusing, I know. You more than likely ordered parts for the Subaru GL. everybody is saying go for 84 parts because the completely different but similarly named Subaru GL I mentioned above didn't exist in that form until 85 so there's less chance for error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccrinc Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 It's the DL/GL designation that confuses people. Those were only trim/options designations and had nothing to do with the engines. Emily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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