EA82T rebuild or easy swap?; looking for advice

[subdubscoot]

Subaru rookie here, looking for some guidance.

 

My story:  last year bought a 1986 GL10 4WD Turbo wagon for $300.  California car, body straight, paint is good, interior is good.  Seller had bought the car with blown head gaskets, pulled the engine, tore it down to short block then decked the block and machined the heads.  The engine had gotten hot enough that the timing covers melted.

 

OK so I checked the pistons at their highest point and they protrude past the block 0.020-0.025".  Seller told me I could get custom thickness gaskets from Cometic.

Saw cracks in the heads between the valves, so I pulled the valves to investigate further.  The cracks in the worst case are at least an inch deep, and go to within 3/8" of the seat.  Junk, so I hear.

 

Searched for replacement heads, reman, whatever and looks like could cost me $500.

Contacted Cometic and since they don't have dies, they can't make MLS gaskets for this car, but with dxf file or gasket samples they can make shims from copper.

 

I am not stuck on keeping the turbo.  I just want a decent stock running car.  This thing is going to be used by my kids in a year or so.

 

I live in California and do NOT want to deal with the smog referee.  "Been there done that" when I put a GTI motor in my vw caddy, and it was a nightmare.

 

Seems like the simplest thing to do is find a non-turbo MPFI motor (best case), or else a SPFI motor, and put it in.  Can anyone tell me if this will cause any trouble with normal smog check in Ca?

If I switch to non-turbo MPFI how much wiring or ECU change needed?

How much more wiring/ECU changed needed for SPFI?

 

I saw reference to GD's writeup on swapping to SPFI from EA81 etc and would like to see that but can't find it.  Can someone point me to it?

 

Thanks in advance

[skishop69]

Putting a different engine in it will result in the same nightmare as your VW. CA is very tough on OE restrictions. You'd also have to change the ECU and the engine harness, and possibly the main harness, though I don't know for sure as I'd have to check schematics and pinouts. Someone else here will know that one for sure. Best bet is a used turbo motor or rebuild one. The swap GD wrote up is for putting SPFI from an EA82 on an EA81 though you can carb or inject either.

[john in KY]

May want to contact this person: edian727. He just posted about an 89 XT in his local pull-a-part yard. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The EA82 series used 3 revised cylinder heads. You currently have the worst of the 3. Subaru reworked the heads because of the cracking problem. See if the above person is willing to pull the 89 XT cylinder heads, the best version. If the block you now have has been rebuilt, you could always run double head gaskets. All kinds of folks will probably yell "are you crazy?" We'll, back in the early 1970s I ran double head gaskets on a 430HP 427 Chevy, the L88, to lower the stock 12.5:1 compression. Never had a failure. 

 

 

 

"so there's a 89 xt in the north spokane pull and save.  it's a ea82 and auto, but my engine wiring is fine, its just headlights and the fog lights, and probably the power steering but im going to ignore that for now. it seems if i pull out the engine stuff i could replace the dash and headlight/fog light harness with the one out of the 4-cyl xt. I looked at the fsm and it seems possible but a big pain to do. what do you guys think? any experience with this? also the trip comp is gone from my car so no worries there."

Edited August 19, 2016 by john in KY

[skishop69]

Unless the XT is turbo, the heads won't work without modification since they're missing the oiling and cooling ports for the turbo.

[subdubscoot]

Hey out of curiosity, I was wondering what would happen if I rebuilt my EA82T with non-turbo pistons, and put everything back together as if it is a turbo, but disable the turbo (remove impellers?) so that there is no boost. Would the timing or anything be affected such that the car would not run well or else fail CA smog?

 

I appreciate the honest feedback from the Subaru gurus out there.

 

Thanks.

[DaveT]

I'm going to guess, it would fail emissions. Different ECU, and fuel map for turbo vs non turbo.

[skishop69]

I'm going to guess, it would fail emissions. Different ECU, and fuel map for turbo vs non turbo.

 

+1 It will fail.

[subdubscoot]

Thanks guys