Looking for advice... 87 Subaru RX EA82T bloen

[darkstealth16]

Hey folks. New to the forums and the world of subaru. I picked up a 87 subaru RX that had been sitting in the woods for 20 years. Got it cleaned up, wiring intact and even managed to get it fired up with some starting fkuid. Did a compression test on the passenger cylinders. 120 out of one and 80 out of the other. Original owner parked it after overheating thinking it needs head gaskets, which my compression test confirms. Ive read some of the EJ swap info, and looking for some advice on which route to go. I picked it up as a prohect to tinker on, for $200. Id like to keep things as budget friendly and inexpensive as possible, id rather put in the work and time over soending a ton of money. What potential options are there? I could rebuild it but it does have 185k on the odometer, I live in NC and read these are notorious for overheating. It also is a turbo, but very low output for a turbo motor... Id very much like this to be a fun Rally esque car for driving around, some overlanding roadtrips (not extreme offroading but would be cool to take cross country off the beaten path) and im not sure the turbo motor is reliable enough for sonething like that. I read through some of the Ea2EJ swap pdfs, not sure how plug and play all that really is. And the guides are more geared toward the ea82 not ea82t swap. Id imagine with the turbo the computer is different so some of the wiring may be different? Again why im asking for advice. Maybe someone with an RX that has done a swap could lend a hand. Thanks folks

[DaveT]

Any EA82 or EA82T to EJ swap is not plug and play. 

Yes, the EJ is a lot more reliable than an EA82T.  And easier to find parts for.  And more power.

 

You still need the adapter plate and related stuff you can find in the swap threads.

You will need to do extensive wiring harness modification.

You will want an entire EJ car to use for the swap, so that you have all of the electrical / harness / ECU etc.

[idosubaru]

I'd EJ swap.

Truthfully EA82T's are actually very reliable engines they just have a quarter century of history against them and forced induction issues to boot.

 

Cost wise - an EJ engine can be had for about the same costs as the head job so cost wise yo'ure down to the adapter plate. 

 

Look up every year legacy/impreza from 1990-1996 and see if you can find a cheap EJ engine.  www.car-part.com.  I've gotten sub 100,000 mile EJ engines for $150 in great shape that then accumulated 150,000 miles before.

 

If you buy a wrecked or rusted legacy/impreza for cheap - you could have an EJ egine and trans for cheap.  i see them regularly rusted out or ocassionally wrecked for $200 - $400.  

 

You can bolt an EJ22 intake manifold onto an EJ18 and then it's just an EJ22 swap but you have more engine options and they're so rare and uncommon they can be had for cheap sometimes.

 

If you swap the transmission as well you could avoid the adapter plate, but I prefer the EA82 center diff lock 4WD and they are less likely to experience torque bind than EJ transmissions.  I've never even seen an EA/ER trans with torque bind but i've seen zillions of EJ's with it. 

 

EA82T's are reliable when new.  but to get them there you have to rebuild the turbo, replace all the lines and fittings, head gaskets, resurface heads, replace the oil pumps (or be prepared to live with TOD) but oil pumps are no longer available, timing belt kit every 50k, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, valve cover gaskets, cam seals, cam cap orings, cam carrier orings...etc.  And then after all that work - assume it wasn't overheated enough to compromise bearings which throw rods through the engine case. 

 

An EJ would only need valve cover gaskets, timing kit, cam seals/oring and reseal the oil pump to have excellent 100,000 miles reliability, way more power and an endless supply of needed parts for cheap.

 

So I guess if you want as cheap as possible keeping the EA might be "cheaper" if you're okay with unknown overheating events, harder to find parts, unavailable oil pumps, additional turbo support and work and longevity issues and low power.  I think it ends up being a pennywisedollardumb kind of deal but hey i'm just as prone to that as the next DIY adventurer, which is why I know it so well.  LOL

[darkstealth16]

Thanks for that advice folks. That was my logic in thinking. I realoze its not ourely "plug and play" not the best word choice there on my part, but it doesnt sound like its a very complex swap. I do want to keep the trans and center diff lock dual range all wheel drive systen, being a manual car should make the swap that much easier vs auto. The wiring is a bit intimidating because it would be my first big wiring project car wise. I am an electronics person though so shouldnt be that bad once I decide to tackle it. But the points made about maintaining the car being easier, the cost effectiveness of getting a new engine to freshen up instead of trying to rebuild whats in it are all valid points that I was considering. So to my understanding for this swap the basics are:

 

Source an EJ22 from a legacy/impreza (assuming obd1 would be easiest)

Entire wiring harness

Make or purchase adapter plate to adapt EJ to EA trans

ECU from donor for wiring

 

Other misc adjustments for fitment (cooling, mounts etc)

 

Any other big takeaways? Ive see. Other RX guys do swaps but ive seen most do other stuff on top of it, standalone engine management etc... Wondering if there is anyome familair with a "as close to stock" swap for this car. Again money is the main factor. Its a project not a money pit thanks again friends!

 

[DaveT]

Sounds like you got it. Definitely get factory service manuals for both cars. For some, there are links for online.

[idosubaru]

Check out the EA2EJ swap threads - there's some really good ones and information out there.

 

The adapter plate is probably the challenging part if you're not going to buy one. 

 

For wiring - if you've got time it's just the sifting and trimming of the harness that's time and detail intensive.  Aside from that - i think they can end up only having like 3-ish wires to splice into the vehicle, so it mostly all happens on your floor/table at home inside. 

 

the OBDI and OBDII long blocks are essentially the exact same engines - so you can use any EJ22 long block you find basically.  you can bolt an OBDI intake manifold onto an OBDII engine.

 

and you can bolt an EJ22 intake manifold onto an EJ18 as well. 

 

I would aim for 1996 and earlier because they're non-interference engines and I like HLA's because they never need adjustment and i don't care about the 3 hp gain from solid lifters. but that's just personal preference strictly and if you do proper timing belt maintenance it doesn't matter that the 1997 and later are interference, just replace the belts and pulleys/tensioner on time.

[darkstealth16]

There is an EJ18 in the local pull-a-part seems to have decent compression turning over by hand, so I may go that rout. Its out of a 96 Impreza... Might be the best way to go, ill be doing some research for sure. And glad that the wiring harness isnt too splice heavy, im fine with trimming and taking out the unneeded bits.

[darkstealth16]

Looked at car-part.com as suggested, found a 95 1.8 with 88k miles on it, indicates it ran good before being pulled, for $250 from a place right in town. I think that is going to be the best bet, Low mileage, Shouldnt need to put in a bunch for parts up front besides the essentials obviously before dropping in the motor. 1.8 I think will be comparable power wise to the EA82T, but without the fuss of the turbo. Always room to improve later on by upgrading to a 2.2 intake when I decide to do so (cant find any reasonable priced 2.2 and wanna get the car going without spending a ton of $$) so that may be my best route. 

[DaveT]

I happen to have a printout of various engine HP vs models right here...

EA82 SPFI = 90HP @ 5600RPM
EA82T = 115HP @ 5200RPM

EJ-18 = 110HP @ 5600RPM

EJ22 90-93 = 130HP @ 5600RPM

EJ22 95-96 = 135HP @ 5400RPM

[idosubaru]

EJ18 intake manifold bolts right up to the EJ22 so you could do a real simple engine swap later.

 

EJ18 doesn't have a knock sensor. But it has the hole drilled and tapped for it. So if you used an EJ22 intake manifold with it, which has a knock sensor, it just threads right in.

 

I'd look for an EJ22 intake manifold to work with the EJ18 engine, the EJ18s have some wonky and messy looking intake set ups IMO. But I realize you're aiming for cheap and simple so probably extra work and cost you don't want. But maybe worth a look on car-part or thread in parts wanted here.

 

EJ18 and 1995 and earlier EJ22s are dual port exhaust. 1996+ EJ22 exhaust is single port.

 

What state do you live in? Friend of mine had two EJ18s.

[darkstealth16]

I'm In North Carolina, Winston-Salem area. Sent you a PM before seeing your additional post Gary. 

[darkstealth16]

I bought the car for $200, as a tinker with project. Granted, I'd like to get it running and not sit on it forever. When projects sit, they get the back burner and ultimately unfinished. So trying to stay engaged on this and keeping doing things to make progress! Last time it was on the road was 1997. In NC, we have yearly state inspections, so in order to have it on the road, needs to be inspected. The inspection sticker on the windshield is dated for 1997. Bought it from a guy who's dad passed away and wanted it to go to a good home and not a scrap yard. Said it ran hot and prolly needed head gaskets. Compression test of just the passenger side cylinders was 120lbs and 80lbs... which tells me it probably does need at least that side needs it. Which ya never do just one side obviously. But they never had trouble with it over a 10 year period regular maintenance was done, and it has 180k miles on it... 

[DaveT]

By the age and miles, it would be no surprise that either an intake or head gasket developed a slow leak.  Leading to running over normal temperature while low on coolant.  This damages the headgaskets.  Can be minor, and nursed along for months, or bad making it un runable.  Or anything in between.  Either way, once the process has begun, it only gets worse.  If one side is that blown, the other can't be good.  It will also be leaking oil like mad anyway, simply due to age.

 

If it was never run extremely hot, do a full reseal, and it should be good for at least another 100K, assuming you keep the cooling system at 100%.

[idosubaru]

Resurface heads and new gaskets.

Subaru only intake manifold gaskets.

Exhaust manifold gaskets.

The PCV hose on the engine will probably break just match it at auto parts store and cut to fit.

 

Ask if you run into tight intake manifold bolts, they will easily shear off if corroded. I alternately loosen and tighten and take breaks (so metal can cool).

[darkstealth16]

Got it, sounds like a plan. Not my first rebuild, just my first Subie and first turbo car. Otherwise Ive done a head job on my 95 Probe GT I had (miss it terribly hence getting another zippy white 2 door coupe project) and top and bottom end on an 89 Ford Festiva along with tons and tons of other work on stuff. So rebuilding I'm not concerned too much about, it was mainly whether or not I should "waste" money on it. As far as prior abuse it was an older mans car, son drove for a while, and it was his "baby" so it was well maintained while it was driving. Ran hot and parked it. Hoses, lines and all are in great shape not brittle etc at all. no oil leaks I can find thus far. So it may just be in good enough shape to get rebuilt and last another 100k!