1985 GL EA82 manual choke swap

[Turkeyberry]

Hi everyone, new here. Got a 85 gl wagon  with a ea 82. It was running but not well wouldn't start easily. Turns out the choke was no good. After reasech here I decided to go manual for now till I ej22 swap. Use factory choke hole to the left of the steering wheel and opening in firewall. Now it starts and after warming up I can open it up and itll idle and now I can drive it! Yay.  I will upload pictures. 

[el_freddo]

I did something similar for 18months until I was forced to swap inlet manifolds due to a cracked thermostat base. It used to need a shot of fuel down the carb and a good, strong battery to get it started (lots of cranking and hope!) 

After swapping the intake manifold to an auto choke unit it started and ran ace every time! 

Then it was EJ’d and I’ve never looked back since. So much better!! 

Cheers 

Bennie

[Turkeyberry]

Alright here's how it looks now. Figured out photo hosting. 

Choke on

 

Choke off 

Under the hood (will need to route it a bit neater, but it works for now)

 

At the firewall 

At the carb, I tried using the attachment on the arm but it wouldn't tighten up to hold the small wire so I looped it through and around the arm for now 

Under the dash to the right of the colum was a hole the I used 

A few other install pics 

 

The GL wagon is back in the road and saved from the junkyard!!! Let me know if anyone has questions or comments! I used the Dorman manual choke kit with the 9 ft cable I cut off about 3 feet and still need to cut more after re routing.

Edited October 28, 2019 by Turkeyberry
Photos

[Turkeyberry]

Question  what should idle sit at when warmed up? 800? Thanks 

[88SubGL]

Idle as low as possible without it struggling. Factory tach’s can be a little off. As long as you have good drivability and the engine is not racing or about to die, you’re good.

[DaveT]

IIRC, 700 stick, 800 for auto.

 

[Turkeyberry]

Alright then. Thank you both, this will give me a better idea. It's at about 1000 now. Will mess with it tomorrow morning. 

Do these ea82s have trouble going up pretty steep grades? I have two on my way home. Drove to town 60 all the way(down hill), on the way 45-55 max at like 4k in 3rd 

I have a stick, it's a 5 speed D/R, cant wait to swap, doing a fresh rebuild on an ej22. And then itll go in. 

[DaveT]

I don't know what a stick does for RPM vs MPH.   my 3AT autos do 4000RPM doing 65 on the highway all day, flat or gentle slope.  Steep is kind of relative...  But on the steeper hills around here in CT, I have the pedal pretty far down to maintain speed at 65, and if you slip below, it is hard to get back up there.

EA82s are fine turning 4000RPM, they are not good lugging.  They are made to spin fast.

[Turkeyberry]

So got a Weber they might want to sell? I think this carb has other issues. I cant get it to idle below 1000 and sometimes it jumps to 1200 or 1500 for a bit. I dont have all the parts off my donor Legacy to do my 2.2 swap yet and it'll most likely be done during winter. I was planning doing on going through and doing timing job, cap, rotor, plugs, gaskets, and getting winter tires after getting the carb right. still doesn't want to idle right and sometimes till just die when i come to a stop and i have to pump to get it to restart. other than that it runs like a top at 5k even going up the hill in 3rd with no fuel issues while driving. only stopped and idling. i figure i can run the motor until i have everything together to do the 2.2 swap and it would nice to have a good running ea82 on the shelf for  a rainy day. 

Thanks everyone