Engine Overhaul - Advice Needed

[555Ron]

Hi,

I have a 1987 Subaru Leone DL (i think) carbed EA82 with no powersteering or A/C. I have decided to change the waterpump, and from there the jobs list has snowballed majorly mainly due to "can i do it myself" thinking... i just find doing mechanical stuff interesting.

 

I have a few questions and i'll have more as i start to pull it apart, and would like someone who has done the job before to advise me on what i should be doing.

 

1. Theres oil leaking from the timing belt covers, not sure where. I plan on changing the seals on the camshafts, but it looks harder to do the crank seal. Should i order a seal and attempt it or have a wait and see approach. (Car has 148000kms on it... about 95000 - 100000 miles) And are they crank seals difficult to do?

 

2. I keep getting told to grease stuff in my workshop manual. What type of grease should i use (I live in Aust, and the grease i know available are castrol and valvoline... where would i find the grease you recommend?)

 

3. What should i grease in the camhousing so there is no wear when i restart the engine? Should i get the old timing belt and try to pump oil with my hand via an old belt?

 

4. With the oil leak, could this affect my pulleys? Should i hold off getting the belts until i have inspected the idler and tensioner pulleys for damage? (I can get a cheapish timing kit (gates) with pulleys, but i was going to buy the Subaru belts if the pulleys were ok)

 

5. The oil pump doesn't seem to make any noise, but when i put my stethoscope to it it makes a faint tick-tick every second or so. Should i pull it and put new O-rings on it?

 

6. My manual says to take care of the inner bearings when removing my camshaft from its housing. Where abouts are these and what does this mean in plain english to do with the camshaft?

 

7. I have a couple of noisy tappets and the cam housing leaks. The passenger side has no noisy tappets though. Should i take the tappets apart still and clean them up?

 

8. One website says to "use 1.6mm O Ring in lengths to seal the Cam Housings", whats this mean??

 

9. My Torque Wrench is 30 years old, and has never been used. The minimum setting is 14.8 lb ft. How do i check that it works ok and will this be low enough? The timing covers are to be torqued to about 5 lb ft (my book has it in metric units, so i don't know the exact number off my head)

 

10. The oil sump has a minor leak. Should i replace the gasket, or just tighten the bolts say 1/6th of a turn. I understand i have to take the exhaust pipes off the heads to get the sump off... are they difficult to put back on? Do i need to put them back on to the right torque? I have exhaust cement too, do i put this on both sides of the gasket? Or do i put it on the exhaust/head?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[LPGsuperchargedBrumby]

im in the middle of rebuilding a ea82t so i can answer at least one of your questions.

 

the crank seals are a doddle to change, its harder to get every thing off to get at them than it is to get them out,you'll need subaru factory tool # *cough,cough..screwdriver........ just be careful not to damage the cases or crank

[idosubaru]

100,000 miles - replace the crank seal and oil pump gaskets/seals.

 

you can use oil on the cams. i like engine rebuilding lubrication...forget what it's called. it's very sticky like substance for applying to parts as i reassemble the cams. clean your HLA's if you're in this deep and they are tapping on one side.

[555Ron]

Okay, thanks guys. I'll go and order the parts tomorrow... and maybe start this week. I was thinking about borrowing a digital camera and writing some articles for others... i'll see how it goes. Most of its covered, some of its not... but hopefully my workshop manual will cover it well enough for me.

 

The only thing is it says to have the #1 piston at tdc when removing the cam housing, but it says to have it on timing mark to remove the timing belts, which are pretty far apart on the fly wheel. Should i ignore the tdc stuff, and use the timing marks, or is there a reason for this?

[torxxx]

it dont matter where the engine is at firing wise for the seals. The cam gear only goes on one way so you dont ahve to worry about messin that up.

 

A lil trick for gettin those seals out.. get a self tapping screw and screw it into the seal, DONT NOT SCREW ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE SEAL! Just enough so you can pull on it with a claw hammer. they will pop right out. specially if they are leaking. For installing them, I use a little tiny bit of synthetic grease around just the inside of the seal.

 

Make sure you get OEM seals (subaru probably holds the patent on the exact size for the motor) meaning aftermarket stuff will be slightly bigger or smaller.. in 10th's of a mm

 

the only thing on a subaru motor that needs to be torq'd is head bolts.. the rest of the stuff, tight works just fine. gotta get the feel for what the different size of bolts should be tightened to.