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Finaaly got the Brat Engine Home


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Well, since my Brat is "car locked" and the owner of the cars is Out Of Country for a while and my Brat engine got pulled before he left, I FINALLY was able to bring it home and am going to tear it down for a reseal and what not. Did a compression test after pulling it and the drivers bank read 45psi while the passengers bank read 90ish psi, and the fact it's been sitting for some number of years, I figure to kill the boredom at home I'd tear the beast apart and keep myself busy. The only thing I hope I don't have to do is spit the case, but everything beyond that is going to get looked at and redone. Going to get a hold of http://www.deltacam.com/ and have them do an RV grind for me and all that goodness. Maybe even do the SPFI swap while I'm at it. Any who, here's pics of the Engine in the back of my 86 GL, one of the temp stand for compression testing and the empty bay.

Bratengine001.jpgBratengine002.jpg

Engine.jpgEmptyEngineBay.jpg

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Hey dude This is Jerry, if you are going to have the cam reground then you will have to split the case. Make sure you know how to time the engine before you slpit it. Because when you read how to time it you are going to say what the h**l are they talking about. And then you already have it split hone the cylinders and rering it. Thanks Jerry

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Hey dude This is Jerry, if you are going to have the cam reground then you will have to split the case. Make sure you know how to time the engine before you slpit it. Because when you read how to time it you are going to say what the h**l are they talking about. And then you already have it split hone the cylinders and rering it. Thanks Jerry

do that to a (supposedly) good running engine and you should have essentially a brand new runner. I say go for it, I don't know the specifics on the cam grind BUT the SPFI *was* designed for slightly higher compression, so maybe a bit more cam would be well suited to it. Don't go hog wild, though.. radical (even "mild") cams are for use in places where you either have good carbs that you can use to tweak the fuel and air flow to complement the cam, or GOOD FI/spark management that you can do the same with. You would be best taken care of by being realistic; many cam purchasers wind up with the buyers remorse because they thought the cam was all they needed to open up an extra 20, 30, 40 horses.

 

Just some advice; others who know this engine better would be better suited to weigh the pros and cons of a specific grind.

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Daeron, I was planning to use the Deltacam torque cam to help with torque on the Brat. I'm not expecting anything super duper, just something to help it move along better with a 4/3 lift.

Bratsrus1, thanks man, you just burst my bubble (j/k). I found a guy who is willing to help me rebuild it after splitting the case so we'll see what happens. If it gets split, I'll add the EA82 pistons and all the other goodies while I'm at it. Just gonna have to take it slow and easy and let the finances dictate what happens.

Thanks Guys.

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Daeron, I was planning to use the Deltacam torque cam to help with torque on the Brat. I'm not expecting anything super duper, just something to help it move along better with a 4/3 lift.

 

 

I was just inserting the obligatory camshaft disclaimer, is all.

 

Good luck, sounds like you're approaching this the right way.

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Thanks daeron. Got the drivers side head off to check if it was the h/g giving the low compression readings and no, the h/g is in good shape:banghead: . Guess I'll be having to tear down the whole dang thing to get the compression issue fixed on the drivers side:mad: . Funny thing is it was BOTH cylinders on the drivers side reading ruffly the same reading:confused: . Oh well. More oics for ya'll.

The combustion chamber-

Bratdriverssideengine001.jpg

The cylinders-

Bratdriverssideengine002.jpgBratdriverssideengine003.jpg

 

I noticed that the intake bolts on the drivers side were kinda rusty, but don't know. The valve train is nasty looking like water got into it so maybe the intake gasket blew and not the heads??? New too Subies and all their goodies, but I've got 'til January at the earliest to get this thing on the road so plenty of time to work on this. Funny thing though, all the bolts for the intake and heads were nice and did NOT require PB Blaster or anything, just a breaker bar to loosen the torque. Kinda nice, but at 115K miles no surprise I guess, even after sitting since '01ish.

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did you try a wet test?

 

I didnt really see much evidence of a bad headgasket when i tore my engine down, but I had no doubts; MY car was bubbling compression into the radiator. The overflow was bubbling within 45 seconds of turning on the engine. No water in the oil, but it was making my coolant into a rusty nasty oily goopy mess.

 

speaking of which, I am overdue for another water flush through my block, and after that I need to do a chemical flush and fill with proper coolant. Dont wanna mess up my nice new radiator....

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daeron, no I didn't do a wet test. The tranny in the Brat was locked in gear making it impossible to move, so we just pulled everything first. I know a few V Dub freaks up here so maybe I can get their help with splitting the case and all that fun stuff. Only thing is I need to get the timing figured out (have NO info on that other than good ol' Haynes manual) before I split it. Will let everyone know how it goes as I delve deeper into it the next couple of days.

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daeron, no I didn't do a wet test. The tranny in the Brat was locked in gear making it impossible to move, so we just pulled everything first. I know a few V Dub freaks up here so maybe I can get their help with splitting the case and all that fun stuff. Only thing is I need to get the timing figured out (have NO info on that other than good ol' Haynes manual) before I split it. Will let everyone know how it goes as I delve deeper into it the next couple of days.

http://www.ch601.org/engines.htm

 

find subaru ea82 parts one and two.

 

you are welcome :)

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Thank you very much daeron. Got the intake manifold off tonight and went to take the water pump off and snapped the top bolt off in the hole:mad: . I knew everything was going too easy. Took the oil filter off and had a half cup of water drain out with what little oil was in it. Next it's off to removing the other head and separating the tranny from the block so I can get the blasted thing out of my 86.

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OK. So I found a friend up here who'll help with the assembly and machine work:banana: :banana: . But, before I get to that, I have to get the oil pump off. Took out the 4 bolts but it won't come off. I can get a little play on the drivers side but the passenger side will NOT budge. How do you remove it?

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  • 2 months later...

Ok, so I got the block split and everything apart now and need too get new seals and gaskets and all the other goodies to rebuild her. I remember reading somewhere about rpm machine rebuild kits but don't recall everyones impressions on them and the search doesn't want to help me at the moment. Are there any good rebuild kits out their that ya'll recommend? I'm going to be sending my cam off in the next week or two to get reground and ordering some SPFI pistons and rings to up compression and already got the SPFI manifold and goodies for the conversion (minus Disty mod for EA81). Hopefully by spring next year my Brat will be done.

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