EA81 and EA82 Trans Swap

[Scooter3]

I know there are at least a dozen threads about this so far but, Ive gotta question. Im going to swap my 4spd EA81 tranny to a 5spd EA82 tranny in my 83 wagon. What I have gathered so far, is that the bell housing has to be widened at the bottom, the crossmember mounts have to be modified, and to keep the solid driveshaft you have to shorten it. My questions are, I know where an 83 wagon is with an automatic tranny. Will the driveshaft work in it without having to cut it?? ALSO, I was reading a thread about doin this in a brat and they had to swap out the console and shifters and all that. Does that have to be done in a wagon? AND, is there any big thing that I should be aware off while doing this because this is my first time at trying it.

[LPGsuperchargedBrumby]

with regard to the one piece driveshaft....it needs to be made longer to match up with the 5spd as the gear box is shorter than the 4spd box

[GeneralDisorder]

There is no need to swap consoles or shifters on ANY EA81 if you do it right.

 

Driveshaft has to be made longer, or the two-peice from the EA82 used. The two peice has the advantage of being cheaper, and having better ground clearance, and vibration characteristics.

 

GD

[bratsrus1]

Hey Scooter This is Jerry, give me a call 1-509-952-2855 i make a kit for that 5 speed swap over. Thanks Jerry

[GeneralDisorder]

Hey Scooter This is Jerry, give me a call 1-509-952-2855 i make a kit for that 5 speed swap over. Thanks Jerry

 

Yes! Call Jerry - his kit is excelent. HIGHLY reccomended.

 

GD

[beauregaardhooligan]

I can't see how buying a two piece drive shaft would be any cheaper once you include the cost of a carrier bearing and bracket. You'd have to drill some holes or weld it to mount it also.

It also seems to me that a carrier bearing would get hung up more trying to slide over rocks/logs/etc. I know my solid driveshaft sits well up inside the tunnel. It's clearance was never an issue.

[TomRhere]

It's cheaper to get the 2-piece from a yard than it is to have a longer 1-piece shaft made is what he's saying, I believe..

[GeneralDisorder]

I can't see how buying a two piece drive shaft would be any cheaper once you include the cost of a carrier bearing and bracket. You'd have to drill some holes or weld it to mount it also.

It also seems to me that a carrier bearing would get hung up more trying to slide over rocks/logs/etc. I know my solid driveshaft sits well up inside the tunnel. It's clearance was never an issue.

 

An EA82 two-peice from a yard will be cheaper than a custom single peice. It fits without modification.

 

The carrier bearing is what gives you the added clearance. The front 24" or so of driveline is horizontal off the back of the tranny. there is nothing to hang down. The rest of the driveline tapers down from the carrier bearing to the diff. An extended solid driveshaft (remember - it has to be longer) will hang down farther than your original single peice - noticeably outside of the tunnel. Subaru knew what they were doing when they went to the two-peice.

 

The carrier bearing is easy to mount. It doesn't require specific placement (it's a CV joint), and doesn't need anything robust for it's mounting. Simple sheet metal mounts bolted or welded to the tunnel are all that is required. It doesn't support anything but the weight of the shaft. Take a look a the EA82 mount and you'll see what I mean. It's actually astoundingly thin and wimpy looking. But the truth is they never fail and that's all that's required.

 

The clearance of a two peice is like this:

 

~~~~~@\

\

\

 

Where the tild's are the straight section, and the @ is the carrier bearing.

 

While a single peice is like this:

 

\

\

\

\

\

 

Exagerated of course, but you get the idea. That's why the two peice is superior in my opinion. But do as you like.

 

Edit: Ascii art just doesn't work on this system. But I tried. Take my word for it I guess. Maybe I'll take a pic under my Brat some time.

 

GD

[GeneralDisorder]

Johnson']I believe he meant EA82 two piece driveshaft.

 

Yes - fixed.

 

GD

[MilesFox]

make sure its from a 5 spd becaus e the 2 pc shaft from an AT will be shorter, because an AT is longer.

 

BUT, if you ever have to replace u-joints, just replace the rear half of the shaft as they are the same lenght for either. the carier bearing is mounted to the front piece.