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EA81 Head gaskets..again?


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Autozone sells a beck-arnley oil pump part # is 028-0248 but kinda pricey at $142.00

 

Take yours apart for a look, if it's bad it will have obvious score marks in it. You can also measure the clearances inside. I don't have the specs offhand but it's in the service manual.

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I havent been having any luck finding a new oil pump listing..any ideas?

 

You could go through the dealer but they are a bit pricier. The Beck-Arnley is going to be a repackaged OEM pump as well. Basically any place you can get an oil pump will be the same OEM pump as no aftermarket manufacturers make them for the EA81's. Beck-Arnley does the repackaged stuff a lot I've noticed - I bought some engine mounts for my hatch on sale from rock-auto and inside one of the boxes the repackage people had neglected to take the mount out of the Subaru OEM plastic baggie :rolleyes:.

 

www.rockauto.com has the Beck-Arnley (again - it's just a repackaged Atsugi OEM pump, so just as good as the dealer) for $95.79.

 

Take it apart, but be prepared for a surprise as by that mileage it will be a pile of poo. You will be scared to put it back in. All the 100,000+ mileage EA81 pumps I've pulled down have been completely wasted inside. It's amazing they work at all considering the damage I've seen. A testament to their close tollerance construction.

 

GD

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Were you going to have the heads milled? If so, try to see if the machine shop can "hot tank" them for you; they come out practically SHINY. "Hot tanking" is being put into a dishwasher-like contraption that just blasts the parts with high pressure jets of high temperature parts cleaning solvent (VERY high temperature) and it gets carbon stains and stuff you couldn't get off with anything shy of sandpaper otherwise.. just a thought, don't know if you've had them decked flat yet or not.

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Sorry to say it this way..but I am not made of money..just spent another $250 today on parts for this..that I dont really have.Seems everytime I turn around I am wanted to spend ALOT more then I have...and this is why I get frustrated cause almost everyone here makes it look like there is no end in sight.

 

Started out being told it would be about $200 in parts...well I am very close to $500 now

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Sorry to say it this way..but I am not made of money..just spent another $250 today on parts for this..that I dont really have.Seems everytime I turn around I am wanted to spend ALOT more then I have...and this is why I get frustrated cause almost everyone here makes it look like there is no end in sight.

 

Started out being told it would be about $200 in parts...well I am very close to $500 now

 

Well if you find anything wong with the rest of the engine, I'll just donate the good one I have. So you're covered there. I ended up getting it for free from the guy who owned it anyway. I like your car, it seems like the right thing to do. :grin: I think I gave away my last EA81 oil pump the other day, I'll take a look and see if I can find another one for you.

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Thanks for the offer..but I already paid for a new one..and a new clutch kit..suprisingly when I dropped the oil pan ( that was loose BTW) it was actually really clean inside for the year and the mileage.

Right now the block is sitting outside soaking in degreaserand brake cleaner...I saw a shimmer of silver..so I think there may be an actual EA81 block under the pile of muck

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Just parts on my last (and only) head gasket job alone cost me close to $1500 but alot was wrong and I had to get new heads as my cracks were huge, that was an ea82. oil was in everything including the overflow tank, one nasty greenish milkshake. The carb was crud and needed work too I think with all new hoses, filters and belts all the way around.

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:lol: Nice.

 

MAN I wish I was there!

 

I wish someone was here too!:(.. That was heavy trying to drag it outside....and thats where it is staying until I can get help getting it back inside.

 

Yo'j the only good thing about this one was the fact it wasnt milkshaked..it had a leak from exhaust to coolant..and never really over heated the car...Everything is smooth and I have yet to find a crack. .. Oh ..I havent even included the new carb set up..and all the new parts that were put on it before it left Seattle for its trip to the east coast.

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Took the oil pump apart...and it looks pretty darn good if you ask me...what do y'all think??

 

The rotor to end-plate area with the scoring is not so worrying actually. Inspect the rotor shaft where it rides in the end plate bushings. From your pictures it looks OK to me but I would prefer a closer veiw to give a confirmation one way or the other.

 

Here's what I'm talking about. This pump came from my 230k hatch:

 

pump_rotor.jpg

 

And a close up of the damage that's critical:

 

pump_rotor_close.jpg

 

And the housing:

 

pump_housing.jpg

 

The play in the rotor was so severe that measureing the clearances inside the pump is all but impossible. The various pieces are now paper weights.

 

GD

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What is a good milage for everyone with EA81s to replace oil pumps GD? Sorry for the thread hijack Connie but its sorta on topic.

 

That's really a very excelent question. I'll tell you what I know.

 

1. The oil pressure gauge runs directly off the pump. It's pressure is related *mostly* to the condition of the pump and not the condition of the engine. Thus bad oil pressure indicates a bad pump, not poor clearances in the engine as some people beleive. I like to see at least 20 psi at idle with the engine at operating temp. Any lower than 15 and I start finding out why.

 

2. The condition of the pump over time is directly correlated with the maintenance the lubrication system has had. If the filter gets clogged (pressure across the filter is too high) the bypass valve inside the filter will open and allow unfilted oil with contaminates in it to flow through the pump. This is obviously bad for many reasons (but still better than no oil due to a clogged filter), and shortens the life of the pump by a lot - not to mention the mains and rod bearings. The pump takes the hit HARD if you have any particulates that get through the filter (via bypass valve, crappy filter, whatever) as it's bushings are just aluminium and are not resistant to wear at all.

 

3. Basically, since the pump comes apart so easily, it's best to take them down and do an inspection of them. In Connie's case this was doubly important due to the mileage and the fact that the digi-dash has no oil pressure gauge.

 

GD

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Thanks GD:).. I already ordered a new one from Rock Auto and its already been shipped:-\ The places that you show were perfect..not even the smallest groove. Oh well...I will either keep it as a spare or maybe sell it cheap. Once this motor is back in then its on to the dash issue..THAT will have an oil pressure guage when done.

 

BTW..you can still see the cross hatching marks on the cylinder walls...I find that impressive for a 235K mile car. But Turbone gave me some history on it... Its original owner was a military man...the car was garage kept and very well maintained but driven alot. It was sold last year sometime to the PO who replaced the clutch and then was letting thier kid drive it. Dont remember why they parted ways in just a few months of ownership..But then it became mine and was stored at Robs for a few months until it came here.

 

I just want my little coupe running again...I miss it.:(

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That GD:).. I already ordered a new one from Rock Auto and its already been shipped:-\ The places that you show were perfect..not even the smallest groove. Oh well...I will either keep it as a spare or maybe sell it cheap. Once this motor is back in then its on to the dash issue..THAT will have an oil pressure guage when done.

 

I install a new one in every engine when I aquire it or put it into use. I have found so many that were bad, and lost one of my first EA81's to a rod bearing failure that I could have prevented, that I just buy a new pump before I even remove the old one. That way I can tear the old one down at my leisure and check the internals. If they are good I'll mark them as such and store them away as spares...... I have zero used spares..... see what I mean?

 

The fact that your's looks so good speaks to the validity of keeping your original engine. The rest of the internals are almost certain to look just as good seeing as it ran fine, etc.

 

BTW..you can still see the cross hatching marks on the cylinder walls...I find that impressive for a 235K mile car.

 

That is actually quite normal for the Subaru boxer engines. The cylinders being horizontal tends to hold lubrication better than a more vertical arrangement which would tend to drain it away. I have yet to encouter an EA engine personally that didn't still have the factory hone marks. It can happen, but it's generally due to complete lack of lubrication.

 

You have an excelent engine there - Rob wouldn't have steered you wrong with the coupe, I know that. Knowing that, and what you have told us about it.... you are better off with it's original engine than a lower mileage replacement of lesser-known history any day of the week.

 

It really isn't the mileage that takes them off the road. It's the years, the little things (electrical, worn carbs, etc) that all start mounting. The car gets old, becomes unwanted, and is relagated to the "kids" car.... or whatever. The engine internals are hardcore reliable if the maintenance is kept up on. A properly maintained EA81 should need little more than a valve job (probably once) to reach 500k. The internals are easily capable of it from what I've seen.

 

GD

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Took a break from the project yesterday...was having too much fun blowing stuff up:grin: ( even us gurls like things that go boom)

 

partial aftermath...have to find the cases to the oodles of bottle rockets:

 

July4rth030.jpg

 

But anyway...should be able to finish up the cleaning on the short block and start putting back together today..oil pump comes in Monday..clutch kit wensday..Ordered the stuff for the Uncle Scotty's Cocktail for the tranny..Hopefully in a couple weeks it will be running again!

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I think this may say it all right now:

 

heads.jpg

 

 

Need to do front and rear main..new oil pump...new clutch kit..intake and weber..then..back in it goes ( well maybe before ) but then it will hooking it up and firing it up ( hopefully)

 

I also have been laughing at myself...working right in from of LB ...and it feels like he is watching me...and I have been talking to him as I do stuff.

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