Need a little info about EA82Turbo

[trikerbob]

I'm looking to build another Trike soon and I run into the Turbo motors sometimes in my search for the carbureted EA82's I know nothing about the turbo's so I need a little help from you guys.

 

Question: would the Turbo require the computer to work? Remember I don't use any of the car wireing harness or computer. Just want it to be as easy as possible to set up in the Trike.

 

What would need to be there to work?

 

Question2: if it did have to have the computer can the motor be converted over to a stock intake manifold with the Weber Carb setup and run as well? are the turbo's duel port or single? I have a single port manifold I could use.

 

Any info about this will be very helpful in my search for what motor I need to look for.

 

Bob

[idosubaru]

there's more than one type of EA82 turbo. i can't stand it and can't imagine going with horse-and-buggy technology but maybe there's a carb'ed version that would be easiest for you?

 

there's also an EA81 Turbo. that would probably be even better - no timing belts and pulleys and i think they're carbed as well. but they are harder to find.

 

EA82 turbo's need great cooling and start having problems very quickly when they're run hot or out of coolant. so replace any and all hoses and turbo/coolant supply lines you can before installing the engine. probably not a bad idea to replace the head gaskets, intake manifold gaskes and check the heads either.

[Reveeen]

*remembering* that turbo motors are low compression I would expect a small difference in power without a turbo.

[Turbone]

I would dismiss the idea of using a EA82T in your trike. To many headaches.

 

What would be a better choice and withe a little more HP, would be the EJ22.

Or even the EJ18. Much more dependable, bullet proof and many more of these are becoming available now.

[GeneralDisorder]

They are all computer conrolled MPFI, so yes you would need all the wireing and the ECU.

 

I would sugest you consider using the EJ22 and doing the Weber carb conversion using the Ford Escort distributor. Look for threads concerning this in the modifications forum.

 

GD

[idosubaru]

rob has a great point. if there ends up being a possibility of going FI, the EJ series engines are worlds apart from the EA82. and in my area they are actually easier to come by which means easier to find low milegae and in good condition. and no worries about cracked heads which EA82's/EA82T's are very likely to have. much more reliable motors too.

 

some of the down-under guys have converted EJ's to distributor systems so i imagine it's not impossible to run them carbed, they're doing it to run them on propane.

[trikerbob]

*remembering* that turbo motors are low compression I would expect a small difference in power without a turbo.

 

 

Ok the Trike I'm going to be building is going to be for a Women. Just how much difference would the lower compression make if I removed the turbo and carbed it? Is the turbo single port or duel? I have a single port manifold that I could use.

 

My big problem is finding a good carbed EA82 is getting very hard to find. I seem to run into Turbos more often, thats the only reason for my post. If its not a big difference in the performence of the motor, I'd just buy the first one that comes along =turbo or carbed, as long as I know I have the right intake to convert it.

 

Thanks for your feed back

 

Bob

[trikerbob]

They are all computer conrolled MPFI, so yes you would need all the wireing and the ECU.

 

I would sugest you consider using the EJ22 and doing the Weber carb conversion using the Ford Escort distributor. Look for threads concerning this in the modifications forum.

 

GD

 

Hi GD, my concern about the EJ22 is that it is quite a bit more powerfull and requires more cooling than the little EA82. I doubt that the 2 small radiators that I have made work on our Trikes with the EA82's probably wouldn't keep the heat down. There is so little room to mount radiators now, that I'm not sure I could make it work very easily. I'll have to think about that one some.

 

Bob

[idosubaru]

someone here or on XT6 site mentioned what they're car ran like with a turbo block (but no turbo). but i can't recall they're comments on it.

 

it is possible to swap pistons without cracking the block in an EA82. if the turbo's are that easy to find and you think they're a good fit for you then maybe that's a good solution. rering your EA82T and swap to non turbo positions.

 

I know nothing about trike's or why/how you'd be using it, just keep in mind EA82 Turbo's are very problematic by this age so buyer beware.

 

all of the EA82's i've owned are XT's so they have MPFI and multiple intake ports, but they aren't all like that. not sure of all the possibilities but SPFI's and MPFI's intakes aren't interchargeable. the heads are different between SPFI and MPFI. the blocks are the same though - you can swap whatever heads you want...and therefore any intakes you want if you swap the heads as well.

[NorthWet]

Turbos (and the N/A MPFI's) have dual intake ports. All of the EA82s have single/siamesed exhaust ports. If you have a carb manifold and distributor, you should be able to use any of the SPFI (which should be far more common the turbo/MPFI) or carb longblocks.

 

Going from a carb'd to a "turbo" block drops you from 9:1 (9.5:1??? ...OTD :-\ ) down to 7.7:1, so your looking at a 20-30% drop in thermal efficiency, power, and mileage. Speaking of TE... that is also going to mean more heat rejected/lost into the cooling system, so your radiator issue might become more of an... issue.

 

The EJ22 is a MUCH more civilized engine, more power and torque everywheres, nearly bulletproof. Cooling system requirements are fairly proportional to power demand, so unless the ladies are regularly (and for sustained periods of time) goint to use the extra 40-or-so HP of the EJ22, probably not going to have any additional cooling issues. The EJ22 is heavier than the EA82, by my estimate 50-75 pounds.

[GeneralDisorder]

Hi GD, my concern about the EJ22 is that it is quite a bit more powerfull and requires more cooling than the little EA82. I doubt that the 2 small radiators that I have made work on our Trikes with the EA82's probably wouldn't keep the heat down. There is so little room to mount radiators now, that I'm not sure I could make it work very easily. I'll have to think about that one some.

 

Bob

 

We routinely use the EA81 and EA82 radiators for the EJ22's. Just because the engine *can* make more power doesn't mean it is going to most of the time. The differences in power are largely a product of larger displacement and better valve/head designs. The cooling systems are quite similar and shouldn't be a problem.

 

GD

[trikerbob]

We routinely use the EA81 and EA82 radiators for the EJ22's. Just because the engine *can* make more power doesn't mean it is going to most of the time. The differences in power are largely a product of larger displacement and better valve/head designs. The cooling systems are quite similar and shouldn't be a problem.

 

GD

 

Thanks to you all for your answers and comments. One of my concerns about the EJ22 is that I have not done that one myself yet to fully understand the problems I might incounter. I'm building for a paying customer and hate to get involved in something I have no experience with. The extra weight of the EJ22 is also a concern as there is already a lot of weight back there the way I build off the VW torsion bar. So I guess I better either stay with a VW motor for her or find a good carbed EA81, but thats getting harder to do these days.

 

Thanks guys

 

Bob

[idosubaru]

Carb'ed EA engines:

1-800-444-9707 $250 Idaho Falls

1-208-523-1787 $250 Idaho Falls

775-635-2112 $300 Nevada

1-208-743-9505 $350 Idaho

 

1-800-452-2623 Eugene Oregon - they say "bent valves" but that's not possible in an EA engine, so maybe you can get it cheap if it's only a broken timing belt? They also have a known good engine, but no price listed.

[NorthWet]

To clarify something, if you will...

 

Have you been looking at used engines, rebuilt engines, or JDM crate engines? There are tons of carb'd engines EA82s (and EA81s) in used cars for cheap; this would be the mindset of many of us here. But if you are building it for a client, you are probably looking at a rebuilt or "40K import" engine. I would think that non-turbo/MPFI JDM imports would be readily available (I haven't looked recently, and the JDM import market is very fluid). Basic engines are the same, swap over a carb intake/wiring and dsitributor, and should be good to go.

[Gloyale]

Here is the best combo for you're use I can see.

 

Buy a Turbo motor. Remove the Dual port heads.

 

Use them the Turbo shortblock, with swapped SPFI/Carb(9.5:1/9:1)pistons......or......use a whole NA SPFI or Carbed shortblock.

 

Get someone (Scott:rolleyes: ) to weld a Weber adaptor to you're MPFI/Turbo intake.

 

Use a standard carbed Disty

 

Basically that would be the setup you have on you're current trike IIRC, You just started with a NA block before. If you use a turbo block you will need to swap higher compression pistons in.

[idosubaru]

To clarify something, if you will...

 

Have you been looking at used engines, rebuilt engines, or JDM crate engines?

he's from california - they have to be smogged, Cal-spec, emissions compliant, have waxed cylinder bores......

[torxxx]

I'd get a EA81 or EA82 N/A and bolt a 3.8L buick regal supercharger to it... that'd be a blast on a trike

[trikerbob]

I'd get a EA81 or EA82 N/A and bolt a 3.8L buick regal supercharger to it... that'd be a blast on a trike

 

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions.

 

Since this build will be for a women, and since I don't charge a bunch for my labor, I do my very best to keep things as simple as I can. My ideal thing would be to find a complete take out motor with under 150,000 miles that is known to be a solid runner. It could be a SPFI or a Carbed motor as I do have a carb manifolid I could replace the SPFI one with. We are not required to be smoged on a Trike so that is not an issue, but as I move up into the EJ series of motors, things start to get more complacated and heavier and needing more cooling. Plus its an area I haven't ventured into yet with one of my own to know where the problems might be. So I don't want to build for a buyer and possibly find it back in my garage every week to adjust or fix something that we didn't know would happen.

 

In my area, I'm having a hard time finding very many good running cars with EA82's or EA81's that are cheap enough to pick up just for the motor. Others that are cheap, are wore out or don't run to be able to tell if its any good or not. I'd jump on a

40K JDM complete crate motor, but its rare to see one of those now too. Its all 2.2 and mostly the 2.5's out there now, the EA's are to old to be that low in milage.

 

Bob

[zukiru]

do you have a trike site? I am becoming increasingly interested in them especially if they can subie motors in them.

 

 

(I vote for the EJ motor too.)