The Beast I Drive Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 (edited) Ok, so I was workin on the Beast a little tonight, just to get it running so I can drive it up to the shop to swap out the engine, and otherwise prep it for Evan's Creek... The car is my 87 GL wagon that I swapped an EA81 into a while back. This is the 4th motor in the car, going on 5th when I replace it. I parked it because it started slinging oil all over the engine bay and I could watch the crank move 1/4" in any direction while I was playing around under the hood one day... Anyway, I let it sit for a while, then when I got my new Brat, I pulled the disty off the Beast (it was an EA71 disty that I built to work in the Beast) Stupid me, forgot to note where the rotor was pointing Even better, I cant just set it to TDC using the timing marks, as I am running the EA82 flywheel and I didnt transfer the timing marks While I was putting in another disty, I noticed the front main bearing was laying under the cam drive gear ! Well I decided the motor is toast anyway, so Im gonna run it. I get a disty in and guess where TDC might be, and I try to start it. It acts like its siezed . Well I check it out, and I can turn it with enough force on my breaker bar, so I grab my Black Brat and jumpstart the Beast. Now it cranks over fine, but wont start... 3 distys later I find a good one. I hook up my remote starter button so I can adjust the timing till it runs and it fires up! Man I missed that sound. ... But a new anomolly. The radiator was empty. I didnt think much of it, but after I shut the car off, went in the house for a drink, and came back out, I noticed my rear tires were wet... And dripping green Apparently, the motor wouldnt turn over the first time because it was hydrolocked with coolant Both sides of the engine were filled with antifreeze, I know this because I have separated dual exhaust, so I can see whats going on in each side of the engine.... Im still wondering why the coolant leaked into the cylinders, it only sat for a couple months, but there are so many things wrong with the motor anyways, it could be a number of things.... And yet, despite having no oil, no coolant, shot main bearings, torn up main seals, and being drenched in oil, it still runs like a champ!!!!! I cant wait to open up this motor and see just how bad the damage really is! Seems like the EA81 will press on through anything short of a thrown rod, and Ive seen rigs running and driving with a rod sticking out of the block..... So even that might not stop the little monsters! Conclusion, though they may not make much for HP, the EA81 has got to be the most mechanically sound, simple, rugged, durable, reliable, get-you-where-you're-going-bar-nothing motor Subaru, or any car company, ever made! Gotta love it.... -Bill Edited July 18, 2009 by The Beast I Drive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 (edited) Low/no oil pressure is the only thing I've found that will actually kill one completely dead. I did-in the first engine in my lifted wagon that way - it was originally a digi-dash car and had no oil pressure gauge. It had an idiot light. After a particularly nasty trip to the power-line/logging roads, I was driving back and at the last few stop lights I noticed the oil pressure idiot light was flickering on at idle. I resealed the pump and the light went away..... About 3,000 miles later I was doing 70 on Hwy 26 between hillsboro and portland - the severe knocking started and within 1/2 mile of the start of the knocking it threw a rod out the top of the block. For the reccord - they will NOT run with a thrown rod . When one lets go at 4,000 RPM it takes out the opposite one as well. Two cylinders down, no oil, and no coolant (it punctures the coolant passage under the manifold). No Es Bueno. Now on every EA81 I get I replace the oil pump and make DAMN sure I have a good oil pressure reading. You have probably never seen my wagon as I haven't posted pics in a long time - here's a shot: GD Edited July 18, 2009 by GeneralDisorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott in Bellingham Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 it still runs like a champ!!!!! thats awesome, so going to EJ it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beast I Drive Posted July 18, 2009 Author Share Posted July 18, 2009 GD, I love the bumper on that wagon, I think Ive only ever seen 1 picture of it, but its pretty sweet! Im not gonna EJ this one just yet, I have a JDM EA81 that Im dropping in, it had a little more power than the stock USDM motors. Also, I need to fix the rear wheel bearings (shot) and replace 3 axles (possibly 4) and redo the entire exhaust, with a crossover pipe. Last time I took it out wheelin I did it at night out on the ranch, and I missed the road and crash landed in a rock pile (not small rocks either) and really tore some stuff up. This motor was probably one of the more abused ones I had in it, the first EA82 gave up the ghost on prom day (go figure ) and I concluded it was because I didnt keep up on the maintainence (siezed TB idler) and ran it out of oil multiple times. Second EA82 ran fine, ran great when I pulled it to trade for the first EA81, which blew the headgaskets pretty severely on my way home from last year's WCSS after the fans quit working in the 105 degree heat, going uphill, with a 50mph headwind, and no oil . This motor was abused even before I got it, it came out of a hatch that looked like it saw more air time than Tony Hawk. This next motor should hold up for a good long while. Next motor that Im thinkin bout doin in it though is an H6, either a 3.0, 3.3, or 3.6, depending on what I can find for the right price And it will have a six-pack induction setup But thats all just dreams right now... I just want to get it running good for Evans, has to be able to carry me and my big friend over the mountains and back, and get wheeled like there's no tomorrow! -Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Txakura Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Low/no oil pressure is the only thing I've found that will actually kill one completely dead. No, no. Oil pressure is optional. I blew the seals on my pump one morning at -3 in December... after that the oil pressure would drop to NOTHING showing on the gauge at an idle (showed about 20-25 when the engine was first started, but once it warmed up it would plummet to nothing 'indicated') January, February and March I probably ran 65 miles per day, April was 120+ miles per, May I was down to 65+ miles, finally in June I got it cut down to under 44 per day. 7 DAYS A WEEK that car started and ran with a weak oil pump. All told, I'd say I drove the car 7,500 miles AFTER I popped the oil pump seals. Other than one lifter that sounded like it wanted to free itself from the engine, I ran that engine until last month when I finally pulled it out and swapped it. and the water pump had just started to drip a little little bit too... Arguably I had some kind of pressure at highway speeds... but every time I pushed in the clutch, or idled at a light enjoying my lifter song I got to feel the gut twinge of anxiety looking at the gauge wondering when some really bad stuff was going to happen and how far from home I'd be - but it never came Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 On EA82's it is normal for the gauge to read zero at idle when warm. It's in the owners manual. You still had enough pressure. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Hell Yeah!!! And GD, my BRAT has run over 1500 miles with 0 psi reading on the dash. But then again my Oil pressure sending unit has taken quite a beating... Hehehe, it goes through a quart a month Twitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Txakura Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 On EA82's it is normal for the gauge to read zero at idle when warm. It's in the owners manual. You still had enough pressure. GD know-it-all [noh-it-awl] –noun 1. a person who acts as though he or she knows everything and who dismisses the opinions, comments, or suggestions of others. No kidding high speed? I still had oil pressure? I thought my car had been touched by an angel and it was running on miracle power. The point, Herr Augenscheinlich, is that excessive pressure caused a partial o-ring failure and forever changed that car's oil pressure at an idle. It dropped by over 20 psi and barely read anything at an idle after it went to 85+ psi on a very cold winter morning and fell to zero. I replaced the sending unit and found it had 'some' pressure indicated, but it had forever changed. The further point was that it remained operational with over 220,000 miles on it, and continued to serve me without failure until I could do something about it. Beyond that, and what the owners manual says on page 43, this car has been in my family since 1994, and I'm pretty damn sure I can tell when something in it changes from the way it normally operates. So thank you Captain Obvious, for pointing to the owner's manual, and telling me that I am wrong about my own car - in public. No kidding I still had some kind of oil pressure? They don't run for months on good wishes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 The point (in case you hadn't noticed) is that this thread is about EA81's - not EA82's. The EA82 is not in the same league of reliability nor does it share much in common with regards to the oiling system. And yes - I do know a lot. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Txakura Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 The point (in case you hadn't noticed) is that this thread is about EA81's - not EA82's. The EA82 is not in the same league of reliability nor does it share much in common with regards to the oiling system. And yes - I do know a lot. GD Seriously, I think you do know a lot. The part of the definition I liked was 'dismisses the opinions, comments, or suggestions of others' because even though I stated I had an event that forever changed my oil pressure, you quoted the damn owner's manual and blew me off. I see "A testament to Subaru Ruggedness". I do not see 'A testament to EA81 Ruggedness' nor do I see the "Ultimate EA81 Message Board" I'll buy the first beer, you go snag some chips and we'll sit in the corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaruguru Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 so i take it youre big friend is trevor haha. im gonna try and make it in the ... ummm brat? haha. Rob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beast I Drive Posted July 19, 2009 Author Share Posted July 19, 2009 so i take it youre big friend is trevor haha. im gonna try and make it in the ... ummm brat? haha. Rob. Actually Im bringing Dereck with me, he is more into the offroad stuff than trevor. His uncles and whatnot all wheel Jeeps and stuff... Back on topic (kinda) I guess I was kinda implying that the EA81 is my favorite Subaru motor because of its reliability and durability... The EA82 is a good motor too, but not even in the same league as the EA81. I killed the first EA82 in the Beast by running it for a week with no oil, and the oil pump siezed... Yeah. Other than the timing belts and a few other weak points, the EA82 is a decent motor... The EA82T on the other hand I no longer have any respect for. I took pretty good care of mine and it left me high and dry and burnt my car to the ground to boot. But just to hammer home the main point of my first post, from my experience, the EA81, while not the most powerfull, is quite possibly Subaru's most fool-proof and reliable design, and you have to severely mistreat it for it to really let you down -Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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