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Yes - I am going to have a close look at it next week - it has been sitting in a local garages yard for 18 months or so - a big factor in my decision will be how many Kms it has done - I would ideally like under 200,000 - we shall see !

I suppose for $500 I might make a few bucks wrecking it ?

Thanks for the advice - I have been offered the car for $500 - I have yet to check the car properly (it is sitting at a local garage - unknown Kms - they seem to think the bottom end may be toast ?) - it seems to be (at first glance) a good deal but I don't want to get into it and find a death spira...

Hi all - wanting to buy head gaskets for EA81 - I only really need one - but getting three might be sensible - anybody with a few for sale ? or can recommend a good source ? Cheers

Thanks for the replies - I had a feeling this would be a narrow road - I have heard a few horror stories of people fitting second hand motors - a bit of a gamble I guess - Cheers

Ej254 ?

I was trying to think of a cheaper option to fix this car - mid 2000s XT - the local garage quoted around $7000 to source a motor and fit it - probably more than the car is worth - I thought there may be a Quad cam 2.5 (non turbo) that would bolt in (along with the non turbo exhaust ?) - possibly mu...

Hi guys - a friend has a Forester turbo - Quad cam - is it possible to replace the motor with a non turbo engine - say an EJ204 ? and not have any ECU problems ? Cheers

Hi all - my 82 sports wagon is wearing the inside of the RHR tyre - and on dirt the car is very wandery (ok on bitumen) - something is bent or worn - have not had a close look yet - anybody else had this problem ? Cheers

Hi guys - I have a very good EA81 - but the camshaft gear is loose - my question is - can I split the crankcase with the pistons still attached(heads off) to make enough room to replace the camshaft ?

sent a few private messages - maybe I am not doing it right - got them off - they are in pretty good nick.

My 82 sportswagon - noticed the vacuum advance was blocked in the carby - easy fix !! WRONG !! - managed to unblock the venturi (three hours later) ok alls good - got the carby back on - then the motor would randomly stall but would restart ok - carby off again for thorough clean and check - same pr...

I can help you out there - does $30.00 plus postage sound ok ?

I was hoping to be able to get another gear onto the camshaft without splitting the motor (the camshaft should be ok as the gear is alloy) - getting the gear very hot and the cam very cold and drifting it on there ?

On looking closer ---- the gear is loose on the camshaft ! -- now what ??

Thanks for the replies and the offer but the motor was in a Brumby I bought some time ago for $250 - at least I have a couple of good heads - and I suppose it is possible to put a new cam and lifters into it at some stage - I have a few ea81s lying around so for now I will make one good motor to go ...

Well I looked a bit closer - and the gear is loose on the camshaft !

Well - I got the motor out and sump off - turning it over by hand I noticed the camshaft gear moving in and out by about 2-3 mm - in the Subaru book the thrust clearance is supposed to be 0.020 mm - I think I may have found my noise - can I simply press the gear further onto the camshaft ? Cheers

Hi guys - I have an ea81 that ticks pretty loudly at idle - it seems to be coming from the camshaft - tick goes away at about 1200 rpm then comes back at idle - it was REALLY bad when I got the car but after I adjusted the valve clearances it improved a lot - its a "GEM" recon motor that sounds perf...

And oh yes - its very "wandery" on the dirt - does positive camber cause this ? the guys at the wheel alignment place reduced the toe in a bit and that slightly improved things - as does driving with high range 4wd - but my old Brumby never had these problems - and I rarely used 4wd in that.