EA81 Overhaul thread

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Sun May 29, 2011 7:41 pm

That's right my mistake, should get a decent photo of the rearmost one tomorrow.

littlewhiteute · Post by **littlewhiteute** » Mon May 30, 2011 5:30 am

Are you going to get the cam reground?

A little cam should wake it up, depending on what you want out of it, something in the 260-270 degree range.

Lifters MUST be radius ground to suit.

Your heads have been surface ground in the pics, are you going to recondition them fully, 3 angle seats etc. Worth a porting in the valve bowl.
Deburr the sharp edge from the combustion chamber.

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Mon May 30, 2011 6:11 pm

Mate I would if I could, I just don't have the money

Would be great to get all of that done and give it a bit more pep as well but right now I'm only trying to get it running again. Maybe in the future when my repair job breaks down and I need to pull it apart again hehe

555Ron · Post by **555Ron** » Mon May 30, 2011 10:09 pm

Hmm... I started an overhaul that turned into an autopsy. When i pull it apart it had 1mm oversize pistons in it. It was a '92 (EA81) car that had been rebuilt in '97 and had 362,000kms on it when i pulled it. Gregory's says max oversize is 0.5mm but it seems to have lasted until it got overheated (badly). If you need some bits I've still got them but i don't know what you could use...

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Tue May 31, 2011 2:29 pm

I have twice done 1.0mm oversize on EA81 - the old 40 thou, Gregororys may have not kept up with parts available for rebuilds

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Tue May 31, 2011 6:14 pm

Hey thanks Ron, I'll keep that in mind. I might end up sending you a PM soon

I don't think these bores/pistons will be much oversize anyway, I did a quick (I mean quick) check last night with my new micrometer and extending bore gauges and it was something like 93.62mm, sound about right? Might not be remembering it properly, going to have a more precise measure soon and write it down.

littlewhiteute · Post by **littlewhiteute** » Tue May 31, 2011 8:38 pm

Standard bore is 92mm.

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 1:01 pm

Just went and measured all the bores properly. Took a piston ring off of a piston, oiled it up and put it in a bore, pushed it flat with a piston, then used that to get the bore gauge flat and level. Then squared off the stem of the gauge with the face of the block. All bores are 92mm +/- .02mm.

At the moment I'm a bit stuck as to what to do next

I guess I should measure the crank bearing journals but the micrometer I got only goes down to 75mm, too big to measure anything other than the bores, guess I have to go and get another one now

I'm also worried about reassembling it in regards to dirt and bits that might get in. Just sitting on the bench I can see the crank has bits of dust on it, bores have specks of something in them, same with all bearings etc...how do I get this stuff clean and keep it that way?

Here are photos of the intake cam lobe for #3 as promised. Couldn't get it done when I said I would, been a busy week.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 1:42 pm

We haven't found the noise yet have we?

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 2:00 pm

steptoe wrote:We haven't found the noise yet have we?

Nope, another sticking point. I can't put it back together without finding the noise first. But I don't want to disassemble that cylinder head with the rest of the engine laying around in bits, there's just not enough room and things will get damaged/dirty

I could just say to hell with it and replace everything on that cylinder like TOONGA suggested, or just throw the heap in the bin (kidding

)

*Edit* just rang the auto machine shop for prices, they can do the hone for $60, also supply the correct rings, main and big end bearings for $350 give or take. Perfect! will make life a bit easier if I can get all this in one place, won't need to measure up the crank myself and risk getting the wrong parts.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 7:08 pm

Silverbullet wrote:*Edit* just rang the auto machine shop for prices, they can do the hone for $60, also supply the correct rings, main and big end bearings for $350 give or take. Perfect! will make life a bit easier if I can get all this in one place, won't need to measure up the crank myself and risk getting the wrong parts.

In an engine rebuild parts are generally not the expensive part - it's having someone build it for you that is the wallet killer!

You should also ask about the cam re-grind as it would be something well worth scraping the money together for while the engine is apart. Steptoe would be able to attest to this

As for the dust, don't stress about it at the moment. When you're putting it back together vacuum the work area and clean the engine as you go. When done for the day cover the various parts with clean rags. Don't forget to add some oil to the bearing faces so there's something in the system before initial startup

Cheers

Bennie

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 1:50 am

A grind may be $120 ? 15/56 is my favourite stretching to 20/60 if NEVER to be loaded up or tow. Some go wilder 25/65? If you get the shop to do your hone and crank linish? let them hear your noise recording to let them know just how you got yourself in this current predicament

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 1:21 pm

Cam grind is tempting, I'll talk to dad and see if he can lend me some cash

As for crank linish, what is that exactly? do I really need it if the bearings and journals are in good nick? Or is it just the same as honing the bores for new rings and a necessary cost.

Bennie I was going to do as the book suggested as per reassembly and coat bearings and things with moly reassembly grease.

littlewhiteute · Post by **littlewhiteute** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 3:03 pm

Linish is a fancy way of saying polish if you like.

A linishing belt polishs the crank to lay the metal back over opposite to crank rotation.

Second part of crank grinding to get to required size and finish.

sven '2' · Post by **sven '2'** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 6:59 pm

Great work - has been a long journey since Easter!

Would suggest you give Steve at Rising Sun a buzz to see who he uses for his subie machining work...just thinking a workshop that does a lot of Subie work might save you a few Benjamins?

Keep at it comrade!

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 9:43 pm

Certainly has been a bloody long trip since I was looking at an un-opened carb rebuild kit and worrying about that, if only I knew what I'd be doing weeks later

Certainly will keep at it, still thinking about what it will sound and drive like when it's done

The block/crank etc is going off on Thursday, but before I send it away I wanted to know a bit more about the cam re-grind; dad isn't convinced it would be worth it. He wants to know what exactly it would do for the car? does it give a bit more power? will it impact on how the engine runs? will I have to fiddle with things like timing and fuel mixture after the change? And steptoe will the machine shop know what I'm talking about if I just ask them for a 15/56 on the cam? Cos if they ask me to explain it I'll be buggered

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 10:53 pm

Don't refer to it as a race cam then when talkin' to dad eh

The grind will push the torque of the engine just a little higher in the rev range - sort of where it is used in Australian driving conditions giving crisper power delivery - possibly marginal fuel economy improvement. Most machine shops will understand - they not likely to be able to grind cam but send it away. 16/56 with a lift of .235" I think is likely to be understood - a mild cam is what you want.

So what was knocking? A gudgeon pin or bush not yet found?

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 7:37 pm

Ok then, getting things sorted to go to the shop tomorrow, so far I've got on the list:

Hone all cylinders
Linish crank bearing journals
All new piston rings
All new main bearings
All new big end bearings

Parts (they may or may not be able to supply):
Oil pump gasket
Water pump gasket
Front + rear oil seals
Oil pan gasket
Crankcase O-ring (coolant channel)

Have I forgotten anything? I know I left cam grind out, decided not to do it. I'm sure there must be more gaskets or O-rings than that, but then it was such a simple teardown maybe not

(already have head gaskets, rocker cover gaskets etc)

Excited about putting it all back together in the shed, at night, in the cold

Lucky the light in there is a halogen, heats up the small space pretty well

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 9:42 pm

steptoe wrote:Don't refer to it as a race cam then when talkin' to dad eh

I doubt its racing cam spec. You'll find your engine will respond better than factory as the torque curve will be in the area that you most commonly use in your every day driving thus could be giving you better economy too.

I'm considering a cam regrind on the EJ now that I've heard good things about changing the specs

Cheers

Bennie

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 8:59 am

Before fitting rings to pistons it is always advisable to fit each ring to the bore and measure the gap and note it, slide ring down bore and measure gap there. There is a formula based in bore diameter in inches and how many thou gap is acceptable. Too tight means using a file to remove a bit off the ends of the ring. Always best to check.