EA82 T into MY subaru (84 sportswagon)

KERAZY · Post by **KERAZY** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 1:10 am

Hi. I was just procrastinating as to what I would to my wagon, and was wondering what I would need to change if I converted my engine to an EA82T and what it would cost?
What are the power stats of a standard EA82T?
Is the conversion relatively easy into the MY?

Also, what are the differences between the EA81 and the EA82?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

tim_81coupe · Post by **tim_81coupe** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 1:33 am

Why the double post? No need to ask us twice

.

I've fitted an EA82 carby motor into one of my MY's, and an EJ20 turbo into another, so apart from EA82T wiring I think I can cover the rest.

First question, is the car fitted with a lift kit?

At the very least the chassis rails will need to be cut/shut or "reshaped" to clear the cam covers. This is more extensive on an EA82 than on an EJ motor as the EA82's are wider. In particular the passenger side rail will need to be widened from the timing cover all the way back to the distributor.

I'm not 100% but I beleive the stock output of an EA82T is in the region of 100kw, but there are variants with differing outputs (JDM higher maybe?).

The conversion would be possible into an MY, I wouldn't say it would be overly easy though. My EA82 carby swap was a bit of a challenge, and there was no fuel / cooling / wiring mods to be made! I'd say it would be a little easier than the EJ20 turbo swap, the radiator doesn't need modification and I can't see the wiring being as hard.

An overview of the tricky points:
-Chassis rail modification to clear cam covers
-Crossmember modification to clear up-pipe for turbo (or sourcing and swapping to an EA81T crossmember)
-Fuel system upgrade to EFI, all hoses replaced, return line fitted, high pressure pump and most likely a surge tank too
-Wiring in the ECU, fitting wiring to car
-Custom radiator hoses to suit new engine
-Exhaust fabrication to suit new downpipe and most likely larger diameter (1 3/4 is a little restrictive for the EA82T!)

There are a few other small things that slip my mind at the moment. You will need to turn the oil filler pipe around to clear the battery for instance.
You also need to consider what gearbox you're running, and from this what clutch (the bigger the better).

As for the differences between the EA81 and the EA82... well I'll try and describe this without sparking an argument here

The EA81 is a 1781cc pushrod flat four producing around 55kw in standard form. The timing gear is run on a chain and it normally has solid lifters. It has a single inlet port and a single exhaust port per head, not a huge amount of power upgrade potential but it is an extremely reliable beast that will literally drive into the ground.
The EA82 is also a 1781cc flat four however it's an OHC motor with varying outputs depending on the specific model. They have two timing belts, one for each head and usually have hydraulic lifters. The carby motors are really just an OHC EA81, the real differences are in the MPFI and the turbo motors. These motors have twin port heads and higher power outputs. The reliability of these motors is often a subject of debate, although its fair to say in many cases they are a tad less reliable than their pushrod siblings.

Apart from that I feel its all much of a much. They are both only EA motors after all :P

MUDRAT · Post by **MUDRAT** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:49 am

An EA82 Turbo conversion into an EA81 is not that much different than an EJ20 Turbo conversion into an EA81 - In my opinion the EJ is the better motor (and not just because it's got 165KW).

If your heart is set on the EA82 Turbo, then following Tim's advice above is the way to go, especially if you plan on keeping the part-time 4-speed gearbox ("Can anyone find my traction? Anyone? Where's my traction gone? Surely someone must have seen it here somewhere?!? Come on, seriously, where did it go?").

If you have sound mechanical abilities you can do either conversion yourself at home.

KERAZY · Post by **KERAZY** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:07 pm

well thats all shed some light on the situation. thanks heaps.

one more question: Would an EJ20 SOHC be any easier? I'm sorta reluctant to go 'force fed' as it were, so if I got an EJ20 SOHC, what would I need to change? structurally, all thats wrong with my car is the gearbox linkages, an easy fix. I'm not that experienced practically with engines, but theoretically I know a fair bit (no practice, I'm 16 in august). Getting concerned with fuel prices and I've gathered that injected is always the better option, so what sort of things would need to be changed with that in order to fit it?

Cheers.

Jason

Oh, and It's not lifted, actually I was thinking about dropping it (if I wanted a 4x4 for off-roading I would have bought a sierra). A problem?

tim_81coupe · Post by **tim_81coupe** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:49 pm

The lift kit makes fitting things a little easier.

The EJ20 SOHC will fit without subframe modification, however it would be difficult to retain your current gearbox. I'm certain all the SOHC EJ conversions you see on this site that are using EA gearboxes are using the 5 speed from an L series. An adaptor plate is needed for this swap, as well as a custom clutch / redrilled flywheel just to name a bit...

Have a read of this thread, it may clear some things up:

http://www.ausubaru.com/main/modules.ph ... pic&t=1013

EDIT: Also, whereabouts are you KERAZY?

KERAZY · Post by **KERAZY** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 5:44 pm

Northam, not too far out of perth

how many kw do SOHC EJ20's have? if i were to do the conversion myself, how much you reckon itd cost just for the parts n the engine?

dirty skirt · Post by **dirty skirt** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 7:58 pm

85kw and the ej22 has a 100kw,also check the topic ej power output chart
inyhe subaru chat

rxbrumby · Post by **rxbrumby** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 1:25 pm

I just fitted an ea82t into my brumby about 5 weeks ago. The brumby is the same as an MY. Conversion is not too hard ,I started it on the friday night after work. Took about an hour and half to remove engine and crossmember. I prefabricated a replacement crossmember before hand. You need to put in a divot to clear the turbo up pipe( easy job with a grinder and a welder)and also slot the engine mount holes outwards by about 30mm. To do this I cut out the doubler piece under the slot and replaced them with flat pieces of 3mm steel. sorry I forgot to take pictures how to do this. To fit it up to the factory 4 speed you will need to use the clutch from original engine and use some 2mm thich hardened washers to space the preasure plate out if you are using the rx flywheel. I did as one of the bolt heads on the ea81 flywheel had been rounded off and the timing marks would not be correct. My car was lifted so by using a combo off shims and blocks the engine fitted with out rail mods(want to get it rta passed, they dont allow rail mods in SA). I used the factory fuel pump as a lift pump to a surge tank mounted under tray, with a fuel pump from a BMW to supply fuel to the engine(Cheap from U-Pull it wreckers). I had the wiring loom from the RX and using the correct wiring diagram parted off the needed ecu wiring to make it run(about 2.5 hours in front of the tv on saturday night). Found the correct wires to in the brumby loom to get power, water temp,oil light etc. Need to move battery to other side of engine bay were old carbon canister was mounted and extend/more wiring to suit(not hard only about 6 or so). feed through and hook up wiring loom under bonnet. Connect up the fuel lines( may need to run new return fuel line if you dont have one). Use the top rad hose as it fits straight onto rad correctly, and from memory I think I used anouther cut down top ea82 hose for bottom radiator out let(may be wrong will need to check) Hook up all other heater hoses etc, connect battery and test fire. The whole conversion took the weekend and a couple of mornings before work(I work afternoon shift) Had it running friday night( dayshift that day). So all up maybe includeing making crossmember up and stripping loom about 25 to 30 hours(I am not a mechanic but I am a Boilermaker by trade and I work on garbage trucks and earth movers and can pretty much well build them from scratch including doing the wiring, hydrolics and mechanical engine and drivelive repairs). Sorry for long post but if you need any help feel free to pm me. I will try to post some pictures of the finished car.

subanator · Post by **subanator** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 11:20 pm

To put this simply, I was looking at possible upgrades for my MY wagon. EJ22 was my first option, less messing around with chassis rails etc.

Then a EA82T L-series came up, problem solved, already converted.
Added value here is if it goes bang, any EJ will fit more easily as to and MY conversion, and its a better equiped model too.
Other added bonus, like models came with EA82T (RX), easier for rego etc.

Not to say you would be better off with an L, just that that its easier with that motor or any other upgrade.