EA81 headaches and heartbreak

[brumbyjack]

G'day all,
I'm (trying to) restore a 1990 Brumby I bought as a 'donor' vehicle. It was so rust free it became a father/son project rather than being striped. It's since become mostly a father endeavour - go figure. Couldn't get any history on it as it was part of the debris left when a farm sold. Looked like the previous owner was pulling the engine and the heads were off. Blown head casket was my best guess. Came with a spare engine in a fridge in the adjacent paddock. I decided to use the 'fridge' block. Cleaned it up best I could (exterior only) and had the heads done at a shop. Put them on and it cranked but wouldn't start. Replaced the carby as the old one was pretty tired. Took a few months to source it. When I went to turn the car over again - nothing. Click, click, click. Tried to crank the engine manually and it wouldn't budge. I googled around and came to the conclusion the engine could be hydrolocked. Took the heads off and the bores are clean, except for a little bit of grit - pumped a lot of Inox in there ahead of time. A mechanic took a quick look and concluded given there was zero movement from the pistons the problem was internal and told me to drop the pan and split the engine. Did both. The pan had a lot of water in there. Should have thought to check the dip stick - DOH! Can't get the flywheel to budge. The heads look fine i.e. Welsh plugs seem firm and were replaced at the shop. Can't see any obvious cracks in the bloke. My guess is something is jammed inside - maybe on top of the head gasket blowing again? That's a worry, because as you might have guessed already I'm no mechanical genius - very much learning as I go. I have (as recommended) read through a few of the previous related threads, and they've given me a lot to think about. Nevertheless I have three queries. Firstly (and I know this is tricky based on the limited information provided) any ideas what the problem could be? Second as an amateur would you recommend I try to split the block and self-diagnose. And third, I happen to have a spare engine (1987) that I picked-up in my never-ending quest for Brumby bits and pieces. I was told it was running before it went under a tarp in my shed. I'm inclined to put aside the troublesome engine for a few rainy days down the track, strip the best bits off it and slap in the 87' to see if I can get the ol' girl to run. That said, once bitten twice shy. What should I do, replace, check or clean before I just bolt it on and turn it over (obviously after replacing all the fluids etc). For example, if the oil in the sump is clean would you still recommend dropping the pan?

Apologies for wide-ranging dispatch. It's just the frustration levels are mounting. I managed to get my own Brumby (Jack) back on the road after years spent parked-up and caught the 'subie bug' - thankfully no major engine work needed. Am really determined to get this other one ('Texas' after where we found it) up and running as well.

[Silverbullet]

Hey Jack, welcome to the forum!

I tore down and rebuilt an EA81 to it's component parts some moons ago when I had no experience. I learned a lot and the rebuilt engine was very short lived. My recommendation would be not to split the block of the locked up engine unless just for morbid curiosity. Really if it is completely locked up and the cylinder heads are off then it could be rusted up internally since you found so much water in it. You could pop the rear bellhousing off the back of the block to see more insides, might give some clues.

If your 87' engine turns over smooth by hand then I'd be using that. Could swap your rebuilt heads onto it if you want to make use of them, just be careful of the inlet manifold bolts, they can be rusted in and prone to snapping. No point dropping the oil pan IMO. It will most likely blow blue smoke for a while.

In my experience the #1 most common cause of no-start on EA81's is faulty ignition system. There's so so many different failure points. Whenever I had random engine running issues I'd just replace the rotor, cap, leads and sometimes plugs and the problem would magically disappear until the next time. Next problem would be carby, they can always benefit from a rebuild.

Let us know how you get on.

[Bantum]

I would concour with PP, go with the known running engine for now, it will be quicker in the long run to get it going,
then you can look at the seized engine later - It will be a task to pull it apart to find out the cause of seizure.
( Head gasgets & welsh plugs are the usual suspects & possibly bearings ceased with water found in sump )

Should start a thread on your build to document the progress ...

Ciao, Bantum ...

[brumbyjack]

Bantum & Silverbullet,

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my 'cry for help'. Starting a thread on the Texas rebuild would make 'War and Peace' seem like a light read. I mean this car came with some crazy bush repairs (not to mention a few live rounds) such as a cable that ran directly from the fuel pump to the fuse box and an extra choke that went from the console to the carby. Not being very mechanically minded, I started on the aesthetic fixes before I even looked at the engine i.e. the first thing I did was replace the very cracked dashboard. The end result is it's very nice to sit in even if it won't start. Yesterday I put the seized engine side-by-side with the 87' motor and noticed there's a fair bit of difference with the header gear. So I think all I'll do is put my newer carby on the 87' engine and hope I'm not left with a bunch of spare bits after. Good point regarding the rotor, cap and leads, I was using the old ones when I should have replaced them from the get go. I think 'morbid curiosity' will get the better on me, because while I think I made at least one misstep when putting the heads on, I can't imagine the gasket could have failed so quickly just turning it over. Should have known something was crook when the water in the radiator started going down.

A question without notice. Am I right in assuming the lower the engine ID number the older the engine? I only ask because the motor in Texas when I bought it was ID No. 206306 which seems really low for a 1990 brumby. By contrast the engine I found in the fridge was ID No. 765487. I always assumed Texas (last registered in 2005) got 'frozen in time' while the owner was in the process of removing the old engine to put in a replacement. Now that I think about it, maybe he'd already ditched the original dud engine, shoving it into a fridge in the adjacent paddock. Questions without answers!

[El_Freddo]

Welcome BrumbyJack!

Contrary to the failure points recognised by Silverbullet, I believe these little engines are gold - bullet proof little engines that will keep img if you keep the fluid levels where they should be.

Before going any further with this - with your second engine, ensure it’s and EA81 block and not an EA82 as they’re not compatible. It’s also blasphemy to put an EA82 into an MY body such as the brumby, unless it’s put in the back to go to the tip.

If that second engine is indeed an EA81, you could drop it in to get it started to ensure it runs. After this you could choose to run it as is or pull it and swap your reco’d heads on with fresh seals.

If you want to try and free up the seized engine you could try several things:
- remove sump and oil pump (being careful to not break the previous pump housing); blast with a penetrant on all the crank bearing areas, in cylinders behind the pistons and along the cam shaft. Also try getting some on the cam gear too.
Let it sit for a while, reapply if you feel the need. Then have a crack at turning it over using the crank bolt. You might have to wiggle one way then the other to free it up.

- Remove the flywheel and rear cover plate as suggested by SB, see if the crank and cam gears are rusted and causing an issue. Next step if still stuck would be to remove the cam gear/cam if possible to isolate the crank. Then have a go at getting the crank moving/rotating.

I’d suspect there’s a decent amount of rust in the cylinder on the bores behind the pistons that’s locking it up.

Worst case it was run without oil and melted the bearings that have seized the engine.

One way or another you’ll get this going - if you’ve got the body in good condition that’s 90% of the battle. The engine is small fry in the grand scheme of things, it’ll just take some time and possibly extra cash to source another one (that you ensure you see it running before purchase!).

Alternatively, look up the EJ conversion (yes SB I’m going there!) on Subarino’s website. This is an awesome upgrade to modernise your engine choice, give you loads more options for spare parts and a decent power upgrade to boot.

Cheers

Bennie

[brumbyjack]

G'day Bennie,
appreciate the checklist of options regarding the seized EA81. You're advice in the past has been invaluable. It really has me scratching my head as it cranked smoothly and turned-over just fine before I left it to sit for a bit while tracking down a replacement carby. Put in plenty of time with the WD40 making sure the pistons were lubricated etc. The mission now is to find out how/why the water mixed with the oil. The YouTube experts point the finger of blame at a faulty head gasket of cracked block, so exploring the inner workings should be a valuable learning experience and perhaps offer a few clues. I'd like to get that engine running again as it seems to be a much newer motor based on the block ID numbers. BTW do you envisage any major issues swapping-out the 1987 carby for the newer one I found (looks like it's off a 90-92 model). I'm with you on the reliability of these engines and the stamina of the Brumby in general. Back in the day mine (Jack) humbled Landcruisers and Patrols on Fraser Island and crisscrossed the Outback without missing a beat. As far as a conversion is concerned, I think (tragically) I'm a purist and would like to see Texas running as close to 'original' as the budget will allow.

Cheers,

BrumbyJack.

[El_Freddo]

If that original engine cranked/turned over before, try removing the spark plugs and turning it over, it could be hydro locked from coolant leaking into a cylinder One way this could happen is from dodgy inlet manifold gaskets allowing coolant to leak directly into the intake manifold.

That’s a big maybe again too though. You sure there’s no nuts in a cylinder that’s got it locked up? And I’m/we’re assuming you tried turning the crank in both directions. I hope that is the case!

If you have the intake manifold and air box with all the anti pollution gear, the newer carb will work on the older engine. There might be some very minor wiring differences that should be easy to solve - and there might not be any either! Mixing the old intake with the new carb could work, or it could be a lot of work to get things plumbed up as they should be.

^ I apologise with the could or might statements above. Not seeing what you’re working with exactly can go either way. It will work, you just need to sort out a way for it to work properly.

Cheers

Bennie