4x4_Welder

This seemed like the right thread for this, since my search abilities are lame. On the Legacy AWD 5MT I just picked up, there are two plugs. One I am assuming is for the reverse lights, but what is the other one? Does this have an electrical locking diff?

From what I understand, only the early FWD Imprezas have the 23 spline axles, the AWD ones and all Legacys have the 25spline ones.

There's your issue then. By coupler I did mean where the shift linkage meets the shift rail/rod that comes out of the transmission.

fixed it-

Ok, most likely it's your relay. Over time the contacts in there get burned up. I don't know off hand which one it is on your car, but you should be able to swap it with your A/C relay to verify. If it isn't the relay, and turns out to be the computer, then you can bypass the whole mess and have the key switch turn the relay on directly. Not safe if you wreck since the fuel pump will stay running, but it'll get you around. As for the voltage issues, checking the voltage with no load against it will usually show full battery voltage, but once you put the load on that circuit, the voltage will drop. If you think of electricity like water in a garden hose, it gets much clearer- With the end capped and no flow (no load), even if the valve is barely cracked open, you'll get full line pressure (voltage) in the hose. Open it (apply a load) and the pressure drops.

I'm getting ready to do mine, I can do yours at the same time if you want. It'll be about two weeks turnaround time though with my work schedule.

Check the shift rail and coupler at the rear of the transmission. If the shifter ever got a hard shock, then chances are that coupler is cracked. The hole can also be worn allowing the coupler to pivot without moving the shift rail.

Not bad numbers, either:

Yeah, I finally got my brain to realize that Subarus are different. I got the 4.111 rear diff that goes with this five speed, and will be installing that. I'm going to be running 195/55R16 tires, so they'll help make up for going from a 3.70 gearset and 185/70r13s, but not by a whole lot. It'll still be spinning faster than I'd like, but it'll be quick for sure.

Well, the USPS can't give a time, just a date. I'm really suspicious about it, though, kind of odd that I would post this thread and the same day they would be shipped.

Not getting power on any other wire sounds like a bad relay, -however- you only have 3seconds to probe the wire after you turn the key on. After that, nothing till you crank it. You really need an assistant for this.

That a/c compressor is no good for an on-board air system, it needs a supply of oil that gets circulated through the lines. A York piston-type compressor is what you need, you can find them with a serpentine belt setup on late 90s heavy trucks. I know Kenworth used them on the 600s. I would do an electric onboard air system like ARB's, or even Oasis Air. I'm keeping the a/c in the swap I'm doing, don't know how just yet but it looks like I can just bolt the GL compressor on the EJ and use the EJ ones pulley. We'll find out-

If you have a helper, you can ditch the bottle. Just have them hold the brake pedal down, then pop the bleeder open. Fluid will squirt out, then close the bleeder, have them pump the pedal a few times, then do it again. Do this until you get a nice solid stream and no bubbles. Another method is to use a vacuum bleeder. I really like this one since 90% of the time I work solo. Just stick the vacuum hose on the bleeder, open it, and start pumping to apply vacuum. Once you get nice clean fluid without any large bubbles, you're done.

In my experience, if the nose of the car is sitting at any up-angle at all, draining the radiator won't get the level below the crossover. It'll be sitting right at the gasket level, dumping what's left over straight into the intake ports. That seems to be an effective way of dealing with it.

ALWAYS replace brake components, ESPECIALLY front brake components in pairs. You don't want uneven braking forces or the car will pull. Would you replace the pads on just one side? I doubt that- Calipers are easy to rebuild in place -if- they aren't rusted. If the bore is rusted, it needs to be honed. That's very hard to do in place, and very hard to do properly without special equipment. You can replace the slides and rubber pieces, but if it's leaking, I wouldn't count on rebuilding in place. A set of loaded calipers is the quick and easy way to get the job done. Pads, slides, mount, and caliper all set and ready to go. All new hardware, a properly rebuilt caliper, new pads. You should also replace your hoses since they age just the same. A low solid pedal is generally a failed chamber in the master, but the car should pull due to the diagonal split system. It can also be a failed accumulator in the ABS.

Why are you taking the hub apart? Just take the strut off the knuckle. It's about 10,000 times simpler than what you are trying to do, and will save you a lot of headaches in the process. My favorite method is to hit the bolts with a little spray paint to mark their location. When you put it back together, set it so the paint lines touch, and you're set. Works on struts, hoods, doors, tailgates..........

Not a gear puller- A steering wheel puller. They are a simple little cut-off piece of extruded aluminum with a push bolt through it like a gear puller, but you run a couple bolts through into the steering wheel hub. Yours -should- be 8x1.25, but verify that. The puller kit comes with a variety of bolts, so finding the right one should be fairly easy.

That sucks, I know the feeling. Put a jack through the front of my 81 Hatch. Oh well, it happens to them all eventually.

Four-tube water bong? Oh wait, you're not in the PNW, those don't sit in the junkyards there.

Well surprise, surprise. They actually showed up today. Would have been nice to see some packing material in there, though- just four injectors in a plastic container. Date stamp says the 30th, I'll have to go to the post office and see what time they were sent.

Coolant temperature sensor may be the culprit if it runs fine once warm. Otherwise, intake boot leaks, bad MAF, bad TPS, timing off a bit (cam or spark) are my primary guesses. IIRC, the switch is in the latch. There's a couple wires you either cut or tie together to shut it off, not sure since I haven't done that myself.

I am doing an EJ swap on an EA82 wagon along with an EJ speed. The car is for road use only, so I'd like a taller gear. I have a 3.90 rear diff I can throw in it, and an EA81 4speed that is going into a project vehicle that only requires the rear output, so I can raid the ring and pinion out of it. I'm not making the 8hour round trip to go grab the matching rear diff for this thing, and Legacys seem to be a bit rare around here so not much luck finding the right one in a junkyard. Might be a moot point now, might have found transport to get the matching diff.

4volts sounds like a bad relay or you might have probed the gauge wire. The fuel pump is only on for 3seconds when you first turn the key on, while cranking, and while running. With the key on and engine stopped, it's off. You need to probe that wire while turning the key to run, watch the meter while someone else turns it on, or as a last resort figure out which relay is the fuel pump one and jumper it.

That would be true for an upstream sensor, but the downstream sensor watches the catalytic converter, that's it. It will be right behind the forward cat, the system should go y-pipe with upstream sensor and front cat, then the downstream one is right in the rear of that cat. It's a trade off as to whether the cat or O2s will go first, that sensor see a ton of heat. Your car should have one, that was federally mandated with the change to OBDII in 96.

Ok, I have an EA81 4speed that won't be needing it's ring and pinion, and an EJ 5speed that has 4.111 gears. Can i just crack the cases and swap the 3.90 set into the EJ trans, or is it more in depth than that? I see lots of people running the lower gears in the d/r 5speeds, but don't know about going the other way. I have a dial indicator and in/lb torque wrench for setting the gears up.