Andy FitzGibbon

This one works really well in a stock EA82... I got it used off eBay for $0.99 but I have seen them for sale at Autozone for $50 or so. Plugs into the lighter, powers the iPod and also has an Fm modulator (which seems to work better than several other modulators I've tried). Clears the shifter in 5th gear fine. Adjusts for different sizes of iPod. My only complaint was that on rough roads the ipod would bounce out, so I cut channels in the neoprene on the adjustable side bars to grip it, which fixed that problem. Anyway, it works well and I just thought I'd share. No I don't have Autozone stock Andy

Mine's getting close to 200K of hard, almost no maintainence miles (not by me). Burns a quart every 500 or so but still runs great, though a little low on power. I think of it as a constant oil change. Andy

Some of the early Toyota mini trucks that were converted to 4X4 by aftermarket companies in the states used a special divorced version of the Dana 20 tcase. Another option perhaps, though probably overkill for the rest of the drivetrain. Andy

My '85 GL has AC and has both an electric fan and a clutch fan. I have never seen the electric fan running. It does work- I've tested everything but the temp switch in the radiator, so I figure that's probably bad (when I pull the plug off the temp switch and short the terminals the fan turns on). The car runs hotter than my Loyale, but has never come close to overheating. Andy

Seen it done on other cars, but never a Subaru. Just a steel box that bolts to the exhaust manifold- put your burritos in and a couple hours later they're done. Of course, EA82's don't have manifolds, so I was thinking of putting it behind the passenger side cylinder bank. Just wondering if anyone here had tried it. Thanks, Andy

If it has power seat belts, they may not be returning all the way. There's a tool (funny bent allen wrench) in a small pocket below the rear seat. Use it to manually crank the belt all the way back to the "locked" position. The owners manual explains how. Then, fix it, or just duck under the belt like I do. I agree with Gloyale's diagnosis of a possible bad switch in the buckle, too. Andy

When I bought my 85 GL (Weber previously installed) it had a bad vaccum leak and a leaking EGR gasket on the head. Still ran OK at speed, but idled rough and consistently dieseled at shutoff. Got 24 MPG on a three hour highway drive. Then I checked the timing- 18 degrees! I suspect someone read the "20" on the flywheel as a "10" while trying to set it to 8. After correcting that and tuning the idle mixture, so far it only diesels on really hot days. I doubt it's a problem that can be gotten rid of entirely without adding an anti dieseling solenoid like the stock carbs have. Andy

I have both, and like the FI better. The Weber is pretty reliable and fun to tinker with, but sometimes I don't feel like tinkering:) The FI starts and runs every time and I don't have to think about it. I'd convert the Weber to FI if the car it's in wasn't in such nice shape, so instead I'll eventually try to pick up a nice D/R wagon with SPFI and keep this one original. Andy

Northwest Off Road sells lighted rocker switches that fit Toyota knockouts- they are bigger than the Sube rear wiper switch, but not too huge. Andy

I'm not even sure that's a dent, it might be a reflection. Car isn't here now, so I can't check (it's in storage until the snow and road salt go away). Thanks for the parts offer! Andy

You can't go lower than 3.90 in an EA82 d/r or s/r 4WD (part time) box without a lot of custom machine work. Even though a 4.10 or 4.44 ring gear would go in, as Phizinza notes the pinion gear is machined as part of the pinion shaft, which is different between the 4WD and AWD gearboxes and can't be swapped. And you can't use a 3.90 pinion with a 4.10 or 4.44 ring gear. EA82 AWD boxes (RX, ect) are a different story, they can be dropped to 4.10 using Legacy parts (I've heard, never done it, but others here have). Andy

Thanks for the comments, I think it'll be a fun car. Pretty much decided to leave it stock, so now I need to find another d/r wagon to lift when I get some more money. Only thing I wish it had is SPFI rather than the carb, but it's not a big deal. I'll just have to remember how to work on carbs, it's been a while:-p A friend of mine had it shipped back a few years ago. He has two kids now and decided to thin out his collection. I need the round center interior light for it. Thanks, Andy

Here's my new toy: 85 GL wagon, dual range, Weber carb, 125K miles, from Arizona. Pretty much mint including original paint (as far as I can tell- it has been buffed, was white when it came back here). I know the no rust thing isn't a big deal for you west coast guys but around here it's special:) Only thing missing is the interior light, I need one if anybody has one laying around (it's the dark brown/tan interior). I can't decide weather to lift it, or keep it as is and look for another D/R to lift. Andy

Yes, I do know about the search function and have used it many times, to get a lot of good information. I searched around for maybe 15 minutes before starting this thread, and didn't come up with anything that specifically answered my question. Just now, I spent 15 more minutes searching, using the following terms in various configurations, in and out of quotation marks: EA82 ea82 axle mpg MPG fuel economy rear axle mileage and came up with one thread that was close, though it was talking about new gen FT4WD cars and the 2WD fuse. The search engine wouldn't even pick up anything when I searched for MPG (in upper and lower case). I tried to look at as many threads as possible, but I don't have unlimited time to read all the ones with titles like "Stupid Question" or "SuBaRRRRRRRRRu". I found plenty of threads dealing with other ways to improve mileage, but that's not what I'm after- I already know about and do all of them. My question, specifically, was the effect on mileage caused by disconnecting the rear axles of an EA82 wagon. In about half an hour of searching, I came up with zero posts that specifically answer this question. I got several answers by starting this thread, one even from a guy who tried exactly what I was asking about. So much for 60 seconds...

Thanks for all the replies. We have to go across the country and back, so figure 6000 miles rather than 3000... so me AND my GF would get a meal:lol: Still not worth it. Pretty much what I figured, but thought I'd check others experiences. Uhh... grossgary, what sort of "answers and details" would I find by searching that are not already layed out in this thread? Seems pretty clear cut to me, just wanted to check with someone who had actually tried it. Andy

This fall, my girlfriend and I are planning to drive my 85 GL wagon across the country. Obviously, 99% of the trip will be in front wheel drive (though probably will use 4WD a little). Do yall think it's worth it to disconnect the rear axles for increased MPG? Thanks, Andy

You can't "increase air intake" any more than the amount that the stock setup is restricting it. IE. the engine only sucks in as much air as it needs. This all changes with a turbo or supercharger, of course. All that aside, dual snorkels would look pretty badass. Andy

From searches I've done, looks like 2.5 automatic Outbacks- are there any others? Thanks, Andy

As a kid my neighbors had a black Loyale Turbo wagon. Don't know what happened to it (probably junked..) Andy

I was referring to the drop out differential in the Toyota axle. They call them a 3rd member- I don't know why... V6 and turbo 4Runners have the heavy duty 4 pinion 3rd member, 4cyl NA trucks have a 2 pinion. The tubes, axles, hubs ect. are the same. I assumed you wanted chux turbo 4Runner axle because it was the HD one. I like it as an insult though... might have to try that out on someone. I'm thinking the 3 1/2" SJR lift, or at least his strut drop brackets. Andy

After my 4Runner, driving pretty much anything feels better. I had soft leaves in the back, combined with the locker it sort of "wollowed" in turns. Went anywhere in a straight line, though. What Subaru model has a rear sway bar I can swap in- or do I have to fab one? Brucey, hi from Elkins. burtonsnowman, why do you want his rear axle? Just take one out of a V6 Toyota, they are the same as the turbos. 4cyl N/As were the only trucks to get the lighter duty rear 3rd member. Thanks for the replies, Andy

I should have mentioned earlier that I want to run 14" wheels. This car on the Scorpion Subaru site looks like about what I'd like to do to my car: It has their 50 mm lift and 27-8.50/14 tires. I'm afraid the 3.5 inch lift would be a little tall for all the on-road driving I do, and would maybe lead to adverse handling (increased body roll, ect.) I know that everything is a trade off and not to expect to keep factory handling after lifting it- my last car was an 89 4Runner with 33s and a Detroit locker so I'm used to a little bit of wander- but I'd like to keep the Subaru pretty roadable. Still in the planning stages though, may change my mind before all is said and done. Thanks, Andy

Yeah, except that I'm in WV and he's in WA... I might build my own lift, though I'm sorely tempted to buy one- it would be another project scratched off the mile-long project list. 3-4" might be too much for what I want to do with the car, I think I'd rather have 2" or so. Thanks for the replies, Andy

I'm looking at lift kits- have been doing a lot of searching thru the threads here and also on the net. Has anyone used the SJR lift? I like the looks of it but there seems to be more info on the BYB and AA lifts. I'm kind of steering away from the AA kit, as from what I can tell from their site they don't drop the rear diff at all (is this correct?) I'm figuring that might be hard on the CVs for a mostly on-road car. Looks like the SJR kit drops the diff about half of what they drop the suspension, and the BYB drops it all equally- am I right there? SJR doesn't include the steering extension (not a big deal, I can make one) and they lengthen the front radius arms apparently. My car (92 Loyale Wagon) is what I drive every day, probably 95% of it's time is spent on pavement. I'm not a hardcore off roader at all, just want more clearance and a taller tire for when I have to hit a forest service road or something similar. Any advice on what would be the best kit, as far as staying *close* to stock handling and roadability? Thanks in advance, I just got this car to replace my lifted 89 4Runner and am getting excited about the whole Subaru thing. Andy

I did the timing belt in my last 4Runner, it wasn't too big a job. The hardest part was that Toyota gave me the wrong front main seal- it was fun to start it after putting it all back together and have all the oil dump out on the ground. Arrgh. So I really did the timing belt twice, I guess. The other fun was that someone sheared the crank pulley key and replaced it with a bead of MIG weld on the crank! It was working OK, so I left it alone. Back to topic- my Loyale I've been talking about is sort of marginal rust-wise. Just found out a friend has an 85 D/R wagon for sale, so I'm gonna check that one out for modding. Thanks again for all the replies, Andy