Caboobaroo

yes, it'll be my DD since my RX is never happy.... Jack, no I still have the coupe here in my shop but he wants to come out and pick it up soon. Unfortunatly, winter has already hit Wyoming so driving it back now wouldn't be such a hot idea. And with the way truckers drive after the summit between here and Cheyenne opens on I-80, after it has been shut down for snow, is a demolition derby... Oh, it's also going to get a manual 4wd setup put under it since I have everything to do that to it, and a 5-lug possibly...

An EA81 radiator will fit, however, you need to redrill the holes in the top of the core support for it to bolt in.

Well the deal is sealed. Absolutly no rust and maybe 2 small dents on the whole car. Also is coming with 4 brand new never mounted snowtires:banana: Interior is in awesome shape as well! We're gonna get it to my house at the end of the month and its going to have a couple timing belts thrown into it and I'll be driving it, woohoo! Now its time to get another engine for my RX.... oh and some pics of the new ride:rolleyes:

pull out the compression tester. My RX is doing the same thing as your as well. Mine won't start though since the oil is fouling the plugs I think but ti be sure, I'm going to swap my stock injectors back in. Check the compression first.

The other day, my RX was running awesome, like better then it ever has. Went to start it up the other day and it would spit and sputter and not start. Pulled the plugs... fouled. Replaced them and it ran pretty good again. Was checking some things and making sure my cooling fans were working when it idled down and died like it normally does. Went to start it up, spit and sputter again. Pulled the plugs... fouled AGAIN! Yes... I blew the rings from the looks of it because its an oil fouled plug, not fuel. So fast forward to yesterday. LUVMYBRAT calls me at work and tells me there's a guy he knows that has a GL 3-door. Couldn't really give me details on it until he looked at it some more. He said it was silver, 2wd, very nice shape, and only $100 bucks. So I was thinking what might be wrong with it. He said it doesn't start but I don't know the details of the kid's story. Well today, while on lunch, Bill calls me again. Says its an '87 GL, FWD auto. Kid says he was driving it and it died but isn't very mechanically inclined so he wasn't sure what happenend. I quickly thought of two things. Either a timing belt or the screw in the disty rotor coming out. Also says it cranks and cranks and cranks but doesn't fire.... He also said he *thinks* its the neutral safety switch:rolleyes: So hopefully, I can take a look at it this weekend and see what all it needs. Apparently the body is immaculate and there's no rust so yay for me. And for $100 bucks, who cares? I got a couple spare engines laying around;)

There were only roughly 2500 "true" '85 RXs made. I have seen on in person but it was pretty had. Good score! Yes, they have the part time dual range 5-speed in them. I have one of those trannys out of a '85 GL-10 turbo sedan I had. Yes. the '85 RX is a very rare RX indeed. I think it and the black RXs are probably the rarest of them all.

wow, never seen a video of it, just a couple of pics of it online. That thing is nuts!

The EJ control arms are way different, like stated. Our control arms have the bushing that has a bolt that goes through it on the engine crossmember and thenw e have a stabilizer bar that goes back at an angle to the transmission crossmember. Now the EJ control arms have the same style of bushing that goes into the engine crossmember, BUT, where it mounts back at the tranny crossmember, its the same bushing style as the front, and both bushings are in a straight line to each other, not angled like our stabilizer bar. Yes, you can ream out your stock control arms to accomidate the larger ends of the XT6/Impreza/Legacy balljoints instead of trying to find XT6 control arms. I've seen it done. Physically, they are the same except for the balljoint hole and some XT6s have a larger control arm bolt then EA82s. Ran into it twice but I have figured out a way to give stock EA82s a camber angle adjustment but for right now, thats my secret until I get it worked out.

that intercooler is looking the same as a regular single turbo WRX intercooler. If you can get a y-pipe for a regular one, it would work better then having to figure out the valve on the one side that shuts down half the intercooler. Well my aluminum piping was pre bent and to connect them, I used silicone hoses. The intercooler for a diesel, (don't know what literage it is) are often way to big for a 1.8 liter turbo. It would create a lot of turbo lag and loss of boost, with as much surface area that has to be covered with air when the turbo is spooling.

Bah, I hate the snow. I am riding my bike again since I need some tires on the RX before I even risk driving it in this crap. My tires are BALD! So higher hp, AWD, bald tires, and slick, wet snow = no traction....

Dave... you are my hero!

If you can get a pic of the intercooler for us, we can help assess how much time and effort is needed to make it work. In total for my WRX intercooler install, minus the cost of my spyder intake, I'm in the neighborhood of about $250 bucks. I used all silicone hoses, some aluminum piping and a piece of steel exhaust tubing from the autoparts store so I could weld a fitting into it for the AAV.

That color looks the the rootbeer brown that GM used in the late '70's and 80's. Not too many Camaros have that color, especially the gen 2 Camaros. At least not ALL of us Camaro owners are a-holes on the road..... SOrry to hear about your loss my friend, tends to happen to the best of us anymore:rolleyes:

Right now, I'm running just stock Impreza calipers (single pot) and XT6 calipers in the back of my RX. Stopping is wonderful, no understeer and will stop on a dime. However, since you're buddy is talking about 4 pots in the front, you can still use the stock single pot calipers in the back but I would highly recommend an aftermarket proportioning valve instead of the stock one, so then you can adjust how it stops, front to rear. If you DO want to upgrade the rear to a 2 pot caliper setup, this link might have some information for you since I am also thinking about going 4 pot front and 2 pot rear. http://www.xt6.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6175&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 Sexy!

You can use the struts, knuckles, brakes, and axles. You'll still need the XT6 lower control arms and the XT6 tie rod ends for it to work. I currently have parts from a '95 Impreza in the front of my RX.

Yes they do! I used a big hammer and just pounded them off the ends of the axles. Now reuseable... thats a different story:grin:

it is only controlled by the thermoswitch in the radiator, which is why they had the clutch fan. You can use a second electric fan from an EA81 car with AC. It will be in the same place as where your clutch fan is but it is slimmer and will fit, unlike using a regular electric fan that your car already has, which is not slim enough.

do you have pics of the front and back of the intercooler so we can get a better idea of what you're working with? I currently have intalled an intercooler from a '02 WRX on my '89 RX. If its somewhat the same, I got a few pics that might help you out...

+1 Also, sometimes with cooling leaks, you won't be able to find then unless the engine is nice an hot. The '82 wagon that LUVMYRBAT just sold to Zeke had a cooling leak from the radiator but never could find it. Well turns out, after we drive it down to just north of Ft. Collins, it lost coolant and when we put more in, it shot out of this tiny hole in the radiator. In addition to the hoses that have been mentioned, check the one that goes from the top of the block to the intake, and also check intake gasket as well.

ok, first question, is your '88 coupe a turbo? If so, then yes, the final drive gearing in the tranny will match your rear diff. If its NA, check the gearing on the rear diff in the coupe. If its a 3.9 final drive, then you'll have to swap the rear diff, seeing as most of the 3ATs were a 3.7 final drive. The rear diff is a direct bolt in for the rear end. Now, for the actual tranny swap. From your donor car, you'll need the following list: transmission instrument cluster shift linkages pedal cluster center console flywheel and clutch assembly clutch cable transmission mounts and crossmember driveshaft You mention that you think you need to swap your axles. I believe the 3AT (all of the nonturbo ones IIRC) have a 23 spline DOJ, whereas the turbo have a 25 spline. SO you should be fine on the axles. You'd be surprised at how a direct bolt in a tranny swap is. I did a complete 4EAT automatic to FT4wd 5-speed dual range RX transmission into my '89 RX. It was a drop out and bolt in procedure but don't take it lightly. This swap is pretty intense if you're doing it by yourself, especially since transmissions are heavy! The one pointer for you that I have is, when it comes to installing the pedal cluster, its easier to remove the steering column assembly then to try and work around it. It might seem difficult but by no means is it that hard. I'm sure other people will jump in and give other pointers as well but this should give you a good heads up on what to look for and what you're getting ready to dive into, head first. Good luck!

well I would go with some more expensive rotors. Subaru probably has a few in stock BUT they're going to be a bit on the pricy side:eek: Then, what I usually have done, is get the cheaper brake pads. They tend to wear out instead of your brand new rotors. Lifetime warranty pads = baaad. I saw a Jetta that was getting its first brake job a few years ago (car was a '98) and it came from the factory with lifetime warranty pads, and the pads looked brand new, the rotors on the other hand had huge grooves in them, the size of the pads. On my 5-lug conversion, I couldn't find an XT6 local to me so I had all the parts I needed from an XT6 shipped to me. Cost roughly $200 for those parts. Then about $500 more for the Impreza stuff.

I have a 3" exhaust on my RX but I'm also running quite a few mods as well. I had just a 3" bellmouth downpipe on my car and it was loud! For a stock turbo on a fairly stock engine, probably would go with 2.25" piping. If you end up upgrading to a larger turbo, then 2.5-3" would be better.

Its funny, the only reason I know about the access plate is because I put a new gas tank into my RX a couple years ago. It was a pain to get the filler tube off of the tank and when I went to put it back on, I noticed it somehow and then cursed at myself...

The filler neck is pretty simple to get to. Just jack up the passenger side rear wheel, take it off, and you'll see an access plate in the left side of the wheel well. Unbolt it and it will give you full access to the filler neck and the vent tube for the filler as well. It should also let you have access to where it connects to the tank.

I wouldn't drive it if its that bad. Also, if your car is a manual, the oil getting into the clutch kit will ruin the clutch disc. Oil will make it swell and becomg very brittle and will shatter basically.