Numbchux

My car: Engine: '92 Legacy OBD I EJ22e Chassis: '92 Loyale Wagons Tranny: EA82 D/R FT4WD 5spd Other: Mrose Adapter Plate, OBX header, 5-lug swap, RS front brakes, 200SX rear calipers current project: Engine: '96 Impreza OBD II EJ22e Chassis: 1986 GL Wagon Tranny: EA82 D/R 5spd Other: Rear disc brakes, rguyver adapter plate

I think the rear mechanical LSD that really helps. I can easily get this thing into an axis spin.....tighter donuts than any RWD car. I just can't do it in a predictable-enough location to get it on video when I just have the camera propped up on a pylon :-\

no....it's 4WD with rear LSD why would you say RWD?

one word.....Perrin. it's been done, and it'll outrun 99% of the 4-cyl subarus on the face of the planet

it's very close. I know a couple guys running VW wheels on their subaru without a problem.

no, more like the stock subaru one isn't prone to failure like the cherokee is. and, the vast majority of the people putting any money into a power build on a subaru, has a turbo....which means different exhaust.

ok, I had forgotten that the EJ hubs do press into the bearings, and don't ride on the spindle like the EA/ER ones do. but then you're opening the axle "can". I mean, yes, the front track is the same....but is the rear? is there enough clearance in the EA trailing arm for an EJ axle to fit? I know a few local guys.....I'll see if I can scare up enough parts to try a few things.

I don't see how the bearing size and hub size are related. as there's a piece in between....the spindle. if you put EJ-sized bearings in an EA trailing arm, you might be able to put an EJ axle (has the spindle as part of the CV, like an EA front axle) through the bearing. assuming the track is the same. and the XT6 hub is drastically different than an EA82 hub! DRASTICALLY. I'll have the rear end of my wagon apart tomorrow.....I'll take pictures (and also of the 4-lug stuff sitting on the shelf in the shed)

I want to do it too.....but can't afford to buy a pile of donor transmissions. :-\ I also want to get my hands on an EJ D/R case to drop the whole thing into. and a front LSD....and........and.............. ugh

I was looking at my coworker's Mazda 6 today.....and just at a glance, the wheels look like they use much more offset than subaru ones. and the bolt pattern appears, at a glance, to be 5x114.3. could mean if you use that bolt circle, and mazda-fitment wheels, you may be able to get away with thicker spacers. more research on that front will be required. as to what material to be used. I think the question you want to ask there, is what crowd you're marketing this to. the offroad guys will care more about strength than rotating mass.....while the exact opposite is true (to a point....I'll keep a little weight to keep the wheel from falling off) of the street guys. any possibility of making some of each? GLoyale.....I LOVE the adapter bolting to the hub idea! that's brilliant. you could make the adapter hub-centric, and then bolt it on. just have to make sure there's clearance between the hub itself and the caliper.

things to consider..... 5x100 is in demand on USMB and XT6, because that's what old-gen 5-lug subarus use. in fact, only exception to that is the SVX, '05+ STi, and B9 Tribeca. and since a 5-lug swap is generally considered a relatively bolt-on mod, it uses already in production subaru parts.......meaning 5x100. but if the already in production parts where easy to come by....we wouldn't be here. so that argument is rather moot. now, if you're talking about redrilling hubs. 4-lug is a must. as mentioned, the rotor uses a 4-lug pattern, and trying to space a 5-lug pattern within that, would be very difficult (if not impossible) without drastically sacrificing hub strength. another thing to think about with hub drilling, is the hub itself. subaru wheels are hub-centric. however, the center hole in a 5x100 wheel is substantially smaller than a 4x140 one. so some serious machining would be required to modify a 4x140 hub to allow a 5x100 subaru wheel to mate up to it, independent of bolt pattern. then it comes to adapters/spacers. couple things to be said about that. if you use a 1.5" (or something similar to that....would be required to clear the old lugs), unless you compensate with the offset of the wheels, you'll put lots of torque on the bearings that they weren't designed to take. it's virtually impossible to say exactly how much extra wear they'll show, but they'll fail sooner than they would otherwise, that much you can bet on. yes, trucks can get away with it. they're suspension systems are designed to handle more weight. solid axles help a lot, but even rigs running IFS can use wheel spacers, as the bearings used in even the crappiest truck IFS system are substantially more beefy than our subarus' setups. also, running spacers without correcting with offset in the front will effect steering, as the pivot point relative to the contact patch is changed. again, who can say what effect that'll be, but if it were a good one, subaru would have redesigned the knuckle/control arm to move the ball joint a couple inches inward. AND, pushing the wheels out away from the car will complicate fender clearance. short version: when picking the lug pattern, find one for which there's a wide selection of wheels of an offset that will put the contact patch back where it should be (read: a LOT of research). And there will be NO subaru wheel that will work with spacers. so thinking outside of the subaru box is a must!

nope, rear axles, trailing arms, and spindles are the same in a '6. just the hubs, rotors, and backing plates are different. the calipers are the same as any turbo EA82, so pads are easy to find. and the rotors aren't terribly hard to get a hold of. but yes, and XT6 axle will not work with an EA81 control arm.....so you wouldn't have to make any hybrid axles, but you would have to shorten them.... 5-lug is not a terribly attractive option. and swapping to an AWD 5-speed is a whole new can of worms, so it's not a terrible idea to postpone that.

I've got to argue this point. I'm not exactly an EA82 lover (IMHO....the #1 worst motor Subaru has ever made. still puts it pretty high on the list in the grand scheme of things....wouldn't even put it far behind the 22RE, of which I've got one as well), but find that the single core radiator is plenty, assuming there's coolant moving through the system. heck, in my experience, keeping both radiator fans is overkill....even with the single core rad. only times I've ever had overheating issues is either with a bad water pump/tstat, or blown hoses. in fact, I'm running an EJ22e (from a '92 Legacy) on a stock, EA82 single-core radiator with 187k miles on it. without a radiator fan at all. can't leave it idle unless it's below freezing and I leave the heat on (yes, the heater core is enough though when it is below freezing), but other than that, it stays cool just fine. of all the things to gripe about an EA82.....the radiator is just not on the list. all that said, I think you'll be very happy with any of the mentioned choices (EA81, EA82, or early Legacy). I say go with what you find.... also....who pays $2k for.....anything?

sounds like you got it mostly figured out... but for future reference. the volt meter reads volts, and only volts, and is completely unaffected by amps. it should read 10-12v when off...and 12-14v when running. anything other than that, and you've got problems

was playin in a poorly plowed parking lot after work last night (~3am). decided to prop the camera up and take a few videos.....edited down a bit...and got this:

sweet! how'd you pull that off?

holy crap, you're a genius!! indeed. while we're discussing modifying stock hubs. have just the rears modified for 5x100. and then ream out the ball joint holes....and then you're set for 5-lug using zero XT6 parts. sure, you don't get the larger '6 rear brakes, but you can put whatever your heart desires on the front. and better suspension too!

if you're relying that heavily on the rear mount...something else is wrong. I've been driving my car for a year+ without it.....it's only to hold up the back of the linkage.

I believe I've heard that swapping axle cups is pretty simple....as long as you have 2 pairs of donor axles. swapping stubs is also pretty simple, except the splitting the tranny case part...

I wouldn't...for many reasons. most have been mentioned, gearing, turning radius, you'd have to beat the living crap out of the firewall, gearing, etc.

if you're talking about the wire that gives the ECU 12v+ while cranking, then no. that just changes the enrichment settings to allow it to start easier...the car will still start without it (it'll just crank a lot in colder weather). ok, but it's OBD I legacy wiring....yes? if the ECU is coming on, and there are no codes (are you sure? I find it hard to believe it's not running and has nothing to say), it's probably something simple. Double check all the plugs (the ones from the bulkhead harness to the engine harness, the SMJ, the ignitor, cam/crank angle sensors, etc.). When I do my OBD I harnesses, I splice the coil into the same power source as the ECU etc. within the harness. I don't know if cutting right to the alt wire will cause problems or not. then start checking for power everywhere there should be (ign coil, igniter, injectors, etc.). also might want to pull a fuel rail, and crank it over a bit, to see if the injectors are firing. I'm thinking it's either something just doesn't have power (igniter or coil, although I believe the igniter would throw a code), or, you're crank/cam sensors aren't working/plugged in, so it's not even trying to run.

first question to ask, is if the ECU is working properly. and the best way to tell this, is if it turns the fuel pump on for a moment when you turn the ignition on. I was convinced all summer (not this past summer...but the year before) that my car just didn't have spark. but I had 'hotwired' the fuel pump on (ECU was not controlling it), so the only symptom I noticed was that it didn't have spark. but the problem was much deeper than that. if your ECU is not turning on the fuel pump relay, and it is wired correctly, than it's not getting power and ground everywhere that it should. go through the harness, wire by wire, and double check all of these wires. then, if the ECU is powering up correctly, it will turn on the fuel pump. if you're getting this far, and it isn't starting, it's a sensor (or wiring to a sensor) problem. good news is that the ECU can tell you what's wrong with it. connect the read mode jumpers, and read any CEL codes it might have. as for checking for power at the coil. there are 3 wires at the coil, the middle (Yellow) one should get 12v power anytime the ignition is on. also, what was the engine donor? helps to know exactly what system we're dealing with

agreed....and wheel selection would be the last on a list of reasons why (better brakes, suspension, axles, etc. etc. etc.)

yep, '96 and earlier are non-interference.... '90-'94 Legacies use an OBD I electrical system which is much simpler. requires fewer sensors etc. I used a '92 legacy for my loyale, and am using a '96 imp on my current project. I much prefer the OBD I setup!

OK, I did get a chance to talk to him this weekend. they don't have the equipment (yet?) to do braided lines. but I think there are already suppliers for those (I had a set on one of my lifted wagons...). we discussed intake mani stuff, but I had forgotten that the coolant circulates through the mani before I posted this. so just a phenolic spacer wouldn't be adequate. and they don't have the equipment to be machining blocks to divert it (again....yet?). but if/when that happens, a setup compatible with both the EA81 and SPFI/Carb EA82 will be pretty soon behind it. we are going to look into EA82t-specific piping (specifically an up-pipe...but they can probably do header work too). so I may be asking for some donor stock parts to take measurements on etc. I also got offered a job too bad I live 3 hours away but it may justify a change in location.....who knows.