Numbchux

so, some of you may or may not have heard of Uncle Scotty's cocktail (I believe originated on NASIOC). anyway, it's a mixture of a few different gear oils that really helps shifting in subaru trannies. there's some debate as to the original formula, but the one that I've heard more commonly is: 1 qt Redline Lightweight Shockproof 1qt Pennzoil Synchromesh 2qt Castrol HypoyC 80w90 the redline shockproof and the synchromesh are the more important ones.... anyway, I just switched from 3.5qt valvoline 85w90 and .5qt of rislone to the above listed cocktail. and have noticed a definite improvement. my synchro's are getting pretty worn, specifically 3rd gear. and I can easily and reliably get it into third without a bit of grinding now with the cocktail. the problem isn't gone......but it's definitely better. I think I may switch my dad's fluid over to that aswell ('94 Legacy 5MT. when we bought it, couldn't get it into 2nd gear.....rislone fixed that...but some improvement could still be had).

my 4" AA lifted '88 wagon on 27.5" tires had a hair shy of 13" at the rear diff my 3" BYB lifted '88 wagon on 29s had about 10.5"

I was thinking as I was working on pinksock's one last night....I should get a nice video camera and make a little DVD of how to do this. even better to have a little seminar at the show! heck....someone should bring a camera and record it!

sorry skip....can't be. as far as I can tell, only OBD II cars have problems without a VSS. I've been running mine without since last August, easily put 10k miles on it now. that's about all I can offer.... maybe something's funny with the alt (whether the unit itself, or the wiring). how's your voltage while this is all happening?

that's true.... but I don't understand why you guys are all bent out of shape about the wing. if you're going to do the rally paint job, the STi-style wing is crucial (and so is a hood scoop). that thing with a built 257, a 6-speed, and some gold BBS's (with the big Brembo's behind them) would be amazing!!!

nope. you want the extra rotating mass for offroading. maybe have it resurfaced, but don't take any more off it than you have to. best source for a donor motor is a donor car. and a great source for one of those is craigslist. 88hatchmonster makes awesome adapter plates. check him out here: http://www.mroseusa.com you can do the flywheel yourself. just go to sears, and buy a $30 plug-in rotary tool (imitation dremel) and a few extra grinding stone bits. and have at it. be very patient with it. and make sure you take enough material off. the bolts should slip easily into place. 91Loyale, you're not the only one who enjoys FWD burnouts.....the local civic and neon guys seem to love it IMHO, wheelspin belongs in the same category as underglow neons. all show, no go....

that is weird.....I've never seen anything like that. the injectors should be getting power all the time. the yellow wire with a red stripe should get power on all 4. the other wire pulses ground from the ECU. is your fuel pump turning on? is it's circuit wired through the ECU? the fuel pump circuit is the #1 indicator of whether your ECU is getting power and ground everywhere it needs to. because it doesn't matter whether the sensors or anything are working or not, if the computer is getting power where it should, it'll turn on that fuel pump relay. if that's not happening, you've got a problem in the harness somewhere.

just make sure they're mounted far enough back to avoid shining on the windshield. if it reflects off the windshield, it'll reduce visibility drastically!

haha, way cool! I love the Brumble Bee!!

'85 and '86 4WD models. hard to find replacements for though... RX springs have a higher spring rate, and will yield a bit of lift in the front as well.

WOW!! way cool! you left a note, didn't you?

yes, but if the tranny is not the same length, that effects it as well. I'm fairly sure there isn't a combo that will work with an EJ trans in an EA car without modification.

try again an EJ AWD tranny and a EA 4WD tranny are not the same length. I don't remember which is longer and which is shorter, but they are different. that information is in the write-up though...

at the crawl 4 the cure last summer, there was a pair of SAS'd (both were originally IFS) 1st gen 4runners. both on 35" tires. both had driven up from the twin cities (healthy 4 hours, speeding). and I guess they both drove them to MOAB that same year. yea, pretty streetable.

indeed. is it the fat-lip bumper? mine barely held my fog lights in my blue wagon. the non-fat-lip one from my '85 is more solid (well...there's actually steel right behind the plastic cover). but no way would I mount a winch on there. you could pull the skin off, and do some serious re-enforcing of the bumper beam. that would be pretty badass!

get your hands on a '90-'94 legacy AWD 5-speed. depending on your local market, an ugly but running one can be had for $2-500. it'll have your entire engine (and you can make sure it runs BEFORE introducing the problems of a swap), the entire OBD I harness, the tranny, the linkage, the rear diff, etc. and the strongest motor subaru has ever made. the ONLY reason to stay with an EA tranny, is if you're attached to the low range. which, if you're not doing some serious offroading, is unnecessary with the amazing low end torque of the EJ22. whatever you do, don't use the pushbutton single-range tranny. FWD just doesn't cut it with that big motor. you need to be able to put the power to all 4, all the time. the 2.5s are neat motors. but have headgasket issues, and will always have OBD II wiring, which complicates the swap (not impossible....but definitely more difficult).

well, if you've got a real floor jack, it's easy. there's a plate on the engine crossmember on the front. and the rear diff. both are extremely solid (if they aren't, don't EVER drive the car!!!!! part it out now). as for jack stands. the radius rod brackets (rod coming back from the lower control arm, the brackets on the body where these mount to) are pretty solid in the front. and the rear torsion bar (big bar in front of the rear wheels) are also sturdy. tranny options: your EA81 4-speed, presumably dual-range (D/R) 4WD (right?): mediocre synchro's decent gearing (4th gear is comparable to 5th in the newer trannies though, so it's not much different), CRAPPY linkage. probably won't hold the extra power well. EA82 D/R 5-speed: very common, better synchro's, better linkage, lowest gearing. no "AWD" option. FWD or 4WD (which you can't use on pavement without putting some serious wear on the tranny. same as the EA81 trans). EA82 RX trans. VERY rare, took me about 5 months to find one, and it cost me about $600 when it got to my door. this is the one thing I'm immensly disappointed with in my swap. the gearing is so crappy. low range is only 1.2:1, and axle ratio is 3.7:1. AND, it's the ONLY subaru 5-speed (as far as I've been able to find) where 4th gear is NOT an overdrive. meaning you'll end up turning some pretty high rpms on the freeway, despite the taller axle ratio. advantage: full-time 4WD. means you can have power to all 4 wheels even on the pavement. but when the center diff is unlocked (has to be on dry pavement) there's nothing to ensure even power distribution. so if you're turning hard and accelerating, your inside front wheel will spin. all of the above options will require an engine-to-tranny adapter plate. and the use of an EA-series flywheel and clutch (no aftermarket performance options) EJ 5-speed AWD similar synchro's and linkage to an EA82 5-speed. but 4.111 axle ratio, taller 1-5 gears, and viscous limited slip center diff (enough slip to use it on the street, but enough lock to solve the above wheelspin problem). and, if you get a whole donor legacy for your engine (which I would recommend 10 fold), make sure it's a 5-speed, and you've already got everything you need. with the lower axle ratio and better torque curve of the EJ motor, you won't even miss low range. and the taller 3-5 gears will allow better freeway cruising. disadvantages: some serious tranny crossmember modifications will be necessary, as well as a bit of linkage mods, and the driveshaft will need to be shortened (I think). you'll also need to make some hybrid rear axles to mate the legacy rear diff to the EA car (*probably* won't need any more parts than come with your legacy).

good, I'm not the only one seeing that.... if the 2WD one is actually the new one, than I see a HIGHER spring perch.

indeed, the STi has some pretty monstrous 4-piston front calipers and 2 piston rears. aswell as pretty huge rotors. these will require 17" wheels to clear other than that, WRX fronts have the same 2-piston calipers but slightly bigger rotors than your RS. these will only require 16"s the 6-cyl outbacks have a pretty large rear rotor that is a pretty simple swap aswell.

not on the rears. only the fronts. the bracket where the shock bolts to the trailing arm is lower on FWD rears. when I did my 4WD conversion, I compared them side-by-side. '88 GL 4WD shocks next to '92 FWD ones, identical. should have taken pictures.....

yep, the accord springs will yield quite a bit of lift. and cause your shocks to run pretty close to their maximum extension. your best bet is cutting them a bit...

the 22t is the strongest motor subaru has ever made. but as a result, extremely sought after. and as a result, usually way more expensive than their worth. the N/A motor has been proven to hold up to 300awhp with lower compression pistons, and a piggyback ECU. but no EA-series tranny will hold up to that kind of power for very long. especially with oversized tires. like I said in my other post. be patient, and do your research. watch this forum, and read everything you can find. aswell as places like http://www.nasioc.com http://www.rs25.com http://www.legacycentral.org and http://www.sl-i.net I'd also highly recommend searching for a local subaru forum. http://www.mnsubaru.com has been one of the most valuable resources I've ever had. not to mention the fact that their all local, so people can come over to give me a hand if I need it. The EJ22t may sound like the perfect candidate, but a turbo drops in a whole host of issues. things like engine management, exhaust routing, more things to fail, etc. in my opinion.....you'll be happiest if you just get your hands on a non-turbo '90-'94 legacy with a 5-speed, and drop the whole drivetrain in your brat. if you don't plan to do any extreme offroading, you won't need the lo range. especially with the 4.111 axle ratio of the legacies. you'll have to fab up a transmission crossmember and some shift linkage stuff, but you won't need an engine-tranny adapter plate.... go the the USRM (link at the top of the page), then click the engine section, then look for a post by me about the EJ swap write-up. download EA2EJ.pdf, and read it 6 or 8 times. that'll probably answer most of your questions. and remember, BE PATIENT!!!! don't rush these things. the beauty of subarus is the amazing range of modifications that are possible. this means 2 things: 1. it's easy to get exactly what you want out of them 2. it's easy to drop a lot of money for stuff you don't really need so do the research. take the build one step at a time. drive the car a lot, find out what you want out of it, and how you use it, so you can modify it to accommodate. I'd also highly recommend finding a local club, and see if someone will let you drive their WRX. a turbo is very definitely not for everyone. also, if you find a local car enthusiast club, I'm sure you can find someone with an engine hoist you can borrow. if not....they're like $200 at Northern Tool....

agreed. every time I went wheeling last summer. I had a white-knuckled trip home because I bent or destroyed some major suspension component.... if I had wheeled any longer doing the same trails I was doing (most definitely not all the local ORV park has to offer), my subaru would have resembled ground beef by now.... so I got a chance on the most solid 1st gen 4Runner I've ever seen in MN for a steal (again...for a clean one here in the rust belt), and I jumped on it. once I get the suspension done on my wagon, I'll be able to sink some money into the yota, and really enjoy it! a Toyota is like a subaru's big tough brother. that's why so many of us have moved that direction

well said. I don't think it's a stretch to say that the EA82 is probably the worst motor subaru has ever made (rivaled only by the early DOHC 2.5s, but once the headgaskets are done on those, it's not really a problem), and the phase I EJ22 is probably the strongest. same amount of work similar power, different place (the turbo will have a little more peak hp, but less torque in the low end) and see my post in other thread. and certainly don't pay $650 for an EA82t engine (you'll still need the whole wiring harness and an EA81t crossmember (or custom exhaust) to make it work). you can get a whole legacy donor car (everything you need except adapter plate and some random hoses and stuff) for much less than that!

the best advice I can give is to be patient. drive the car a lot and find out what you don't like about it for your own uses. Subaru's can be pretty much anything, and how you build it depends on your personal preference and your uses. don't get too excited and drop a ton of money into a setup that someone else said they liked, it might be a good combination, but it just as easily might not.... that said, don't just slap a turbo on your stock motor. you're not going to see enough benefits without seriously jeapordizing the reliability of the motor... no, you won't need longer shocks with a lift. but with an ea81 (what your brat is), longer rear shocks can drastically help your travel. the EJ22 (legacy/impreza 2.2l) is an awesome swap for almost any use. no turbo lag, tons of torque low in the rpm range, extremely reliable, and extremely easy to get your hands on.