Numbchux

Take 'er off!! it's overrated.

this was driving me nuts, so I ran out and looked at my car (it's almost 3am). and he's right (or we're both wrong)... I had a hell of a time getting the tie rod ends out of the '85 when I stripped it, good thing I wasn't trying to save 'em, so I just beat the crap out of 'em. maybe put the nut on it, crank it down a bunch, drive it around for awhile, then retorque 'em.

agreed on tires sway bars are overrated, take it off! and learn to drive the RX hard, and the lifted rig...easy welded, lsd, open....unless you're getting really hardcore, just learn to pic your line well, and you'll be fine. if you're getting into soft stuff, an lsd would be nice. if you're on rocks where you'll be frequently lifting 2 wheels, welded's the answer. wheels, I agree with singletrack, my point was, there's nothing wrong with 15s, but if you're only going with a 26" tire, than 14s are probably the better answer. my 28s are perfect on 15s, but lots of pounding was required, and they still rub like mad.

I'm very aware of the JCW selection, but those I don't want to get some high pitched craphole...any idea what model they where? I'll probably be getting some from them this fall...

specs are in my sig...

Well, I just happened to have a good picture just for this topic! THAT is the rear end out of my '85 GL wagon. See the diff in the middle? on either side of the diff is an axle. as zefy said, with 2 rubber boots on either end of one axle (making 4 boots for the rear end too). This is an independent suspension setup, as in the diff stays mounted tight to the body, and either wheel moves up and down independant of that, making for 2 places that the axle needs to flex between there. A Solid Axle design means that the diff, axle, and hubs/brakes all move as one, usually with leaf springs. most commonly used in full size pickups. The importance of this, is that you cannot change the angles on those axles much (especially in front) without severly shortening their life! which means you have to do a body lift. This isn't bad, because the only thing in the middle that get's dropped down is the driveshaft and exhaust (which can be fixed, if you know how), so lifted, on stock tires, you're still not too bad off. THEN you put on big tires, and you're set. Example, my GL stock wasn't too great, then I added a 4 inch lift kit, which made it better, but the drivetrain was still left at essentially stock height, then I added tires that were a total of 6" higher in diameter (only half of that actually raises the car) so 3" higher over all. That means that the bumpers came up a total of 7" total! here's a broken rear axle: another pic for comparison, stock tires on the front, and 28's on the back! see the height difference, and I never would've gotten those tires on the unlifted car. here's a pic of my rearend after the lift, notice the axle angle, this is the absolute farthest that you can increase these angles. I tried going a little higher and broke 2 rear axles (one being the one pictured above...) and one more. I'm no stranger to the RWD wagon...

agreed! I always have bad luck in ruts!! nice work noah! looks like fun.

where'd you get those? how much? I want to get some aftermarket horns, but I know a couple people who have and they got loud, but still high and irritating. I want something low and mean!

We don't have a name for them in the US, just GLs and DLs depending on their trim.. I will be using the LSD from a turbo car (probably F/T) in my rig starting this year. I like going out for short runs and don't want to be pulling an axle every time. If you go out for a long time, you should look into doing a welded spool, and then pulling a rear axle before/after wheeling. (just noticed your other post...if this isn't street legal anyway, DEFINATELY go with a welded rear end!) broken 2 tranny's??? in subies?? dang! Are you sure it's not a front axle? if you blow a front axle you loose front Wheel Drive (and it makes some horrible sounds if you try) but locking the transfer case into 4WD it sends the power to the rear (very fun in a wagon!) no driveshaft extensions needed, this is essentially a body lift, which drops the tranny, diff and everything, keeping very stockish angles.

I would think this is the way to do it...since they have to come out anyway

I wouldn't worry about wheel size, you could run 20's if you want, as long as the outside diameter of your TIRES isn't over 28/29"...though I wouldn't recomend that as that wouldn't get you very tall sidewalls, the point is that I wouldn't worry about it. if you'd like to run 16 or 17" 6-lug wheels, go for it, but I wouldn't recommend getting tires that are taller than 28"...especially on a carbed motor, until you get a weber, or SPFI (if you're that brave).

that's what it sounds like...

Those look great. if you can find them for cheap. Singletrack is right though, the Liberator A/T's from WalMart are an unmatched value, if you've got a budget build, these ARE the tires for you!

only way to change your final drive ratio, is to use an external transfer case so you can use an external front diff (read: BIG work!)

I didn't do any cutting to fit my 28's, but quite a bit of banging, and still some rubbing...MorganM's got 29's on an old 3" BYB kit, but he's got a ton of trimming. just looking at the link for those toyo's...they don't make those in anything under 33's...and they're mud-terrains, is there much mud there? I thought it was more rocky, might be better off with A/T's

Sounds like you've got the right idea, my vote is for drilling out to a 6-lug pattern, not too much more expensive, but looks WAYYYYY better, 6-lub wheels drilled to 4-lug just looks half-@$$ed...just my opinion Rarely seen a lifted sedan...should be cool! tires...look for some cheap all-terrains, or all-seasons. I have all-seasons, just cause that's what fell into my lap, and they work great! they cake with mud a bit easier than I want, but are pretty solid on most any terrain, and quite on-road. keep us up-to-date!

That's what I thought too? are you doing it right??? and I've always just used the nut to pull it down through the control arm too...don't know what's up here

I did it...worked fine, swapped linkage too and wired the linkage switch into the harness where the other plug was, and sure enough, all indicators work now, and backup lights...don't know what the fourth one was, but the wires are just hanging there, and as far as I can tell, nothing was affected!

I'll be up for a 2" in a month or so...I'll be in touch!! Thanks!!!!!!

Check the FAQ (frequently asked questions) at the top of this page (or this link: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=24980) since you're referring to it as a leone, I assume you're not in the US, in which case a premade lift will be a bit harder to get ahold of, if you're in aus you can get a Backyard Boys one, other than that, you're paying overseas shipping, or building it yourself

I run just the electric fan (I took off the machanical...it robs horsepower and would be a problem in water) and I don't have any problems. I had the electric fan switched to a little toggle switch (with relay!) on the dash, then that melted my little fuse holder, so i wired it right to the ignition coil. ANyway, the point is, I turn my fan off after about 30 mph, and it cools just fine, even with a full load (spare engine block + college load). if you're worried about it, you could wire the fan to be always on, cut the two wires, lengthen them, touch them to the battery to see which way sucks the air through, then put your positive on the + side of the ignition coil, and the negative to a ground somewhere, and poof! the fan will stay on with the ignition.

sweet! how tall is that? I'm tight for cash now, but just applied for a couple jobs and will be settling down for school so this is pretty good timing!

I have the high lift kit (straight 4") and had to adjust the linkage a bit (read: loosen a nut, then tighten it again) and beat fenders (depends on tire size), and that was it!

agreed, sounds like something outside of the CV broke, it almost sounds like the axle stub broke!

Well, if nobody knows we'll know soon, it's bolted up (did the 'tighten the pressure plate through the starter hole' trick, since the alignment tool they gave me was wrong), I'll be messing with the wiring/linkage tomorrow and hopefully try 'er out tomorrow night, or friday morning!