Crazyeights

That small round headlamp relay was causing LOTS of problems with my dash cluster and gauges. In fact I had given up on finding/fixing it until my low beams went out completely and I had to. Check the connection at the relay connector as well. If you are using used relays try 2 or 3 before you put it back together to make sure you get a good one, or just convert to the newer square style relay. Someone wrote a How-To on here for that. Good Luck. BTW I think this is the first time in a LONG time all my gauges are somewhat accurate now:grin: BTW just re-read your first post. My lamp relay is in the dash near the switch. No idea what that other thing is you are talking about.

You can also build a pretty respectable performance EA81 and it bolts right in (the hard part may be finding a good core). The more miles I put on my new build the more I like it. Just another opinion, but an EJ swap of ANY type will be more time and money. Listen to GD and the others that have done it both ways and then decide. It will also depend on your budget and level of mechanical experience.

Not sure yet what to do with the left over XT6 gear set. Might put a 3.7 XT6 box back together as a spare or put it behind a "Franken" in a Bad A** street Hatch.

1-5 gears are from the RX (closer ratio I think than the XT6). The final drive ring and pinion are from the XT6 (was 3.7 before). The current low range is stock RX - not as low as the 1.59 in the D/R part time trans. That is why I was wondering if I could swap in the 1.59 front section. This would be the ultimate combination for me, but It's really sweet now as it is. The car is street driven mostly and has 15" pugs/tires on it with an SJR 4" lift.

Great info, Thanks!

Yes, it is a SWEET combination. Each low range gear right now is roughly half way in between the 5 high ones. Like a passing gear if that makes sense). If I build another one with the lower low range I'll probably start with a different R/X box so I can leave this one together. I only had 53k on it when I got it (before I modded it) and I think it's the only 5MT trans I've ever had with good first gear synchros:grin:

I think I would pull it out and do it again. Like GD said you don't want to block any drain holes that may exist. A new seal is only another $20.00 and you be kicking yourself if you have to pull it all back out again.

I bought a low mileage used FT 4WD 3.7 ratio Dual/Range trans with a center locking diff and changed the final drive (ring and pinion) to 3.9 using a gear set from an XT6 trans. You must take care setting up pinion depth, backlash, end play, ect. I also opted to remove the 25 spline stubs for the front axles and replace them with a 23 spline set from a single range push button core at the local P-A-P. Now my stock EA81 axles fit right in. The RX trans does indeed have the 2 piece input shaft just like the D/R part time trans does. I was just wondering if I could use the 1.59 Aux trans (low range) in my current set up. I wasn't sure this was going to work so I didn't try it the first time I had the case split. This combination turned out so nice though, it would be nice to have the slightly lower low range set. We just had some snow in the PNW and with the custom trans and the LSD in the rear it tracks incredibly well:grin: This trans build wasn't all my idea, thanks to those that helped privately with ideas, you know who you are:banana:

Call Jerry to be sure, but I specified 51" of tubing when I had mine made.

I built a FT 4WD RX trans with 3.9 gearing from a core XT6 trans and 23 spline stubs so it will fit in my '83 EA81 wagon. So far I have about 1500 miles on it and it works great, no noise, no metal on the drain plug, ect. I took great care in setting it up properly. I REALLY miss the 1.59 low range from my old D/R. Can I gut the 1.59 low range section from a P-A-P D/R and swap them in to my current trans config? Yes I know it's a lot of labor but it might be worth it. It's seems like it would be a good combination. What do you think?

I measured mine (piston diameter) and I think one pair I had was 30mm and the pair I chose to rebuild was 33mm as I recall. Hope this helps, I do know for certain there are at least 2 different sizes.

I just ordered a caliper rebuild kit from Subaru. It came with piston o-rings, piston dust boot seals, and the rubber bellows (1 kit is enough for 2 rear calipers). I think the seal kit was less than $30.00. BTW your powder coating looks REALLY nice.

The powder coating looks great:banana: I just rebuilt mine too but it's a rattle can job.

If these are standard front Gen 2 EA81 seat rails I have a complete set. Make offer via PM

It should be an O-Ring shaped like a toilet bowl. Try 16175AA020 and it should come up. I usually buy them about 5 at a time.

Excellent! Keep us posted with more progress and pics

I used the "Large" EA81 flywheel with EA81 Pressure plate that matched it. For the clutch disc and T/O bearing I used EA82 stuff. You want the EA82 clutch disc with the 6 spring style center hub as the 4 larger spring style may not fit. You might be able to use XT6 stuff as well, just make sure the stepping on your flywheel is correct for the pressure plate used. I had to lengthen the threaded adjustment portion of the clutch cable to make this work so there might be a better recipe. This is just what worked for me. Ask Jerry, BRATSRUS he has done TONS of these swaps and makes a nice kit for the cross-member and linkage.

Update. Instead of finding the correct Nissan injector I opted to bump the fuel pressure by a small amount and it works great! The spec for SPFI fuel pressure varies between 23-45 lbs and the stock injector only runs at about 60% duty cycle so there is some room to play with. My system ran right at the minimum of the spec (23 psi) no matter what I tried (multiple SPFI assemblies, fuel pumps, ect) unless I deadheaded the system for a max pressure check. With the return line temporarily pinched off the engine ran noticeably better and the pressure went to about 60 psi - too much pressure and no return path. Here is how I did it on the cheap:grin: Here is the adapter in my fuel return line Cut threads on the inside of the larger nipple like this, I used 1/4-28 Find a bolt that will thread inside The next step will take some time. Find the right size hole to drill in the center of the bolt to bump the fuel pressure by about 10 psi, I ended up at 7/64 I think. Cut the drilled bolt off and thread it inside the pipe nipple with Locktite. Double check your fuel pressure afterwords one more time. It REALLY WOKE UP my performance built SPFI EA81. The engine has felt lean ever since I built it. Now both cold and warm drivability are vastly improved and it pulls pretty hard right up to 4500 RPM with no sign of stopping there. I also bumped the ignition timing from 20 up to 28 degrees. Make sure the EGR is hooked up and working to keep cylinder temperature down and pre-ignition from occurring. The engine is just out of break-in so that's as far as I care to push it for now. I don't know if it would make any difference at all on a stock build. Hope it helps!

@Gloyale sorry for the Hijack Is the '92 and up pre-OBD II EJ22 harness/ECU better in these regards than the '90 and '91 you mentioned for swaps?

That explains why they list Left and Right side pistons when you look them up for SPFI after a certain year. Were any of the EA71 or EA81 pistons offset too?

What you want to do is a LOT of work. Do your research here first before even starting.

One you get a first hand look at SJR's products you'll realize they are worth every penny. The quality and appearance of his workmanship is amazing!

I just bought SJR's 4" EA81 lift and I would love to see your pics. Scott sent quite a few but the more the better.

I had a local machine shop helicoil an EA81 stud for me and it wasn't expensive. They did a great job. Sorry I don't have the thread size handy but someone will.

Here you go Electric Turbo