Idasho

Absolutely. Good tires is everything. And if you live in an area that gets a decent amount of snow, you really need to have at least two sets of rubber for it. Summer and winter.

I resealed the oil pan..... again. Hopefully this one takes.

torque steer can certainly be fun in a FWD. You should feel it in my old SHO Taurus:eek: Even with good sticky summer tires, it has enough balls to bring on the torque steer on dry pavement. I have a good set of winter tires for it too, and drive it on occasion. But I dont let the wife drive it.... 260hp, 8k rpm red-line, FWD, 3200lb sedan, and no ABS Uh... no.

Perhaps you should try using the search for such info before you claim it is there. Because it isnt. Lots of BS about Empi, "their great" "their not so great" "they suck". But thats the extent of it. During a search, the actual part number comes up just ONCE. This thread is the only hit. And if you read my original post, all I was looking for was a confirmation for said part number. Ive done my research, and was looking for a simple part number confirmation. No need to get your panties in a twist. And if all you are going to do when responding to a post it tell people to search, just dont respond at all. You are not contributing to the forum, and only add to the BS on this forum that everyone has to sift through when doing a search.

if you have air passing from the radiator into a cylinder or vise-versa during a compression test, then you have one of two problems. *bad headgasket or *hole in a cylinder exposing a water jacket

So you are assuming that EVERY MFG has the correct listing for EVERY part in their systems? Well that's intelligent! <------------- thats sarcasm Actually, its more naive than anything. Sort of like assuming a forum is for searching, rather than posting. If that is the case, then we might at well take down the entire forum and put up a database for people to search through. No posting needed.

I have read about the lifetime EMPI warranty, but ALL of the listings I find for them online show nothing more than a 12month warranty. And in my experiences with other CV driven rigs, it is typically a boot failure that warrants a replacement. Is this typically the case with an EA81 Subaru? ShawnW, thanks for the offer. But Id rather not deal with a rebuilt at this point. Im looking to replace both fronts right now with NEW hardware, with the intent to reboot the OEM ones I have right now, and have them on hand when I need to swap again. Then when I swap, Ill reboot the new ones, and repeat! What are the OP Parts axles? Are they available online? I cannot find a single site that lists them.

After doing a bunch of reading..... it sounds like EMPI is one of the only MFGs that actually make decent NEW axles for us. Can somebody confirm the part numbers though? EMPI 80-5515 Is this the correct axle for my '84 GL wagon 4wd? Most listings Ive found say that it is correct, and others say it is FWD specific. Thanks for any help:)

I use these.... get them from work for dirt cheap. They work great, and it is super nice to ALWAYS have super clean rags.

Sounds like your choke is sticking.

How much for a 2" front lift for a EA81? Just the front, not the rear. thanks:burnout:

I squeezed... 5 sets of skis and poles, and 3 snowboards onto the GL this evening.... Let the party begin! 4 couples, a rented condo, huge jacuzzi and pool, plenty of booze and a weekend of skiing/snowboarding. Should be fun!

here is one for the 4-speed DR guys. Instead of having to machine a 35mm socket down... Buy a $10 35mm impact socket from Napa, shorten it, then weld a flat washer and a bolt head to it.

I would not use any kind of additive. I WOULD give it a fluid service though. Drain and refill with the correct gear oil. And possibly do a short service with the new fluid. As in, drive for a few hundred miles, then drain and refill again. If you had bad bearings, you would know about it. Traditionally a bad front bearing, or bad diff bearing will cause the associated seals to leak. Bad U-joints on the rear driveshaft is probable though, and is easy to check. During this trans service I found one of the driveshaft u-joints a bit stiff, so I repacks all of them. Im hoping it was the slight high speed vibration I was feeling before I took the car down for a service.

The dealer is your best bet. So far the local dealer here has been able to get me every part I need. And has yet to hand me an incorrect part. Im really impressed with Subarus parts database.

here are a couple of photos that should help you. This is your trans... This is your trans stood on end for a service: THIS is the linkage in question.... Look for the grade 8 gold colored bolt. That is the "3/8 bolt fix" But it still leaves room for improvement. I do remember a new fix, that involves actually tapping the shaft to thread a bolt in, but that requires some tools that most do not have at their disposal.

Ill get some more photos up for you shortly. Is there anything in specific you need shots of? As for the linkage, check out this thread... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=86901 There are a few methods of repair for the sloppy linkage. I tried the bolt method, only to find it still didnt help much. I drilled it out to 3/8, and drive a 10mm roll pin into the hole. Then bolted it to hold the pin in place (not that it needed it) More of a precaution, at best. Ill get some more photos up for you shortly.

Those look great guys!

I learned a bit more as things went back together tonight. The lever on the drivers side of the trans that actuates the low range can hyper-rotate allowing those slides to pop out or bind up. Funny that the case doesnt have a stop to keep this from happening. If the case is together and the low range shaft from the transfer case to the front of the trans is removed, and you rotate the lever all the way back, the sliders will pop out, and you will be stuck cracking the case..... again.... dont ask me how I know.... TWICE

So you spend what, $50 bucks and a few hours every time you swap out a questionable trans?? That sounds silly, when you can spend less than half that to completely reseal one, in just a few more hours. Then you have one that you KNOW will not spring a leak in 100k+ miles. Even this trans has less than 140k miles on it. The input shaft seal basically fell apart when I pulled it out it was so brittle. I can safely assume that any junk yard trans you will find will have an input shaft seal in similar condition. Either leaking, or damn near it. Thats my take anyways. Especially now that Im familiar with this particular trans. I could tear one down in less than an hour now. Hell if there is the interest, I can offer the service.

it isnt quite working just yet.... I still have to reassemble the transfer case and tail housing to the main case! And I think by the time I get it back into the car, Ill be a 4speed expert. Silly really, after all the work Ive done to this trans, Im still out less than $25. Stay tuned. I took LOADS of digital photos. And I will be putting a very helpful 4speed service guide together.

Nope, that is a depression that holds an oil guide in place.

Well, Im glad I tore it apart. As I got deeper, I started to think that I had dug back into it for no reason. I couldnt find anything wrong. Just as I was about to start prepping the case halves to go back together I spotted it. One of the 4wd Low range syncronizer slides was missing. It had fallen off when I pulled the input shaft out to replace the input shaft seal. Thanks to my trusty magnet, I was able to find it, hiding in the gear oil behind the ring gear. So I guess it was stuck in low range, and the slight binding was holding the trans in gear. As soon as I pulled the input shaft out again, the trans shift rods and forks moved freely. Still, it was a PAIN to get the slides back together, along with the two springs. I think this must be assembled out of the case, vertical on the bench. Even with heavy wheel bearing grease they didnt want to stay put. I managed to get it back together though.

Bah.... I cannot do it. My help flaked on me this evening. We were going to reinstall the trans. I guess Ill go through the thing again. Stay tuned. Im going to take LOTS of photos this time. I might as well put together a photo-how-to. Er... or maybe how-to-not!

Thanks for the response. I know this is a tough one. Everything seems to be spinning fine, no binding or weird noises. And I had already tried spinning the input shaft while trying to shift it. No luck. I think (hope) its just bound up from being drained and fiddled with. Unless somebody else has some input, Im going to chance it and install it. Fingers crosses!