GeneralDisorder

Sure - but even the OBD-II cars have the SSM port and the D-check connectors, etc. For full diagnostic capability you might as well leave them. There are SSM's in the wild - Eulogious has one. GD

The hard reality is that the dual-range (which is not a seperate transfer case) is not that special - especially with larger tires which the EA82 isn't that great at turning. Ultimately, unless you build a custom transmission you are stuck with 3.9:1 final drive ratio and the measly 1.6:1 reduction of the dual-range is eaten up by larger tires almost immediately. Then you have the 90 HP engine that can't turn large tires for beans...... and EA82's are a pain to work on and widely regarded as one of Subaru's worst engines.... What this all amounts to is that a 90 to 94 Legacy is a much better option. Both in price (around $1500 to $2k for a prime example and I've been given them for free on the low end) and performance - especially the automatic's as the torque converter acts like a low-range when off-road and they have traction advantages over the part-time systems. In addtion you can bolt-in final drive ratio's as low as 4.444:1 and Outback struts/springs/tires for a "factory" lift kit that's good for about 3" without any hassle. I'll take an automatic, stock height Forester with a welded rear diff and some agressive tires anywhere a 4" lifted GL with a dual-range will go and be more comfortable and have spent less money doing it. With as old as the EA's are getting and as many miles as most of them have - the Legacy's are just an all-around better choice. Higher quality, more power, easier to work on, etc. The one exception would be the EA81 hatchbacks. They have the light and small advantage that no EA82 can claim. They have potential but it still takes more work to realize it than just going with a Forester, etc. GD

Nice score! Were you not able to find the proper PCV routing parts for the oil-burning retro-fit? GD

Weak point will still be the transfer gears - they aren't designed to hold that much torque. That's pulling 3k lbs of vehicle along with about a 2.5" diameter gearset that has 3/4" wide teeth. Inadequate. Also not geared for that size tire - so you pretty much end up in low range all the time - making the D/R a redundant addition. A Toyota truck transmission has much more favorable high range gearing and you can get inexpensive transfer case gears in any ratio you could ever want. Sammie case has the benefit of a reduction in high range but is still not going to help much with the extension housing gear problem. GD

So - is the remote shifter and bell-housing package now orderable? I read through the last few pages but I'm not certain if it's out of "beta" testing or not yet? Thanks, GD

That's basically the combo my hatch has - but with the EA81. Don't bother with the 5 speed D/R - the extension housing gears are not burly enough to handle all the driving needs nor will they hold up to the EJ22's power. Mine is on it's second transmission because of that problem. Just go straight to the toyota transmission conversion and use the toyota transfer case as well. GD

Indeed. I went overboard with the first harness I stripped also. You can also leave all the dealer diagnostic connectors - just in case you get the opportunity to use the Subaru Select Monitor, etc. GD

If you plan on doing a lot of them - then something like this would be ideal: http://www.ebay.com/itm/18-x-24-BLACK-GRANITE-GRADE-B-SURFACE-PLATE-STAND-/230290100102?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item359e5c0f86 GD

Compression depends on block, piston, and HG combo. Can be anywhere from 10.4 to 12. GD

My glass peice may be quite old - I really don't know. They may not make 5/16 anymore for all I know. GD

Why didn't you save the fuel pump and ignition relay's? It's easier to just wire power to them and then route the fuel pump power wire to the fuel pump via the existing rear harness. GD

A few windows, headlights, some interior, a HG job, and a flat-black rattle can job is cheaper and quicker than an EJ swap. That generation of Legacy is very common in the yards here in the NW and parts availability is really good. Even a beat up and broken down Legacy is twice the car that a GL is - they are just all-around a better machine. GD

Wow - expensive glass shops..... I don't know the value on my glass since it's a peice of 5/16" that was just hanging around. Probably from a small table, etc. My father refinished furniture for decades and I pulled it from his collection of glass remnants. You could look for a glass table top at goodwill.... :-p I suppose you could stack it, yeah. use some contact cement in the corners. I don't see why that wouldn't work. Any peice larger than the paper should be fine. 18x18 should work. GD

You have bad ball joints or leading rod bushings and probably need a wheel balance. Ball joints are in the neighborhood of $15 each and aren't that hard to change if you are physically able and have some basic hand tools. Leading rod bushings are similar. EA's tend to like their tires balanced better than a lot of shops sem to be able to do it. Try the place you bought the tires - they *should* balance them for free. If you ever get down to the Portland area I could take care of that for about $40 plus the parts. GD

You can use the later electronic distributor and ditch your external ignition components - just get a matching distributor and coil from an 82+ EA81 and drop them in. GD

Why don't you just fix the Legacy and sell the EA turd? 5 speed Legacy is pretty sweet. Really no reason to drop it into a GL body with a bad D/R. Get some Outback struts and springs for the Legacy and just drive it. GD

Dealer only - or junk yard. That's not a generic part. GD

It is unlikely that any shop can offer you reasonable repair rates on a turbo model of that vintage. They are a whore to work on and parts availability can be a problem. Depending on what you need done of course - but with an aging turbo of that specific vintage - you're best course of action is to either do the work yourself or find a board member in your area that knows the in's/out's of the EA82T. A shop will be expensive and you can rapidly approach the resale value of the car making it a losing proposition. GD

It's not a resistance type of device - it's signal is a sine wave that bounces between lean and rich. You can't approximate it without a signal generator circuit. You could put a non-fouler in the exhaust before the sensor to pull it out of the exhaust stream and that will fool the computer if your exhaust is clean enough. GD

The 03 is a third gen and has the EJ251 engine. GD

Even EA82 pumps are pretty much the same. Just have to get the right kit so you need to know what year and model it came from. GD

Wow that blows. Every one of those is gauranteed in stock at my dealer. They carry 4 seperator plates and bolt sets at all times (I've bought all they had a few times). And at least that many rear main's. They have Outback and Forester fog light assemblies and at least 3 of those cheap, reman 95 to 99 alternators..... :-p. All at basically similar pricing to www.1stsubaruparts.com when you consider shipping into the total cost.... I'm super lucky to live 3 miles from them. Makes my life a lot easier. Seriously - all dealers don't suck! It's true! GD

Every dealer I know of stocks that hose - usually in quantities of more than one. It's often replaced when doing the water pump because they end up oil soaked and bloated from cam seal leaks. I just refer to is as the water pump by-pass hose and my parts people know exactly what I want. But then my parts guy has been on the job for Subaru for 31 years. And yeah - I think I pay about $10 for that hose from the dealer. Radiator hoses are about $14. But then I get local shop wholesale rate. Actually I get amazing prices considering it's a dealership. They are often comparable to the prices from any other parts store or sometimes better. GD

Well I for one have never torqued a spark plug in my life and I have also never had same get spat out. But to each his own. The combo that works best is a wobbly plug socket (built in wobbly), 1.5" extension, and a 1.5" wobbly extension (the kind that allows some movement but not a full-on wobbly adaptor). And a normal socket wrench. GD

It's not that bad - start at the ECU and work your way out from there. Basically any connector not connected to the Manifold, O2's, MAF, MAP, Ignitor, FP relay, Ignition relay, diagnostic connectors, or Alternator gets cut - any wires that go back to the ECU leave as long as possible when you do your cutting. Then trace out what each of the wires going to the ECU that got cut do based on your diagrams and wire them up. Besides a little bit of confusion that is bound to happen surrounding the power feeds from the fuse panel - it's pretty simple and straightforward. The power and ground circuits are somewhat confusing because they branch out all over the place - just remember that any connector that doesn't go to one of the devices you need gets removed - you trace it's wires either to another connector you don't need (cut and remove as much as possible), to a factory splice (cut it there and leave the circuit intact except for the branch going to the connector you are working on), to the ECU (leave it as long as you can), or to another connector that you need (figure out what it is and label - leaving it as long as possible from the connector you are saving). Follow those basic 4 rules and you can't really go wrong. Once you do a few and you are able to recognize the connectors from memory - it's almost an auto-pilot job. I can pretty much do a harness from whole to install-ready in about 4 hours. :-p GD