subynut

Continuing work on Project PandaWagon: So far I have the power steering reservoir done and filled, the coolant expansion tank installed with all the coolant hoses except radiator done. The radiator has been a bit of a challenge since there are not very many dual and tri core radiators that fit in that small area. I have been contemplating going redneck, if I cannot get a small enough radiator for the front, and put the radiator on the roof, but I am not sure I will be able to get good heat transfer there. Hmmmm... I finished off most of the body and engine rewiring. I did a test and so far, things look good. I still don't have rear power door locks or reverse lights, but I'm getting there. I did a quick test of the ECU and I have a blinking CEL, but I cannot get the laptop to communicate with the ECU - the laptop assigned the serial card's ports to COM7 and COM8 but the software only goes to COM5. Will have to see if I can reassign the COM ports to something a little lower so the software can see it. Since I don't have oil or coolant installed, I cannot see if it will start. Besides, I need to drain the tank - it's about 2 year old gas in there! I don't have pictures of it yet, but I picked up a sandwich adapter and installed the EA gauge, an aftermarket pressure for oil pressure and a aftermarket oil temp gauge. I also installed the coolant temp, oil pressure, and oil temp in a gauge pod on the pillar. I plan on adding the sensor for the in dash coolant temp gauge too. I wired in the low oil pressure sensor from the EZ30 into the dash idiot light too. That was interesting, since the car originally did not use that light since it's a GL, but I decided to go ahead and add it in there just for the heck of it. I just pulled the light from the AT temp light, put it in the oil pressure light socket, and spliced into the harness. I was hoping to have it ready for Subiefest, but I am not going to get it finished by then. I still have to finish the brakes, exhaust, alignment, shake rattle and roll test, and clean the interior before taking it on a long drive as that. Oh twell, maybe next year.

On Project EZPandaWagon: Scratching my head on what to do about a radiator - it's gonna have to go where the a/c condenser used to be since the timeing chain covers are sitting where the radiator would go. Wiring, suspension, brakes all need finishing. My sister's 02 Outback is playing games with me: Runs fine at home, but when I take it to Tucson (about 2600ft lower in elevation), it stumbles, coughs, and bogs like mad with no CEL to tell me what is broke: stupid automotive computers trying to work with semi working sensors/actuators. I am waiting on a ODBII device to arrive so I can log the computer while it's running to help diagnose what is wrong. Another sister's 87 wagon doesn't like cold weather - high idle and no power. Weather warms up and the car is fine! My blue 87 wagon drinks coolant just as fast as it drinks fuel and has the opposite problem the other 87 has - idles at 3000 rpm with bog city when it's hot and dry out and just fine when it's cold and wet out. CEL code for the purge control solenoid. Although it's mostly due to the drinking coolant that is giving that one the grief.....I think. And why are Subarus so jealous of one another? One breaks, I fix it and then it's "Me too! Me too!" What gives?

I'm in the same boat, Brian. No available time off AND no Subaru worthy of the dangerous trek through desert. :-(

Replaced the fuel filter, the two O2 sensors, the neutral switch and reinstalled the splash plate on the underside on Bonnie (the 02 Outback). Ran fuel lines, ran wires, installed the XT6 axles (the legacy ones were too long), and bled the brakes on the Panda Wagon. Going to Tucson tomorrow morning to get some hardware and maybe find a XT pitching stopper and bracket to help the wheel hop I will get with that EZ30 under the hood. Still working on what kind of radiator to put in there....ain't a whole lotta room in there.zzz

Very straight forward. Just plug and play. Biggest hiccup I ran into when we did that on my brother's 87 was the starter interlock. I shorted two wires on the connector at the AT shifter box on the floor to get the starter to work.

Depends on what you want out of your 4wd. I was running out of gearing on my stock '86 wagon out here in the sand and rocks (mud? what's that?) I finally learned that it's gearing and torque in the off roading world that is required. I was always burning my clutch trying to crawl through sand and rocks because I couldn't charge it. So, I read the board, read many a off roading story, read many a off road roo buildup. After weighing the advantages and disadvantages of a lifted Roo vs a bigger 4WD, you know what I found on every one of those threads? The search for more torque at a half MPH. According to my calculations, with the kind of terrain I travel while wheeling, I would need enough lift to put a second transfer case in with 4.44 geared diffs and no bigger than 32" tires and an EJ22 tuned for lots of low end torque. Just so that I can crawl through that rock bed or that sandy wash I got stuck in countless times due to not enough power to spin the stock tires let alone 27" or 30" tires. I've seen what a lifted Roo can do (and it's awesome what they are capable of) and I've seen what a stock bigger 4wd can do. At least for me, I chose the bigger 4WD - an F350 V10, 6spd Manual, 4:30 gears and 35" tires (one step up from stock). Why? Gearing and lots of torque. That thing will crawl over anything it can get it's tires over, at idle, and I can tow anything I feel like. Did I loose a bit? Yes. The truck is a standard cab, it gets half the mileage my Subaru got, it is a bit bigger, the insurance is higher, and maintenance is more expensive, . But for me, it was the better trade off. If it breaks less, that means less wrenching and more wheeling.

Beautiful.

Stuffed the engine in the Panda Wagon: Now for the radiator dilemma... Can you say tight squeeze? Now off to measuring and looking for a radiator that will squeeze in there..

Last trip to WCSS my bother got consistantly 28MPG till we hit Cali where the speed limit dropped to 55. Then it jumped to 35. That's with an EJ22 and the FT4WD 5 speed with stock tire height. Corse, around town he got low 20's due to his jack rabbit starts.:-\ My XT6 with FT4WD AT got 25ish around town and 30 out on the highway. My brother driving that same car - he's lucky to hit 20. We'll see what kind of mileage the 3L will get in my wagon when I get that working. Although it should be able to beat my F350.

Acording to my machinest, the step on this flywheel was about half way between the two specs. This flywheel came from a 88 SPFI 4WD wagon. Which seems strange since the XT6 is .815 and the EA82 is either .900 or .930 I'm not sure why two specs for the EA82. I got as far as putting the flywheel on the engine, then it rained and it still raining.....

Thanks guys. Flywheel will be ready when I get off work. Project EZWagon here we go.

Yeah, I got it backwards. :-\ I had a Wile E. Coyote: Genius moment. That's why I came here before I had him do the work. I figured you guys would point me back in the right direction if I was wrong.

I took my flywheel down to the machinist today, and was going to have it researfaced. I told him that I was using the xt6 clutch kit, but there is .1 of an inch difference in the cup (flywheel surface to pressure plate surface) between the er27 flywheel and the ea82 flywheel. He is concerned if I have it adjusted for the xt6 clutch kit, the clutch disk will rub against the flywheel bolts as it wears down. If I don't have it adjusted, the pressure plate will be overextended and could warp the fingers. OR the clutch will feel grabby because the angles are all wrong due to the pressure plate is sitting lower on the flywheel. Anyone have some light to this dark puzzle? Thanks, Ted

Can I take it home?

No, I never had any problems with the struts blowing out, just the CVs. I wonder if the honda springs are sprung stiffer than I thought, since the honda's are from the front, that might have something to do with the strut blowouts. The strut is probably sitting against the max travel all the time may be damaging the seals.

Mantis_Toboggan: 85 and 86 had adjustable suspensions. 87 on did not have those. My 86 had those same struts, but I never did find replacements when they wore out. Installed KYB GR-2s instead and enjoyed the extra handling on the highway and suffered the lost height while wheeling on the weekends. One thing for sure, with the suspension cranked all the way up, I went through front CVs every 3 months.

Exactly.

When I did the conversion on my '86: engine, wiring, and ecu, y-pipe for 625 - local junkyard, 140K on the clock. adaptor plate I got from my brother for 50. The wiring I did myself - not afraid of wires. Had the flyheel redrilled by a machinest buddy for 20 Used existing tranny I then did a full maintenece on the engine (t-belts, water pump, seals, gaskets, hoses, oem t-stat, plugs, wires, and clutch) - learned the hard way to do it now and not get stranded later. I sold the car for the cost of the conversion about 2 years ago and it is still going strong. My brother did it the cheap way: 600 for a parts car (was hit) with ~175k on the clock. Adaptor plate from the board (I forget who) I did the wiring. No maintenince on the engine - just the necessary parts to get it working. It worked great untill we took it to WCSS, didn't make it home - lost the rear main seal - lost 2qts every fillup and then the timing belt broke due to a seized idler pully. Just my $.02

How about.........VTECFTL Sorry, I have this strange hatred towards hondas. However, if you just want it to be unique, SUBRDAV would be a good choice.

Now THAT is cool!

That's cool! I'd so hang that up on my office wall for all my coworkers to see!

Poor little Subaru.

That's one clean looking brat!

So true! BUT! I remember when Nick at Nite was playing the reruns.

I do!