superu

Sorry for the delayed reply and THANKS for all the good info... Hmm, so it seems a bit more complicated than I thought.. This may be lengthy and I'm trying to wrap my head around all the options subys have been doing over the years and generations, so I'm going to try to articulate my understanding of what's around, so please bear with me on this.... I'm in the states and as i understand it, and please correct me if I'm wrong (because a LOT of you all know MUCH more than I do, although I'm getting more and more knolwdge through all of you everytime i log on) , it goes something like this... ea subys (motors and trannys) are first and second gen FWD/4WD (dual range in later first gen and in all second gen) subarus (like dl, gl wagons and brats (brumbys down under?) and loyales and leones) and had 1.59:1 low range gearing... These were 3.90:1 gearded final drive 4-5spd (5 speed dual range 3.90:1 came out in '89?) manuals and 4 spd automatics... there's a bunch of different stuff in there like push-button 4wd, then later full-time 4wd (the beginning of AWD) and different gearing in things like DXs and such later on... ej cars (like mine) began the 2.2 liter fuel injected motor and were are full time AWD and came around with legacies in the early 90's with the new body styles (I think from 90 or 91?).... My 95 is the second generation of new body style of new generation subys, and is a 5spd 3.90:1 final drive... Outbacks (in the states) started in 96 (with 3.90:1, 5 spd and 4.11:1 automatics (4EAT), but were dialed in in 97-99 and came with 4.11:1 final drive 5 spd gear boxes then... In the states these were all single range 5 spd, 4.11:1 from 97 on... As I understood it, Latin america and I thought australia and europe got dual range 5 spd 4.11:1 in their outbacks and imprezas... Foresters came on the scene in 98 and have always had 4.11:1 5spd gearboxes (or 4EAT), but the later model turbos came with 4.44:1, 5 speed or 6 speed manual trannys... So i thought i could get a dual range 4.11:1 geared 5 spd that would bolt into my 95 legacy (i know I'll need a 4.11 rear diff too) and i would maintain full-time AWD but add a lower gear through dual range not offered in north america.. So here is where my understanding may be wrong..... I think the dual range AWD is more like 1.18:1 rather than the 1.59:1 low range of the EA dual range 4WD, BUT with the aftermarket lower range gears you can bolt in (like from scorpion: http://scorpionsubaru.com/low.htm), then a dual range AWD would be better than 1.18:1 low range.... SO, I also know folks here in the states have put older-school AE dual range 4WD trannies in new gen EJ cars (like forester ranger's old forester, and another guy's OB in Montana, both done by Mudrat).. I know this takes an adapter plate to marry the EA tranny with the very slightly different EJ motor's bolt pattern.... AND the EA tranny's spline pattern is different from the EJ motor's spline pattern for the front axles... SO this can be corrected for by using 93 impresa FWD inner CV axles (which go into the EA motor) married to my existing 95 legacy EJ outer CV splines (to go into my 95 front end).... SO, my question is this: is my understanding on Australian and Latin American dual range AWD correct, or are there different gearing issues? I wanted to avoid so much modifying (like splicing front axles and adding an adaptor plate) and just bolt in a lower-gear-modified dual range AWD that would keep my performance clutch... BUT, now I'm leaning more towards the AE dual range swap (like forester ranger's old forester), to get the more legit dual range functionality of true 4WD... I'll try to be on the forum more to keep this dialogue going and see where I end up with this modifying stuff... Thanks again, -mark-

I'm running the BFG AT/KO on my strut-lifted '95 legacy.. I've Always loved this tire, and with the newer AT/KO's they have a bit of a shoulder tread and added bleting to flatten the footprint when inflated (i forget the wording, but got the whole low-down when I bought mine).. I think they're a 6-ply tread and 3-ply sidewall... I got mine from discount tire, but know the manager and got the sweet hookup (under $100 each).... I'm still on 14" rims, so its their smallest AT/KO at 27x8.5 I love them, and want a better transmission to turn them (3.9 gearing is sluggish and sux), and to fix my od- and speedo for the taller tire... I can send pix if you remind me with an email... I just moved, so the external hard drive is in a box right now... I recommend them, and have seen (I believe) the 205 or 215 75's on my friend's stock 98 legacy (15" rims)... She's psyched because the car drives exactly the same as the stock street tire, but now she's got nearly an inch more clearnace, and with her powdercoated rims, it doesn't look like so much of a mom car.... recommended, says me -mw-

So, I've gone through many-a-sleepless night thinking of how to better equip my outback-strut-lifted '95 legacy... I know John will do me a dual range 5 spd from an EA '80's car, but i fear the spline differences in the front axles and am just not that interested in so much modding in my daily driver... I know I know, ForesterRanger LOVED his dual range forester, and its still kicking it hard on Oregon forest roads!! But, I'd like to go with the 4.11 gearset of later-model year outbacks, and I like the AWD 5 spd, BUT we didn't get dual range AWD in the states.. BUT you cool kids down under did, y mi amigos en Sur America y America Central tiene los transmiciones tambien... SO, I'm looking into how i can get a late 90's era dual range AWD from,an outback-like legacy ( I think they were Loyales down under, right?) I also think you guys down under have aftermarket lower range gearsets you can put in these things too, right?!?? Is this possible, and how can I begin getting this together? -Mark- Now in Moab, UT Just left Flagstaff, AZ

Hey Crabman, THANKS! Well, if you can't jump on this, tell ALL your friends so someone can score this rig and all the stuff I'm hoping to sell it before I move, but it looks like that won't be the case... I'll keep it on the market though, but it'll probably be less accessible for buyers in Moab, UT vs. Flagstaff, AZ... But there's also a good chance I'll use it more there Thanks for looking though... -mw-

Hey crew, I haven't been so regular on the Forum for a while, you know how it goes.... I'm a new generation guy but I do have a 1980 Brat that needs to recirculate in the Suby community. I have 3.5 years into this car and in that time have collected some extra and good stuff that are much-wanted as are running BRATs... I'm moving so I need to move this car along. Its a blue (in and out) 1980 single-range 4x4, with jump-seats and carpeted bedliner. The car sat immobile for 10+ years till I got my hands on it. I swapped the motor for a 78-79 EA71 block and dialed the car in to running, legal, insurable, registered, driving condition. This brat has new front axles, all around new brakes, I swapped the block and gas tank, and it has new tires & allignment... I'm selling it as a package deal with many extras (including but not limited to): Subaru winch-mount bumper and brackets, extra gas tank, radiator, rotors & calipers, steering wheel, 78 wagon instrument cluster, set of 4 steel rims, set of 5 white spoke (2nd gen) steel rims (with good tires), EA71 1980 block and intake (needs work), uncracked spare windshield... The car is a bit rough but runs and drives VERY cleanly. It is an Arizona car so its sun-damaged, but no rust! I'm asking $2500 for the whole shebang... Car is in northern Arizona. pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/mweissinger/BRAT4Sale Craigslist posting here: http://flagstaff.craigslist.org/clt/625320936.html

I have a 95 legacy sedan with 98 outback struts and springs all around, no subframe blocks or rear trailing arms, etc.. JUST the strut (and spring) swap. i gained 1.5(ish)" with the struts and another 1-1.5" with tires (running the smallest 14" BFG AT/KO, I think is 27.5" or 28") There are pix in the forums somewhere... also here's a link (http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3997&d=1151171638) for a pic of stock springs, 93 IMP, 95 LEG and 98 FOR... I did a forester swap in my wife's 93 IMP (98 FOR strute), but replaced the FOR springs in the rear with my old factory 95 LEG springs. It levelled out the rear and got rid of all the rake (old-school muscle car look, high rear end) that you see is some other FOR sturts into IMPs...

Thanks Zap. This legacy was getting shipped to Honduras, so a lift would be better given daily road conditions there... My bro-in-law has shipped hte car already and will likely ship OB struts this spring for later installation.. I dig the lifted WRX!! First one o've seen.. I lifted my wife's 93 IMP, on forester struts and springs, then levelled the rear with stock legacy springs... worked well to remove the rake-effect.. Happy trails, -mw-

sorry for the delay, but i got it done this summer with Mudrat. It was a bolt-on deal, although the openning for the E-brake cable was smaller in the disk setup vs. the stock drub setup... The main cable goes through fine, but it does not "clip" in, so with some heat-shrink wrap, the line is set fine.. Thanks! -mw-

Got it licked! Running some techron is always a good idea for fuel tanks! So once I got into the fuel gauge issue, I varified what the previous delaer had told me, and what johnceggleston indicated as well... The saddle-bag fuel tank has two sending units. The main (passenger side) and sub- (driver side). I'd replaced the main, and the sub- was still (and was the main problem as per the dealer) bad, I replaced the sub-sending unit and the gauge works well now, reading on E at around 280-300 miles. I still didn't see the light come on, when I filled up with 13.5ish gallons, but I'm pretty sure there is a light Thanks all, and note to self.... bad-reading fuel gauge could be a bad sub-fuel sending unit, located behind the rear seat, driver's side, through a circular (as opposed to oval for the main sending unit) access panel. -mw-

Hello? Anyone there? Just checking to see if the OB strut swap works on a 2000 legacy L... Thanks to all who know about the newer 2nd gens..

Hey all. Another lifting question. I think i know the answer, but I am less familiar with the 2000+ models, so I'm just looking for a quick yes or no. I own a 95 legacy (lifted by the simple OB strut swap), but wonder if its the same simple lift for a 2000. My wife's bro-in-law just got a 2000 legacy L (same trim as mine) and wants to lift it simply, like i did with mine (OB strut assembly swap, plus tires). So, can a 2000 legacy L be lifted with an OB strut swap from a 2000+ OB doner? Thanks!

Has anyone swapped a tranny and rear diff with different gearing from their stock gearing in a new gen Suby? If so what performance changes have you noticed?? Here's the scenario. . . I'm toying with swapping out the 5-speed 3.9 (final drive) geared tranny (and rear diff) from my 95 legacy to a 4.44-geared 5-speed from say and forester or later outback. I have done a strut swap and larger tires (plus some other stuff), and the car is a bit sluggish when compared to stock vehicles.. Yes, the 2.2 does not have the power of the 2.5, but the 2.2 is a strong motor and moves the car around well, and engine swaps are out of the question... The BF Goodrich website has a cool "off road tire size" tool(http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/bfg/productIdSubmit.do) that tells you about ground clearance, acceleration, highway performance, speedometer and how to regain performance when going with oversize tires. From this it looks like a taller-geared tranny would help my car run "more like stock"... Expereinces, ideas, comments.?

My feul gauge has read wrong for, mmm, 3.5 years. So it reads full when full, but goes down WAY too fast, i.e. reads 3/4 full after driving 60 miles... I've had a dealer tell me that with an Ohm meter, the fuel sending unit is bad and not sending correct signals. They said its under the rear, passenger seat and should be cheap to replace. The Chilton says the car doesn't have and in-tnak fuel pump. I've replaced the pump, float, sending unit assembly from one out of a '98 OB, but same problem.. So I think, WTF? I just want the gauge to read more accuratly, and i'd like the low-fuel light to come on, (I know it has one, i saw it once 3.5 years ago I've been running from miulage rather than the gauge for about 3 .5 years and I'd like it fixed.. Ideas, suggestions?

Has anyone swapped a tranny and rear diff with different gearing from their stock gearing in a new gen Suby? If so what performance changes have you noticed?? Here's the scenario. . . I'm toying with swapping out the 5-speed 3.9 (final drive) geared tranny (and rear diff) from my 95 legacy to a 4.44-geared 5-speed from say and forester or later outback. I have done a strut swap and larger tires (plus some other stuff), and the car is a bit sluggish when compared to stock vehicles.. Yes, the 2.2 does not have the power of the 2.5, but the 2.2 is a strong motor and moves the car around well, and engine swaps are out of the question... The BF Goodrich website has a cool "off road tire size" tool(http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/bfg/productIdSubmit.do) that tells you about ground clearance, acceleration, highway performance, speedometer and how to regain performance when going with oversize tires. From this it looks like a taller-geared tranny would help my car run "more like stock"... Expereinces, ideas, comments.?

I have been thinking of doing a conversion to my 95 legacy 2.2. It'd be nice to burn cleaner than gasoline, especially with raising fuel costs. Plus it would be cool to be able to use the car pool lane with the incintive or a cleaner-burning automobile... I would like to be able to run gasoline also and I understand when doing a propane conversion you can switch and run either gasoline or propane. is the same true for CNG? So I've mainly thought about propane, but recently i've thought about CNG as well. Does anyone know good pros and cons of each of these and how it could be done? thanx, -mw-

I have been thinking of doing a conversion to my 95 legacy 2.2. It'd be nice to burn cleaner than gasoline, especially with raising fuel costs. Plus it would be cool to be able to use the car pool lane with the incintive or a cleaner-burning automobile... I would like to be able to run gasoline also and I understand when doing a propane conversion you can switch and run either gasoline or propane. is the same true for CNG? So I've mainly thought about propane, but recently i've thought about CNG as well. Does anyone know good pros and cons of each of these and how it could be done? thanx, -mw-

Hey check out this new tread. i'm selling a gen 1 brat (which I brought back to life), and a bunch of parts. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?p=654228#post654228

when in August is the meet??

I'm wanting to do a disk brake set up in the rear of my 95 legacy. Wil the set up from an '89 legacy wagon bolt up in my 95 legacy sedan? The mounting looks the same, but i have not put the cars side by side and measured things...

Do they/anyone make a hidden hitch for a '95 legacy? I think I've seen these on other subys, sweet hitches!! I want one

That's sweet! I don't recognize the grill? Nice tires, thinking of something like that for my legacy (now that I've got OB 15's)

Yeah, back in the day when I had a '69 dodge dart i was going to build up, i sheared off most of the lugs on the driver's side before i figured out they were reverse thread (ahh, mopar).. But you can get longer lugs and the parts store and just pound/press them in to replace stock ones from the drum, you can also get spacers there for not too much $$ ( i was going to do this as well for the dart).. It just sounds like you've got bad geometry for what you're trying to do, with what you've got... I'd look into a 14 inch rim also but it might just be that the forester struts don't allow a much bigger tire (as already mentioned)... ALTHOUGH, Austin's Imp (Ratty2Austin) is sitting on some big meat (from pix i recall)... The IMPS seem to be a bit more trouble to mount bigger meat on, when doing the forester lift... Are you looking into a different trailing arm to get the wheel to center in the wheel well also? Sorry to hear your cutting woes too I'm still confused about your clunking too.. The thing that comes to my mind is that the upper perch is not seated correctly so that your spring is not mounted right and is sticking out where it shouldn't... ergo, it's not mounted linear to the shock shaft ( the shaft will not be in the center of the spring, just look at the lower perch, and rotat the upper perch such thqat the stut hole is closest to the perch edge matching the lower perch)... I don't have anuy clinking after installing the washers on the shock stud... of corse I did the legacy springs (shorter than forester) as well and did not mount things in stages, but took off the strut (mounted w/o extra washers) changed the springs and remounted adding the washers... Umm, I agree with Andy about 14" rims vs. 15s for the 27" swampers.. When I test fit 14's they fit nicely, but when looking at www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html and other similar tire conversion charts, i found that 27x8.5 14s were a different overall diameter than 27x8.5 15s..... so maybe the smaller rim on the 27ish" rim would work better... I have a sset of 14" steelies from my legacy laying around if you're interested, cheap... Good luck -mark-

Which line road is that? I'd be down with cruising it...

Hmm, that's a BFBummer!! My lower spring perch, and i think a ring or 2 of the spring hit the car wall, when It's off the ground, but i think there's a miniscule amount of space when lowered onto the ground... Maybe the different (lower) height with the legacy springs allows for that room... On my legacy (lifted on OB stuff), the outback strut and spring also touches the wall, when in the air, but on the ground there's no rubbing and never had any clunking... I think this might be the forester spring curse... While yes its taller, maybe its too tall (for the rear at least)... But if the BFH works and you're cool with beating, then beat away!! The added washer(s) are useful though, as you pointed out, the nut seats on the washer rather than just thrading all the way down on the stud, w/o clamping anything... I did get the washers from ace, in the little plastic pull-out tray... maybe I'm making up the M30, but the outside diameter is 30mm and the inside whole diameter is 16mm...

Yeah, none of that... The upper perch sets on the shock shaft collar, the mount sets on the perch, the washer sets in the mount, then the stock washer and nut.. I know what you mean though about the desire to not pull those things apart if you don't have to! Good luck!