DerFahrer

I agree 100% with what has already been said...

An XT6 tranny won't fit, but the good news is, any Subaru transmission that came in a Legacy, Impreza, Outback, Forester, what have you, can be made to fit your car. Some mods might be necessary here and there, but it's pretty much a big bolt-on procedure.

My XT is about the same, about 4k in 5th at 80. Let's face it, old-gen Subarus are small cars with small engines. To put a really tall gearbox in it would only make it slower and use more gas since the engine would have to work harder. Like Turbone said, you can put bigger wheels on it, but that's about it. No other gearbox that will fit an EA is going to give you drastically longer gearing.

I know already the question that's running through your head, and my answer to it is probably yes. They probably timed it off a notch or maybe the tensioner is a bit weak and let the belt skip, but if the car started pinging right after the belt change, then that seems like more than a coincidence. Take it back and tell them to see what they can do to fix it, and you shouldn't hafta pay for it either.

What I would do, before you remove the timing belts, make sure the engine is still locked in place (TC wedged still or clutch engaged in 5th), and then just go at the cam bolts. The timing belt will hold the cam in place.

Replace the cam seals. I hafta redo my timing belt on my Legacy because I skipped those and now they're leaking

I'd definitely be up for it too, but I'll add vote #5047 that there needs to be some 0ld sk00l representin'!

I have never heard of this additive, so you can safely assume that I wouldn't use it. It sounds like your car is doing what us Subaru folk refer to as "torque-binding." You didn't say if your Legacy was AWD or not, being a Brighton, there's a slight chance it isn't. If it is, here is the possible problem. The AWD system in an automatic Subaru has a clutch pack in the transmission which decides, based on traction readings from wheel speeds, how to split the engine's power. If your tires are not worn evenly, the fronts will be a slightly different diameter than the rears. The transmission computer reads this as difference in traction, and begins to lock up the clutch pack, trying to send the same power to all 4 wheels. Since your tires need to turn at different speeds in a parking situation, you will have some wheels trying to spin on pavement, or at least jerk the car around. Measure the tread depth on all your tires, and be sure they're the same, or extremely close. If they're not, you might want to invest in new tires and follow a VERY strict rotation schedule. Good luck!

Here is the proper way to double-clutch downshifting (this will answer everyone's questions): Let's say you're approaching a 30mph, 3rd gear, roughly 3000rpm corner at 40mph in 4th gear at roughly 2000rpm. Disengage the clutch and put the gearbox in Neutral. Re-engage the clutch. With your foot on the brake, pop the gas (heel-toe) and rev the engine up to about 3000rpm. Disengage the clutch, and immediately put the gearbox in 3rd. Since you just rev-matched it, the gear should engage smooth as silk, you shouldn't even feel resistance. Pop the gas again to bring the engine back up to about 3000rpm again and then re-engage the clutch, it should be instantaneous and without jerking. You have just put the car in the proper gear and at the proper rpm for the turn without doing any damage to your transmission. A practiced driver can do this entire process in a half-second. But hold on, before you all start popping clutches 50,000 times a minute, understand that this puts an extra strain on your clutch release system. I still stand by my notion that the throwout bearing clips broke off the clutch fork on my Legacy because I learned to double-clutch on that car. And I can drive MT with the best in the world. Guys who have been driving MT for 30 years ask me how I drive so well, I just tell them I'm self-taught .

I don't know of any reason why you'd need to remove the axle nut to take the rotor off. That's the 80's Subarus. All you should have to do is take the caliper off and the rotor should come right off, almost fall off.

Sweet rides dude! Lifted Brats are ALWAYS cool :cool:

After 3 months of being lazy and not having the time or energy, I finally got in all the parts I needed to get my XT running again. MilesFox's timing covers came in at the perfect time, and I got a Calc test out of the way Friday, so I could concentrate on the car. I put new timing belts on it, all new front oil seals on it (crank, cams, oil pump reseal), new water pump, new alternator, and I retapped the threads in the head for the exhaust stud. The car runs beautifully, stays cool, maintains 45lbs of oil pressure at 3k, doesn't tap one bit, and doesn't smoke from the engine bay anymore .

They won't fit our cars either, Beetles are 4 X 130 as best I know...

Forget the synthetic oils!! Put the cheapest, junkiest, most bargain-basement dino gear oil you possibly can in your Subaru tranny. I've had nothing but bad experiences with synth and nothing but good experiences with dino.

Joe, time to check out the BC/BF Legacy forum now You should probably replace the timing belt while you're working on it. And although you say it doesn't leak oil, do the cam seals, front crank seal, and stuff to assure it, then also do the water pump and T-stat. Then that whole package will be taken care of and you won't hafta worry about it. The lessons I've learned with my 91 Legacy are that you can make it much faster by making it run perfectly than by modding it. Do the normal tune-up stuff: plugs, wires, air filter, fuel filter, injector cleaner (the best is Lubro-Moly Jectron). But also look into new motor mounts, a WRX tranny mount fits perfectly, new struts, good tires, stuff like that. Concentrate more on making the car smooth and reliable and it will gain speed in the process. My car is a whole lot faster now than when I first got it. And it has over 40k more miles than when I first got it too.

Being in Florida, I don't think it's going to get any worse. Replacing body panels would get rid of about 80% of it. I think what I'm just going to do is save my money with the mindset of getting it, and when I have enough, if the car is still there and I think it's worthwhile, I'll get it. If not, I'll have $600 to throw a party with! The other question is: where would I put it?? I only have a 1-car garage, my Legacy gets to sit outside for now while the XT is in pieces. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. If not, I'm really not going to have a walrus over it.

Here's the breakdown of lug patterns, I don't know offsets though: Anything that fits in the Old Gen forum (besides the Justy and XT6) has a 4 X 140 lug pattern. It's so unusual that the only way to change wheels is to get other Subaru wheels or Peugeot wheels. The Justy has a 4 X 100 lug pattern, the XT6 has a 5 X 100 lug pattern like the New Gen. Anything that fits in the New Gen forum(except for the SVX and 05 Imprezas) have a 5 X 100 lug pattern. This makes all kinds of aftermarket wheels available for Subarus. The SVX and 05 Imprezas have a 5 X 114.3 lug pattern, which limits them somewhat in aftermarket, but still more than the Old Gen.

That really surprises me then. I guess you were unlucky then:confused: . I figured that the blown headgasket contaminated the oil and ruined the bearing. Oh well.

I drive by a 1990 Loyale Wagon 4WD everyday on the way to school. I stopped and had a look, clean interior, very low miles at 97k, owner says it runs great. The downside is it's got a fair amount of cancer (Chicago car), and the alloy wheels' finish is beyond repair. I haven't started it up or anything, but the guy says he'll let it go for $600 coz it's sitting at his work and his boss wants it gone. Should I scrape my change together and eat Ramen noodles for the next 3 weeks to buy it, or just let it go? To find a 4WD 80's Subaru here in Orlando is quite rare, but I already have a 4WD nonturbo XT, for sure the only one in town... I'd have 3 freekin cars if I got this thing! Whaddyall think?

It's pretty uncommon for a Subaru to have bottom-end problems... Commuter, I'm about 90% certain that the bearing failed because of oil contamination from the blown headgasket, so as far as I'm concerned, that's not really the fault of just a weak bottom-end.

Guys, guys, don't trash the EJ18! There are TWO Impreza 1.8 turbos local to me, one is owned by a well-known Subaru tech who originally had an EJ20T in his 95 Brighton 2-dr. He blew that up and instead, decided to turbo the EJ18. The car is a beast, easily stock WRX material. The other one isn't really all that impressive to me, it's a 4-door FWD auto, but the kid has still turbo'ed it. I understand that either haven't blown up their engines yet, I'd in fact be interested in picking up a cheap 1.8 Impreza just to tool around with it and see what it's made of.

New cars are for people that want to spend $25,000 to get rid of $1500 worth of problems If I were to get a new car, I would save, save, save so I could put a fat down payment on an 06 Legacy GT (would take me a year and don't like buying the 1st years of new models), but I just don't like the idea of spending all that money...

Word. Edrach is so trusting that he's shipping out the wheels I'm buying from him before he even gets payment! On no other forum would I do that!

I can speak for both sides here, as I have both an EA82 and an EJ22. The EA82 has proven to be very reliable for me, it's no powerhouse, but it's very torquey. I will also say that t-belts on EA82's are a breeze, easier than the EJ22 IMO. It's easier to deal with one timing belt for one cam at a time, than to get both cams and the crank lined up perfect all at once. Plus the EA82 spring-loaded t-belt tensioners are a snap compared to the EJ22 hydraulic one. But the EJ22 is it. Overall (with the exception of t-belts) the EJ22 is easier to work on, it's smoother, more powerful, leaks less oil , and just as much, if not more, durable.

Whoops, forgot swaybar sizes... 88 XT FSM again: XT front bar: 19mm XT6 front bar: 20mm XT/XT6 rear bar: 16mm It just says 1800 or 2700, nothing about turbo/nonturbo. I also need to add that all information I gathered, my previous post included, were for FWD models. It is my observation that (at least for 88) all 4WD models got the air ride. So in that case... 4WD XT front bar: 19mm 4WD XT6 front bar: 20mm 4WD XT/XT6 rear bar: 20mm