'88 GL-4wd hi/lo in Denver(Sloan's Lake) seeks locals to bounce ideas off of.

[ROObiedooby]

Hy all,

 

Long time lurker and intermittant poster. Ever since I got my hands on my Subbie, I have been a frequent flyer here at USMB.

 

Here is what I am hoping for. I would love to find some fellow Subaru junkies nearby me to bounce some ideas off of. I read, and read here and have a very cursory grasp of the in's and out's of this wonderful little vehicle, but would like to find a few friends here locally to come to with various questions.

 

That said, this by no means is meant to dissuade others who may NOT be local to me from also chiming in as well....the more the merrier!!!

 

My car is an '88 Subaru GL wagon. Normally asperated, Fuel injected ( I think SPFI ). It is a stock 5speed, with 4wd hi/lo lever rather than the push button version. Wonderful car that I picked up for a song. 205,000 on the body, and probably transmission, just under 30,000 on the RE-MAN motor. This car does have the legendary TOD that comes and goes, and has some rough idle.

 

Here is what I am spending so much time researching. I am a ski instructor in Winter Park Colorado, and commute from Lakewood. this is about 60-ish miles one way, up and down various mountainous terrain. I am very seriously considering an EJ-18 swap, or EJ22 swap. I think probably the EJ-18 due to its simplicity, and "bulletproofness". I am considering this due to the abject terror of stressing the woefully underpowered EA motor that is in my wagon "Patches" now. A note about this possible swap, I really, really, REALLY want to maintain the 5-speed-and 4wd HI/LOW rather than going to an AWD set up. I havent run across this quandry yet in my reading.

 

So that is one issue I would like to talk with someone about the pro's and con's. Mind you, I do realize that there are a TON of threads discussing this very thing, and I am currently doing my due dillegence and reading them. but there really is just no substitute for talking / posting / PM-ing, directly with someone who has done this swap.

 

Another thing I would like to explore is an "UP-grade" of my suspension. Not a lift, more of a "tightening" and improvment with an eye to longevity. Not really a mudder here, though I do take the car into the back country/logging roads, for camping. So stiffer struts/springs, fatter anti-roll bars (front and back?) etc.

 

Basically, I absolutely love this car and would like to take the time,effort, and $$$ to make it last a good long time, as well as improve it's performance trudging up and down the Mountain passes.

 

OK, this is getting long winded....sorry about that. Please feel free to chime in, say hello, offer any words of wisdom etc.

 

thanks guys,

 

John

[wagonist]

Being a ski instructor, does this mean that you load up the car a lot? Otherwise, I'm trying to figure out why you'd want to change out a good (in terms of condition) engine.

And if you're wanting to change it out anyway, then don't bother treating this engine so well

 

There are bellhousing adapter plates available to mate up EJ engines to EA boxes, but these move the engine forward slightly. The neatest way is to swap over the front casings of the gearboxes (ie use EJ gearbox casing on the EA box internals), although I understand that dual range EJ boxes are thin on the ground over there

 

In terms of suspension, if you can get hold of the "RX turbo" stuff in terms of springs & struts, these work really well on dirt roads. A lot of the rally guys in the 80s (when the RX turbo won 3 Aust rally championships) weren't changing the suspension from the factory setup.

To fit a rear swap bar, you're going to need to change the rear arms as the 4 mounts are welded to them. These are only on the turbo models I believe (but there might be some high spec NA models over there that got it also). Wagon arms will have the extra bump stop, sedan/coupe arms won't. Although you can cut off the bump stops off your existing arms & weld them onto something else (I've done this because we didn't get any turbo wagons in Aus). Or weld the swaybar mounts onto your arms, but this is more work and harder to line up.

I would recommend not fitting anything bigger than RX bars (front & rear) to your car. XT stuff will cause it to be too stiff over the rougher ground, causing more sliding.

And fit matching bars. The front bar on cars without a rear bar is smaller, so fitting a rear bar with the standard front one can cause some oversteer issues.

Edited November 17, 2013 by wagonist

[ROObiedooby]

Thank you for your response. I am currently in the very preliminary stages of gathering the info I need for the ej22 swap. I am 99% convinced that this is the appropriat modification for my needs.

 

The EA motor in the car now, is serviceable at present. So the plan would be,drive it like I stole it this year/winter, as I accumulate theparts needed and researching the actual swap. Then come spring or summer, perform the swap so I would have some buffer time to workout any bugs before ski season 2014/2015. If all went well, I could have a more reliable,more serviceable machine next season. Ideally one I would not be afraid of taking into the high country.

[86 Wonder Wedge]

Doing the entire EJ engine/trans is not bad, although losing the DR of the EA box is sad. You WILL, however, gain fulltime AWD. Add in a LSD out back and you got a pretty good grip machine. Swapping in the EJ trans is not terrible (infact, XT6 crossmembers bolt into the EA body, if you can find them..) and it's a matched set to the engine, more reliable, and parts are a-plenty.

 

For the long haul and fun-factor, an EJ swap will suit you well. However, it will take up some space in the trunk if you're keeping the spare inside..

[The Dude Abides]

Thought you had to swap more cuz the hubs wont accept ej cv axels.

[Uberoo]

FWD imp axles for the front.

[86 Wonder Wedge]

Thought you had to swap more cuz the hubs wont accept ej cv axels.

 

Hybrid axles. EJ inners/EA outers

[wagonist]

And if you do the EJ rear diff swap (by using a series 1 EJ diff cos it has the male splines), then use the EA inner CVs on both ends of the EA shaft to get the length.

 

Get a good idea during the next year about how many times you actually use the Low range vs just 4wd. With the extra torque of an EJ22, you may find the low range is unnecessary, and just having AWD will be enough.

[ROObiedooby]

I did give going the AWD route some thought. I guess I was leaning to keeping the 4-low/high setup due to fear of the unknown-and just an overall hunch that the EJ22 + EA tranny setup would be bombproof . Perhaps I should revisit the complete EJ22 drivetrain setup.

I am fairly adept at things mechanical, especially if there is someone available for mentoring/handholding through the tougher aspects of the swap. I really would like to make the changes I have in my mind's eye specifically to prolong the life of this much loved car, and to deliver performance that I find to be lacking in an otherwise wonderful machine. I really do find the EA motor to be reasonably acceptable for most of my needs. But moving forward, I also see that this swap will, in theory, provide me with the extra "something" that seems to be lacking right now.

By no means am I anticipating the creation of a "rock crawler" or drag/street strip barn burner. But I do want this car to be able to negotiate high altitude runs on the highway, as well as the comfortable capabilities of trecking deep in the backcountry at high altitudes for camping, backpacking adventures. As the car sits now, with a semi fresh motor, it just doesn't quite make the grade. The one bright spot is the transmission. Although, I think I will need to look at replacing it with a re-built one at the time of the swap. I fear the syncros may be getting a bit long in the tooth between 2nd and 3rd gears. This may be a determiner when deciding what to do regarding the swap (EJ22 with existing trans vs. EJ22 drivetrain complete.)

[armedequation]

Just my 2cents:

 

keep low if at all possible.  The low really helps in those 2-3 foot snow storms.  Being in Estes Park  and understanding the drive you do. Even when I had my RX I could bust through drifts no problem. Now I use 4 lo a lot just to get to my cabin in glen haven.....but thats another story...