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Half Shafts on a 1988 GL, kind of


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Okay, first of all, the person we got this from, well, him and Dr. Frankenstein would have been buddies.  I went to put new half shafts in, boots have been gone for a while and the clicking is making me nervous (ever lose a CV at 75 mph, it's one of the scariest things I've ever had happen to me)  Anyway, no matter where I turn, the only half shafts made for this car are like 27 13/32.  The ones ON the car are about 25 1/2 (hard to be exact with the wear and tear).  I'm pretty sure somewhere parts got swapped and these are NOT for a GL, but right now, I need axles that keep together.  Any thoughts?  I'm trying to get this car ready for a new driver so while I'm not really in a hurry, would like to get it off the jack stands and out doing something besides looking sad...  

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Right, that would work great except I'm pretty sure these parts are not supposed to go to this car.  Even subaru says it should be 27" compressed.  But when I try to put in a new one, it is about 1 1/2" too long.  Was hoping someone may have an idea of what these shafts came out of.  all the splines match perfectly, just too long, very strange.  If I put  the shafts side by side, there is a 2" difference in length.  The hard part is that the old ones are worn to the point I don't trust that their measurement is exactly right, so it's hard to google search it.

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What body style '88 GL? EA81s have a narrower track width than EA82s, and I think they made EA81 hatches and brats until '88 ('87 for sure...), where the wagon, sedan, and coupe were all EA82s.

 

It's a coupe.  So far I'm pretty sure that there are parts from about 5 cars in there.  It does have an EA81 motor, Not sure how that changes things for the half shaft.  I have to admit, I'm fairly new here, I'm a recent convert. :D

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<p>Update for anyone looking for a similar part  trakmotive sb8009 appears short enough, need to check everything else, but that appears to be the right part, thanks for all the help  </p>

<p> </p>

<p>Edit, sorry, looked at wrong number sb8002  Just realized I had put the wrong one in. lol</p>

Edited by craftymlz
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Yeah, I don't think anything was messed with to change any dimensions. I have a feeling this is just a case of confusion; there are two completely different Subarus with the "GL" moniker in 88. One is the ea82 variant, in wagon, sedan, and 3-door variety, the other is the ea81 variant with an ea81 and the same components as the older (pre 85) gl, it was only available as a hatchback by this point. They use different length axles with the ea81 cars being the shorter ones.

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Yeah, I don't think anything was messed with to change any dimensions. I have a feeling this is just a case of confusion; there are two completely different Subarus with the "GL" moniker in 88. One is the ea82 variant, in wagon, sedan, and 3-door variety, the other is the ea81 variant with an ea81 and the same components as the older (pre 85) gl, it was only available as a hatchback by this point. They use different length axles with the ea81 cars being the shorter ones.

Trying to find parts for it has been a pain so far.  But that makes some sense.  Ah well, at least I got the right ones ordered now.  Thanks for all the help.

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It's a learning curve. Once you have gotten all the different names and stuff down, you're good though.

 

Essentially if you order suspension parts for an 86 Brat, you should always get what you're looking for with ea81 cars. Another trick is to make sure you study the OHV engine at parts stores as all usdm eai2 cars are ohc.

Edited by l75eya
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coupe is different from hatchback.   Google Subaru ea81 hatchback ... look at images, the blue one is the classic hatchback.   I think they made them until '89.     When ordering parts, order for an 84 2-door ea81 OHV.     EA82 started in 1985 and has the OHC motor (with timing belts).  New body style for ea82 wagons and sedans.

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