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Ultimate EA81 Axels?


FlyB0y
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A friend just turned me onto some GCK Axles. They are not rebuilt and are brand new. I havent found a retailer yet who carries them, and I hear they maybe special order. My buddy wheels his lifted EA81 and has had no problems as of yet.

 

I have another friend who has some MWE axles. They look like some great axles, but his rig has been down so it hasnt seen much wheelin. Its a Brat with a 4" lift.

 

MWE wants $85 an axle and $30 for shipping... thats $115 an axle, $230 for a pair. I cant bring myself to spend that much, i'll have to check with GCK and see what they want for an axle.

 

-Brian

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I swear by the GCK's. Couple reasons.

 

1. They are BRAND NEW (no core charge!)

 

2. They have been redesigned by GCK using more modern materials and building processes. You have to see one in person to understand. They carry an "Optimized for 4WD off road" label right on the box.

 

3. With the EA81 you have two types of axles - 2WD and 4WD. The catch is they are interchangable so the rebuilders do not make a distinction. You get what you get. If you buy an axle from say Napa that's "reman", you may or may not get the better 4WD axles with the stronger joints.

 

4. Lifetime warrantee (Through Autozone for me - so don't need to keep reciepts or anything).

 

You really have to see one to understand - very, very nice axles, and the joints are so tight when you get them they barely move by hand - like a new ball joint. Really amazing.

 

GD

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I've read of someone using EA82 DOJ with EA81 shafts to get another 1/2" of extension(forgot who, but it was posted here a while back). I wonder if GCK could special order EA81 front axles with EA82 DOJ? I sure could use something like that.

 

Yeah - that's me - but it's the rear's not the front's. Here's my write up:

 

http://home.comcast.net/~trilinear/axle_rebuilding.html

 

Can you tell I've done some axle work? :rolleyes:

 

GD

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are fwd axles of any use? in the legacy, fwd axles are significantly stronger which maybe is of use to people with ea82t trans?

 

FWD (2WD) axles for the EA81 are significantly weaker. If you read my post on the first page you would know this :cool:

 

Also EA series and EJ series axles have little in common as design goes (on the hub end).

 

GD

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you didnt say anything about ea82 2wd:lol: just throwing ideas out there is all.

and I thought the turbo ea82 trans and ej trans have the same spline count on the stubs, which is what I was getting at, I thought maybe those DOJ's could be of use though of course the rest of the axle wouldnt. unless they are not in which case I will shut up.

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I've parted out enough EA81Ts to know they are not the same.

 

There is zero difference between the 4WD Auto used in the Turbo, and the 4WD Auto used in the non-turbo. There is zero difference in the steering knuckle end as well. I've parted my share of EA81's and EA81T's as well. The axles are the same. Someone care to lookup the part numbers?

 

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My two cents...I just bought new front axles from Napa for $80 each. They came with a life time warrenty. That seems like a pretty good deal to me.

 

New or new-to-you? Are they 4WD or 2WD axles? This is the problem with most brands - they use 2WD axles (or in the case of rebuilders - you don't get any choice), and they really are not up to the job for a lifted unit.

 

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what i noticed about gck axles was that the outer cup actually looks like it is bigger.actually,on both ends it looks bigger. is it possible that they are putting ea-82 axle inner and outer axle cups on an ea-81 axle length?hmmmmm:-\

 

That's exactly what I'm talking about - they are redesigned axles, and they are better than even the original 4WD spec axles. There really is no comparison - especially for the price. GCK really did us a favor here guys. They are not using EA82 joints, they are using NEW components made to fit our application. EA82 joints will not fit an EA81 front axle - the axle shaft splines are different as the EA81 shaft is much thicker (in the case of the 4WD shafts).

 

The only issue I've had is that on one axle I could not get the axle in far enough to fit the cotter pin it came with - had to use a smaller cotter pin. Worked just fine tho, and I think it was due to aftermarket bearing in the hub. I actually moved that same axle to another car (don't ask :-\), and it fit fine.

 

They make EA82 axles now too (they didn't when I first started using them), and I'm sure they are just as good. Someone with a lifted EA82 should check them out. Their catalog is very complete now with axles for every subaru I can think of (EA81 and up), and they even correctly show the spline count (23/25) for EA82's. They even have a listing showing the RX (same part as the Turbo EA82, but at least they know about it).

 

GD

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