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Hello, my WRX recently got rod knock, and Ive been looking for a place to buy an engine to replace it. I was thinking of purchasing from LAJDM and sending it to a mechanic to replace. I wanted to use this one: https://lajdm.com/subaru/engines/subaru-wrx-fa20-2015-2016-2017-2018-2019-2020-2021-engine/566/jdm-subaru-wrx-engine-2015-2017-2-0l-turbo-fa20-turbo-motor-low-miles/ I Wanted to know if anyone has purchased an engine from LAJDM and if it turned out fine.

Shop those transport people. Did you put yours up for bid? If you do or did, wait after they send their first and even second offers. Maybe try to make a contact but still wait even if you give more details or talk to one of them. You’ll see the price drop dramatically. I’ve done this a few times. Also if you’re not too worried about the $2k as long as you included a nice roadtrip you can do what I did last year and fly out, rent the truck and pull along, and bring it back yourself. That ride through the southwest and using I-40 into the Appalachians is really awesome. I stopped to see another one of us vintage Subaru owners in NC before heading north back home. Either way you won’t miss the money and you’ll have a really great memory to have and share. I’m just now getting my 1977 stage one 4WD wagon from NM back to roadworthy. I put those Forceum mudslinger tires on some powder coated white spoke wheels and it’s already turning heads and hasn’t left the condo parking lot. Money comes and goes. I know how it is. I’m working class. So we don’t really talk about this but if you skirt the rules a little you can use a box truck and trailer and bring back two. Shhhh just something I heard.

I did this a million years ago. Just make a simple plate. I cut mine from something i can’t recall but the metal was blued. Might have been an old blade but anyways i made it somewhat diamond/football shaped and drilled the two hole, times two pieces. In my state it was never an issue with emissions. Block them off and i would just go for a metal to metal seal. That’s one heck of a hot spot so not really sure which or any sealant could be used. Maybe cut up part of and old exhaust gasket? But mine worked fine metal to metal.

DRW makes a full polyurethane shifter bushing set (I promise I have no connection to the brand even though I sing their praises everywhere, I just believe in the product and respect the support for these old Roos). My shifter was awful before I installed them. Shifter in gear felt the same in neutral. Getting that roll pin out without dropping the transmission is a serious PITA. I ended up cutting the bolt going through the bushing out and installing a new shoulder bolt with a carbide drill bushing on the other end and an ultra-low profile nut. Clearance in there is non-existent. It's really not rocket science, however you slice it if you manage to get a new bushing in there then you'll notice an improvement. May be worth replacing all the shift linkage bushings while you're under there. :]

Guess next on the list is to try and get some of the shifter slop cleaned up. How much of this fix applies to the 5MT?

I am converting an old EA82 from carb to SPFI. The heads had two metal pipes, one either side, that I'd assume are for EGR. Either way, the ports for those metal pipes go all the way into the exhaust port flange so they'd cause exhaust leaks if I just bolted up my exhaust. I'd assume these ports need to be blocked off with a plate and some sealant, correct? :] P.S. I'd still keep all my emissions equipment in place for the SPFI setup, I'm just looking to adapt the carb EGR system to the SPFI system.

That 3 digit code at the start of the VIN I believe denotes the model and possibly the market it was sold in. This is the start of my VIN for my L series: JF2 And my Brumby: JF3 Interesting that my L series is a 1988 DL and my Brumby a 1990 GL (came with AC). Other than that I can’t tell you much more than the above about VINs. I do collect different VINs to source genuine parts through online searches that use VINs as the reference point.

@el_freddodo you know what's up with the 3-digit codes for these cars? I've seen them around when doing research but I've never found a chart or spreadsheet or anything listing them out and what they mean. For instance, my car's code matches (as far as I know) what's known in the AUDM as a "Super Turbo". My car isn't turbo and I cannot tell what transmissions the supers had (some places say AWD M/T, some say FT4WD). I'm just kind of confused by the whole thing. Not to hijack, I'm just curious. :]

Good point re tie rods - I’m chasing a knock in the front of one of our Pajero/Montero/Shoguns and was thinking ball joints. They’re probably original and with 460,000km on the car it’s probably time to change them… I’ll check out the tie rods and go from there, thanks for the tip!

No it’s not! Try Subarino auto electrical. He’s based in Perth and will send stuff internationally. The strut with the welded seat bolts in. Subaru obviously realised these were cheaper to manufacture and no one used the “wind up suspension” feature of the earlier struts. @SuspiciousPizza - I can provide you with an AUDM VIN if you need it.

Rule #1, if it isn't broken don't fix it. It happens to us all. The inner tire-rod end's wear out as well.

I’d put my money on the aftermarket shafts being the issue. Been there a few times ;( I do like the suggestions from bushytails. As for the front diff issues, I’ve never seen an issue with the manual transmissions and their front diffs.

Wouldn’t it be easier to get another front subframe and build the diff mounts to that? My thinking is you’ll need the steering rack lowered as well - and the rear subframe may not sit where you need it to accommodate the suspension pick up points and steering rack mounts. The way this was always done in the MY and L series models from the ‘80’s was to use a second engine crossmember. In saying that we don’t have a rear suspension crossmember or subframe as such in these models. I’m keen to see how this pans out!

Ah sorry I see it now. I was hoping your LH Sachs was the matching part to my single RH and I would've given it to you. Yours is the later 88+ with the welded coil seat. I bought the last RH Sachs 031-168 on RockAuto (has the bolt on coil seat) in hopes of maybe finding a matching LH strut. If PEC ships it out to you that's a huge win, I see that they actually offer international shipping. I'll give it a go as well if you get a tracking number. Dying breath for these cars with their stock suspension setups. KYB and Sachs probably won't manufacture these ever again.

See above. I bought the last one from Parts Geek a few months ago and I've been eyeing their availability after this thread was started and I haven't seen any anywhere. I forget where I saw it, but there does appear to be two part numbers from Sachs that refer to the same strut. The part number I listed above is the longer version. There's another part number that is 6-8 digits long. Though when I searched that number I also couldn't find any. I bought my KYB from PEC Australia. It still hasn't shipped yet. They were messaging me last week asking what model number my "Leone" was and if the strut was compatible (I knew it was, I found a KYB catalog online). There's model codes for the cars that give a general designation of drivetrain specs and geographical market (my car is an AN5, for instance). My guess is this causes confusion from those outside the US since I haven't really heard US owners talking about their "AN5's" it's really only DL, GL, etc. Hopefully it'll actually ship and I don't just get refunded. Finding these struts is a bit of an Easter egg hunt. :]

It's kinda hard to know what's up without being in the car, but some other things that make noises... most of which I've seen before... Does the noise get worse when turning? If not, it's not outer CV joint angles. I've only broken one joint from exceeding its angle, and it was flexing the suspension while at full lock. Does the noise go away if you have a passenger (or 300lbs of bricks, or something) in the front seat? If not, it's probably not inner cv joint angles. Feel if the shaft can wiggle in and out a bit, or if it's jammed up against the side of the cup. Wiggle the inner cups up and down to make sure they're free on the splines, not jammed downwards by the shaft. Bad wheel bearings or loose wheel hubs (the hub nut needs quite a bit of torque), causing brake rotor to clip caliper bracket. I've seen this a half dozen times... Also make sure no gremlins stole the cone washers when you were putting it back together. Jack it up and make sure you can't wiggle the wheels in any direction. Lug nuts are tight too, right? Bad transmission; differential going out. Not sure how to diagnose this one. I haven't seen it myself, but I've heard of it for that year range, especially on full-time transmissions. Does it do it in reverse too? Worn transmission stub shaft splines causing the inner cups to flop around. I've only seen this cause vibrations, but noise is possible too. Bad driveshaft u-joint. Probably not if it's a part-time transmission; possible if it's a full-time. Broken transmission or engine mounts (including pitch stop), and you're hearing the transmission banging the crossmember or tunnel or such. Wrong axle length, I guess, Never seen it, but it's a possibility. Hop on the fender while watching the shaft, and make sure it can move in further than the resting position. Defective axles. Some of the chinese ones are really crap. I have GSP ones now and they seem better than the other chinese brands I've used.

I got a kit from rockauto in 2018. timeserts... Never heard of them. Not to bad of a price either, Thanks!

My first car was a 1981 GL1800 Hatchback. My second car was a 1989 Loyale 3dr 1800. My third car was a 1988 XT6. God I miss that car. I've been trying to get a line on one (or two, or three... more on that later) but they are few and far between, with most of the better examples being PNW. Alas, I am in coastal Virginia where the pickings are slim. Any help in tracking down a viable example - preferably 5MT - is appreciated. If there is a good shell (everything mostly there except for engine) I would also be interested, since I would like to do an EZ30 swap with 5MT-AWD (Legacy turbo) which would put almost 200 horses under her hood. There's a guy in Portland right now with a FWD that would be almost perfect, but it would cost me almost $2000 on top of the sell just to move it. Unless somebody here can help...

This was my 3rd Subaru - best damn car I ever owned and I kick myself for getting rid of it. ©1995

Yeah sort of looks like 5 lug swapping these things is the only move going forward. I'm interested who you bought from, I couldn't find an Australian suspension supplier willing to ship to the US. And I'd be concerned using one of those forwarding services because they would likely refuse to ship them as well. What part number is your spare left Sachs?

I've looked at this car a couple of times and it seems like it would be a good candidate for an EZ30 swap. Unfortunately it's in BC which is too long a haul, but $1000cd sounds like a bargain if it comes with spares. There is a pretty good market for JDM engines and transmissions right now. I could swap an EZ30 and 5MT AWD from a Legacy and get almost 200 horses right out of the box for less than $3k US.

Sure. I tend to use TimeSerts which are a threaded cylinder if you’re not already familiar. More money but allows bolt to be removed and reinstalled without a new coil. There are other makers-of that same type insert. Are EA82 pump seal kits still around ? The old Mickey Mouse seal ?

I'd try 6 inches first (Raceworks coilovers can get me to that height without top hat spacers). Between that and 31s I would hope to regain the clearance lost from the front diff getting mounted. We'll see how the fab goes in the front, my plan is to order a rear subframe and cut/modify it to incorporate in front control arm mounts and build up the front subframe from this

How high is your lift? I've heard 2" is about the limit of the axles but I'm not experienced in lifting these cars so other's experiences may differ. It seems to be the general consensus that aftermarket axles aren't worth running if it's avoidable. If anything, check out the grease in the joints. I highly doubt they'd assemble them dry but knowing the quality of modern aftermarket parts for these cars, it also wouldn't surprise me. I'd try packing the joints with a good quality grease and seeing what happens. I recommend Yamalube Molybdenum Disulfide grease. It comes in 4.5oz bottles which is the perfect amount for one joint. I squeeze out as much as I can into the joint, then I cut the bottle open and scoop the rest into the boot. It's expensive but it's very good grease. Try looking out for used OEM axles. It's a pain to track the right axles down but if you run them with good grease and quality neoprene boots they should be just fine. :]

Just replaced both front cv axles on my lifted 92 Loyale (5spd manual 4wd) and I'm getting some nasty clicking/clunking noise multiple times per rotation during acceleration straight or on turns. There is no noise while coasting in neutral. I used aftermarket axles as the originals had already been replaced and the axle lengths seemed to match what was already on the vehicle when I bought it. Could this just be a result of using shitty aftermarket axles that can't handle the angles of the lift? What should I check for potential issues caused by errors during install?