Subaru Retrofitting

Intro Alright, I just noticed that I can edit old posts. So I'm starting a FAQ post. I will try to keep on this to keep it updated. My plan is basically just a list of useful thread links, specifically for things that are hard to search for (my first thought is 5-lug swap stuff...). If you come across a particularly useful thread or link (does not need to be something posted on the USMB), whether you are the original poster or not, post it up. I envision this to be a retrofitting-specific FAQ. Focused on using parts from/for one car (usually Subaru model, but not necessarily) on a Subaru. Be it for some sort of upgrade, or just parts availability. …

Ok so with the increase in posts asking "can an (insert EJ motor) be put into (insert EA body)" I thought it would be good to compile a list of EJ swaps that way people can ask specific questions through PM. Here goes: Board Member: S'ko Engine: OBD1 EJ18 Chassis: 1982 BRAT Tranny: EA81 D/R 4spd Other: 5 inch lift, 5 lug swap, EA82 crossmember for Powersteering

As the years go by and our old soobs get older, many of you may have noticed a marked decrease in available parts. Or perhaps you want your Subaru to perform better, but have noticed the appalling lack of available aftermarket. Whether your goal is a faster soob, more technologically updated soob, or you just have newer stuff laying around and want to try it out, this is the place for you. From intercoolers to suspension, Transmissions to Brakes, there are a number of ways to incorporate newer Subaru technology into an older car. Thats what this place is all about. Some of the things have been tried (both successfully and otherwise) by members in the past, …

I've been digging through shocks in hopes of finding something that could work to replace the obsolete shocks on the front of our EA82 cars. If turned up a few promising options and I'm hoping someone more knowledgeable than me can take a gander and either tell me I'm stupid or confirm that these shocks will work. First up, for stock or possibly lifted rigs, the front struts from a 2014 Nissan Rogue seem to be a good candidate. KYB part # 3340158. As best as I can tell, they've got a 46mm where they clamp to the knuckle which might be close enough to work. The extended length is 18.92in, compressed is 12.32, for a travel of 6.6in. Really hoping thi…

I did a EJ22 (complete engine rebuild) swap on a friends 87 GL10 and the things been giving us grief. Its running real rich and dumping fuel and fouling the plugs. I've checked fuel pressure, its good. Comp on all cylinders is over 200 (rings have extra gap for NA/T in the near future. Its also hard to start and runs rough for several seconds, then smooths out. Has a little bit of a surge too. Non EGR and have replaced the fuel reg. Looking for a little guidance on where to look next, should I start going thru the wiring harness next?

Long post, but bit of explanation is needed. I have spent a couple weeks searching the forum, a lot of good info, a fair amount on the EA81, but not a lot for the 71. Most of the post are old enough that the photos are no longer there. Basically what it comes down to is I have an axle failing, and a parts car that I can still buy axles for. I have already swapped the rear over, and am now working on the front, but the suspension geometry has me a bit lost, mostly the strut tops, and wheel centering in well. I am lifting about 3 inches, already have 2 at the crossmember, and want to do 3 at the coil. On the EA81, when lifting, the strut tops move inboard as they go…

So when you do a Ej to Ea swap, on the ECU, there is a wire for the radiator fan, I am thinking, the ECU controls the fan. But, on the Ea cars, you have a sensor on the radiator that controls the fan. My question is, Do I have to run the wire from the ECU to the radiator fan or can I just leave it the stock way on the EA cars? Thx guys. I appreciate your help. There is a lot of info on this site with you guys.

Hey guys need your help. Almost finished with wiring the Ej into my 88 Rx but I have some questions. For the starter wire from the ecu, do I just splice that into the small wire already on the starter? And, second, for the neutral wire from the ecu, do I just ground that wire so the ecu thinks the clutch pedal is depressed for start-up?? My wifes RS was a manual and you had to have the clutch pedal depressed, even though the car is in neutral, for the car to start. Any of you that have done this, please chime in. Thanks guys.

Hi guys, I want to install a LSD in the differential of my Brat. So I have to change the seals/gaskets of it. Do you have any subaru parts referencies for a kit of gaskets ( maybe it is the same differential like forester) ?

Hey all. I am trying to splice in the wiring from my 88 Rx to a 93 Ej 2.2 and the wiring diagrams I have aren't jiving. On the Ea I have: 1 big white wire, black/white stripe, & white/red stripe On the Ej I have: 1 big white wire, black/white stripe, & yellow Obviously, big whites go together, I know the white/red stripe is the charge light on the Ea. Which one from the Ej is the charge light? Or, does someone know another way to figure this out?????? Please advise. Thx

Hello everyone! I'm new here and from what I've read around on the forums, this seems to be a genuinely good community, so I joined up to pose a project question here. I've got an '07 donor car and I'm wondering if I can swap the front lower control arms and sway bar onto my '02 Outback? Can I go whole-hog, as in wheel bearings and all? Has anyone here tried it out? I'm considering a lift later on, so the sway bar will likely be gone entirely at some point. I've been working on Subarus for many, many years but this will be my first swap project, if it's possible. With just a quick look and rudimentary measure, it seems likely to me, but I haven't gone in depth y…

I found a company in Australia called AGT Engineering that makes a CANbus emulator, which if I understand correctly, will allow me to use a stock Subaru ECU to drive an EZ30R essentially outside of the car (though immobilizer components are needed). Has anyone used this? How well does it work?

Posted this in the new gen forum but this might be a better place. I'm putting an sti 6 speed into my XT6 and looking for a crossmember. My car started life as an automatic so I don't have the XT6 manual crossmember and finding one is gonna be impossible, and don't have a welder so would rather not go custom. Is there any EJ (or other) crossmember that will work? Here are the measurements (all from the centers of the bolts) Green line: 20 and 5/8 inches Red line: 2 and 3/8 inches Blue line: 13 and 1/2 inches

Hi to All, As I have posted in the "Old Gen" Forum, I started from repairing to doing some major Mods to My 1990 MV. Including a 5Sp 4wd DR trans and an EJ 22 Engine swap. For the trans Swap I bought what I supposed should be a "complete kit", this is a GL 5Sp 4wd DR + Rear diff.... I was quite shure that my original 4Sp 4wd DR and the new would have different gearing. BUT when I was attempting to do the rear diff swap I noticedBoth are 3.700 Is this OK...or did I got a non matching Transmission-Differential package. Best regards!

okay, so i know that i built a low compression motor platform. My question is, do I need any type of tune to make my forester run half way decent? I have ordered part after part to piece a td04L in my forester and within a week it will be on it. Just looking for pointers to where and how I can get it tuned if it will need it. I'm not building a power house, I pull alot of weight with my forster and it does what i need it too. However I want a little more power than what the 2.2 block and 2.5 sohc heads can give me so I thought. Ehh turbo it is.

Not seeing a lot online when I helped a friend do this, so my .02 for posterity. Disclaimer - If you work on your own car, you're also RESPONSIBLE for what you do, as I'm 100% NOT RESPONSIBLE for you. Be smart and safe! - Started with an '03 Legacy wagon. The 'Special Edition' model that was actually the standard for the '03 MY, for the Sedan and Wagon - Cars101.com. This should apply to any '00-'04 model and as far as I've seen the sedan uses the same suspension setup. - I spent some time trying to discern if the strut body or the spring or both raised the REAR of the Outback/OB - along w/the sub-frame spacers. The online Subaru parts catalogs were…

I've been working on my EJ22 swap in my 82' Brat for the past couple of months now and had a question about wiring the vehicle speed sensor. For those who have not seen my previous posts, my Brat is a DL (no T-Tops, single range 4 speed manual, and gauge cluster without the tachometer). It no longer has the 4-Speed in it and instead a D/R 5-Speed out of an '86 wagon I believe. I've been told that in order to make the swap work (the EJ and the 5-Speed), that I will need to get the GL gauge cluster with the tachometer. Finding this gauge cluster isn't difficult, but rather it's the GL dash that is hard to find, at least in decent condition. Getting a GL cluster would …

I'm looking for some coil overs to put on my 1988 Subaru xt6 AWD and I was wondering if anyone already knew of coils or gravel spec coils that would fit on one of these things

Hello everyone, So along with doing my EA81 to EJ22 swap I will also be swapping out the 4-speed single range transmission with either the 5-speed dual range or a 5-speed full time AWD out of an RX, which from what I understand will bolt up exactly the same with the adaptor plate. I do understand though that regardless I will need to have custom fabrication done for both the transmission mounts and the transmission crossmember. I've seen something being tossed around these forums referred to as "Jerry's kit" for 5 speed conversions. I was wondering if this gentleman still makes these conversion kits and if they can also be used for doing 5-speed swaps along with an E…

Hey all, I have been lurking here for quite some time and even tried to sell my 1987 RX Turbo here a while back. Well now I have finally pushed this project ahead on my priorities and figured I would start to document everything here. For some back ground, I found this 1987 RX turbo abandoned at a Subaru Repair shop and had to go through paperwork hell to get a title created in my name for the vehicle. I originally wanted to keep it original with the EA82T, but the engine, along with several replacement engines (provided by the shop that had it), were all completely shot with cracked water jackets from overheating. Three years passed and I eventually decided to cave into …

I am wondering how difficult it would be to add cruise control to a 1998 Impreza Outback Sport (5MT if it matters). Couldn't find this discussed anywhere. I have another Impreza that I think has all the parts I'd need to swap over - steering wheel, main button, module under hood, module under dash. So I guess my main question is, would a car without cruise have all the wiring and connectors in place?

Hey fellas, stumbled across this info for a 1991 Legacy on AUSubaru.com - thought it might be a bit of interesting reading for you carb-less Stateside folk! FSM EJ Carb Section FSM Dizzy Ignition Section Also on another note, now I've finally gotten back into a job, expect to see a carbed EJ22 showing up somewhere along the lines in my EA82 wagon - using all Subaru parts giggity giggity goo

up until about 3000 or 3200 rpms my car runs like a dog & if i try & run it hard it kind of jerks (not a full on jerk, but it has power-then it doesnt-then it does-all of this happens really fast and stops once i get to 3k) and with all of the hoses & bs im fed up with the spfi. im looking to convert it to carbureted & im asking any of you that may know, what all am i going to need to do this? i understand im going to need a carb and carb manifold for it, but what else am i going to need? do i need to change my distributer to a vac. advance one or can my current one remain, and what about the ecm, and what am i going to need to do to keep my current temp s…

Consulted the manual, again. On the same page as the cig lighter is the power ports in the cargo bay, like you said. But, they too run off the ignition switch, ie; accssy or run engine. So, I need to know where to install a fused jumper from the cig lighter to a line on the hot side of the battery. It ought to be in the engine bay, on the fire wall, some electrical box. Need to label it clearly so's any service tech just don't rip it out. Fused no more than .5 amp, probably less. Bought my 2012 Forester April 23, 10yrs old, so no warranty to violate nuclear powered charger (solar panels from Harbor Freight Tool) that's why I'm looking…

'88 Soob GL-10 4" lift REAR SHOCK PROBLEM SOLVED, fully adjustable rear suspension. In my pics you ll notice that I have them adjusted most of the way out still have about an 1" to go, after installation I probably could drop it another 1" but if the car is fully loaded that will level it out total cost 75.00 plus shipping what you get is in the pics everything an no mods just install an enjoy, I did install mine on KYB gas adjust shocks, they will work on your stock shocks also you car will handle much better heres a link to look at pics of my installation and yes the kit does come with spanner wrinches of course I think installing longer coil would be better but for a c…