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I finally got a chance to really look at it, and it turned out to be the driveshaft (prop shaft). It was odd though, because, when the car was sitting, it would somehow cause the center bearing to lock so it didn't feel loose at all. I only figured it out by getting under it, with the left rear on jack stands, and having someone spin the left rear wheel while I watched the driveshaft rotate. It got to a specific spot, then it came loose. Got another shaft at a u-pull yard for $23 on sale, and the vibration is gone.

Brat is still alive and kicking.....

OK, Mr. McBRAT, you owe us an update on the life this beast has been living

Well, I got the crossmember bolted in late yesterday afternoon/early evening. Looks like my measurements for the holes and slots were close enough to make it work - I did have to knock the passenger-side/right-side stud out of the stock rubber transmission mount to get things to bolt on properly. This is temporary, again due to the offset of the stud pattern on the mount. I'll most likely install a replacement stud in parallel with the existing one for this build, and if/when it comes time to put in a new mount i'll adjust the crossmember to suit. (The CAD file has already been updated to match so other future builds should be just bolt-on.) I'd be very interested to get in touch with one or two more individuals doing Gen 1 builds like this so that I can further beta-test this crossmember design. If you're looking to do similar, get at me! Once I've got the *new* new camber plates on hand it's going to be a hard charge forward to put the impreza suspension in and the front wheels back on the ground so I can start cutting out the impreza transmission tunnel, rear suspension, and anything else I might need so I can reclaim its current parking spot. Truckin' right along! Thanks for following!

My sincere thanks to all of you. I followed all your suggestions and it ended up being the relay. What a nightmare to get access to! Ended up getting it out eventually and replaced it, and success, the blower fan is now working again! Thank you again everyone.

Video from our trip to Arkansas last fall with slammo and travelvw.

I agree 100%. Still haven’t started it. My daughter’s car, so I’m not in a big hurry.

Finally got some time to get back to this. Cabin heater is working, so not the pump. I also tested the fuses and relays for the radiator fans. They tested fine. I did a bit of research and found out about the green connectors under the steering column used for diagnostics. When I plugged that in and turned the key I heard lots of noises and clicking. The radiator fans were working. I dug into the engine to find the temp switch, per Imdew's suggestion on 3-14-2025, which I believe is also called a coolant temperature sensor. It's kinda buried underneath alot of wiring. I unplugged quite a few electrical connections to give myself enough slack to get to the coolant temperature sensor. I was able to access it and unplug its electrical connection. There was a small hose I wanted to remove to get better access for the wrench, and when I put my hands on it I realized it was broken. See attached photos (#1 and #2). I put a circle around the sensor and a rectangle around the hose. Unfortunately, the plastic nipple is broken. I think I'll need to replace the part the nipple is connected to. Hopefully not, but my gut says that's the way it's gonna go down. Anyone know what this part is? The hose that connects to it goes under the intake manifold and then travels off toward the driver's side of the vehicle. For reference, there is another black nipple to the left of the broken one (see photos #1 and #2). It's intact. The hose that connects to it travels up past the coil. The attached photo (#3) shows a wide view of the hose/nipple that's broken (bordered with a rectangle) and the connection past the coil with a triangle.

If the socket is still functional, I'd just RTV it to the housing. The plastic is old and just breaks down over time. If it doesn't work, you have a few options. 1: Find a side marker assembly online and use the socket outta that, but again with the plastic being so old, it's a shot in the dark if it's lugs are broken or not. 2: Buy a universal #194 lightbulb socket (Amazon, eBay) and RTV that to the housing. You may get lucky with some searching (I found some Loyale sockets with a Google search along the lines of "Subaru GL 194 lightbulb socket".) Good luck on your search!

Well, I'm so close to getting the jackstands out from under the front of this thing I can almost taste it. Did a little measuring under the car today, no convenient bolt holes but I did manage to rough measure and sketch up an idea of what my new control arm mount will look. Started on cardboard then transferred it to CAD this evening. I need to remove one of the control arms to do a more detailed measurement so I can get the bolt holes lined up where they need to be but I think withe some decent 4130 chromoly sheet this should be plenty stiff welded in where it needs to go once I get those measurements. this part will again be available to folks looking to do a similar build. First photo is of the render, second is looking in through the drivers (Front left) side wheel well towards the rear of the car. Red lines represent the assembly, blue the bolts, and green the places I intend to weld the bracket to the car. Next fitment and fabrication project is the steering rack, which I pulled from the Impreza today as well. I'd really like to get away with an install that doesn't end with me resorting to cutting up the transmission bell but that's honestly looking like more and more of a chore.If the fabrication to get the impreza rack in ends up looking like it will be just as much of a hack job I might just capitulate and try to clearance the existing manual rack as cleanly as I can. But I'm getting ahead of myself, - one problem at a time. More updates to follow once I have the control arm mounts ready to go in or once I have the impreza stripped enough to warrant a celebratory "it's out of my shop!" post.

If it's an '85 and still has it's cat converter, be careful. Too much zinc could ruin the converter over time. That said, in '85, the zinc content of oil had to have been higher than it is now? I'm not an expert in Subaru engines, but I know FLAT TAPPET (usually v8) engines benefit the most from zinc. In this case, if you have a flat tappet aftermarket cam, it's worth using it up to a point, especially with high valve spring pressures. I think the number people shoot for anymore is 1300ppm or so for cars with NO converter. The old Dino Havoline 10W40 runs almost 1000, and I wouldn't see that being too low. I ran Castrol for decades in an old Datsun, never added zinc, and never had a problem. Rotella used to be great, but they changed it over time, and the Zinc is sadly not what it once was. Valvoline VR1 is an awesome oil for classic cars that you can now buy at Walmart- I THINK it's around 1300 ppm Zinc. However, it states... "It is not recommended for vehicles with catalytic converters" https://www.valvolineglobal.com/en/vr1-racing-motor-oil-sae-10w-30/

Run diesel grade oil, it has the higher ZDDP levels. Example: Shell Rotella.

Where’s @GeneralDisorder these days? I miss his blunt input on things like this. Buy an ‘80’s Chevy he’d say! I hope he’s ok. Cheers Bennie

Some folks have baked their ECUs just enough to get the solder to loosen up and reset. Also check every ground for good metal contact. And if the general field that a ground lands on is a rusty area that’s not considered a good ground. Folks add ground wires. Usually see the braided type, nice and thick. That would be a starting point. Good luck. Post back.

Small tangential update... Firstly, got the slots on my camber plates adjusted to where i can install all the mounting hardware. Hooray! Secondly, and more importantly - I took a little side quest to investigate using similar coilovers as replacements on a more OEM setup using these camber plates. Seems to me one more part combined with a slight modification to the lower bracketry/threaded tube on the coilover would be all that's needed to fit these into the original knuckles. The lengths are nearly perfect, the coils would still have a decent amount of adjustment in them after, and I think this will allow for a very no-nonsense approach that gets a lot of older cars a much-needed suspension refresh up front. I'm going to get a draft done, once I have that and some initial parts turned out I can test fit them off the car myself, but I will need a brave volunteer to try the kit on an unmodified EA setup. Reach out if that sounds like you!

It’s a dream to pile into my ‘81 B.R.A.T. and trek slowly at 55mph all the way to this. That would be SO cool. Or I get rich and get a flatbed trailer and tow it there with my wilderness.

It's been a busy couple weeks, and today was another rough Monday so again I stopped what I was doing to work on the Brat a little. Got the second attempt at the camber plates in for the front suspension late last week. They need one more revision (slight widening of the distance between the bolt slots, i overcorrected just barely from the first version. I'd make them again if I were putting together a kit for sale or if this were not my personal car but again, for my purposes, a little filing and these will do the job. Once I get the filing and all the bolts in their respective places I'll be putting in the front knuckles and figuring out the second mounting point for the lower control arms. As far as length and diameter goes, these coilovers look like they were made to fit this application now. Very excited.

My Brats are in Denver. Let me know of any interest Shawn was the last to work on 1980. It's been sitting for 15 years sense put in storage. Any help on what they are worth today.

It's a80 and brown has the roll bar. That's why I bought it for the silver one. Last thing done to silver was webber. There's the headlights.

I did it. I bought a 1986 GL Wagon as my first ever Subaru. It already has a few modifications such as a lift, 5 lug adapters, larger wheels/tires and BMW headlights that I will be keeping. I need to rework the DIY fender flares that it has. I'm looking for a replacement manual transmission for this year as the one I have is in pieces. I would like to put the original one back together so feel free to point me in the right direction for a build/repair manual. Thanks!

Yes, dual range 5 speed. I've found a few about 4 hours away. I have two already. One is scattered and the other was in the process of being torn down by the last owner with no recollection of why he was doing it. I've looked at a couple different manuals, but I don't know which bolts go where or the other specs of the parts that have been removed. The internet is a big lace, so I'm confident I'll get it going.

Totally shooting from the hip here, these are all ideas and I've never done any of these methods. 1. Maybe you could fill the piston from the bottom (use it as a bowl) and fill it with dry ice or liquid nitrogen. Maybe you could get the piston cold enough to get it to shrink and you could use your timber+hammer method to remove it then. You may have a temperature transfer to the cylinder walls so this may not work. But the sleeves and piston should contract at different rates. 2. Pour water into the cylinder all the way to the top. Reinstall the head (maybe add some cheap RTV or the like) and stick the block half with the head on into the freezer. Maybe the hydraulic pressure from the water freezing could remove the piston. Or you'll end up cracking the block or head so best use a head that is already too far gone.

'90 and '91 5-speeds used the metal MAF - like the '91-'94 EJ22T(urbos). '90-'94 Automatics and all '95-'98 (and '99 EJ25D) EJ Subarus used the same green label plastic JECS/AUTECS MAFs - only dif is whether they're Japan or USA-made. So, yeah - limited availability on your year. I'd check w/the used auto parts yards for one, too. And try Car-part.com. Lastly and this may not be a viable option, but do some research on swapping the ECU/ECM to a '92-'94 Legacy as the 5speed and Automatics used the same MAF. Per this pinout diagram the only diff is the 'barometric pressure sensor': https://www.surrealmirage.com/vrg3/ecupins/ But, IIRC, the IAC and injectors were also different on the '90-'91 model. But may still work w/the newer ECU? Just a (bad?) thought. For more old Legacy info check here: https://bbs.legacycentral.org/

Got it all back together, driving it for a few weeks and runs maybe even better than before - sounds much better without the worn out water pump rattling - , no leaks! BUT didn't pass CA smog (engine light is off when motor is running) and was 2 degrees to advanced so reset it and ran a bottle of " CRC Emissions System Cleaner" .. double your money back... in a half tank of gas so going to try to pass test again. Thanks everybody for the support

AFAIK a timing kit is a timin kit. Just make sure you get a phase 1 or phase 2 kit as needed - and ensure you’re getting the correct tensioner design as they swapped in the phase 1 era and ran with that tensioner ever since. When you reconnect the battery and start the engine you shouldn’t touch the throttle - the ECU will change engine speeds as it works out it’s idle. I believe this is set as the engine comes up to full running temp. If it’s still stalling at times something else is at play. Clear and check codes again. If the fuel pump wasn’t replaced also consider this could be the issue. When a fuel pump dies it can do it randomly then start again, or it could completely dies. Also stale fuel can be problematic with getting the engine started. If it’s really bad you will smell a varnish like smell from the exhaust. Other thought with the poor idle is a sticky idle air control valve. Could be worth pulling and cleaning up. Do not remove the top cap as that’s the idle set from factory. Apparently you can adjust this once the engine is up to full temp to set the engine idle speed - but it typically doesn’t need to be touched. That’s all I can come up with - I hope some of it at the least is useful! Cheers Bennie

B and I pulled the dash out of the Impreza and worked on some wiring. The neutral and clutch switches (for canceling the cruise control) haven't been registering on the Haltech in a while. I had them wired 12VDC to one side, signal wire to Haltech on the other side. B suggested trying to ground them and that made them turn on and off at the Haltech. Still don't understand that, had them wired to power and they worked for a while. I think they stopped working when I replaced the expansion module or updated the firmware. Regardless, they work now. B installed the cabin air filter kit. Slammo turned me on to this. Very simple install/upgrade. B also cleaned out the HVAC box and blower motor. B wired in a retained accessory power module from timers.shop. Set that up to keep the power to the family band radio and two cigarette lighter outlets after the ignition is turned off. Will set that to 99 minutes I think. Been meaning to do that for years. He also made a little panel and added a switch so we can turn on one fuel pump or the other once the extra fuel tank is done. He replaced the backlight bulb in the gauge cluster so the clock shows up now. I wired all four EGR solenoid grounds to one of the outputs of the Haltech so we can see if that does anything. Wanted to get it working before we tune the car on a dyno. I got the horn working. Since the cruise inputs for the Haltech need a 5VDC power supply I had to separate that out (they're normally powered by the 12VDC horn circuit) and run the horn power through one of the airbag wires. The main reason for pulling the dash was to try to get the speedo working. After some trial and error and back and forth with Dakota Digital, I seem to have it working now. Will update the EZ36 swap thread with details. On that topic, I plan on just putting a swap guide and base map on my website soon too. Not sure how to share files on here.

Well, parts arrived, and i have some iterating to do, but progress is progress. I made a slight mistake on my CAD draft of the camber plates 😕 The stud locations are dead nuts on, as is the center slot, but the slots for the plate-to-strut attachment screws don't line up. I'll have to get a second set made, oh well. I might hack up the original ones that came with the struts to get me by until they arrive but the turnaround time on these was so fast I just might not bother. Similar story for the trans crossmember but it's less serious there. I didn't design the slots in the middle quite far enough forward to accommodate the offset of the stud pattern on the transmission mount. From where I was measuring under the car on my back things seemed to be much more in line than they actually are. I'll be making the slot a little longer on my current build out, but the likelihood is high that I'll want to remake this part too later down the line as well. If anyone needs or wants one of these transmission crossmembers from me in the future I will have it fixed by that point. Photos in the car to come as soon as I'm able to spend some real time under there, maybe this evening, maybe tomorrow.

That’s the era where they (SOA) really tighten up with dealer stock. Dealers are told to destroy parts or at least damage them as they throw them out. So finding 80’s and later NOS is more tricky than 70’s. But Carl Porter is the big man these days for NOS since I’ve been getting out of this habit slowly. He’s here once in a while. Find him in FB if you haven’t already.

Been on a bit of a stall since the last little update for some event travel, but over the last few days I got out the tape measure and CAD and have modeled up a new crossmember. Finally bit the bullet and had it sent out for CNC cutting, and bending this afternoon. Also have the camber plates for the new suspension included in this parts order - so hopefully I'll have a good bit of progress after those parts get in, probably a little over a week. This'll be done in 1/4 plate and the final piece has had a bit width removed for weight savings so I'm hoping I can get away with building this without too much additional fabricating. I suspect if anything I'll want to add in some gussets to the bend areas as a belt-and-suspenders approach. On the flipside I'm also hoping I don't get this thing in and say to myself "man I really overbuilt this thing" - aiming for the Goldilocks zone here, so to speak. If other folks have other Gen 1 cars of similar body style, I'd be interested to see if the crossmembers and bolt locations are the same across 79-81 and across the brat and wagon platforms. If they're the same or not too different I'd be able to put a more commerically-viable version of this together pretty quick with the right datasets and measurements.

Moosens. Please take a look at the last image in my last post ".. and before I stuffed the sock in the intake port (to block dirt and debris) I looked down into it and I see a pile of "oxide crystals" https://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/186408-ea82-replacing-manifold-gaskets

Got em all out without breaking any - I don't think Ive stripped the holes either but haven't cleaned it up yet. For this really tough bolt I decided to use a "paint stripper" heat gun on high for about 15 minutes and it still wouldn't budge so drilled a 2nd hole down closer to the threads, earlier had drilled a hole about in the middle of the column to get the penetrating oil down into the crud in the bottom inch of the column also. After drilling this second hole and then using a lot of penetrating oil, then heat, I had progress had to heat up down by the head for at least 10 minutes with paint stripper heat gun, that's why my aluminum shield has turned golden brown .. I tried a M.A.P. torch but it was to scary and causing way to much smoke for my comfort.. and wiggled back and forth tell I could get about 1/4 turn, came back next day tried it cold no t so much movement so heated it up again and kept working it back and forth - but not going as far in as out.. then add more sauce.. do it again and eventually.. Here's the bolt right after I got it out - I used a lot of B'laster penetration oil, and couldn't get it moving with the 3/8" impact gun - had to really push and pull on this ratchet - really hoping the bolt wouldn't break,, kind of amazed it didn't

I was gone for about 2 months and I finally got back to working on this car and ended up drilling a small hole on the outside corner of the manifold where the bolt goes down to try to get penetrating fluid or blaster down in there and then went and got myself a modern 225 foot pound max rigid torque wrench gun and I haven't broke any of the 3 bolts loose yet, so I guess I gotta go get me M.A.P. Torch, thanks for the good suggestions.

Just like @idosubaru says; Turn the bolt a little bit, spray the bolt head with PB Blaster or other penetrant fluid. Then torch the area of the head where the bolt is stuck with a map gas torch (handheld) Turn the bolt back and forth just a couple degrees again. Torch the area, spray with PB Blaster or dab on some candle wax while it's still hot. It will make the lubricant soak down to where it's needed. Keep repeating the process until the bolt frees up

I would love to see the end result, 242Hp and 220Tq would make for a quick car!

Whatever happened to this project?

Another point if someone has to do an ej18 swap with the wiring change is that the ej18 block still has the threaded hole to instal a knock sensor into.

92 ECUs are not transmission-specific. But 90-91 MT use a different MAF and IAC than the rest of the 90-94 Legacy non-turbo engines. A 90 MT likely won't run right with a 92 ECU unless you swap on the MAF and IAC from a 90-91 AT or any 92-94.

Yeah, but- Why not be able to shoot in some new grease now and then? I'd rather grease my bearings than replace them. This idea is interesting. I was working on a way to force new grease into the bearings while the axles were out. But this idea is also worth thinking on. One question I have is- What about too much grease? If grease was fully packed into the housing, all around the spacer, ect., would it possibly cause a failer due to higher pressures or something? Some people say 1/3 full of grease. If it is not any problem to be full, then we should be able to pack all the grease we can into the hub (when we got the axles out) and be ok with it. What do you guys think about that?

Only for the rear - the tool is to remove the huge ring nut that holds the bearing in. You can use a coal chisel and hammer to pound it around, it just chews up the nut, and is a lot more difficult. The tool has four protrusions, and can be used with an impact. Takes em right out quick. GD

No - the rear can be either two bearing/race sets and a spacer, or can be a single sealed unit. Either way in every case I've seen, the rear is sold as a unit - per wheel - while the front is sold individually. You have to buy four bearings for the front, and two for the rear. 4 seals per wheel all the way around. They are a different size than the front, are held in differently, and the seals are different. I don't see the similarity other than they are both bearings. Have you ever done one? I've done enough to own the special tool for it.... GD

different parts # but still take 2 bearings and 2 seals per wheel on a 4wd.

I had four bearings and four seals when I replaced them on my 84 4WD wagon. Whats this about the grease?!?! Wish I had known that....

Hey, you could do it Jaguar style. Drill the spindle, like you were talking about. Also drill a hole through the hub, and put the zerk in the hub. pump grease into the hub, and old grease exits through the spindle. A similar setup exists on M60 tanks, except there are 2 holes in the hub, and none in the spindle. One hole contains the zerk, and the other has a relief valve. It's fun pumping those up with a pneumatic grease gun. You don't know when it's going to pop off, or where the nasty, old grease will fly. I probably have a few of these relief valves sitting around, if you wanna give it a shot.

The rears do last a long time. I've never replaced a set because of failure that did not result from some other problem. I had a set go bad because the little washer with the tab you bend down had sheared it's key off, and allowed the nut to spin off. (this was a 2WD rear bearing). On the 4WD this is much less likely to happen because of the design of the spindle. GD

Well - the way I figure your at least diluting the contaminates with more clean grease Also - if the bearings are cared for properly, and the car was designed with bearings that could hold it's weight, they should never fail. The metal never actually touches - the bearings ride on a thin coating of grease - the only way a bearing can wear out is it's it's got too much weight on it (thus sqeezing out all the grease), or if it's running dry, or with contaminated grease. So saying that they shouldn't need regreasing till they fail if properly installed doesn't make sense - if they were properly installed, they should never fail. Of course this isn't a perfect world, and they do indeed fail because of either improper installation, or seal failure, which lets in contaminates, and water (even clean water will ruin the grease), and lets the grease leak out. For these reasons I like the idea of a grease fitting - it would allow you to just replace the seals without having to remove the hub and pound the bearings out of it. Just remove the seals from either side, and pump in new grease till it runs clean from either side - new seals, and put it back together. This way you could prevent failure of the bearings for a long time I think. GD

Yeah - I have to dissagree junkie - water and other contiminates from the abuse that us off-roaders do to our bearings is going to make them fail prematurely. A good regreasing via a zirk fitting on the hub after every couple runs would help to keep them from running dry and failing prematurely. I don't think that drilling a small hole for a fitting would weaken the hub. If the hole is drilled properly, it shouldn't be a problem. GD

I dropped the idle at 210F+ to 800 and it still hasn't stalled and I don't think I've stalled it starting out. Also had someone help me tune the PID on the cruise control, we got that very smooth now. Wound up zeroing out the derivative gain and the integral gain. Actually flipped what the integral gain was doing from the base settings and that may have helped even more. Had a bunch of friends help part out the black Outback. Base of passenger side A pillar was more cracked than I expected especially since the windshield wasn't cracked. This is a good example of why I considered the car totaled. This evaporator has actually been flushed out a few times. That white thing used to be a round washer sealing the bulkhead fitting in the fuel cell for the main pickup hose. We got most of the wiring harness out intact. We cut a few things for the rear taillights and the doors before we realized we could/would remove the entire thing. Mainly I wanted to keep the portion from the ECU to the engine so we could potentially swap that EZ30 into something else. Wiring harness pictured weighed 51#. This is after we put away/threw away a lot of parts. Not much left on the shell aside from the bumpers, some glass, and the headliner. Hopefully will be picked up momentarily.