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

Well did the thing, so kinda pleased with myself, but also bummed.... dismounting went smooth, in italy they dont use salt on roads in winter, so cars here are very rust free, there was nothing frozen. I did have to make a 1/8" U shaped plate to add height to my fork tool as it wasnt tall enough to separate the taper, easy. 10 mins with an angle grinder to make second bigger issue was none of my fault, i mounted the first new ball in the arm, went to feed it into hole in the steering knuckle.... wont go in! Really? Turns out the SKF bodies were machined oversized due to an error in the factory, 38,10mm instead of the 37,95mm it should be! how the hell this can happen is a mystery. Options was to send them back to amazon and wait for new ones, but with the car on stands and the rubber boots destroyed during removal i couldnt go back to the old ones Luckily i have a lathe and been able to take a lick off the diameter and bring it back to dimension, but gee.... what the heck Now for the real bummer - As i was bolting back the torsion bar tie rods, i casually pulled on the bar and heard a knock.... well turns out that the free play making noise was in the tie rods, not the ball joints!!!!! Indeed after lowering the car and driving with the new ball joints, clacking was still there. The old ball joints had no free play to begin with. Ordered new tie rods, changed them in 10 minutes or so without even lifting the car, noise gone. Cant believe i did all the knuckle ball joints work (and SKF agravation) for nothing. So lesson learned, check your stupid little tie rods before changing your ball joints.

It should be doable - if it uses the speedo cable that’ll sort a major hurdle. If it requires a speed sensor it will need more wiring added to make this work. The rest should be repinning as needed. Don’t worry about the height sensor indicators. You could probably look up what resistance will show low and high, then pick what ride height you want to see all the time and wire that in. It’s a super cool looking instrument cluster! We didn’t get anything like that over here - not even in the Vortex range. Maybe us Aussies weren’t 80’s enough to handle a digital cluster of that era (we got the MY touring wagons with digital clusters so go figure…), I doubt it though.

I think so; under threshold.

Sold my '89 parts wagon roughly three plus years ago. Via a Denver craigslist ad, yep it took forever. Young man from Ruidoso came down and bought both the Wagon, and the spare 49K mile EA-82 engine assembly in two separate trips. Don't recall his name, possibly "Wyatt" but he's Subaru Kid to me. I could see if I have his contact information in one of my older phones. Am guessing he's on Social Media, am not on those platforms yet.

Yeah howdy! There are no holes in the face of it. The backing plate hides the back of the drum so no puller will fit there. The brat didn't move for 6 or 7 yrs and that wheel sunk into the dirt. One extreme way is to unbolt all the brake mounting nuts and beat the whole assembly off. I had intended to take it to my mechanic but it won't roll. I will look into the old forums, glad you are still around.

Yep, several of both. I'm not a fan of the Baja, it's an Outback with less usable space, less weight capacity, and a novelty price premium. But my wife has always loved them, so we have 2. Non turbo Bajas use the single bulb headlight like the Legacy L. Turbos have the Outback/GT 2 bulb set. The exhaust is probably the same to the flange at the rear axle, but muffler is different (rear overhang is longer. Might be able to lengthen Outback muffler assembly to use on a Baja. I haven't looked that closely). Fuel tank is not specific to the Baja, but there are a few different part numbers depending on year and emissions. But a Federal 04 Outback and Federal 04 Baja will have the same tank. There are many things that are interchangeable but different. Dash trim is silver instead of wood grain, but interchangeable. Fenders, doors and front bumper will fit, but is different (I've heard that you can drill mounting holes in the Outback sheet metal and put the Baja cladding on it, but I haven't verified). Rear door glass is specific to body style (Sedan, Wagon, Baja). Outback seats will physically bolt in, but as with swapping between Outbacks, some have side airbags, power adjustment, etc. I think the rear seat will swap, as I remember someone wanting to have 3 seats there instead of 2, and I think they were successful. Most specific things to the Baja are unobtanium. Although I have been seeing more and more 3d printed parts for them. Some of the clips and trim for the bed area.

I’d say the most effective way would be tank out and clean with whatever method of choice. You could source a good, clean tank, put that in and be done with it too.

Got my strut from PEC Australia today. Looks good. If you absolutely need front struts, they have em. No clue on how long their inventory will last though. :]

Very clever. So rather than continue to reduce your hoarded inventory of Subie parts, you intend on hiding it in plain sight from your wife in the form of a Baja?

How can I reach you to possibly get this CAD so I can have none made?

DMV always seems to be a pain. Glad you got it worked out.

Junk yards and online (eBay, FB marketplace) would be where to source the axles. Problem is finding a car with the right axles. There's 4 or 5 different types of axles. While there's general guidelines you can follow to know which axles will be in which car, it also seems that Fuji just grabbed a random set of axles off the shelf and just put them on each car as it was going down the assembly line. It's really annoying tracking down axles. I had to buy 3 axles that were listed as the axle I needed before I got the one I was looking for. Unless you go there in person and can identify the axles, assume the person who listed the axle (new, refurb, or used) doesn't know which axle it is. In the FSM, there is an axle chart (in section 4 I believe) use that to find the identification bands on the axle shaft, the shape of the inner joint cup, and the inner joint spline count. These are your general identification landmarks. For the interim, I'm sure the Rock Auto axles will work just fine. But once you get the car rolling, I'd be saving up for used OEM axles, new front struts, a set of 4x140 wheels, some wheel bearings, and strut mounts. Just my opinion but if you're even considering dropping the car to stock height, start locating parts ASAP. KYB struts can only be found easily shipped from Australia. So shipping is very expensive, plus the "old a** part" tax. You'd be looking at $700 for a pair including shipping. Strut mounts (again, KYB brand) are also very hard to find. And typically go for $40-$90 per mount. It'd be expensive to drop the car and give the suspension the attention it probably needs or will need soon. But it's easier on the car long-term and makes the parts struggle a little less complicated. Tldr: The Rock Auto axles are a good permanent solution for a "throw away" car but if you plan to keep it long term, I'd recommend going to stock suspension. Begin your hunt for the parts required to make that swap ASAP. Last call for parts was a decade ago, we're stumbling out on the end of a bartender's broom at this point.

From what my Parts Catalog says (and it only goes up to '90 so YMMV), the Loyale used a 95AC-23 axle (PN 23221GA373) which has 23 splines and a length between boots of 242mm. These axles are actually the shortest of all the OEM axles. You MIGHT (maybe, possibly, no guarantees) be able to get away with a longer OEM axle. The 87AC axles (PN 23221GA233) have a length of 257mm between boots. The 82AC axles (PN 23221GA244) have a length of 265mm between boots. You could gain up to 23mm in axle length with OEM axles which are better quality than modern production axles. Sorry I didn't really answer your question. Me personally, I'd drop the car to standard height and swap in used OEM axles. But that's just my opinion. Second option I'd personally go for is keep the lift, buy some 82AC axles and see if they work. Third option I'd go for is getting the Rock Auto extreme articulation axles. I'm sure they'd work, but for how long? And by that time would you be able to get them again? Going to stock gives you the most flexibility with parts and greater parts longevity. I'm beating the "keep it stock" drum pretty hard, but whatever you choose to do is your decision, I can only offer my opinion. :] P.S. looking for the right axles can be a major PITA. If you need alternative part numbers just shoot me a line.

I'll just scrap the HG's and go out to my engine rebuilder to grab an extra set I had given them. Those are OEM gaskets anyways.

Maybe i missed it but have you gotten an engine stand and flushed those head bolt holes? That’s going to be key. Same with bolt threads. Don’t sweat it all. Designs like these cam towers are reasons I have closed my chapter or EA82s but hey its your special engine so i understand your commitment. But to a lot of is older folks its just an EA82 and just do tour best, don’t go nuts with retotqueing the cam tower and etc etc but i am NOT a mechanic. Good luck.

Nope. Meant EA82. The EA81 shifter is completely different to the EA82. Ahhh… sorry, it just clicked, you’re talking about an EA81 5spd. I’m pretty sure these are more like the EA82 setup too. I’m not used to the EA81 wagons being a fwd 5spd - we only got that gearbox in the hardtop coupes over here. All wagons were 4wd 4spd boxes. So with your sloppy shifter, get under the car: If you see a uni joint on the selector shaft it’s same or very close to EA82. It probably needs a set of bushes, I did a repair to mine once with a piece of garden hose… If the selector shaft is horizontal and has a sleeve over it then that thread fix *should* be of use. Hope this helps - and clears up some confusion!

Going to the UP in a few days but I don't anticipate using the low range much. Thought I replied here but don't see it now so I'll try again. Got the low range rebuilt with some of the upgraded parts. For instance, added needles to this surface on the input shaft that rides in the high range output shaft. These are locked together in high range but are always discolored and worn after use. Trans went back together fairly easily. B checked the gap on the crank trigger sensor (only .024", would be fairly difficult to reduce) and replaced the clutch disc. We put the trans back in and reassembled the rest of the car. Seems to be back to normal. At first the clutch action was strange, the first half of the pedal travel just got the slave pushrod in contact with the fork so you had to push the pedal all the way to the floor. Tried pumping it up and bleeding it, no improvement. After maybe an hour of city driving it's suddenly back to normal, only have to push the pedal about 1/4 of the way down to disengage. Low fuel light no longer works, it was working during last year's trip out west but I ran out of gas with the gauge a little above empty and no light on the dash. Fortunately was able to coast into a gas station to a pump, did have a jerry can with me. One of the seals on one of B's struts was out of place so we took the strut off and went through it. Got the seal retainer welded back into place, replaced that seal, cleaned up the threads on the shaft, and replaced the bumpstop.

If you do wheel bearings I'd recommend buying sealed bearings and foregoing the seals. If anything take one seal off each bearing, face the unsealed sides into the knuckle and pack grease between them inside the knuckle. The seals are a real pain in my opinion. Front bearings are super easy compared to the rears, if you lift the engine & trans as a unit to get the axles out then you don't have to detach any suspension components. If anything take your outer tie rods out of the knuckle but I got away without it. Putting the axles back in, you may have to loosen/partially drop the control arms. :]

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. :]

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.

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

I love the technical terms used in the illustration. Haha.

Thanks for the wisdom! What I did exactly was, unbolt the stabilizer from the from the transverse link, and loosen the bolt holing in the link so I could bring it down, I then took out the old air struts and then put the new one in. I couldn't bring the knuckle down low enough that I could slip the strut into the hole of the knuckle from the bottom, but I could bend the knuckle at an angle and then pop the strut into the knuckle (This is after I had loosened the bolt at the knuckle, and sprayed some WD40 to help it slide in). I had done this with the passenger side and it's not having issues, but I am now going to inspect that to make sure it's not about to fall apart. On the passenger side it was loose enough I could use my hands, however on the drivers side, I used my leg since I was close enough to the wall. Below is some MS-Paint art to illustrate my "infinite genius": I think I see what you're saying about disconnecting the joint. Tomorrow I'll take off the boot and see what's going on in there. I am assuming I'll need an extra pin, but we'll see, I'll reach out if I do and I'll gladly pay for it.

I have accessport manager 3.1.9 and a bunch of different tunes available. Not sure if there is one for secondary air pump delete. Below are some of the tunes Filename Vehicle Economy Mode v350.ptm 2006 USDM Imprez Economy Mode v400.ptm 2006 USDM Imprez Stage v400.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza Stage 91 v350.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza Stage1 91 v350.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza Stage1 91 v400.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza Stage1 91 v400.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza Stage1 93 v350.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza Stage1 93 v350.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza Stage1 93 v400.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza Stage1 93 v400.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza Stage1 ACN91 v350.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza Stage1 ACN91 v350.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza Stage ACN91 v400.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza Stage ACN91 v400.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza Stage1 +EBCS 91 v350.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza V Stage1+EBCS 91 v400.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza V Stage1+EBCS 93 v350.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza V Stage1+EBCS 93 v400.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza V •Stage1+EBCS ACN91 v350.p... 2006 USDM Impreza V Stage1+EBCS ACN91 v400.p... 2006 USDM Impreza V Stage 91 v350.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza W Stage 91 v350.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza W Stage2 91 v400.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza W Stage 93 v350.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza W •Stage 93 v350.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza W Stage 93 v400.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza WI Stage2 ACN91 v350.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza WI Stage ACN91 v350.ptm Stage2 ACN91 v400.ptm 2006 USDM Impreza WF 2006 USDM Impreza WF Stage+EBCS 91 1050x v35... 2006 USDM Impreza W

Small update, I was able to find some conventional struts at a yard in my area and they went on just fine! At least, the rear ones did, I haven't done the front ones because I wanted to try out a little experiment. What I have learned, is that you can have the front air suspension independently from the rear, as long as your plug up the rear. I used the solenoids from the rear air struts and plugged them into the airline and just left the power unplugged, which leaves them in a closed state. Not exactly a revelation, but still fun to know. This wont be long term of course, but I did drive it around my neighborhood, and it didn't explode so that's a win in my book. It does lead to a somewhat silly look on the car when the front struts are deflated. The attached picture doesn't do it justice, but hopefully my MS-Paint art shows what I mean. It basically has a very aggressive attack angle which really made me laugh when I first saw it.

Lift kits. SJR - is the main man who builds these kits. There are others but for sure we elder folks here know Scott - SJR - from this board. Scott may have stopped making kits for the older Subarus but he may still have a kit in stock or be able to break out the out templates etc. Naturally that market has dried up and the latest focus is on newer vehicles. There may be more involvement needed beyond the simple suspension swap like axle length and camber adjustments so be aware before you start. Basic rule - others have done it - you can too. Just step on the rocks as you cross the river. Wink Check archives. And sadly there’s FB too where you’ll find Scott - SJR - these days.

It might work, not sure though. The issue is the strut sockets into the steering knuckle, so you'd need a strut that had the right diameter and spring mount location. Here are the 4WD strut parts numbers I had in my notes. There are some used Loyale struts on eBay at the moment (both right and left). Front Right Sachs: W0133-1932779 Front Left Sachs: W0133-2038805 Front Right TRW: JGM4031SR Front Left TRW: JGM4031SL Front struts are very difficult to find. They are available but the parts availability seems to come in waves. There's not really any "upgrade" parts for these cars (there are overload springs out there). Just finding parts designed for these cars is an accomplishment. :]

You can replace them with 2WD or 4WD ones. Only different is a slight height change (2WD sit lower) so replace both of them. Your springs will still work on either. Grab some new bump stops and bellows for the struts if you have the scratch. I think there was some TRW struts out there very recently. Good luck :]

Hey, I found the part number. It's 73711FA000, superseding 73710FA020. I'm not sure what it does with the vacuum, initially I thought it was part of the pulsed secondary air injection system to clean up exhaust emissions, but that one looks has a little filter hat on it. Here it is on the official website - https://parts.subaru.com/p/49283327/73711FA000.html Disregard below, I finally found an EJ18 vacuum diagram and it's listed there. A friend and I suspect it's similar to the IAC, it supplies extra air for the engine to rev up, so it doesn't bog when the A/C compressor is being run. For some reason it's listed as part of the air conditioning system and part of the A/C diagram, despite being connected to the intake manifold. It's not listed on any of the vacuum routing diagrams as far as I've seen, which is why I think so many have had issues finding it.

The weather was finally somwhat bearable (if humid as hell for my tastes), my leg is 99% healed, and I had a day off to play with, so I started poking at the rear suspension again. Pulled the subframe apart and separated the sheet metal piece from the diff, and removed the knuckle assemblies including the CV's and lateral arms. Also I think i made my first obnoxious mistake. Nothing too unrecoverable but still... annoying. Made a couple of test fits and chalk marks with the whole assembly to get an idea of what I thought I'd be wanting to chop. Actually chopping was the mistake (sort of) - but I'll detail that shortly. The diagonal marks indicate roughly where the frame ends on the brat where I need the subframe to sit. Did another test fit with just the diff and subframe, determined it would be easier to fit where I needed it to if I just cut it straight where the stock bushings ended. The intent here was (and I guess still is) to re-fabricate mounting points to the frame with new bushing locations to fit in the smaller chassis. Got everything tucked up in and sort of leaned in place where I think It will go. The diff is bolted to the subframe, and then also mounted to the original Brat front diff crossmember. Fits pretty close to where it needs to be - only thing now is that it looks as if there's about 1.5 - 2 inches of height I'll need to make up to keep everything sitting level. It was at this point where looking back I think I maybe made a bit of a mistake cutting off the bushings. Funny thing is - mere minutes after completing all the test fitting and cutting today, a friend sent me a youtube video from a guy doing a similar subframe swap in on a later gen brat where he just...*widened the frame and used the stock bushings.* Shocker, this would have been a much simpler approach and I think there would still be enough clearance for me to narrow the links and CVs to tuck everything back in under the stock wheel wells. Granted, the gentleman in question had to refabricate his whole rear frame, and appeared to be planning on adding a widebody kit setup though so maybe he didn't need to be so concerned about the wheelbase width in the back. Lack of access to the "frame" from a different perspective was also a reason for me not thinking of this - I'm still using the bed as a demi-storage locker and haven't cut the bed floor or wheel wells out yet. Might change that and get the ol' death wheel out for the bed soon to, but that metal is in pretty good shape and I'd rather not cut into it if I don't have to. I'm deciding to look at the silver linings here - It's probably for the best I'm still going my own way of it - I'm definitely maximizing the room i have available to move the wheels inboard for a more stock look. I'm thinking I might be able to get clever and integrate the original moustache bar mounts or something... We'll see - I have to sleep on it. Absolute worst case I go to the junkyard and try to source another rear subframe and then widen the frame rails similarly to the other builder. A quick Google looks like one can be had for about $150 used. Maybe less if I find a pick and pull with one nearby or get lucky on marketplace. Mounting problems aside - having put everything roughly where I want it and looking at the bare underside of the subframe itself I think I'm going to have to take a slightly different track and shorten both the CV as well as the lateral links - chopping up the subframe more than I already have is going to prove much more complex than I initially assumed. I'd wanted to try to save on parts money and maintain stock impreza parts wherever possible, but in this case I think it will end up becoming much more expensive in terms of my time to relocate the pivot points instead of just changing to an adjustable link setup (It looks like I can get some of those for my GC model year for about $200.) Hopefully adjustable links will be adjustable enough to where I don't need to modify those to shorten them sufficiently. Anyways, looks a lot like it did when I started today but now I have more information to play with. Ever onward!

No, I'm a woman who enjoys spending time wrenching and driving, not retiring a vehicle due to lack of parts. I'll see if one of the drift Miatas around here can compare to the Brat for hardware. If a custom mount is all that would be needed to unlock more suspension parts that wouldn't be so bad. The new Brat bushings from DRW Poly Bushings are fantastic. I don't have the full set in yet but the couple I've done so far are so much better than the "fruit leather" consistency of the current ones.

145 is correct, but I generally go to 200 or 250 on all mine. It will not hurt the bearings. Early VW busses used the 36mm nut, and their book spec for them was 250 GD