bushbasher

Could you run the tractor tire idea by me again? I don't understand where the angle iron comes into play for some reason it sounds like alaska lift limits will be the least of your worries if caught on the road.

they don't have as much of a rust problem as the ea81/ea82 subes.

I suggest you read up on terms like antisquat %, instant center, roll axis etc. Heres a program that will calculate your variables based on the link system you draw up. http://www.performancetrends.com/4link.htm

I wouldnt go with the hobart. Ive got a Lincoln Mig Pak 10 and it works great, adjustable wire speed and current. Fitting in the back for gas, but I haven't got a reg and tank for it yet. It was 499 cdn at Canadian Tire. For 600 cdn I could have gotten the 220v mig pack 15, but I've got the arc welder for big stuff so I just stuck with the 110 model. Anyways, it's worked great for welding up the rear fenders of my wagon. You just have to be careful because subaru sheetmetal is thin and burns easy. Using gas makes welding sheetmetal alot better, it burns the metal less.

you mean ltb's? They are a tough off-road tire but are not good on the road because they are usually out of round or do so once they've been driving a bit. Someone said they're like driving on octagon wheels on the pavement, and they're basically unbalanceable. They'll still work fine on the trail though.

Some people have done this with hummer stuff right? It would be cool, except for the fact that the rear end is a huge weak link in these cars. The r160 rear diff has a 6.3" ring gear and 23 spline hollow stub shafts, and the cv axles like to blow up as well. It's probably weaker than a samurai rear axle. That's the main reason people are sticking solid axles in the back. Id rather have independant suspension if I could keep it strong enough, I like the way it handles when I'm burning around on trails, or how I get 15" of clearance under the diff with only 31" tires.

Well the only tradeoff is that you'd be running 9.5:1 compression with a turbo, which is a little on the high side. You'd be limited to low boost and premium fuel.

Well, there's only 1 person I know of who locked up an awd transmission and it was an automatic tranny, which I think means that the rear output is activated by a computer controlled clutch. However a manual tranny has a viscous coupling, so locking it up would be a whole different deal. Anyways, I'm pretty sure the viscous coupling can be pulled out the back of the tranny. I think that's something you'll have to dive into yourself. You were saying that you want to run an early 80's body style right? Just letting you know that you won't find an awd box stock in one of these cars. If you find an awd box it will be in a 90's model subaru and it will only bolt up to the "ej" series engines from 90's model subarus. 80's soobs have the ea81 ohv motor or the ea82 ohc motor (found in mid-late 80s cars). Only the 80's models come with dual range transmissions. So it's up to you whether you want to run a lower power but simpler ea series engine with the extra gear reduction from the dual range tranny, or if you want the more powerful (but more wiring) ej motor, without the reduction, and figure out how to lock up the awd tranny. If you grab a subaru diff and play around with it you'll figure out the rotation stuff. It's hard to visualize but it works.

if the thing is gonna be beaten, might as well weld up the rear end, then you'll really be amazed by it's ability.

Dude, is this logjam-grant from the PBB? I think I saw these pics while surfing the pirate board! Oh wait, I remember, I found the alaska 4x4 board through PBB.

any standard 85-88 dl/gl 4wd manual transmission wagon/sedan should have a 5spd dual range transmission that is locked center 4wd as well. The 5spd DR has a lower low range ratio than the 4spd from 80-84 cars, plus that extra gear of course.

It seems to me that the shaft exiting the rear is just as beefy as the one going to the front differential, so the rear output is likely strong enough. You'd be breaking rear independant suspension parts or shattering tranny gears before that shaft breaks.

what does it matter? Minnesota's mostly flat isn't it? :-p You can bang the heck out of the firewall/rear fender area, but the tire will always rub on the inside anyways. When I stuck my 30s on the front with no lift, I could turn the wheels like 15 degrees, 29s wont be a whole lot better (my 30s were so bald they were basically 29s anyways

it will work because the front diff can now rotate to relieve the difference in speed. Just remember to keep the front *outer* cup/stub in the hub so you can drive without the axle.

I managed to break one of those captive nuts off trying to undo the nut instead of the bolt

Maybe its a CV joint and when you put it in 4wd the rear drivetrain is no longer dragging but but just going the right speed so there is no load, therefore no noise? A bad-ujoint will generally clunk more rapidly than the tire rpm becaus of the diff ratio.

Funny that they would make the shaft bigger, when all the failures I ever hear of are cv explosions or splines stripping (well they addressed that problem)

the only part of a subaru that never works like lego are the front control arm bushings, the bolts always seem to seize to the sleeves. Other than that it's always been smooth sailing on every subaru experience I've had. Gotta love em.

It looks great!

The car is sitting lower than final ride hight. My front diff should be about a foot maybe 13" from the ground, and the rear is at 15", but I might redo my rear diff mounts to drop the diff down 2". This will give me better cv angles again, which would put me about the same as the front at 13". My plans are to get the mig working on aluminum and do a full belly pan out of some 7075 I have lying around. But I'll worry about that once it moves again.

yep, old hooter's a beauty alright. We let her go, but she comes back and sits on the fence post and waits for food Thanks for the compliments. I probably would have just used the normal setup if not for the fact that I needed control arms that swept back unlike a regular ea82 arm.

Okay, got some pics of what I'm workign on. It's still in progress, just tacked etc. The a-arm is simply a control arm taken from the other side of the car (to put the reaction rod in the front) And then cut and rewelded to angle backwards. Then the reaction rod is bent and welded to a bushing from a rear control arm. I still need to brace the a-arm, and I think I'll brace the crossmember as well to keep it from flexing. Pics: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=129

Well besides a headgasket it could be intake gaskets. They are known to leak and pour water into the heads. If it is a headgasket, you should see alot of coolant bubbling with the rad cap off (when the motor is running). Of course it could also be a cracked head. I suggest you get a haynes manual. It is pretty simple to replace headgaskets. The engine is a flat-4 (not v-4) meaning the pistons are horizontal. More like an old volkswagon engine. You just have to unbolt the intake and exhaust, unbolt the valve cover and start unbolting the head bolts (actually maybe studs on your motor, not sure) It may be an idea to pull the motor, because space is cramped down by the heads.

Lots of people run higher than 30lbs in there tire. I'm talking about lowering to 30lbs. At least on my wagon, it seems that 25lbs is when the tires start bulging and the handling gets woozy.

oops i didnt see the "-brat" If you are riding on the bumpstops it has nothing to do with shocks. Shocks just dampen to prevent a bump from causing the suspension to bounce all over the place. They do nothing to locate the suspension. You must have something wrong with your torsion rods, like stripped splines or broken torsion bars inside the tube.