4x4_Welder

Wait- you're from Waterville or AZ? I grew up in the China area, and then spent a little over a year in Phoenix. At any rate, finding one up there will be near impossible, even finding them in southern NE is hard. If you talk with jeep5.9litre, he might have some more infor on where to find a car in the NE, or how to get one to the NE, or try subeman90, he's just right over in NH.

Aluminum work hardens, so the vibration from the engine will crack and break it fairly quickly (compared to the life of the copper wire). Not to mention that the insulation isn't rated for the temperatures it will see underhood. Also, large strands are good for high voltage, but it will have measurably more resistance than the fine stranded copper wire that's there. You would be best off replacing the existing engine to body ground with an 8ga fine strand copper cable, 10ga could be used since it's essentially a backup. Replace the main engine to battery ground with a length of 2ga welding cable (fine strand) and the car will crank over like never before.

Moved me so much I farted. Then the dog moved- It only works if the Turbo Incabulator is hooked up and fully in sync with the output input.

Looks like the car that got me into Subarus in the first place- S/R 4speed, I assume?

I have Douglas Xtra Tracs from Wally world on my other car, and they actually grip pretty well. Also only $36 each for 185/70/13s.

The EA82 d/r 5speed can be made to fit, but is not a direct fit aside from bolting to the bellhousing. You need: Transmission Driveshaft Flywheel Clutch Linkage Crossmember You will have to have the driveshaft made, the 5speed is something like 2" shorter, the linkage will have to be modified, as will the crossmember, the engine's half of the bell housing, and the clutch cable re-routed. Plus, you will have to either hammer/cut out part of the floor, or drop your subframe ~1".

Pretty standard part, might even be on the shelf at the parts store, most likely in the Help section.

What?!

Yeah, that's what I figured. For the winter, though, it's only getting 2", and 215/70/14s in more of a street tread. Next summer, it's getting 5", maybe a little more, and 28's or 30's if I go with more lift. At that time, mileage won't be a concern, it'll just be a toy. Of course, that does mean I will have to get another Subaru to be the higher mileage street runner.

Paint it religiously, check thoroughly for nicked paint on a monthly basis, touch up, then still deal with what the previous owner didn't do for maintenance. On the other hand, just replacing what breaks, keep an eye on structural areas for signs of rust, and repair as needed.

Oh yeah, I have five or six O2 weld-in bungs in my toolbox from when I played the exhaust shop game. Gives me an excuse to cut up that portion of the exhaust too, though.

Ok, so 5th really is an overdrive then. My Hatch with a d/r 4speed turns 3500 at 60, ~3800 at 65, and only get 27-28mpg. Maybe the mileage will go up a little once I have the 5speed under it.

For all those running a stock GL Wagon with a dual range 5speed, what kind of RPMs do you turn at 65-ish, and how's the fuel economy?

The diagram shows two duty solenoids, one is there but not hooked up. The engine probably has been replaced, it has an inconsistant seriel number, but is still a solid lifter engine. Also, no secondary air injection. The tag under the hood says catalyst, but doesn't say anything about electronic control or feedback. There isn't an ECS light as near as I can tell, I have never seen it light up. I'm about ready to strip all this crap right off it, but I need this thing's cargo capacity on a trip to CA later this month.

See, that's the confusing part- it has a little black metal box about the size of a paperback book under the steering column with a green LED on it, and it says Japan Electronic Control Systems Co LTD, Japan on a silver tag. But I can't figure out what inputs and outputs it uses, especially if there is no feedback from an O2s.

Ok, I have heard mixed info on my 81 Hatch 4x4. I have been told that it does and also that it doesn't have an O2s. I have looked, and the cat is stamped with Subaru, looks factory, and has a flat spot where the sensor would go, but no hole or threads. There is also not a single wire connector that I can see anywhere around the firewall/strut tower area. It only has one solenoid to the pass. side rear of the carb, to vent vacuum to the secondary actuator. There are no actual solenoids on the carb itself, the only wire that goes to it is for the choke. So, is my car supposed to have an O2s or not?

Might be interesting to see an anodized block and heads, though. You can mask off areas you don't want anodized, like gasket mating surfaces and ports. I'm just having visions of a bright blue block with yellow heads, maybe a gold intake- Appearancewise, it would be pretty sweet.

From my intake gasket fun, I offer the following: First, loosen the intake bolts with the engine warm, especially if there are signs of coolant leaking. Removing them cold increases the chances of breaking one. Second, use the drains on the heads to make sure enough coolant gets out of the engine. The regular radiator drain will take it below intake level, but using a wheel on a drill or die grinder will sort of suck coolant out of the passages, and make a mess out of it. As soon as you have the intake off, stuff rags down the intake ports. Make sure they fit tight, and use a shop vac around them before you pull them out, unless you want to do head gaskets and reshape the combustion chambers.

Don't get me started on Mitsus, I'm stuck driving one now. The plastic mud guards inside the front fenderwells came loose and got ripped off the rest of the way by the tires, so now the thought of any kind of moisture on the road will cause the belts to squeal. OBDII, airbags, but no ABS, bad seals around the trunk so the floor is always wet, they didn't clearcoat the thing, so now it needs to be buffed out because every spec of dirt in the world is stuck in the paint, and on, and on..............

If you have any parts off that Hatch, let me know, I need to keep spares on hand- I had to scrap out my first two Subarus- The first was an 88 GL wagon, d/r 5speed, that I bought supposedly needing head gaskets. Big surprise, the heads were both badly cracked, so it went without ever being driven on the road (legally). The second was an 82 DL Wagon 2wd, I paid $150 for it, drove it while working on my old F250, trailered it from CT to WA, and drove it for almost another year. It finally snapped an oil ring, and the body had some decent rust, so it had to go. I felt kinda bad, it really had been a pretty good car, aside from just being FWD. Now, I finally have one worth working on, and believe me, it gets worked on plenty. But still, the basic car is decent, the Hatch has enough guts to drag itself around, the 4x4 works well, especially the low range, and it gets good mileage. Not a bad combination, and what has kept me coming back to Subaru. Now if only they would apply the concept of a basic 4x4 that gets good mileage to their new cars, we'd be all set.

Make sure you get a metric one, the inch size is really close, but not quite, and get brass so it doesn't rust against the aluminum.

Both of you guys ought to go to your corners and cool off- Seriously, a mechanic or engineer in one field does not make you a mechanic or engineer in all fields. My uncle was an aircraft mechanic in the USAF, but couldn't wrench on cars to save his life. The stresses needed to bend an axle and cause the issues you describe would cause severe damage to the structure of the car first. On the subject of GD, though, he says in his tag line that he is an rump roast, so take what he says with a grain of salt. Nobody here is out to get you, or going out of their way to insult you. You tell us you have a problem, and what you think it is, without anything to back it up, and immedietely shoot down all suggestions given by experienced people as to what it could be. Show me a bent axle causing these problems and I'll believe you. And GD, you are an rump roast

Huh? I lived outside Augusta for 17 years. Subarus used to be -the- car to have there, they handled the snow and cold way better than anything else. Of course, once traction control, ABS, and real snow tires started coming onto the scene, the playing field was leveled a bit. But seriously, check the brakes. No point in saying that's not the problem unless you actually go in there and can say for sure there isn't an issue with the brakes.

The EA81 seems to be a little more forgiving about overheating than the EA82, and there is simply less stuff to fail. At 197k, I just took mine out of service due to the previous owner's lack of maintenance. Still ran smoothly, but burned oil, and was starting to loose power.

Any particular year, front/rear? Or do you have a part number?