86BRATMAN

The hole in the floor should be the same. All you'd need is the d/r tranny and its shifters, and the console from the donor car.

Ok, I follow now.

It shouldn't take any more than 45 minutes to replace an o2 sensor. Unless you have trouble getting the old one out, spray it down with some pb blast or the like and let it sit for a little bit before taking a crack at it. As mentioned before, oem sensor for the front or look forward to doing it again in the near future. The rear isn't as critical, and most would agree a parts store replacement will do. But the rear isn't really needed to be changed unless it is confirmed bad.

I'm not even sure I'm following you on this one...

I just scanned through the pics in your photobucket Connie. And I just wanted to say, the amount of horsepower in this picture is mind boggling. Even it tent back there is packing... LOL

Remember, there are a bunch of ea81 body swaps using the stock radiator with no troubles. There have also been some ea82 guys to swap in the legacy radiator. If the two are the same price I would personally go with the ea81 since you don't have to cut up on the car to fit it in there. I don't see why, with a good radiator, you would have any overheating with the ea81 unit. Also where are you pricing the radiator from?

I guess we didn't smell the fumes because of the side glasses being open. Sorry about that I thought I'd left it opened up longer enough to air out. I really didn't expect the entuthiasm over my car that you guys had. I've been smiling all day about it:) Even if one of my patch jobs wasn't up to Connie's standards:-\

Yeah, doing the axles now will be easier because you won't have to worry about taking loose the ball joint.

You should be fine if its just now giving you the feeling of trouble. I made a near 100 mile trip today on one that shakes the wheel violently when you let off at 65-70. Honestly, especially with the auto car(unless you do some high rpm n bombs) you'll be fine tommorow.

The biggest concern will either be ripping the old hoses or putting it in backwards. They are generally marked so the last part will be easy...

Did you have a GTS? That seems a lot closer than the wife's old celica

Shirley you can't be serious....

I've had DOJ failure before. And not heard any clicks normally associated with axle wear. If you don't see any grease flung about with a torn boot assume it is long gone and the PO removed the evidence before selling it. Spooning in grease cannot hurt the problem at all. It can only buy you a little time if that is indeed where the problem is from.

If you can get one with a good spring I wouldn't even bother changing that out. More useless work if its not needed.

Replacing the struts is fairly simple. On your ea82 you've got three nuts up top and one or two on the bottom. And the brake line attached to it. Some pb blast and the right sized wreches is all you really need. Other than a floor jack and lug wrench of course.

Good to hear you guys made it home safe and sound. Sorry about making your trip an hour or so longer, lol. It was definately good meeting you four.

x2

Yes the recall is still in force today. I know of one person who has had it done in the last year. And back in Feb. when I got a 2wd parts hatch it had the torsion tube rusted in half. I called about it, it had already been serviced or they would have sent a rollback and fixed it then.

If you can do it, and cheaper than him. You would be my hero...

Wow man, thats bad. I've seen that happen too many times in our neck of the woods. The body looks in decent enough shape, though. I've got a suggestion, and it can't hurt anything. Call your local subaru dealer. There was a recall back in the late 80's early 90's for the ea81 and ea82 cars suspension failure due to rust. We had a few of them fixed when the tube broke. One ea81 sedan 2wd and one ea82 sedan. It might apply to yours as well. It couldn't hurt to give it a shot. Tell them what you are calling about and give them your VIN. Its done on their dime.

I've seen way more than my share of old subies in the junk yards around here. You know what kills them, RUST. Now we can all blame the state road maintence officials for using corrosive agents during the winter. But when it comes right down to it the owner is at fault for not properly caring for the undersides of these things after exposure. I'm here to tell you that an arguement about payments and warrantees is pointless. Both sides of the debate will have great points, and each has faults. I've been on both sides of the coin within the last year. We sold our 06 2.5i Legacy, not because of any problems it is one of the best cars I've ever been around as far as ride, handling, and fuel economy. I just did not see it logical to pay $480 a month for the payment and another $150 a month for the insurance. But on the other hand as I stated before, I paid $250 for a running low miles(relative) 112K 87 hatchback. It was even delivered to my house from 2 hours away buy the PO. Since that day I have not spend one thin dime on the car, at least on anything it has truely needed. It has started everyday and got me safely and reliably where I have needed to be. We took it on it's maiden interstate voyage today(at least while we've owned it) 65+ even on the hills, long steady grades without having to downshift or floor it at all. Keep in mind this is the stock through and through ea81. I'm not worried about anything on this car, save for the axle that is going out which I've got 5 replacements on hand. And the radiator that isn't exactly in good condition, again 3 replacements on hand. If the transmission decides it hates me, I've got one on hand. Rear diff, 4 here with one vlsd spare. I could go on and on. Most of the stuff I've got here has been either free or included in under $50 parts cars. If something were to have broken with the other car and warrantee didn't cover it we would have been screwed. And this car in its 4 different colors turns heads, Drive a new car and there are at least 5 of the same exact color and trim in the same town. I dunno, I'm old school turn heads be different. Remember Subaru's Motto from way back? Inexpensive and made to stay that way.

He is correct, the ea81 s/r 4wd lever looks identical to the d/r lever. Actually its the same lever just doesn't have a 4lo to engage. My hatch is a s/r and is just like that minus the metal badge saying how to work it.

I wouldn't be too concerned with the 5mt having torque bind. Unless it has mismatched tires or the like. If it clearly has the original hg's on it, bring it up and make known the issue and use it for as big a leverage point as you can.

The hatch does the same thing to me. It gets pretty bad at highway speed. But since 90% of my driving is under 40 I haven't replaced my almost dead axles yet.

There was a post by him that got dug up from about a year ago. Before the ej22 swap, thats the only one I've seen since I've been back on the board full time in January that has been a "problem" post. It comes down to what drives you, I could go out and buy something fast, something low, something loud, whatever I wanted. But I would get tired of the multiple hundred dollar a month payments. I paid $250 for my hatchback. That was one month's payment on the civic my wife and I had at the time. We won't even talk about the insurance. Damned high theft rate and being an Si model kinda sticks it to ya... So what if my old car has rust, I've got metal and can paint. So what if its grossly underpowered for my liking. I've got an ej22t and just about everything needed to install it minus tranny crossmember and proper length driveshaft. So what if I'm not happy with the wheel selection of the 4 lug. I just need xt6 rear stuff, I've got the front and the wheels I'm gonna run already. So what if my car rides like a log truck with cut springs and reclocked torsion bars, I can make aftermarket legacy stuff fix that. And finally so what if it takes me till next year to finish it. Its paid for and in the end everything won't add up to be what I would pay for one years worth of a new car. And it will be my creation.