s'ko

Weekend of April 15th would be good. Need to do way too much to the BRAT to get it long distance worthy. BW

I think I have scored a EJ18 engine for under 100 bucks. Provided that the harness and the ECU are there, I could prove to be a viable swap to do. I am guessing the low HP should allow for me to use my existing EA81 d/r 4spd. What are your opinion on whether it is worth it to do a EJ18 swap and get 110 hp or should I hold out for a EJ22 and get 140? BW

Ok. If you do happen to have a hole/nick in your tranny that starts to spew out your gear oil. 1) if you are on the trail and you can drain the oil, do so and then clean it up as best as you can. Then put some of that permasteel putty or similar product, to stop the leak. This is the gray stick of epoxy with a black core. It hardens usually within 5-10 minutes (BE CAREFUL NOT TO GET ANY ON THE GEARS. What works best is if you make a flat patch first and then smear the patch onto the damaged area) Refill with oil and limp it back home. 2) Once home if you can remove the tranny and get it welded that would be best. If you can't, read on. 3) The field repair probably didn't stop the leaking. Drain oil and clean off the hardened epoxy completely. Then get carb cleaner and spray the area down really well. Sand or score the area to make a rough surface for the epoxy to bond to. Then make a flat patch and put it on the damaged area. Smear more epoxy around the edges and let harden. Repeat as often as desired. Remember to sand/score the area that you are going to apply more epoxy. 4) Refill with gear oil and drive. Monitor for gear oil puddles under the car when you have parked it for a while. (Gear oil tends to be yellowish and motor oil tends to be black) 5) This will only seal the hole in the tranny. It will not stop any cracks that have formed from spreading. For that you must have the casing welded. 6) determine how the hole happened. If from wheeling, see if a skid plate can be installed/rigged up to prevent future damage. Hope that helps. BW

RallyRuss- Thanks for the info. I so if I find a EJ motor from a non-cali vehicle and it has all of the cali required stuff I can use it as long as I don't inform smog tech/referee that it's from a non-cali vehicle. BW

Age exemption was 30 years. But as of April 1, 2005 that repealed that and the age is now stuck at 1975 and older. archemitis Tech said that "It doesn't matter what you put in. 4-6-8-12. As long as you conform to the new engines smog standards. So with this info I will be looking at doing a complete EJ swap in the future. Right now I have to get the engine running right. Anyone else out there w/info from their states?

The tech was pretty specific about Non-California and Federal. US Govt vehicle are SMOG exempt in California

Thought this might be a good thread to start. Some of us live in states that are loosey goosey about emissions. Others, like me, live in a state where they have the smog gestapo. Let's get share info so our engine swaps can be legal. Here is the info for California. California there are some of the general rules to follow. 1) Engine cannot be older than the original vehicle. No 1980 motor into a 1982. 2) Donor vehicle MUST be a California car. Then means no out of state motors and NO JDM motors. If the donor is a federal vehicle, that is ok. But how many US Govt Subarus are out there? 3) All emission components from the Donor vehicle must be used. 4) If the tranny is an Automatic, you must also do a tranny swap b/c there are sensor on the tranny that lead to the computer. 5) Take the emissions information from the hood of the donor car so the SMOG referee can ID the motor. 6) Once swap is complete, contact Bureau of Auto Repair and schedule an appointment. (800)622-7733. If it passes, he will give you a BAR number on your door pillar for future SMOG tests. 7) You only have to get the referee to inspect the vehicle once. After that you can go to a regular smog station. Info was obtained from Dept of Consumer Affairs, SMOG technician. (800)-952-5210.

I had the same snapping sound on my front end. It would snap and grind a little. more so with a passenger in the seat. My problem was the castle nut. Make sure you have lots of pressure. I took a breaker bar and stood on it to get it to cinch down. There is now no noise from the front end. Give us an update w/your next fuel up. BW

Ok so I was able to score the much sought after tail gate trim for my BRAT. It's in pretty good condition and I want to make mold so I can hook people up here w/a fiberglass tailgate trim piece. Anyone here know what the best way would be to make the mold? The piece is u-shaped and has a slight bend in the middle. I was thinking I could make the mold by putting wax paper on the inside of the piece and then using bondo/reinforcing strips to get the shape. Then I could layer fiberglass on top of that shape. Let's make this happen and stop all of the naked tailgates on the BRATs. BW

Here's the complied list Offroad repair kit. 1) basic metric socket set. 2) Channel Lock pliers 3) vise-grip locking pliers 4) Permasteel or other epoxy 5) Screwdrivers (phillips and standard) 6) Lug wrench 7) Jack (hi-lift jack even better) 8) Big Frigging Hammer 9) Welder (For those who are uber-prepared) and scrap steel 10) Punch for axles For parts 1) Assorted drive belts 2) Full size spare tire 3) fuel pump 4) Clutch Cable 5) Front Wheel bearings 6) Motor Oil and Gear Oil 7) Premixed Coolant 8) Front CV axle 9) Timing belt for EA82 motors For Accessories 1) Tow rope 2) Air Pump, (if you air down) 3) Tarp 4) CASH. 5) First Aid Kit 6) Bailing wire, duct tape, and a big bag of zip-ties. 7) Shovel 8) Gas Can 9) Come along 10) Blanket 11) Flashlight 12) CB 13) Wooden board, for jacking 14) Change of Clothes anything else? BW

can be used as a come-along. hook up one chain to the pipe, the other to the jacking mechanism and jack away. Jacking vehicle off a high-center is also a great one. Sister's Jeep got stuck on a Jeep trap mound. We hooked a line to the front of the Jeep and then jacked her rear up. Towed it off of the mount. Jack fell as it moved forward. bw

A Ozified Kit is 375. Depending on where you live it can't be more than 50 bucks or so to ship. http://ozified.com/liftkits.htm Just save up your pennies get the lift kit. Rims are 30 bucks new if you get the U.S. Steel wheels. Or a PAP has them cheaper. just my .02 BW

Well it's almost the first of the year. There was that previous thread about a SouthWest get together. Let's get it organized. There was mention of Moab or Grand Canyon area. How does eveyone feel about. I have created a Yahoo group for those of you who would like to be involved in the planning of this event. Periodic posts will be placed on this thread as we get closer to the date. here is the yahoo link http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Southwestsoobs/

nice work. PM me, we should get together. BW

My family is planning a trip to NC around July. We will probably be at the Outer Banks area. where are there good places to go wheeling in that area. I read that Hatteras Island has some beach access year round. Any place else. Vehicles would be three Jeeps. (sorry my soobs are on the west coast) BW

Just got a PM from Subyrally. He writes " BW

I plan to drain the oil tonight and have it all dry. I seriously doubt I can get the epoxy off to either weld it or take a picture of the chip/hole. I tried scraping the epoxy w/a hammer and it really didn't do much but put some minor scratches. I was about 30 miles from home and there was no way I was going to try and limp it home w/no gear oil. Will let you know after the Christmas how things work out.

the hole is more like a chip in the casing. It's where the transfer case mates up to the tranny. I would say it's about 1/2 a dime in size. Problem right now is that the epoxy was put on when the bottom of the tranny still had oil in it. There are little channels that allow the oil to keep running out. I have a decent sized drip. Will be draining the oil wednesday night and cleaning it real good Thursday night. Should have it back together by Christmas.

hmmmm.. that's weird. I lost a wheel and I ended up shearing the ball joint nut off.

800 accidents is what happen here in Los Angeles whenever it RAINS. People just don't seem to get the fact that when the road is wet there is less traction. Good luck weathering the cold and keep warm. Oh... here is a some I wrote a while ago concerning Soobs Sung the tune "let is snow" The weather outside is frightful But my Subaru's delightful And since all 4 wheels do go, Let it snow let it snow let it snow It doesn't show signs of stopping and my cylinders are hopping. The lights on the snow do glow.. Let it snow let is snow, let it snow When others car come in sight Stuck, with their egos all torn... We'll shake our heads at their plight then drive by and lean on the horn... Inside my tires are drying And I start to go french frying and if my head gaskets don't blow..... Let it snow, Let it snow Let it snow, let it snow let it snow.......

I have done some more research on various boards and it seems that permasteel/JB weld is widely used to repair trannys. No prob. all advice is appreciated. Biggest thing that is a factor is that she grew up with primarily her mom and the opinion that if you raise the hood of a car more than twice a month it's too much. Considering it's a 22 year old BRAT w/217 on the odo. That's impossible. I have to work her into the fact the soob is reliable. BW

Just wondering it we could make a FAQ write up about off-road repair tools/parts. For Tools I was thinking 1) basic metric socket set. 2) Channel Lock pliers 3) vise-grip locking pliers 4) Permasteel or other epoxy 5) Screwdrivers (phillips and standard) 6) Lug wrench 7) Jack (hi-lift jack even better) 8) Oil and Gear Oil For parts 1) Assorted drive belts 2) Spare tire 3) fuel pump For Accessories 1) Tow rope 2) Air Pump, (if you air down) Anyone else want to add to the list? BW

Anyone ever made a ball joint protector? That nut at the bottom of the control arm seems awful vulnerable to damage. Who has ever had problems with the nut sheering off or is this not a common problem. BW

Well I am more going to stick to trail/fireroads until I get it lifted, then I will do more aggro wheeling. Tranny is being resolved. (see thread in old gen forum) Exhaust stub is sitting in my tool box waiting to be put on. Axles, boot are not torn. Was clicking before when I turned right so I kinda thought it was going to go. There is a 50% off sale at the PAP at the end of the year. Gonna pick me up two axles if I can find an EA81. I forgot to get the camera but I do plan to take some picks of the Mt run.

Hole is right where the tranny is connected to the t-case. At this time there's a glob of Permasteel there. I am going to drain the oil on Thursday and clean it like crazy. Then take a dremel w/a grinding bit and score it up to allow the epoxy to bond to something. Then spray w/Carb cleaner until it's not greasy anymore. Then use the permasteel again. Hopefully I should be able to get a good seal this time.