Numbchux

woa.....didn't really follow you there..... you want to use XT6 axles, EJ knuckles, and EA82t brake calipers? I can offer this, you will need a non-subaru inner wheel bearing seal for that axle/knuckle combination. I posted a bunch of info on that not long ago, with part numbers and everything. Also, XT6 caliper brackets will not mount to EJ knuckles. I don't know about XT6 v EA82 caliper/bracket interchangeability, as I've never compared them. I'm assuming you're looking to retain your front handbrake. baccaruda found some sort of EJ subaru bracket that bolted to the EJ knuckle, and then mounted the XT6 caliper to it just fine. I have to recommend swapping to rear ebrake, though. It was very slick, I bet you can find some sort of Nissan 200/240SX/silvia/altima type thing that uses the same rear caliper like we've found here in the US market. with that piece, the rest of the setup is pretty easy. and then you have muuuuch better options for front brakes!

against a stock 22t? yea, it should be fine. most of the internals are the same as an EJ trans. except the hi-lo gearset, which I don't think is the weak link. I think you'll find the problem is that the RX uses a cable-operated push-style clutch. whereas any turbo EJ uses a hydraulic pull clutch. you'll have a hard time finding a clutch kit that will hold up to the torque.

good to know. just looking from your height compared to where mine was set when I was 4-lug.....looks like that would be too low.

just be careful not to lower it too much. seriously, the EA front geometry is.....meh......the dynamic alignment is not designed to run that low.

NO sorry, just wanted to make sure that got seen. the tire size will be similar to what you have now. But no factory 15" subaru wheel will clear the front brakes on a Forester Xt without modification. there are some aftermarket wheels that will clear (many rally wheels, team dynamics, speedline, and others make them) however. as a rule of thumb, Subaru puts the smallest size wheel possible from the factory (not always true, but for the most part).

the only major difference is the turbo v N/A cars. so if you can identify which it was (look for the dent on the crossmember to clear the up-pipe on the passenger side), that will be a huge help.

the most common suspension clunks are the bolts between control arm and leading rod. and top hat nuts (these can be difficult, as the spring keeps quite a bit of tension on them, but when you hit a bump, just a tiny bit of play can cause a major noise).

depends on your definition of "fit". yea, you could mount it somewhere in the car, and probably use it as a gas tank. But no, they're completely different in almost every way imaginable. not even slightly bolt-in.

EA82 hubs are all the same. since I don't know what car you have....I don't know what you're thinking of running. but yea, if you have 25 spline stubs in your transmission, EA82t axles will work just fine. the axle ratio in my transmission is 4.111, so I used a 4.111 rear diff out of a '94 legacy. But they're the same. the Ej mounts are different, but the Ea82 hanger is a direct swap onto an EJ diff.

I had the control arms as close to level as I dared (roll-center starts getting pretty high), and never bottomed out the front struts (except that time I baja'd the snow bank while ice racing). AND, with a 5-lug swap, you could get a roll-center adjustment kit, so you'd have much better suspension geometry. Up to you, but I was 5-lugged for a couple years, and strut length was never the limiting factor when lowering.

stock XT6 trans is FT4WD single-range (but, with the 3.9 axle ratio, 1st gear is only a bit taller than 1st low in a 3.7 RX trans, and you have the .780 5th instead of the .871 in the turbos). XT6s were made through '91 or '92. if you're just looking for street mileage and traction, get a PT4WD trans. with a 2WD setting, it'll get great mileage (like, 30+ highway), and you'll still have 4WD for the snow. But, you might find FWD + Ea82 suspension + EJ torque = wheelspin.

XT6 front and rear xmember, EJ center (I'm using one from a '96 legacy). I shortened my driveshaft 2". worked great. knuckles and transmission are separate projects. you can go 5-lug with an EA transmission, and you can grab 25-spline 4-lug axles from a turbo Ea82. a bunch of that is covered in my Ea2ej writeup.

that FT4WD D/R is nice, probably the same as our RX trans. I had one in my wagon with the EJ22......if you spend any time above about 60mph, I would not recommend it, as the gearing is very short. the EA internals are the same as EJ. no more or less reliable.

I'm concerned about the strength of the miata shock being used as a strut . They're just not designed for that kind of force.....especially on a track. I hope it works out for you, but I won't be climbing in for a ride.....

there'll be a number on the bellhousing near the starter, something like this: you can usually just plug this into google and come up with some info (with EJs, anyway.....).

Let's just assume we're only talking about EA82 transmissions. as the 4-speed D/Rs would be a ridiculous amount of work for an inferior design. Also, the '85-'86 RXs had a part-time 4WD D/R trans that had the short 1-5 gears and the little low range gear. avoid this transmission, again, extra work (new axles, 25-spline instead of 23) for a lesser setup. they would have the same gear ratio on the highway (assuming we're talking about non-turbo part-time 4WD 5MTs). but you have the stump-puller gears in low-range. also, the push-button system is ridiculously complex. using an electric switch (which the contacts tend to wear out and cause you to loose 4WD), controlling 2 electric solenoids, which redirect a vacuum source (which can leak or come disconnected), which operates a cable (which can seize), which engages 4WD. the dual-ranges have a bar, to a lever in the cabin. much like the other 5 gears. Much more reliable, and it happens when you want it. since the push-button setup relies on engine vacuum, which varies depending on rpm and engine load, it can be unpredictable. the FWD setting can be irritating with the stock EA82 suspension and EJ22 torque (wheelspin). So you might want to consider going to some sort of full-time setup. although you'll sacrifice some mileage for it. EA82 FT4WD is neat, but only available in the turbo models and XT6s. the turbos have the super short 5th gear, which makes them very annoying on the highway. XT6s have very nice gearing, but are fairly rare. or, grab an EJ AWD trans. better clutch, better center diff, nice gearing (look for one with 3.9 gears, you'll have better highway gearing AND you won't have to swap out your rear diff). take 2" out of the EA82 driveshaft, and a little creativity with the shift linkage, and some more creativity with the mount (or get XT6 crossmembers). Here's a good chart of different gear ratios for EJ transmissions: http://www.northursalia.com/techdocs/trannychart/trannychart.html compared to EA numbers (the N/A and turbo numbers remain the same, whether they're dual-range or not): http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=84798 IMHO, ditch the push-button setup. and either get a D/R from an N/A EA82. or use an EJ AWD 5MT

Sweet!! awesome info, and glad to hear you had success!! I'd like to pin this down. do you have any pics of that? do you know you had the rod ends on the correct sides? they are shaped specifically so that they will clear the inside of the rim at full-lock. gary had this issue with his '6 just a week or so ago, rubbing when he got the 14s back on and it turned out he had a rod-end on the wrong side. I haven't taken any measurements at all, or compared them side-to-side. But the only reason that I can think of that the chassis would effect clearance there would be if the steering rack was much further forward relative the control arms. XT6s come stock with 14s. I've run 15" steelies on mine (both XT6 and 5-lugged EA82) quite a bit. zero issues. I'm also curious why you didn't run the EA81 rod-ends. might have saved you some modification anyway. I ran them on my loyale, with lots of thread left un-used.....

I haven't. I never trusted the spring.....I did occasionally check/adjust the tension, but I always put some extra pressure on the tensioner while I did. definitely. I would not run any EJ (even a non-interference one) without the covers.

They are softer-compound. so in warmer temperatures they will wear faster. I wouldn't use them for much offroading, they would probably get pretty good traction, but they'd probably come apart fairly easily. A buddy of mine used to run them year-round on his Astro-van. but he would drive quite a lot of miles every year, and replaced them every fall.

agreed!

the weak link is the transfer gears in the back of the transmission. They have failed from running RWD. and even more commonly in divorced t-case rigs. But they're pretty tough.

no it doesn't. the engine quits, you get out, grab 22mm and 12mm sockets and a spare belt. and it's running again in 10 minutes or so. and with or without covers, EA82 belts fail much sooner than the subarus with hydaulic tensioners. it's been many years since I've tried to depend on an EA82 every day, so I couldn't tell you the cause of every failure, but I always used new belts, and almost never had leakage issues. Like I said, running without them is conceding that they're unreliable, and that you'll be prepared to replace them wherever you have to be. It might be possible to get them sealed up well enough, and get the belts tight enough that it wouldn't be necessary, but my efforts were never successful.

it was 5-lug swapped...

there's quite a bit of room in the EA82 wheel wells. on my lowered Loyale, I ran 215/45r17s on the street, 205/65r15s in the snow, and 225/55r16s on the track. These are all quite a bit larger than stock. as long as you have the correct wheel offset (not pugs or 6-lugs), they'll fit.

it would take some pretty in-depth fabricating and machining, as the EJs don't have the extra input shaft bearing (or it's bolt holes), the pivot for the shifter fork (the XT6 single-range case has this, but the EJs don't), and I suspect the case would have to be clearanced a bit.