Numbchux

when I pulled the old stuff out of my loyale. I opted to remove the axles/suspension/brakes first. then I lowered the car to the ground, unbolted the crossmembers, then lifted the front of the car with a hi-lift jack under the rad support, set it on 2 stacks of tires under the framerails, and used my other subaru to drag the assembly out:

a cable will outlast an air hose, every time. a carefully routed air hose won't cause too many problems, but will still be more vulnerable. and an OX is a fraction of the cost of an ARB. airbags in a car that didn't have them is a bad idea. the G sensors and computers that make them all work are very carefully programmed to the car (weight of the car, location of the sensors, location of the sensors in relation to crumple zones etc.). messing with that could mean they go off to easily, or too late. IMHO, the kind of fab work to put a different IRS system in there would be much harder than a solid axle. for less strength, less reliability, and less aftermarket support. if I'm swapping rear ends, It's a solid axle. also, subaru brakes are more than adequate for the car. the fronts will need to be upgraded before the rear discs become a limiting factor. and, gearing is limited by the front. getting as low as 4.444 in the rear is easy. but the front is still limited to 3.90.

+1 I'd only run a selectable in the front (OX brand cable-actuated one, least stuff to fail. seen too many people SOL with failed air systems and an ARB) to allow easier tight turning. putting one in the rear is just trying to find ways to spend extra money. if an easy r160 locker existed, it would have been used. get a beefy LSD, weld it, or put a real diff in it. as for the gearing. no way could you fit a second low range gearset on the input shaft like stock. you might be able to move the center diff/transfer gearset back, and put another low range between the 5 speeds and the center diff like a second tcase on a toyota. but even than, it's a ton of work, for what? even if you manage a 4:1 ratio in that second reduction (no way would gears that large fit without making a substantial bulge in the case), you've still only got an 88:1. I watched a 4runner go through the rock gorge at the "local" ORV park with a 250:1 crawl ratio. When rock crawling, gearing isn't about torque, it's about control. the day someone finds a reasonably priced way to get a subaru over 100:1 and an auto locker in the rear, is the day I'll think about selling my 4runner and getting another subaru to use as a wheeler.

looks like my '78 boy, looking at the body and seats, I never would have guessed it had 100k+ iowa miles! my '85 wagon just about broke in half at 130k iowa miles. but yours looks awesome. must be almost all summer miles.

the B-pillar is a major part of the structure of the car. I had even heard that the Jaws of Life can't cut through a subaru B-pillar. that said, I think it could be pulled out correctly, but I would proceed with extreme caution. if it happened to my loyale ( makes me sick just thinking about it), I'd repair it. but only because I've only seen a couple EA82s this solid in MN in my life (I've EJ swapped both of them ). I think if I were you, I'd find another. subarus aren't as prone to rusting out where you're at, so it's much more easily replaceable. I'm not sure what work you've done to the car, but I think it would probably be easier to swap the modifications to another shell than it would be to effectively and adequately repair a bent pillar. just my 2 cents.

same thing as my '85. wheel fell off (lug nuts....never make that mistake twice), sheered the end of the ball joint off. didn't notice until a week or so later when the ball joint popped out of the control arm while bombing through a field. pretty amazing how strong that press-fit is. I honestly don't think it would have fallen out on the street.

yep, bent one on an '88 hatch doing fairly light wheeling (well...still pretty impressive compared to a stock rig, but nothing compared to what it's done since the chevy 6-lugs). and the ice racing one was an impreza using EJ spares. slid sideways into a snow bank, and both passenger side wheels where wedged against the brake calipers, the car wouldn't even roll....even bent the caliper brackets a bit.

it certainly doesn't, but while searching, I stumbled across an ARB dealer that had them listed....

I have personally seen donut wheels bent like pretzels in "normal" use (offroading, rallyX. beyond just driving on the street, but well within the limits of a stock wheel).

just did some looking around... the r180 was in the front of nissan frontier pickups. '98-'04. ARB does make a locker for them. not sure of gear ratios. also, there are detroit and other options for the H190 diff that was in the hardbody/pathfinder. this diff was also used in the rear of the 200SX (and even available as a 4.11). pics of the r190 (h190 locker fits...) looks identical to an r180, except for the bolt-on axle flanges. couple links I stumbled on: http://www.gordon-glasgow.org/lsdtech.html http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=114798

I daily drove both my 4" lifted EA82s. both had ~28" tall tires on them. only complaint is the power (plenty to get in trouble off-road, but frustrating on the street). EA82s are slow in stock form, then throw some big, meaty tires on there, and you've got nothing.

there's been some speculation about the r180. since the STi already uses an r180. you could swap that into the back of your forester. in STi trim, it already has a pretty beefy LSD in it (stronger than any factory r160 LSD). BUT, nissan trucks used an r180 in the front. and I remember hearing some thoughts about getting a locker for the nissan, and putting it in the subaru diff. on paper, it would work. in practice........well, I don't think it's ever been done. some research, and $$$....who knows. or...weld 'er up. but, in short. no, there is no locking option for an r160 other than welding it up. or....put a solid axle in 'er

from what I remember (don't have anything in front of me, but have worked on many of both harnesses), the EG33 and EJ TCU plugs are the same. so swapping between those TCUs would be easy. if not, getting my hands on the plugs will be quite easy, so 3 sets of plugs would also be doable although, if the rpm signal is just the one byte. it might not matter! and yes, I've been reading up on things, since the shift points themselves are determined based on TPS signal, and speed, for the most part, it wouldn't matter. except when you do romp on it a bit, it'll think it's hit redline a third earlier. I also want to dig through some FSMs, and compare gear ratios, otherwise when the TCU compares the speed to what gear it should be in, things will work out. (my buddy had that problem when he put a jdm wrx 4EAT in his impreza LX. it worked fine, except the gear ratios were all off, and then when he put the jdm TCU in there, it was expecting a 7k redline, but the ECU would only allow 6200.) yea, it's a plan....I'll try to document things as best I can. might even contribute on the alcyone boards, even though most of that is over my head. Perfect logic, only problem is, that rpm signal. the TCU (as mentioned above) uses rpm for a couple things, and if the TCU is looking for the rpm signal from a 4-cyl, but getting it from a 6, it'll be thrown off. ever seen an EG33 swap hooked up to the stock tach? it'll bury long before it actually hits redline. but again, if that's just one byte that needs to be changed to adjust how it calculates the rpm, than that's easy.

I know an EA bellhousing can be put an on EJ 4EAT (Gloyale did it). but I'm mostly concerned about the 4-cyl TCU + 6-cyl relationship. I've been hunting around on subaruxt.com and subaru-svx. as well as that alcyones site that presslabs linked to (HO-LY-CRAP!!!!). I think what I'm going to do, is wire EJ TCU plugs (I've got at least 2 sets at my house from harnesses I've stripped). in the XT6 in addition to the existing plugs. This way I can try a few different TCUs and see which matches the shift points of the XT6 best. And, if I find one that works well, then I can start modifying code, plug it in, drive it around the block, and if it doesn't work well, plug the ER27 TCU in there, and drive it to work. I've been incredibly inspired by this project!! thanks presslabs

yep, I've seen pictures of that build on another offroad forum (don't remember where though....). it's running the complete toyota drivetrain. 22re engine, tranny, tcase, and axles.

ok, so the circlip failed, not the snapring. did you get the 6 balls? if not, you're SOL and will be buying a new axle. if you did, I'm sure it's re-usable.

you've seen a legacy 4EAT run with an ER27? Which TCU? I know GLoyale did it in his EA82, but again, 4-cyl rpm signal.

21.5lbs each for an alloy?!?! good lord. my rotas are considered a rather heavy wheel. and are like 18 lbs. and are 17s!

boy, I know so little about Autos....I think I'm in over my head will have to do some research. and pull a bunch of parts off that SVX (duty C and stuff....since the TC is shot anyway). maybe this summer the XT6 will get paddle shifters....

regardless of where he's working on it. there's nothing broke there that is junkyard parts. if you don't want to do it where it is, alright, that's fine. but don't put a used ball joint in there if you don't want this to happen again. they're not expensive. and the axle is probably salvageable, but like I said, it's impossible to tell from those pictures.

those better have been steel pugs! that would be scary heavy for an alloy.

I love black wheels.....so yea....another vote for black.

my last try....don't need to salvage anything.

problem is...this thing isn't rolling on or off a flatbed. truth is, you'd probably be best off just sticking the end of the shaft in the cup to keep it from flopping around, and installing a ball joint right where it sits. then you'll at least be able to drive it to where you can get the axle squared away.

he sold it. trying to be more financially stable. although he's daily driving an impreza these days.