Numbchux

I want to do it too.....but can't afford to buy a pile of donor transmissions. :-\ I also want to get my hands on an EJ D/R case to drop the whole thing into. and a front LSD....and........and.............. ugh

I was looking at my coworker's Mazda 6 today.....and just at a glance, the wheels look like they use much more offset than subaru ones. and the bolt pattern appears, at a glance, to be 5x114.3. could mean if you use that bolt circle, and mazda-fitment wheels, you may be able to get away with thicker spacers. more research on that front will be required. as to what material to be used. I think the question you want to ask there, is what crowd you're marketing this to. the offroad guys will care more about strength than rotating mass.....while the exact opposite is true (to a point....I'll keep a little weight to keep the wheel from falling off) of the street guys. any possibility of making some of each? GLoyale.....I LOVE the adapter bolting to the hub idea! that's brilliant. you could make the adapter hub-centric, and then bolt it on. just have to make sure there's clearance between the hub itself and the caliper.

things to consider..... 5x100 is in demand on USMB and XT6, because that's what old-gen 5-lug subarus use. in fact, only exception to that is the SVX, '05+ STi, and B9 Tribeca. and since a 5-lug swap is generally considered a relatively bolt-on mod, it uses already in production subaru parts.......meaning 5x100. but if the already in production parts where easy to come by....we wouldn't be here. so that argument is rather moot. now, if you're talking about redrilling hubs. 4-lug is a must. as mentioned, the rotor uses a 4-lug pattern, and trying to space a 5-lug pattern within that, would be very difficult (if not impossible) without drastically sacrificing hub strength. another thing to think about with hub drilling, is the hub itself. subaru wheels are hub-centric. however, the center hole in a 5x100 wheel is substantially smaller than a 4x140 one. so some serious machining would be required to modify a 4x140 hub to allow a 5x100 subaru wheel to mate up to it, independent of bolt pattern. then it comes to adapters/spacers. couple things to be said about that. if you use a 1.5" (or something similar to that....would be required to clear the old lugs), unless you compensate with the offset of the wheels, you'll put lots of torque on the bearings that they weren't designed to take. it's virtually impossible to say exactly how much extra wear they'll show, but they'll fail sooner than they would otherwise, that much you can bet on. yes, trucks can get away with it. they're suspension systems are designed to handle more weight. solid axles help a lot, but even rigs running IFS can use wheel spacers, as the bearings used in even the crappiest truck IFS system are substantially more beefy than our subarus' setups. also, running spacers without correcting with offset in the front will effect steering, as the pivot point relative to the contact patch is changed. again, who can say what effect that'll be, but if it were a good one, subaru would have redesigned the knuckle/control arm to move the ball joint a couple inches inward. AND, pushing the wheels out away from the car will complicate fender clearance. short version: when picking the lug pattern, find one for which there's a wide selection of wheels of an offset that will put the contact patch back where it should be (read: a LOT of research). And there will be NO subaru wheel that will work with spacers. so thinking outside of the subaru box is a must!

nope, rear axles, trailing arms, and spindles are the same in a '6. just the hubs, rotors, and backing plates are different. the calipers are the same as any turbo EA82, so pads are easy to find. and the rotors aren't terribly hard to get a hold of. but yes, and XT6 axle will not work with an EA81 control arm.....so you wouldn't have to make any hybrid axles, but you would have to shorten them.... 5-lug is not a terribly attractive option. and swapping to an AWD 5-speed is a whole new can of worms, so it's not a terrible idea to postpone that.

I've got to argue this point. I'm not exactly an EA82 lover (IMHO....the #1 worst motor Subaru has ever made. still puts it pretty high on the list in the grand scheme of things....wouldn't even put it far behind the 22RE, of which I've got one as well), but find that the single core radiator is plenty, assuming there's coolant moving through the system. heck, in my experience, keeping both radiator fans is overkill....even with the single core rad. only times I've ever had overheating issues is either with a bad water pump/tstat, or blown hoses. in fact, I'm running an EJ22e (from a '92 Legacy) on a stock, EA82 single-core radiator with 187k miles on it. without a radiator fan at all. can't leave it idle unless it's below freezing and I leave the heat on (yes, the heater core is enough though when it is below freezing), but other than that, it stays cool just fine. of all the things to gripe about an EA82.....the radiator is just not on the list. all that said, I think you'll be very happy with any of the mentioned choices (EA81, EA82, or early Legacy). I say go with what you find.... also....who pays $2k for.....anything?

sounds like you got it mostly figured out... but for future reference. the volt meter reads volts, and only volts, and is completely unaffected by amps. it should read 10-12v when off...and 12-14v when running. anything other than that, and you've got problems

was playin in a poorly plowed parking lot after work last night (~3am). decided to prop the camera up and take a few videos.....edited down a bit...and got this:

sweet! how'd you pull that off?

holy crap, you're a genius!! indeed. while we're discussing modifying stock hubs. have just the rears modified for 5x100. and then ream out the ball joint holes....and then you're set for 5-lug using zero XT6 parts. sure, you don't get the larger '6 rear brakes, but you can put whatever your heart desires on the front. and better suspension too!

if you're relying that heavily on the rear mount...something else is wrong. I've been driving my car for a year+ without it.....it's only to hold up the back of the linkage.

I believe I've heard that swapping axle cups is pretty simple....as long as you have 2 pairs of donor axles. swapping stubs is also pretty simple, except the splitting the tranny case part...

I wouldn't...for many reasons. most have been mentioned, gearing, turning radius, you'd have to beat the living crap out of the firewall, gearing, etc.

if you're talking about the wire that gives the ECU 12v+ while cranking, then no. that just changes the enrichment settings to allow it to start easier...the car will still start without it (it'll just crank a lot in colder weather). ok, but it's OBD I legacy wiring....yes? if the ECU is coming on, and there are no codes (are you sure? I find it hard to believe it's not running and has nothing to say), it's probably something simple. Double check all the plugs (the ones from the bulkhead harness to the engine harness, the SMJ, the ignitor, cam/crank angle sensors, etc.). When I do my OBD I harnesses, I splice the coil into the same power source as the ECU etc. within the harness. I don't know if cutting right to the alt wire will cause problems or not. then start checking for power everywhere there should be (ign coil, igniter, injectors, etc.). also might want to pull a fuel rail, and crank it over a bit, to see if the injectors are firing. I'm thinking it's either something just doesn't have power (igniter or coil, although I believe the igniter would throw a code), or, you're crank/cam sensors aren't working/plugged in, so it's not even trying to run.

first question to ask, is if the ECU is working properly. and the best way to tell this, is if it turns the fuel pump on for a moment when you turn the ignition on. I was convinced all summer (not this past summer...but the year before) that my car just didn't have spark. but I had 'hotwired' the fuel pump on (ECU was not controlling it), so the only symptom I noticed was that it didn't have spark. but the problem was much deeper than that. if your ECU is not turning on the fuel pump relay, and it is wired correctly, than it's not getting power and ground everywhere that it should. go through the harness, wire by wire, and double check all of these wires. then, if the ECU is powering up correctly, it will turn on the fuel pump. if you're getting this far, and it isn't starting, it's a sensor (or wiring to a sensor) problem. good news is that the ECU can tell you what's wrong with it. connect the read mode jumpers, and read any CEL codes it might have. as for checking for power at the coil. there are 3 wires at the coil, the middle (Yellow) one should get 12v power anytime the ignition is on. also, what was the engine donor? helps to know exactly what system we're dealing with

agreed....and wheel selection would be the last on a list of reasons why (better brakes, suspension, axles, etc. etc. etc.)

yep, '96 and earlier are non-interference.... '90-'94 Legacies use an OBD I electrical system which is much simpler. requires fewer sensors etc. I used a '92 legacy for my loyale, and am using a '96 imp on my current project. I much prefer the OBD I setup!

OK, I did get a chance to talk to him this weekend. they don't have the equipment (yet?) to do braided lines. but I think there are already suppliers for those (I had a set on one of my lifted wagons...). we discussed intake mani stuff, but I had forgotten that the coolant circulates through the mani before I posted this. so just a phenolic spacer wouldn't be adequate. and they don't have the equipment to be machining blocks to divert it (again....yet?). but if/when that happens, a setup compatible with both the EA81 and SPFI/Carb EA82 will be pretty soon behind it. we are going to look into EA82t-specific piping (specifically an up-pipe...but they can probably do header work too). so I may be asking for some donor stock parts to take measurements on etc. I also got offered a job too bad I live 3 hours away but it may justify a change in location.....who knows.

not the case...the EJ AWD systems use a pretty strong VLSD in the center.

cheers.....wish I had the excuse of a sweet project for my lack of progress....once I get mine going, it'll still be stock :-\ there's an epic shot for ya! sweet! I see you've got your rear shocks triangulated.....what do you think of that?

and completely irrelevant since we're talking about pre-1994 subaru PT4WD/FT4WD systems. not 2008 Jeeps. yes, you are right, that true 4WD with a locked (or non-existant) center diff cannot be used on the street. however, it takes only a moment (via the flip of a lever or push of a button...no getting out of the car) to engage/lock the center once you've gotten to where FWD/unlocked have fallen short. and a LSD rear can be added to a 4WD subaru just as easily as an AWD one. your arguments are somewhat valid.....but only in that a rear LSD makes a much bigger difference than what you have in the center. also, by putting down the old gen systems, you're not exactly endearing yourself to the OP as a knowledgeable person on the subject. since he quite likes them.....

like I said....wiring can be outsourced. depending on your timeframe.....I can do it (I just finished wiring for an '05 WRX drivetrain swap into a '96 imp L.....). if you're interested, shoot me a pm/email, and we can talk. you'll want to run a new-gen trans to hold the power. 6-speed would be ideal, but running the DCCD would be all but impossible without an aftermarket controller. even if you get a sweet deal on the motor, you're still looking at at least $5k for the swap. probably much closer to $10k. unfortunately, this is the nature of sweet engine swaps like this.

I was thinking everything but the tranny..... but, I do know of a couple yards up here that could possible be talked down that much I don't know what the local Subaru scene is where you're at. but here in MN....we've got a sweet club, and I know of a few guys that regularly part out entire cars for various reasons (a guy about an hour away from me just bought a turbo'd 2.5RS that had been broadsided from a junkyard.....), and all the parts could pretty easily be sourced from them. they're not exactly high-demand parts. you might also find somebody parting out an old T-leg for the shortblock.....be creative, keep in mind, the rear end parts are the same for an auto or a manual trans. so you can mix and match.

well....that's no fun. it is a rather in-depth conversion. but certainly not impossible. and if you happen to have a lead on parts (know someone who's parting something out, etc.), it might make a lot more sense to convert it. ANY subaru with a MacPherson rear end will work. but you will need the entire rear suspension/diff/axles/brakes, driveshaft, and tranny. I could probably get most of the parts from the local UPull yard for less than $200. sure....some assembly required.....but if you're a DIY person, it's not that terribly difficult. you may want to poke around on more new-gen-based forums like Nasioc or RS25. many people have done this conversion, and you may find more documentation there.

like I said, not really much harder than doing it in a GC impreza. and STI-swapped GCs are running around the world by the hundreds (or more). also, WRX swaps into EA82s have been done more than a few times, and the STi/WRX differences are pretty minimal (nevermind the 6-speed ) the wiring is a rather daunting task, but there are many people (myself included....once I'm caught up), that can do the harness merge for you. and in the grand scheme of the budget required for a swap like that, paying someone to do a harness merge is a pretty small portion.

well, an unlimited center diff doesn't exist in the subaru world....so that's not an issue. and a functioning center VLSD will not easily slip! I've had essentially every subaru 5MT combination there is....PT4WD D/R, FT4WD D/R, and simple AWD in my '94 Legacy. we took the legacy out bombing through fields in a foot or more of powder, following a Jeep on 35" tires. bogged down a couple times, but 2nd gear and hold the throttle down....and it'll pull right out! the only disadvantage the legacy ever had over the others, is an open rear diff. all my EA82s had an LSD in the rear by the time I was driving them much in the snow. that rear LSD makes almost as much of a difference as switching from bald all-seasons to high performance snow tires. only times I've ever been stuck in snow, with any setup, are when it's so deep and heavy, that the snow is supporting the bulk of the weight of the car, and usually all 4 (sometimes just 3...) tires are spinning. so at stock height, you won't notice a difference. IMO (and I drive through a lot of snow here in northern MN), the biggest difference you'll notice is the loss in mileage when you'd have your EA trans in FWD. so you need to decide whether you want the AWD traction on dry pavement (Something I wouldn't sacrifice on a stock-height car) enough to justify the loss in mileage. oh yea, and there's a road here in Duluth that's too steep and is cobblestone, so they don't plow it either. I always go there when it snows.....I've never had to back down it (knock on wood), FT4WD, PT4WD, AWD, whatever. and the AWD car was at a disadvantage anyway without the rear LSD. snow is where independent suspension excels, because the differentials are tucked neatly up out of the way, where they're hanging down like anchors on those Jeeps/SUVs