Numbchux

Yep, definitely EA81. Since the rear is just a shock, it's pretty easy to find a cheap longer-travel option. On the rear of my Brat, I'm running a Rough Country shock. It's easily been 10 years since I bought and installed them, but I'm pretty sure they were for a TJ, possibly lifted, and I think I used the Subaru bar pin (the pin through the bushing at the top of the shock) as the bolt spacing was narrower than the one on the jeep shock. The front is much more unique, I don't know of anything even remotely bolt-on that would yield more travel.

Yep, I go so far as to look up an '83 or '84 Brat (or, when I need EA82 parts, '89), as that will eliminate almost any overlap with other models. I think there are a few trim changes, but for most parts, that should work.

80k+ typically. They came out of the woodwork when the warranty was extended to 100k for awhile Yea, we did plenty of used ones if the car was out of warranty (or before the extension). Junk yard ones were plentiful and cheap, which tells me they do not fail very often (more good transmissions in the junkyards than people looking for them). The remans are like $6k, and a low mileage junk yard one is like $6-800....no brainer. We needed a CVT for a Nissan of some sort at one point, and I spent some serious time calling around to find one at all, and when I did they wanted like $4k, for a junkyard transmission with basically no warranty.

We saw lots of failures at the dealership where I worked, BUT, most of the ones I saw are ones that had not had any fluid changes....and still a relatively small percentage of the cars we saw. They bumped the warranty on the early ones to 100k miles. IIRC, replacement new ones have a 1 year warranty, and reman 3 year. Labor if they installed it, parts only if not. Personally, I wouldn't avoid it for reliability reasons, just make sure it's had fluid changes (preferably with OE fluid, although GD has posted a good alternative, Amsoil I think).

Post some pictures. Generally, we refer to the EA81 body style as a hatchback: And EA82 as a coupe, even though they both have 2 doors and a rear hatch: These overlapped '85-'88 in the US. AFAIK, neither was available with the 1.6 during those years, certainly not with dual-range 4WD. Is it a 4- or 5-speed? 3 bolt front struts is EA82. But not impossible to modify that. Just like the EA71 and 1600 badge.

The Subiefish adapter looks pretty cool, and looks like a basic lift block with a different pattern on the bottom. Looks to me like the bottom of the strut should bolt right in place. Because the geometry on the Tacoma, they use a very heavy spring (~450 lb/in for the standard, and ~550 lb/in for the TRD Offroad, from what I can tell the stock Outback rear is about 200). The downside of this, as the shock actually has about an inch less travel. I sent them a message yesterday asking about it, and I'm assuming I misunderstood the price (or what's included), because it's astronomical. He did say they should have their website updated with that information today, though. I badly need an overload spring option for mine, as we tend to load it down. And while I don't push it hard enough to need the travel, I'd rather not loose it.

IIRC XT6 TREs are the same as early EJ, which are on the long side with EJ knuckles (The TRE tab on the knuckle is shaped differently on the EJ knuckles than XT6, this gives a shorter steering arm, which is what improves the Ackerman Angle). WJM cut and shortened the EJ ones. EA81 are shorter, but with the larger stud. EA82 are also short enough, but use a narrower stud, which will put excess stress on the knuckle (I ran them for awhile, and they seemed to work, but it didn't take long before I had some crazy play in them). That's a deal on the hubs, grab them for sure.

Adding electric trailer brakes is no small task. There is no plug-n-play kit for the Subaru, so you'll have to get a universal controller and install it (which involves running wires all through the vehicle). There is such a thing as a receptacle with the 7-pin and 4-pin connector right next to each other, that part is relatively easy. No good place to mount it, but still easy compared to adding brakes to everything. If the trailer doesn't have them, I'm sure you'll have to replace the entire hub assembly, if not the axle. Install a battery, extra wiring, etc. Not terribly difficult, but fairly costly. Surge brakes will save a lot of labor on the car, but you'll add some on the trailer end, needing a new coupler, and running hydraulic lines on the trailer (at the very least, I've never done a conversion, just knowing how a trailer already set up that way works).

Yea, you're pretty much right on. Miata rear shocks are about 4" shorter. You'll probably want those if this is a pavement pounder. I *think* XT6 FWD rear shocks are still quite a bit longer, like the 4-cylinder ones. So you probably don't want that. As for getting the XT6 hubs. Basically your best bet is the marketplace here and/or Subaruxt.com. There was a company in Australia that made 5-lug kits for several years (Crossbred performance) but they stopped several years ago. There was also a private guy in australia who had a couple runs of them made fairly recently, but I think they got snatched up. And I think I remember him posting that his professional situation changed and he probably won't be having any more made.

Sorry, I just noticed this post.... You bring the ECU and related wiring from the engine donor car. This is the biggest job of the swap. Since the gauges are mechanical, you just splice them into the appropriate signals (sometimes with the addition of resistors or even whole sending units to get them to read correctly). The specifics will depend on the specific combination, but that's a general idea...

From 86Bratman's post, linked from the FAQ https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway-Tapered-Ball-Joint-Reamer-10-Degree,29005.html

5-lug swap requires changing the front struts anyway, it only makes sense to discuss it at the same time, as the shock/strut selection will be dependent on the 5-lug setup. It makes the most sense to do the job at the same time, as the only extra component of the project then is swapping rear shocks, which would be easier with the brakes apart anyway. HOWEVER, if you need to get the suspension sorted out, you might want separate that, as finding XT6 rear hubs is not easy even if you're willing to pay for them. Looks like you're reading the write-ups on the USRM, which is awesome. I feel like some of these questions would be clearer with what I've compiled here in the FAQ, check it out. The last link in that post shows someone putting modified-Macpherson rear suspension (like what you've got in the RS) under a Brat (EA81, very similar to EA82, except the EA81 uses torsion bars instead of coil springs). It's a huge job...

Yep, stock rear EJ multilink rear shocks can be made to work without too much difficulty, but they are not setup to use a bushing where the shock rod goes into the mount, and the EA rear suspension swing arm pulls the shock bottom longitudinally too much for that. WJM and I both broke a shock. Not ideal. The NA miata ('92-'98ish) shocks are very similar, without a bushing on the top, but the NB ones ('98ish-'05ish) do have the bushing, and are almost a direct replacement, only using a different diameter spring (have to run coilover sleeves).

4WD XT6s all have air suspension as well. You can use the whole rear shock/spring/mount from a 4WD EA82. It'll be a little on the tall side, but it's a nice bolt-in swap (so will the stock struts/springs from the RS in the front). FWD parts will bolt in, but are much longer (will lift the rear) If you want to run full coilovers, like this: The best fit is something for the '00-'09 Legacy. But be prepared to spend $1k for cheap ones (and really not necessary unless you're going REALLY hard, in which case be prepared to spend several grand for something decent).

Almost nothing from the rear will work (without considerable fabrication). Take a peek under the back of each car, the suspension design is about as different as it's possible to be. You can ream out the ball joint hole in the control arm, and use the whole front knuckle/strut/axle/brake assembly, you'll need the shorter EA81 tie rod ends to get the toe anywhere near zero. You will still need XT6 (or reproduction) rear hubs. At that point, you could use the RS rear brakes by redrilling the backing plate. the rear knuckles, strut, axles, etc. will be of no value to you.

Yep, Asymmetric and directional are different. Direction usually has a clearly directional tread pattern. Assymetric is usually more subtle, and the tech has to be looking for it, I've seen really good techs miss it, but of course a novice tech is more likely to miss it. How much it matters will be different from tire to tire, but ultimately the tire shop missed it, and should correct it. There is such a thing as directional AND assymetric, which means the right and left tire will be different. I had a set of Kumho VictoRacers several years ago for Autocross that were like that. I opted to warn the shop that mounted them when I dropped them off. But obviously that's very uncommon.

Those cars use the ABS sensors to run the speedo, AFAIK there's no shaft or gear in there. BUT, I do believe the 3-4 gear is cut to accept one, so you'd "just" have to split the case, and install the shaft, seal, and gear to accept a cable. And yea, you'll have a few negative running characteristics without a VSS.

Meh, when I bother to do a lift, it'll be a 2" SJR. Which is not free, nor are the larger tires that would be required to make the lift worth it (I do have 5 matching wheels specifically for that stage). I have been aggressively researching overload springs, as we had probably 4-500 lbs of gear in the car and I probably could have slid the roof rack a foot or so further forward, but we were on the bump stops in the rear at every bump. I wish I could find reliable information with the factory spring rates.... I did beat up the front bumper a bit when I had it at the ORV park last summer, but it's only plastic, I just let it bend. Living where I do, we get a fair bit of snow, and they salt the roads to deal with that, these things mean quite a bit of corrosive road spray in the winter. If I do cut the bumper, I want to make new inner fender liners to keep the road spray from getting where I don't want it. This isn't a huge job, but just enough to keep it off the top of the priority list. At this rate, I'll be doing this stuff to the next chassis (we've put about 60k miles on this car since I got it). I also have a trailer hitch in the back that sort of acts like a rock slider to keep the rear bumper protected against the big stuff.

Yep, that's where it would be. Like I said, I'm not sure exactly when that started, but evidently yours doesn't have it.

Neither of those places. On the passenger side, it'll be on a vertical surface. I know they did it back to the early '00s or so. It'll be a complete 17-digit VIN.

Put about 700 miles on the car this weekend, about 50 of which was off-road. Nothing too crazy, but it was fun to get off the beaten path. Dan (FJ Cruiser), Jesse (BMW X5), and Martin (Lifted '13 Forester) left the Twin Cities Thursday evening and camped in the Cheq forest in Wisconsin, then Friday they drove on a section of Minimum Maintenance Road which turned out to be more of a No Maintenance Muddy Path. I left Duluth after work Friday evening and met them at the campsite at Agate Beach one the Western shore of the Keweenaw outside Toivola, MI. Our campsite was just up the hill from the beach, so cool. Here's our group at the site in the morning. It was a little foggy in the morning, but still way cool. 20180901_090635 by Numbchux, on Flickr The 2 Subarus in the group. Mine being exceedingly stock on highway tires, Martins with a lift and General Grabber A/Ts 20180901_131259 by Numbchux, on Flickr Saturday morning, we made our way north through Houghton, then taking the ORV route (rail road grade, not challenging, but good to get away from the traffic) up the hill from Hancock to Calumet. It had a few big puddles, and some good views. FB_IMG_15360772879349834 by Numbchux, on Flickr Then up to Copper Harbor, where we got some ice and firewood, and other Dan caught up with us after working an overnight up in Hibbing and hauling rump roast to catch up with us in his WJ Jeep Grand Cherokee. On the edge of Copper Harbor, the road turns to gravel, and there's a sign that says "Road Ends". Excellent! FB_IMG_15360773684868233 by Numbchux, on Flickr We made it to High Rock Bay (the easternmost point on the Keweenaw) right about sunset. There were many other people camping, but we still got a spot right on the rocks near the water (so close, that we set up a few lanterns to mark the edge so nobody would accidentally fall off in the dark). Here's our campsite from inland looking out into the lake, Manitou Island appeared out of the fog for a little while. 20180902_082907 by Numbchux, on Flickr And from the point looking back towards shore: 20180902_085627 by Numbchux, on Flickr I love this picture, as the low-hanging fog over the bay makes it look like we're up in the clouds: FB_IMG_15360779104587057 by Numbchux, on Flickr And a few pictures from the trail back from High Rock Bay. This trail wasn't super challenging, several puddles that were a foot or so deep, but nice solid ground at the bottom, so wasn't too tough. I had zero trouble with the stock Outback without even airing down tires, but I would have been on edge if I hadn't had other people in the group and plenty of recovery gear. FB_IMG_15360772474750514 by Numbchux, on Flickr FB_IMG_15360773809562716 by Numbchux, on Flickr FB_IMG_15360773225444218 by Numbchux, on Flickr After driving up over Brockway Mountain (very rainy and foggy, so we didn't stop...still had to drive it, though), we stopped at Jacobs Falls: FB_IMG_15360773022671377 by Numbchux, on Flickr Then down south of Bruce Crossing to Bond Falls for the night. This is a really cool park, the UP Power company dammed the river, and made a pretty cool little park around the lake/reservoir/flowage that ensued, including lots of pretty nice camp sites. After a hike around the park, and a picture of the falls, we headed our separate ways towards home. 2018-09-05_01-23-41 by Numbchux, on Flickr

Original rear Ujoint ate itself, taking the rear yoke with it: 20180105_185438 by Numbchux, on Flickr I got my hands on a junkyard shaft that actually had good joints in it. I decided not to replace them, but try to make them greaseable. I had to get my hands on a carbide drill bit to get through the caps, but drilled, tapped, and installed a grease zerk into each joint to pump some fresh grease into them. 2018-01-30_10-11-44 by Numbchux, on Flickr This worked for 6 months or so, but the vibration started coming back. I didn't want a failure on our trip last weekend, so I replaced them. Truth be told they weren't that bad when I got them out, but I didn't want to worry about it. So I put some new joints in it. Really wasn't that bad of a job with the help of a press 20180827_203215 by Numbchux, on Flickr Took a picture of all my cars this spring (I've acquired an SVX parts car since then: 20180610_140943 by Numbchux, on Flickr 3 Generations of Subaru H6s: 20180610_132310 by Numbchux, on Flickr With some 1 1/4" square tube as a spacer for the front, a Primitive skidplate from a '95 Impreza bolted right up: 20180827_214432 by Numbchux, on Flickr

Drove it to South Carolina and back this spring to visit my In-laws. Ran flawlessly, but had a couple exhaust failures. OBX headers have a flex joint where the factory setup didn't, and I think that introduced some extra movement. One of the flexes began leaking, and the midpipe broke off right after the resonator. Some muffler tape, and adapter and clamp got us home without too much ear trauma. 2018-04-04_08-41-17 by Numbchux, on Flickr 20180406_130736 by Numbchux, on Flickr A Walker mid-pipe with some POR15 on it, and a repair flange to reinforce the flange on the axleback, and I got it fixed: 20180427_212858 by Numbchux, on Flickr

Overdue updates! Stock light configuration, as I'm sure you know, has a dual-filament bulb on the bottom to function as running and turn lights, and top one just as turn. Whenever I see these cars, it bugs me just a bit that the headlight is the top light, and the running light is the bottom one. 20180828_193222 by Numbchux, on Flickr Also, this spring I found myself in a campground wishing I had just enough light to navigate slowly without turning on the headlights and lighting up other people's tents. Bright switchback running lights seemed like the answer. So, I stopped at UPull and got some extra dual-filament sockets/pigtails, only took a moment with the dremel to open up one notch in the housing to get the socket to fit. Then splice the 3 wires in, install a switchback bulb. Now my running lights look like this: 20180828_195314 by Numbchux, on Flickr And turns like this: 20180828_195329 by Numbchux, on Flickr

Nice to hear from you. It'd be a shame to see you sell it, but I completely understand running out of time!