Numbchux

Well, sounds like you already know everything. Good luck!

Don't bother. The VLSD is much better. Certainly not worth the work. Especially since I've seen 5MT DCCD assemblies for $500, which means you wouldn't have to open the front of the trans to swap the ring and pinion

The best place in the cities for Subaru engine modifications: https://mnsubaru.com/reviews/nf-performance.41030/

Only you can know what's "enough". or "worth it" The EA82 chassis is much lighter than the EJs, so even a stock EJ22 feels pretty quick in an EA82. I have seen WRX swaps pieced together for pretty cheap (like $1000, or so). And you could easily spend $10k on parts for a full STi setup. And a stock SOHC N/A EJ25 is 160hp, which might be enough for you. There are options for hybrid engines that bump up compression (my favorite is a EJ251/3 shortblock with EJ25D heads). There are 6-cylinder engines that are a lot of fun, and over 200hp N/A. Stock WRX/STi ECUs are extremely tuneable, just with some software and a cable. Standalones offer even more flexibility for future mods. Yes, you'll probably want to upgrade your suspension, brakes, and transmission. There are a myriad of options on how to do all that, depending what parts you have available, what you want to spend, and exactly what you want.

Yep, and the aftermarket ones bother me more than most people because I have so many cars, and almost all of them with a different aftermarket deck in them. And because I have several different cars, the batteries get swapped between them, or brought inside and put on a maintainer. Which means all my settings go out the window every time.

I'm not convinced I can see the timing mark on that crank sprocket. It's a pretty small mark on one of the tabs that make up the tone wheel. And yea, crank sprocket only has to come off to get the covers off intact. If you don't care about the covers, it is definitely possible to change the belt with it on.

I had a few that had stopped working because the vacuum switch in the control head was leaking. I have pulled them apart a couple times, and tried to reseal them, without luck. On my last EA82, I did a little trial and error, but bypassed the whole control head with a vacuum tee fitting, so that it was always in heat/defrost. You only use function of the 2 vents right over the radio, and recirc.

or just swap the rear diff. Really not that bad. Also, SVX and Turbo Legacy had an extra plate in the clutches for a bit of extra strength. Any other 4EAT will not be quite as strong.

VW wide 5 is a very common bolt pattern, with a very large number of wheels available. He probably could have given you a starting point, but there's still a ton of variables. Just keep in mind, that adapter will soak up some (I'd guess 10 mm or so) of the offset of whatever VW wheel you're comparing to.

OK, I've actually test-fitted a 4.444 x 1.59 transmission with an EA bellhousing. If I hadn't spent so much time and money on using that Carbonetic diff, it would be in my Brat. I've run EJ internals in an XT6 case in my '88 XT6. FT4WD EA82 pinion shaft is considerably longer than an EJ one. So it would have to be lengthened. It's been discussed on here that it is theoretically possible to cut them both, and weld them together, but that's some seriously precision fab work, in a crucial part of the car. I wouldn't run it.... Here's some comparison shots of the 2: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/129898-4444-x-1592-x-3545-251/?do=findComment&comment=1104016 PT4WD EA82 pinion shaft is not a separate piece from the transmission output shaft, and only leaves one set of output splines to the transfer housing. I haven't had one of those apart, so I don't know exactly how that all interfaces with the transfer mechanism, but it's a pretty significant change in design.... The available adapter plates are for putting an EJ engine to an EA transmission. It will not work the same the other way (EJ transmission bellhousing is deeper, so adding an adapter plate means the input shaft is now several inches too short).

EA81 transmissions are VERY different from EA82 and EJ ones. AFAIK, there are no other gearing options for the EA81. EJ Dual range will not bolt to your EA81 engine. So the only way to do that is to do the EJ swap anyway. To return your car to the same rpm range as stock, you would need about a 4.7:1 axle ratio... 4.444 is the lowest ratio available. Only way (without serious custom fabrication) to get 4.444s and 1.59:1 low with an EA81 is a pretty considerable frankentrans.....here's the recipe. '87-'89 Subaru RX FT4WD Dual Range transmission 4.444 5MT EJ front ring and pinion (not very common used, but not super expensive from Subaru. 38100AB681) Any EJ center diff and housing (phase 1 or phase 2. There is a super strong Group N center diff available for the Phase 2 housing. Also 5MT DCCD setups would work. no, no factory 4WD setup will work without serious fabbing) '85-'89 Subaru GL PT4WD non-turbo Dual range transmission low range gearset and axle stubs (or convert your EA81 axles to 25-spline) EA82/XT6 clutch/flywheel/starter Lengthened Ea81 driveshaft (I think, IIRC the EA82 trans is quite a bit shorter than the EA81, and the EJ rear housing is a bit longer...) EJ transmission mount (since it bolts to the center diff housing) Crossmember modification for said mount 4.444 rear diff (much more common than the front R&P, since it can come from an automatic car, but will require some custom work to mate with axles) Customized EJ shift linkage The RX box (as with any EA82t) uses a much shorter 5th gear, even than the 4th gear in the Ea81 4MT. You may want to swap for the standard EA82 5th gear.....you will want to do considerable research on that. I have at least a couple threads around talking about these gear ratio differences. That can all be done, I'm "in the process" (I have been for probably 4 years) of building that exact combination for my Brat. FYI, a Carbonetic front LSD for a WRX will bolt into an EA82 5MT transmission, but will not clear 1.59 low range, not at all. I've made zero progress since that discovery. I happened to have an RX donor box. But they can be hard to get your hands on. It might be easier to get an EJ D/R donor box, in which case, you'd only need the 4.444 R&P, 1.59/23 spline stub donor box, and the external parts for the installation. Then do the EJ swap while you're at it, you'll get the benefits of the EJ swap, and MUUUCH better clutch options. Not to mention no need for an adapter plate.

Yep, EA82 pump is under the car near the RR tire. Rubber Fuel Injection line is perfect.

This is a Kenwood FM/AM/Cassette version (you may notice that it says McIntosh/Clarion on that diagram...it's pretty common). But from my research online, it looks like many of the CD ones have this plug that can be used with a CD changer. Either way, the blank CD trick, is so that the CD player will tell the Radio to go into an input mode, that's what the switch here is for. Oh, I'm very aware. And I've had a myriad of those cheap aftermarket units, and for the most part, I hate them. The interface is frustrating and clunky. They are more powerful, but I've had several cars that were a similar age where you start blowing speakers as soon as you drop in an aftermarket head unit. No, this doesn't sound amazing, but being able to plug my phone into it, and play anything through the car's OE stereo is so nice. It has all the adjustments you need (bass, treble, fader, balance), all easily accessed without opening menus and garbage. It dims with the factory controls, it's extremely easy to set the clock, etc. etc. I'll trade this over the JVC in my wife's Outback, the Pioneer in my Celica, and the Kenwood in my 4Runner any day (all have original speakers, and don't sound much better). The only aftermarket deck that I currently own is the Alpine in my XT6. And those aren't cheap, I did a quick search on ebay, and there wasn't a decent one listed for less than $60. And that still required a special cable (bought it on amazon for $8....) to have an aux input.

Using this pinout for the accessory CD player: Worked perfectly. I simply pushed wires into the pins on the radio, and then hot-glued them all to keep them insulated and in place. Then I ran the 5 wires, with a connector in the middle, through the center console past the shifter, to a panel-mounted switch and stereo jack 2017-07-21_04-18-28 by Numbchux, on Flickr Looks clean, and works perfectly. And cost less than $10.

If you have the Walbro, seems easiest to just swap that in. It'll be overkill, but that's fine. Stock SPFI pump works just fine for an N/A EJ. Make sure you upgrade all the pressurized rubber fuel lines, too.

As I recall, there is not nearly enough flat material at that smaller diameter (the hub recesses considerably for the 4 rotor bolts) for a 5-lug pattern. Doable with a 4-lug, as it can be located directly in between the rotor bolts, but not 5.

It's certainly possible. The driver's window is operated through a control unit, but that's really just a timer for the Auto up and down function. The other 3 windows simply operate through a fuse, then a relay (only powered when the key is on), then power and ground out to the switches. I would grab one of the switches from the other 3 doors (as it is just one window, instead of all 4), and with a little work, it wouldn't be hard to get it to work on it's own. It's also possible that all the wiring is there, that you could just grab the door as-is, and it might plug into your chassis harness, and you'd certainly have to grab that control unit, and probably the relay as well. But it might all be plug and play. These cars had power windows, locks, cruise control, etc. as options for many years, and frequently all the wiring is present, just not used. FYI, if you're not sure if you'll check back soon. You can subscribe to a thread, and you will receive email notifications of new posts. I don't love the idea of giving my personal email address (any more than I already have....), and I would much rather respond in a public forum where an open discussion can be had (as I'm not perfect, and I feel better knowing that any glaring mistakes will probably be caught by my fellow USMBers).

Holy crap. That's a first for me! Thanks for actually testing it, too. Anything stuck in it that might be preventing it from opening?

As long as both sides are at the same level, there shouldn't be any force on the sway bar links. The geometry is changed a little bit, but not much.

It's a little spendy, but that little harness, with both sockets and the plug to the body, is still available from subaru: 84930GA930, MSRP $32.02

What other type of check valve is there? A check valve is a check valve, it can be installed 2 ways, but regardless of whether the engine is generating boost or not, you still need vacuum in the booster, so the check valve is un-changed. I have turbo'd several non-turbo EJ cars, none have needed any modifications for the brake booster.

Generally speaking, newer is better. The issues changed, but the parts and knowledge to repair them are simpler with newer cars. For a daily driver, I would say avoid a turbo car. The extra complexity is generally not worth it. The 6 cylinders are typically much more reliable, and hold their value extremely well (which also means they're generally more expensive to buy). I'd go as new as your budget can allow. IMO, each generation is much nicer to drive than the last.

Yep, there are 5 countersunk holes in the hub that I assume are for an ABS tone ring (I've never actually seen one....). There are also 2 smaller threaded holes in the hub, these had screws that hold the rotor to the hub. You can see a piece of the screw in one of them in this picture, because I had to drill them out to get the rotor off: Those line up with the countersunk holes in the rotor: The Rotor also has 2 threaded holes that do not require any provision in the hub, these are there to assist in the removal of the rotor from the hub.

Mileage on the car? Head gasket history? Any issues with it overheating before the failure? Thermostats virtually never fail shut (I say "virtually" to give the benefit of the doubt. I've tested many, and never seen it happen, and never heard of or seen a situation where a new thermostat solved an overheating issue and been convinced that it wasn't just the fresh coolant/burping). IMO, replacing your thermostat would be a waste of energy and money. Good heat means you've got good coolant circulation, which pretty much guarantees that you don't have an air bubble. First thing I would do, is get my hands on an OBDII scanner, just to get a second opinion on the temperature. But, the fact that it doesn't run warm at idle, and it does under load sort of screams head gasket to me. It's possible the overheating from the failed radiator caused head gasket failure, or even head warpage. Next thing I would do is get a chemical "block tester" kit (a little clear plastic container that you put in the radiator neck, and fill with a blue chemical, and draw air through it from the half-empty cooling system, and if there are combustion gasses in the coolant, the chemical will change yellowish. I know when I worked at AutoZone, we had the tool for rent for free, and the chemical was like $7 for a bottle) and see if it that is the issue.

The brake booster hose already has a check valve so that it will hold vacuum even with the engine isn't building it. I hadn't considered the HVAC stuff, although I'd be willing to bet there's a similar system there, otherwise your HVAC controls would only work at closed throttle.