Numbchux

I disagree with these guys, I think an EA81 rear end would be excellent for a Rat Rod. The suspension geometry is all self contained, so you don't have to worry about fabbing several different mounting points in exactly the same dimensions as they came on the donor car (strut towers and trailing arm brackets on most modified Macpherson rear suspension on modern cars). Torsion bar adjustability, just need to make shock mounts.....easy peasy. The r160 rear diff might not last, but that depends on the use. Rat Rods don't typically have big racing slicks, so the tires would *probably* spin before the diff blew up. And if the car gets used for cruising more, with more gentle use of the loud pedal, it might hold up just fine. Keep in mind, the r160 is the same diff used in all subarus (except the STi and BRZ) up to and including the current model year (and will probably be used for some time to come). Now, none of those are quite putting out 300hp (230ish in the WRX, and 260ish in the new 3.6 H6), and they have the front diff to help take some of the strain, but it's not exactly made of paper mache. If it does blow.....r160s are cheap and plentiful in a myriad of gear ratios.....or, it's not terribly difficult to put an r180 in there. I know there are a few WRXs with LSx engines....I wonder if any of them are running the stock rear end. A friend of mine is putting an LS in his '98 Legacy, and intends to use r160s until he runs out (I think he's got 3 or 4....). The other issue, is wheel bolt pattern. 4x140 isn't ideal....converting to 5x100 is possible, but requires increasingly rare 4WD XT6 rear hubs. Converting to 6 x 5.5 is easy, but primarily just leaves truck wheels. Or....bolt-on adapters......blech

Yea, it can happen to any tire. My girlfriend's parents had this happen to them in their PT Cruiser on the way back to South Carolina several years ago. Don't know what kind of tires those were. And I've seen several other tires separate, but caught before they blew up (most recently, some Kumhos on my mom's Legacy). Usually it will cause a very mild vibration/wobble first, which can be felt even at low speed. A good spin on a tire balancer, and you can see the tread wondering back and forth....

99-05 Miata rears...

I also posted a thread pic in the "new" USRM about 8 years ago.....check it out. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/63821-pics-of-lsd-conversion/

Yes, absolutely. You may want to disable the torsion bar, or lower the spring rate of the coils to compensate.

I've never had that issue. Although Legacy springs are larger diameter than Impreza. I used '92 Legacy FWD, '98 OBS, and '04 WRX stock front springs on EA82 chassis several times. No issues

Bad parts happen. Your 2 CV boots are in the minority. They might have been in a bad batch, or maybe they've been sitting on the shelf too long. This can happen anywhere, on any brand. I'd put Dorman boots on my car any day.

I just looked up rear CVs for an 01 Legacy at work (AutoZone). We offer new and reman. Both special order from my store, but both available. I hope I misunderstood what you're saying, but your car is not driveable without the rear end hooked up. You will fry your center diff very quickly. ECU pinouts are very common. All '96-'99s use the same. It's marked AT/MT identification. I don't remember when they stopped putting that wire in the harness....so you may not have that pin. I sacrificed an old harness once to add that pin though.

Never tried anything from a 4-speed, and I don't have a caliper that works anymore. But all 5MT and 4EAT axle stubs are the same diameter. I have a pair of 23-spline 5MT shafts that I've modified to work in place of 4EAT ones (only difference is the groove for the snapring).

Yep, that's the post that is also on the USRM (sometimes I think people forget that is there....)

Not just WRX....all GD sedans are wider. First off, what are we talking about? Are you actually building a car? Are we talking just back-road bashing, rallyX, Rally-America regional, National, Nasa? My experience is in Rally-America, mostly regional, but I've worked with some National teams....so I'll address that. With my experience in rally, yes, a GC impreza is probably the best Subaru chassis to make a competitive Open class rally car without spending a fortune. But, sometimes it's not about winning. It's about having fun, and getting noticed (THAT's what brings in the sponsors). Working with Ziptie Rally the last couple years, I got to tell spectators that we had the white GC Impreza......oh wait, there are at least 5 of those at every event. Yawn. I don't love the rear suspension on the EAs, very difficult to fine-tune alignment settings, and R-A frowns upon cutting up the floor pan and strut towers. You might be able to graft the subframe from a multi-link EJ under an EA without doing too much, but you'd need a fuel cell for sure. I have given some thought to building an old-gen subaru rally car, though. It would either be a high-compression EJ25 (not a franken-motor, probably WRX heads on a new EJ251 block with Mahle or CP 12:1 pistons) in an EA82 coupe for Open Light class, or an XT6 with an EG33 for open class. Spare parts would be difficult, but if I were getting competitive, I'd probably just build Tubular suspension arms anyway....

ECUs are the same. It's the harness that tells it to perform as an AT or MT. So that was just extra work. You will still have to modify the harness to work correctly (bypass the neutral safety switch, at the very least, which can be done in the engine bay). Not sure what other electrical box you grabbed, but chuck it. You shouldn't need to swap the front axles. Swapping the pedal box is possible with the steering column in, but I recommend taking it out...

There are a couple different sizes. 276mm and 294mm. The 276s are crazy common, T-legs, anything 2.5 non-turbo until 2002, and more. 294s are WRXs, 03+ Outbacks, and others. (There's an old post in the USRM with the exact model list). These do, in fact, use the identical calipers, but different brackets to accomodate the different rotor sizes.

I test-fitted it once. It's close, but not great. WJM actually ran them years ago. Then I tried some Miata ones that were closer, but still were not designed for the bushing in the upper mount. WJM and I had the same idea, and same result. Remove the bushing......and broken shock rods. Then I found a later model Miata which did have a bushing in the upper mount, and fit in place of the EA82 rears almost perfectly. All of these options use different diameter springs than EA82s, so you'll have to get creative with spring perches, or use coilover sleeves (what I did...)

That. Is. Cool!!!!

Cars usually only have a couple wiring harness made for them, regardless of the combination of options it actually had. So extra plugs aren't a bad thing. They could be for A/C, cruise control, and a host of other things. Yep, that larger black connector by the strut tower is the diagnostic connector. It can be used to test a number of systems, but under normal circumstances, unplugged is fine. Looks like that hose by the washer pump is just a drain. Hopefully someone else can help you with those vacuum lines. Carbed EA82s are a nightmare in that department......

I don't have one anymore that I could measure, but from memory, it's probably 1.5"-2". It's considerable....Most DIN head units are about the same depth, and those adapters are designed for it.

Ugh. First year in 5 that I've missed it....

Yea, came with a 2 or 3" body lift that was all tied together to make a pseudo subframe, and 4WD. They're rare, and I think only sold in Europe.

They are equivalent. The turbo legacy caliper brackets are slightly different, and require different pads (which are unique to the t-leg, drastically limiting your pad options). I love the 276mm 2-piston setup. I've used it on several cars, and with good pads, it's as much brake as you'd ever want for street use. Although, the 292mm 2-piston is pretty sweet. We've got an 03 Outback with those (stock) and they're pretty nice. And with a little work with a grinder on the calipers, I was able to get 15" wheels to fit.

I've had these wheels on my XT6s too, but no decent pics

The loyale would be solely for a DD. So as long as it isn't slower than my 1.6l auto trans Celica, I'm ok with that. I've done several 2.2 swaps, so I know the potential. I have a 2.2 harness (1.8 doesn't have a knock sensor), so a 2.2 swap would be plug and play. What's wrong with the loyale engine? it's an EA82. As I mentioned, I hate them. And it will come out if I buy the car. That's an interesting idea, and would be easier to do, as it would be almost no wiring in the loyale. The simplicity of SPFI and pushrods is much more appealing in an offroad rig, but the EJ18 would definitely have more oomph. Looking back on my lifted EA82 rigs, I very rarely wished that they had more power. My wishes were lockers, gears, and suspension travel. I've addressed all 3 (sort of, the gearing difference will mostly be noticeable in high range...) with this rig.

So, I have everything I need to do an EJ18 swap into my Brat (that's getting the 4.444 D/R project trans). A friend of mine has a '92 Loyale in good shape that he's offering to sell me for cheap. I hate EA82s, so I'm thinking that will come out, but I don't really want to source and buy another EJ swap. So I'm thinking, put the EJ18 in the Loyale, with my adapter and the S/R PT4WD trans would make for a sweet, fuel-efficient DD. Then put the SPFI stuff on the low mileage jdm EA81 block that came with my brat, and put it in there with my 4.444 trans (EA82 front bellhousing, should bolt right to the EA81 block). That would be a sweet, reliable combination, great for the trails. Thoughts? Also, my main question is how difficult it would be to take the stock loyale harness out, and split it into 2 functioning harnesses, one that could still run the loyale with the EJ swap, and the other for engine controls with the SPFI. Or would it be worth my dollars to source (ugh) a second loyale harness for one or the other.

Bump. I'm considering this swap, and I knew the write-up was out there, and now the link is dead. I thought I saved it to my computer too, but I can't find it. EDIT: Never mind, found it!!! http://www.leoneturbo.com/docs/EA81_SPI_guide.pdf

That's certainly more amperage than your alternator can put at alone, but with the engine running, the battery should be able to deal with that for a few minutes at a time. A Yellow top battery would be best for this as they are designed for medium load for extended time, rather than the short bursts of large load (700+ amps) that a red top specializes in. But whatever you use, you will need a very large wire running the length of the car. And for best performance, a dedicated ground wire all the way to the battery would be best. Look into automotive audio wiring kits. They will have a very long, very large wire, with a beefy fuse that might get you on the right track. Or you can get the wire alone almost anywhere with any welding supplies. You're also going to want a beefy disconnect so you can unplug it when not in use (basically any 4WD supply source has these). A dual battery setup would be sweet, but IMO overkill for what you are doing.