Numbchux

When I first did my 5-lug swap, I was running '92 Legacy FWD shafts (came from the same donor as my EJ22). Over the years, blown boots and wheel bearings have led to a number of different '90s EJ axles and knuckle combinations to be swapped out, all with no trouble at all. This was in my '92 Loyale, AWD XT6 control arms, EJ knuckles and struts, EA81 TREs. Then swapped into my '88 XT6, with stock AWD XT6 control arms, and EJ knuckles and struts, XT6 TREs And now in my '89 XT6, ditto.... Never had an issue with length. To give you some measurements, these are all EMPI photos/measurements, found on RockAuto: EA82t 4-lug: That says compressed length is 27 3/8" XT6 5-lug: 26 5/8" EJ (I pulled it for a '99 Impreza 2.5RS) 26 7/8" And on inner wheel seals. These are a press fit into the knuckle, and have to seal against the surface on the CV. Dimensions are from National brand seals XT6: Shaft Size=2.283", Housing Bore=2.992, Outer Diameter=3.001, Width=0.307in EJ: Shaft Size=2.205", Housing Bore=2.846, Outer Diameter=2.858, Width=0.315in As you can see, the XT6 seal will not fit into the EJ knuckle (OD), and the XT6 CV would not seat correctly (shaft size). If you convince yourself that XT6 axles are your ticket, here's a post I made a couple years ago on the subject, with part numbers for conversion seals. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showpost.php?p=836218&postcount=20

non-widebody EJ axles should work fine. I ran a few different combinations of '90s EJ axles in my wagon, and they worked just fine. Longer, but within the travel of the DOJ. XT6 is close, but will require a different inner seal to seat correctly. I don't remember what 6MTs had what for axle splines. But if you've got female splines on the transmission, I believe 4EAT stubs will give you the 25 male splines you need to make older EJ parts work

460!

As you can see in the pics, the pinion shaft is a drastically different length between the FT4WD and AWD setups, so the center diff has to match the pinion or major fabrication becomes necessary. I've seen the stock VLSD center diff perform offroad, and am fairly confident in it's strength. And if it turns out to be insufficient, the Group N unit (5 times stronger than stock) or DCCD are both simple swaps, and probably less than a cut and weld and treatment on a pinion shaft. PT4WD transmissions have the pinion shaft as part of the output shaft. They are not seperable. So the output shaft must come from a FT4WD or AWD unit. And the input shaft is unique to the dual range. The only way to get both with USDM parts without mixing and matching, is the RX box. RX originally was 3.7 axle ratio, and 1.192 low range.

Bearing splitter came today. 4.444 pinion gear has a bearing on it. Carbonetic diff has side bearings. I did notice, that even once I got the bearing and washer pressed onto the pinion, something was a different length, and that the nut wouldn't be able to tighten things up properly.... Compared that little spline adapter to an EJ one....yep, there's the problem: Diameters and spline counts are the same, but length is slightly different. Good to know, and got it straightened out. Machine work should be done in a few days. Then I can put the trans back together. Then I can start the project of putting it in the brat (along with the EJ18 swap....). Then I can have the driveline modified, etc. etc. that DCCD hasn't sold yet.....might throw him a lowball....

This is beyond epic. I raise a glass to Suberdave for sheer awesome! I wonder how the FWD trans internals vary from AWD in an EJ. If you could re-use some of the FWD parts in a pull-type case. That would solve your clutch issue.....although I'm not sure how other things would hold up. Also, as it turns out, it's really not difficult to use 23-spline axle stubs with a Carbonetic front LSD. Just a little machine work to convert the 5MT 23-spline stubs to use a circlip instead of the snapring.

yep....twice....

Found out a friend of mine has a lathe at his shop. Dropped off the parts there, he's very confident that he can make it happen. He thought it would be best to chamfer the ring gear, and not modify the collar at all. Ordered a bearing splitter, so I can put swap bearings onto the pinion and front diff.

This, those pumps are designed to push fluid, not pull it. Just like a fuel pump. Also, that vacuum canister is fairly crucial to making the HVAC system work.

the Outback has dual exhaust ports on the engine. The '97 will have single-ports. So if you use this engine, you will have to swap the exhaust manifold too. But everything else should be plug-n-play. I put a '94 2.2 in a '96 outback last summer. Wasn't hard at all, maybe 8 hours of fairly casual work. I had to remove the intake manifold to swap the 2.5 wiring and a few of the sensors across. I also had to swap the 2.5 throttle body, as the throttle position sensor was different. And the crank/cam sensors had slightly different wiring, but swapped right across. Car runs like a champ now! With both full engines, you should have everything you need to get it running. But if you want/need to have the check engine light off, you might need to do some figuring for the EGR...

I wouldn't worry about the gauges. Just leave the auto indicators there, they'll just be off. You'll need some custom work on the crossmember. And have the driveshaft modified. Some experimenting with shift linkage/mounting. Axles. Either '93-'94 5MT FWD Impreza axles, custom homemade hybrid axles, or put 25 spline stubs in your trans (If you're not afraid to split the trans, this is probably the best option. LMK if you need a pair, I probably have 6 or 8 5MT 25-spline front stubs lying around). Yep, pedal box from a cable-clutch 5MT EJ car. Rear diff. Don't know what year legacy you're dealing with. First gen's should all have female splines on the inner DOJs for the rear axles (easy to tell, just look if there's springpins or not), these will make the EA82 diff a bolt-on thing. Otherwise you may want to grab a 3.9 rear diff from an EJ car to simplify axles.

I don't know. I'm not super comfortable taking material off either. But when it comes down to it, it'll probably be cheaper to have it all taken off one piece, instead of some of each. I'm not putting huge power through this, so I think it should be OK. Don't know anyone with a lathe (that I know of...)...so it'll have to be through a shop. As for treating it. I have an in with Diversified Cryogenics (aka Frozen Rotors). I was talking to them years ago about cryo treating D/R internals when I wanted to put power through them. They recommended not going that route, as cryo treating means the metal can't flex, which actually makes it brittle. For transmission internals, it's not an improvement. In other news.....I found this... http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2377483 So tempting. But I think I'll run this center diff a bit first, see if it actually needs to be upgraded. Swapping it out in the vehicle is actually not very difficult.

Went back at it after dinner.... Got the RX trans pulled apart. RX pinion next to the FXT pinion: The RX pinion has a "spacer" (basically just a piece of tube) to take up the extra length. But, pull that off, and the spline adapter, and nut from the RX pinion fit perfectly on the FXT pinion. I need to get a bearing separator to get that bearing off the pinion shaft. Not the final assembly, but test fit with the FXT pinion in the RX output shaft: And, proof of concept. RX output shaft and driven gears, no swapping gearsets at all. FXT pinion. Phase 1 EJ center diff: Now. 1.592 low range gears swapped onto the RX input shaft, and in the PT4WD case, with 4.444 ring gear: It does hit, ever so slightly. The edge of the teeth on the shifting collar for low range. I need to talk to machine shops. I think I could have a little material taken off the collar and ring gear, and get the clearance I need. And, all the mechanicals laid in the one case half. So, time to talk to a few machine shops about getting the ring gear, shifting collar, and axle stubs modded for this setup. And then put it all back together. I tell you, I'm REALLY not looking forward to getting the input shaft and drive gears seated in the case. It's a PITA in a single-range trans to get the alignment pins seated in the bearings. Add in all the crap for the dual range....and it's going to suck.

This stuff has been covered at length, and I will not spoon-feed some of the really reduntant. But, 2-door and 4-speed. That means it's an EA81. That has come to be known as a hatch. The '85 Wagons were EA82s, and a very different platforms. The ER27 is much longer, and will require much fabrication to fit. and will probably chew your 4 speed to bits. IMO, it's not worth doing if you don't put a 5-speed. front 5-lug swap in an EA81 is very involved. Short story is, it'll require custom axles. Front seats do not bolt quite right into an Ea82, I know that for sure. Done right will require some modification. I suspect EA81 would be similar.

My axle rebuild write-up: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=99712 I have seen some extremely nasty OEM joints brought back to life with a good cleaning, fresh grease and a new boot (like the one pictured in the write-up, that saw 15k miles in my '88 XT6, and is now in my '89 XT6 which is being prepped for RallyX). I wouldn't bother with OEM stuff there, just costs more. Most Auto Parts stores (I frequent O'Reilly's lately) can sell you a CV Boot Kit, which includes boot, clamps, grease, and usually some misc hardware you might need to replace (snaprings, circlips, sometimes even a springpin). They're usually about $10 a piece (2 per axle, you'd need 4 to do the whole front end of your car) I've never actively swapped axles from one side to the other. I try to avoid disassembling more than I have to (one side at a time), in case something goes wrong. But by the same token, there have been a few times when doing major projects, where I've replaced both axles simultaneously without giving any though to which side goes where (RX trans swap -> 25 spline axles, then 5-lug swap, and EJ knuckles/axles on my XT6s). Anyway, I'd say you'll likely have excellent luck with a good cleaning and re-booting. Swapping axles from one side to the other is just some extra complication.

Alright, I believe I have everything I need. Couple parts will need some modifying, but it's all there (Except sealant and oil...). '88 Gl Wagon transmission. This will be the donor transmission for the 1.592:1 Low Range, and 23 spline axle stubs Also pictured is the center diff housing (the diff and transfer gears are on the shelf) from a '93 Impreza. An RX FT4WD D/R (Unsure of the exact year of this one, but '87-'89), this will donate most of it's internals, 1-5 gears, input and output shafts: Also pictured is a brand-new, OEM 4.444 front ring and pinion gearset (Originally looked up for a JDM 5MT, found that part number superseded for a USDM Forester XT). And a Carbonetic clutch-type front LSD, listed for a 2002-2007 WRX. Due to a broken off speedometer cable in my RX case, I will probably use the GL PT4WD case. This also means I won't have to swap the low-range idler gear from one case to another. I have started tearing down the GL trans. Things I've noticed: It was not difficult to separate the Low Range gearset from the input shaft. Swapping it onto the RX input shaft should be a breeze (knock on wood....) The 3.9 ring gear (which does clear the 1.59 low range set) is the same outer diameter as the 4.444 gear. BUT, the 4.444 unit is thicker (due to a smaller pinion gear). I have heard that this ring gear will have to be modified to clear the low range gears, but an initial test-fit looks like it might work as-is. But time will tell. More to come as I make progress....

Pretty slim. the wheel bearing design is very different, so the chances of the hub being a direct swap are very slim. And then you'd still have to get the brakes and everything to work......yuck.

Yea, those. Here's what will happen if you only have it mounted on the sides:

Which is why I always order EA82 parts for an '89 (unless it's something unique to the older years...which isn't much). Too easy to get 1.8l GLs mixed up....

Do you have the proper mounting brackets for the front lip? My first one didn't, and it's junk now....

I will probably use a pair of those on my Brat if the r160 locker doesn't come through by then. I've already got a front LSD, which will help in the more delicate situations. But when a wheel is completely off the ground, lock it with a line lock, and proceed.

Yea, 5MT stubs are held in with a snapring on the inside. Don't think there's any way to get to them without opening up the transmission, which will be very hard with an axle cup stuck on the driver's side...

depends what car you're talking about. Transmission mounts and length are determined by the center diff housing. So if you use an EA82 housing/center diff, you will have EA82 mounts, and EA82 length.

Nice write-up! 3 things. That doesn't look any easier than the Nissan option, except Nissans are far more common than old accords. Just make sure you use 240SX calipers, not 200SX, if you're not running XT6 rotors/backing plates. Also, I used Subaru Legacy handle and cables, no custom cables needed. And, about cable routing. It's not an issue in your car, as it's FWD. But cutting holes, and having the cables drop down through the tunnel will cause clearance issues with the driveshaft. That's how I did it in my Loyale, too, and the driveshaft would rub on the cables under hard accel. The next time I do it, I will run the cable straight back, and through the bulkhead under the back seat.

Well, to make the fuel side of it work properly, you will still need timing, MAF, TPS, 02, etc. Basically, if you were to go that far, all you'd need to do to have the ECU control ignition, is the wires for the ignitor and coil (6?). You're doing 90% of the work, and then adding in some extra complexity at the last minute. And, if the ignition-related stuff isn't hooked up, the ECU will know that, and may not even give it any fuel.