samo

There are two bolt-on options for older Subaru wheels. Allied Armament makes a set of steels that are made for offroading, and you can run older Peugeot wheels, off of a 504 or a 505. Peugeot wheels or "Pugs" as they're called around here, come in three diameters, 14", 15", and 390MM. Avoid the 390s! Wheels off of a 505 are the ones to get, because they use a more standard lug seat than the 504s. Other options are converting to 5-lug off of an XT6 - then you can use any 5x100 wheel, which are extremely common, or you can redrill the hub to 6x139.7, or redrill a 6x139.7 wheel to 4x140. This page here has just about every different 4x140 wheel ever made listed on it. That should give you an idea what to look for. Here's my 14" 505 alloys wearing Yokohama snow tires:

Thanks Tex. For those who are drilling to six lug, I'll make a better template that'll be a little more precise on where to drill. Actually, let me get right on that, I'll have it up in a second.

Thanks for the offer of help, Tex. As soon as I have the tranny (should be real soon here), I'll let you know - any help is more than appreciated! The tranny John built for me doesn't have the LSD in the front for a couple reasons. ForesterRanger's review of the Phantom Grip was not all positive, and eventually I want to go t-cased, so a front LSD, while quite cool, will eventually be a waste of money. John just resealed and cleaned up a D/R for me - it'll be like a brand new transmission!

I guess I stand corrected! There's plenty of 4.44s to play with. Getting them into the tranny is some work, I take it, but at least there's Subaru gears to use.

The stump of death is a killer. I was running the trail backwards and it tagged my passenger side. Just cut it a little close, and the rocker slid up onto the stump. We didn't go out to the whoop-de-doos - we kinda ran out of time. We did play around in the gravel pit, though, which is SO much fun. I was amazed at what my Roo would climb.

Excellent.

Eric's Toyota is amazing. I mean, just plain amazing. There was only one point where it got even close to stuck, and that was a nasty muddy embankment. With different tires, it would have climbed right through it. I am so hooked. Sooooo hooked. Oh, and I talked to John via PM yesterday - sounds like I get the tranny when he comes up to Olympia. Yay!

What software did you print it in? I just realized that it's sized at 100 DPI and most software that isn't like Photoshop is going to want to print at 72 DPI. I'll resize it here in a second, then you're welcome to archive it . EDIT: There we go, it's fixed. Dimensions are now 540x720, which should be 7.5"x10" at 72 DPI.

This is absolutely not the case. Most, but not all, aftermarket stereos will differentiate. The way to tell is whether or not it has a solid blue wire coming off the harness. If it does, that's the one to hook up. As RallyKeith said above, there's two blue wires, a solid blue (power antenna) and a blue/white (amp turn-on). They are very commonly confused, especially by less-experienced "professional" installers who may be in a rush. Hell, I've done it once or twice.

Here's a little printout I made to help ID the bolt pattern of wheels when you're at the yard. I had one for my Nissan and it was a lifesaver when I needed steelies. 4x140 and 6x139.7 are pretty easy to ID, but the 5-lug patterns can be less than obvious if you don't know what kind of car they came off of. Anyway, it's all set up to print, just load and print. Cut it out, punch holes, and have fun. It's got the 5 most common Subaru lug patterns on it - 4x100, 4x140, 5x100, 5x114.3, and 6x139.7 . Enjoy!

And I'm hooked. I wanted to lift my wagon before, but now... my god, I'm an addict. Some of you will know the trail by Zap's father's cabin - that was the one that broke in my Subaru. She got her first body damage too, on the stump of death. Bashed up the passenger side rocker pretty well. Eric took me through in his Toyota and then the OBS, and finally rode along on my first run giving me some pointers, and after that, I couldn't get enough. Even with a S/R and a bad clutch, my wagon trucked on through amazingly well. The next say, El Toro showed up with his pretty much stock (for now!) '85 and we took him and his friend out. That little thing with a D/R did so well, I was amazed. So, now I see what all the fuss is about. I don't think I've ever had that much fun. D/R is on the way... next step: lift kit!

The problem with LEDs is that the light is very directional, as opposed to the light a regular bulb gives off, which is very omnidirectional. Unless the face of the LED is pointing where you want the light to go, or you have VERY good reflectors, you won't get near enough light out of them, no matter how bright they are. I used LEDs on my old Nissan - they worked great in the turnsignals, since the bulb was facing outwards, but on the taillamps, where it's sideways, the light was not bright enough.

It's just one bolt that attaches it to the EA82. Would not be hard to attach one at all. It and the antenna cable are quite easy to remove, I was surprised. 'Course, I took mine off to run wires through that hole .

Sorry, by the center of each beam, I meant on the wall, at the center of each beam. I guess that wasn't quite clear . So there's 8 pieces of tape on the wall, and two on the floor behind the car for the rear lights. I found the longest, straightest, darkest road near my apartment (Sand Point Way, for those of you in the area). It's level and straight for about two miles, which is WAY more than enough for these lights. A big flat parking lot would work great too. EDIT: As you can see in the picture, they're currently out of adjustment .

There shoud be a small inlet and outlet on the bottom of the radiator - that's the tranny cooler. Most stock ones don't do much, but anything is better than nothing. An aftermarket one will be much, much better.

For the record, John has now come through for me, earlier than expected and on budget. I'll have my new transmission in my hands shortly. Thank you, John.

You'll need a 36MM socket, a 3/16" punch, and a piece of pipe or a socket to knock the axle out of the bearings. I've got a special cotter pin puller that works very nicely at getting the axle nut pin out, but a pair of pliers and a screwdriver should do it just the same. I don't believe there's a speed limiter programmed into the ECU - the biggest limiter of speed is the fact that these old cars are slow and boxy.

^ well, that's the easy way to change the final drive. There's a guy on the boards here who says he's got a 4.11 from a Legacy in an RX D/R. However, I don't believe any Subaru came with 4.44s, so getting them to work will be just like Numbchux said, with a divorced t-case setup. Even then, you're looking at custom CVs. Needless to say, it's a massive amount of work for little gain. The 3.90s aren't bad, especially with a 5SP D/R. And if you're going to go t-cased, 4.11s would be relatively easy - it's doubtful you'll need the reduction that a 4.44 would give you with a t-case.

I just went out on a dark road and aimed them where I wanted them to go. Then, I went home and parked in my parking spot and put little pieces of black tape at the center of each beam, so when they get out of adjustment (tree branches are the main culprit) I can get them back in shape easily. Here's a pic of my setup: They're 55W Pilot Navigators. Not quite as bright as I'd like, but for $30 a pair, I can't complain. They're tough as all hell, though.

Alright, I'll be at your place bright and early on Saturday. I'd just have to throw a rock across the freeway !

Oh excellent. Light-duty wheeling and doing light trail runs is about all the old girl is up for until she gets a new tranny and clutch. When are you leaving? I was thinking, if it was cool with you, I might just follow you there. Awesome, now I'm all excited.

MUCH better idea, IMO. Not that a V8 Loyale wouldn't be cool (hell, I've always wanted a turbodiesel offroader, and that's just as wild), but an EJ will handle plenty of power and go like hell, and be a whole lot easier.

How many of you guys are running A/C? I've got A/C in my wagon, and it's got a good radiator. I've been wanting to pull the clutch fan because of issues with water crossings - just wondering if it's a good idea or not. It doesn't get too hot up here.

Eric, I'd love to go, but I don't want to offroad my wagon yet. It's got a toasted clutch and my D/R isn't ready yet. Do you think there would be room for me to ride along in someone's rig for the offroading?

ahahahahaha... Engrish is awesome