Snowman

You should be able to get a good used tranny for under $100, either from a junkyard or from a board member. A tranny swap on your car can easily be done in an afternoon by two people, or a day by one person, and you don't need any special tools. If the rest of the car is in good shape, this is no reason to get rid of it.

Sorry, I should have clarified a little bit more.... Let's say you add 200 lbs to the front of a Brat, which I think is pretty conservative, considering you'd have to put in a different/tougher tranny, as well as a transfer case. Anyway, my point there is that it's probably close to 10% of the Brat's weight. For street use, it may or may not affect the handling a great deal, and it would be WAAAAY faster. Like scary fast. For offroad use or driving in snow, I think it would cause a lot of negative changes. The reason Subarus are good offroad is their light weight. Take away the weight advantage, and it's really not that good of an offroader. Just my opinion. Life would be boring if we all agreed, right?:cool:

Somebody put a Chevy 2.8 V6 in a 79 Brat once, but it required a lot of fabrication, just like any radical engine swap. You could surely do it, but it would take a lot of work. I also think the weight increase would pretty much negate any benefits of the power you gain, but to each his own. I do think that putting the Brat body on, say, a Blazer chassis would work out a lot better. A 350 would twist a Brat in half in no time.

Quadruple-check to make sure all the bolts are out. There is at least one hidden inside there. After that, try to find a place that won't be damaged by prying and give it a shot.

I think a compression test would tell you a lot about what's going on. I suppose it may be possible that the heat killed at least one of the timing belts. You can check this on the left side by removing the disty cap and seeing if the rotor turns while cranking the engine. On the right side, it's a piece of cake to remove the outermost piece of the timing belt cover so you can inspect the belt and see if it is turning the cam while the engine is cranking.

Welcome to the board! How cold is it there? It's 5 degrees here in Haines, so it must be freezing there. As to your problem, the IAC (Idle Air Control) valve is probably toast. Is your check engine light on or not? I've got several of them here in my parts stash, and my parents are going to Whitehorse in a week or two. I could send a known good one to you to try, as they're relatively easy to replace.

Yup, I would bet money that Skip is right (as usual;) ). I had the same thing happen on a friend's 88. I replaced the clutch, thinking it was toast, but the car would only go in 4wd. Turns out, the splines in the left front hub were totally gone. Take a long, hard look at the axle as well as the hub, as both may be damaged.

In my opinion, they rank as follows: 1. FSM 2. Chiltons 3. Haynes In all three manuals, I have found some discrepencies regarding the exact wire color. However, all of these instances were inconsequential, as the diagrams were otherwise accurate. The Chiltons was very helpful when doing my EJ22 conversion, as it clearly showed every wire that had to be connected to make the ECM work. I found the Haynes manual harder to use, and the FSM often includes EVERYTHING, which makes it harder to navigate.

That is just awesome! The world's fastest station wagon!

I can't remember if they had the external spin-on filter in 97, or if it started later. If so, it's a cakewalk. If not, you just drop the pan, and you have to remove a small metal tube that sits in the way of removing the filter. On the early legacy, the filter had a metal mesh inside that you could just clean out with brake cleaner, but I really don't know what yours might have. Also, the earlier models had a recall issue that was solved by installing a special external filter inline with the tranny cooler. I doubt that would solve your problem, but it might be something to look into in the future, since the filter retrofit kit is like $12 from Subaru.

lol:lol: yeah, long trip... The weather gods were angry with me this morning. I hadn't thought about it before, but hail hurts like a mofo at 50 mph! Anyway, I made it up to Ed's today, and I'll be heading to Bellingham tomorrow mid-day. Sorry I missed you Clay. I was in South Bend, but I got in super-late last night and didn't want to bother you then. Scott, I'll call you tomorrow before I get to Bellingham. To everybody I missed, I'll see you at WCSS8!

You can easily delete the power steering pump. The proper belt to just run the alternator is the shortest one they sell with the proper number of grooves. Austin used the EA81 radiator and didn't seem to have any trouble. Keep in mind that many claim the EA81 rad is superior to the EA82 one (which is inadequate for the stock engine, let alone a larger one). BTW: If you do go with the EJ rad, the one for a 90-92 Legacy fits with much less modification than the one for 93-94. The mounting is different, and the earlier one is very similar to the EA cars, whereas the later one is not. Suberdave, could you get some more pics of your rad install? That looks like it fits in there a lot better than what I've got right now.

After this point, I doubt I'll be able to have computer access for the rest of the trip, so I'll stay in touch with Ed, Scott, and Clay, since I've got their phone numbers. I'm still open to venturing into Seattle if something's going on, so maybe give Ed a call or something. I think I will take you up on that invite, Ed. After a long trip in the rain and sleeping in a tent, a warm dinner and an RV to sleep in is mighty tempting:) .

If it will do coolant, oil, and exhaust temperature, as well as oil and fuel pressure, vacuum/boost, and a very accurate voltage reading (this is critical in my opinion), I'd spend $200 on one, give or take a few dollars. I like to know what's going on with my engines, and messing around with a combination of aftermarket gauges is just a pain. Having one unit that could do all that would be wonderful. I would recommend trying to make a "basic" one with just a few functions that's cheaper, in addition to the "full-featured" model. I think a lot of the people on here, which tend to be, um, "thrifty", would go for a less expensive version.

Having done both swaps myself (I'm the one that wrote the SPFI manual), I would say that they're both not very difficult. The EJ22 requires more mechanical adaptation, for the cooling system and drivetrain and stuff, but the end result is worlds better. Everything included, I spent a total of three days converting my EA82 to SPFI, and probably 4 or 5 doing the EJ conversion, which included mounting the EJ transmission.

Hey Scott and Ed, PM me with your address and phone number. I've got time for a detour to Bothell, or I could pick up the part in Bellingham, either way. All I know for sure is that I need to get on the ferry in Bellingham on friday afternoon. Zapar, if it looks like people would be free on thursday, I could totally get to your area and meet up. I'm not familiar with the area, and who lives where, etc, so if you could suggest something, I would appreciate it. I'm mainly trying to avoid I-5 since I'm riding a motorcycle (yes, I am getting Soob-withdrawals. I haven't seen any of my cars for almost two months now:( .) Currently, my plan is to head up 101 from OR, stop in S. Bend to see Soobmater, then go up the east side of the Peninsula through Shelton to Port Townsend and get on the ferry from there. However, if people are free in the Seattle area, I could just head up I-5. I went through there during rush hour after WCSS7 and the traffic was pretty bad, but if I knew somebody was going to be around, I would do it again. So I guess what it come down to is who is free on thursday night?

Hey everybody from Washington! I'm going to be heading up through your wonderful state later this week, and I'm looking for people to see along my route. It looks like I'll be heading up from Astoria OR on Wednesday and going up the peninsula from there to Port Townsend, then taking the ferry across from there and going up to Bellingham on thursday or friday. So, if you happen to live along the way, I'd love to stop in and say hi. PM me with contact info if you're interested. Also, if you happen to have a good used EA82 heater blower resistor pack, I'd like to pick one up on the way through.

There are two highways to AK: the Alcan and the Casear. I prefer the Casear because it's shorter by about 150 miles, and it's got 100 miles of gravel around Dease Lake. That section would be very fun in your car:). The Alcan is also more mountainous if I remember correctly. There isn't much in Canada as far as Subaru shops, but you shouldn't have much trouble. Like Matt said, there are some Canadian board members, and they would know more than I do. One thing to keep in mind: parts can be HARD to get up here without having to order them and wait two weeks for delivery. I would bring spare CV axles with you, as well as belts and hoses. Also, get your car thoroughly checked out before you leave, specifically have them check the timing belt, the cooling system, the suspension, and the drivetrain. Brad (torxxx) lives in Fairbanks, and he can help you out up there. Matt (northguy) is near Anchorage. I'm down in southeast in Haines, which is off your route by 150 miles, but if you're broken down anywhere, give me a call and I'll see what I can do to help. I've got a lot of tools and parts, as well as access to a truck and a tow dolley if it were to come down to that. If I've got the time, I'll drive anywhere to help a stranded Subaru. If you've got the time, I truly would recommend taking the 150 mile detour down the Haines. It's a really nice place to visit, with tons of outdoor-type stuff to do if you're interested. If you've got any more questions, feel free to ask. PM me for my phone number before you leave.

For fuel economy, I've been getting 20 around town and mid twenties on the highway. Now, this is in the winter (makes a big difference), with old spark plugs, oxygen sensor, etc. I'm doing a full tune up soon and I'll report back on my mileage.

Get an EJ radiator. Sooooooooooo much better than the EA82 rad, which is in my opinion not even adequate for the EA82 engine. You'll have to wedge the fan in front like Noah said, as there is about an inch of clearance behind the rad when it's all done. Your stock SPFI fuel pump should be up to the task. The rated pressure for SPFI is 28-40ish, and the EJ22 needs 30 something psi. The EJ Y-pipe will work just fine. You might have to clearance it around the crossmember, but that's not a big deal. When I get a chance to clean up my install, I'm going to try to put the ECM under the dash on the passenger side. There's plenty of room there, and there are already some holes in the firewall.

I'd check the fuel filter first off. Change it out for a new one, then cut open the old one and have a look to see what was inside. On a similar note...do you have problems with condensation building up fuel tanks where you live? That could cause similar issues. The only other thing I can think of offhand is that I've seen a few early legacies intermittantly misfire after the plug wire boots have gotten wet or otherwise degraded.

I dig it! Of course, I did exactly the same thing to my car with black spray on bedliner:rolleyes: . I think it makes the car seem more "functional". At first it looked weird to me, but that look definitely grows on you.

The bottom end parts are what kills you, expense-wise. I've done a couple of EA82s, replacing everything myself and having the heads professionally done, and I estimate I spent between $800 and $1000 on it. That's with no machine work to the block. For me, it's not worth my time to rebuild an engine myself if I'm doing it for somebody. The next time I need an engine, I'm going to go with a good used engine or one from CCR.

It should "fit", but you will run into one issue. 95 and later Subaru computers will go into a "limp home" mode if the vehicle speed sensor is not connected. Since you're most likely using the VW tranny, this will require some sort of adaptation. This is one of the main reasons that the 90-94 engines are the most popular for the conversion.

I don't know about the condensor from the Legacy, as my car has no A/C, so I never looked into that:cool: . My guess is that it would be more trouble than it's worth, but I may be wrong there. Since the Legacy was probably R134A from the factory, the connections may be different and blah blah blah.... anyway, it would probably take a lot of fab work, and I don't know how much it would increase the A/C cooling capacity. I do know, having taken a class on A/C, that when a vehicle is retrofitted to R134A, a larger condensor is often required in order for it to cool as well as with R12. It varies depending on the system, but that's usually how it goes.