Snowman

Get a rad from a 90-92 legacy. They changed them in 93, and those won't work. The little mounting doo-hickeys on the bottom are the same as the EA82 rad, and even have the same spacing. They are off to the side an inch or so, so the rad sits to the side a bit, but it still fits and works fine. The legacy rad is also about an inch taller. I was able to bend the top radiator support for a better fit, and the rad is temporarily zip-tied to the support, but I'm going to make some nice metal brackets for it to bolt to in a couple weeks. There's no room behind the rad for a fan, so I placed an electric fan in front, which is more than adequate, but I'll add a second one soon just for good measure. Here you can sort of get the basic idea: Here you can see the tight clearance. There's maybe an inch between the alternator pulley and the rad, but it does fit.

I apologize if this has been addressed already, but I did not know where to begin searching on this one. Did Subaru even build a FT4wd tranny with a 3.9:1 final drive ratio and the (I believe it's) 1.8:1 low range like in the part-time 4wd tranny? If so, what cars did they come in? If not, is it possible to combine the 4wd part of the box from the FT4wd tranny with the low range reduction and final drive gear set from the part-time 4wd tranny? I ask because I've been running the AWD legacy tranny behind my EJ22 for a few months now, and I REALLY like having the AWD on snowy roads, but I desparately need a decent low range (with 27" tires, a 1.2:1 low range just wouldn't cut it) for offroad use. Thanks for your help.

I would like to see some prices, since that's probably the deciding factor for most people here.

Grossgary has a good point. Using good parts, it would cost you nearly a grand to do a decent rebuild on your engine, assuming that you don't have to replace anything beyond the standard wear items.

Get a radiator for the Legacy. It will fit in the Loyale with a little bit of fanagling, and it cools WAAAAAAY better than any EA82 radiator. Your throttle cable will work fine. It's barely long enough, but it will work. Just take your time with the wiring. It's really not that challenging, it just takes a little work. Your SPFI fuel pump is adequate. The lines hook right up. Any other specific questions? Good luck with the swap!

If they aren't taken care of, the turbo models are more prone to failure, primarly related to headgaskets and cracked heads. That said, many a turbo EA82 has gone past 200k without trouble. That car may have a full-time 4wd tranny, which would not be as desirable for serious offroading. The SPFI cars are vey good. They don't have a lot of power, but they're like the Energizer bunny, they keep going and going and going. I just picked one up that hadn't run since 2002. I put in a little gas and a battery, and it started like it was driven the day before.

Not to mention the fact that your subaru can go way faster in the snow and ice than the Excursion.

http://www.writerguy.com/primitive/lightforce/lightforce_1.htm Lightforce lights are expensive, but well worth the money. I just got back from a 1600 mile round trip, half of which was driving in the middle of the night through white-out conditions. Using my Lightforce lights with the blue covers, I was able to see well enough to maintain 65 through even the worst conditions. If I was running my old driving lights, that speed would have been cut in half.

The coefficient of spring on the sedan is 27.9 N/mm for the sedan and 34.3 N/mm for the wagon, which is the heaviest rear spring available from Subaru. Just an FYI, the RX rear springs are less than the wagon, with 31.4 N/mm.

Sounds awesome! Got some pictures of it?

Sorry, any wagon in that year range is an EA82. I don't know if they had adjustable struts on sedans or not.

I believe Russ is correct. 85-86 4wds should have adjustable struts. I know mine does. I haven't found mine overly harsh, but it may be that I'm usually carrying a load in the back and that I'm used to driving trucks and other heavily sprung vehicles. I know my car handles frost heaves a lot better with the honda springs in the rear and RX springs up front. It used to bottom out on the big ones if I was doing over 60 with a heavy load, but now I can maintain 75 or more over all but the biggest ones.

My general rule when it comes to spark plugs is to use a brand that comes from the same geographic region as the vehicle (which is usually what the manufacturer recommends). The engineers used those plugs when designing the engine, so it will generally run best if you stick with them. Japanese cars=NGK American cars=Autolite European cars=Bosch Oh, and of course Champion plugs are absolute garbage.

Looking good! I think "readers rides" disappeared, but I just started a blog with blogger.com that chronicles my Subaru misadventures.

Among the many projects I'm going to be tackling in about a month is completely redoing all the heavy-duty wiring in my car. My plan includes dual Optima red-tops and arctic-rated 00 battery cable, and I've already got a 100-amp GM alternator. Since I'm beefing up the rest of the electrical system, I'm wondering if there is a stronger starter I can put in than the regular EA82 M/T starter. I remember reading that the A/T starters are somehow different, but I don't know what the difference is. How about taking a starter from a later EJ-series soob, since they have to turn a bigger engine and would probably be beefier? Do those fit? I know the stock starter is pretty good, and I've never had trouble starting my car, but I figure there's always room for improvement. My goal for this car when it's all finished is to be able to confidently drive it anywhere on the continent year-round, so I'm trying to get the best components I can. Any info you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I'd go with OEM gaskets. WJM ran his 9.5:1 turbo engine for 20k miles with no HG problems. Aftermarket HG's are generally junk, though Fel-Pro comes close to OEM from what I've seen and heard. Copper ones are another possibility, but I know those have had teething problems in the EA82T.

The SPFI EA82 is 90 hp, so this is a SPFI motor. Carbed is 87 hp. MPFI is 90-something. Turbo is 115. I've been told that cutting out the bottom of the airbox improves flow, but it might just make more noise. Do a full tune-up on it, get some better plug wires, maybe advance the timing a couple degrees.

Find a cheap SPFI parts car, and you'll have everything you need except a few gaskets. (I got a car for $100.)

For highest total mileage, I would go with a gen 1 (90-94) legacy. Their "expected" life before a rebuild is between 300k and 400k, and lots of people have done that. It is possible for the newer soobs to go that far, but since they use interference engines, and had more problems with headgaskets, the likelihood is greater that the engine would catastrophically fail sometime in there. I wish Subaru made a diesel. That would be the sickest thing ever. Really, just about any car can last that long, but only with proper maintenance. I would definitely run synthetic engine and gear oil. Change your coolant every 20,000 miles or so or every two years, whichever comes first. You may also want to seriously think about adding a coolant filter. That will keep crud from building up in the passages in the block, which can lead to localized overheating and shorter engine life. Keep relatively new hoses and belts in it to avoid any overheating-related stresses on the engine. I'm sure there's more stuff, but I can't remember it right now.

And much more! If the snow is light, then you generally can't see out the front of the car before you start getting stuck. A skidplate to protect the oil pan would be a very good idea though.

The "better" chains available primarily work better on ice. If you're just going through snow, I'd buy whatever is cheapest. On a soob, I don't know if there's room for regular chains. I carry a set of cable chains with me, and they fit just fine, but I don't know about anything else.

I don't live anywhere near there, but I'm glad to hear about others interested in snowmachining. The Powder Special 580 is a good machine...pretty much started the mountain sled category, which I'm very thankful for. I'm a sucker for the old sleds too. I have the most fun on my 79 Yamaha Enticer 300 (like the one in my avatar). The thing is so light, and has surprising pickup for a little single-carb twin. If you happen to know where I could get a secondary clutch for it, that'd be great, as the one on there is toast. I also ride a 98 Yamaha Phazer Mountain Lite, which is nearly as much fun as the 79. I enjoy the challenge of keeping up with my buddies' 800s on my little Phazer. Here's some pics of where I usually ride at (no, none of them are me...I'm too much of a chicken and don't have the money to be contstantly breaking my sled): http://yukonpowderhounds.com/photos/2004-04-10_haines_summit.html

If you swap an EA81 1800 motor in, you can convert that to SPFI fuel injection, which would help with drivability and power. The EA81 can also be bumped from (I can't remember if it's 8.7:1 or 9:1) compression to 9.5:1 compression by installing SPFI pistons. That should get you to around 90 hp, and with some other mods, like a cam, better exhaust, etc, you should be able to reach 100 pretty easily.

I would like to say that I just recently ordered parts from this supplier, and the service was excellent. Big thumb up!

Just hook the PCV into one of the rocker covers. An oil separator might be necessary to avoid excess oil burning, but it should work fine.