newrider3

Here are some current photos of this car for those who have been wondering. Major things that have changed: '98 EJ25 DOHC engine swapped in, running on factory '93 computer and wiring. Welded center clutch, chopped bellhousing 4EAT installed with divorced Samurai transfer case. Custom driveshafts, 3.90 R160 diffs front and rear. FWD Impreza front CV axles. 5" dropped front and rear suspension crossmembers, custom mounts built for all other ancillaries. 4" over Outback length extended custom struts. Built from 2" DOM tubing, Volvo 240 strut insert cartridges, Ebay threaded coil over sleeves, and QA1 springs (slightly uprated from stock). These inserts have equivalent shock shaft travel to Outback rear struts, and about 2" extra travel compared to stock front struts. 1" wheel spacers were necessary to clear the custom extended struts while maintaining correct camber. Running 235/75R15 all terrains on 15" Outback steel wheels. Ebay stainless WRX header slightly modified to route exhaust around transfer case and lift components. Running a muffler off a SRT Cherokee, with a 1/8" thick stainless tailpipe to prevent smashing it closed off road. Welded together some scrap metal and a rear hub and bearing unit from a Cavalier into a swing out spare tire carrier. For some reason I've had a hard time getting any non dark or blurry pictures of the transfer case swap details. I do have this video of the driveline that shows a bit of detail: Other recent pictures:

There's no center diff in the 4EAT technically, but a rear drive transfer clutch pack (pretty similar to a motorcycle clutch). I gutted the discs out of the clutch pack and welded the two drums together to lock the rear drive. Pics in my build thread here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/148013-1993-legacy-wheeleradventure-wagon/?p=1245189 I did the welding myself, so no idea what someone might charge. Welding oil soaked cast aluminum isn't the most fun thing in the world though. I will try to get some more updates and pics posted in my build thread, for some reason I haven't been able to get any good pics of the drivetrain to post so I'll have to work on that.

I cut the front diff area out of the bellhousing for the 4EAT in my Legacy for clearance in a transfer case swap. I'm running 5" of subframe drop and 6" lengthened struts. The limiting factor for tucking the front diff with the 4EAT is transmission pan clearance. It would be a tad harder to cut into the case of a 5 speed manual since the bellhousing and diff section doesn't separate like the 4EAT does, but there would be more clearance around the rest of the transmission.

Can't wait to see how this turns out.

The computer is looking for the resistance load it would normally see across the Duty C solenoid. If you want it to work without the warning light, you need to wire in a dummy load as described here: http://www.rs25.com/forums/f8/t99075-4eat-diff-lock-switch-handbrake-mod-torquemada-lite.html

Your cheapest donor bet is going to be first gen ('89-'93) Legacys to get a 4EAT, and as a plus you get EJ22 power out of the box.

Does anyone know if it was possible for any ej25/manual first gen Outback wagons to be equipped with a 3.90:1 final drive ratio? Or were they all lower? I pulled the rear diff from my '98 OB parts car and it's missing the convenient gear ratio sticker...

Picked this gem up on Craigslist yesterday for a steal; came with all three driveshafts plus a spare front, and I didn't even have to pull it These Samurai t-cases are even smaller and lighter than I had expected; should be no problem to find a way to package this in the Legacy.

Have you wheeled a car with a 4eat? I have, and an auto is a true advantage, especially for hills. As I said you get equivalent final drive due to the reduction out of the torque convertor as you do with a dual range, and there's no slipping the clutch or taking obstacles at an unsafe speed. The center clutch is easy to defeat, either electronically so you can lock it with the flip of a switch, or permanently with a little welding as I have done. 6 lug mod aside, there are plenty of stock subaru wheels in 15" and 16" sizes, with the proper stock offset, that you can mount the most common A/T and M/T tires to. I was even looking into light tractor and heavy SxS ATV tires that would fit the 14" steelies my Legacy came with. And there are just as many aftermarket options in the 5 lug pattern as well. I will agree that a strut bottom lift like I did is out of reach for someone without a little engineering skill and a TIG welder, but Outback and Forester struts are dime a dozen. When you get to a set of tires that are too big for the longer struts on a Legacy or Impreza, an EA82 powered car would be gutless pushing tires that big anyway.

This was my original plan for my $500 Legacy. I specifically bought it with the 4EAT auto, and feel like that's the way to go for a buggy build. No clutch to burn up, and when you factor in the reduction of the torque convertor you have a lower crawl ratio than a 5spd D/R. The power of the EJ22 and greater wheel selection in 5x100 bolt pattern are other advantages over an older donor. Weight of the donor car is not an issue in my opinion when you're planning to chop off 75% of it anyway.

I like the exhaust tip - I might have to borrow that idea when I get the exhaust run properly on my wagon. I liked the look of a straight 2.25" pipe out the back, but it looked awful after it got smooshed on a rock or something.

Good to see more Colorado members. I'm in Golden, and I have a buddy who is a machinist down in Windsor that can do the 6 lug conversion to your hubs/drums when you decide to mount up some bigger wheels and tires

From the pics I can find online that transmission looks very different from a Subaru 4eat, there are probably only minor internal similarities. The car will still be my daily, so I haven't decided if I want to weld the rear or not. I've contemplated getting two R180 diffs to use and try to source a pair of mechanical lockers used in Nissan R180 fronts, but I think at least at this point the plan is to keep the stock 3.90 R160 rear diff and source a matching one for the front to keep costs down.

I know that feeling...it doesn't seem like people want to respond to build threads with too many technical details in this section.

Got another piece finished for my high clearance RWD 4EAT for the t-case swap. Cut the diff section out of the bellhousing and plated over. The new diff will be able to mount up close enough to require only an additional 5" lift. Mockup: Welded up:

My girlfriend wanted to have a picnic this weekend, so I picked a short trail I hadn't been up yet for a little light off roading. Always lots of cool old mine sites to see up in the mountains around here: Then this afternoon I got a step closer to my t-case lift plans, and built a welded 4EAT transfer clutch. Should be plenty stout, and since it's an auto trans I'll have very little shock loading to worry about.

True, wasn't paying that much attention. Could potentially be a useful mod for a car with a snorkel though, or just to look different...

I like the bosozoku exhaust thing going on with the tailpipe...lol.

Yep, hopefully only a couple semesters left at Mines...Golden is a pretty nice place though. Not too far to some decent trails and forest service roads too.

I'm in the Denver area. I was fiddling around in the garage today and started cutting up the bellhousing from my old trans. Looks like I can eliminate the front diff and weld up the hole in the case and get a rear diff housing up in the front with only a 4 inch lift. With the engine and trans remaining in the stock position and a second front crossmember to hold the steering and suspension components I should be able to get excellent ground clearance with a transfer case swap and moderately sized tires. I'll lose the stock speedometer drive in the transmission, but I believe I can piece it together using the speedo drive in a Samurai t-case...

I managed to get into a little trouble with the car in this form just fooling around on a blocked off dirt road behind my old apartment complex. At this point I decided the car needed a winch before I actually took it wheeling. I ditched the stock bumpers, and the front fenders since one was smashed and I could sell the other. I scrounged up a bunch of scrap from my house and a buddy's shop and built a set of bumpers, and mounted up a Harbor Freight winch. Here is a better pic of the rear bumper, also after I decided the car needed to be olive drab. And some mild wheeling on a camping trip: And the car in it's current state. You can see the homebuilt roof rack (made of an old futon and some conduit), the PVC snorkel (my air filter was getting soaked just driving through puddles during rainstorms), and the aluminum blockoff plate for one rear window that I made after I got tired of attempting to get glass from a junkyard to replace the busted plexiglass the car came with. Also shown is the rear platform I built and covered with outdoor carpet to provide a flat place to sleep or haul stuff with the back seat removed. Once I get some extra cash from selling my truck, I'm considering adding a little more lift and a Samurai T-case. I could really use more low gearing, lower than I could get with a D/R swap, and I'd like to see how low I can get the car with a t-case and maintain good ground clearance (I'm not afraid of chopping a hole in the floor). But for now that's just a wishlist item. Any questions or comments?

So I thought I'd finally post a build log for my newest Subaru. I got it about a year ago for $500 with the intention of stripping it down and building a side by side buggy I could park on a flatbed F350 and haul to trails. Well the trans and turbo in the F350 took a massive dump so the Subaru had to be called into daily driver duty. How I got it: I knew the car had a bad rear diff when I got it, and I quickly realized I couldn't roll it around with no rear axles had to grab a junkyard upright and bearing assembly to rectify that oops. It also became evident after trying to drive it a bit that the front diff was smoked too from the previous owner driving around on tires of slightly mismatched height. So I had to swap in a used 4EAT from craigslist, only problem was my workspace was in the street and it was winter. Once the trans was in, I picked up a set of used Firestone 225/70r14 all terrains and had them mounted on the stock steelies. Of course they fouled the spring perches on the struts but I had to throw them on and see how it looked. Since I knew my struts were in excellent shape, I didn't want to gamble with a set of junkyard forester struts. So I lifted the car 2.5" at the strut bottom with flatstock, and installed a complete set of Outback subframe spacers.

Those spacers will fit a first gen legacy, but not a 3rd gen L-series. The rear suspension mounting is completely different, and I'm not sure the front cross member bolt pattern is the same.

2" lift, 235-75-R15 Wranglers and pretty significant clearancing...