idosubaru

i asked this awhile ago and noone could answer, you can search for my thread about it. so i was the test mule and it worked. yes you can put outback strut assemblies on a legacy sedan and it sits level.

you can just buy a $900 EJ25 from me with the headgaskets already replaced. JDM - still has the original head gaskets on it, not a good value in my opinion.

wow, that is awesome. good to know as well. so the take home motto is that the determining factor is the speedo face. so what are you going to do? swap the faces out or something?

a friend replaced two bent valves in this kind of situation. timing belt broke and he said "it wasn't that bad". replaced the two valves and that was it. that would be cheaper than used heads, but that's not a terrible option either if you can find a reasonable deal within your budget.

i had dropped this hub off two weeks ago and was just going to pick it up and do it myself since they hadn't finished it yet. when I got there they had broke the drill bit off inside the bolt...nice. i'll pass on that but i'm still interested in keeping a handy stock of good drills bits around.

is there an EA82 swap thread in the USRM that might show which pin it is? i've swapped ECU's between manual and automatic transmission vehicles before with zero difference in XT6's with the 4EAT/manuals. so the ECU's are interchangeable (you probably already know that). from the 1988 XT (4EAT equipped) FSM, here are the automatic transmission related ECU pinouts: pin 30 (BR) appears to just be a ground pin only shown for the automatic transmission on the ECU. if it's shown for the auto but not manual, maybe this is the one? cut it and it's in "manual" mode, but i'm not sure. maybe you can disrupt it to test without actually cutting? pin 14 (YW) and 15 (Lg) are from the ECU to the instrument cluster - Park, etc. doubt that matters, but maybe it won't start in "Drive"? i think that's just a relay though, not the ECU. pin 42 (RB) goes to the A/C cut relay and is only shown for auto trans, so if your a/c isn't working this might be the culprit.

more than likely a very easy fix. i've got a good feeling this is the steering rack bushings. i believe whiteline is the company i used to buy after market EJ/WRX steering rack bushings from for the XT6. i've installed them in XT6's and XT's, so they work in EA82's. if EA81's are the same, then those same steering rack bushings would work for this as well. very typically for it to feel loose, like it wanders a bit. then when turning, there could be a delay between turning the wheel and the wheels actually turning. it's very slight, but noticeable. that's steering rack bushings. they are just rubber and like will said they're old. if any fluids got on them (easy to happen), the rubber degrades even quicker. cheap and easy to replace.

"lights" is confusing. let's go with "lenses" and "bulbs". you need to clean or get new lenses. if they're cost prohibitive the cleaner works really well. if you get new ones, post the price i'm curious what they run. my OBW is about middle of the road right now light wise, probably a good thing to attack this summer.

yeah that gets confusing when one place says one thing and another says something else. makes you not wanna hit the "buy" button at all. the Fel-Pro Permatorque's are the way to go. those, with the standard increase in final torque, are the hands down favorite of this board. the only other solid EA82T repair is an engine swap .

depends what you're trying to do and what you're working with. what chassis are you starting with, what engine, what ECU are you trying to use? sometimes it's really simple, sometimes it's not.

hmm...i haven't really checked mine out so i'm not sure how they're set up. light fixtures have a nagging problem with yellowing and fading over time. auto stores sell a kit for buffing them out and it can make worlds of difference. and of course you'll want to check your alignment as well, maybe they're off for some reason. if i wasn't on dial-up i'd post pictures of a friend of mine's legacy he did that too just this year. amazing difference.

yep. you can always check online too - ebay, advanced auto parts, napa, etc.

awesome! maybe they just need cleaned/buffed (read threads about that, you've probably seen them), or adjusted?

the EJ18 is a big step down from the EJ22, i'm surprised your newer OBS doesn't drive better than it? mine drives fine with 16", while my EJ18 suffers terribly with the same wheels/tires. i basically can't run 16" it's so bad. having ridden in all three in the past week, my 1997 auto OBS drives much nicer than the manual FWD EJ18 and auto AWD EJ18 I drove this week.

depends on your take on maintenance. $20 is cheap, but he's the expert so i'd let him make the call. his rebuilts are good, he doesn't cut corners. i think he puts new joints on XT6 axles though, or did on mine anyway.

technically we probably all violate on average 23 laws a week....they better start building some prisons! does your friend drive 2 miles over the speed limit...and follow every driving law known to man? is he worried about getting arrested? the EPA and your local DMV has bigger fish to fry or different agenda's than monitoring what kind of motor swaps are taking place. they just don't do it, this stuff happens every day. now there might be particular states that are super anal about stuff, like CA, but in general this is not an issue. and even if they did "catch" you it's not like you'd get arrested or even fined. the argumentative type will argue some anecdotal position since it's "the law", even though shops, mechanics, tons of folks (like me and others on this board) do this all the time!

hmmm, now that you say it i bought this stuff before for my tap set, might still have it. thanks folks!

man, i'd faint if i saw a strut mount that clean, woo!!

interesting, that's fairly decent mileage for your other poor running symptoms. Does the check engine light work? Valve adjust, clean IAC and MAF? Fuel injectors warn?

don't be intimidated by this. it's really easy. once you do it the first time you'll laugh at how simple it is. there are two strut mount bolts that hold the strut to the hub assembly/spindle. the top bolt is the cambered bolt. mark the HEAD (not the nut, it's not relative to the camber). I place a chisel simultaneously on the HEAD of the bolt and the strut housing, then whack it with a hammer. Line those marks up when I reinstall. Most EJ struts have a dial indicator on them even, so you could use that if you wanted, but i don't, i like the definitive chisel method. It really is easy, you'll be fine. Makes axle jobs a walk in the park compared to any ball joint or other rust prone bolts. The strut bolts are rarely trouble (i've never had a problem).

they don't fail. just speculation but probably "economy of scale". warranty covers looser rebuild spec's in the larger aftermarket suppliers. marshall of MWE has been doing this for decades and runs his own shop, personally i'd rather support him anyway, but that's just personal preference. i think i've seen some bad axle experiences from the cvaxle place, but I can't keep them all straight. with MWE and Subaru being sure shots I personally have no reason to try anything else. it's just statistics and personal preference, they're not going to fail every time. i'm sure you can easily buy 5 or 10 good axles from nearly any place and not have a problem (hence all the anecdotal reponses). but 1 out of 20 or so is still a high fail rate and MWE/Subaru seems to have the best odds.

woah, nice call will. and to think i was going to PM you about this thread, but you saw it anyway! correct in that the carbide bits are brittle and prone to chipping. they are expensive, but $15 a pop is more than doable if they're that good. since i don't have the time or patience to take care of a drill bit though i'll pass! i'll try the cobalt ones again and maybe pick up some cutting oil if i can find it. seems like the oil would just keep burning/running off anyway, so i never use it. i can't continuously feed it for 30 minutes like the CNC machines automatically do that I've used before.

I did some plugging around on the internet and other than places selling stuff I can't really find out what the best drill bit is for hardened steel. Cobalt, Carbide, seem to be thrown around a lot. Can someone decipher this for me? I'd like to order a nice set of drill bits for all my sheared/rusted bolt madness needs! Seems like Cobalt is the way to go? I think that's what my current set is.

EJ rears do not swap onto EA rears. This is subject to "judging" so watch out! it's been asked dozens of times! go take a look at them and you'll see why, completely different set up. of course anything can be done, you can install duallies or a jet engine in your car if you have enough time, money, and/or fab skills!

will a tool for EA series engines work or is the EJ stuff different? i have a custom made tool for the EA/ER series stuff Dave. if it works and you want to borrow it let me know.