idosubaru

An Amazon review states the HR springs require Impreza perches (and isolator probably?), but HR didn’t mention this when they called. User mentions all part numbers needed to support their use.

what kind of drop do the H&R springs claim? Are you installing them on outback struts? im unsure. their website says “not outback” for all legacy springs. Not sure why. it was my understanding that for the front, 95-99 legacy and OB springs interchange and 00-04 legacy and Outback interchange. And maybe even all of them 95-04.

white roloc disc for aluminum blocks, don’t hit it hard.

Yes. Although I haven't found anyone that's actually done it. Some outback tires may not fit legacy struts (they're shorter and the lower perch hits the tire). Check your tire size or buy smaller tires if needed. Unfortunately no one has mentioned or documented which springs to use and taken good measurements. The only guy I could find that lowered his 1.2-1.5" used whiteline lower springs part number 70198, which is no longer available. I ordered a set of legacy springs and they had the same uninstalled length as the outback springs...maybe they're a lower rate and the outback compressed them more once installed but I want actually shorter springs since it's a lighter vehicle i'm installing it on.

95-99 legacy strut assemblies will lower it and bolt up. make sure your tires are small enough to clear. The legacy struts have less clearance for tires. 00-04 stock outback tires won’t clear legacy struts for example.

I’m not familiar enough with 4 lug stuff. What parts for 5 lug swap? I just listed what you need and there are write ups about it. There’s a 5 lug conversion write up as well. Read it.

a rear quarter panel hit easily totals subaru's, even ones a decade or more younger than this one. they're welded in place and take significant body work to cut, align, weld, paint compared to bolt on body parts. $500 part, $500 welding/prepping, $500 painting. $1,500 puts it in total range for a car valued at $2,000 which is probably more than this car would be worth. And that's assuming no additional work, lights, pin stripes, available parts for repair....etc. it's probably ambiguous but maybe - If the rear quarter dent has exposed metal that doesn't look very rusty (mostly surface rust) then you could potentially guess that it was a "recent" hit and not driven around or sitting around exposed for years on end like that. I have two wrecked Subarus I just bought within the last few months and some exposed/damage metal is starting to rust but it's obviously surface rust and not cratered rust from sitting for years.

Sounds like resurface is out of the question, in all likelihood it'll be fine. i've rolled with them like that before. I wouldn't put any additional effort into cleaning or removing that discoloration than what you've described if resurfacing isn't an option. Definitely don't wire wheel it or anything like that.

Ream out the control arm to accept the larger EJ ball joint and bolt on EJ knuckles with an EJ axle. Chux likes to change the tie rods to...I think EA81 for proper geometry and angles, I'm still running stock tie rods on mine.

Coil overs are the "easy" but expensive solution as they're easy to dial in the ride height and make the car level. The more economical route is: Rear: Buy a set of used EA82 rear strut assemblies and swap in new KYB struts. All XT's and EA82 subarus have the same rear strut form factor so they're entirely interchangeable and swappable between coil over and air suspension. remove air strut, bolt on standard EA82 strut/spring assembly. The 2WD struts are longer than 4WD on OEM struts, but i'm not sure aftermarket KYB retains that difference. Reuse the stock springs or get something you want. They're a very standard coil spring size (2.5" i think) so there's tons of aftermarket springs to dial in whatever spring rate and ride height you want. I think I have 10" 200 pound rear springs and they're considerably towards the high end of ground clearance. I think @Numbchux has 12" and 250 pounds. I bought my springs from his suggested source here: https://groundcontrolstore.com/collections/springs You may want to convert everything first and then buy your rear springs as needed to level the vehicle out. Front: Convert to 5 lug and there's unlimited EJ options for struts: Impreza, legacy, outback, forester. Impreza/legacy if you want it lowered, outback if you want ground clearance.

i'd resurface it, you can do it yourself easily for cheap and quick, no machine shop or days of drop off/pick up needed. every one i've ever done has high and low spots so i wouldn't want to skip the step. for a long term seal through combustion chamber temp heat cycling, vibrations/expansions/contractions, and seasonal temperature variations I'd prefer ideal surfaces, particularly since it's so easy to accomplish. that being said - i would bet you can install it just fine without any issues, or no immediate issues anyway. i think years ago i've installed some like that before without any short term issues.

Back to what he said in his first post - If it's not wrecked, not rusted to pieces, and the engine seemed good enough for someone to take it, and add to that the fluid looked like garbage....I wouldn't want that transmission. But if it's your only option to replace an already bad transmission and you've got all the time in the world, then I guess you go for it.

I’ve done it before and reused the caps. It’s been a very long time and I don’t recall specifics, but it didn’t require anything special or new tools or supplies. I remember a few caps not being reusable, and installing one or two with questionable imperfect caps but they functioned fine. It may have been easier years ago when they were younger.

I've done a bunch of them before as well. I've had two that wouldn't compress in a vice - cranking down really hard. They would not come apart even with the retainer off they were immovable. after soaking for days in various cleaners, diesel, riselone, soaked in everything people suggested and pried with heavy tools. No movement. They were seized and replaced. Obviously this isn't common and both of those came off of engines I know had bad headgaskets and overheated. If memory is correct most are brittle and very hard to reshape without cracking/deforming. I've had some go back together without issue, some imperfect, and some wrecked. I did these decades ago when they were maybe more malleable.

Another option is to get the current trans useable for the time being is to disconnect the electrical connector to the trans, this puts it in purely mechanical mode. Which is 3rd gear and "locked" 4WD.. I drove a rusted 80's 4EAT with trans issues like that for a year that wasn't worth fixing. I wired in a switch to simply power the Duty C solenoid so I had either "locked" 4WD or FWD. I put a lot of miles on it, did a few couple hour interstate trips at 4,000 RPM and it never had issues in a year and thousands of miles. It's slow starting out in 3rd gear but perfectly usable. I wouldn't want to need to drive it in dense, high traffic, congested areas and merge with traffic every day.

woah, nice catch if that's what it is. i've had HLA's that wouldn't compress in a vice - I swap in used ones and i've bought from Mizpah before as well.

Best tip ever. Older cars like this go to auction for next to nothing too, so it's not hard to find one with all good mechanicals.

1. that ATF looks horrendous. maybe it's a deceptive photo but your description doesn't seem to suggest that. 2. you've driven the first transmission 1 year now, never came back with questions/comments, and didn't mention having any issues - how is it driving? why replace it?

reboot originals or buy used and reboot, or reman from Subaru if available. different aftermarket axles often...if not always...show different lengths for the same subaru. i'm not saying that means they're the right axle - just that it's common and, by itself, doesn't mean it's the wrong axle.

awesome, thanks for putting up with and pardon my confusion. i'll look at my stash. i guess it's been too long and seen too many EJ valves since then.

that wasn't me, that was the OP i believe.

what he said - get the entire rear knuckle assembly and brake parts for each side. i'd get the ebrake cables too. i don't know the exact year cross overs - you can look up caliper and knuckle part numbers on subaru parts website and click on "what this fits" and it shows you all the models applicable. or use ebay or other online place and see their listings for parts...but sometimes those are less complete or overly generous in applicability if you're not discerning.

Yeah man I saw pictures online of them and another thread mentioning that many (all?) EA82's have them. I'll check my stuff when I get a chance, XT6's are definitely single spring, maybe all XT's are an i've just done too many EJ's since then and have forgotten.

What is that off of? Are all EA82s are like this? I’m not home but I don’t think I’ve ever seen any like this. I’ve got a few heads and engines at home I’ll look and see if that jogs my memory another thread says they’re all the same. Weird. This is an artifact of them being too old and rusted away around here so I’ve forgotten now that I don’t work on them much any more or there is some difference. I’ve worked on mostly XTs maybe they’re different.

I would get the part from Subaru. Correct part and better longevity and quality and the Subaru parts almost never fail in epic fashion like aftermarkets rarely do (but it’s a stranding event if it happens). use the press carefully, they can damage the hub which will ruin the new bearing. It’s generally recommended to use a tool like a hub tamer. that’s what i use but with care a press will work. In the couple I’ve seen the bearings fail in about 20,000 miles if a press is used improperly. Drum brakes - perfect time to buy some used rear knuckles with disc brakes and convert to disc and that’ll replace bearings while you’re at it.