idosubaru

someone on the board here converted a DIS system to a distributor style ignition. wasn't too long ago (month or so) that i recall seeing the thread and pictures. i can't say i recall which motor it was, but seems like it was an EJ22. i believe it was also a propane conversion and one of the down under guys did it, but that's from memory so don't hold me to it. pretty cool set up...i hate to hack up the details so find the thread if you're interested, tells the exact distributor and what they used to do it.

97 and 98 impreza OBS are 3.9 gear ratio, so you should be golden there if the daul range is 3.9, which i think it is so long as it's from a non-turbo car. you can check the rear diff plate of the car you pull it from. the TCU won't do anything so no worries there, just play with the ECU wires mentioned above and remove the TCU entirely. *edit*...whoops just saw you're not swapping...

HA!! excellent. that's what i was looking for! it is indeed 3.7. thanks a bunch. is it possible to break the trans open and swap 5th gears? install the 0.780 5th gear into the PT4WD? thanks guys!

i'd grab the driveshaft and rear diff while you're there. you already have to pull the shaft out of the trans anyway. two 17mm bolts at the center support and three bolts to drop the rear diff, knock out the axle pins and you got the driveshaft and diff for 5 bolts. and you'll probably unbolt the center support anyway to remove the trans, so 3 more bolts and you got it and the rear diff to go with you.

i hear your pain, i'm trying to figure out gear ratios in another thread and it's cumbersome. there are two differentials, one in the front and one in the rear. the front is connected to the transmission so it comes out when you pull the trans. if the trans you're installing is different ratio then you need to swap rears too. so to answer your question, changing transmissions is not a form of changing final drives, unless the front diff attached to it is different than the one you took out. if they are both 3.7 or 3.9 then you're not changing the final drive, the front diffs are the same final ratio. NA dual range 4WD transmissions should be 3.9 from what i've been seeing. i thought the 3AT was a FWD only transmission? why won't my posts let me seperate paragraphs? ?

cool, thanks. getting close, but i'm still confused as i was with all the searches i went through. the PT4WD is non turbo so that should follow the gears you listed. but it is 3.7 final drive and you have 3.9 listed on your list. is it still 0.780 even though it's a 3.7 final drive? and the FT4WD and RX trans mission (dual range) are turbo tranny's with 3.7 final drive. do they have 0.780 5th gear ratio also? almost there.... thanks!!

the only way i wouldn't replace both sides is if you weren't planning on keeping the car awhile. visual inspection, other items should be okay. tie rods are good preventative replacement items, safety issues with those. never seen them fail in a subaru, but other makes i have.

No to which of my confused questions? ?

this is a 1989 Subaru XT (non turbo) PT4WD transmission. i don't see it listed in any of the on-line charts. the one you just posted is for dual range RX (turbo)? are PT4WD dual range as well? even so, it's still a non-turbo. ah, confused in maryland thanks, gary

if it's slipping then it's just clutch related issues and not the actual transmission. but i'm not a manual trans expert, someone else will pipe up and help you out that knows more about those. i like automatics. sounds to me like you need clutch work, not a transmission. clutch, pressure plate, new throw out and pilot bearing and you should be golden. and a rear main engine seal "while you're in there". probably about $500 roughly.

my ebrake stuck last year as well. i freed it up...can't remember what i did but it wasn't hard. haven't had any troubles since and i've put 10,000 miles or so on it since then at least. i recall the pads being thin and replaced them after the incident. warped that rotor too so i'll have to replace that. not sure on the piston seating. overheating (is that the "stuck" side) or internal rust on the cylinder bore. trying extending it out, rotating back in a couple times. there's a tool that makes this much easier than the little square block ratchet attachment. harbor freight has them on sale now for 19.99. is the caliper still on the car, if the ebrake is still pulling or stuck on that caliper, that will prevent the piston from going back in. make sure to pull the ebrake cable if that apperas to be the problem. pull it out of the connection with a pair of pliers. i would not worry about the busted rubber boot. it's just a dust shield, not an actually seal or anything. if there is any wetness inside the boot then the sealing bad on the piston and you need another caliper. i've left torn boots on mine before without issue. i located a rebuild kit for my calipers a couple years ago on line and it was less than 10 dollars if i remember correctly, it was really cheap. i had never rebuilt calipers before but it was really easy. straight forward. blow the piston out (compressed air or pump the brake pedal until it comes all the way out), clean up the insides install the seal around the piston, install the piston and dust boot cover and yo'ure done. really simple. i have since tried to find another rebuild kit and can't find them, but i haven't looked really hard since i don't need it yet.

are you sure you don't just need a clutch and that it is transmission and not engine issues? trans replacement probably run $1,000 or more from a shop. depending on the issue, they could possibly fix it. but if it's not clutch related and they have to crack the case open you're probably better off installing a known good used unit. cheapest alternative is to buy a used transmission and they'll install it for about $150-$200 in a couple hours. if you need a new clutch then add the cost of the clutch in there too, but that will be the case for whatever solution you choose. i have a manual trans from a 97 outback sport available and travel through morgantown frequently. PM or email if you're interested.

glad you got it fixed. i had a "new" axle from random CV joint place blow out in a week or so as well. for future reference, rebuilt axles are definitely risky and not worth any savings. as a matter of fact the cheapest (and best) route to fix them is to buy a used axle. the OEM axles are very resilient and well made, a used axle with good boots is the best solution really and cheap. well new OEM axles or MWE (CCR links) mentioned above are the best.

that coloring is terrible on my monitor, i can't read it (the first yellow one).

as far as swaps go, it's not that hard to install the wiring harness/ECU from the 2.2 in something else. time consuming, but a swap takes time/effort too. for all that effort i'd hate to use a 20 year old wiring harness. i've pulled some apart and noticed corrossion on wires , under the insulation, up to a foot away from the wiring connector. that's 12 inches of compromised wire on one of the few that i've ever cut open. but - go ahead and try it, you never know until you try. good news: they use the 1.8 EJ series ECU to run the EJ 2.5 liter motor so the 1.8 EA82 may work just fine with the EJ22 2.2 liter. like he said the DIS might be the hoser in the whole deal. you'll need something for spark. from playing with MAF's (mostly by myxyphlyx on the board here), you would probably be better off using the EA82 MAF sensor. or at least having it handy in case the EJ22 MAF doesn't work with the EA82 ECU. you could easily have issues there, otherwise i think the sensors might be compatible. only other difference i can think of is some EJ22's have more than one O2 sensor (but i might be wrong and maybe some only have one). if that's true, i'm not sure of the issues there. i know the older subaru's run fine without the O2 sensor in place, but i don't know the EJ22.

proof of headgasket repair - real good deal. no proof, move on or drop the price $1,000 and plan on it needing that somewhere down the road.

someone else is saying i have this backwards, that the FT4WD is 0.725 and the PT4WD is 0.870 in 5th gear. anyone?

it's all completely custom, so if you're looking for something that "fits", he can't help you. okay you didnt' state you had a manual transmission on XT6.net (or here, but since you have a flywheel i'll assume it's a 5 speed!) you have the highest gear ratio transmission you can get out of an 80's subaru. you'd need to upgrade to a newer transmission. front differential is attached to the transmission so unless you disconnect the front axles and drive in RWD, you'll have to upgrade both the front diff and the rear diff. 90's subaru's have 4.11 and 4.44 gear ratios final drives available which might be more what you're looking for. two choices: upgrade transmission entirely. swap in a newer transmission with the higher gear ratio you want. swap rear diff to match (this is the easy part). next option is to try and swap the front diff from a newer 90's subaru in place of your existing front diff. that is no easy task and if the trans ever goes bad you're faced with replacing a custom transmission. easier to swap in another, newer, readily available subaru transmission in my oppinion. easy to do since it's a manual.

no need for an XT6 kit, just buy new timing belts and repack the pulley bearings yourself. read my post on how to do it, it takes about 3 minutes and is super easy (just need a grease gun).

someone did this on an XT6 FWD to AWD, TONS of close up pictures, details and discussion on it here, he did a fantastic job and provided equally admirable details: http://www.xt6.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=12439#12439

alternator sounds like it has issues. have it tested. check connections at the alternator first, if the engine was reving high, maybe it torqued enough to jolt them? check battery and terminals while yo'ure at it but alt is where my money is.

hey play nice! i've lost track of brake jobs.....3 dozen would be a wild guess. i don't disagree, i even mentioned doing one myself. this is partially a discussion of semantics - nipper is speaking to a broad audience (average person asking questions doesn't know much about cars) and you're speaking to knowledgeable folk (yes you can get away with less work if you know what you are doing and what to look for). for the average person posting and asking questions it's probably not a bad idea to do them all until/unless they feel very competent diagnosing cars and brake systems. those giving advice here often know much more about cars than those taking advice (most users!) so being on the conservative side is in the majority's best interest. i recall when i first started i just did what people told me and didn't really understand how things worked. the haynes manual is a nice tool, but is wrong sometimes and there is documentation saying bleed them all...not all literature is perfect. haynes manuals are considered far inferior to the FSM and for good reason.

steering rack bushings will cause a very weird *swaying* feeling. turn and a slighty delay or over turn and wobble type feeling like you're describing. i'd look into replacing your steering rack bushings. alignments are fine and dandy but i've swapped tons of front end suspension parts and never needed to do one and i drive a ton of miles. i just posted about my 200,000 miles of never getting an alignment here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52599 when one of my tires starts to wear unevenly i'll get an alignment, until then i'm not doing it. my tires have always worn perfectly even. i even installed the last set on my wheels myself, the more i keep my car out of a shop the better. i'm not saying they are bad just that when i was in college i never got an alignment and since then i've kept up the habit since i've never had a need for it. furthermore i have had my entire front end apart and parted out a couple soobs and haven't even noticed where they could make any adjustments anyway? what do they move?

i wouldn't waste my money on alignment. it would be very odd for every single tire to wear the exact same and it be cause by alignment. usually one tire or two will show different wear with bad alignment. not them all, unless it's been seriously abused. i never ever get alignments. i drive off road, in the snow, mud, drive over curbs if i need to, i've swapped struts, installed new suspension bushings, installed different and larger wheels and tires, even swapped control arms (a MUST for realignment *they* say), etc...200,000+ miles on one XT6 and more miles on other XT6's and my tires all wear perfectly normal. i slammed into a curb while playing in the snow and bent my control arm. swapped in another one and put a ton of miles on that car, a number of sets of tires. some would swear and call me stupid for not getting an alignment. i should have been from the "show me" state, cause i aint seeing, my tires have always worn fine.

a little in hp yes, but in reliability terms and cost savings it's an upgrade. what are you doing with the blown 2.5, i know someone in PA looking for a 2.5 motor. Pm or email if you want to get rid of it.