MorganM

Depends on what kind of offroad you are talking about. Just remeber, chix dig body damage

That still don't work which is why he's moved to the AT idea. I'm skeptical at best to an old Subaru AT holding upto offroad abuse. They don't even hold up on the roads

Hail

LOL IRL

I think your cost estimate is a bit low.

What are you going to use for a clutch to enguage gears smoothly if you have a gear/chain inplace of your flywheel?

Stock EA82 skid plate is pretty tough. I had to use mine to slide over rocks at C4C event. Exhuast is expendable; focus on protecting the oil pump, oil pan, gear box, and rear diff. Don't forget the sump that goes down into your, oil pan so your engine can properly oil itself is VERY CLOSE TO THE BOTTOM OF YOUR OIL PAN. The oil pump also sticks out front and center; easy to snag on obsticles if you dont have some sort of skid plate. I need something a little more tough for the big rocks Either considering just beefing up the stock one or building a new one. Wish I had my own welder; I'd be done with it already

Try adjusting the cable at the fork.

I assume you are refering to the Subaru Impreza RV? http://subaru.com.au/explore/impreza/specifications.asp?body=Hatch&grade=RV Looking at this specifications chart below it would appear Austin already has a 'lower' 1st gear than in the dual range RV tranny. http://www.ravensblade-impreza.com/techdocs/trannychart/trannychart.pdf So swap'n in just the RV tranny's first gear wouldnt work for Austin(even if it did swap in) Unfortunatly on Subaru's site there I don't see the Low Range gear reduction listed. If it's the same as the Forester's Dual Range then we already hashed that out, in another thread, as not being worth the money to import an entire transmission. Another option not yet discussed here is adapting an old 5MT Dual Range to your EJ engine. They can be had fairly cheaply at local junkyards around here. You would also need a rear diff right; since your's is 4.111:1.

Stock one is fine with 29" tires. I've only smelled burnt clutch once. I was following some Jeeps on Skull Road and they were going too slow. Featherd the clutch and throttle too much; wasn't any smoke but I smelled it a bit. Eased up a bit and never smelled it again. I don't think you need a new one untill you smoke the stock one bad.

Mentis, maybe you should just pay 85Sub4WD to do your Subaru repairs

Most likely a previouse owner screwed up and cross threaded them in. How people do this I will never understand. It has happend quite a few times however as I've seen plenty of threads about it. Keep the threads lubed up and work the lube in. Get it loose a little, spray some lube down by the seat, then screw it back in gently. Screw it out a little than back in and try to work some lube into the threads. Then back the plugs out and hope for the best. They are going to have to come out at some point; spark plugs don't last forever!

I concur. Sounds like a classic inefficient radiator.

My point exactly.

What got Toyota aftermarket support where it is now? Money; the spending of lots of it by consumers. That's not happening with old Subarus. The technology to develop what people say they want is out there. The problem is nobody is owning up with the money to have it developed. It's getting to that point that's the problem. Progress comes at a price. I'm not convinced Subaru offroaders are ready to pay that price.

I like the simple Spitfire's.

What if he had a whole diff + carrier ? I got a spare one I'd happily donate to research

That's what all this custom stuff boils down to in every application all through this whole board.... is anyone gonna pay the money it takes to get the stuff they talk about. If you cant do it yourself then you have to pay the piper. It's not like there is zero support for Subarus out there; its that nobody want's to pay the price that custom work is worth.

I run with out an O2 sensor. It does run noticably richer than before. She does blow some smoke when cold (by the smell its a little oil and lots of GAS! LOL) Had a bright idea just now... pull the dang spare tire out of the way and look there behind your throttle body. See anything suspecious? You said thats where the smoke was coming from

Another way to positivly represent Subarus to others is getting involved with clubs and events. Joining a responsible club promotes responsible offroading. Promoting a positive image makes it easier to maintain our rich history to legal trails. However we can't keep or gain any new trails if we don't get involved I know most people I've met and wheel'd with love the Subaru. The fact you are out there on the trails with all the big, expensive, rigs is half of it. Then they get inerested and ask questions. A lot of the fun in offroading is talking to others, seeing how they setup their ORV, and helping eachother out on the trail.

Maybe someone with an FSM would be so kind to look up the exploaded view of the rack. If nobody can then you might have to swing by a stealership and have a chat.

Maybe the O2 sensor isnt that tight in the bung and you are getting lots of fuel/exhuast blow by? Check your coolant level! Lost any? Temp guage rise up? Check your oil. Again, any lost? The plot thickens!

Wise man say : Find the leak. What did it smell like? Antifreeze engine coolant and oil have distinct smells when burned up into smoke form! They might have accidently knocked loose a coolant or oil line to/from your turbo.

Just spent 1.5 hours searcing the web. Here's all I could find for gear upgrades Austin. I'm not even sure if any will work in your gear box; not a new gen guy. I just did lots and lots and lots of searching/reading for Impreza gear upgrades. http://www.imprezars.com/chalak.htm http://gruppe-s.com/Subaru/subtrn/STIRAV6-special.htm http://www.gimmiegears.com/gears.html

How about some tools? Never can have enough of them. Hand & Other Tools: http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?N=4294925139+4294925137&NeXID=5 Shop Equipment: http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?N=4294925139+4294923770&NeXID=5 Air Tools: http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?N=4294925139+4294839048+4294859826