GeneralDisorder

Sure - a few weeks is fine. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon - just got back from out of town for the holidays so I have to play catch-up here anyhow. My best availibility is from 10 AM to 5 PM - all days except Wed/Thur. Those are the woman's days off and she likes to drag me around with her, etc I'm in West Linn - just south of Portland proper. PM me and I'll send you my address, etc. I highly suspect a cone-washer/hub fitment failure. Most "mechanics" are not familair with mechanical shaft locking systems as Subaru used on the EA's. Basically he cranks it down tight each time he works on it and then it works loose over a short period of time because of improper fit of the worn out shaft locking collar. If that's the case we can take some pictures and you can get your money back . GD

Restoration is all find and dandy but why start with a 1980's Japanese station wagon with under 100 HP? Especially a model that you can pickup (in running/driving condition) with NO rust and a perfect solid body for about $500 just about every day out here on the west coast..... That's basically admitting that all the work you are about to do is worth less than the cost to ship a car from one coast to another - which runs about $900 or so. I can think of a lot better ways to waste my time than patching rust holes to save 900 clams. Especially on something that wasn't very pretty when it was new and hasn't run or moved in a decade. Just aint worth it. Too many strikes against it. Doesn't PA have some pretty hardcore laws about rust holes and such - aren't inspections manditory around that area? Just start with a rust-free west-coast unit. It's not that hard or that expensive considering the alternatives. GD

Ratio's are the same - Forester and Outback use the same ratio's and I've verified that with the tranny numbers and the gear ratio chart. I don't know when they went to having the stub on the axle rather than the tranny. Anyone that can tell me? The fork pivot just need to move is all - I need to know if the threaded boss is present. If it is then it can be moved and the cable fork installed. GD

He's in PA and the body's are rotten and the car's have been sitting for a decade - that's a pile of rusty scrap metal not two cars ready to be restored. Think about what the fuel system will be like..... Sound like more trouble than it's worth to me. GD

Basically many of the degreasers on the market are using some form of alkaline chemical concoction. Sounds like simple green may be similar. Of the two popular methods I prefer the petroleum based cleaners even though they tend to be more expensive. GD

I dont think axles are your problem. Not with that many failures. I think the problem is somewhere north of the wrench so to speak...... I would very much like to take a look at your Brat and see if I can spot what your issue is. Bring it down to me. I'll check it out - on the house diagnostic. GD

Carb cleaner or a blast cabinet :cool: GD

Much harder. Nothing lines up. I've got 2004 Forester seats in my hatch (same as a Brat) and it took me about 4 hours of modification to get them low enough and to move the mounts around to match the floor mounting points as well as drilling new mount holes in the rear. You would be much better off going with aftermarket seats on a Brat IMO. Though welding adaptor tabs to a good set of EA82 seats works well also since they use a similar mounting system for the rails, etc. Just has to be narrowed in order to mount the EA81 rails to the EA82 seat frames. I prefer to move away from the EA81 seat rails though as they do not support my size/weight effectively when bouncing around off-road (I'm 6' 2" and about 240). GD

Could you or anyone around here (I ask because you have apparently seen the process) explain to me what exactly is replaced and/or "rebuilt" in this process? I have had many axles apart and nearly everything but the shaft itself is a wear item. Now perhaps some of these components wear less than others but *eventually* after a rebuild or two.... the whole shoot'n-match has to go in the round file. I am also skeptical that *not* replacing everything but the shaft will result in an axle which is comparable to a new unit. The cost of the joints and cups and only retaining the axle shaft seems like a huge waste and couldn't possibly be profitable at the prices being asked for these "reman" axles. On the other hand the "new" axles from EMPI, etc may be no better simply because the manufactureing quality of the parts is lower..... depends on where he sources his rebuild components from and how much of the assembly is replaced in the process I suppose. I beleive most of the factory joints are made by NTN bearings. I'm still skeptical of every supplier other than the dealer..... I have personal experience with only the EMPI's - which have so far been fine other than a boot that let go on my EA81 after a couple years. I would just like more in-depth knowledge of what I'm getting with this "rebuild" ya know? That's all..... GD

Also - when I was researching this a bit ago trying to determine what I wanted for solvent I found that a lot of folks out there are using straight kerosene (or in some cases deisel) in their parts washers. Some with additives to slow evaporation. The down-side is that it leaves more of an oily residue..... When I finally did decide on a product I wanted to buy.... the one I had chosen was MIL-SPEC only and I couldn't buy it unless my former employer (the only guy's I know with a ZEP account) changed their account with ZEP to a DOD contractor account (which they could have done because they do supply the DOD) so I didn't want to persue it. But I got this Breakthrough for free and decided to try that out and it works just dandy for what I need. I haven't tried the Simple Green (except their carpet formula) but I hear that works well on lots of stuff. I wonder what it's active base is though. I will have to look into that. GD

Yeah - I've seen the rear's from Imp's put into early Legacy's, etc (sedan's anyway). It can be done. The fit is pretty good it's just the mounting that might need tweaking. GD

They don't get constant vacuum - there are valves and plumbing and orifices..... they don't receive a constant signal and if you hook it up that way it will run very poorly - the amount of vacuum they receive and when is dictated by carefully designed pluming that changes state under certain throttle conditions and specific temperatures - it all works together and that's the crux of why I eventually gave up on the stock carbs. I couldn't stop them from needing that metering plumbing and thus their ability to be "stripped" for a clean engine/bay is limited. I decided the design was too complex to be used in the way I wanted so I just stopped using them. Now you see why. When I stripped the carbs of all that stuff I just plugged the metering ports off. They seemed to run best this way vs. open or given constant vacuum. Which isn't saying much because there was always problems without the proper metering signals. The carb just wasn't designed to not have that stuff. GD

No - the engine's are completely different design's. You can't swap components across the EA/EJ boundary. Differernt either means it's a bad idea or is going to cost a LOT. I'm all for doing custom and unique stuff but here's the thing - none of what you are thinking about is new or different - it's been done hundreds of times. The unromantic truth is that most of those people moved on to the EJ platforms because they are better and the price has come down to where the EA stuff is just a waste of time. For the same money I can build a better machine with EJ parts. And now that an adaptor from the EJ to the Toyota transmissions is going to be availible it renders the D/R pretty much a waste of time for an off-road build too. Being they are EA82's and one of them is a turbo...... that's just another nail in the coffin. If it were an EA81....... maybe. But even that is a labor of love at this point - many of us have been there and done that and the results are in - the EJ stuff is better! EA82 is synonomous with frustration and anger. My build is going to involve a '99 Forester, Toyota tranny and t-case..... torque cams...... that's where it's at. GD

Heh - that's a mess. And no - it's not at all easy to determine where that stuff goes unless you work on them a lot and keep it fresh in your memory. It looks like you have a CA emissions feedback carb - I think both #2 and #3 are metering ports that should connect to the metering duty solenoids that are mounted to the manifold near the carb..... best guess from memory. I haven't worked on one in a while - I just unbolt them and drop them directly in the trash compactor...... When I work on carbed Subaru's at all anymore - these days it's mostly about the newer EJ stuff and I dumped all my Hitachi's on my personal rigs years ago. GD

I have been known to put things in the dishwasher as well - usually interior plastic parts do well with that method (and it's often spilled food/coffee/soda that I'm trying to get off anyway ). GD

The purple stuff is Sodium Hydroxide (look at the label) and it's very alkaline - the soapy feel gives it away. It eats metal like crazy (aluminium dissolves in alkaline chemicals) and discolors plastics in a big way. Yes it does eat grease and oil very well - but it's not the chemical I would use for automotive parts cleaning as much of the stuff in modern cars is either plastics or aluminium - both of which react poorly to that type of chemical bath. When used in small quantities it's ok - but it also must be thouroughly washed off to prevent discoloration, etc...... the light petroleum based solvents such as the Breakthrough I use do not require a rinsing stage - you shake the part off and dry it with a towel or compressed air - even interior plastics, etc are not harmed and no residue is left behind. Read up on the harmful effects of lye exposure - that's basically what the purple stuff is. Heavily alkaline chemical. It's biodegradeable in a sense because it will break down in the environment - but it will kill animals, etc just from it's PH alone. As for injector cleaning - I would be using some form of carb cleaner - which is a heavily controlled substance in most places (the good stuff anyway). It's about the only thing that will touch carbon deposits. GD

Quite frankly I would leave both to rot in the yard. Neither is really worth messing with if the body's are shot like that.... The dual-range is over-rated off road. Anything it can do you can also do with an EJ22 and an automatic (built in low-range via automatic transmission's T/C). Get yourself a nice first-gen Legacy auto, drop in some torque cams, Outback struts/spring, and do the paddle shifter mod. GD

Pretty much all the EJ seats will interchange without issue. WRX seats will bolt right into a Legacy. No worries there. GD

I'm thinking the same thing. And the cost of the hoses is going to add up to more than the cost of changing the gaskets. The water pump might last for a bit since it uses a mechanical shaft seal on the inside..... but eventually that will get destroyed also I think because the brake fluid will attack something in there GD

1. Harbor Freight 20 gallon parts washer ~$80 on sale. 2. Lightly used Inland Technology "Breakthrough" solvent: http://www.inlandtech.com/catalog/products/breakthroughsupsup The solvent was free (normally it's about $80 per 5 gallon can so free is a helluva deal!) because it was lightly used and the customer wanted their parts washer switched to some other product. The Inland Tech service guy that maintains the parts washer at my old work gave me two 5 gallon cans for free. And I needed a replacement pump because the crappy plastic unit in the HF parts washer ate itself - he came through again with a used pump from a high-end parts washer which I retro-fitted to my Chinese unit. I must say the Breakthrough is GREAT stuff. Easy on the hands, no obnoxious odors, dry's without any oily residue, etc. I'm very satisfied with the $80 I've spent on my parts washer. Could it be better? Sure it could. But unlikely for the little money I've spent. As far as a "good" cleaner - I can only reccomend the Inland stuff and the Zep products. Everything else I've tried that was "water based" and availible through retail channels has been a WASTE OF MONEY. Either it's so nasty that it eats everything in sight including your hands (such is the case with that purple crap you have - it will etch aluminium, eat the flesh from your hands, and is rather toxic to have on your skin), or it doesn't work at all. GD

Well - you're thinking outside the box - that's good. My biggest worry would be the rubber in the hoses, etc - brake line rubber is special stuff and "normal" rubber will swell and soften around brake fluid. I don't know how different the formulations are for brake line vs. coolant line but that would be my biggest concern for sure. I think I would have tried one of the block sealer products first, but this is an innovative idea. I'm curious about why this works at all - what effect is the brake fluid having on the "leak" that's causing it to not longer be an issue. Being that your failure is one where the combustion gasses are entering the cooling system.... how does the brake fluid prevent this? Also - if you can scrape together the funds for the head gaskets, intake gaskets, and exhaust gaskets - the rest is pretty much labor. There's a lot of other stuff that you *should* replace while you are in there but it's not neccesary if you are broke. But having a place to do it and the tools is also a concern...... I'm just saying the job could be done for about $100 in gaskets (the head gaskets are $35 each) if you are careful and smart about it. Maybe even that's too much for you right now ? GD

It's a gasket - I do not know if it's availible at the dealer or not. It's a metal gasket with a rubber seal molded and glued to it - I just clean them up, cover them in Loctite 518, and put them back in. GD

There are two styles used - one for male plug coil packs and one for female plug coil packs. The wires you received are neither - they don't fit the EJ25D heads (I can tell by the length and by the shape of the well "cover") so they aren't for anything made in '97. Frankly I'm not sure what those would fit since they don't have female coil pack ends which is what all the phase-II engines use..... They don't look like Subaru wires to me. GD

Nice! I'll pass that along to my friend that's using one of those poor pathetic things on his 1.3L Samurai It actually works pretty well on a 1.3..... he first tried the VF-11 from a USDM EJ22T but it was too big. Wouldn't spool till 3800:dead:. GD

Hhhmmm - I'm going to check this out immediately and post pictures if that's the case. I thought they were the same also. I happen to have an EJ25D flywheel in the garage from a recent clutch job as well as a '96 OBW with the transmission removed for replacement (and clutch job as well). I will compare and measure. Stay tuned. GD