GeneralDisorder

It happens - just recently sold my grandmother's '92 Buick - 65k original miles. Could have been an elderly person that got into a wreck..... As for why they want to sell you the same year transmission - it's just good practice from the perspective of the shop that's installing it. While there may be other's that will fit, there are slight changes year-to-year. I just put a' 90 5 speed into a '96. Besides having to change the electrical switches due to different wireing, the transmission doesn't have the bosses for attaching the 96's exhaust bracket. No problem for me as I just fabbed up a new bracket - but stuff like that cuts into the shop's profit as they can't charge you for having to modify things to get something to fit that they claimed *would fit*..... it's just a CYA thing. GD

If you have power at the coil and the coil ohm's out good (both windings), then it's probably the module. Ask in the wanted forum - I'm sure there's a lot of folks with spare's. GD

The ECU is a red herring - they won't prevent the engine from running - they are only there for feedback mixture control. On an EA81, you need a few things: 1. Air 2. Fuel 3. Spark 4. Compression 5. Ignition timing Which one don't you have? GD

Just to follow up on this - the new tranny is in and the Harbor Freight tranny jack was worth EVERY PENNY of the $90 it cost. Worked like a charm frankly. It's the smallest one they sell I think. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=39178 You do need to have the car up pretty high. I use the 6 ton jack stands also from Horror Freight and even still - I had to turn the tranny on it's side to get it out from under the car. But with the 'V' shaped groove in the saddle it's easy to rotate the tranny without it falling off. I didn't use the strap to secure it at all. Definitely an excelent purchase for me, and something I'll use enough to own. It's well built enough to last me a lifetime probably. GD

Yeah - sometimes one will spin fast and the other slowely, but don't expect all 4 wheels to spin. The diffs will only allow one front and one rear to have power up in the air like that unless you have a rear LSD and/or some exotic transmission that has a front LSD. All the 4WD transmissions work essencially the same way - the 4WD indicator lamps are either on the linkage AND trans in the manually shifted models or only on the trans as in the case of the push-button models. If you ever push the button and get no light - something is wrong. But when the light comes on you KNOW it's in 4WD because the actuator rod on the transmission has to physically push the lamp switch. I'm pretty sure that's how these work. Perhaps I'm mistaken as I haven't owned a great number of the push-button car's. GD

The 4WD dash indicator is operated by a switch that's on the side of the transmission - the only way the indicator will come on is if the transmission actually shifts into 4WD. Beyond that - if you don't beleive the indicator light, then put it on jack stands and you should see one front and one rear wheel spin when it's in 4WD. Only one front wheel will spin in 2WD. It is perfectly fine to engage 4WD on dry pavement - just make sure you take it out before you make any sharp turns. I run in 4WD on dry pavement all the time. It doesn't hurt the non-lifted rigs in any significant way. You'll lose the syncro's in the transmission long before you cause any damage from 4WD on dry pavement. GD

Yeah - sounds like the belt timing is off. Check and adjust the ignition timing as well. GD

Check the grounds for the dash. This is a common issue with the digi's. GD

It's been said that the Gen 3 heads were only availible after the production of EA82T's stopped as replacement parts. GD

If the '87 is a carb it will have ports on the bottom of each head that need to be blocked (Air Suction Valve ports), and will have slightly lower compression ratio. Other than that it will work just fine. If the '87 is an SPFI engine then it's a direct bolt-in replacement. If it's a turbo or MPFI engine, then it will not work at all. GD

There's nothing that can be done with the original transmission - unfortunately the 4 speed's are complex little items and the output shaft is not inline with the transfer shaft. It would require a lot of machine work and recasting to change it. I haven't looked into it heavily, but I would start by looking at Nissan truck transmissions. The Nissan stuff from the 80's is about as close as you will find to Subaru's designs. They used a lot of the same parts from the same vendors and there is a surprising amount if interchangability. It will need an adaptor plate for sure, but I think it's worth checking out. GD

With the added power and the grip you may have issues with eating the rear output transfer gear set. That's a lot of power through a 2.5" gear with small teeth. Just something to consider. You may eventually have to go with a true RWD transmission. GD

That's how I remember it as well - the VLSD's have a sealed viscous coupler just like the EJ center diff component on the 5 speed's..... they take plain old gear oil. GD

I had an outer joint on a front axle do that on my lifted wagon. I just put in 4WD and kept going. Rather than being on some trail or other messy place, the damn thing gave out turning out onto a street from a gas station . It was one of the original 2WD axles from before the car was converted to 4WD. The inner race split and the axle shaft spun inside it. GD

If they are cleaned out properly before the boots are installed, and new grease applied they would probably last a good long time. Most axle "failures" that I've seen were either catostrophic (usually with good boots), or they just start making noise - which generally means they are running more-or-less dry. Clean out the joints, replace the grease and boots, and they typically last many thousands of miles farther. If the grease is good and the boot intact, you won't hear the axle till it eats itself and you lose power. Unfortunately doing it the right way like that is actually MORE work than just replacing the whole axle with a new one and with the new one you don't have to get greasy, you get a warantee generally, and you know there's no contamination in the joints. And it's only marginally more expensive. The choice is obvious given the availibility of axles. GD

Yeah - best to get a good used one if you suspect it's not going to work to clean it this time. GD

It's probably a GL-10 2WD 5 speed - that would be the first model/year for SPFI. Clean the idle air controller, and check the resistance of the CTS for starters. GD

There is no one here that can lookup that information. It's not even availible to the dealers for vehicles that old I'm told. EA82 Turbo's do not have a "T" for the engine designation - just as the EJ22 Turbo's do not either (N/A EJ22's are actually EJ22E's, and the Turbo version is the EJ22G). The "T" is just a way that we (this forum) make the distinction between the two. The block's themselves are identical - the only change is the pistons and the heads. GD

It's not cost effective - it's about $12 to $15 for each boot and then the labor to install them is basically the same as the labor to replace the axles. You might as well get new ones. I've had good luck with the EMPI axles. I get them locally for about $65 each and they are new, not rebuilt. GD

There is a tach pulse sensor that will not allow the pump to run unless the engine is being cranked. There may be nothing wrong with your pump wireing at all - have you verified that you in fact *do not* have fuel or may it be the case that you don't have spark/ignition? GD

My '84 has two u-joints and it works great. Just cut the splined section off of another steering shaft and use it to couple the two joints together. I can get a pic if you want but it's pretty self-explanitory. It doesn't use a rag joint at all and it's actually smoother and tighter without it. *edit* - probably better if I just take a pic so you understand what you need to do: GD

Come out and get one from here. We have plenty and people can't hardly give them away. GD

Test it with a mechanical gauge. The sending units commonly fail and the gauges are not to be trusted either. GD

Non turbo, single port heads WILL NOT work on an EA82T application - they are different castings entirely and the manifold isn't even close. If they are non-turbo MPFI heads they will work if you drill/tap the oil return line for the turbo or move it to the pan, etc. GD

I cut the shifter away from the shift rod sleeve and move it down about 3/4" and cut the shifter and add a 3/4" section of 1/2" steel round stock right above the pivot point on the transmission. That makes the throw shorter and gives it a bit more height. As noted you don't need 4" of linkage extension as typically the transmission is only dropped 3" with a 4" lift and you can angle the engine forward to tilt the back of the transmission up an inch or two. The rest is negligable but it does help to shorten the throw. You won't get away without cutting and welding at least a bit. JB weld isn't going to cut it. It helps also to lengthen and change the angle of the 4WD selector rod. About a 15* downward angle to the last 4" of the selector rod helps return the selector lever to it's stock position. The throw reduction of the main gear shifter is beneficial to keep them from interfereing with each other when you are in 4 low. GD