GeneralDisorder

Respectfully, this thread is about the differences/value of D/R EJ transmissions from NZ and who/where to get them from. It is not a "for sale" thread nor was it started by a seller of such goods. Further, I never said I was not ready to buy one. I said I haven't heard/seen enough to be comfortable buying one from the recent purveyor of said goods. I am interested in buying one but thus far we can't get a straight answer as to what we are even buying. GD

You are being hosed. It doesn't need the heads replaced. I'll bet they told you the heads were cracked eh? The cracks between the valves are normal and if these guys don't know a belt from a chain.....RUN, don't just walk away from that place. GD

Those are the For Sale forum rules AFAIK. Being in the retro-fitting forum, and being a post regarding the differences/value of EJ D/R transmissions I just can't see how that rule applies here. Normally I would agree with you though. Without knowing the gear ratios's, how would you tell the difference between a 3.7, 3.9 and a 4.11? Those are all very close when you are talking about trying to count revolutions of shafts and such - and you don't know the gear ratio's for sure. 4th is close to 1:1 on most of them but there's no way to know for sure..... GD

If the tire size is 205/75R15 then the rims are 15" GD

You don't trust a three-way solenoid or you don't trust the two-way that you had? GD

If you just want rid of the code, then install a spark plug non-fouler between the second O2 and the cat. Your cat is probably bad. GD

So in the box is the solenoid I'm assuming? Did you use a three way? GD

Zinc plating has nothing to do with the grade of the bolt. The grade is a measure of the hardness of the steel. GD

So you refuse to ascertain the details on what is inside these transmissions either by tracking down the documention or by opening them and counting some gear teeth unless you are paid for your time? Yet you are donating a much greater share of time to quoteing, packaging, shipping, and communication with this board on these transmissions....why? Because you are just that good of a person? The dicotomy here is astounding. I do not beleive for an instant that the same person that wouldn't lift a telephone receiver to find out the gear ratios of a transmission he is purchasing from a wrecker would do all the quoteing, packaging, shipping, and posting here on this board for a big fat "thanks pal". I just don't have that much faith in humanity. And I never said I "would" pay $700 for one - I said I would *rather* pay $700 to someone else that is willing to go through it. You have already burned that bridge by your attitude. Without knowing at least the final drive of the things, we have no idea what rear differential to use with them. Which means NO ONE here can use them without first opening them up and finding out what's inside. Why the hell would I pay $350 for a transmission I have to tear into? And that single point invalidates your supposition that people here "might want the use them as is without alteration". We simply can't without knowing what the hell is inside them. Thus if you NEED to be paid for that information gathering it should have been figured into the price of the transmissions..... oh wait! then you would be making money on the deal wouldn't you? GD

Could you do it if you rewired the manifold on the 96-98 Phase II's to match the 99+ vehicle harness? Or are there major differences in sensor outputs etc? I guess what I'm asking is are the differences largely a matter of wireing or actual incompatibilities with components? GD

I agree 100%. A high mileage transmission without the gearing/center diff setup I want is worth NOTHING to me - let alone $350. There is going to at least have to be enough info gathered to determine both what year/model/mileage each transmission came from, and what those years/models had for gearing and options. Without that it's a shipping container full of boat anchors. Opening each one up is probably overkill, but at *least* the information on where they came from and what they *most likely* have inside them should be obtained. Obviously since they were NZ native models that information should be availible at the Subaru dealer's in NZ - we in the US don't have access to it. I recognize that you aren't getting the money till the tranny's are received here in Seattle, but not a single one will have been tested or even opened up and inspected by that time - what's to prevent a load of dud transmissions (obviously you have access as you claim to have a trans shop) being packaged and sent here - you are then sent the money and dissapear..... Of course there is a certain amount of risk, but the amount of "rushing" you are doing seems excessive and you seem unwilling to do even the small amount of legwork required to ascertain what these transmissions *should* have inside them. And I don't know a single wrecker that sells transmissions that doesn't at least record EXACTLY what year/model/mileage is on each of them. Especially not for $200 US. I can buy tranny's with a 90 day warantee for that much here in the states. I can buy one's with at 30 day gaurantee from the self-service yards for $120 US. GD

84 would be solid lifters if it's a manual transmission - hydro lifters if it's an automatic. As for the indicators - do the actual signals work? If so you have either bad bulbs in the cluster or a wireing/connection issue behind the cluster. I've never heard of or seen a failure like that before so I think you'll have to dig out the DMM and the wiring diagrams. GD

Me and another guy (two different guys in fact) recently moved an EJ22 with all acc. into and out of a pickup bed. No problem at all. GD

Well - you may *think* it's personal, but it isn't. You have less than 50 posts - I have 12,400. You live many, many thousands of miles away - I have met a LOT of members here face-to-face. My name is Rick and most of the folks around here know that. Some of them don't like me - but that comes with the territory and I probably don't like them either. The simple fact that you are unwilling to endure my questioning and scepticism reinforces the supposition that you are not being entirely honest. Perhaps you are a scammer - perhaps you really *are* making money on these transmissions - maybe you are planning to send us a pile of junk tranny's - perhaps you are entirely above-board. What doesn't make sense though is your willingness to do this out of the kindness of your heart for all us Subaru fans in the US - and at the same time you are a total a$$-hole when it comes to answering questions and calming nerves. Regardless, your actions thus far are not building confidence - attacking me gains you nothing here and only reinforces my posistion that you aren't worth dealing with. I only hope that the people who do put money down on a transmission from you aren't dissapointed - unfortunately if they are there will be no recourse as internet scams from outside the US are rarely prosecuted. Rest-assured I could afford half a dozen of these if I wanted them. And it doesn't sound like a bad idea to get a couple. But not from you - not this time around anyway. As for them commanding $700 or $800 in the US after they get here - unlikely. The crowd that's into these things isn't "in the money" if you get my drift. Lots of folks that want them (or think they do) - very few that have the money to put down (as you are seeing). No - if you ship 10 of them there will be several for sale within a year for about what they paid you for them - maybe less if someone is really hurting. Happens all the time. Old Subaru parts depreciate - they are not a wise investment. GD

After a good buffing with a brown abrasive pad in my die-grinder it looks ok. The rivets only hit the pressure plate fortunately. It did still drive although it was slipping like crazy. The transmission had a blown 2nd gear and it may have been that way for a while causing them to go from 1st to 3rd - the extra clutch riding that came with the gear skip may have been it's undoing. At least that's the current theory. The step in the flywheel for the disc is negative - IE, it's deeper than the pressure plate mounting surface by maybe .005" (haven't taken an exact measurement - that's just an eyeball). I'm going to run the VIN at my local dealer and see if they have any reccords on the car at all - perhaps it got a new engine under warantee or something. Maybe they could tell me what the critieria for Phase I/II would have been.... they are pretty cool and I buy a lot of parts from them so if they know they will help me I'm sure. GD

Have you tried the EA81 auxilery electric fan used on models equipped with AC? GD

There are no update's as far as I know. I recently bought a '99 Forester with the Phase II 2.5 - it's got 234k on it and runs just great. It's got a tiny bit of oil leakage from the head gaskets - not even enough to cause a drip. When they blow I'll just swap in an EJ22. The problems people are seeing with the phase II's are external head gasket leaks (coolant, and more rarely oil), and rod bearing failure. There is some speculation that poor cooling system maintenance leads to head gasket failure and the resulting overheating, etc can result in rod bearing failure. It's hard to say what all the factors are. There are probably threads around here about swapping in the EJ22's in place of the Phase II EJ25's.... can't imagine it would be that difficult if you used a '96+ EJ22 with the OBD-II setup. The '99 Forester is a nice ride overall. They have some annoying rear wheel bearing issues from what I've seen - our's has had them replaced twice on one side and three times on the other according to the reccords and one or both are on the way out again. As for putting the EJ25 heads on the EJ22 block - I think that results in some stupenously high compression. I doubt that is the way to go but I haven't investigated it closely. GD

TOD is NEVER EA81's. Always in reference to the EA82's. EA81's mostly had solid lifters and those that have hydro's rarely tick. The oil pump design is superior and there are no cam-case o-rings to leak. The lifters are also much closer to the pump being a push-rod engine. I agree - your sound is most certainly ticking lifters. Do some searches as this has been covered weekly for the last 10 years. GD

Not being familar with XT headlight switches, I would direct you to the XT forum for that particular info. http://www.subaruxt.com/forum/ GD

It is best to stay away from suspension lifts in general - you will eat axles like mad. It is best to run them as neutral as possible and get your lift from bigger tires. This allows them as much compression as extension. Even to the extent of running the axles *more* neutral than stock. As for cheap? Well - do you have a hot knife, welder, and metal cutting band saw? If so it's just the cost of the steel and hardware. About $200 in materials if you shop around and do it right (grade 8 hardware, etc). Otherwise - no there's no cheaper way than buying a lift if you don't have the tools to build one. Popsicle sicks and elmers glue ain't gonna cut it. GD

That's the rub - there's no place that sells them. You'll have to find them used or convert the car to 5 lug using XT6 parts. Only two brands ever made in large numbers used that pattern and neither use it anymore. GD

Yeah - take a look. It's pretty easy to spot. From what I have always heard, the single-port went along with the interferance design change that netted an additional 17 HP. I can't swear that the engine hasn't been replaced, but if it was it's the cleanest swap I've ever seen and with only 113k on the car and a clean title I can't see any reason it would have been swapped out..... GD

Water pump's rarely fail in that way - so rare that I have yet to see one. Either they work and leak out the weep hole, or the bearings totally give out and the seize, or just chew the bearing right out of them and gush coolant all over. If it's not leaking them it's not the water pump. Most likely the head gaskets or you haven't got all the air out of the system. If the radiator was bad enough to crack it might just be clogged inside from corrosion - you may need a new radiator as well. GD

The regulator is an IC type - they are not repairable. Cost to replace just the IC is much more expensive than a replacement alternator and with the replacement you will get brushes, bearings, etc. Try upgrading to the Nissan Maxima 90 Amp unit - they seem more reliable from my experience. GD

It was a mid-year change in '83. My '83 hatch has them as well (4 speed D/R). They did a mid year update in '83 and changed several things like the vented disc's and the clutch cable's, etc. GD