GeneralDisorder

I say DOJ as well. GD

Best way would be to get an AC idle-up solenoid, and a vacuum solenoid and wire it up to a switch on the dash. Adjust it to 1000, and then only turn it on when you need the idle that high. GD

Hard to tell what that 5 speed FWD came from - they were the same from 80 to 94... Subaru changed a lot of the ratio's in 83. There's not many folks that make study's of the FWD's so you may have to crack some FSM's to find out. GD

Depends on if you have an LSD/VLSD or not. For the gear oil, use the "Scotty's Cocktail" http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=920674&highlight=%22Uncle+Scotty%27s%22+cocktail GD

You're fine to talk about all models here. Nio worries. Find the nicest AWD 92 to 94 Legacy you can. Auto or manual - your preference. Shouldn't cost more than $2500 to $3000. You can then "add" Outback struts and springs for the higher ground clearance - also gives you room for larger tires. That will help out with those drifts. The 90 to 94 Legacy's have the most bulletproof engine - the EJ22. 300k miles no problem. Many others will agree - this has been discussed at long length around here. GD

It won't. The reason lies with the amerage draw of the motor. The draw is high enough to burn out all but some of the largest rheostat's (the "dimmer" switch you mention). A "dimmer" style switch large enough to disipate that kind of heat would be 3"+ in diameter, and might just melt the dash plastic anyway.... Thus completely impractical for a blower motor. An electric motor - any electric motor - draws a lot more amps than a high resistance light bulb. This is because electric motors use unductance coils to generate large magnetic fields - those coils have LOW resistance, and thus use large amounts of electrical current. The Subaru blower motors are rated at 160 watts - that's 11.5 amps at 14 volts. To run the motor at half speed you would have to dissipate about 80 watts of power..... Think about how hot a 100 watt light bulb gets - would you want to touch it? That's how much heat your switch would have to dissipate. A dimmer switch simply won't do it - that's why you never see infinitely variable fan speed knobs in cars..... they always have around 4 to 8 discreet speeds. Same reason you don't see infinitely variable speed wipers - it's intermitant (with varying timer settings), and then 2 or 3 discreet speeds. As for the result if you try - it won't blow a fuse or the motor. It will burn up the switch - lots of acrid smoke, if not outright flames. GD

It was probably missed because $1000 is a bit steep for that 86 EA82T flapper MAF doodad under the hood. That, and XT's that aren't appended with a "6" aren't real desireable. For the same price I could easily get a Legacy that would hand it the slap-up in the 1/4 mile - with no turbo even! And people avoid the air suspension like the plague.... Personally, the spider intake MPFI N/A XT, and the XT6 are the only ones I would touch with my 10-foot-pole. Nice looking though, and may increase in value in the comming years. And one of the most aerodynamic body's ever made in the world of production cars. Keep an eye (or five) on the temp - the XT's especially haven't got the radiator airflow of the other body types, and the EA82T is an eater of all things cooling system and head gasket related. GD

Fully charged you should see about 13 to 13.5 from the battery. 14.3 is alternator output levels. Most batteries will decay to around 12 to 12.5 volts or so after a period of a few days. I agree that the battery is likely leaking. Best to just replace it. GD

I think it's a Legacy and up thing. The XT6 and the EA82T's with the 4EAT had a pretty primitive version of it. Both were also more performance minded than raw traction minded vehicles. The XT6 especially with it's much lower stance. The outback transmissions definately do the 50/50 lock when they are in 1 or 2. And some have a "winter" mode or something along those lines that starts the drive pattern in 2nd to prevent over-acceleration from trying to start out in 1st. GD

Well I think you have a few misconceptions about the new systems. 1. You don't need the old low-range if you have the HP of the newer engines. What I mean by that is partially a result of the capability of the older Subaru's with respect to ground clearance and suspension travel (in stock form), and partially a result of their low range being only 1.59:1 (1.45:1 in the case of your '81). IE: the low range isn't very low, and the capability of the vehicle doesn't warrant anything lower in stock form. With AWD, limited slip differentials, and 150+ HP you no longer have a need for what the low-range provided. It was there only as a band-aid for lower performing engines (73 HP in the case of your 81). 2. If you still feel the need to have a torque multiplier then consider the 4EAT transmission (automatic). The torque converter IS a low range, and if you put the transmission selector in 1 or 2 the transmission locks up 50/50 power split just like a 4WD would. It also has the benefit of electronic traction control using wheel speed sensors - it can send power to where it's the most useful by altering the torque bias using it's viscous center coupling. If you still want a hatch for nostalgia, there's no problem there either. There's tons of them out here on the west coast for less than half what you are looking to pay. I got my 83 for $250 a few months ago - owner thought it needed a clutch but it was just the cable. If you go this route, swap out the 4 speed for the later 5 speed EA82 transmission. They are better designed and can be fitted to still look stock. You would just have an extra gear - which is always nice. Don't get me wrong here - if you are planning on lifting your rig, then the low range 4WD transmissions are the way to go (prefereably the 5 speed's from the 85 to 89 wagon, sedan, and three-door body's). But in stock form they are NOT more capable or more "unstoppable" than an AWD Legacy. I would challenge anyone, anyday to a contest of abilities between a stock EA series and my Legacy with snow tires. And I own both types. I have two Legacy's, a Brat, a Hatch, a lifted Wagon, and lots and lots of parts GD

Well it's going to be different for each - EA81, EA82, RX, XT, XT6, etc. As each has a different ride height. The springs/torsion bar, and/or coil over will determine the amount of change needed to make it work. A jack (Hi-Lift works well with my bumpers) is still needed on most rigs to unload the suspension. Although if you clock the torsion bar down on the EA81's a notch you can get them to a place where the axles will come out without even jacking the rig up... it's a balancing act though and it's going to be harder on a wagon or hatch than a Brat as the weight loading the rear suspension makes them sag down more. Basically you just have to play with it - a LOT until you get a feel for what works/doesn't work for your specific application. Too much suspension lift and you'll break axles - not enough and they won't come out without taking the shock mount loose. But in the end, yes it can be done to any of them with the right combination of suspension and lift. GD

That's interesting... are you sure those locking nuts are aluminium? It's difficult to tell from the picture. I have a set of Subaru ones very similar to those on my 94 Legacy (on it when I got the car - probably on there since it was new as it came with alloy's) and I use an impact on them without issue. Perhaps they changed the material. GD

Geometry mostly. With a bit of suspension lift you can pull the axle without unbolting anything. Stock EA81's and EA82's require unbolting the shock mount. It's the lift that lets us do it without taking anything apart. GD

Ok, lets see here.... 1. The engine will fit. But you will have to move the hill holder back, and possibly notch the frame rail on the drivers side to clear the valve cover if you tilt the engine/tranny back to clear the 5 speed (see below). You will have to customize the radiator hoses of course as well. 2. You will need the cross-member from an EA81T in order for the downpipe to clear. Or you can cut a big chunk out of the existing cross-member but I suspect that in doing so you will lose your front sway bar. The EA82 cross-member will not fit as the car is wider. 3. Custom exhaust will have to be fabricated. The stock stuff won't work, and the turbo stuff will be too long for the short-wheelbase hatch. 4. 5 speed will need to be fitted - the 4 will suck, and now is the time to do it while everything is apart. You will need to make a custom cross-member for the tranny, and the floor pan will either need to be cut, beat back, or the whole engine/tranny assembly tilted backwards slightly in order to clear the transmission tunnel. Jerry (bratsrus1) makes a nice kit to fit the 5 speed to the EA81 body. Besides the cross-member some cutting and welding of the linkage is also needed. 5. The wiring is BIG. You need the entire engine control harness and ECU from the donor car. You will have to strip out the components that run the ECU and piggyback it as a sub-harness to the existing vehicle's harness. This involves adding several fuses, at least one fusible link, and wiring in extra relays for the ignition circuits. You'll need to tap into the speed sensor in the cluster, as well as find a location for the CEL. 6. The fuel system will have to be converted to high-pressure. All the soft lines must be replaced with high-pressure rated FI hose, and the fuel pump rewired to be controled from the ECU's fuel pump relay. The tank has no baffles so either a custom tank needs to be made, a surge tank added, or just make sure you don't go below 1/4th of a tank. Anyway - that's about the size of it. FI conversions are never simple. I've done several now. GD

Jerry is a damn good fabricator - he added that himself. GD

Ok, lets clear some things up. As far as EA82's go, you cannot "make" a different ECU by changing the harness. They are coded from the factory as either manual or auto and cannot be changed. That goes for the 3AT, and the 5 speed. The 4EAT would be using MPFI anyway as they only came on turbo's. Those could be, and probably are, different. Second, they will run and idle just fine without the neutral switch. In order to turn off the fuel to the engine, the car must be in gear AND the ECU must see a reading from the speed sensor. You could have issue if you put the engine in neutral while coasting with closed throttle. Under very specific and controlled conditions that might result in the engine dieing. Likely as not though the ECU would already have defaulted to running without the neutral switch before you got a chance to try it. It doesn't take long for the ECU to realize that the switch isn't "reporting" and throw a code. This will prevent fuel cut on closed throttle coasting and keep the engine running as a fail safe. You can keep the Auto ECU. You will have to bypass the inhibitor switch in the shifter mechanism. Last one I did went fine but the car did throw codes due to not seeing something from the transmission I think.... maybe kickdown relay, or some gear indicator or something. GD

They aren't that expensive really. The CTS is under $50 - usually around $35. The IAC's are more, but they rarely fail and there's thousands of used ones to be had for next to nothing. GD

The problem is they suck at virtually everything except snow and sand..... and are extreemly expensive... nor are they DOT approved. But they are very cool. You can order them in any bolt pattern you like so fitting them to a Subaru wouldn't be difficult at all. GD

There is only one manufacturer of EA81 oil pumps as fars as I know. Paraut, which will be stamped "Assian" or what have you. The pumps are all originally made by Paraut though. I guess no aftermarket manufacturer saw the profit in making them. GD

That pretty much looks like all the other $100 EA82's I've owned.... $7,000...... you got taken to the cleaners and you haven't even figured out you lost your pants yet. Does daddy know you are claiming to own his business? GD

Interesting. Well that's good to know for WA folk. Here in OR they are *supposed* to look, but out of the 5 or so times I've been with a Subaru, only once have they actually done it. In OR there's loopholes big enough to drive the Subaru through, so none of my rigs are tested anymore. GD

EJ22 injectors are different and will not fit. If you want larger injectors, then the injectors for the 280Z will fit. GD

Not if the car is upside down. GD

Sure - back of some old dealership covered in dust... yeah they exist. Finding them is the problem. GD

I think it depends on who you take it too. GD