GeneralDisorder

I love it. Major points, in order of importance: 1. far, far better linkage. Smoother shifting, less play 2. Way better mounts. The 4's mounts are tiny, and just generally suck. The 5's mounts have twice as much rubber, and the 5's is lighter besides. 2. 3rd gear - it's between 2nd and 3rd on the 4, so allows decent RPM at 25 MPH. 3. Lower "Lo" gear. 1.59:1 compared to the 4's 1.45:1 4. Better clutch combinations possible - XT6 for example. 5. Better T.O. bearing design (see #4). 6. Easier to find parts for 7. More rugged - due to the improved linkage, there's no tendancy to partial engagment of reverse (resulting in eventual destruction of the reverse shift dog), and the syncro design is superior so 2nd and 3rd don't grind like the 4's do. 8. Longer lasting. I have several 5's well over 200,000 that still shift like new, and one that's over 300,000 without any noticeable degredation of performance. On the other hand I have 3 blown 4's in the garage - all with less than 200k on them. As for your question about gearing - there's no appreciable difference between the 83+ 4 speed gearing and the 5 speed D/R gearing other than the addition of 3rd gear between 2nd and 3rd on the 4. 2 is lowered a bit, and 4 is raised as well, but the gear *range* covered by 1 though 4 and 1 through 5 respectively is not altered enough to notice at all. Acceleration is improved simply beacause you don't have to wind out so high before shifting, but the top speed is going to be the same with either one. GD

Is it an ND unit? It doesn't take much on those. Once you have the disty out, you'll probably notice maybe 1/32" of play. That's all it takes. Pretty funny when my 84 digi-dash was reading 7000 RPM at idle GD

Bearing check must be done with the parking brake off - it's on the front calipers. Most people miss that. Worn front bearings make a hell of a racket, but rarely result in anything you can actually "feel" besides humming. Have your tires balanced. Vibration could be worn DOJ's (inner CV joint), but unbalanced tires are more common. If the boots are torn the DOJ's are a possibility but frequently last 10's of thousands of miles even with torn boots. Some side-to-side play is typical, and usually not detrimental. It shouldn't be much though. GD

Bushings are shot. They are not user replaceable, and must be done by a properly equipped machine shop. Be very careful that the reluctor doesn't strike the hall effect sensor and chip it or you'll have 2 pounds of worthless scrap on your hands. These guys do all mine: http://www.philbingroup.com/ GD

Pretty common actually. The crank circuit has developed a condition where it won't pass enough current to engage the starter solenoid all the time, and a downward spiral of repeated starting attempts only make it worse as it heats up the wireing and damages the circuit further. The fix is actually quite simple - you install a relay in the crank circuit so that the existing circuit only needs to close the relay, and the relay powers the solenoid. This happens a lot, but seems more frequent on the automatics as the crank circuit runs through the inhibitor switch in the auto shifter. Regardless though, the fix is the same as the current demand of a relay is far less and the damaged circuit will be able to handle it with 100% reliability. There's a single spade terminal on the back of the starter - use that wire to close the relay, and run a new wire from the positive battery terminal through the relay and to the back of the starter. In the mean time, if you need to start it, the easy way is to get yourself a 4" bit of 10 guage wire, strip both ends, and then touch one end to the positive terminal on the starter (12mm nut), and the other end to the spade terminal. That will crank the engine and start it if you have the key in "run". And find a mechanic that knows Subaru's GD

If you can find them, I beleive the Monroe sets are adjustable. At least the front's are. I've seen them on ebay periodically. Also it's possible to put new cartridges into existing struts that are already adjustable. But you may have to hunt around for the right size cartridge, and it will require some welding and cutting most likely. GD

Weld, then knock down slightly with a hammer so there's a shallow dimple. You don't want bondo exposed on the inside, and you don't want the bondo very thick - as thin as possible. Thus the welded hole, and a shallow dimple to fill. GD

Front or rear - just to clarify: Front's are struts, rear's are coil-over shocks. Struts have the ability to turn via the strut "top" which has a bearing inside it. Coil-over's do not. GD

Easiest way to deal with weird mismatched panels is to scuff up the whole car with a sander, and paint it all a flat color - black, camo, vietnam OD green, etc. At least that way if a bit flakes off here and there it's a simple matter to hit it with some sandpaper, and shoot some rattle can over it. That's pretty much how all our military rigs are - makes for simple maintenance that way. Seems like a good idea in the rust regions too as it makes repairs 1000x faster so you are more likely to get to them quicker You can actually make it look pretty nice if you do it right - use the truck bedliner for the rockers and do a two-tone flat scheme. You can also order bedliner in any color you like online. Makes a neat surface treatment, and even salt won't eat that stuff. Don't try to paint around stuff - paint it ALL. Chrome, plastic.... everything. Leaving only the lenses, mirrors, and glass unpainted. Make sure to prep all the surfaces and use a proper primer on plastics, etc. Anyway - just an idea to consider. Better than leaving it all trashy looking with 16 colors, and there seems little sense in doing a proper expensive paint job if it's as rusty as it sounds. GD

Call these guys - they can rebuild your vac can for about $25 (new diaphram rubber). In the meantime, you can just run without it. Or you can send them your whole disty, and they can rebuild the bushings and such. Last one I did was about $55 total - all polished up, and they will paint the vac can with high temp enamel. http://www.philbingroup.com/ They are local for me, but they service all the shops around here. Good guys to work with too, and the most knowledgable people I've ever met on distributors. GD

He asked for our opinion. If you want to give him more than $100 for it, that's your loss. I bought my current DD for $100, and the one before that for $100. Neither had rod knocks, and the current one is a 4WD D/R 5 speed, the other was a 4WD auto. I drove both home. I gave my educated opinion based on the 4+ years I've been on this board. If he didn't want to hear it, then he shouldn't have asked. Sometimes the truth sucks. GD

Run a D-Check and bring us codes. If you aren't sure how, do a search here for it, or download the 89 FSM fragment that's floating around and read up on it. GD

There aren't any tranny's that will do that other than the 4 speed auto's. So yes, I guess you could say you are asking too much. Check local junk yards. 85 to 89 5 speed, dual range is what you are after. GD

Sounds like he already tried jumping it, etc. That normally involves a lot of wiggling and messing about with the terminals. Being an EA82, it's more likely the ign. circuit or the starter itself. In my experience anyway. GD

It's either the starter, or the ignition switch wireing. Use a bit of wire to jump from the positive terminal of the starter (big, 12mm nut) to the solenoid blade (other wire going to the starter). If it turns over, then you likely have fualty wireing in the ignition circuit. Pretty common actually - the fix is to use the existing circuit to run a relay and give the solenoid full battery power. If it still doesn't turn over, it's time for a new starter. Or tear it apart and clean the solenoid contacts. GD

You have to build custom axles - 2WD EA81 axles + Legacy 25 spline DOJ. Downsides: 3.7:1 rear end, and crappy low range (1.2:1). Basically a really stupid combo for a Brat. GD

Right - but all the later turbo's I've seen had AC, and they use the square AC compressor..... I still think belt alignment might be an issue. GD

I don't think there's much difference in weight frankly with the SPFI pulley. It's actually pretty heavy. Each pound on the crank is like 2.7 HP.... but unless you go with aluminium, I doubt you would gain much. Then there's the alignment issue.... doesn't the turbo use a different hub depth for the water pump? I don't think the SPFI pulley would line up. GD

The ECU wireing and such will be completely seperate from the painless kit anyway. The only place they will interact is power supply lines from the fuseable links. GD

Not worth the trouble - you wouldn't gain even .5 HP from it. Lighten the flywheel if you want to do something productive. GD

All mid to late 80's STD hatchback's had the "fat-case" EA71 with the side starter bell-housing. That's common knowledge. GD

Larger gap = hotter, larger spark. Always. But that has to be tempered by the strength of the ignition system - the coil's voltage output, and the ignitor's ability to switch on that much current. Too hot for one or the other will cause damage. Also the hotter the spark is, the more you will burn the plugs each time it fires. It's a balancing act, and really all you want is a 99.8% or higher probability of igniting the fuel. Once you acheive that, hotter spark is a waste of time. The engine's power comes from the controled burn of the fuel, not from the spark - it's only job is to start the burn. It either works or doesn't. Use the recommended gap of .40 - .45 GD

Not worth the effort for 30 HP. Get an EJ22 instead. More power than the EA82 turbo, simpler wiring, and will fit easier. Not to mention reliable - which the EA82T aint GD

That's not an EA81 - it's an EA71, and the EA82 won't fit in there without major headaches. You will have to notch the frame rails out by at least 2" on both sides and reinforce them. GD

You have to make custom axles - Legacy/Imp/XT6 axles are too long. You have to cut the shaft and weld on the inner portion of an EA81/EA82 axle with some tubing as a sleeve for strength. GD