GeneralDisorder

I have used new, not rebuilt axles in several rigs now, and I did notice a slight increase in vibration on my wagon, but not on my Brat. The wagon is lifted, and has many strange behavioral problems too, so I'm not of the opinion that the new axles are really the problem. The new axles, being very tight, often seem to expose second order vibrations that would not be apparent with a lesser axle.... if you have a rebuilt transmission, and new axles however you shouldn't have ANY play in the joints - they should be rock solid. Something is not right. And yes - DOJ is on the inboard side - the shiny thing you grabbed right where it enters the tranny. The splined front axles as used on the subaru's are not like many other brands - most use a c-clip shaft that slides into the transmission rather than an external stub. Your mechanic may not be familair with this setup. If you can get the mechanic to do it, have him purchase and install GCK brand NEW axles. They are very awesome quality, and I can say I've had great experience with them myself. They are located in CA too.... http://www.gck.com/ GD

A little play is alright with the Double Offset Joint cup, but not a lot. It totally depends on the rest of the axle, and where the play is comming from. I've seen some pretty loose that drove just fine, and others that seemed fairly tight but caused such serious vibration that the car was very litterally undrivable. It's all about how tight the joint itself is. New (not rebuilt usually) axles should be extremely tight. It could be worn output stub bearings inside the transmission, or poor fitment between the splines in the axle and the splines on the transmission. It is possible to accidentally use a 25 spline axle where a 23 is required, and the roll pin will move the car forward a bit - till it shears the pin off. I doubt that is your problem - more likely the fitment is poor, or the bearings need addressing. They may in fact feel more solid on a lift - the suspension will unspring and the internal joint parts will slide to a position they are not normally at when driving. This position may have no wear and "feel" tighter if checking for play. If the axles are new though (not some crappy rebuild) then I can't see this as possible. But worth a look. Mechanics are in business to make money, and if they can substitute a cheaper part, they usually do. It often results in repeat business when the cheaper part fails, but a lot of people got for the cheapest shop in town (not saying you did), and then bring it back thinking maybe something was done wrong only to find their 90 day warrantee is up, the car is already in peices to "diagnose" the problem, and the shop has another "cheapest in town" repair in mind for them.... it's a nasty cycle. I do beleive that PT Barnum said it best - "You can shear a sheep many times, but you can skin em only once.". I think most shady mechanics have learned this somehow... GD

Normal when cold. Replace your main seal and cam seals. GD

I have noticed that the power steering racks are easier to turn even without power.... ratio I'm not sure on. I have lost the belt (or more accurately the ability to run the belt ) on my wagon, and I've found that it still turns easier with 28's than my stock Brat does with 185's. I drove it unpowered for a couple months before repairing the idler pulley bearing. Works great still. Using the power rack and cross-member also means you *could* add power to it later if you decide that's something you want. Fitment should be the same with either type. Just cap off the power steering line ports on the rack and it should work fine without the power assist. Leave the lines on the bottom of the rack that allow fluid transfer from one side to the other, and keep the rack filled with ATF and it will be just fine without it's pump. If you can find one, and are into retrofitting, the preliminary measurements I made show the non-power EA82 rack to be the same length as the EA81 rack - the wider track of the EA82 is made up using different tie rods. I noticed once when I drove a non-power EA82 that it almost felt like it had power - it's was VERY easy to turn. I'm not sure what is different - perhaps a different/easier ratio or something. But I liked it I know that..... GD

Absolutely - safe driving is key. But there are uncontrolable situations that do arise at times - people can pull out in front of you for example. There is also other factors sometimes beyond your control - a vehicle that I convert may at some point be sold, or passed on to a new owner. My concience will be clear because I know I've done the job right. I understand the unwillingness of people to admit they are wrong/incomplete with their previous conversions, but this is getting silly. These are BRAKES people, and safety should come first - especially here where people turn to this board for (hopefully correct) information. When I did the conversion, I first did the brakes only (85 Brat, so no valve at all). I took it up to about 50 MPH, and locked all 4 wheels on wet pavement - without the valve I had enough momentum to do a full 180 degree sweep with the back of the Brat and ended up facing the opposite direction IN the oncomming lane. I made several more attempt at lower speeds and found that I could kick the rear end out as much as I pleased based on how hard I locked the wheels, and the durration of the braking. You call that safe? I put the valve in and repeated the test (the SAME day) muliple times and could never get anything but smooth, straight braking. The ONLY difference between the two was the addition of the valve - same street, same conditions, same car. It takes about an extra hour to install the valve and the hard lines.... is that so much extra that safe braking isn't worth it??!? Many of the people that have done the conversion have done it with lifted vehicles - the stock brakes are HARD to lock-up with big tires. Even fully bled and adjusted the brakes just don't lock as easily. This may be part of why it's largely gone un-noticed. That, and people don't often do panic brakeing..... I know I don't... until the day comes that you need it. GD

I have never converted my wagon, it still has drums - I converted my Brat Ken, and this "phenomenon" is not just something that I have experienced - in a recent thread two other people had the exact same symtoms. When panic braking on slick surfaces (snow, wet pavement, etc) the rear WILL lock and slide sideways without the valve. Is this so freakin hard to beleive? I'm no idiot, and I take brakes very seriously - that's why I performed the test. Next rainy day I swear I'm taking the damn valve out and rolling camera on it. GD

You can adjust the release cable, but slipping would mean the cable is too tight - ulikely it would tighten itself. Much more likely the disc is worn or the pressure plate is weak. Probably time for a clutch replacement. GD

Definately the D/R, the low range of the full time box is only 1.2:1, while the low on the part time box is 1.5:1. If you want to sell the full time tranny I may be in the market for one soon (for a street rig). GD

Totally incorrect - you can buy adjustable proportioning valves from any good race supplier. Adjusting the brake bias is very important to proper braking. You have to balance the pressure generated by the system to the size of the front and rear brakes, and their braking power, weight of the vehicle, etc. Using the correct stock valve will work for safe basic street driving though as they are already sized properly for the braking power of the rear discs. GD

Sounds like the VR in the alt is dead - pushing more power than it should. I've seen GM alts with the VR removed power 10, 120v incandescent lamps.... they can put out serious power if not controlled. GD

There is zero difference between the 4WD Auto used in the Turbo, and the 4WD Auto used in the non-turbo. There is zero difference in the steering knuckle end as well. I've parted my share of EA81's and EA81T's as well. The axles are the same. Someone care to lookup the part numbers? GD

FWD (2WD) axles for the EA81 are significantly weaker. If you read my post on the first page you would know this :cool: Also EA series and EJ series axles have little in common as design goes (on the hub end). GD

You do for EA81 land. EA82 is questionable. GD

EA81T axles ARE 4WD axles. Same thing. GD

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/search.php?searchid=286959 GD

Nothing with the right fuel, but the problem is the EA81 heads have a poor design internally for that much compression. The shape of the cylinder has a lot to do with how much compression you can run. Also those Honda's have EFI, knock sensors, and all sorts of tricks like V-tech that allow them to run high-comp on lesser fuels. GD

Yeah - that's me - but it's the rear's not the front's. Here's my write up: http://home.comcast.net/~trilinear/axle_rebuilding.html Can you tell I've done some axle work? GD

I swear by the GCK's. Couple reasons. 1. They are BRAND NEW (no core charge!) 2. They have been redesigned by GCK using more modern materials and building processes. You have to see one in person to understand. They carry an "Optimized for 4WD off road" label right on the box. 3. With the EA81 you have two types of axles - 2WD and 4WD. The catch is they are interchangable so the rebuilders do not make a distinction. You get what you get. If you buy an axle from say Napa that's "reman", you may or may not get the better 4WD axles with the stronger joints. 4. Lifetime warrantee (Through Autozone for me - so don't need to keep reciepts or anything). You really have to see one to understand - very, very nice axles, and the joints are so tight when you get them they barely move by hand - like a new ball joint. Really amazing. GD

I didn't say anything about doing a valve job - most times that is not needed, and besides that, if you replace the valve seats, valves, guides, and seals they will not change depth at all. Only a "partial" valve job where the seats are ground, and the valves lapped would cause this. With how cheap new valves and seats are, it would almost be silly to bother. Also the amount of change is very small due to the valve diameter being only a small fraction of the overall cylinder diameter... GD

It's under the car - follow the lines back and it's a weird looking thing inline with the hard lines comming out of the cab - it's mounted with two bolts to the "floor" where the floor of the cab rises to meet the floor of the cargo/trunk area. Hope that helps. On another note... what yard did you vist? - that's pretty good pricing.... I know U-Pull-It would be a lot more with the new management now. GD

That's common with aftermarket bearings. They are correct, but they are made to fit the older engines also, and hence the narrower bearing - get the Sealed Power (Federal Mogul) bearings or OEM. Rockauto has the SP's: www.rockauto.com GD

Thanks Jak. It's on the list. GD

I mounted it using it's stock bracket from the EA82 to one of the mounting holes for the Brat's fuel pump shelf.... but the Brat's fuel pump is located in a different spot than the other EA81's... basically the bracket just has two holes, and you need to find a spot for it. The hard lines I used from the donor car - I pulled as many of the hard lines from the rear of the car as I could get - as well as the couplers and stuff. They bend real easily to fit wherever you decide to put the valve. I just routed the lines as best I could and zip-tied them. I'm sure with more time and effort you could make new lines, and do a more proffessional job of routing. I can get pics of mine if you like, but again - it's a Brat so it's different under there. GD

If you are going to the trouble to dissasemble the engine it's much easier (not to mention more reliable) to just install SPFI pistons (9.5:1 stock), and deck the heads .020. You are looking at very near 10:1 with those two, and that's about as far as you can take it and still get a reliable engine that doesn't ping. GD

Yeah - definately will not work with a manual trans. I've thought of that before as there are many cars that have something similar. GD