GeneralDisorder

Tie rod ends are about $25 each - you can install them easily in less than an hour. Just remeber to mark their location so you get them back on at least semi-aligned. Removal and installation of the rack and pinion unit is neither neccesary nor reccomended for tie rod end replacement - I don't know what they are smoking on that one..... Thrust angle alignment is bullshiz for Subaru's - tell em to stick it where the sun don't shine.... ALWAYS have your tires balanced. But a school auto shop would probably do it for nothing just for kicks if you asked nicely.... Siping is actually pretty cool, and if the tires are cheap ones, it will improve them a lot. Traction = good. Siping is good for mudders too..... If you have nice rims - tell the idiots to put the wheel weights on the inside of the rim so they don't mess up the nice appearance of your rims.... GD

I don't know about EA82's, but on the EA81's they are a press-fit. but you can install them with a soft faced hammer (copper or aluminium), and a brass punch. In fact, this is the reccomended removal method according to the FSM. They are HEAVY duty bearings, so a little pouding if your careful should not hurt them. There is no need to even remove the hub from the car - just bang out the old bearings, and beat in a new set. Don't firget the spacer in the middle, and also use new seals on both sides to protect your new bearings. NAPA has two grades of bearings - one is about $11 each, the other is about $22 Autozone has Timken bearings for about $13 each The seals are about $5 each no matter where you go GD

The adjustment (if you have it) is on the front struts - it's two 21mm nut's that raise the strut spring's lower cup. If your strut's have ever been replaced there's a possibility that you don't have the adjustment anymore. The adjustment is only about 1", so if you want to take the rake out, then you should lower the rear some. In fact, Subaru doesn't reccomend running the rear all the way up all the time. It puts more stress on the torsion bar.... and yes, they can break. Also - running the front suspension up, will impact your camber, and increase tire wear on the front. So you really should run with the front all the way down, and the rear all the way, or half of the way down. Also - having mis-matched tire sizes causes "chirping" when in 4WD, since the front is locked to the rear, and must turn at the same speed. Engage 4WD only on slick surfaces, or you will bind up just going straight down the road.... GD

They are not simple inside - get an FSM if you don't have one, as they aren't even easy to get apart. You'll need the procedure on it. I'm working on one right now - I'm just stuck at the moment cause I don't have the right socket to remove the "extension housing drive gear" in order to remove the transfer case.... GD

What are you doing with the old tranny? Want to donate it to GD's tranny rebuild shop? GD

Yes - I agree, we do get out and check quite often. And I'm getting better at picking the right lines through stuff, but in the case of that big log you see there - the only right line would have been a shovel and dirt, or a chainsaw, as there was really no way over or around it that was any easier than where I drove. Ian escaped the damage because he has a hatch and thus the better departure angle on me.... 14 1/8"?!?! Holy crap! How did you manage that with the diff hanger blocked down 3"? I'm confused.... GD

Depends entirely on where it's driven, and by whom. If all the miles are freeway.... well you don't use much clutch on the freeway now do you? So I have to ask... What is the "problem"? First problem I've ever encountered where the "problem" is that it's definately working correctly..... would we file this under "operator error"??? GD

Get some 27" swampers. Nokian's are awesome tires, but for about the same price you can get some swampers.... and there's just no comparison. GD

Yeah - I think this is the bugger that did the nasty on my mustache bar - I'm afraid that soobs weren't really designed for log-hopping: The last series of pics you see there is where I broke my rear axle. The bend in the mustache bar caused the axle to over-extend and pull out of the outer cup. But I did make it up the hill.... barely with the welded rear. Axle went out just as I got up there. Bugaru tried, but it didn't happen - it's very steep, and there's a HUGE hole right there under the right front tire. Flo - it's clean. Sorry about that. GD

I would say that some of the pumps out there are starting to fail, and drop in pressure or capacity. They are all nearly 15 to 20 years old after all, and some have a lot of mileage on them. I think I'll be going with a carter pump that's around 6 psi.... GD

You can figure it out yourself if you like... I get 200 miles to a tank (maybe 210 - the last time I almost ran out it was 207 and it died on the way into the station).... My tires account for a 19.2% difference in speedo, and odometer readings (175/70R13's to 215/75R15's)... 210 * 1.192 = 250.32 actual miles driven. My tank capacity is listed as 14.5 gallons... 250.32 / 14.5 = 17.26 MPG That's figured at 210 miles, and like I said, I nearly ran out at 207 last time I tried that, so I would imagine that this calculation is pretty accurate since I doubt the fuel system is capable of completely draining the tank of every last drop..... And for comparison, I could go over 400 miles when it was 2WD with no trouble at all. I seriously doubt anything has changed - except of course the obvious stuff - and there's plenty of people around on the board that can tell you how good my engine runs.... it's top notch. GD

I've seen posts about the seal on the tranny side of the cable going bad and the cable "sucking" tranny fluid up into the speedo..... might want to have a look anyway. On the other hand the one in my brat does that a tiny bit at low speed, but stops after 25 MPH or so.... hasn't been a problem yet. GD

In my wagon (84 EA81) when it was 2WD and a BRAND NEW Weber, I got 32 MPG on a 600 mile trip to WCSS5. Now same car, no engine changes at all - same new Weber, with 28" mudders, and 4WD, I got 16 MPG on a 300 mile trip I made week before last.... Bugaru got 16 MPG in his hatch on the same trip which weighs less, and has smaller 27" tires - but he's got the Hitachi, and crappy gearing, so I still did better. I think our calculations were pretty accurate - we filled up at the same places each time, and checked how much gas we put in, etc.... GD

As I recall, Rob said that he has about 1/2" more clearance under his diff than Ken, and his hatch has the rear strut's like my wagon... both of them are running 27's. Now I'm running 28's, so I should have another 1/2" on top of that, so my guess would be that I have at least 1/2" more than Ken, if not a full 1" more. I can tell you that I have 13.5" under my rear diff.... so we ought to be able to compare that number if all our diffs are in the same location, then the gas tank ought to be the same relative to the diff. My guess is that the difference with the Brat's, is that the rear strut top is physically lower on the body or something.... makes sense anyway... GD

incidentally - the fuel pump pressure for the EA81's is 1.6 - 2.03 psi or something like that.... GD

How is Ken's tank any different from mine? Cause I'm pretty sure it is the same tank, and in the same location.... Ken? Want to confim this? In fact - mine *should* be about 1/2" higher, since I'm running 28's.... GD

Hey Ken - what do you do to protect the fuel tank? GD

OOOHHH! That's different. Put the joint back into the control arm and thread the nut on to hold it. REMOVE the clamp bolt from the knuckle - don't just loosen it. Then use a prybar to get the knuckle off. GD

The fork style should do the job - that's how I've removed the half a dozen that I've had the pleasure of doing. Pound the fork onto it with a hammer, and it will pop out. GD

Yeah - that could be. What was the cost BTW? Just curious... GD

Actually - the skid plate is attached to the stock skid plate locations - it's made from (I think) 3/16" plate, and some sqaure tubing. The plan is to run more sqaure tubing behind it. We really didn't expect to bend it, but now that we know, we'll be makeing a few changes to the design. The plan on the diff bar is to run a strip of 1/4" plate perpendicular to the bar it'self - make it like an I-bean that you cut in half lengthwise... if you understand what I'm saying. That will make it strong in both directions - both horizontally, and vertically. We just have to bend a 1" wide peice of plate to the shape of the bar, and weld it right onto the side. I think others on the board have theirs done this way... McBrat if I recall has his "improved" - ever bent one Mick? GD

Yes - you run it in 4WD all the time. Another way to do it is to use an automatic tranny, and tweak the innards of the tranny to get 100% power to the rear. Mudrat did that with the beast - it had an EJ engine and auto tranny... GD

You need to lift it and make it ugly. No one in their right mind would mess with a lifted roo. GD

Bugaru and myself went out to scapoose again, and found some new trails. The place is littered with really awesome 4x'ing action. We got a little crazy, and both of us came out with some nice damage. I bent my mustache bar, and subsequently broke a rear axle because of it (popped it out of the cup). I dented my gas tank and bent my new front skid plate too - looks like it did it's job. Bugaru bent his front drivers side lower control are like a toothpick, but drove out on it anyway.... I'm sure pictures of that will follow shortly. I forgot the battery for my camera (of course), but luckily they had theirs, so action shots will be comming shortly when they post them, or I get the pics from them... At the end of the day, we both drove out. I did 70 MPH all the way home. Bugaru said his was a bit "sketchy" with the bent control arm, but it dove out anyway just like a subaru should! Looks like our list of improvements will be: Stronger lower control arms (weld some plate to em I should think). Improved mustache bars. Gas tank skid plate. GD

Dang - they still make those? I thought they were out of production.... GD