GeneralDisorder

Isn't it the XT6 that had this? Apparently according to some I've talked to, they aren't much good for off-road. I think Zapar had one in one of his off-road rigs for a while, and reported they suck - at least for that purpose. GD

Easiest to either remove the engine, or the transmission from the car. Might as well change the rear main seal while your in there - cheap and easy to do. Don't want any oil on that pretty new clutch. If you can, rent an engine hoist for a day. This can make the job a LOT easier. Pull out the radiator, then the engine - do he clutch, then put it back. Should be able to do it in a day if you have all the parts. Maybe two days if you need the flywheel turned too. Another thing - when installing the enigine back into the car, place a jack under the tranny, and jack it up a few inches. Place the tranny in 4th gear, and put a breaker bar and socket on the crank pully bolt. Turn the crank while inserting the engine onto the transmission shaft. Will go in much quicker if you use this method...... credit goes to Qman for this method of installation. GD

The 5 speed dual ranges are 3.9, except for the RX tranny, which is full time 4WD, and only has a 1.2 ratio low gear...... GD

You don't have an LSD - uness it's been swapped in. Jack up the rear, and turn a wheel - if it turns the same way on the other side, it's an LSD. GD

Sounds like it - especially with the cornering you mentioned. look for torn boots - those help give away which side is bad. If there are no torn boots, it's pretty hard to tell in my experience which is bad. I usually just pick one, and then drive it a bit before returning my core in case I have to swap em around. GD

Hhhhmmmm - does it look like the other two will hold the tranny together? Should I run to the nearest fallout shelter? If it does 'splode on me - I just hope none of those little guys come flying into the cabin - could be very dangerous at high speed I should think. What is the going odds on me putting this back in? HAHAHAHA GD

Noah - you may just have had a spot of bad luck with your sending unit. I've removed and swapped a couple, and haven't had any problems. If there's a lot of rust tho, you may just want to find another tank. Get the sending unit out at any rate to comapre to the new/used one cause there's several as I said. Some have a rectangular float, and others (specifically, the digi-dash ones - maybe others, I don't know) have a triangular float. When I did my 4WD swap, I fogot to swap sending units, and just recently corrected the problem. The guages read really funny, but they did still read. GD

I think it depends on your intended application.... are you driving just around town, and occasionally going on some rough roads, or are you wanting to hardcore off-road it? If your going to go off-road hardcore style - the EA81 seems to be very reliable for this. Otherwise, the EA82's are roomier inside, and aren't as "primitive" in design. I personally like the EA81's for their simple construction and maintenence - but they aren't for everyone. GD

Well - it was a "free gift with purchase" of my redline geer oil..... http://usmb.net/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=albup37# That is to say it was stuck to the drain plug magnet..... I'm still driving..... probably wouldn't have bought the redline if I wasn't ($40 - ouch!), so what could this be? Any ideas guys? Looks like a very specific key for something.... GD

An amazing turn out of cars - both new and old. Was great to see a forester, and a WRX wagon (a friend of mine). Matt - my friend in the WRX - goes by cracker on this board I think - was very impressed with the older stuff, and rode shotgun with me as we accompanied Zap, Austin, Shawn and John up the mountain. We went further than any other group of soobs today I think. Who knows - maybe I can talk Matt into building an older lifted soob to compliment the WRX in his driveway. Austin - although possibly somewhat crazy or unbalanced (maybe a bit of both) came all the way up with us in his stock '80 wagon with bald street tires. Managing to not get stuck once bad enough to need a pull. He did slow us up a few times cause he kept getting sidways every 100 yards or so..... lots of fun tho. Got some great photo ops up on the mountain. Matt should have plenty for me to post.. I didn't get stuck this time at all! My new clutch (thanks Ken!) gave me a lot more confidence, and my tires have very aggressive tread allowing me to dig down to something hard. Had a lot of fun on the rock piles at the camp site too. I will certainly be there next year - and probably for any other HP functions I can attend... GD

Oh and maybe the ground wire has lost it's ground? Some of the units have a wire comming off one of the bolts that hold the unit in the tank - that's supposed to be a ground. Maybe clean that up with some wire brushing or sandpaper or something. GD

If all the other guages are working - could be the sending unit. BUT - if it is, make SURE you repalce with the exact same sending unit part number. There are several with different resistance values for each - makes for a very funny reading....' GD

Man - that sucks that they are so rare there. If I put a sign on all the subaru's around here I would need to start my own printing company. And hire 100 employees just to make a dent. hehe GD

Not including the bolt head. And when I did it I used stainless steel so I won't have rust issues later. GD

1.5" or as close as you can get in mm or cm should work I think. GD

Ah yes - mine locks in 4th too (my Brat does). I have not yet fixed the slop in that one, so can't tell you if it's related or not. My wagon had a LOT of slop tho, and never locked in 4th, so my guess would be no..... possbily tho. To prevent the locking in 4th, take it out of that gear before comming to a complete stop. If you forget and it locks, just rev to 3 grand and slip the clutch to get in inching forward, and take it out of gear. Has worked for me so far. I do plan to investigate that little problem further - will advise when I go after that one. GD

Huh! Sweet - I LOVE that grill and headlights. Got to find me a DL or STD with that setup. Thanks for that link Hog - didn't see that one. I would really like a STD hatch for my next off-roader. I like the fact that there's no side molding, and no extra's. Dont need all that stuff. I'll just install a tach, and an oil pressure guage (I feel that the idiot light is not enough given the age of the vehicle). I have strange fondness for the DL dash..... GD

The bushing at the bottom of the shifter? It's about $3.00 and some change. Yes - that will cause slop too - also a lot of rattleing and nasty noises and so forth. My local dealership even stocks that - they only stock 1 of course, but they do stock it. Very availible. If you've got it apart - do both. Bolt it, and replace that bushing too. That will save you a trip down this road again. Apparently using an 8mm bolt will preclude drilling according to Skip. That's very nice since power tools don't fit down there well. I drilled mine tho - made the bolt fit very snug, and then cutting the slot in the side really causes the bolt to be able to clamp down on the tranny shaft. My shifting is very smooth, and very positive. It's easy to find gears now too. Grinding in third is an indication of a bad syncro. Fixing the shifter slop will not stop this. Does it do it all the time or only on the downshift? It it's only on the downshift, you can try going to 2nd first, then to third. That has worked for me. If it grinds all the time, then the syncro is about shot, and there's really nothing to do but rebuild the tranny, or buy a JY one..... You can also try using redline brand gear oil. Mine grinds on the downshift, but I find that with redline it's a little better, and seems to go away after the tranny is warmed up. Still does it when cold tho. At least it helped, and may prolong my already worn syncro's. The stuff is expensive, but a lot of people swear by it, and gear oil aint cheap anyway, so I figured what the hell. Cost about $8.00 a quart from a local place for me. The tranny takes 3.5 quarts BTW. GD

Yeah - if it's not extraordinarily expensive, I might be into that. GD

Hmmmm - maybe if enough people from Portland bought racks and bumpers from tony, you could make some $$$ ferrying them up to P town. We should talk to all the WA types and set up a swap meet here in Portland, that way everyone could attend from WA and Oregon without driving terribly far. GD

Oh - my bad - I thought that 84 was the first year for hydro engines in Auto's. Well - sounds like your lifters then - time for a new oil pump? That seems to do it on the EA82's anyway.... never had a tick on the EA81 hydro's before. Maybe 20w50, and some MMO. If that doesn't work.... then an oil pump. GD

Here's an interesting possibility - you live near Tony right? He's making me a bumper..... maybe if it's done he could toss it in the back of your car? That would give me good justification to take a trip down to Salem... have a few beers, etc. Saturday night maybe after the party at my unit gets out..... that would be cool. We would have a lot to talk about - I'm no fabricator, but I have ideas...... GD

Hogsubie - see my link above - which style is it really? A lot of people get mixed up, cause they have never see the REAL large round headlights of the STD hatch. GD

Hmmmm - IF the castle nut is tight (really, really sounds like it isn't - but you say it is, so we'll go with that)..... there really isn't a lot down there that can clunk around.... Check these (as comprehensive of a list as I can think of): 1. Axle nut 2. Ball joint 3. Wheel bearings 4. Tie rod ends 5. Lower control arm bushing Just as an afterthought - check to see that the DOJ roll pin is in place. If it fell out, I imagine that could clunk back and forth on the tranny stub.... GD

Good info on the 8mm bolt - thanks Skip. I used a 3/8" cause it's what I had in both a bolt and a drill bit. But of course I had the tranny out, and was able to drill and all. Never could figure out what they were thinking with that two-peice roll pin affair - just bizzare if you ask me. Too much play in spring steel. Who designed that?!? I really don't see why they just didn't bolt it in the first place.... GD