millhouse

Howdy folks, Well, first and foremost, thanks for the feedback. The tires did actually work. They fit perfectly! General Grabber AT2 in 215/65/16 fits an 03 Baja like a champ. I have attached a photo for reference.

Howdy- I am in the market for new All Terrain/Off Road Tires for my 2003 Subaru Baja. I am looking specifically at the Grabber AT2. The Grabbers come in size 215/65 R16. With my Subaru being stock with no lift. Would these tires rub? Would I have any issues throwing these on my 03 Baja? Or- does anyone have another suggestion for tires? Thank you, Andrew

Awesome! Thank you jmoss5723! If he is a soobie lover, I would consider meeting him in Washington, PA or something in the middle if he is coming from Pitts. It cruises rather nicely on the highway.

See more information here: http://westmd.craigslist.org/cto/5023172085.html

I own both a Brat and a Baja- I thought this would be a pretty fun project. Enjoy.

Thank you all for the comments. To be honest, after driving it for about a week, I can certainly smell some burning, but nothing crazy.. very faint. I am looking to drive this on a 1200 mile (round trip) visit for Thanksgiving. I am not sure that I will have enough time to get this Head Gasket finished before my trip. You think its safe to make the drive? Can I just bring some coolant with me and keep a close eye on it? Thanks, Millhouse

Hello all, I just purchased a Silver 2003 Subaru Baja 5 Speed (non turbo). I got a great deal on it and it only has 69K miles. I have a few questions and was hoping the subie experts can help me out. 1) Do the 2003 2.5L Engines have head gasket problems? If so, should I keep on eye on it/ when should I get it replaced? How many miles? 2) I am looking for a Bed Cover and or Cap- Thoughts on these or best place to find them on the east coast. 3) Brush Guard- I am also looking for a smaller brush guard. Is there a specific one that you recommend / how hard is the installation? Does it require welding? 4) Are there any other known issues with the first gen Baja that I need to know about? This is my my first 2K Subie- I am used to wrenching on the Brat (EA81), so any help on these newer gens are greatly appreciated.

Alright guys, I appreciate it! Simple. Cheers.

Thanks! But- where would I find one of these puppies?

Hey guys, I have a 85 Subie Brat EA81.. The other day it was parked in the sun for about 3 hours and when I was about to get in and take off, I smelled gasoline like crazy. I looked around and noticed that a bunch of gas was dripping from the back of the vehicle. It was actually running down the side of the car where the gas cap is. I took the gas cap off and it released a ton of pressure, but solving the "leaking" problem. It has not happened again since then, but certainly drew some concern. Is there a venting issue or something of the sorts? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers, Andrew

Howdy, I have an 1985 EA81 Subaru Brat. I purchased this with some modifications. Most of the emissions were deleted. With that said, I do have a few questions. Keep in mind I am pretty new to the older style Subarus. You will see the photo attached has 3 prongs coming off the filter. The way this is set up cannot be right, but I am wondering how to fix it... What needs to go into the top and where do the fuel in and fuel out go? I am wondering if this has something to do with the venting. Any help would be greatly appreciated. All the best, Andrew

That is exactly how I have my EA81 setup. Works great.

Howdy, I am looking to put bigger wheels/tires on my stock 85 Brat. I wanted to get some ideas on the best way to do this. I do not know if this would work, but ideally- Id like to throw some 5 bolt 15" wheels on it. Would this mod be fairly simple or should I just look for some 14" 4 Bolt wheels and go from there. I understand that I may have to cut into the fender and I am OK with that. Any input would be greatly appreciated. As always, thanks! -Andrew

Howdy, I had a few questions that I was unsure of after my weber carb installation. 1) Should I hook up the optional return line hose? Does it really make that much of a difference? 2) Please see attached photo. I took a hose from the top of the valve covers and connected them with a T and ran it to my air filter. But- you can see where the arrow is in the photo, should this be plugged or should it have a breather on it? I plugged both sides for now. Also, I am changing the exhaust flange gaskets and as I was taking one side of the y pipe off the studs came out nice and clean, the other side did not. I am certainly going to replace the studs off the side that came out but on the other side, half of the threads came out of the stud where the but screws on. There are enough threads that I could still use them and it will work, but ultimately, id like to replace them. Is it much of a risk of trying to extract these or try to get them out? I would hate to have to re-tap or drill these holes again. Any thoughts? Thanks for your help guys! -Millhouse

i had this same issue and there was a vac leak where the egr connects. while the car is running, if you can push on the erg and the engine speed slows down, than its working properly.

my vac leaks were internal with the carb, I purchased a rebuild kit from o'rileys for like 25 bucks. replaced the gaskets, accelerator pump, check ball etc.. i was still having vac leaks so I used a cigar (while car is not running) and blew smoke into the intake and you could see where the leaks are. i had to chief down and entire cigar but don't give up! they will appear… i promise. the other classic vac leak is where is EGR connects. After dealing with this for a few weeks, I decided to go with the weber. If you have any questions about the weber just let me know. I can show you the exact parts to get to complete the installation.

My 85 had the same issues. Sounds like its about time for a weber carb swap.

Is there any benefit as far as performance on the 2.5"?

howdy all, looking for a grill for my 97 legacy outback- my first question, what years/models will fit on this? secondly, does anybody have any of these they would be willing to part with? as always, thanks in advance. link to my car: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5520/9134427567_9da6cf3f89_b.jpg -millhouse

I am about to pull the trigger on my weber carb for my 85 brat (ea81). I have heard that there could be an issue with hood clearance with the 2.5" tall air filter. They do make a 1.75" tall air filter. Will the 2.5" work? Or would I have to go with the 1.75" so the hood will close. Also, I am debating on getting a manual choke vs. electric. Anybody have any comments on that? I love the manual choke on all my dirtbikes. There something about not being able to control my choke that I don't like. However, if seems as if most people doing this conversion go with the electric choke and do not have any issues. Any reason why I should not go with the manual choke? Thanks in advance.

Is it safe to drive in 4WD until I fix it?

Hey Guys, I recently bought this 85 Subaru Brat. I just got it back to my house which is 6 hours away from where I bought it. I did some tinkering with the Carburetor and cleaned it up a bit and it drove pretty well, more or less. However, Once I made it into my home town, I was going up the first real hill it has gone up since I have owned it. I was going about 35mph and in 3rd gear. Out of nowhere it made a funky noise almost like a clicking noise so I instantly decided to pull over and check it out. Once I started it back up I was able to physically feel first gear and get it in gear but it would not move. It would not move in any gear I put it in. I was able to put it in 4lo and get it to my house at least. (it seemed to drive OK) but 4WD or 2WD does not seem to want to go, I cant even feel any sort of engaging. Does anybody have any thoughts? Thanks, Andrew

Looks like that one ended. Also, do you have a link to how to do this swap? Thanks BratRod!

Hi All, This is Andrew here again. I am still trying to tackle this bogging out issue. My Brat runs really well when its not warmed up, but once it is warm it losses power when moving from a stopped position. I have completely rebuilt the carb and at this point I am pretty much done dealing with it. Its the stock carb and I am thinking its time to replace it with one of those webber carbs. Does anyone have a link to the carb that will work with my 1985 Brat 1.8L? As always, thanks in advance for your support and help. Cheers, Andrew

No gold stickers on valve cover- just stating not to adjust valve clearance.