TheSubaruJunkie

MPFI started in '83 with the EA81T. Thats the only FI EA81, and of course the turbo model. Your right, turbo is almost useless for off-roading unless you have it tuned to produce max torque/hp at very low rev's... or if your gearing was low enough, you could harness power in the upper rev's. Regardless, your best bet is a well tuned carb and a good exhaust. Look into the Weber DGEV 32/36 as the best replacement, should cost $300 for a whole kit (carb, adapter plate, instructions). -Brian

Subaru = $1200 Lift = $375 Tires/rims = $500 cant get much cheaper than that. That is pretty much all you need. If you want to go extreme, then you'd want to start looking into larger lifts, larger tires. If you want lower gears find yourself a divorced t-case, and a welder... start fabricating some stuff and there you have it. -Brian

On my last wheelin trip i smoked my clutch well before any axle gave me grief. And at the cost of a clutch & time to install, i'd preffer to think of a CV as "wear item". I believe my clutch was giving me problems cause my car was loaded with camping gear and 4 people, climbing a mountainside. With a Brat or a Hatch, your looking at CV's as your weakest link, and the clutch as a close second, depending on the brand of clutch. Also, you can find front CV axles at any Kragen, Schuck's, or Checkers for like $55 to $70, with a core charge. Core's arent a problem cause i never need a broken CV Twice I have gotten away with calling Kragen, and telling them I was quoted $63 for a complete axle from Napa, and they'll beat napa's price by 5%. Might wanna call napa for a real quote though, just to compare. -Brian

Does it happen when you turn or when you accelerate? Does it grind when the Brat coasts or does it only happen when its in gear. Did it make this sound before you gave the car to the mechanic? -Brian

Front end is cake and Eric is right, contact Austin and im sure he'd be willing to help. Rear end is harder. Total parts for front end (both axles) shouldnt be more than $65. -Brian

I think i'll look for a EA81 Hatchback Shell. All it needs is a good tranny & body. Everything else will come from my Wagon. WJM: Im thinking of Subaru MPFI from a EA81T minus the Turbo. Im totally unsure about the engine as of now though, could just do it the easy way and bolton a webber. -Brian

No, im running an open rear end. Wheel placement wasnt a problem, but i had a hard time crossing some of the creeks. I didnt have my disty boot on, and kept getting water in there That and my abused clutch made it very difficult. Plus my car was packed with all my camping gear, and 3 kids... thats something im not used to. Im thinking on version 2.0 there'll be minor upgrades on the carburation, and ignition. -Brian

The mechanic said it was running rich. He advised that I rebuild it. I got a kit, and changed the carb gaskets, but havent had it tested again. It needs a new exhaust, and its pretty beatup now. With its new dent in the door, it looks pretty sad. Also, my drivers side fender got munched real bad, and tore away from the mounts, so it flaps alot. I also bent the lower control arm, and radius rod a while ago. I replaced the lower control arm, but since everything else is bent, the steering is all off. Im thinking of finding a Sedan or Hatchback thats rotting away somewhere, and bring it back to life with the wagon as a donor. Just gotta find the time and place to do it. -Brian

4500 ft means nothing to a EJ22T Thanks Jeremy, thats just what I needed to hear. I cannot stand the weather here in California. I also dont like the roads (you think your roads are bad???). I'll be looking in your local paper as well for some openings. I heard JB lives real close to you as well? Maybe i'll have to come by sometime and checkout the area. -Brian

You would have had as much trouble as I did GD. I think the only guys that wouldnt have, are the ones with divorced T-Cases. It was a blast, but the future of my Wagon us unknown at this time I cannot afford to replace the tire I slashed. The car is no longer registered and wont pass CA smog, so i dont even think its worth the effort to repair. I may just look for a good shell, and transfer everything into it, at that time i'll think of more extreme mods -Brian

I wouldnt find it offensive, but they were right. Ticking motors are something every Subaru owner has dealt with. There are plenty of ways to do it, from running MMO or AT Fluid in the crank for a few seconds, to completly rebuilding your oil pump and re-building the Hydrolic lifters as well. I woudlnt take it offensive though, we welcome you to the board and definatly want you to stay. Dont let a couple sour apples ruin it for you. -Brian

Sorry, no pix guys. The Digital camera is dead I finally got the Wagon road ready by thursday night. Gave me time to pack and be ready Friday afternoon. Headed north to a spot I know of. Its kinda a Memorial day tradition for me, since these are the only people Ive met in California who REALLY love to camp, and do it right. Met a couple new family's, and saw a few others I haven't seen since last year. My buddy Dave is the one who initially introduced me, and he has a CJ7 thats built alittle. He always brings along some of his Jeepin buddy's, and this year his friend Al showed up again with his built CJ7 and a dude named Craig with his built Toyota Landcruiser. Dave's CJ7 and Craigs Cruiser both have like 35" or 37" tires and Al's has at least 37" to 40" under his CJ7. Al's Rig is all custom fabricated by himself, and has bead locks etc... They're all old Rubicon guys and not the average Jeep owner I encounter. Anyhow, we started the wheeling Saturday morning at around 10am. We had all 4 rigs packed with 1 driver, and at least 2 kids each. My car had 3 kids in it, and each was eager to go have some fun. We started off on just some plain logging roads. We would often venture off the main trail to find an abandoned mining camp, or something. We even found an abandoned mineshaft with some really coold stuff around. Fun to be had by all We were headed to an old mining town called Poker Flat. On our way we ran into a pack of Jeeps, and one guy had broken his front axle housing. Al was carrying some welding rod, and offered to do a temp fix. I got to see them daisy chain 3 car battery's and re-weld this dude's axle back. I think almost everybody learned something new that day By 2pm we had made it to the last standing building in Poker Flat, but not without traveling through some wicked terrain. Being the high sierra's, of course there's rock everywhere. We had come down the mountainside, wich was cliff on one side, and granite on the other All the while your pretty much at a 45 to 60 degree angle. The 3 kids I had in my car got to see how tipsy a Jeep can be. I assured them that the Subaru would have to get hit in the side with something in order to roll (like a jeep). After Poker flat we headed up the other side of the ravine we were in. The Subaru had a real hard time climbing, but thats mostly after I drenched the Disty in a creek (oh, and a huge mud pit too with water up to the doors). But I was able to climb through most of it. By 5pm we had decided to head back to our camp (which was probably a good 30miles away by now). My sube was able to keep up, but not without alot of whining. On the way back to Poker flat (headed back to camp) I had sliced one of my front tires on something (nice 2" gash in the sidewall) and I wasn't too happy about it. Luckily we were on some pretty stable land, but it was at an incline. My jack didnt want to stay under the car, and we ended up using the 7 males we had, and lifted the front of the subie off the ground. I was able to put the spare on, and off we were. We passed poker flat again by 5:30 and were on our way back up the mountainside again. After smoking my clutch twice, i had to put up the white flag. I had Dave hook up with my strap, and he pretty much pulled me up the mountainside. We made it back to the main trailhead by 6:30 and was smooth sailing all the way back to camp. We stopped at a place called Eureka Diggins wich was a huge dirt pit that had been mined out about 100+ years ago. It had rained the night before, so there was still plenty of water and mud We got to have some fun, but while climbing a hill, I slid into a tree and munched the passenger front door pretty good. Window wont roll down, and the door opens from the inside only now We made it back to camp by 8pm and had dinner, slept like a baby and then came home. The Sube had a hard time, but it got me there... and got me home. Next time i'll have the camera... i swear -Brian

This weekend while I was out camping, I met up with some old Jeepin' guys that I know. One is a real good friend of mine, and the other 2 are friends of his. Anyhow, they admired my Wagon and were asking me if I could get different gears for it. I told them no, of course, but then I went and told them about some friends of mine who are stuffing divorced T-Cases into their cars... and I think i even mentioned something about Ken's solid rear axle too (hope I dont get banned now). BTW, all 3 of these guys all talked ***** about pirate4x4.com, talking about how they're all *******s and such, so we're not the only ones that dont care for them. -Brian

I just learn to live with the tick. Every sube ive had has done it -Brian

:-\ "usually happens" i only remember one instance, and im sure they could care less what we do with our cars. -Brian

My dream subaru has always been a Legacy Turbo Sedan. Now that I have one, i dont know if I can consider it my dream car anylonger. I cant think of owning anything other than it. I just wish mine werent so beat up Even though this is by far the best Subaru Ive ever owned, I dont think I'd choose it over the my '84, given the choice. But yeah... the Legacy Sport Sedan is my choice... '91 model year prefferably because of the front end and rear LSD. -Brian

Since you have the rear bearings done, and front CV's, that should probably be enough. But you may want to check the front bearings and ball joints. They're not hard to do, and easier in your garage rather than on the road. Old EA81 Tranny's whine. Ive been driving my EJ22T for the past couple months, and just yesterday got back in my Wagon again for the 1st time. The 1st thing I noticed was the tranny whining. But my tranny is dying as well... so I guess that doesnt say much. If you want to stretch the life of it, i'd recommend draining the gear oil, and replace it. That should help alittle. -Brian

Does it matter which joint is inner and which is outer on the rear CV's?? I have to put a new rear CV in, and wanna make sure it goes in right the 1st time. I think it may have been backwards last time. -Brian

Cool. Im going to search for call-centers. That seems to be the type of work I feel most comfortable doing. Do you remember the name of the company they worked for? -Brian

I dont have numbers to prove it, but I know that back in the day (when it counted... EA81 and EA82 era) Alaska & Washington were 2 of the 3 states that had the most Subaru Sale's. Also, in Places like Tahoe, Subaru is the #1 selling car there. And there seems to be more places like Tahoe on the West than the East. We have large resort communities like Aspen, Mt. Hood, Lake Tahoe (both South and North), not to mention state parks and other recreational activities that seem to occure on the west coast. Not to say the east doesnt have any of these great places, but the east also gets the worse weather. Im sure Tornado's, Hurricanes & flash floods account for ALOT of the subaru death out east. I think in California, the only thing a Subaru has to worry about is 120 degree temps and sun-faded paint. In Washington, the only thing a Subaru has to fear are their owners They seem to take these car's and do thing's no subaru should do -Brian

Just a thought. There seems to be ALOT of Subaru folk sprouting up from NV, and Im getting tired of living in California. It'd be logical given its only 2 hours away from Sac. where the parents & friends are. Some questions I have though are: 1) What is the housing like up there? Prices and availability. Apartments are a No... no.... Duplex's & homes or pretty much anything with a garage and parking for 2 more. 2) How is the Job market up there? I wouldnt feel comfortable working for a Casino, or McDonalds or anything... but what about other business's? Are there any large business's based out of Reno? and 3) Hows the General living up there? Does the gambling in Reno add to the crime rate or anything crazy? I love the place, expecially closer to Tahoe and Truckee Thanks Guys -Brian

I have no idea how to work on a Chevy 350, or any V6, V8 or I6. Trucks are just too damn big. Sube's are cheap -Brian

Ken, when i said 'cheap' i didnt mean value of the parts. Kinda meant that it was a cheaper way than building a new rear IFS. In reality, the Solid Axle is the only way to go. You and the Hatch Patrol (expecially you Ken) have always been pushing new limits, and this Brat was the perfect candidate for the swap. Hope I can keep up in August. -Brian

Adams right, it is a cheap way out... but its one of the only solutions we have at this time. It will be very hard to keep up with Ken now on the trails, even if you aren't in a Subaru. Did Ken go with a locked rear end? or is it welded? I assume the front end is all stock? -Brian

Looks pretty cool. Should be able to go anywhere now. -Brian