superu

Coming to America 2013!! http://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/27/subaru-impreza-xv-headed-to-u-s-for-2013/ Hopefully it'll stay good and not downsized of its goodness like the STX did when it became the Baja.

So My dad emailed me asking about a new Subaru model, for off-roading, to compete with Jeeps, and the like. I figured I or others here would be in the know for anything new and off-road subaru.. Mybe he's talking about the concept XV, which is just a lifted OBS. But a factory "lifted" OBS with 09-10 forester ground clearance numbers (i.e. 8.9") is pretty cool!! Anyone know more? here's a quick autoblog link http://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/13/2012-subaru-xv-frankfurt-2011/

Copy that, plus this Scion Scion tC go home Mad Max, there's a Scion on the scene ;D

Not sure what KM2s are, but I'm sure he says thanks! I think he has a (kind of non-standard) 4" lift with 33's. I'll get the links to his favorite forums for you, but here's on he likes, and it's a Forester build from a cruiser guy! http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/55509-Forester-ExPo-Subaru-Project

Yeah, my friend loves his '96 But it sounds like (from page 2/3) you're already missing the ease and simplicity of your subie's engineering BUT there is something to be said for torque, lockers and LOW gears

I like the pump on the tire

on gen 1 OBs you can put gen 2 Forester (03-08) strut assemblies on and get another 1-1.5" lift over OB suspension.. It's a simple Bolt-off -- bolt-on job, otherwise king/scorpion springs will do about the same (about +1 "), but really extend your OB struts so they're at near full extension always... that'll shorten the strut life :-\ and strut spacers/blocks will push the body up off the top of the strut = lift and more clearance for taller tires. a few companies around make 1" spacers, and you can find 2" and 4" spacers... Over 2ish inches TALLER that stock and you'll want to space down your drive line components. Look at an OB's suspension compared to a legacy and you';ll see what all you need to drop Here are some links to check out http://www.dirtyimpreza.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20597 http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2166272 http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=329349 http://www.dirtyimpreza.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16296 Cheers, and happy lifting!

NICE, my friend loves his 96 Say it ain't so . . .

Japan and Australia!!

It's a flexible rubber dust cover, I can't figure how lift would promote THAT boot to blow out, reliably? Do you have any speculation why the pass inner BOOT would blow?

I'll copy that. Actually OB struts give like 1.5" lift (strut shaft length difference) and tires (27" over stock 24" in my case) give another 1"ish, THEN FOR sprigs in the rear struts gave me about another 1" lift and SVX front springs provide about an inch more up there, so 2.5ish in suspension and 1ish in tires. So I guess I'm a around 3.5" over stock ground clearance (in a strut and spring-lifted 95 legacy)? At any rate I'm running a little over 2" > stock and no problems to speak of... Ran OB struts and springs for 6.5 years, no probs even on old CVs. Then with FOR and SVX springs I got a new half shaft, whose boot split within 6 months, but the other 3 old shafts are fine... So I argue between 2-3 inches is still ok on the axles... You have to take into account suspension travel and applying that torque during travel. if folks are "wheeling" on 2+" lift then they're applying that torque at more extreme axle angles. And if they're not reporting problems, maybe 2" over stock isn't the magic number for realigning drive line components. Maybe it could be revised to 3" over stock? my 2 cents...

Awesomeness!! But really, what IS the purpose of those stifling backing plates on these vents and similarly with gen 1 OB hood scoops, and others?

ooooo I almost had the opportunity to make it to the WCSS a few weeks ago, but ended up flying instead of driving to OR... I understand the take on pulling the route then moving on But in my rock climbing world (back in the day we always had to climb a route clean 2 times to call it good soooo, it would be cool to get your impressions of pulling that line now that you've got the EJ22 and all your other sweet mods since the first run. I'm just sayin' . . . leter G, -mw-

Nice Gregg!!! You've pulled this hatch together very well!! How does she pull firebreak 5 (is that what that line is called?) now?? cheers, -mark-

I think folks that do the EA 4x4 swap into an EJ, with the adaptor plate use XT or RX clutch kits... ?? supposedly better than a GL spec, but not quite the spec of an EJ

FWIW, I'm running a 95 legacy on outback struts and gen 1 forester springs (rear) and SVX springs (front). I have a heavy tube bumper and BEEFY skid plate (read: 140 lbs together), so the SVX springs actually do well at holding up all that steel, otherwise it'd be much higher in front than the comparative FOR spring lift in the rear... plus 400 pounds of mud At any rate, I replaced a front passenger CV last year during a steering rack swap (it was OB springs then and no skidplate), I did the SVX front springs this spring and this summer I blew that new CV's boot... so maybe 9 months on the CV and maybe 2 of them on the SVX springs, Probably just coincidence, as this is a sample size of one so I can't say definitively. But I had NO problems with boots or CVs on the OB strut/spring combo for the 7.5 years prior... The rear FOR springs are going on 2 years now and the SVX springs are about 5 months or so. The camber is out of spec on all four corners and I think the front is still out of spec even WITH a camber kit using SVX springs in OB strutrs (gen 1 FOR upper perches). The rear is a touch out of spec with the FOR springs in OB struts, but a camber kit would bring those back... Of coarse the alignment tech could e a doof.

it's actually a good post.. My wife's 03 OBS has a slight oil leak and needs a clutch, so I say, "might as well swap the head gasket while the engine's out." since it has 103K on it... so I'm calling it preventative maint. what are people's recommendations on what to replace the HG with... I've gotten on board with using car quest for parts, rather than Check/O'Reilly, so I would just use whatever Car Quest gets in for her model and year, etc. Is that cool, or do peopl have another recomendation?

Yeah, i figured that was their angle... CYA. But they wrote back and said, essentially "we don't do overseas, but we can ship to someone in Australia if you know anyone." So that's that. Not to be on this one... so it goes.

^^ ditto. If you go for it, you should consider all the subframe spacers from an outback...

You old gen guys are WWWAAAYYYYYY more extreme, and my hat's off to you! Here are a few from my archives.

Had to ad a shot at the top of Kennebec pass. I LOVE these arrivals, ALL trucks/SUVs and my sedan!

That's good stuff Bennie and a great idea to get EJ AWD in a dual range over here, from what we have available here!! BUT, pressing off and on 1-5 gears and reverse sounde like a "hand of God" proposition to me... It's that that turned me away from trying to reserve my 3.90 FD legacy's 5th instead of the 99 OB 5th I now have... which works out fine, i just drive 65 instead of 70- 75 on the interstate.. No big deal. But could you show or draft into a picture, where or what on the crown wheel and or casing one would need to shave/grind wo stuff 4.11 or 4.442 in the GL low gear? And would that hold true with an EJ dual range gearbox case? Ciao

Hey Bennie, so their response to my inquire was this, "Hi Mark, We will need a VIN number as there are several types and they do not interchange We also need a delivery address so we can calculate freight Kind regards, David" So isn't remote and Australia a redundancy? j/k Yea it seems rediculous for you to ship it to you then you to figure out how to ship it back to the coast then to the states then to southeastern Utah... I'm pretty remote here (an hour and a half from the "big" town of 60,000), but at least we get mail daily and like 3 million visitors/tourists a year. . . :0 At any rate.. Yes, a 4.11 dual range 1.44:1 5MT out of a 97-98 fozzie would be great.. It's would be bolt-on EJ dual range and pretty sweet. while not the ideal 1.59:1 reduction of a gl (which I can source here readily and cheap), a 44% reduction would be a WHOLE lot more low gear than what I've got now!!! THEN if that isn't enough I could always drop it again and go for the GL/EA82 low mod as you mentioned... So despite my researching (which has yielded a lot of good info) and efforts, I haven't scored a dual range EJ 5MT yet, but I know what to look for and what would work, and what I'd need to do with the available optiopns over there. So, my 1st choice would be a 97-98 fozzie out of an EJ20, second would be any fozzie 99 and later or outback with an EJ25 ( i think those had 4.11s). other than tha any good but cheap dual range5-speed AWD. Then I'd swap front diffs (for the 4.11s) and my soon to be LSD rear 4.11 diff. So, given their response to you and what I expect to hear back, i think the wrecking option you directed my inquiries to is done, but a good step and help which I thank you for.

THAT is F-in sweet!!!! And this as well!!

Yes, I didn't open the boxes or pull off the rear casing to fiddle with 5th gears.... later replies indicated that it's a big mess to get into that, even though the 5th gear is in the rear case and you don't have to mess with opening the main case... Word was they did some changing in 99 (my new gear box) and bearings, tollerances, races, etc might not have been interchangable with my old 95 5MT... YES!! good call, you'll be very happy once you get your dual range 5MT with 4.11s and the GL low gear figured out.. You're doing a center diff lock too right?? Isn't that then an open center diff when not locked? How does that behave in normal operating conditions compared to a Viscous center diff, like if you were in rain or snow (now that I know you have snow where you are curious. . . Thanks for the heads up on the fozzies.. I'll drop them a line... If you can get me a Dr EJ box, as you alluded to, "If worse comes to worst I could pull a DR EJ box and send it over -" I assume you mean a liberty or something that's 3.90??? thus all the chat of, "[having] to get some tricky bit sorted in terms of a single range 4.11 foz box and have the upper gearsets pressed off the donor box and onto the DR box's upper shaft that incorporates the low range" to get 4.11s in a cheaper dual range EJ tranny? Keep in touch Bennie, so far you've become a most reliable and consistent connection with the southern hemisphere! There are a few others too, but circumstances have been such to make them have to back out :-\. . . Ciao!