mexiburger

ya i thought you would. when I got this subaru I didn't know alot about BRATs and the title said it was and 81' and thats what I thought untill i wanted to buy a fuel filter for it(I didn't know what to think then). Then when I got the title transfered all the VIN numbers were really screwed up and after alot of phone calls I got the right title for it and now i know it's an 80'. now about the lift, I fabed it up myself and everything is the same as the newer subarus except for the rear suspension arm mounts. I figured out the angles and found that when it moves down 3in it has to be spaced out 1 and1/2 in to keep it in the right place. I used some 1 and 1/2 channel iron and welded some flat bar to the other side to do it. It's held up just fine and i havent had any problems with it.

After looking at it alot more I have determined that it is not the dash. I have a 3in lift and I was looking at the lift blocks under the trans crossmember mounts and i noticed that the unibody looked like it was smashed in about 1/8 in. I looked on my other subaru and it was flat under the cross member. so i think the force on the leading rod was great enough to bend the unibody. Would this usually happen or is ther alot of rust in there?? should I be worried about too much rust??

It's an 80' brat with a standard tranny and i don't think that there is a linkage to bend....the lever is kinda L shaped and bolted to the top of the tranny. but i will be checking that...

Ok the story goes like this: I was driving quite fast on a trail on my ranch and a very large hole in the road snuck up on me, I hit the breaks and the hole and heard a crack. then i noticed that it was in four wheel drive. I have an equalizer mounted under the dash and the 4X4 lever and now there is no room for the lever to move up so either the dash moved down or the tranny moved up. The tranny mounts look fine so i think the dash moved but i can't see any thing broken. Is there some thing that could bend that would do this? has this happened to anyone else? Thanks mexiburger

The front right cv shaft on my 80 brat is very loose on the shaft on the trans and it makes a thunk sound when i let off the clutch. I havent taken it apart yet so i don't know if the output shaft on the trans or the cv joint is worn (or both). Now, if the output shaft on the trans is worn would i be able to replace it without takeing the whole trans apart? is there any other way to fix this? Thanks mexiburger

all of everything is taken out all the wires that are running to them are the positive wires I really have no idea what is going on:confused:

thanks, i will check that would this problem make all my tail lights come on when i put it in reverse? and why would they still work with the ground unhooked?

thanks would this problem make all the tail lights and the front turn signals come on when i put it in reverse? and why would they work with the ground unhooked? i messed up.... i didn't want this reply to be here

thanks for the replys i have checked that stuff and it all looks fine. I think it is something in the wires somewhere because when I put it in reverse all the tail lights come on. when I turn on one turn signal the break lights on both sides come on veary dim and the turn signal works. with the head lights on the turn signals on bth front and back come on veary dim. I was thinking it was the wire harness but why wouldn't anything other than the lights be affected? And should the tail lights be working when the ground is unhooked and i have all the wire harnesses and lights laying on the floor? any ideas? Thanks mexiburger

I have an 81 subaru BRAT and something wrong in the wiring of the tail lights. The break lights and the reverse lights flash with the turn signals. I think all the harnesses from under the dash back are good and I cant see any thing wrong with any thing under the dash. when I unhook the the back harness every thing works fine up front so i dont think the problem is with the front lights. Is there any swich, relay or something that may have gone bad? Do the wires under the hood have any thing to do with the tail lights? Does anyone have any suggestions or advice that would help me? Thanks mexiburger

thanks for the reply, this really helps, but does anyone have a list of the parts I will need? It would really help. thanks, mexiburger

Ok i tried a search, i didn't really find any details on years. i just want to know if anyone thinks it would work. Thanks mexiburger

oh, sorry no I havent I will try

I am just wondering if it is possible to put a 5 speed (possibly dual range) trans from a 88 wagon in an 81 BRAT. i don't have the details for anything yet but may have the chance to do it. if I could what would i need for things like drive shafts, clutch or any modifactions i would need to do. Thanks mexiburger

I am just wondering if anyone has ever hurt a cylinder head by catching the exhaust on a rock or something. I just want to know if i should worry about this or not. thanks mexiburger

Thanks for the replys I checked all that stuff and I found the problems. the reverse swich had been disconected, but that happened after I checked everything after the lift. The 4X4 light isn't working because the shift lever extenson is too big around and the the lever support isn't letting the lever go far enough ahead. I think it's the weld so I will just grind it down. thanks mexiburger

I have just completed a 3" lift on my 81 BRAT and now my reverse and 4X4 lights don't work. they worked fine before and the wires didn't get pulled out. I have made modifications to the shifters but i don't think that this should make a difference because the switches are on the transaxle. I guess I don't really need these but I like them so I would like to get them working. Thanks Mexiburger

Thanks for the reply I'll check the routing, i think it goes over part of the heater. I am only running the stock size tire right now so that shouldn't be the problem. Thanks P.S. your beast is still beautiful

I am right in the middle of doing a 3" lift on my 81 BRAT. The speedometer cable reaches but seems a little tight. will this work or do i need to do some thing diffterent? Is there anything i can do or should i just unhook it and plug the hole? I don't really want to unhook it so can i get a longer cable or something? Also i think it is about 10 MPH off. Anybody know why and how to fix it? Thanks Mexiburger

thanks for the replys I know that there is no real off-road tires for 13" rims, I just wanted to find tires like what you told me about. I will start looking around and hopefully i can find something. Are there any links you can give me to help? Thanks

I was wondering what is the best tires you can fit on a 13inch rim. I want good tires for off-roading but i don't want to spend the money for new rims. Thanks mexiburger

I Am doing a 3" lift on my 81 Brat and i don't think the A/C pump will fit 3'' lower. i was thinking of just removeing it but i don't really want to and there is a fan driven by the belt. Do I need this fan or is there an easy way to move the A/C pump up?

I am lifting my 81 BRAT 3'' and I was wondering if it is necessary to move the bump stops.