So ive been planning on doing the ea82 tranny swap into my 97 OBS. The one hiccup is me trying to talk myself into throwing the bigger tires on to complete the lift. My 3.90 tranny struggles as it is with the stock tires so I dont see how throwing bigger tires on the car will help, other than clearance and filling the wheel well better than the stocker tires once its lifted.

My friend has a mid 90's legacy outback wagon with frontend dammage. So I plan on taking the suspension from that for the obs. We got to talkin about gettin more power out of the ej22. After a few combinations we figured why not swap out the whole drivetrain. I loose the low gear I was origionally looking for in the D/R but gain power, keep AWD, and 4.44 finaldrive ratio.

The OBS is my daily driver that hits the trails on the weekends.

 

 

So I guess what Im saying is... What would you do?

97 OBS should be an EJ22 with a 4.11 ratio trans?

 

90's Outback will an EJ25 but will also be a 4.11 ratio trans.

 

So.....I don't see where swapping anything in that combo would beneifit other than a few ponies from the EJ25.

 

Now, with the 3.9 EA D/R, you would have a taller final drive, but the gears themselves are lower and closer toghether. So it would work out fine, and with the low range you'd have the torque when you need it.

the EJ22 doesn't have enough power? that sounds strange, the EJ swapped guys love the EJ22 for offroad?

My 97 obs has 3.90 final drive ratio.

this is exactly what ill be doing here real soon. i did some research and you can "mod" the d/r with a 4.11 AWD pinion shaft. this lets you run 4.11's giving your engine a break and seemingly more power. i have the link to the build page if needed..

 

ill be doing as much as i can to give it all the HP the drive train (axles, lift,tranny & diff and whatnot) can handle

 

ADDING AM

cams

valves & springs

6 angle seat grinds

true port and polish

turbo (maybe) unless i get a turbo'd obs

 

 

you get the idea

 

id like to know what ya have in mind. i cant wait to start my build

this is exactly what ill be doing here real soon. i did some research and you can "mod" the d/r with a 4.11 AWD pinion shaft. this lets you run 4.11's giving your engine a break and seemingly more power. i have the link to the build page if needed..

 

ill be doing as much as i can to give it all the HP the drive train (axles, lift,tranny & diff and whatnot) can handle

 

ADDING AM

cams

valves & springs

6 angle seat grinds

true port and polish

turbo (maybe) unless i get a turbo'd obs

 

 

you get the idea

 

id like to know what ya have in mind. i cant wait to start my build

 

what i had in mind was to pull the ej25 engine, trans and rearend. along with the suspension and wheels

Edited October 1, 201015 yr by impoutback 97

My 97 obs has 3.90 final drive ratio.

 

???

 

You are possitive? cause lower gearing and larger tires is what I thought made them "outbacks" and not just a 2-tone painted impreza.

Yeah, Im positive. My 97 Impreza Outback Sport came with 3.90 final drive ratio. Which makes it possible to do the ea82 tranny swap. The ea82 also has 3.90 final drive ratio. If I were to take the outback wagons trans and throw it in my OBS then I would also have to swap out the rear axle and gearbox to match the final drive ratio in the outback wagons trans. (4.11 final drive ratio, i think)

this is exactly what ill be doing here real soon. i did some research and you can "mod" the d/r with a 4.11 AWD pinion shaft. this lets you run 4.11's giving your engine a break and seemingly more power. i have the link to the build page if needed..

 

It's not that easy.

 

you need a P/T D/R EA case and upper shaft, a FT4wd EA box for a set of gears that will fit, and a 4.11 AWD for the lower shaft.

 

Various shift forks need swapped, and the 4.11 ring gear needs to be "clearanced" to not hit the D/R shift collar.

 

Pretty complicated and takes alot of $ for donor parts trannies.

It's not that easy.

 

you need a P/T D/R EA case and upper shaft, a FT4wd EA box for a set of gears that will fit, and a 4.11 AWD for the lower shaft.

 

Various shift forks need swapped, and the 4.11 ring gear needs to be "clearanced" to not hit the D/R shift collar.

 

Pretty complicated and takes alot of $ for donor parts trannies.

 

its only expensive if you dont know how to shop/look around. and i know its not novice level mechanic work but the build thread is there with a lot more guidance on here.

 

its something ill be doing for sure ill add everything up when it comes down to it..

 

awesome input though

Started tearing the suspension off today. Gonna leave the drivetrain alone and stick with the 3.90 gearing in the d/r for now. Ill just run the obs' stock tranny for now with the lift until I get the tranny adapter plate made and driveshaft refitted