Well, only if you don't want to snap the top two bolts, have your starter fall off and blow the rear seal on the ej22 the way I did last week.

 

I totally forgot about that after it became drivable. :-\

I ran my EJ swaps for a long time with no pitch stopper.

 

No problems other than it puts alot of stress on the motor mounts (tore a few) Installed them cause I got sick of changing motor mounts.

 

I don't see how not having a pitch stopped alone would cause all the issues you describe.

 

Something else was going on as well.

I second that... you have a second problem going on. Pitch stopper will not effect the starter and rear main seal problem that you are having. I've ran both my older wagon and my SVX without the pitch stoppers (because I snapped them) as gloyale stated, the engine mounts will stress and wear ALOT more, and you may see some exhaust breaking because the engine can rock farther forward and back than it can with the stopper installed

my Loyale never had a pitch stopper after the swap. it's been running for about 5 years. easily 50k miles now. zero problems. one of the motor mounts was torn when I put a fresher motor in it last year. But it had about 285k on it...so that doesn't surprise me.

 

 

+1 for other problems.

Well, only if you don't want to snap the top two bolts, have your starter fall off and blow the rear seal on the ej22 the way I did last week.

 

I totally forgot about that after it became drivable. :-\

 

sounds like tranny to engine mating problem

snapping the top two bolts would happen if all of the bellhousing bolts were left loose. I noticed this happening on my SVX last night when I bolted the transmission up. The last 1/8" of the dowl pins were rusty and it wouldnt let the gap close up tight, I tightened down one of the upper bolts and I heard a pop. I assumed that everythign was still tight. When I went though and double checked all of the bolts at the end of the job, I found that 3 of the 4 bell housing bolts were an 1/8" loose. If I was to drive it, the upper bolts could have loosened up enough to allow the engine to move just enough from the transmission to break the bolts.

 

The rear main seal issue, thats a different story. Did you initally replace the rear main seal before all of this happened? If it wasnt changed, it may have been partially blown out of the housing before hand and it was coincidental that it popped completely out around the same time that the top bolts snapped

Mine has a pitch stopper on it and I've never had an issue:grin:

I am using the EJ style pitch stopper bracket on my 6" lifted ea82 wagon (ej swapped). It is extended and sleeved. I had to re-weld it once because the welds broke, which leads me to believe that... The first welds were not strong enough, and yes, torque is transferred through the pitch stopper and it is useful to have in there.

 

My $0.02

 

Spencer

I find it neccessary personally - I don't like the feel of the engine slamming back and forth when I transition on and off the gas pedal. On my lifted wagon (EA81 with SPFI) I just used a 1.25" wide by 5" long section of 1/4" plate to extend the pitching stopper mount UP from the engine so the forward/backward force is compressing the pitch rod directly along it's shaft. This way I use the stock pitch rod and it is not weakened by being placed at greater than 90* to the forces being applied. I also did away with the rubber mounts in favor of a hard mounting.

 

GD

Thats great Pooparu , bolts were tight, checked them that morning, did a once over on everything before i drove the three hours to the new pad. I did loose a muffler on the trip though, broke it at the crossover, about mid trany. I think part of the problem was that i used number ten hardened bolts so instead of bending they just poped off. The swap went faster than I would have liked because I had an unemployed buddy helping me while it was sitting in one of the empty bays at my shop and i was working. I lost 6 feet of exhaust on one side along with a resinator tip and muffler. I need to just pull it and go through it and do it all myself so I know what i have.

Anybody have pics of there EJ swapped pitch mount installed?

Anybody have pics of there EJ swapped pitch mount installed?

 

I'll try an get a pic up for you tomorrow-ish...

For EA82 cars...

 

The bracket from a Manual trans Legacy, Outback or Impreza (probablyy Forester too) will bolt right onto a EA 5sdp. Then you can use any pitch stopper cut and sleeved to length.

 

For EA81 cars...

 

If you swap to a 5sdp, you can use the bracket too. Altough witht he EA81 body the body mount is off center, so the rod will either need bent, or the mount can be modified.

Mine will be the WRX 5 speed into a EA82 body ,87 RX.

Here is mine, mounted to a 5mt d/r behind an ej22, loyale wagon lifted 6".

 

 

 

Perfect example

I forgot I had this video already uploaded to YouTube....this is WOT, and intentionally hard shifts. No pitch-stopper, and hadn't for a couple years at that point.

 

 

I think the FT4WD helps....but it's still really solid.

After driving without one for 30k miles and then adding one, I'd say it makes a noticeable difference in driving. Tighter shifting, less vibrations, etc. Makes the old wagon feel less old....

I don't have one,, but I want one.

Well, it's all bolted back together now. I am going to fab up a new duel exhaust system this Friday. I have it lay out and need to weld it up, as soon as I install a 30amp breaker and plug for 240 volts.

Well, it's all bolted back together now. I am going to fab up a new duel exhaust system this Friday. I have it lay out and need to weld it up, as soon as I install a 30amp breaker and plug for 240 volts.

 

If you're gonna be using a 240 welder you will want a 50 Amp breaker. 6 Gauge wire

That is what I used. Thank you for the help and advice as always.

Chaz

So I'm nearing the 100k mile mark on my ej swap and to celebrate I'm going to build a better pitch stopper than the one that snapped 50k miles ago and replace my engine and transmission mounts.  Please post up pics of how you did your pitch stopper if you would.  I used the stock brat pitch stopper with the threaded end.  I had to bend it to get it to work and of course its wimpy and snapped.  

 

I've got the ej22 and the ea82 5mt in my 84 brat.  I'd love to see what some of you folks have done.  Thanks in advance.  

Edited July 17, 20169 yr by crockettbrat