I have a lifted 88 wagon with a 2.5 swap in it and currently have an AWD dual range transmission for an 87 rx i think. On my way to the seattle area my transmission begin making some death growls and i need a replacement and want to know what parts would be needed to retro a newer transmission into my car if thats the only option. 

why not rebuild the  RX AWD D/R one you already have as its superior to to an EJ AWD D/R upgrade as RX has / should have a locking centre diff and rear LSD if fthe whole RX drive - line was fitted to your wagon

Yes, it's been done many times and is a considerable upgrade. Not so much with the dual-range ones, but that doesn't change much.

I'm in the Seattle area and my trans is making some death growls so I need an immediate fix no time to rebuild. The main reason I'm asking is because theres not a very good list of gl's at the pnp's so if I have to go newer o want to know what I need to make it work. Been searching online for info but without much luck.

I have a 85 Brat with a 2.2T and I have an Sti 5 speed in an older outback case. With my whole set-up I had to have a custom driveline made which was only $150. I believe the newer trannys are shorter than the stock ea tranny, hence the custom driveline and I had to make a custom bracket for the tranny to mount to the ea body. Hope this helps.

There are some pictures in my Royal Loyale thread of an EJ engine and trans in an EA82 body. The drive shaft had to be cut by 55mm or about 2".  As I recall the cross-member is a mix of XT6 and Legacy parts. It is a bolt in fit.

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/145759-royal-loyale/?hl=royal

Edited March 23, 201610 yr by Crazyeights

Awesome thanks. Little good news little bad news, turns out it wasn't my transmission making noise it was the u joint behind it. Figured this out when it finally snapped and the driveline started making a mess of things. Easy enough fix but apparently Subaru doesn't have serviceable u joints...

they should have

I rebuilt both joints on 87 Brumby (brat)

Not entirely sure on terminology but they are "stack" fit.? I've found several people that have replaced them with u joints with the inside clips but technically speaking they aren't serviceable

Not entirely sure on terminology but they are "stack" fit.? I've found several people that have replaced them with u joints with the inside clips but technically speaking they aren't serviceable

By serviceable do you mean grease them? I put in grease-able u-joints in my hatch without any problems. All the ea81 and ea82 drive shafts i have seen have the clips you hit out then you can press out the u-joint.

The rebuild kits come with new  T joint / new cups.  

 

Pop circlips, tap out old cups with the right sized socket as a drift, supported in a bench vise.

 

Tap in new cups in til circlip recesses in correct position to refit clips lining up T joint etc 

Technically, they are not serviceable. They are staked in u-joints, however, there was a video floating around on how to replace them. I have yet to find a driveline shop that will replace them for me so it's on my list of things to do.

Caboob, let us know if you find that video.  Just about every FHI joint I've ever touched feels notchy by now...

By serviceable do you mean grease them? I put in grease-able u-joints in my hatch without any problems. All the ea81 and ea82 drive shafts i have seen have the clips you hit out then you can press out the u-joint.

I see what you guys mean about how the ea82 u-joints are not serviceable now since they don't have clips. While waiting for my rear diff to drain on my hatch i took one joint off a ea82 drive line i had laying around without much fuss. You use a bench press so it breaks off the staked metal bits then hit the caps the rest of the way out with a small chisel. I'm probably going to buy 3 staked u-joints off rock auto for $7.34 apiece plus shipping to rebuild the drive line for my 82 coupe, or get a 1 piece made since i'm going to be running a rx d/r awd box in it.

That's what transmission I have right now, fyi the low range is disappointing compared to the standard dual range. But I'm still using the same driveline no need to modify it to fit at least.

That's what transmission I have right now, fyi the low range is disappointing compared to the standard dual range. But I'm still using the same driveline no need to modify it to fit at least.

It wont be for me since my 82 coupe came with a 2wd 3at. I'm converting it over to stock height of a 4wd coupe but with the rx awd trans and 5 lug parts. In a lifted rig you want a 3.9 5 speed d/r since it has the lowest gearing without going to ej trans or building a custom one. A ej trans should fit in your rig really easy since you probably already have the turbo 25 spline axles.

I was wondering about how the axles would work out. Preferably I do not want any sort of hybrid axle. Everything I do to this car has to be replaceable with off the shelf parts.

I am pretty sure that I used EA82 (non turbo) axles with inboard double offset joints from a '90's FWD Legacy. It took some fooling around to find a set where the splines matched up but it works like a champ. I might have more pictars if you need them.