Ok, so i'm in the process of making an xtgl/XT6 mashup. Both cars are fwd. I know i gotta Frankenstein the axles up front. Can i put the xt6 outer cv's on the fwd axles? As in pull the snap ring, and transfer the whole cv onto the axle shaft splines.

 

Second, can i transfer the whole rear suspension subframe and all from the 6 to the gl? Or would it be better to just transfer the arms? Trying to gain the rear sway bar here.

 

I know someone on here has to have done this at some time.

 

Thanks in advance!

The rear subframe is essentially the same, minus the mount for the front of the rear diff. The swing arms are what the sway bar mounts to. Make sure to use 4wd rear struts with the 4wd swing arms unless you want a 2" lift.

Fairly sure CV axles from a 1st ben FWD Impreza are the way to go.

Fairly sure CV axles from a 1st ben FWD Impreza are the way to go.

 

Those require some creativity with the inner wheel seal. I did some research on theoretical solutions and have posted it a couple times.

 

 

CV axles are weird, the shafts change diameter and spline count with very little pattern. If it's ever had a reman axle put on it, you have zero prayer. A local friend of mine 5-lugged my old FrankenWagon with the PT4WD D/R (23 spline) trans in it, and he was able to create one good axle by swapping the 23 spline inner onto the XT6 shaft with what he had, but had to be several reman axles to get another combination that worked.

 

 

Rear suspension crossmember is identical between the FWD XT6 and FWD EA82. Just swap the arms, it's easier.

Edited October 24, 20169 yr by Numbchux

I have some ej knuckles, would that make my axle search easier?

From my experience, and a few others on the forum, legacy/impreza axles are a bit too long to work in the ea82/xt6 platform without extending the control arm roughly an inch.

Looks like I'll be seeing my buddy with an ea junkyard i know the 6 is on oem axles. Not sure of the ones in the gl. Hopefully he can hook me up. That means from here on out, i'll be remanning my own axles

I know finding a fwd turbo trans is a looooongshot, so I'll do what i can with what i have.

I've used EJ axles/knuckles with XT6 control arms on 3 different cars (2 different sets of axles, 3 different sets of control arms, at least 3 different strut/spring setups) without any trouble.

 

EJ knuckles/brakes with '93-'94 Impreza FWD MT axles and EA81 tie rod ends should be a bolt-in.

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/122306-hybrid-axle-help-asap/

Sooooo long story short, i either need a fwd turbo, or xt6 trans to make my life easier.

Is the gl a 5mt? If so you can swap the stub axles to 25 spline stubs. Requires disassembling the transmission, but it's not a difficult job.

Yep, but the xt6 is auto

I have a bad mainshaft bearing ej 5mt up here I'll donate the stubs from if you're interested in doing it.

How is the XT6 being an auto relevant?

The front diffs in auto & manual are the same width. As long as you find the correct spline count for the inner CVs for your driveshafts, you'll be sweet.

BTW, the stubs from a 4wd gearbox should fit a FWD gearbox. It's only the back half of the trans that's different.

So wagonist, you're saying i should be able to use the stubs from the 4eat in the 5mt?

Its looking more and more like i should just do a rear disk swap and a 6lug conversion.

If you go that route I'll buy the 5 lug parts if you wanted to sell them.

Paul - I now own your old silver XT6 and I found out two nights ago it has EJ axles with XT6 hubs.  The passengers side wheel bearing was shot.  The other side looks to be an EJ axle as well.  So if you want to risk/replace seals/bearings, EJ axles can work in an XT6 hub.

 

 

So wagonist, you're saying i should be able to use the stubs from the 4eat in the 5mt?

 

I think he meant stubs from 4WD to FWD - meaning both automatic, are interchangeable.  auto's just pop out of the trans, MT's are integrated into the front diff.

 

I have an XT6 MT if you want to make an offer that makes me want to pull it. lol

I put those axles in that car. They're O'Reilly's parts. I had to go back 3x to get axles that fit!

I have till spring to decide about 5 luggin my gl. I work outside, and i won't have weather much longer

No, I meant you could get the stubs from a manual 4wd to put into your FWD box to get a higher spline count.

Ok, so barring the 5lug, how hard is it to swap rear disks to a fwd? While I'm at it I REALLY want the rear sway bar too.

Ok, so barring the 5lug, how hard is it to swap rear disks to a fwd? While I'm at it I REALLY want the rear sway bar too.

 

About the same as a 4WD. The hubs, and maybe the backing plates, are unique to FWD, so it's best to have a FWD donor car.

 

 

If you want the sway bar, you'll need the whole suspension arm. You could actually grab the whole trailing arm, bearing and brake assembly from a 4WD car. But then you'd need the 4WD shock.

That junkyard I pointed you to on Facebook has at least one fwd gl-10 turbo wagon in it. Last I laid eyes on it a few months ago it still had the rear disc setup on it.

I'm assuming I'll need the master cyl as well, right?