el_freddo Posted Sunday at 10:22 AM Share Posted Sunday at 10:22 AM 8 hours ago, bushytails said: You're doing it wrong... you take off the shocks, then the three bolts on the trailing links, then the inner bushes, then drop the gas tank, then bolt up the 4x4 gas tank, the mustache bar and diff, and the trailing links with CVs... don’t forget to swap in the “K frame” that all mounts from, it’s got the front upper mount for the rear diff Cheers Bennie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushytails Posted Sunday at 12:55 PM Share Posted Sunday at 12:55 PM Hrmm, I could have sworn the 2wd still had it, but it's been so long since I've seen one, I seem to be mis-remembering! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted Sunday at 01:05 PM Author Share Posted Sunday at 01:05 PM 9 minutes ago, bushytails said: Hrmm, I could have sworn the 2wd still had it, but it's been so long since I've seen one, I seem to be mis-remembering! You're not the only one. I fortunately, didn't spend much time directly under the brats that I owned. If anyone has any spare parts, shoot me a PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted Monday at 08:41 AM Share Posted Monday at 08:41 AM Just wait until you get into torsion bar specs. Brumby/brat are heavier than the wagon. And a mob over your way makes new ones that are 30% stiffer from what I’ve heard. Cheers Bennie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted Monday at 02:53 PM Author Share Posted Monday at 02:53 PM Wow, did not realize they were heavier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted Monday at 07:34 PM Author Share Posted Monday at 07:34 PM On 7/11/2025 at 8:51 PM, bushytails said: The only available radiators are aluminum these days. If you use one, you must install a reservoir like a newer car has. From what I can tell, running them without a reservoir, with an air bubble in the top like these cars normally run with, causes them to instantly crack due to thermal stress as the air bubble moves around. So, what does most people use for the overflows now? Mt. Dew bottle zipped into place? Rather use something that looks somewhat factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushytails Posted Tuesday at 04:20 AM Share Posted Tuesday at 04:20 AM 19 hours ago, el_freddo said: And a mob over your way makes new ones that are 30% stiffer from what I’ve heard. Got a source on those? All I can find is references to swayaway, which seems to be out of business... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushytails Posted Tuesday at 04:22 AM Share Posted Tuesday at 04:22 AM 8 hours ago, Durania said: So, what does most people use for the overflows now? Mt. Dew bottle zipped into place? Rather use something that looks somewhat factory. I got a universal stainless steel one on ebay. Google, ebay, or amazon for universal coolant reservoir, universal coolant tank, and searches like that. There's tons of nice-looking ones available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushytails Posted Tuesday at 04:31 AM Share Posted Tuesday at 04:31 AM I should add, it's just my *theory* that not having a reservoir makes them crack. I've had a lot of problems with them cracking, and here's what I decided: With no reservoir, the radiator always runs with a bubble on top. Even if you fill it to the brim, when it warms up and expands, it'll push coolant out the cap, and pull air in when it cools. At idle, the bubble is at the top of the radiator. Coolant entering the upper hose at low velocity drops by gravity and slowly flows through the tubes, with the top couple tubes filled with air from the bubble. At throttle, the high-velocity coolant against the resistance of the tubes causes coolant to flow through all the tubes, including the top ones, and the bubble is pushed to the outlet side of the radiator. You can see this if you look down the cap with it running - the level drops when you give it any throttle. So, at throttle, the top tubes are filled with hot coolant, and are hot. As soon as you go to idle, and the bubble moves into them, the airflow over the radiator instantly cools the tubes down to air temperature. Then you give it throttle, and they get filled back with hot coolant, and instantly heat to coolant temperature. Then you go back to idle, and they drain and instantly cool to air temperature. And paper thin aluminum can only take so many 100 degree temperature cycles every few seconds before cracking... especially since when they cool, they contract against the force of the rest of the hot tubes expanding the tanks apart... I couldn't find any other claims about this when I extensively searched for info on them cracking - just lots of other people having mysterious cracks in fairly new expensive radiators. So, with no other competing theories, I'll go with the one I came up with! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted Tuesday at 10:09 AM Share Posted Tuesday at 10:09 AM ^ plausible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted Tuesday at 12:26 PM Author Share Posted Tuesday at 12:26 PM Picked up 5, spoked wagon wheels last night from a guy in Nashville that came off his BringATrailer Brat. Got a great deal as the tires are like new and Kuhmos. Dude even hooked me up with the spare tire retaining screw that I was missing. I was sad to see the retaining plastic rings are discontinued from Subaru. Guess I'm going to have to find someone to 3D print me some. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1024984#files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azdave Posted Tuesday at 02:45 PM Share Posted Tuesday at 02:45 PM 10 hours ago, bushytails said: I should add, it's just my *theory* that not having a reservoir makes them crack. My problem was a stupid radiator cap and how it fit (improperly) to the filler neck. The cap seemed to fit great when I installed it but unseen by me was the fact that when it was installed, the overflow relief spring was fully compressed and therefore, would not allow excess pressure to vent to the overflow bottle. It was basically a radiator cap with no safety relief whatsoever. I had just installed a new radiator, new cap, new clamps, all new hoses, new thermostat and new temp sensor but had to stay with the original heater core as it was not blocked and working fine until then. Guess which part split open when the coolant pressure was unable to vent? Note: I bought the radiator and cap from the same vendor who showed them as a correct fit but clearly they were wrong. Moral of the story here is to carefully check the fitment of your radiator cap to the filler neck. Half the stuff being sold online these days shows as "compatible" when it isn't and it cost me a heater core repair, which is a nightmare. After that mess, I got one of those radiator cap testers and confirmed that the cap released pressure properly. I also used a caliper to confirm the depth of the sealing ring within the radiator filler neck and compared it to the requirements of the radiator cap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted Tuesday at 03:06 PM Author Share Posted Tuesday at 03:06 PM If you can find it, please share the part number of the radiator you ordered so I know to avoid it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azdave Posted 20 hours ago Share Posted 20 hours ago 21 hours ago, Durania said: If you can find it, please share the part number of the radiator you ordered so I know to avoid it. I could not tell you the part number as the sales history is gone now but it is the same type as listed by several eBay drop shippers that pretend to be legitimate parts houses. The radiator had plastic end tanks. Just be sure the radiator cap and filler neck pair together correctly. If the spring in the radiator cap can move a 1/2" when you push on it manually, then make sure when you install it that it isn't being pushed in any further than maybe 1/4". The relief spring needs room to move after the cap is in place and when pushing down and turning to install my cap, I didn't notice that the spring was fully compressed and therefore had no pressure relief at all. I had burped the system really well so with no air trapped in the system, the hydraulic pressure built quickly as the engine heated. If I'd had some big air bubbles in the system, I probably would have been fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted 20 hours ago Author Share Posted 20 hours ago Threw the Brat wheels on last night and cleaned out the massive buildup for road grime on the fuel filler neck. I had this same problem on an 95 Outback and it rusted it out. I also found some wiper pins online so I could replace the originals that said Made in Japan. I assume people just kept doing the refills but I hate those things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted 14 hours ago Share Posted 14 hours ago I have those plastic rings and several old school folks have them. Last I knew just a few years back you could still get them using a west coast dealer through their distributor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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