Some newb questions

[MoscowSubaruDude]

Ok... I love Subaru's. No doubt about it. But I know next to nothing about them. I hear all these terms being bandied around, engine designations and whatnot, TOD(tick of death), EA-this, and EA-that... and I have no clue wtf ya'll are talkin about. So lets hear it. Anyone willing to cough up a few brief details about what all this is? As well as anything you can pull out of your head? I'd love to know more about Subaru's, besides my current knowledge. Said knowledge consists of how to work on *mine* and that this 2wd beater will go places that lifted 4wd trucks are scared to. Any help? Much thanks, in advance.

 

EDIT: Also, a comparison of an 85 2door 4wd 4sp, and an 87 rx Turbo, 4cyl, 5sp, 4wd, would be great... debating which one to buy. Only can afford one:( Thanks!

[555Ron]

Ok, i'd get the 87, but its a personal choice.

 

TOD - tapping sound of ea82 (85-94 old generation subaru engine) hydraulic lash adjusters/oil pump/general lubrication system tick that tell you that the lubrication system is on its way out. They will still run forever like this, once you hear it you will know it, its a metallic tapping sound.

 

EA71, 1.7L ovh engine, used to 1984 in Subarus. EA81 =1.8, ea61, = 1.6l etc.

 

EA82, 1.8l ohc engine, used 1985 - 1994 in old generation style vehicles except for utilities which used the ea81 in all years.

 

Legacy, impreza are classified as new gen or MY series, and use EJ** class engines where ** is engine capacity in litres. Its an Ohc engine with one timing belt (ea82 had dual belts) and fuel injected (all australian versions are, overseas may be different)

[Snowman]

Correction: the EA71 is a 1.6L engine

 

 

Helpful hint of the day: EJ-series engines, which came in the Legacy, Impreza, and pretty much everything after that, are easier to identify because the numbers following the EJ indicate the displacement. For example, the EJ22 is a 2.2L, the EJ25 is a 2.5L, etc.

 

Other terminology:

 

d/r = dual range transmission

 

ER27 = engine offered in the XT6 model. This is an EA82 with two additional cylinders, making it a flat-six.

 

EG33 = engine offered in the SVX. This is an EJ22 with two additional cylinders and is also a flat-six.

 

EA82T is the turbo version of the EA82

 

EA81T is the turbo version of the EA81

 

EJ20G is the turbo engine offered in the WRX (many people mistakenly call it the EJ20T, which is not an actual engine)

 

EJ22T is the turbo engine offered in the Legacy Turbo for a few years in the early nineties

 

gen 1 typically refers to any wagon, brat, etc made previous to 1980, however the brat was produced through 81 in that body style. These primarily came with the EA71 engine, but earlier models had the EA63 and some later models had the EA81.

 

gen 2 refers to wagon from 80-84, brats from 82-87, and hatches from 80-89. These predominantly had the EA81 engine with some exceptions.

 

Some people call the EA82 cars "gen 3". This refers to wagons from 85-94, coupes from 85 to whenever they discontinued (89? 90?), and sedans from 85-94.

 

The legacy has had four distinct generations, often called gen 1,2, 3, and 4. Gen 1 is from 89-94, gen 2 from 95-99, gen 3 from 2000-2004, and gen 4 from 2005 on.

 

The EJ25 engine has had 2 basic generations. Gen 1 is from 97-99, and was plagued by headgasket (commonly abbreviated HG on here) problems. Gen is 2000 on and the HG problems were reduced in this engine.

 

4EAT stands for 4 speed electronic automatic transmission

 

3AT stands for 3 speed automatic transmission (this one is a piece of junk btw)

 

I/C stands for intercooler

 

BOV and BPV stand for blow off valve and bypass valve, respectively

 

the TD04 is the turbo used on the WRX, which is commonly modified to fit onto the EA82T engine

 

SPFI stands for Single Point Fuel Injection. This system was offered on the EA82 from 85-94, with a significant change between 86 and 87.

 

MPFI stand for Multi Point Fuel Injection. This is the setup used on EA82T and EA81T engines, as well as all the EJ engines (compeletely different system on the EJ's, but is still called MPFI).

 

I really don't want to go into all the abbreviations for the sensors used by the EFI systems, as there are a ton of them.

[Snowman]

Oh, and definitely get the RX. Much rarer and cooler. It was Subaru's factory rally car back in the 80's, just like the WRX is today.

[MoscowSubaruDude]

Awesome... I'll take a better look at the RX now. If any of you are bored, a rundown of the differences in teh 4wd system ( i get the impression there IS a difference there, but not what it is) is between the two of them, engines, trannies, etc. I live in moscow, both cars are for sale in spokane, and i don't feel like running up there without cash in hand to tear them apart. Thanks a ton, I'll letcha all know what i get.

 

Chris

 

PS: also, one of my preferences/hopes is what i can do with the car. AKA is it better to jack it up 4 inches and put 15's/31's on it? or is it better to leave it stock/lower it an inch, put 15's/lo-pro, and have some street fun. I'm much more partial to the offroad stuff, btw. So whatever is better for that, I'll do.

[MoscowSubaruDude]

Also... lift kits, for both... availability? pricing? bolt-on? etc...

 

sorry for the flood of questions, it's 0230, i'm runnin on caffeine and nicotine, and my brain is in overdrive:P

 

Chris

[Snowman]

The RX is full time 4wd with a center differential you can lock and a 1.2:1 low range.

 

A regular EA82 has FWD normally, and either a pushbutton activated 4wd or a lever-activated 4wd. The lever-activated ones also have a 1.8:1 low range.

 

The RX is better for street use and rally type driving but not the best for serious offroading. If you're going to lift the car, get the other one, as it has a lower low range.

 

Lift kits are available from several sources. Do a search for the following terms and you'll come up with more info than you need: PK Davis, BYB, Allied Armament, SJR, Mudrat.

[eddygordouk]

im wonderin what people are saying when the refer to cars as "MY1999" as i have no idea what the MY is haha.

[MoscowSubaruDude]

Awesome info. Thanks a ton, bro(s)

 

Chris

[Snowman]

im wonderin what people are saying when the refer to cars as "MY1999" as i have no idea what the MY is haha.

 

Maybe it's Model Year?

[cmiller]

For lifts check out http://www.alliedarmament.com, referred to as AA, its what I am using. So for so good! Really well made with constant accessories being researched, fast shipping and good service! Very important to my decision. Their kit is bolt on, done in an afternoon. There are quite a few others out there that from what I've heard seem to be compareable, but I just have experience with AA. Do a search for lift kits and you will find a wealth of information and discussion on the different ones. I know that AA is putting together a Christmas group buy at a discount so keep an eye out for that. There is allready a thread for it here.... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=44599

 

 

There are several different kinds of 4WD that Subaru made, I'll just name a few but hopefully someone else will have a complete list. I don't know much about the '70's models but as far a the '80's there was a dual range 4WD transmission abbreviated D/R4WD with a good low range! Some models I think the Gl-10's had a LSD rear differential or Limited Slip Differential on them as an option with a 3.7 gear ratio. then later a push button 4WD only high range done with a vaccume hose system on most of the Loyales etc... There was also a full time 4WD on models like the RX and I think the XT(not sure though) its closer to the all wheel drive AWD system that Subaru has today. C'mon help me out here guys!!

 

Anyway I'm sure more people will pipe in here and if not just use the search option for anything. But as always don't hesitate to ask. There are so many people on here with years of experience with any kind of Subaru. That's why its the ULTIMATE Subaru Message Board!

 

Good luck and welcome to the board!