Twin Stick D/R EA81/EA82 (Seperate Lo Range from the 4wd stick = LO Range FWD)

Twin Stick D/R EA81/EA82 (Seperate Lo Range from the 4wd stick = LO Range FWD)

First off this mod will give you the ability to run Lo Range in FWD! Good for turning big tires on the way to the trail, and real handy while on the trail when you need some torque but can sacrifice 4wd for a moment I.E. Hill climbs...

First find your Hi-Lo linkage, it's on the passenger side (driver's side on EA81's) of the tranny near the bellhousing:

Take out that linkage bar to get a start. You can see in my picture which way is hi and lo. In other words pull towards the passenger compartment for hi, pull towards the front for lo. So you can see it removed and the joint just hanging there.

Take the linkage bar and do what you like with it (you may use it in your install).

I had already set this up once, but you will need to figure out:

Where you want your second stick?

How you want to connect the linkage?

Which will lead to needing to put a hole in the floor, and laying out the new linkage for measurement, mounting ideas, etc. The following is just how I did mine and is just to help get an idea on how it can be done. My parts list included (Just remember I'm the type of guy who uses what he has laying around):

Old steel curtain rod with thread ends

A couple inch coupler

An L bracket I cut to a straight piece of metal

Two bolts that threaded into the ends of the curtain rod

A random 14mm bolt that threads into the joint on the tranny

A spare blue 4wd handle

A C bracket for holding electrical conduit

Some wire, glue, welder, other misc things:

The linkage really runs inside the tranny tunnel, so I needed to offset it to bring it into the passenger compartment. Did some measuring and guessing and drilled a hole through two layers of floor (because of where I choose). The curtain rod happened to very close to length I wanted, and I needed to extend it a tad/plus put in small section that will be part of lock idea. I measured the distance inbetween the layers of floor and cut myself a coupler a tad longer.

I then welded the coupler in place. This coupler also serves as a stick point in the body that makes it stick in Hi or Lo by catching on the holes going through the floor. I egg shapped the holes so all you have to do is pull it towards you a tad to get past the "lock".

I then measured the distance from my hole in the floor to the link on the tranny to get my offset bar length and where to drill the bolt holes in the bar. I drilled out the bolt hole for the link on the tranny (I messed up the first time which is why there is two holes on the link side, helped for adjustment though). I then drilled another partial hole for my new linkage bar. I drilled it just enough to stick the curtain rod in it, then drilled a smalled hole through the middle of that for the bolt. This just made it easier to weld.

Curtain rod fitted and bolted

I then tightened up the curtain rod, and welded it up for good strength.

I then worked some magic with a couple bolts, welder, and glue to make myself a geniune Subaru 4wd handle that screws into the other end of the linkage! Gave the likage a coat of paint, and took a break.

Once the paint dried, not that it matter since it just flaked off anyways..I went to putting it all together. Put the new linkage through the floor and bolted it to the link on the tranny with a random 14mm head bolt I found that worked perfect.

Once that was done I moved inside. I already had it running between my CB and console so I just kept it that way.

You can see the almost finished picture here, will explain the rest next. So I used a C clamp to hold it in place loosely, threaded in my home made handle, and wrapped up the bar with some electrical tape just to make it look a tad better. I then moved on to moving my lo light switch (yes I like to see the lo light up on my dashboard).

Your Lo light switch is located underneath your shifter. Just pull off your shifter and piece around it and you will locate it. I simply extended the wires and hung the switch on the side of console above the new linkage.

I then got tricky and used an old flat blade tip for a screwdriver and did some moving and marking then welded it into place on the linkage to trigger the Lo light.

In the Hi position:

In the Lo position (notice the little black button got pushed in to trigger the light):

I tested it all out and put my CB back on to hide the Lo light switch and just because that's where it belongs. So I ended up with a finished project that looks like this:

BEWARE! You can break front axles fairly easily with big tires and this mod...just don't go dropping your clutch for fun! Enjoy your new driveability with big tires and running the trails in front wheel drive Lo!