full time RWD?

[backinbrat]

just somin that was playing on my mind, is there anyway that the transfer box in the EA81 4 speed dual range could in effect be removed, and just solid drive powered to the rear wheels? im running RWD anyways now, but the transfer from 2 to 4wd is somin i dont really need, and potentially a weak point, and as well as a nice bit of weight reduction any ideas?

 

also, the front diff maybe at some point, any ideas?

 

oh and ive never even bothered looking inside one of these g boxes, i know theres too many bits!

 

cheers guys!

[idosubaru]

best bet is to just leave it running in RWD as you now have it.

 

it's been discussed before so you could try and dig up some old threads about it.

[GeneralDisorder]

It would be difficult, it would not reduce weight in the slightest, and it's not the weak link. Running in RWD will eat the transfer gears long before the 4WD engagement system will fail. It's well documented. Start looking for spare tranny's now....

 

GD

[idosubaru]

Running in RWD will eat the transfer gears long before the 4WD engagement system will fail. It's well documented.

where have folks had problems?

 

i know someone running this set up behind a 240 hp EG33, i've driven the car. it's actually an EJ trans with a bad case of torque bind! no problems for awhile now.

[monstaru]

i'm sure GD is talking about the ea d/r version.cheers, brian

 

 

where have folks had problems?

 

i know someone running this set up behind a 240 hp EG33, i've driven the car. it's actually an EJ trans with a bad case of torque bind! no problems for awhile now.

[Numbchux]

Qman, Turbone, and one other (who's name escapes me, ER27, divorced tcase in a brat, went off to the military some time ago, IIRC) all stripped out the transfer gears in theirs.

 

I've also heard of someone with a FT4WD turbo wagon doing it....although again I can't remember who.

 

 

of course. Archemetis here in MN drove his hatch with 30" tires and an ER27 (no divorced tcase, though) in RWD all the time. he would actually stop at the trail head to install/remove a front axle. and he was not gentle on it. I don't remember if he had a 4-speed or 5.

 

 

 

so yea, the EA transfer gears don't hold up well to being run in RWD only. although, every case I can think of involved people being pretty hard on their rigs (and, most of them involved more-than-stock horsepower and/or big tires). I think if you drive it fairly normally, you'd be fine. but, then, what's the point?

 

 

Of course, if you had a 5-speed in there, and you weren't concerned with making the front diff work. you could weld up an EJ center diff, and put the EJ center case/transfer gears on your EA82 5MT....which would be a drastic improvement (that's what I would do for a tcased rig...).

 

 

 

 

yea, there would be a little potential for reducing weight. but not much. and you'd have to fabricate some sort of block-off plate for the front axle stubs. some machining to eliminate the 4WD engagement stuff.

[4x4_Welder]

I ran my Hatch as a RWD for almost the whole time I had it (just under a year I think), and it was fine. I was not nice to it, either. The weak link was the rear diff mount bushing, but once I built that up with some black RTV, it was good to go. Low range launches, kick it into high after I topped out in 4th low, and it could actually merge!

[backinbrat]

so a vairty of comments there, some ok, some not such a good thing

 

this is kinda why i asked really, ask i know its not designed to stay in RWD all the time, and wondered of there was any point in getting bits out of it which may go boom, and i think diff mounts maybe slightly noisier than they were! haha

 

im running low pro tyres, RWD all the time, for about a year and a half now, a couple of standing burnouts have been done, spinning starts and all that, but not daily abuse, we shall see how it all holds up with a 150 horse or so EA behind it, no massive worries though, i do have 2 spare gearboxes! haha!