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check the vacuum line on the fuel pressure regulator for wetness/fuel. maybe try a throttle body cleaning? like the SeaFoam with the curved nozzle gadget. check the knock sensor for cracks. can you get live data or freeze-frame data? what are the fuel trims? ignition timing/knock events?

Messing With Factory Settings is Fine for Old Cars....but Even then, the Factory could have Saved Tons of Money if You Didnt Need Thermostats..! Hiding a Problem Doesnt Fix It. New Subarus and Northstar Caddys have Gasket Issues... Messing with Factory Settings Confuses the Computer and Car will Think it is Cold...and Richen the Mixtures (Like Leaving a Choke On )...it will run crappy and load up converter...and decrease gas milage...and put out false readings if you need to Smog the car.... I experimented with this stuff....it doesnt Solve problems....but.....Good Luck....Your Results May Vary....!

If you're using the right gaskets, dry. If you're not using the right gaskets... you're not using the right gaskets.

B and I met travelvw last Friday in Missouri for some trail riding and camping. Within an hour we got to a paved stream crossing. Got enough water in the car the power locks on the Outback stopped working. Did some trail riding that night, saw some small waterfalls. Travelvw got stuck in a mud hole in his Marty McFly Toyota so I drove around and pulled him out. Didn't seem to hurt anything, he said later it was just an inch below the doors and trans/tcase vents. Camped out on a little hilltop, it was warm at night and rained quite a bit very early in the morning. The next day we followed travelvw around. Saw more little waterfalls and some excellent views. He talked us into trying one rocky climb that we probably would have just driven around on our own. I was able to get most of the way up the hard way in low with center diff locked but the ledges were spaced just right so I'd get all four wheels stuck in muddy ditches and couldn't quite make it all the way. Took an easier line and was able to make it up. B tried it in the Forester with the dual range a couple times, couldn't get quite as far, and took the bypass. Went to an old school bus that's been parked for a long time. Went to a campsite along a big stream and parked the cars, travelvw's friend R showed up and we all rode in travelvw's truck across the stream and a little farther down the trail to a cool waterfall. While we were walking around I saw a baby snapping turtle floating helplessly down the stream. Thought it was a leaf at first. I was able to grab it out of the water and showed the guys. It was playing dead so I took it back to the campsite. It eventually started crawling again so B took it in the woods so we wouldn't step on it. Sunday morning we went to a trailhead and travelvw got in B's car and R got in mine. We did a loop we'd done Saturday just to show R the trails and what the cars could do. More cool rocky climbs and great views. Stopped at an old cellar to make PB&Js and check on a few things, just tightened up some bolts. Kept going and got to a badly rutted out muddy section (with an easy bypass). Travelvw was going to just drive around it but when I told him I was going to try it he had to. After about half a dozen tries he made it through. I made it most of the way through and to keep from backing up and packing my skidplates with mud travelvw pulled me the rest of the way through. Got to an old farm and a strong flowing spring and big stream. Left front corner on the Outback was starting to make a lot of clunking noise. At first it just seemed like the control arm bushing(s) was worn out but then we noticed the subframe was cracked. Turned out later the inner tie rod was worn out too. It was supposed to rain an inch the next morning so we wanted to be fairly close to gravel so it wouldn't be too challenging to get out. Travelvw found a moth with a cool paint job. Monday morning I wanted to get off the trails before it started raining so we aired up and ran from the storm. Corner was a little sketchy on hard right turns but mostly unnoticeable on tarmac. Stopped at a little city park on the way home to get out of the cars and make PB&Js. While I was making them I saw something swimming in the pond, it looked like a carp. We looked at it closer and it turned out to be a common water snake. Got some good pictures of it and saw another one swimming around too. Power locks were working again by the time we got home. Overall a great trip, no major issues, each of us only got stuck once. Lots of low range usage. Probably the trip we've done where low range was most required just to make any of the major trail loops. Used it less than 5% of the time but absolutely required many of those times. Also made it a lot easier to hit some of the steps and obstacles slower than we would have in the past to go easier on the cars. By the end of the weekend I figured out that it's difficult to unlock the center diff (all other shifting super easy) so I only locked that when I really needed it, which was quite a few times. Travelvw wants the low range and long travel but is thinking he'd add 2” of subframe and strut spacers. This would reduce a lot of rubbing, banging, and scraping on those trails. I told him just stick with his Toyota for that kind of stuff but the lift would definitely have helped our cars down there. Already welded the crossmember and removed the control arm to replace the bushings. We're planning a couple of trips to the UP in late May / early June, if anyone's interested in joining us please PM me.

I'm no expert, but I haven't used copper spray on gaskets and had good results over the years.

As you can see, I haven't mounted the ECU yet lol. Mostly just trying to get it sorted before I wire anything in permanently.

Bennie! Thanks for reaching out! I would LOVE to do an ej22T conversion to keep it turbo - but the old dual range AWD trans might not be able to hold that kind of power. Plus the cost of these is going for 4-5k these days! My constant power is directly wired to the battery with a new 30 amp fuse inline, and my turn key power is at the old coil wire with a 15 amp fuse inline - I completely agree and I think I am going to switch it to the Black/white wire at the ignition key. The main goal at the moment was to get everything working correctly before I went full bore on it. All the crank and cam angle sensors are plugged in correctly, and none of the timing marks have changed. The engine was swapped directly out of the running 1996, WITHOUT any updates or changes to the engine. I wanted to minimize my possible errors as I worked towards getting the chasis running. - Once its running and all wired up, I am going to look into my rebuild options. I haven't tried any starter fluid yet.... and the reason is because my fuel line burst over night! literally after I got it pop off once or twice, I called it a night and the next morning the fuel pump line was rotted and leaked over a gallon on the garage floor lol... I got some new hoses today, and I haven't felt like crawling under where the gas has spilt. Great tip on the pitch stopper, I swapped over the ej22 pitch to the EA trans like you said, now I just have to get the old pitch stopper shortened. Let me tell you, finding that RX was pretty surreal. Pretty unique model here, from what my limited research has pulled up, only 2600 coupes made here in the US? Agree, I don't plan to rip any tires in it. My main goal is to get the EJ22 running for availability and maintenance, from there I have a complete interior that needs light restoration and a few rust areas to take care of. I will probably try to make some serious progress again this next weekend when I get those fuel lines swapped out. Thanks again!

Have you pulled the plugs out to see if any of them are fouled? Leaking injector could foul a plug.... etc. Sounds like a classic misfire to me. Diamond coil, NGK plugs and wires? GD

I would HOPE you never have to replace the oil level switch as this was a many questioned part in early FB engines when the oil USAGE was high. There were some threads on other boards that suggested customers who used Non Synthetic oil could have CLOGGED or caused problems with the sensor, but I never saw one of those myself. I also have a 2014 Impreza and if you have to replace it, YES it does come out with 2 small bolts, Yes the dealer price is under $100, BUT to get to it is a nightmare. If you crawl under your jacked up car, look straight up beyond the oil drain plug. You will see it there bolted into the cast UPPER or Middle oil pan. However the motor mount is right in the way. And to get that out of the way, you have to remove the steering rack OR lift the engine out of the car to remove that motor mount. The FSM has you lift the engine a few inches AND remove the steerling rack. If this happened to me with an 8 year old car with 155K on it ( my car ) , I might just unplug or find a way AROUND the light coming on and just check the oil level monthly or during every long trip as we used to do before we had so many indicators. As I check tire pressure regularly because TPMS usually come on when pressure is too low. Guess I'm just an old time mechanic with old habits ...... Still have a dwell meter, vacuum gauge and other old still working tools ......