hankosolder2

Ben, Sorry to hear that your JDM motor is somewhat incompatable. I have heard conflicting things here re: EGR... the driver's side cyl head needs to be drilled and tapped into the exhaust passage to feed the EGR valve- unless it has a blanking plug in it. Some folks claim that drilling & tapping is easy, some claim that it's easy to accidentally break into a water passage. It would probably be easiest to get a complete intake manifold, EGR valve, backpressure valve, EGR solenoids & tube from a US '95 2.2. Make sure the intake manifold donor an AUTOMATIC 2.2, or it may not have an EGR valve. You could swap out the driver's side cylinder head with the proper one if you don't want to deal with drilling/tapping. Could you just live with an always on CEL, or does your state require emissions testing? Nathan

Hi, I don't usually frequent the historic forum, but I was curious about older Subies. Has anyone noticed the striking styling similarity between a '69 FF-1 and the (British) Ford Corsair? (You can see a pic on fordcorsair.com.) Perhaps this is "old hat" around here, but it really jumped out at me. Judge for yourself. Cheers, Nathan

>I think that your experience illustrates an opinion I've held since we first >got our subaru. AWD does not make a car safer, it doesn't make it handle better, nope sorry. I actually think that the AWD gives a false sense of security, and certainly when we bought our subaru my expectations were far too high. I think our subaru has an understeer quality that is dangerous, it pushes through the turns too much in the slop. ---- I pretty much agree with you, but the ability to accelerate in slippery conditions is a HUGE safety bonus. For example: you commit to pulling out onto a road, then discover that the conditions are more slippery than expected-- after you're partially out into the intersection and cars are closing in on you! AWD cars are much more foolproof in that situation. Front wheel drive cars are just lousy at putting the power down when you're trying to accellerate with the front wheels at a sharp angle (like pulling out into an intersection.) Side note: Car and Driver did a comparison test comparing AWD versus FWD & RWD cars of the same make and model (I.e. you can get some Audis as FWD or AWD and some Mercedes as RWD or AWD.) The RWD Benz on snow tires pulled the most G's in slippery corners compared to all the other drive wheel/tire combos. The reason- best front/rear weight distribution... Subarus are nose heavy and are going to want to understeer. (I assume that's what you mean when you say that they "push" too much through corners.) Cheers, Nathan

Let's not forget the "Check Engine Light." You don't hear people requesting advice because their CML is on! There's something about referring to it as a "motor" which is endearingly blue collar... think of the classic Blues Brothers dialogue "It's got a cop motor/ cop shocks and no catalytic converter so it'll run good on regular gas." (I think I have that more or less correct...) Nathan

that being said...being expensive is one thing...now i don't even trust them because they're nice to one guy (you) and try to hose the next guy (me). i don't mind expensive depending what, who and honesty. i have friends that are mechanics and they don't work like that. Gary, Maybe they noticed the grease under your fingernails and knew you were a "tire-kicker"? (or whatever the correct term is for someone who goes to a mechanic for a quote but isn't serious about having the work done at that shop.) BTW, Gary, thanks for your advice about the 2.2> 2.5 swap about a year ago (or however long ago that was. Time flies...) I DIYed it and it worked out great. Nathan

I think people on the USMB are quick to cry "rip-off." I personally do all my own work (up to and including engine swaps) on my cars, but I feel that if you are in a position to afford paying $1500 for a skilled pro to do a good job (assuming that that is the case) why not? As someone who works in a repair industry (not autos) I can appreciate the difference between just slapping on some new parts and giving the car a thorough going over. Many chain shops like to turn old brake rotors, slap on cheap pads, not spend enough time cleaning up the brake hardware, overtorque your lug nuts with air tools, etc. Your favored shop may be using genuine Subaru OEM parts and doing things the right way. They may be replacing calipers and doing all sorts of preventive work not even mentioned on your invoice. It's all down to one's budget and comfort level with the skill and honesty of a particular shop. The only thing which constitutes a "rip off" to my mind is charging for work which is a.) not actually performed or b.) reccomending completely unnecessary work. Sponsor the mechanical arts, Nathan

A few other things to consider...if you have a grounding problem, the voltage drop may appear on a sensor lead. Measure the voltage drop between the ground you were using during your 02 sensor meaurement and the negative post of the battery. Also check the voltage drop between your 'test' ground point and the engine block. There should be negligable voltage showing on your meter. As others have said, it could also be the ECU. I think it's pretty much physically impossible for the 02 sensor to generate that much voltage by itself. It is possible that there is leakage between the 02 sensor heating element (Is this a heated 02 sensor?) and the actual 02 sensor output lead. Good luck, Nathan

Sounds like you might be on to something with the tire wear, but there's one other thing nobody's mentioned (unless I missed something in this long thread.) The REAR suspension can have a dramatic effect on steering and handling. If the toe is dynamically changing on a rear wheel/wheels as your G forces build up in a corner (due to a sloppy bushing in the rear control arms, etc) it can cause a whole bunch of strange handling effects. Also, is there any chance the subframe or other parts of the suspension have been tweaked by curbing? Good luck, Nathan

Can anybody help me out with the part number for the hydraulic tensioner for the timing belt? It's for a '95 legacy 2.2--I wanted to get an online parts order submitted tonight and can't find it in the "drill down" menu. Thanks in advance, Nathan

Could just be the accessory belts ,external idler pulley for the A/C, A/C compressor clutch bearings, etc. Remove the alternator & A/C belts, run the car- if the noise is gone, then at least you know you don't have to worry about a timing belt idler wiping out & taking your valvetrain with it... EDIT: Is the car in question the '95 legacy?, If so, don't sweat it as much- it's a non interference engine & if the timing belt idler lunches itself, you'll be walking, but your engine won't get damaged. Nathan

If it turns out to be the steering rack, of course, replacement is your best course of action. However, almost a decade's worth of GM FWD cars suffered from this malady when worn- the nickname for the symptom was "morning sickness" due to the problems surfacing when the car was first started cold. There are some power steering fluid additives made for the GM problem...might work on the Suby. Good luck, Nathan

Frankly, I see a bit of both sides here. I agree that people should take a bit of initiative solving problems by themselves and following basic workshop procedures- reading the manual, reading the FAQs, doing a search to look at earlier discussions of similar problems first, etc. On the other hand, your reponses were delibrately rude and provocative. I think it would have been possible to point out politely that it's a fairly basic procedure, rather than immediately setting your rhetorical phaser to "Kill." If others wish to spend time hand holding the less resourceful through a procedure-what skin is it off your nose? I mean, that question must have wasted a good 1/2K of bandwidth there. Additionally, if you've changed an o2 sensor yourself, you'd know that it's not _always_ as straight forward as the shop procedure suggests. What do you do when the sensor is siezed solid to the manifold? Or you don't have enough clearance to get an 02 sensor socket on it? These are situations where discussing a basic procedure with others who have done it beforehand can save a lot of grief, and are completely valid questions to ask. If someone asked you for help changing an 02 sensor in person, would you have responded the same way? I really hope not. Nathan

There could be a restriction in the clutch hydraulic hose. I have heard of some of these collapsing internally when hot and causing slow clutch reengagement. The throwout bearing could be cocking & hanging up on a ridge on the sleeve around the transmission input shaft. There could be internal problems with the clutch slave or master cylinder causing binding or causing the fluid not to return properly. I don't even know if this is possible, but could the viscous coupling for the AWD have a failure mode like this? If you can devise some means of monitoring the position of the clutch release fork when it is acting up, you'd probably learn a lot. Or you could just "shotgun" the entire clutch hyrdaulic system (replace master cyl, slave cyl, hose.) If it's still acting up, by process of elimination it's got to be something mechanical inside the clutch assy, so the engine or trans must come out, at which point careful inspection should reveal all. good luck, Nathan

What ARE the advantage(s) of frameless windows? I can see the point of it on a "pillarless hardtop" design, but all modern Subarus have B pillars. I always thought frameless windows were kind of a liability in terms of wind noise, water leaks and fussy adjustment requirements. Nathan

Seems like your bench testing was very thourough. Here's the thing: you know that there's no way the car could have been driven with 50psi compression on two cylinders and zero on the other two, so whatever happened to the motor must be the result of it sitting. I think your rust on the valve seats hypothesis is a good one, but what if the lifters (OK, HLAs if you want to be technical) have bled fown collapsed? I think that could account for low compression (i.e. if the intake valves don't open, there's not a lot of air to get in to compress on the compression stroke.) The only thing that makes me doubt that is when you say you can hear leakage past the valves... My JY ej22 had been sitting for a year and when started did not run on all cylinders, had the tick of death, etc on startup...it all squared away after running a few times and seems to be fine. I guess it's a question of how lucky you're feeling! Nathan

My understanding is that internal combustion engines are most efficient near or at WOT. I.e. a 1.5 liter run at WOT versus a 2.2 at 70% throttle, producing the same HP and Torque output as the 1.5 @ WOT, the 1.5 would have lower fuel consumption. Also, remember that it only takes between 5-10 HP to maintain a car at a steady 60 mph (This is specced as "road horsepower" sometimes in car tests.) Also remember how incredibly expensive gas is in Europe. Do I want an Impreza 1.5?-- no. But I'm sure it makes sense for someone else who has different driving priorities. You do have to wonder what the "R" stands for! Definitely not the same thing as when it's on a Honda badge! Hmm. Maybe it stands for "Range." Nathan

The phase II ej22 has slightly more power and torque than the phase I ej22. It also has non hydraulic lifters (more maintanence for manual adjustment of valve clearance, but less risk of the 'tick of doom' sticking lifters on the phase I.) I personally prefer the phase I-- the marginal power increase of the phase II is offset by the knowledge that should the T-belt break, water pump lunch it etc, it's bent valve time. The phase IIs also seem to have a bit of the piston slap found in the ej25s--at least the phase II I test drove did. To each their own- ALL ej22s are good engines IMHO. Nathan

You 2.5 phase I apologists make me cross. I believe that there are some phase I's with with high miles and no problems, but the fact remains that a week doesn't go by without someone posting a new HG thread here. The late '90s Legacys get the black dot of doom rating for engine reliability in Consumer Reports, which means that 20% or more have suffered engine problems. Since the Legacy was sold with a mix of ej22 and ej25s, and the 20% or more rating reflects an average of the almost trouble free ej22s and the, erm, eh not so trouble free ej25s- that means that in reality, the failure rate for ej25s is probably WELL over 20%. Besides, it sounds like a diesel when cold, is a royal PITA to change timing belts on, has poor access to the sparkplugs and weighs more- all this for a marginal power increase. My ej25 is sitting on the workbench, and an ej22 is in the car. Who wants to drive a car which could leave you stranded at any time? Sure, you could proactively replace the head gaskets, but head gaskets just shouldn't be a routine component of preventive maintainence. Subaru's failure to step up to the plate on warranty coverage on the Phase I 2.5 adds insult to injury. On the positive side, the EJ25 debacle enabled me to get a nice car for my wife at pennies on the dollar, and with a ej22 in it, it's sound as a pound now. Nathan

Your '94 motor should be a two exhaust port per head, non EGR motor. The '96 and up ej22s have single exhaust port heads and will not bolt up to your front pipe. So, '95 is as new as you can go without changing exhaust system parts. '95 Automatics have EGR, '95 Manual trans cars do not. The wiring harness and other sundries on the '95 and up motors are completely different from your '94, though you could swap your intake, wiring harness etc on. In the USA, as far as I know, there is no such animal as a DOHC ej22. The EJ22 was SOHC in the states. '97 and up Ej22's are interference, earlier ej22s are not. Good luck, Nathan

I can only see one potential problem. The ECM regulates the 12-14v battery voltage down to +5 volts for all the sensors. In the very unlikely event the regulator circuit has failed, the ECM could conceivably dump full battery voltage to every sensor. It's a longshot, but possible. Nathan

I did this swap on a '98 OBW 5mt. You can do a search on this forum (try a number of searches, like EJ 25 EJ 22 , etc.) and benefit from the experience others have had. To recap: You CANNOT use your current intake manifold (it won't line up.) You need to get a complete '95 2.2 from an automatic donor vehicle...most 5mt '95s did not have an EGR valve. The ej25 motor's flywheel & clutch assy will fit on to the ej22. The complete '95 intake, injectors, sensors and engine wiring harness will plug straight into your 2.5 wiring harness (there are three connectors right at the engine/trans junction.) You'll need to use the coil pack & plug wires from the 2.2. Your stock computer will (yes, really!) adjust to the ej22 motor; the fuel maps are close enough to the 2.5, and the oxygen sensor will allow the computer to 'fine tune' the fuel maps to your 2.2 motor. You'll have to wongleflute around with the breather hoses a bit as nothing will line up. I don't think you'll notice much, if any, power deficit with the 2.2. The 2.5 punches a bit stronger at highway speeds and high revs (with the DOHC heads) but off-the line power seems the same to me. It's a big project, but if you have the chops to R&R a 2.5, you can probably do the swap. Best regards, Nathan

That's located in the underhood fusebox, right? I'll try it next time (hopefully a long time!) the car throws a CEL. Cheers, Nathan

There really aren't any. Be sure you get the correct four exhaust port 2.2 motor with EGR, complete with intake manifold and all that jazz. You have to reconfigure a few hoses to prevent a CEL from coming on due to the lack of an underhood charcoal canister in the 2.5 cars. On some vehicles, you have to mix and match brackets for the A/C compressor. The power steering hoses don't line up with the support brackets (I just blew this off & let them float free...they don't really seem to need all that much extra bracing.) Make sure you don't clobber the torque converter when reinstalling the engine. (Mine is a stick, so I can't help with A/T advice beyond that.) Good luck! Nathan

Nipper, In my first post, I mention trying to identify the backup fuse for the ECM. (OK, I called it an ECM instead of an ECU.) On the pain meds again? :)There's no fuse labeled as such. If anybody knows which fuse it is, please share! If nothing else, it'd be nice not to lose your radio presets when clearing the ECU.... Nathan