Numbchux

Nope, phase 2 revision 2 started in 2004.

It happened, I got some time for a project! They're both top feed injectors, but the 2.5 one is different, using a different O-ring and a retaining clip to the rail, and with an extra section on the end for the Air Injection system. 2021-10-18_10-01-19 by Numbchux, on Flickr I put it back together as it was, but it leaks, so it'll have to come apart, again. I've seen people talking about using WRX top feed injectors when turbocharging an EJ251, but they generally block off the air injection system. I'd rather leave things as stock as possible.....but might have to experiment. I think it's either modify until the 2.0 injectors work. Adjustable pressure regulator to drop the fuel pressure. Or have a trouble code.

I just remembered the other thing I did. I hooked up a battery and used the starter. It can apply way more torque to the rotating assembly than you can on the crank bolt.

I loosened the case half bolts a couple turns, and smacked the crank snout side to side with a mallet a few times, and was able to get mine to turn over enough to get to all the converter bolts.

Only way to get 100% OEM, is buy OEM. You can buy a part directly from an OEM supplier, but it's not guaranteed to be the same quality as an OEM part.

Yep, in fact, the name on the package is almost never the manufacturer of the contents, especially when it comes to brick and mortar parts stores. IMHO, there's only one thing that definitively separates the various aftermarket parts, and that is the warranty, which is handled from the retailer (getting a warranty replacement from RockAuto involves paying round-trip shipping, for example). Something else we see, is an OE supplier (Denso, Mitsuboshi, Johnson Controls, etc.) will likely have different quality control requirements when they supply for an OEM then when they sell through another retailer. So even seeing a brand name stamped on a part doesn't mean the same quality part.

Aftermarket Subaru head gaskets = higher failure rate. Absolutely. You can use aftermarket if you like on the rest of the gaskets. 770 is the end of the Subaru part number for the STi application. This is an MLS gasket that will give the best results. If you don't want to do it again, use these. Should be EJ253, tag on the LH strut tower will tell you. Subaru head bolts can absolutely be reused if they're not damaged/corroded, in which case, replace them individually with OEM.

I always buy AutoZone pads, for the warranty. I've used a couple sets of the Duralast Gold rotors, which have a zinc-based coating. I found that to flake off very easily (it's designed to, as they coat the entire rotor and let the pads wear the coating off on the friction surface). Many of the standard Duralast rotors have a coating on them, now. I haven't tried them, but might be worth it. We buy a lot of O'reilly's Brake Best Select rotors at work, those have what looks like a nice coating on them. Just had a set installed on my mom's 2012 Impreza....I guess time will tell how they hold up. I bought a set of Durago coated rotors online several years ago for our Outback. I found that they left too much metal exposed for the friction surface, and I immediately began to get a ring of rust there, which crept under the coating. Aftermarket rotor prices seem to have doubled in the last couple years. Price out OE rotors for your application. They will be more, but they might be competitive, and they will be better.

Not the first person to report a failed Gates belt with no warning or other sign of wear/failure. Your junkyard motor is trash, take it back, or take it in for scrap. Take your old head to a machine shop for new valves, seals and a pressure test.

"Should" go in. Experiment with the axle shaft into the inner joint. Occasionally those get pulled apart, and won't line back up correctly.

There's a "read mode" wire at the ECU. Ground that, and it will flash trouble codes on the check engine light (can be done with a test light at the ECU, as well).

Pinion seal is kind of annoying to change, as the nut has a lot of torque on it, so holding it solid while removing requires a fixture of some sort. And, has to be retorqued precisely. I replaced one once with none of the right tools (I think I torqued it with it in the car and the back wheels on ramps), and the diff was noisy forever more after that. That should be either a 4.111 or 4.444 gear ratio. These are stupid common, and pinion oil leaks are rare. You can likely get a used diff for cheap. I've had 4 out in the last year, without too many dramas ('98 Forester, '01 Forester, '97 Impreza that had had the strut tower fail due to rust, and '00 Outback that I was worried about subframe failure, these were all MN cars). The '97 Impreza, I had to pound 1mm undersized sockets onto a couple of the factory bolts to get them to come out, but wasn't too bad a job. Or....you'd be surprised how little oil can leak and leave quite a smear on the outside of the diff. Check the fluid level periodically, and keep driving it. Assuming, of course, you mount your fuel tank somehow, I have not had to deal with failed tank straps, yet.

You might contact these guys. Probably the shop that did the most with the EE20s in the US. They were importing and selling them for a few years, but I don't think they do anymore due to the reliability problems. But, they shipped them, and installed them in a couple VW chassis. I bet they have an idea on size. https://www.boxeer.com/pages/contact External dimensions on EJs will all be pretty similar. The displacement doesn't matter, but the head style does. The EJ18 was only a phase 1 SOHC (the smallest, fits nicely in both the EA81 and EA82 engine bay), where an EJ20 could be had in all styles (phase 1 and phase 2, SOHC, DOHC and even with AVCS).

There is an oil pressure light, just like Subaru has used for 30 years. That is triggered at about 6psi. That's fine at idle, but if you have 6psi while driving down the highway, yea, you're about to have a rod come out. All the FB cars except the first couple years of the Forester have an oil level light, as well. This comes on about at the low mark on the dip stick (pretty early, IMHO). The first time my mom called me and said that her oil light came on on the highway in her 12 Impreza, I freaked. But it's the level light, and she adds about 1/2 qt, and moves on.

Yep. Most models have a low oil level light, but the early Foresters do not, so it's not uncommon for people to drive them until they don't go anymore.

In the ever-present chase for fuel mileage, the rings were left too loose, and they burn oil. The replacement engines will get worse fuel mileage. We had many complaints at the dealership where I worked, as the advisors didn't make this clear enough up front. The lawsuit brought the warranty up to 100k miles, I don't know if there was a time limit on that. Early warranty repair was to replace rings, but then they changed to using brand-new shortblocks, either to reduce labor cost, or problems, or both. Even still, it's no small job, and we saw more than a few comebacks due to oil leaking from the timing cover or cam carriers. Running 5w30 (synthetic, of course) helps. You can use a used engine from newer model with a few small changes. A friend of mine bought a 2011 Forester with a blown engine, not knowing it was an FB. And he ended up getting an engine from a 2015 or so and swapped it in. Sorry, I don't remember all the details, but it wasn't anything major. There must be some documentation on it.

I got into rally when my friend's STi got hail damaged. The insurance check paid for the cage....

Yes, have to be AWD to use 4.111 or 4.444 gears.

Yep, no frame. Unibody means the entire sheet metal body of the car provides the structure. Which is exactly my concern, the commercially-available hitches only attach in a couple spots, and I bet those bolts would just tear through the sheet metal with that kind of weight on it. Which is why I said I would build my own hitch with more pickup points. Some brackets that tie into the bumper mounts, maybe something forward to catch some rear suspension points. Etc.

The diagram makes sense, and actually, I just finished setting up something similar on my Tacoma, which I intend only to use around the yard. As such, I wanted to use a small plastic marine fuel tank, which does not have a return fitting. When the system is disconnected for some reason (or the tank is run low enough to suck air), it gets air into it, which can only escape through the injectors/engine. So it runs very poorly for several minutes, and requires many restarts before it clears up. Your symptoms sound a bit like that. It's not correct, but it should work. It's fantastic news that your return line reads no pressure. But the supply should get a bit more than 30 psi (you did say "about" 30, so maybe it's getting to 36ish), and it should hold pressure for quite awhile once the pump is off. This is held by the pressure regulator and a check valve in the fuel pump. It doesn't explain your fuel in the oil issue, but it might explain the running issue if you're having trouble with the fuel pump. I also installed a low pressure fuel filter between the tank and pump to protect the pump from debris. I skimmed through here and didn't see it. Was it ever determined if there are any trouble codes? It's possible it's been trying to tell you what's wrong the whole time.

The major dimensions of the diff (i.e. ring gear size, side bearing size, and the relative location of them) is the same as the EJ 5speed diffs. So anything listed for, say, a WRX will fit in the box. BUT. most are designed for 25 spline axle stubs. This part is relatively easy, "just" have to purchase EA82t axles. The bigger challenge comes with clearance with the low range gears. The low range gears protrude down into the front diff area, so a diff engineered to fit in a WRX case would not have to worry about this. You can kind of see in this picture, on the left, an OEM 5MT front diff, on the right a Carbonetic LSD. Arrow pointing at the shoulder that sticks out just a bit further than the stock casting. + @el_freddo was able to remove some material in that area to get the OBX unit to work. I took some measurements, and believe that in order to clear the 1.59 low range gearset, I would have had to remove too much material from this diff, and would have compromised it. I think it might have been doable with the 1.19 gearset, but never tried it. If you start looking at various different brands and styles of front LSD, you'll see some have more of a curve there, and some are more squared off. So I suspect some would be possible, but I wasn't willing to start buying them just to see.... In the end, this stumble put enough of a delay on my 4.444/1.59/front LSD transmission build that I finished my 4Runner, and realized what real gearing was. And so, the Subaru project sits. Likely never to be finished.

IIRC, there aren't very good mounts back there for the hitch. I think I would fabricate one with more pick up points for carrying that weight.

Nope. AFAIK, Class 2s weren't available until at least 2005 (I know you could get 2" receivers for those, but I'm not sure if they were actually rated any higher). I agree, though. Class 2 is good for 3500 lbs. Shouldn't be towing any more than that.

@Scott in Bellingham with SJR had started a similar project, I think to use a Nissan case behind the 4EAT. He's always got many irons in the fire, so I'm sure he'll come back to it at some point.

I'll check live data again to see what I can read of that sensor. I don't remember if it's an AF or O2 sensor. Either way it is a new Bosch one. The 2.0 injectors appear to be physically interchangeable (although I haven't disassembled them). This engine was clearly much newer, and had many differences above the block. So no guarantee that the injectors will be 20% smaller.... But, when I get some time, I think I will try to swap them. This car had no engine when I got it. The engine that was in it was pulled to use in a nicer car, so all my components are cobbled from my collection or new. That said, I was very careful to check part numbers on things, and used all new gaskets, plugs, wires, timing components, and more. I have no running issues, and no other codes. If the battery has been disconnected, it usually stalls on the first startup attempt. But once it learns itself for a trip or 2, it starts perfectly.