Emmanuel

Berg, I ran my EJ18 in my old L with 12 psi on leg ss injectors (370), Walbro 255 pump, and SAFC-2 for about 6 months and right before the wastegate failed the compression was still 130's. As the wastegate failed the boost spiked to 20+ psi almost instantly and the only damage that occured was a few broken ringlands on the pistons. The NA EJ motors are super tough! When I swapped it out to a junkyard EJ22 it was a little harder to tune because of the restrictions of the 1.8 ecu but it still ran pretty good and had very little detonation but still no problems. But get this, after finding that my fuel set up couldn't efficiently control the 6-7 psi I was running I dropped it down to a 3.5 psi spring in the wastegate and got it tuned out alright. But even on 3.5 psi with a wrx turbo, big FMIC, and 3" catless exhaust on the 2.2 it managed to beat my WRX!!! It would spin all 4 tires right of the line at the track and give a good chirp into 2nd! I raced the kid that bought it out at RMR when I bought my WRX and he had the same set up still and he ran a 14.9 and I hit a 15.1 in the rex. The WRX turbo is a bit undersized for the big 2.2 and the higher compression but it would spool 8 psi under 2800k rpms. Which would make it the ultimate set up for rallycross! So I guess to answer your question, if your motor is in good shape and has good compression then you should have nothing to worry about! I would ditch the WRX wastegate and weld an external onto the up-pipe so you can adjust the boost safely below ~7-8 psi. But those motors can take the abuse!!!

OK, here it goes in the best order I can. (assuming a single cam?) front: radiator fans, and belts (tip) Take a 22 mm socket 1/2 inch- on a breaker bar, put it on the crank bolt and tuck the breaker bar on the car frame by the battery. turn key, listen for thump. check to see if crank bolt is loose. timing belt and pulleys, remove covers from rear of pullies. 1 10mm bolt for the dipstick tube and 3 14mm bolts holding the lower ac bracket to the head- drain rad. Mostly bottom: unplug o2 sensor by rt ft axle, unbolt the exhaust manifold from the head, cover both with baggies. Unbolt aft exhaust bolt and drop out of the way- you may elect to remove the exhaust pipe at this time -2 more bolts by the transmission. remove two bolts on the engine mount. Top: air filter and all boxes, battery, washer tank. rear support rod. Remove the two 10mm bolts on the right intake manifold that hold the power steering lines down, bend the lines up about 1/2 an inch or so- create room. unbolt the 8 bolts holding the intake manifold down, also, remove the egr tube from the left head and intake.manifold (on some cars) Pull up in the intake manifold and use something (we use 2x2's) to hold it "up" Jack engine and somehow push it to one side, I suggest to the drivers side first- and pull the pass side head first. put some wood under the eng mounts, safety. In the shop we can get it high enough to clear the mount studs from the frame, and pushed over so that sometimes the bolts isn't even over the holes- not as easy to do on a auto trans. Rt head: There is a ground wire on the rear of the pass head, un-plug it. Valve covers, 6 head bolts. You will need a 13mm 12 point socket, preferably a 3/8 adapted to a 1/2 breaker bar; loosen the head bolts. some may not be able to remove from the head because they will hit the frame, but remove the ones you can. wiggle the head and remove it from the bottom. coolant will come out, this is why you covered the exhaust manifolds if you did not remove them. now shift the eng to the pass side as far as it can go. left head: unplug the cam sensor and unbolt the oil fill tube. two 10mm bolts hold the transmission lines to the bottom of the head, remove the bolts. this is why you have it safetied up. it helps to undo the rubber hoses, but it will leak trans fluid. there is a hose clamp by the t-stat. it points toward the tire; pinch it and turn it forward, it may be in the way when you wiggle the head out. unbolt the valve cover and remove the head bolts. this side is a bit harder to squeeze out, but it can be done. Unless I forgot something, hour heads are now on the ground.

I recently had my 996 C2 serviced at a local OPC and it has come back with advice that the oil separator needs replacing. I have searched the site as much as I can, and the usual signs seem to be smoking on startup or a chirping noise. I have no smoke at all and no noise. How can I ensure that this work needs doing and what harm does not having the separator replaced cause?