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If you strip a plug it isn't the end of the world. You can get thread inserts for spark plugs. On the ea81 the plugs come right out into plain view, you can see the threads, makes it very easy to do thread inserts I would think. I've never done this on an ea, but have on an ej22, the plugs are a few inches down in a hole and is a little difficult/scary...

^^ I'm glad you don't worry about running around on worn out/iffy timing setup. I've been very, very stranded by it. Whether it can be done in car or not doesn't matter when it's dark and raining and you're on the side of the road 80 miles from home in the middle of nowhere. In regards to bolts stripping out and timing belts. The bolt that holds the tensioner to the bracket on the block. I've had that hole strip twice now on me. I PB blastered one from the back side and let it sit, still stripped. I don't get it... I usually just have the machine shop down the road helicoil it to 3/8th.

Nice!!

That's terrible advise. Why drive a car that you know you half-assed and may break down at any time? I wouldn't trust such a vehicle out of my garage.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I've fixed enough things on my car, if something isn't broken I leave it alone other than normal maintenance. Needlessly doing work just causes more problems.

Thanks man! Oh, and I forgot to mention. Last week the ej22 blew a head gasket. Not bad, but bubblies in the overflow bottle I understand not why the precious ej22 that never blow head gaskets blew both head gaskets. But that's what happened. I had the engine out late one night, HGs done the next morning, and back in later that day. That sucked. But it's all worth it now.

That's really terrible to look at. So sorry to see this. I love the Legacy SS, and yours was mint. I hope you can make another one beautiful.

When my belt went I was 80 miles from home in pouring rain at night on my way to a concert with a car full of friends and classes the next day at 7AM. My mom had to rescue us. Now I'm really diligent about spending the extra penny and doing timing belt jobs right.

So I have it all inspected and legal. etc. Here's a pic of my new wheels. 07 2.5i wheels painted black. I'll probably use them for summers and use one of my other sets of wheels for the winters.

Didn't realize you were somewhere you need emissions. I was being kinda facetious because there isn't really any way to make the non-egr engine work right with your setup.

GENERALLY the phase2 2.5 (SOHC) is an external coolant leak. But as any engine, it can blow a head gasket in any place if you're unlucky.

Drove with the sunroof open Can't wait for the warm weather to stick!

I was wondering what that's for! Sweet! I just used the starter to break it loose. Then to tighten in I stuck two bolts in the holes in the pully and used a pry bar to keep it still while I used my other arm to torque the bolt... PITA.

I had an alternator go intermittent on me for a few days, then totally quit out. Brake and batt light, low voltage. It turned out to be the the wire that goes to one of the brushes broke. About three weeks after that being fixed the regulator started to go. It would only put out over 1000 RPMs, then 1500, then 2000... you get the idea, just got worse and worse.

I personally like the FSM better than the haynes. I have both, and always go to the FSM. It's better organized, the info is easier to read and more clear, and right to the point. Especially with things like head gaskets, it's no BS info.

Electrical tape? It's been discussed a lot on here. There isn't really any easy way.

WOW! Thank you for all the great info Gary! I'll source the o-rings and schrader valves for sure. Doesn't sound very hard to replace at all!! When I had the rad out the condenser looked fine, not bent, no messed up fins on either side, etc. I cut a piece of plywood to protect the condenser so it wasn't damaged. All that came into contact with it was my knuckles I'll also get a black light out there and see if theres an UV dye, great suggestion! Thanks for all the advise guys. This is really awesome.

I'll take a look. The old engine in this car was pretty blown. Oil and coolant ALL OVER THE PLACE. So I've done a bunch of cleaning. May be hard to see what came from AC and not. Is the AC pump not coming on a separate issue? or is it smart enough not to come on with no pressure?

I have a 98LGT with 228k miles on it. Only problem with it now is the AC doesn't work. The compressor won't even engage. Tried with defrost, heat on coldest setting with AC button, etc. It will not come on. So I checked the system pressure, and there's no pressure. I guess there's a pressure switch disabling the system? Will recharging the system fix that? Also, since there's no pressure I'm not gonna recharge until the leak is fixed. Where do these usually leak? It will be easy to work on now that it's all leaked out...

I shoulda taken pics of the one I just did. The ears stick out a bit. The way I gauge the TQ is in far enough is like this. The distance the ears stick out past the tranny bell housing should be LESS than the distance from the engine bell housing to the flex plate. (the flex plate holes where the ears bolt to)

In the Legacys I've owned the light is always really good. Comes on at about 2 gal left. In my GL..... I've never seen the light. And I'm known for running so low on gas my engine starts to stall if I go up a hill or accelerate. heh. As you said, it has to do with no money. In my gl I've had the gas gauge pretty darn far below E. Put in 15 gal. which leads me to believe the light is broken. Next time you fill up fill ALL the way up, it's a 15.9 gal tank. Then you can see how close you were to the end. PS. I'm jealous that you have a working speedometer

The engine obviously has to be high enough to clear the mounts. So if the tranny isn't supported up, it'll go crashing down when the engine comes loose. That's no good. Especially since it's an auto, you will pull the torque converter out, break it, etc. Just make darn sure everything is disconnected though!! Especially the torque converter. You really, really, really. do not want that to come out with the engine. I repeat, you really want it to stay in the transmission.

I'm having a hard time understanding that ... umm ... sentence? Are you having a hard time getting the engine separated from the tranny? Disconnect the pitch stopper, jack the transmission up high enough for the engine mount studs to clear the crossmember. DO NOT JACK THE TRANNY FROM THE PAN! Jack it from the front diff. Put pressure pulling up on the engine and give it hell. Hammer chisels, screwdrivers, etc into the bell housing crack to separate it. They get wicked stuck.

If it TDC in the exhaust stroke the rotor will be pointing away from cyl 1. The cam spins half the speed of the crank, so only every other time the piston is at TDC will the rotor point at that cyl in the disty.

You're saying a build date 96. MY 97 phase2 ej22? that's interesting. I thought the first build date of the phae2 ej22 was 97. I have a wiring harness like that hanging around.