Snowman

Hmmm, my owners manual said it's supposed to be done at 20k, but by 10k they're probably about as stretched as they're going to get, so you're probably safe doing it then.

The ones I've seen have been pretty obvious if they're actually leaking already. Typically, you won't see an actual drip, but you'll see green staining where coolant has leaked out. Check out the condition of the cooling system too. If the coolant looks nasty, or if the car has ever been overheated, stay away because it may very well start leaking in the future if it isn't now.

Ditto what grossgary said. If it hasn't been abused/neglected, and you keep up on the maintenance items, you should be able to trust it to drive anywhere. Alaska is packed with old EA82s that are driven every day in harsh environments, and I've put my share of hard miles on them and never been stranded because the car broke. That said, the EJ22 is by design a "more reliable" engine. That doesn't mean that the EA82 is bad. Just like with some of the other "not so good" subaru products like the phase I EJ25, the EA82 engine and the loyale are still great products and superior to most of the other rigs on the road as far as I'm concerned. But if you're looking for the "best" subaru, an EJ22 powered one is likely going to be better.

I always replace the fuel filter every couple of years regardless of mileage. They're not expensive or difficult, and by cutting open the old one you can see if there's any rust or other nasty crud building up in your fuel system.

Yeah, that seems really low. I haven't compression tested many subarus to get a baseline reading, but northguy's old 95 legacy with 205k on it made 180 psi on all cylinders. Also, it seems odd that the numbers would be that low while still being consistant between cylinders. Usually they will vary by quite a bit if you're starting to have problems. I know the EJ cars have problems with voltage drop in the battery cables causing slow cranking speed. Wonder if that would skew the numbers. BTW, the phase 2 EJ25s (2000 and up) almost never had problems with blowing the HGs internally like the older engines did. They always leaked coolant externally, so even though a compression test is worthwhile, it won't tell you anything about the type of failure these engines are prone to.

Are the Ebay kits OEM quality? Do they include EVERYTHING? (all the pulleys and the hydraulic tensioner unit)

I'm trying to help a friend find a car, and was wondering what engines came in the 96-2000 era impreza outback sports and how good they are. Was it the DOHC 2.5, the SOHC 2.5, or did they have an updated version of the EJ22 in there? If that's the case, did they have the same headgasket problems as the 2.5s of that era? Thanks for your help.

Yeah, the suspense is killing me!

Thanks a bunch, that's exactly what I needed to know, especially remembering to check the backlash adjustment. LSD here we come! Now if I just had the money to buy Zap's d/r tranny.

Quick question.... I've got an LSD unit from a turbo EA82 car (yes, the one I bought from Edrach at WCSS6 is STILL sitting in my shed). Can I put this in my legacy differential? Having taken apart both an EA diff and an early legacy one at different times, they look pretty much the same, but are they?

I'm assuming you grabbed all the intake and exhaust garb from the RX as well. The carbed fuel tank has a smaller outlet than the FI one, and there is not adequate baffling to keep the FI pump supplied with fuel at all times, so you should grab the fuel tank from the RX as well. The RX engine will bolt to your stock tranny. However, if you are going to run the RX tranny, it has a 3.7 ratio in the front diff, and your rear diff will be a 3.9 if you have a manual transmission., so you'll need the rear diff too if that's the case. If your car has an automatic, it will be the same ratio as the RX. You might still want to get the RX differential though, as it has a limited slip unit.

Most of the Webers used for this swap are electric choke, but you can convert to manual easily enough. I'd have to look it up to verify for sure, but I'm nearly positive that the park-neutral switch either doesn't need to be hooked up at all, or that it can be bypassed with ease. I've never ran a manual EA82 with an auto ECM, but I've run two manual EJ22s with auto ECMs, and didn't have to change anything as far as computer inputs. (Just bypassed the switch so that the stock ignition circuit would crank the starter.)

I've ran Mobil1 and other good brands of 75w-90 synthetic for years with good luck. Shifts smoother when it's cold out, even down to -45 last week (drove through that temp, didn't start out that cold), and has less of the "creep" you described. The creep is caused by the thick oil causing so much drag that the input shaft drags the output shaft along with it. There's a bearing between the two that rotates freely in any gear except direct drive (4th), but when the oil is jello, that doesn't quite work out.

The two systems are TOTALLY different. Your loyale uses solid gears to engage, providing true 4wd, while the legacy uses a hydraulically actuated clutch pack to engage the rear wheels. If he wants to really trick it out, he can install not only the FWD switch, but one that cuts power to the Duty C solenoid, locking the clutch pack and providing actual 4wd. Legacy777's web page documents the procedure for installing that switch ( you just need to find the right wire in the transmission control harness and splice in a toggle switch. When it's turned on, the AWD works. When it's turned off, it's 4wd).

You may very well have to disconnect your exhaust from the heads to rock the engine forward (I've always just pulled the engine to do this so I'm not sure, but others here would know), which necessitates buying new exhaust gaskets as well, FYI. It's also a good idea to soak the mounting studs with penetrating oil for several days beforehand. Also, are you planning on doing a cluch while you're in there? Unless it's nearly new, it's definitely worth it to replace the clutch, as it all has to come off anyway. If you're not doing the clutch, you'll need to find a clutch disk alignment tool for reassembling it (one comes with a new clutch kit, so no worries if you're doing that). Since you're taking the radiator hoses loose, this is a good time to replace them if they're old (on an EA71, they probably are). Not positive about the EA71 engine, but on all the other EAs I've worked on, the flywheel bolts that go into the crank are tapped all the way into the oil galley, so they need to have RTV or pipe sealant applied to them during installation, or they may leak oil all over your clutch.

To answer your question, you could do it in less than 10 minutes, in your sleep, with one hand tied behind your back, and blindfolded. You need a 10mm wrench to disconnect the battery, 12mm (possibly 13mm if it's already got an aftermarket starter) wrench to take off the terminal nut on the starter, and 14mm and 17mm wrenches to remove the starter itself. It's right on top of the engine and very accessable.

Using a switch instead of a fuse won't cause any harm to the car. The FWD fuse provides constant full power to the duty C solenoid, disengaging the clutch that connects the rear wheels to the transmission. You can operate indefinitely like this without any ill effects. I know people who run with the FWD fuse in to improve fuel economy, and I drove about 3000 miles with it in last fall (long story). As to actual improvement in economy, theoretically it should increase, but it's hard to say how much. Yes, you are still dragging all the RWD stuff along and causing drag that way, so it wouldn't be as good as having a solely FWD car. However, the load on the entire drivetrain and therefore drag is reduced. Even when the clutch pack is barely engaged, as it is when you're just driving along normally (no slippage detected), the tiny differences in tire rotations caused by slight variations in size or when turning cause the drivetrain to load up and cause more drag. Additionally, by reducing this load, the drivetrain has less stress on it and will last longer. I really can't say how much my economy improved as a direct result of operating in FWD. I got better mileage at the time, but I was also driving on better roads, along with a variety of other factors that usually help mileage.

If you're still having trouble getting the rad to thaw out, what if you tried to drain as much coolant as you can, then add some 75/25 coolant that you have heated on the stove or something? The heat might start it thawing, and the antifreeze would keep it thawed. Got a heat gun or a blow drier? That might do something. Block heaters are a pain to install on subarus outside because they thread in, unlike on other cars. The biggest problem is getting the old dummy plug out, as it likes to freeze in there pretty well, and I've even heard of people cracking their block trying to loosen them after 200k. An impact wrench makes short work of it if you've got one. I always go for installing a block heater and and oil pan heater. Sure, it uses more power, but if you're concerned about that, just put it on a timer so it only comes on two or three hours before you start the car. Battery heaters aren't a bad idea either.

Sorry to stray, but Uberoo, what kind of truck are you driving? I tried running 6% waste oil (EPA approves up to 7.5%!), run through a giant 2 micron Racor before blending, as well as a 10 micron Racor and 1 micron Motorcraft filter on the rig, in my 7.3L F250, and my old worn out injection pump got gunked up so that the timing control wouldn't work right. Other than that, it ran great. Seemed to improve power and economy. I'm getting a new pump this spring and will start experimenting again.

Seriously, it is not cost effective to rebuild this engines. I've done a couple, and I don't plan on any more. I was into it $1000 by the time I got new rings, bearings, seals, water pump, and oil pump, and had the heads gone through at a reasonably priced machine shop. That's without any machine work on the block or anything. I know it's fun to do it yourself, which is why I did, but at this point I would rather spend an extra few hundred to get a motor from CCR and know that's going to be perfect, swap in a known good motor with new T-belts and seals, or swap in an EJ22 and enter the 1990s as far as technology and performance.

Yeah, check out GD's manual on the SPFI swap. Good info on the fuel system. Also, do a search on here for PDF versions of the factory service manual. There are all kinds of nice conceptual drawings, schematics, etc in there that you could include. Any FSM from 88-94 will be pretty much the same for what you're looking for. For a project like that, I would focus on three things especially. The EA82 was the first engine Subaru produced with timing belts and overhead cams. The T-belt system used did not prove to be that reliable compared to newer setups, but it was a big step forward. Besides the EA81T, which was only in a small percentage of those cars, the EA82 was also the first Subaru to recieve fuel injection, electronic engine controls, and turbocharging. Finally, the four wheel drive system, although it's the same basic setup Subaru used since they introduced four wheel drive, is pretty unique to Subaru cars and definitely vastly different from those used on pickups and SUVS.

Compared to the loyale series, the EA71 stuff is way more "old school". If you're used to SPFI and turbo loyales, there's a lot of stuff that's different as far as engine controls, but if you've worked on carbed EA82s, it's pretty much the same idea. Really though, conceptually, there aren't that many major differences, and they experience most of the same issues, so you should feel right at home. Those engines also seem to take to abuse a little better than the EA82, which is nice.

Oh right, I often forget that lots of people have never had a Subaru engine apart. Threebond 1215 is the sealant used in and specified by the factory for mating metal to metal sealing surfaces like the case halves and cam towers. Most aftermarket RTV type sealers are dramatically inferior, and 1215 is all but impossible to find. Personally, I am a huge fan of Permatex anaerobic sealant. Others have successfully substituded ultra grey. That's basically a matter of opinion. However, if a replacedment for the 1215 is now readily available, that's awesome!

Now THAT's what I'm talking about! But what are "Tyres", Ed?

I've gotten lots of my vehicle names from songs or books. Most of the time, a name would stick suddenly and seem very obvious, whether I thought of it right away or after owning the car for a long time. Memorable ones include: Roxanne - 86 Lifted EJ22 wagon- "You don't have to put on your red lights" (and that car, although very lovable most of the time, could be a dirty w**** at times). Fenchurch - 87 wagon - Named after the girl from Hitch hiker's guide to the galaxy who everybody thought was crazy but she had magical powers and could fly, much like the car. Rita - 81 wagon - Named after Bob Marley's wife, which related to that phase in my life. Aragorn - my dad's 91 chevy pickup that I grew up driving- Named after the "ranger" in the Lord of the Rings, who basically wandered around the land taking care of problems. Even if he didn't always know exactly where he was going or what his purpose was, everything worked out in the end. That truck wandered a long way thorugh some strange lands, and towed home many broken down subarus. Mendoza - 98 yamaha phazer - The snowmachine that I learned to ride on, and still my all time favorite sled, named after a song by a relatively obscure ska band. "You're the only girl, you're the girl for me, Mendoza...and I don't know how, I can make it without you..." Gandalf - 90 Ford diesel pickup - It's really old and grey, it's very powerful in magical ways, it does work for the common good, and it helps out the little guy. After it dies (perhaps by balrog), it will be resurrected with a cummins B-series swap, making it even more awesome and powerful. Exactly like the wizard in Lord of the Rings.