Snowman

Make sure your struts are not bent. I've had a couple of older soobs bend the struts right where it goes into the knuckle assembly. I think it rusts out internally right there and becomes a weak spot.

I've never heard of that. The flywheel should be balanced and the pressure plate should be balanced, so I really can't see why it would matter.

Are you running the EJ18 computer right now? I would think that you'd get much better performance running an EJ22 or EJ25 management system. I'm sure the EJ18 setup would be able to run it, but I doubt it would make anywhere close to max power. I've been told that the EJ22 computer is set up more for top end, while the EJ25 computers are set up for more torque and low end. (A friend of mine put EJ22 management on his EJ25 and said it lost some torque but hauled rump roast in the top end.) So if you want a screamer, put EJ22 management on it, or if you want a stump-puller, go with an EJ25 computer.

Yep. As far as service manuals are concerned, there aren't any real differences. Keep an eye out for wires that are different colors than the schematic says, but everything should function in the same way.

How about the intake manifold? I'm assuming there is some combination that will work, but it might take some experimentation. That would be SIIIICK!

It should be the end of the phase I, perhaps we should call it "phase 1.5"? It's the same basic EJ22 they had since 1990, but with some minor changes. That means: No HG issues like the 2.5. They started screwing with different pistons and stuff in 96 and 97, and it's PROBABLY an interferance engine.

The threads are probably still the same size. I think the standard NGKs and most others for that application are a 13/16" socket size, and the cheap ones you found are probably a 5/8". They may or may not be the correct plugs for the car, as I've never seen EA plugs that used the smaller socket size but you never know, but having mismatched ones is not cool anyway.

If the oem filter or a purolator is not available, my next choice is WIX. Basically, ANYTHING BUT FRAM.

You Aussies have way too much fun down there!

Scott, could you get picks of the diesel tracker? That sounds SICK!

Hey, that works out well! I would never in a million years own a phase I EJ25 car, so that means that there's that many more of those for you to choose from and that many more Gen 1 EJ22 cars for me!

Did you have them retentioned at the 20k interval after installation?

Happy (late) birthday Ed!

The actual high idle speed is not terribly abnormal if the car is cold. It does sound like your idle air control valve is dirty and should be cleaned though.

One thing many people are unaware of is that the belts are supposed to be retentioned 20k after they are put on. When this is not done, they start flapping and break early. This is why the EJ cars use hydraulic tensioners. Another big issue is people not replacing tensioners and idlers that are faulty. I've seen several broken belts caused by seized tensioners/idlers. Finally, the last thing that kills belts like nothing else is oil leaks. If oil is getting on the belts, they fall apart and break. I saw one car that was leaking so badly that the new belts somebody (not me!) put on lasted less than 10k. And yes, I realize that timing belts vs chains is a matter of opinion, but here's mine: If you take care of your belts they will last at least 50-60k with no problems. I have never broken a belt. It takes a couple hours to change belts, the cost is minimal, and if you plan ahead and do other maintenance like the water pump and oil seals while you're in there, the overall time you have to spend is even more trivial. Chains usually don't break, but they do wear out and are a pain in the butt. If you're really worried about reliability, get an EA81 or a diesel pickup with gear drive and be done with it.

Whoops! Oh well, that's the best reason I can think of to swap in an EJ22.

One thing that may have been mentioned is that it is possible to put the thermostat in backwards, which can cause it to overheat.

Ack! Comparing subarus to hondas! Blasphemy!

The location of the thermostat on the EJ engines is actually much better from an engineering standpoint. By regulating the coolant flow there, the actual temperature of the block and heads is kept more consistant than with the thermostat located on the top. This is yet another reason why the EJ22 has less issues than the EA engines. Volkswagen did the same thing on their Rabbit diesels back in the 80's, and lots of new cars have the thermostat on the inlet side as well.

Depends on what you're trying to do. Are you driving through deep snow on actual roads where it's more advantagious to run narrow tires that dig down, or are you going out on the trails and trying to float on top of the snow where wide tires would be better? My only experience with a lifted rig is the first type, deep snow and ice on roads. I ran some cheap studded 195s on 14" rims on my lifted EA82 for a couple of winters, and it worked phenomenally. They were not as tall as my summer tires, but the traction and reduced drag afforded by the narrower width made all the difference in the world. That thing was unstoppable even with open diffs and no low range (I had the legacy tranny in there with the EJ22).

Yeah, the SPFI TB bolt pattern is not the same as a carb. You'd have to make a manifold. It MIGHT work to have just one of the ECMs running the spark, but I'm not sure. Not sure if it's possible to hook up two ECMs to the same crank angle sensor in the disty. As far as hooking up other sensors and stuff, I think it's doable, but it would not be easy.

If the EJ25 puked a bunch of stuff into the cat, it probably did destroy it. Take it to somebody with a scan tool that can view the oxygen sensor voltages (just about any real scan tool). With the car warmed up and in closed loop, the front sensor should fluctuate above and below .45v, and the rear should stay pretty steady near .45v. If the rear is fluctuating, you know that the sensor is good and the cat is not working. (of course, if you replace the cat, I would replace both sensors at the same time).

Good catch on the brakes issue, Ed. They did start offering rear discs on the "performance" imprezas such as the RS, didn't they? Did the legacy brightons come with discs or drums? (Just curious)

I would wonder if it wasn't mixed thoroughly enough or if it was the wrong ratio or something...perhaps the mating surfaces were not clean enough (very common problem)...JB should hold well in cooling system temperatures. I used it to patch the crankcase on my outboard five years ago and it's still holding strong. At work, we had to temporarily patch an exhaust manifold so we tried JB weld on it. Even at those temperatures, it would hold for a few trips before simply burning away.

Now THAT would be impressive. Next year maybe?