86 Wonder Wedge

It has a safety feature of closing to approx 3/4 of the way then stopping. Releasing and pressing the button again will let it close. Or if it REALLY has died, there is a manual close portal under the lone plastic cap in the headliner, above the rear seat. The bellcrank for the manual operation is under the lid of the center console. The MANUAL button will keep the transmission from down shifting into 1st at a stop/slow speed condition in order to prevent major wheel spin for the heavy-footed in poor traction conditions.

The long blocks on the LS series where great. Let me know when you get knock sensor codes!

IIRC, the '91 has/requires tapered spring where the forester is not..? I've seen people use the 2.5RS springs on all 4 corners. More details at bbs.legacycentral.org and navigate over to the suspension thread. Big sticky at the top.

Running with redrilled hubs is an option, but wouldn't that force you to find either 1) a wheel with a MASSIVE/correct size center hub in order to remain hub centric or 2) run lug-centric wheels which isn't the best way to go? Or do you grind the hub nubs down and just run lug centric rims anyway?

It does look like someone added some sort of "stop leak". From personal experience, I'd have the radiator professionally flushed and take a hose and back-flush the heater core and flush out every coolant passage on that block. I don't see lots of "tiny" particles floating around, so it might have just clumped together, your heater core might be safe. I find it's really difficult to ACTUALLY clog up block passages on the EJ motors as they were pretty big and the aluminum surface in the cooling system is a very "smooth" surface so nothing much really "sticks" to it.

In the 99 and 00 4EAT (which I assume is a Phase 1 and a Phase 2?), were not the forward-engagement delay issues caused by the shrinking of a few of the "lathe-cut seals" for the direct drum? The Trans-X effectively swells those seals and prevents the fluid pressure from bleeding/bypassing causing the fix of the delayed engagement. I've used it on the a few of the older 4EATs (94 and 96) and it works. To be clear, it doesn't fix torque bind (caused by burnt/stuck transfer clutches) and won't fix the shuddering/dead reverse, but it does get rid of the 2+ second engagement.

25 spline it looks like for the inner shaft (NOT THE STUB SHAFT-TO-DIFF SPLINE COUNT). Used to be the 23/25 issue with the older non-turbo vs. auto. turbo manuals. But the AWD TY75 trans, should be 25.

I'd be worried the injectors wouldn't keep up or the ECU would push them to near 100% duty cycle which could cause a burnout of the driver circuit or injectors, long term. Compare the 2.2 or even the 2.5 injectors and see if they'd fit in the 1.8 rails or have the same ohm-spec. If so, I'd swap for the 2.2 at least and see how it runs.

Plenty of miles? Could be a dying DBW motor... Not normally an issue with Subarus, but have seen it before. Especially if its throwing a code..

Woods has nailed that clicking sound, most likely. And on a weak battery, the lights will be VERY dim, but the module/relay will still click. It's possible its a main relay clicking in and out, but if it were activating on its own, the dash, ECU, radio, ect would also be cycling. Could be an ignition switch issue, but the fact that is has worked properly before and will consistently until the voltage drops leads me to believe its not the culprit. I would first rule out an unstable battery. Pull it out, leave it with a parts house overnight on the trickle charger and get a few good tests done. If you really worked a parts counter that long, you know intermittent cells/batteries CAN and do cause weird issues. Second, with a known good battery, have a drain test (or properly use an ammeter) to see if anything is killing that battery or is shorted. You COULD have a main relay that is unstable/bad, but those are more of a good/bad scenario (usually due to an overvolt, short or VERY rapid cycling). These Denso starters won't turn under 10VDC, but the relay will click. Most of the electronics will behave strangely under 9VDC or so.

Wait, what was the new front diff/trans out of? Something with a 3.9 ratio, I hope? And the Duty C solenoid (the AWD solenoid) is a common issue in the Phase 1 4EAT. The slow engagement is usually aided by 3 qts of synthetic fluid and a bottle of Trans-X High Mileage.

Most of the important OE-required parts are covered, but I do want to mention ball joints and tie rods. For the price, cheaper than the Moog brand and I had 23 years and 130K on the OE joints. Can't complain about that.

IIRC, the EJ flywheel won't clear the EA bellhousing, nor will the starter engage correctly. (Need be, I have a turbo EA82 flywheel, fresh cut, if you need one) The modification to oval the holes is a proven and well-covered modification. Yeah, most machine shops won't touch them in the states, but it's even a DIY job if you have a decent drill press. Or ship it to someone who's willing. Swapping an entire EJ drivetrain is not plug and play, so if you want both the EJ22 power and minimal headaches, just redrill the flywheel.

Yeah, sourceforge is a good source.

Ah, I thought it was a 25D (got my cars mixed up). And as odd as it may sound, I've seen issues with some waste-spark ignitions using non-OE plugs (like iridium over copper or platinum over iridium) with issues at idle. My experience has been than the cars simply have a hard time with iridium under a low/no load condition. But, long term will tell. As for a potential vacuum leak, I agree. The purge could be stuck open allowing "unmetered" air sneaking in. Do you also have the actual MAF voltages on your scanner or just the converted units?

Why the 1.8 intake? Do you have a 1.8 ECU? Can the injectors handle the 2.5..?

Have you tried soaking them in seafoam (or similar decarbonizer) and then trying to manually pulse them (with a battery source, but look up the voltage specs first. I think they are low voltage IIRC)? You might able to save them...

NGK Stock# 2300. NGK PFR5B11. Laser Platinums (double platinum). Yes, they are up there a bit, but do the job once with the proper plugs and you won't have an issue. Subaru didn't spend lots of research dollars on a finding a good plug to use and decide on a double platinum plug "just because".

Why the NGK Iridiums (Iridium IX, I assume)? OE is either V-Powers or Laser Platinums (depending on the year). The EJ25 is VERY picky when it comes to plugs and its waste spark ignition. Aside from that, if you rev the engine and then snap-close the throttle, does it return to idle quickly or sort of float its way down? That can point you toward a vacuum leak.

IIRC, 05+ 5MT drain plug is a T70 torx and has a different gasket than the oil pan (haven't had my 9-2x in a while). But for the 89-04 (4EAT), the oil drain plug gasket and the transmission oil pan gasket are the same. Rear diff does not use a gasket, but I think the FSM recommends a non-hardening thread sealer? I've never used one and haven't had a problem. It's a taper thread and should seal itself when properly torqued.

Damn, there was a 91 Auto at my local PAP, should have pulled those injectors..... Probably off to China by now..

I haven't personally driven a phase 2 EJ20, but I would assume it is similar to driving an EJ18 to the EJ25 (early). The horse you won't miss as much, they both do fairly well on the highway. It's the torque that I think you will miss the most. Probably in the 120-130 ft-lbs range. Your 2.5 was rated at 167 (IIRC). Not a massive difference, but noticeable. I'd say go for the 2.0 IF your mechanic can guarantee a lower labor rate (since it's plug and play) and get you back on the road faster. I'd also make sure you keep your old engine. I assume he's grabbing an EJ201/202 from one of the JDM importers? They RARELY want a core. You can sell or scrap your old motor to recoup some of the expense. I'd make sure it's "plug and play" as well. Yours should be an EJ251 which has a MAP sensor (which is the 2MY odd-ball). If this 2.0 is not, he'll be needing to swap the intake manifold for your old one. From the ones I can see, the "99-04 EJ20" look to have a MAP sensor up by the throttle body. MAYBE, can't tell from the pictures. I know the EJ251 I just did a reseal on had it practically in the middle of the manifold (by the coil pack). TL;DR If you mechanic wants to swap for a JDM 2.0, hold his feet to the fire on labor once he gives you a price, once he dives into it. it might be more labor than he thinks.

I'd only say it's a bad sensor if the circuit tests bad or the TCU is throwing a VSS 1 code (Code 32, IIRC). If it's code 24, its a Duty C which requires pulling of the tail housing (doable in-car). If the mileage is up there, I wouldn't be too surprised it's cheap due to a bad/lazy/dying 4EAT.

I'd look and see what you can get the OE ball joints for (online dealer). I have to agree with naru (I work with and deal with Moog parts EVERYDAY), Moog doesn't always mean the best. Are they junk? No. Are you getting a BETTER part than the OE? Probably not. Aftermarket is aftermarket for a reason. Moog used to be all made in the USA. After they started going overseas, they bought TRW (who were still making parts in Michigan) and folded them. As for the axles, I'd boot n grease the OE axles as they are 110% better build quality than the new or non-Subaru remans. Worst case, hit a local yard for any shelved axles and find some OE take-offs cheap and rehab those.

That mickey mouse gasket can be a pain if installing on the car. I had to use a feeler gauge to "persuade" it into place underneath once the pump and gasket were close. Did you take apart the relief valve?