NorthWet

The SPFI dizzy ought to be optical pickup only: No advance mechanisms, either mechanical or vacuum.

Turbo version you can do 55 with a little rpm left over. Also governor failure, closer to home.

Ah! A thought... Is it actually upshifting into 3rd gear? Give a couple RPM@speed values (above, say, 35mph) if you are not sure

I very well could be off (in oh so many ways :-) ), but not so much as I have noticed. My turbo 5-speed turns a little slower than the 3AT version, and the non-turbo 5MT vs 3AT seemed to be a couple 100 rpm difference... not so much as I noticed much or cared. Cheers!

Enjoy! Keep the ATF clean and not overheated and the tranny will stay happy.

The 3-speed is a decent transmission, It has a bad rep here mostly because most of the members seem to prefer manual transmissions. The automatic suffers if given poor maintenance. That being said, there is very little engine speed difference between the 3AT and the 5-speed. Either way, you will see near 3500RPM at 60mph. This is normal. Do not be concerned: It will tun nearly forever at even higher engine speeds, provided normal maintenance. Our 89 with a 3AT would easily cruise at 80mph, with power in reserve.

Regarding your "Do explain" request regarding head cracking being overblown, I will give you my view of it ("your mileage may vary"): Typically, EA82 heads can get 2 types of cracks. The first, most common type, and the type that any type of EA82 head can get, is the crack in the combustion chamber between the valve seats. This is very common (almost ubiquitous), and Subaru has a TSB out that states that as long as these do not extend into the coolant jacket (vast majority are superficial) they should be considered normal and ignored. Most "my head is cracked" comments are people who see these superficial, officially "normal" cracks. The other type of crack has, to the best of my knowledge, occurred ONLY on MPFI (dual intake port) heads, and ONLY on turbo versions. This crack is visible in the exhaust port, and is in the divider that separates/directs the flow from the 2 valves. This crack allows coolant to escape into the exhaust system. This is ONLY a turbo-version problem. My belief, supported by my looking at a couple dozen heads, is that the severe cracks that extend into the cooling jackets only occur because of severely low coolant level. They are caused by little-to-no liquid coolant making it to the head, causing severe localized overheating, a condition that is encouraged by the cooling system design of the EA82. Keep the cooling system well-maintained and you are unlikely to ever see anything other than superficial between-the-valve cracks... and maybe not even those.

How did you clean the valve? Complete disassembly, deburring all edges and polishing all sliding surfaces, so that EVERYTHING slides "as smooth as butter"? Could still possibly be ATF level, but proper shifting manually but improper shifting in "D" usually points back to the governor valve. There is no filter (just a debris screen), and the vacuum hose goes to a vacuum modulator (auto parts computers use a different name) that provides "kick down" downshifts under heavy throttle; it should not have any effect on normal upshifting, but they do sometimes rupture their diaphragm and suck ATF into the intake manifold (producing white smoke out the tailpipe). If the TC was not properly seated, there would be either mechanical noise from parts grinding themselves to destruction, or a broken input or oil-pump drive shaft (resulting in the tranny not functioning at all). If the car manually shifts, the basic functioning of the tranny is good. To me, the problems point to governor valve, or perhaps the AT's valve body valves that are controlled by the governor valve.

"Gen 3" heads are a legend. To the best of my knowledge there is no evidence that they are anything different other than being newer with fewer miles/heat-cycles on them.

You should only need to add 3-4 qts of ATF; the rest is retained in the Torque Converter. The blinking power light is the Transmission control unit (TCU) telling you that there is a problem in the electronic controls (typically solenoids), and that it is probably in "limp mode" (remains in 3rd gear). There is a procedure to "pull" the error code. Sounds like you are more interested in getting rid of it, though.

The turbo version is less neglect-tolerant than the non-turbo. Cooling system has to be kept in good condition, hoses need to be checked and replaced more often. The coolant hoses running to the turbo center-section gets exposed to really high heat on shutdown, becoming embrittled and failing spectacularly at times. HG issues are mainly due to coolant system issues. When you do the HGs, look at where the HG's fire-rings rub against the head and block: If yo can see where they contacted the surfaces, then you should surface the heads to get rid of the wear/indentations of the fire-ring.

Take a look at the FSM files on this site: http://jdfinley.com/file-downloads/subaru-manuals/ No difference in torque or sequence or bolts between turbo and non-turbo. If you haven't already surfaced the heads, take a close look at where the gasket fire-rings press against the head surface: If you an see where they were, then they have probably worn away the metal enough that you will need to do some sort of resurface to remove them. DIY surfacing tends to work. Referring to your engine as a 94 EA82T can be confusing, as the US did not get a turbo Loyale past 1990. You might cause less confusion if you say it is a JDM engine, or simply call it a 1990 engine. Cheers!

The torque converter typically holds half of the ATF volume, so its "loss" could be significant. Speed sensing in the 3AT (really an JATCO M41A) is hydromechanical via a rotating governor valve run off of the front differential.. The valve gums up, develops tight spots, both of which need to be dealt with by (easy) removal and rework. The driven gear on the valve tends to wear abnormally ("Apple core", due to the wear pattern) requiring replacement of the gear.

Mine does not have A/C... that would probably complicate things a little. Without the A/C, all you need is the outside adjuster bracket ( the one that bolts on with just one bolt and has the curved slot for the adjuster bolt through the alt mount ear) from a non-XT: they are shaped differently, and will accept the larger case. I haven't tried it yet, But with A/C, I am guessing that all you need is the A/C and ALT mounting bracket from a non-XT.

In what way won't it shift? Two possibilities come to mind: One is that your shift linkage is misadjusted or jammed. The other is that your Tranny's governor valve/driven gear has problems. The "D" light may be not coming on because of the linkage, but more likely just burned out.

Check out this thread, particularly post#6: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/142209-water-pump-has-me-confused/

This weekend I did the Nissan Maxima alternator upgrade to my 88 XT. To mount it, I needed the alternator adjuster arm/bracket off of a non-XT (the XT uses a smaller-cased alternator than the other body styles), but everything else just fit into place, Ribbed pulley had the right number of grooves, and using Mark-1 eyeball it looks like the pulleys/belts are properly aligned with no work needed. (I really should measure to make sure, but too busy right at the moment.) All that was left was to connect the spade connectors (I haven't put them in the deutsch plug yet, but eventually will.) The stock belt is probably just a little bit short (1cm-2cm), but fit over the pulley at full slack. I got a rebuilt off of eBay for about $80 delivered to my door (PnP wants at lest half that price). Thanks go out to GeneralDisorder and all the others that promoted this swap. EXTRA good on XTs.

IIRC, the 85 and 86 turbo cam profile differed little, if any, from the non-turbo. The 87-up had alterations in the timing, duration and overlap, with a slightly decreased overlap as compared to the non-turbos. In essence, the later turbo cam was a milder grind. There is a thread floating around that lists the various cams. I think that post was by Gloyale, and relatively recently.

See if it is really a fuel issue. When you get a no-start condition, spray some starter fluid or other supplemental fuel into the intake and see what it does. If this does not alter the behavior, look elsewhere... Like the ignition. Make sure that the coil bracket is properly grounded.

^+1 Would help a little to know the year and whether carbureted or fuel injected.

These engines were designed to be used in "developing nations"; they are simple, rugged, reliable, and usually repairable with minimal tools. The engine is light, and one strong person or 2 average strength persons can lift the engine out of the engine bay. Headgaskets fail, but that is partially because of the years and mileage on the gaskets. Easy replacement, even in-car. Cylinders and rings are incredibly durable.

High stall speed allows you to turn (near) the stall speed (RPM) at a full stop... meaning that you can have pretty much full torque during crawling.

Their engines don't usually "blow". Almost always something simple and easily fixable. Brats have a huge cult following, and are worth a good deal in decent shape.

Look around for a higher stall-speed (smaller diameter) torque converter. Might be hard to find, might be available for something like the Impreza.

WOW! That looks like a really good price on that pump. Edit: Cheapest Shipping to Seattle area is $18. Free shipping for orders over $100.