Ibreakstuff

Do you still have the VIN? My 1990 FSM doesn't show it as a standard option.

I'm with Scott, I always pull from the ball joint pinch bolt. Even on newer subarus. But in california it rarely takes more than a nudge to release a BJ. A floor jack helps reinstalling the BJ, but be mindful of the threads. The 2 radius bolts suck to remove imho, I never touch them unless I have to.

This. Everything changes when you go fwd > 4wd/awd. Your driving techniques have to change too. Add a front LSD to a DR and you will have even more understeer, but has the ability to drive faster with more grip if you toss it into corners a lot harder. My fwd loyale felt faster on dirt, but it was just dragging the rear wheels around corners. It feels like oversteer, but you can't power out of anything.

I've been collecting parts to give it a try! Work has been kicking my butt lately tho.. I've been working doubles and on-call. But I'd really like to get the first RX on the road in the next couple months. My 87 GL parts car is going to the scrap soon, I just need to pull the dash and grab the rest of the wiring. So that is one hurdle that will be out of the way soon.

I have emailed SoA many times over the years, they could only give me date of manufacturer never any actual production numbers. I would be very surprised if there were 8k RX G56B coupes sold in the USA. The Loyale RS number of 500 does sound right tho. The US 1990 Loyale RS came in 3 flavors: SPFI-3AT, SPFI-5MT, MPFI-4AT (turbo).. None were FWD afaik. Only the MPFI's got rear disc brakes standard. source: FSM's

Open diffs love to 1 tire fire with crappy tires, but a blown strut and/or radius arm bushing can also contribute to front wheel hop. But better tires would probably prevent it happening no matter what. My girlfriends stupid ralliart was doing awesome front tire burnouts, it ended up being a blown motor mount... Doesn't apply to our subaru drivetrain layout but it was a weird fix.

It's probably a stuck solenoid or bad switch, the diff lock is vacuum powered. I've seriously considered replacing the whole thing with a PTO cable.

Plastidip is awesome, but beware it does lift easy when freshly sprayed. It adheres better to primer or a rough surface also. Cook the rims in the sun for a day after applying all of the coats.

I only use Amsoil (even in my beaters) and it has a sticker shock. With blackstone labs testing, it is very surprising how many miles you can get before a change is required tho. They make really good oil/air filters too.

Nice necro from 4 years ago lol. But at least it shows you were searching. I ditch mine completely, inside and outside covers. Even for snow and dirt... But I do keep a spare set of belts/pulleys in my "to go" tool kit.

Amazing job, thanks for posting more pics and details.

Good luck this weekend, keep us updated! Awesome never say die attitude with the motor oops too. Are you guys going to race thunderhill and sonoma later this year?

Proper maintenance is definitely a pro suggestion Tires would be my first upgrade and second set of rims for proper snows.

Looks awesome

Shot in the dark... Do you notice any wear inside the strut towers? Or possibly a spring grabbing one of the long accessory bolts? I had some bind similar to what you are experiencing after using 07 impreza springs on my loyale 3 door. I had to BFH/grinder massage some inside the towers.

ram performance has flat top forged pistons also, I think 9-9.5:1: http://www.ramengines.com/

Never heard of the brand safety gaskets, not sure how good that kit would be. I would ask where they source the parts for the kit. I am building several ea82t motors at the moment, all with forged pistons. My recommendation would be to take the motor apart and do an inspection before buying parts or moving ahead with that motor. You will need to know how worn or out of round the cylinders are before ordering pistons. Also depending on how/why the motor needs a rebuild, the crankshaft and rods could have wear/damage from spun/worn bearings. Excessive cylinder wear and damaged crank/rod journals can make even the basic diy sketchy/risky/expensive. That said.. if you have the tools and know how or know a good shop, there is no reason not to go for it. Even if that motor is toast, pick n pull motors can be had with 1 year warranty for cheap (look for 50% day). As mentioned.. the stock forged rods are usually fine, place them on a flat surface (precision plate) and you can easily tell if they are twisted at all. The concern would be the big end race and how jacked up is it from the old bearing. There are no aftermarket rods that I know of anyways, unless custom (117mm c2c). Stay EA if you are inclined, shun the non-believers!

+1 I remember this happening with my 90 loyale before it was swapped to 4wd

Thank you for posting the info you found nncoolg. I need to pickup an er27 pump and tinker with it. It appears to benefit the lower rpms more based on the specs you linked on ausubaru, but diminishing returns as rpms increase? I think it would activate the cam towers sooner too. The cam towers each have spring valve (much lower pressure than pump bypass/relief), but I have no idea at what psi it starts to/fully opens. I can't think of any disadvantages to the extra flow and slightly higher pressures, it's going to puke much of extra oil into the heads via the oil bar not via bypass (good thing?). It could even allow for slightly looser main and rod bearing tolerances or just extra protection when beating on it. As for the water pump, the flow stats you listed intrigue me. It has a smaller impeller and pulley.. you would think it has smaller pulley and larger impeller. Re the MLS gaskets, I don't have anything running yet. As soon as I get the first RX running, I will be reporting back. And if there is a failure I will definitely be making a post with the how/what/why and pictures. I did notice the viton coating is fragile and can be scratched off, but its only an issue for handling before installation and shouldn't effect how they function. I still can't decide between 7/16 and 1/2 studs, I think I'm going 1/2"... I'd rather the piece of mind and extra base threads. Images are from nncoolg. I hope you don't mind me posting these, if you want them removed lmk.

Yep, same place I have been shopping from. Very cool company, I hope they stick around for a long long time. The inserts are pretty damn expensive, was surprising. I'll probably end up doing timeserts as well. Esp with the 7/16 studs, rethreading over 11mm seems like a bad idea. Full torque inserts look even stronger, but $$$$. I'll keep that in mind for sure, I have 4 blocks and 6-7 transmissions to tear up before I start thinking about the next project lol.

Headstud update, 7/16 5.5" stud arrived, the thread length is only 1" vs 1.25" on the 1/2 studs boo. I edited the post above as it ended up being too long for the shorter bolts. Luckily there is a 5" stud in 7/16.. Note the amount of counter bore required. pictured left to right: ARP AP5-500-1LB - ARP AR5-750-1LB - Stock Bolt (long)

It sounds like the shifter return spring is worn or missing, bushings can definitely contributing to it not lining up as well.

What type of oil pressures are you seeing with the er27 pump vs the ea82 pump?

+1 for dewalt 20v lithium ion impact, its a workhorse. The 20v drill will break your wrist too (thats a good thing right).

Yea we got some very "interesting" wheel shapes and factory options. They had to puts words on the usdm ac/heater controls, we are too stupid to make out diagrams lol. I wonder how many actual RX coupes (the 3 door type) were made worldwide? 2600 is the number thrown around here for the total g56b vin RX's in the USA.