GeneralDisorder

Subaru's have a "transaxle" that incorporates the transmission, front differential, center differential (if equipped) and transfer case into a single unit. Manual transaxles share 75w90 gear oil through the entire unit. Your noise sounds like possible driveline u-joint failure. GD

I have helped dozens of people find Legacy's withe either a few minor issues or simply in need of a reseal and timing belt job for the $1000 neighborhood. I have a '98 with 160k here right now that was $800 and needed tires and alignment. I just bought a '99 L with 142k that threw a rod for $840. I got an '03 EJ251 for it with 105k for $660. A few months back I bought a '97 GT that had already been converted to a 2.2 for $900. I swapped out the manifold for an EGR equipped version and drilled/tapped the head for the pipe then had to swap the ECU as the russians had installed one from a '96 that wouldn't pass DEQ. This last summer I bought a '96 with 115k on it and a bad 5MT for $700. Got a used 5MT for $100, new clutch kit for $160. Those are just a small cross-section of the cars I buy regularly. You just have to look for the deals. I realize that EA82's are more plentiful in the lower population density (lower income) areas but it's not that hard to travel 100 miles for a big purchase like a car. My point is not that he shouldn't fix the car - my point is that he has already gone through two transmissions and he could avoid a lot of problems by getting into a more reliable platform for a daily. GD

I was just provoking thought. With Legacy's routinely going for under $1k and often for scrap metal prices there's very little reason to keep a broken EA82 on the road. I can't even justify buying first gen Legacy's to resell. I pass up most second gens as well unless they are later models, really nice cosmetics, and/or low, low miles. Most people running an EA82 for other than collectible/sentimental reasons could get into a Legacy with a little effort. Parts are easy to find - excellent upgrade paths are available, and cost to maintain them and keep them on the road is actually lower - partly because they are a LOT more reliable..... just all around a superior platform. Obviously the car means something to him. So great - fix it and park it to preserve it. DRIVE a Legacy - then come here and tell me you don't want one. :-p. GD

I pulled the engine out and tore it down. Never found anything wrong with it. I put an EA82 in it and it lives on to this day. Another board member bought this Brat from me and drives it daily. The SPFI idle control duty solenoid is not the most robust thing. I have had to try half a dozen used ones to get one that works correctly. New they are ridiculously expensive. GD

Simple solution then - swap the diff from the '85 transmission onto the '90 transmission. They are not that hard to swap around. Then you get the good diff and the transmission with the known good governor and governor drive gear. GD

Wouldn't a '90 Loyale already have a metal gov. gear? This problem was well documented by then. The EA81's were having governor gear failure back in the early 80's. I believe that's part of the problem - metal driven gear chews up drive gear to the point that any replacement driven gear will be shredded in relatively short order. But of course he needs to inspect the drive gear to be sure of it's condition before he does anything else. GD

Depends on how bad the drive gear inside the transmission is. There are many documented cases where they last only a few hundred miles with a replacement governor. As for replacing the car - it's an EA82.... I understand if it has sentimental value but that's no reason to torture yourself with 90 HP and ancient technology. Get a Legacy for a daily. Everyone should have one. GD

I agree they are not nearly as reliable as the Automatic's. A lot more fun though! GD

The drive gear inside the transmission is bad so any governor you install will die shortly from the same ailment. Better to just get a Legacy to replace the car. Not much point in fixing a Loyale at it's age and mileage. GD

Most likely. Standard 6203. The 2RS just means it's sealed on both sides. GD

You would have to swap the entire transfer case. You don't have to weld the VC itself. You just weld it to the spider gears so no differentiation can occur. GD

You fix that problem with a Weber DGV. You can pull the codes, etc but you'll likely find that an assortment of sensors are bad and one in particular - the MAP sensor - always fails. This one sensor is more expensive than a new Weber carb and you can't find good used ones because they have all failed and there weren't many out there to start with. The whole computer controlled carb system is aweful to work with and extremely outdated. Just get a Weber and toss all that junk in the dumpster. GD

Yeah they should have special fluid. I believe it's silicone based.... Also note that this only works with the 99+ VC's. The older one's are welded together and can't be opened without destroying them. GD

File the edges of the chipped off section so it doesn't abrade the belt. Probably be fine though. Balance shouldn't be affected enough to notice. GD

Yep. Got my own place on McLaughlin now. I've been so busy that I'm already looking at getting a bigger shop. GD

It will probably have a clipped-in style speedo drive cable so you shouldn't have to unthread it from the transmission - just pop the clip off and pull the cable out of the transmission. Then you can check to see if the drive cable is broken or if the driven gear inside the transmission is bad. GD

There's differences in the circuit boards for the '82 vs. the '83+ so you may have to use the '85 circuit board to use the '82 cluster. There will be modifications required to some of the plastic bits for it to work IIRC. GD

What kind of valve problems does it have? If it's burning oil from the rings this can cause a burned valve.... You can put 2.2 heads on it but you might have to use some Cometic gaskets to bring the compression ratio under control. Usually 2.2 heads result in a compression increase due to the smaller combustion chamber sizes. You will also want to round off the edges of the smaller 2.2 combustion chamber so you don't create hot spots in the cylinder. Easier and more desirable to just fix the valves on the 2.5 heads. Especially with 280k on the 2.2 heads - they need a rebuild with new valves and guides anyway. Seems silly to bother with the extra work when you will have 2.5 heads you can rebuild. GD

I can beat that price by a lot. What year Outback do you have? I have a shop in Portland. Give me a call - Superior Soobie and Import: 503-880-4084 Rick

You can run either one - the long life blue coolant comes pre-mixed so they can control the water purity as part of it's long life rating. Green is fine if you change it every two years minimum. And 75% cheaper as well. Personally I can't see paying 200% in price for a 60% increase in lifespan. Not an economically sound investment for the return and there are no other reasons to prefer it - it does not harm the engine or other parts of the cooling system to use the green if it is maintained properly. GD

25D will not work easily. You need the phase-II SOHC to do a complete long-block swap. That means either the EJ251/2/3/4 or an EJ222. Check http://www.car-part.com for engines in your area that will fit the bill. 1999 Forester, and Impreza 2.5RS, and 2000 to 2004 2.5's will work. As well as the '99 to '01 EJ222 that you already have. But typically they ask a lot for those as they only fit a very narrow window of cars and they try to gouge people for "rare" engines - the truth is that you can easily drop in a 2.5 in it's place. GD

How much out of round on the cylinders? You can knurl the piston skirts to make up a portion of the .020 diameter difference and keep more oil on the skirts to dampen the slap. Runs about $10 per piston. GD

I routinely get good used condition 2.2's for $100 to $300. I've installed dozens and dozens of them and of those exactly one threw a rod - and it was one the customer payed $1100 for because it had 90k on it. The yard gave him another with 72k on it and it's been fine every since. I don't buy them from "junk yards". I buy them from reputable automotive recyclers that warranty their engines and don't sell questionable "junk" If I were going to rebuild an engine then I would rebuild a 25D (which I have plenty of laying around) and put the 2.2 heads on it. Why bother with rebuilding the 135 HP block when I can rebuild the 165 HP block for the same money and drop it in place of the 2.2? I agree it's more economical if you are doing the work yourself but if you have never done one before then there's a high likelihood of something not being right with the build. GD

Well the OP is here on the west coast and rust shouldn't be an issue. I've never had a problem with either method - I own the pin socket and if it wasn't handy I wouldn't hesitate to pull out a punch and get the job done. Typically I find that when people try to do anything with a punch or chisel they lack the requisite hammer for the job. You need a VERY heavy hammer. I use a 4 lb drilling hammer for that kind of work. If you need to move metal you need weight. GD

I understand the use of the Motul for a performance built 5MT or to try and fix syncro grinding - especially since the Subaru Extra-S is probably hard to get in South America. But here in the states it's not.... if you haven't tried the Extra-S then you really don't know what you are missing with respect to shifting and syncros, etc. When compared with even the synthetic gear oils that meet the Subaru requirements the Extra-S is much, much thinner acting in a pour test. It has the same benefits as the Motul but has the benefit of being officially sanctioned by Subaru and is EASIER to get than the Motul is here in the states. I've used the Motul with the MoS2 in it and it's great stuff. But it's very expensive here in the US and hard to get. GD