GeneralDisorder

Doesn't even look like a crack to me - clean it up with a wire brush and get another picture. Looks like an undercut on the weld or something. Frankly it's probably been that way since it was new - I would just run it. GD

You have a few possibilities - clogged radiator, bad thermostat, head gaskets or air in the system - though air usually results in a cold upper radiator hose and tank. Start with the thermostat - replace it with an OEM one or a Stant XACT stat (also OEM). DO NOT use an aftermarket thermostat. That could be part of the problem. GD

What other mods are you planning that would require a larger, hotter spark? GD

Can't even see much in that pic. Looks fine to me - throw a bead of weld on it if you like. I would probably just run it. This is a Brat - not a swiss watch. GD

It's not calcification. It's the dry form of battery acid. It means there is some leakage going on around your terminals. You can clean it with baking soda and water then grease the terminals with a good dielectric grease. That will help prevent it from forming. A new battery will be in order eventually - leakage like that begins the end-life of a "maintenance free" battery. Kmart in Austrailia.... wow. GD

RWD has a fun factor all to itself. You can't really compare the two on the grounds of "more car" or "less car" as they are designed for entirely different driving styles. The BRZ is for those that enjoy having the rear end step out a little on a corner and it's entirely a street machine. It's not a rally car and it's not designed to be one. I like both - they serve different purposes and different audiences. Costing less and having a feature that would defeat the entire purpose of the other is not grounds for it being "more car". That said - there's four reasons I won't be buying one: 1. Never buy the first generation of any product. Let other people do the beta testing. 2. It's not a turbo. 3. The only reason it's not a turbo yet is because Subaru is greedy and they want all the early adopters to buy an NA BRZ and then in 3 to 5 years when the turbo version (STi version perhaps?) comes out they can sell the same person another car. 4. No used BRZ's on the market. Buying a new car is a huge money losing proposition. I have money because I don't do stupid things with it like buying new cars that will lose half their value over the next 3 to 5 years. Letting someone else take the loss is much more practical. Especially for something that's a "want", not a "need". (Though now that I have a Subaru specialty/performance shop... I may "need" one as a marketing tool :-p). They could have just turbocharged it from the outset - and I'm sure they have reasons beyond the obvious desire to sell more cars - but I'm also sure that's the overiding principle here. GD

It's normal to see that kind of varnish under the seperator plates. Even on clean engines (I'm not saying that one is) you will still see a considerable amount of varnish in that location. The inside of the valve covers tells the real story - if that's clean then it's a good bet it had proper maintenance. The cam cap and rear wrist pin covers use special o-rings of sizes that are not in a generic kit - the diameter of the o-ring cord used for those is quite small - 1mm or 1.5mm IIRC. You will have to get those from the dealer. GD

Oh yeah im still around - mostly down at my new shop. PM me and ill send you my address and such. GD

It is not a sealed unit. You will still need the seals. All the rear bearings work the same but there's different configurations - some are three peice and some are five peice. Depends on the brand and on what year the car was. They all interchange the same though. GD

'89 to mid-'93: Cast aluminium. mid-'93 to '99: Plastic - early were whitish-yellow, 95+ were black. '00-on: back to aluminium. Dealer replacement for plastic: Stamped steel. GD

Mileage potential is the same as an EJ22 - Both have 52mm rods. I have seen them go 470k before rod bearing failure. It's all in how they are taken care of. GD

It wouldn't have mattered how or in what order you removed the intake manifold bolts - about 25% chance of one breaking every time you remove one of these. Don't remove the head, and don't bother trying to extract the broken bolt. Just grind it smooth, center punch it, drill it out, and heli-coil the hole. GD

Generally speaking, no lubricant is needed with mechanical shaft locking devices such as the subaru cone washer setup if all the components are clean and free of burrs and damage. Though a thin coat of anti-seize is not a bad idea to promote dissasembly in the future. GD

Frankemotor: EJ25: short block and head gaskets. EJ22: EVERYTHING ELSE. Got it? GD

Notches are almost always present. Knock down any rough edges with a file and run it. Should be fine. I always run a file over the edges of the notches and I've never had a problem with binding after a duty-c replacement. GD

So what do you do to keep the CVT from biting the dust? Has anyone ever figured out how to keep them going if you find one with low miles like that? GD

Well that sucks. Anyone have a clue what happened to the original from the movie? GD

Just break the covers and throw them away. No need for them. GD

$300 to check the timing? That's pretty insane. It only takes maybe an hour to pull the cover, check the marks, and put it back together. Check the timing marks, run a compression test. That should be enough to confirm bent valves. GD

6207 ball bearings are about $8 each.... give or take... from any local bearing supplier. The seals are about $6 each. $37 isn't terrible but then there's shipping, etc.... local bearing supply is usually easier and cheaper. GD

Agreed - spend $100 on a duty C and fix it right. No flushing or additives will do a thing for you. The problem is electrical and mechanical. GD

Any EJ crank pulley will fit. They are all the same with respect to fitment. GD

Are you sure the distributor is fully seated? If so.... either the roll pin for the distributor shaft gear is missing/sheared away.... or you have major mechanical wear and/or damage. At which point you are going to have to pull the valve cover to get a visual on what's going on in there. GD

99's have a known problem with a bad ground in the speedo head. It can be fixed or you can get a new head for about $175 from the dealer. GD

Some axial play is not an issue. How much does it move? Is the belt currently attached and the cam retainer/seal plate installed on the front of the cam carrier? GD