GeneralDisorder

I agree that the rubber coated metal gasket that the dealer uses and comes with the Aisin pumps is great. I use them if I have one. For the NPW pumps I buy that come with the paper gasket I just use Anearobic flange sealant. Never had one leak. I use it for oil pumps, block halves, transmission cases, oil pans, etc. I don't like RTV. It's messy and has a limited shelf life. Anearobic has an unlimited shelf life and is much friendlier to use. You don't need much. I've been using the same caulking gun tube for over two years. GD

I second the ACL race bearings that ccrinc is using. They are excellent quality. That's also the only brand I will use. Especially for the 25D. As for the 25D - yes it does have weak rod bearings. But I have seen carefully driven examples hit 300k without significant rod bearing damage. They don't take the abuse like the 22E and the 251/253 do though. GD

The "tensioner" is just an idler once it's tightened down. It is only a tensioner when you are doing the installation. After that it ceases to further tension anything. Thus EA timing belts DO NOT have active tensioners. This is not particularly unusual. Honda and Toyota have been doing that for years and probably still do. Last one I worked on was an '02 and it still had the spring loaded automatic slack adjuster... once tightened it's set for the life of the belt. No further "active" adjustment takes place like it does on EJ's, etc. If the belt failed that soon it is not because you didn't retension it - it's because it wasn't tensioned properly to begin with and/or you are not using quality belts. GD

I did mention that a lot of people are doing it for the hobby value - to learn and to have something unusual. Which is fine - more power to them. But to ask about how much it costs and if it's "worth it".... it's really not. You may have a lack of Legacy's in your area that aren't rusted out but you can buy a plane or train/bus ticket and come out here to get whatever you like. And the cost still won't be as much in time or money as doing an EJ swap. And you would have a very valuable vehicle since it would be rust free and you could easily sell it for more than you paid. Sure - we all have hobbys. The definition of a hobby is that you will be losing money on it. Otherwise the tax man says it's a business. So at that point there's no reason to ask the question at all - if it's a hobby then *of course* it isn't worth it. '95 to '98 are the best to use for wiring and manifold. You can use whatever bottom end you like. Though in practice interferance vs. non just isn't an issue with the EJ engines. Unlike the EA82 the belts just don't break. So if you are even remotely doing maintenance and bother to change the belt every 100k or so - there's just no need to worry about the interferance engines. I've replaced probably over 100 EJ timing belts and I've torn down more engines than I can count. Haven't seen a broken belt yet. GD

It's possible that the t-cased hatch will be there. Depends on if I feel like driving it with the EA81 that far. Tops out at about 60. :-p GD

Looks like a defect to me. See if you can get a warantee replacement. GD

Use the '99 intake manifold to avoid issues with the evap system routing and the '99 not having the carbon can in the engine bay. '99 is an 8 bolt. '97 is a 4 bolt. You will have to heli-coil the 99 transmission and put an EJ exhaust stud in the lower starter bolt location to hold the starter on properly. Order your valve cover gaskets for the '97 but your spark plug wires for the '99 if you are using it's manifold. Coil packs changed and valve cover gaskets changed a whole bunch of times. Do a valve adjustment on the '97. It's bucket/shim. GD

Loctite 518 or permatex anearobic for the water pump to the block mating surface. Rubber seal around the (new OEM) thermostat. That's all there is to it. GD

Very odd indeed. Possibly a warantee issue there. GD

Legacy: 4110 - 810 = 3300 GL wagon: 3430 - 810 = 2620 So about 700 lbs difference. Brat: 3460 - 850 = 2610 EA81 hatch: 3220 - 810 = 2410 Over 200 lbs lighter than either the Brat or the GL... and there's actually interior that can be removed and tossed in the hatch where the Brat has only the bare metal of the bed.... Also 5" shorter wheel-base and no overhang past the rear wheel..... These numbers are only off the vehicle's data plate though. I've weighed Brat's at scrap metal scales, etc and seen them tip out at 2250 empty except for myself.... so I don't really put much faith in these numbers. GD

Always inspect/dress the input shaft and test fit the pilot to it prior to installing it in the flywheel. If you can get hold of an old input shaft from a 5 speed you can use it to make an alignment tool that's not a plastic POS. Also - remove the dowel pins that get stuck in the engine and clean HALF of them. Put them back in the tranny with the clean side facing the engine. Also clean the dowel pin holes in the engine. Last resort you can leave the pressure plate bolts loose and tighten them through the starter hole after it's mated. Not as easy on the EJ's as it is on the EA's but it is possible. If you know you are going to do this in advance you can add a half-round notch to the starter hole in the transmission bell-housing to leave room for your socket to engage the PP bolts easier. I do SO many engine swaps that I have it down to a science. Three EJ25D to EJ22E swaps last month GD

Key phase. Here they are worth virtually nothing. I have been GIVEN first gen Legacy's for free. No rust. Much more?!? A few hundered lbs maybe. The EA82 body is pretty heavy and bulky itself. And it's power to weight ratio is crap compared to an EJ platform. The additional weight of the Legacy, which is minor, is easily offset by the superior suspension, additional power without need for a costly engine swap, etc. To each their own - but the value of an engine-swapped EA is not recoverable unless it's one of the three body styles I mentioned above. No one is going to pay what you have into the car if you EJ swap a Loyale body wagon. Just not going to happen. Perhaps I'm unique or one of the few - but being that I am a mechanic - my goal as far as vehicles goes is to never have more into something than I could sell it for. So far I have NEVER lost money on a car - not on one single occasion. And that's including the ones I personally drive. They have all been fabulous deals I guess.... or I'm just lucky.... or perhaps my recipe is a good one GD

If they cut the friction surface but not the PP mounting surface then it could have easily caused it to slip prematurely. I use exclusively Exedy clutch kits - because they are OEM. I have an Exedy WRX kit in my '91 SS right now. Works great. I've got customers with near 100k on clutches I've replaced.... GD

Just go to the junk yard, grab a good plug, and solder it in - grab 3 or 4 inches of wire with the used plug and cut the old one off as close to the plug as possible. These don't often fail unless the plug has been damaged from someone tugging on it, etc. I knew you would likely find a wiring fault in the engine bay. Just a matter of which sensor has the bad wiring... GD

RTV is a gasket replacement technology. You don't often use both RTV and paper gasket. Personally I dislike RTV. Anearobic flange sealanth (loctite 518) is my preferance for water pump and EA thermostat housings, etc. EJ oil pumps also. You don't need much - 1/16" bead. GD

The distributor is hooked up wrong. The red sheathed wire goes to the + terminal of the coil. The yellow sheathed wire goes to the - terminal of the coil. Leave the wires that are coming from "cable Z" alone - those are correct. Disconnect everything else except those two wires from cable Z and the two from the distributor - after you correct their placement. Then it should run. GD

Measure the flywheel step. GD

Not worth replaceing the HG's on the 2.2. Most of them go their entire life (usually about ~350k to 500k) without blowing them. In the Subaru world, Head bolts are never replaced..... NEVER. Find a recycler and get a known good runner with compression numbers, etc for $400 to $600 and call it good. What are you swapping the EJ into? GD

Easily more than the cost of a first generation legacy that runs and looks nice. Loyale.... not worth it. EJ swaps are best suited for purpose built race or off road vehicles, or people that have lots of time, extra money, and are just doing it for the hobby or for the novelty of it. My opinion of course - but the only EA bodies worthy of an EJ swap are the EA81 hatch, the Brat, and the EA82 three door coupe/RX. In the case of the EA81 hatch it is the lightest and shortest of the EA bodies and therefore makes the best platform for lifting and off-roading. In the case of the Brat - it's a collectible and they are worth significantly more than any other EA body. Thus an EJ swap that's done right will make them more road-worthy for years to come and can be the answer for putting them back on the road as EA81's are becoming harder to come by. The RX and the three-door-coupe body is an interesting and unique body style and has the potential to be an '80s collectible. But if you just want a more powerful wagon.... forget it. Your just burning money. Buy a first gen Legacy, lift it, and be done. GD

Yes the Aisin pumps are great. They are the OEM for Toyota and some other's - and they may be the OEM for Subaru on the newer stuff. NPW is my second choice - that's short for Nissan Pump Manufacturing. They are also Japanese pumps and of excellent quality. GD

http://www.stocktonwheel.com/ GD

The fuel line is simply a hose over a barb fitting at the engine and at the engine bay mounted fuel filter. Take the lines loose from the fuel filter and put the gauge there - rent or borrow a gauge. It's not a wonderful job to replace a fuel pump. Besides that - an excuse to buy or learn to use a new tool should always be priority. Your problem isn't the pump and all you will get is frustrated by throwing parts at this problem. GD

Had one of these fail at about 5k miles. Massive leakage from the weep hole. Customer paid no attention to the temp gauge and destroyed the motor - ran it without coolant down the freeway till it wouldn't run any more.... http://www.olympiaautoparts.com/products.html This was included in one of the Mizumoauto kits from ebay. The kits seem to be fine otherwise but these cheap pumps from Singapore are hit and miss it seems. If you buy their kit get it with the Aisin water pump. GD

McMaster has end mills for about $30: 3056A24 - $27.90 That's a four flute, center cutting, HSS endmill that will punch out the holes on a drill press in about 15 minutes. GD

If you wanted to get into other types of builds - just register a new business name and build them alongside what you build now. Of course - with something like that you would want to test out the engines and see what they can do, etc. A lot of businesses do that - Rockford constant velocity has RCV Performance - their "custom" division - for example. What exactly are you not fond of about the frankenmotor build? It's cheap, reliable performance. I call that "fun". With a good used 2.5 block you can put one together for a few hundered $. It's a lot cheaper and more accesible than the turbo's and opens up the hobby to a lot of people that otherwise wouldn't be able to afford it. GD