GeneralDisorder

You don't need those valves - they are the Air Injection System. The whole idea was to inject fresh oxygen between the exhaust pulses for the catalyst to work more efficiently. The newer catalysts don't require this and if you put in a $50 ebay cat you won't need those valve or pipes or associated plumbing anymore. GD

Those are the air injection pipes - they supply fresh oxygen for the old style catalyst to function properly. If you put in a new aftermarket catalytic converter you won't need those pipes anymore. Since you do need the spacers to mate up to the exhaust you should just cut the pipe off with about 1" of it left sticking out - then hammer the pipe flat and run a weld bead across the flattened end. GD

If it's a Hitachi distributor - the pickup is the same as used on some 80's Honda's - if you lookup the part number on rockauto then put it into Amazon they come up really cheap. Worth having an extra in the glove box. You just pry off the reluctor with a couple screwdrivers and bolt in the new pickup. Very simple. GD

Drilled and slotted rotors are no longer needed with modern pad materials. They chew up pads something aweful - basically like a cheese grater on your pads. They are for show - and people who actually know what they are looking at aren't impressed. You talk about doing all this stuff to NED - but you never have any money. I think your focus should be getting a job and moving out of your parents house. In the scheme of life this is far more important than performance brakes on your 85 HP 4-lug econo-sedan. GD

We still have quite a few out here. Curious - what was your solution to the pickup coil? Those are only about $30 on Amazon and take a whole 10 minutes to replace. $300 in '05 was a really steep quote. Those guys still in business? GD

Standard practice. That's a great way to do it IMO. GD

I pay $250 each for complete valve job, bucket/shim clearance setting and resurface/pressure test. Sounds like a rip-off to me. GD

Kill switch. Disable the fuel pump ground. GD

The reasons are: 1. The design was a solution looking for a problem. Subaru built EA81 dual-carb engines in Japan with 108 HP and no turbo. The overhead cam layout of the EA82(T) with all it's additional complexity, additional width, timing belts, ticking lifters, etc was simply not neccesary. They wanted to use the hot buzzword of the day - "SOHC" - in their literature. It was also a test platform for timing belts in general which were a fairly new technology in '85 and completely untried by Subaru to that point. Make no mistake though - there's nothing the EA82 can do that the EA81 can't do just as well or better if built up correctly. 2. On turbo's specifically the head castings have a design flaw that causes them to crack into the exhaust ports from the cooling jackets. This can be mitigated by keeping the temps low and not stressing the design to it's limits (IE: more boost) and some folks have made good power for a long time despite this - but there is no safety margin. Push the boost up, run it hard, and pray you don't have a cooling system failure because one little mistake and that will be the end of it. There's no forgiveness here. 3. When put up against the EA81 and the EJ22 - the engines that came before and after it - the EA82 looks very sickly. It's much harder to work on than either of it's siblings, produces very little more power than a hi-po EA81, and the EJ22 has got it beat in power, gas mileage, and reliability without even having a turbo at all. That makes the EA82T look pretty sad by comparison. 4. Have you ever worked on one of these nightmares? If you have you will quickly come to the same conclusion as everyone else here. Not worth the time and headache. GD

They slide in and out of the tips of the rotor. That's what allows the odd shaped housing to seal against the rotor. They are the equivelent to piston rings but the rotory puts them under significant stress. Oil consumption due to apex seal failure in those engines is a problem. GD

I count 9.... two rotors, one crank, and 6 apex-seals (not counting the springs seperately). Apex-seals are more of a problem than EJ timing belts It's only about 3 hours to change an EJ water pump. Shouldn't have to drive it that way for long. GD

Has nothing to do with it being an "aftermarket" water pump. For one thing the OEM pump for your engine would have a cast iron impeller that isn't even coated - at least that thing was probably coated with something at one point. And Subaru has, since like '08 or so, switched to the stamped impellers on their OEM pumps as well. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that water pump. GD

That has nothing to do with the water pump. That's from someone running straight water or anti-freeze that's a decade old. Based on that water pump.... I would throw the engine, radiator, and all the hoses in the dumpster and I *might* condemn the heater core also. That's BAD. I would be surprised if you can save that engine. GD

It would appear that the shop who did your transmission repair left out the air vent plug in the top of the radiator. What is supposed to go there is a plastic plug with phillips slots in it. You remove that plug when filling the radiator with coolant to bleed the air from the system. They may have removed the radiator to get at the transmission cooler line near the bottom and in doing so drained out the coolant then left this plug out or loose. Check your bill to see if you were charged for coolant.... I would be talking to them about fixing this. GD

My most recent trip with a 2.2 was in a '96 Outback 5MT - over the mountains headed from Portland to K-falls the car got 27.5 and then on the way from there to Reno, NV it was almost 29. For around town driving you are about right. But for long freeway trips you should be quite a bit higher. GD

EA81's didn't have them. And yes there must be room for expansion so there will always be an air pocket at the top of the radiator. That's how all older cars without overflows work. GD

The frequency is basically 100%. Perhaps you don't want to admit that. Doesn't mean it isnt so. Every single one of these engines I see is weeping oil from *at least* the drivers side head by the first t-belt change. I will not install a 251/253 without HG change nor will i sell one without them being done. Blanket policy. Works great for me and my customers. I have an '04 Impreza sitting here with 101k and weeping HG on the drivers side. He would like it fixed. I will oblige him. GD

Symptoms are usually going to include pushing coolant into the overflow bottle when it overheats. Often overflowing the bottle. It's generally not that difficult to bleed the air from these. One of two things is happening - bad thermostat or bad head gaskets. GD

Any visible wear on the cone washer is unacceptable. If in doubt replace it. Dealer only. Bearings will not always have visible play. If you suspect them pull the axle and check for roughness. GD

Sounds like classic HG failure to me. GD

Usually that's from HG's weeping coolant leading to overheat conditions. The oil coolers keep the oil temp down which prolongs oil life - that in turn means that people who aren't religious about their oil changes can slide through a few more thousand before the oil turns to tar. GD

You need a new alternator. GD

Depends on how you classify failure. It is my experience that 99 to 06 HG failure is around 100%. They pretty much all weep oil from the drivers side - some weep coolant as well. Some also weep from the passenger side. If you can live with it thats fine. But the failure is still there. Sometimes its not enough to worry about but that really depends on the owner. For a lot of folks the knowledge that its leaking is too much to live with. I replace a lot of these engines and work on a ton of these cars. My reccomendations are based on that experience and what maintenance items are required on a new vehicle. T-belt kit and HG's ARE what I recommend for a trouble free 105k. And people that follow my reccomendations are very happy with their cars. GD

You just aren't listening. I've told you that it could be the wheel bearings or the cone washer. How many times do you suppose I've been to this rodeo? I do this for a living ya know.... GD

'98 if you want to do a 2.2 swap. '99 and up are great rigs if taken care of. Do the HG's first thing. The automatic's have oil coolers and it prolongs engine life dramatically. GD