GeneralDisorder

I understand what you are saying but *here* it is NOT viable to open a 2.2 for ANY reason. Replacements are cheap and I get a warrantee on them generally. Also I use almost engines from almost exclusively automatic's for my 2.5 replacements. I just bought a 2.2 yesterday. Came from a '95 Impreza with 97k on it. You could eat off the inside of the valve covers. Owned by an elderly lady - took a hard hit in the drivers side rear quarter. I heard it run before they pulled it. Could barely hear it running..... $550. And that's not an unusal deal at all. I've bought at least three others in the last few months with under 150k and in similarly amazing condition. One I got for $350! Again - of the DOZENS of EJ22's I've bought not a single one has come back. I get compression results, I check for internal varnish and sludge, and I get a warrantee. If I opened them all up I couldn't do the volume of EJ25D to EJ22 swaps that I do - it wouldn't be viable. It would add $1500 to the cost. I do EJ22 swaps for $1400 out the door - that's engine, timing components, resealed, labor included. GD

You had to beat the axle out of them and pull it back through them.... could have changed things. There's write-ups around here on wheel bearings. You need to dissasemble it and inspect carefully. Feel the bearings - both inner and outer. Check for play, etc. You could also have a messed up cone washer that won't secure the axle to the hub. They should be replaced if there is ANY damage to them. They cannot be cleaned up with a file, etc as lost material will lead to no clamping force. GD

Roll pin is a 6mm. You could have a bad wheel bearing also. Depending on how they fail they can easily make knocking noises. GD

251 block, crank, rods (or '99 25D). 96 25D pistons. 22E heads with roller's. It's somewhere around 12:1 or a bit higher. The key is the '96 25D pistons. They are much higher compression due to the larger combustion chambers of the '96 25D heads. The 2.5 is a stroked AND bored 2.2 anyway. I don't see the point in the lower displacement 22E block when 2.5 stuff is so plentiful and cheap. I'm drowning 2.5 blocks that want some level of rebuilding. Basically get them for free doing 2.2 swaps. GD

I've installed dozens of used engines without a problem. I do it quite regularly - you check them out and it's pretty obvious if they have been abused - the varnish level inside the engine, the compression results, etc. GD

Yesir that will do it every time. Aren't you glad you asked before doing HG's needlessly? GD

The accesory pulley (harmonic balancer) doesn't need a key at all. Torque it down and call it good. 120 ft/lbs or so will hold it on there nicely. Cut the bad section of the key away - you do not want to drag the sprocket across the messed up key. Then pull off the sprocket - and order a new key from the dealer. GD

In the United States they did. GD

Your engine is non-interferance - no need for OEM belt and water pump. Call Mizumoauto (ebay ID) and get a kit with the Aisin water pump and the Mitsuboshi timing belt. Their tensioners have NTN bearings just like the factory one's. I have used several dozen of their kits without problems. Just remember to reuse the bolt and sleeve from your old tensioner idler as the replacements from Mizumo are too short. GD

You think I would sugest it if I haven't been there before? As Ivan said it's a losing battle on an engine worth 1/3 the cost of my living room sofa. EJ22's are worth zilch. I can get tested engines with a warrantee for $450 that don't burn a drop. Why would you ever bother to get inside it? With proper care they last 300k+. Replacements are one week's pay for the average guy. Replacement is the ONLY economically viable solution. Drop it in the dumpster, replace it with a good one, and keep up on regular oil changes with synthetic. GD

The 251 is a great engine. Don't know where you got that it's unreliable.... I recently rebuilt a 251 for a member here that lost a rod bearing at 472k. That's not unreliable. The 251 and newer have 52mm rod journals unlike the 25D's 48mm journals which were it's bottom end weakness. GD

Replace the engine. It hasn't had consistent maintenance with quality oil and the rings are carboned up. GD

If you break off manifold bolts you will almost certainly have to drill them out and heli-coil the holes. They can be a real pain. Get your manifold gaskets from the dealer only. Aftermarket suck. GD

It wouldn't help. The LSD chunk requires the SS specific stub axles to work properly. Non-LSD stubs will not work. The SS stubs are side specific and are NOT the same as any later model VLSD. You MUST use stubs from another 91 SS. VLSD's are a joke - mostly a marketing gimick - and are generally considered dead weight after 50k. Sure they may still work to some degree - but it's not even close to worth doing if you have to spend a bunch of money on stubs to even get it installed. Buying one of these - even with stubs - is basically a waste of money unless it's very low miles or new. The gamble is just too great. IMO they are worth no more than an open diff. They cannot be rebuilt or serviced which makes them an unacceptable used purchase. Further - they are only useful for spirited street driving. They are (in the Subaru incarnation) completely useless off-road. The clutch types are almost useless and the VLSD's might as well not even be there. Waste of time and effort. GD

Yes - because coolant flows through the intake manifold and the gaskets between it and the head seperate the coolant from the intake ports. When these gaskets fail it is almost always on the coolant side and usually the engine ingests some amount of coolant into the intake port. That coolant will pool in the cylinders or behind the intake valve and has to be burned off when the engine is first started - thus the white smoke. I would say your radiator is partially clogged or the thermoswitch is bad... The thermoswitch in the radiator that turns on the fan may not be seeing the same temps as the rest of the radiator. Driving the car runs air across the radiator at all times and thus it doesn't overheat. If the thermoswitch isn't working properly the fan will shut off even though the engine is not cooling properly. This is normal behavior for a carb. You have to operate the throttle - the fast idle cam will not disengage on it's own. The choke has to pull off AND you have to snap the throttle occasionally to let the fast idle cam drop out. Typical Hitachi carb problems. Replace it with a Weber or rebuild the Hitachi. This has nothing to do with the cooling system though. Pull the intake manifold and inspect the gaskets. Be prepared to break off bolts that hold the manifold to the heads. It happens and sometimes it's unavoidable. GD

Be prepared - you will have to order it and its possible that its discontinued. GD

Dealer only or used from another tranny. Those are the only options. GD

There is no correlation. You need to pull the codes. GD

I've used a couple now. No problems. They are clearly the same part as OEM. GD

You probably just need intake manifold gaskets and a working radiator fan. GD

We do have a solution for stock headers though - clamp-on or weld-on conversion flanges to modify the dual-port headers. Runs about $75 for a set. Sube101 makes these as well. GD

Fuel economy is not related to the loss of AWD. The worst that can happen in FWD mode is that you eventually burn out the duty-c solenoid from applying constant 12v to it. But frankly that could take years based on the experience of members on this forum and it's only a $100 part brand new from the dealer that is easily replaced. Run it. Figure out the problem later. It's silly to dump the time and resources you have into this problem - try another TCU from a board member (post in the wanted section) and wait for a deal to come around on a good used transmission. I have bought 50 or more used engines and transmissions - I have returned exactly ONE engine for excessive crank end play which I inspected once I got it home and got the timing components off. They swapped it out for another engine that was just fine. Auto recyclers are not happy when parts come back. Get a warrantee if you like. GD

Agreed - on any of the EJ's you just use the aftermarket radio installation adaptor harness that's like $10 to $15 at any stereo shop. I have a Sony deck with bluetooth in my '91 SS and I've installed countless stereo's using these adators without any problems at all. If the factory radio plug has been cut out - get a reverse harness for it. They sell them to repair damaged radio harnesses and to reinstall factory deck's. Cheap on Amazon or ebay. GD