GeneralDisorder

It's a sweet design - really an industry first. They will work out the few problems eventually. I look forward to when they work out all the issues - it's based on an old variable speed machine drive called a "Reeves Drive" and once they get the bugs worked out of the software it should be a great unit. Very few moving parts. GD

They have been addressing the issue through redesigned gaskets. Some of the issue here is not just Subaru - this has been an industry wide trend over the last decade or more. One of the problems is that Subaru doesn't make gaskets themselves (most automaker's don't) - they rely on a gasket supplier to build them and it's a give and take process. One issue here is the *perception* on the part of joe-public that Subaru has had "head gasket problems" since the introduction of the 2.5..... which while technically true doesn't convey the whole situation. To wit: 1. The EJ25D had problems with the combustion gas ring on the head gasket sealing to the block. This was because the cylinder walls were made thinner on the 2.5 when they bored and stroked the 2.2 to get the higher displacement. This problem was eventually solved with MLS gaskets. 2. The EJ253 and EJ251 use a gasket that is a single layer of thin metal upon which is a "glue" type of compound. It was found that this glue can wash away from the metal and cause seepage of both oil and coolant. The combustion gasses are no longer a problem because they solved that in the EJ25D. This problem with the seepage was also solved with a revised head gasket. 3. Not all stop leak products are made the same. The stuff Subaru uses is very fine and does not clog radiators and heater cores if used properly. People continue to SPECULATE about this possibility yet not a single reliable source has yet shown this to be a problem. Literally 10's of thousands of Subaru's are running around with one or possibly two bottles of the stuff in their cooling systems and having another bottle added each time they are flushed and refilled..... yet no examples of heater core or radiator clogging have been shown to be related to this product. Subaru deems it safe..... in my experience (I was skeptical at first) they are correct. I don't see a problem with it. As a stop-gap solution to replaceing the head gaskets it's a no-brainer. $3 for many tens of thousands of miles.... 4. There are alternatives to paying the dealer to do head gaskets at their rediculous prices and their terrible policys on doing them in the car. I typically can do a head gasket job for about $600 parts and labor..... usually it ends up being closer to $1000 because people wisely replace timing components and other wear items while the engine is out. GD

If you don't have a shop with many tools and/or experience with doing these wheel bearings you will be ahead having it done by a shop that is familair with FWD wheel bearings like these. It will cost about the same to have it done as it would to buy the tools to replace it yourself. Buy the bearing and the seals and take the whole knuckle into a shop. GD

Subaru engines are anything but crappy and if you really beleive that I would sugest that you probably aren't qualified to render your judgement on such a subject. Yes there is a design flaw - but it has been addressed and it's not a big problem. If these engines were so crappy then my Forester wouldn't have over 250k on it nor would you be able to find many similar examples - which you most certainly can. It's a gasket. They fail. It happens. Get over it. GD

I don't use the stuff till I see external seepage. I haven't had a single gasket failure on any Subaru engine I've done gasket replacement on. I always use Subaru gaskets of the latest availible revision and I install them 100% dry on surfaces that are smooth, flat, clean, and prepared with lacquer thinner. GD

Heh. Thanks for the positive comments. Though I actually built that machine around 5+ years back.... been sitting here without the love of a proper owner since '07 at least. It was my first SPFI conversion and thus it was the test platform for doing EA81's with SPFI. The EA82 went in there as a place-holder for the EA81 that was going to get a performance build..... but it didn't happen. Though the EA82 has 16 more HP than stock so it's not such a bad thing. I've learned a lot and grown as an eletrical and mechanical artist since I built that one and as such I consider it rather amature in it's implementation. Not bad per-se but I tend to pick my work apart and see things I could have done differently/better the next time through. I'm really happy that it's found a loving home where it can get the restoration it deserves. Better than collecting moss beside my garage where it's sat for the last 5 years. Just imagine what wonderous things I must have to play with that this one was left to grow green stuff (in basically the same running order that you see it in now) alongside my garage. . Yeah I know I'm spoiled . GD

The Subaru "conditioner" (stop leak) actually does work quite well in MANY cases of external leakage on the EJ253 and EJ251. I have a Forester that leaked so severely from the drivers side head that I figured it was a sure bet I would be doing the head gaskets soon (6" puddle under the car, constant burning of coolant on the exhuast, top off every day or would overheat the next....). My dealer parts guy sugested I try two bottles of the stop leak and it hasn't leaked a drop of coolant in over 20k miles now including two virtually non-stop 550 mile trips from Portland to Reno and back again. So don't knock the stuff too hard - it can and does work. The problem with the gaskets was an issue with the sealant washing away from the thin metal substrate. They changed the sealant being used on the gaskets in the newer revision but if it's only leaking some coolant then it's not that big of a deal to add a couple bottles of the conditioner and see where it leads. And no - the product is not Bar's. It's Holts Radweld - a european product. And I have not seen any evidence that it plugs radiators or heater cores. It dries in the presense of air and thus if not used properly or if too much is used it could cause problems. Subaru says up to two bottles at a time. Two bottles worked great for me and at a cost of $3 and 10 minutes..... it's a hell of a lot better than doing the HG's. As stated - this product does nothing for the flawed EJ25D head gaskets or the typical style of failure that occurs on the EJ22's and early EJ25's. It is not meant for sealing combustion gasses - it is meant to stop external leakage which is does very well. GD

No problem Greg - Subaru uses only two types of solid lifter arrangments on their EJ series engines. The type used depends on if the engine is SOHC or DOHC. Being that all 2.2's were SOHC - they all use the screw-style adjusters. DOHC engines use either a bucket/shim arrangement or shimless buckets ('04+ IIRC) because the cams ride directly over the top of the valve stems instead of there being rockers with a screw adjuster and a single cam centrally located between the intake and exhaust valve banks.... There simply is no room for the screw-style of adjustment on the DOHC engines. GD

For an EJ25D - you must use the thick MLS gasket that Subaru sells for the DOHC EJ25D.... you cannot use the single layer EJ253/251 gasket - it does not provide enough clearance for the piston to crest above the top of the cylinder. EJ25D's have peek-a-boo pistons and what you are hearing is the piston slapping the head surface. GD

Get the Redline kit. www.cafbsunlimited.com has them. EMPI makes a kit that I've used before as well. Either will work. GD

Advance curve is the same between 4WD/2WD. There is no difference according to the graphs in the FSM. As stated - anything other than a Hatchback will be fuel injected and thus will not work. GD

Subaru doesn't have bearing "kits" for their transmissions. You have to order each one seperately. I sugest you open it up and find out which one's you really need because unless you are planning on spending up around $1000 US for bearings and syncro's.... it's cost prohibitive to buy everything. Typically there are only one or two that go bad and/or are destroyed when pressing them off the shaft. GD

No one but a previous owner of that car could give you an answer. It's highly custom and as such only the builder(s) will know enough to assist you. Talk to Tex. GD

They are not interchangeable. GD

Yeah - I can do it. Would be $100 plus the rebuild kit ($35 or so for the Redline kit IIRC) and shipping both ways - probably be about $150 total.... It's not difficult but it's a couple hours punctuated by some waiting for stuff to soak in the chem dip. PM me if you want to send it my way. GD

Nope. Not really. Without increaseing displacement or thermal effeciency (compression/forced induction) any gains to be seen will be very minor and not worth the money they would cost. You can port/polish the heads till the cows come home and only get about 5 HP from it. With a non-turbo your options are limited to changing how the engine breathes and to do that you have to get into the internals. 101k is low - so sell the short block to offset the cost of the 2.5 . GD

The best mod for the 2.2 is to drop in a 2.5 short block - retaining the 2.2 heads, intake, exhaust, etc. This results in a high-compression engine (around 10.8:1) and an increase from 135 HP to around 200 HP with proper attention to cams, exhaust, etc. The ECU does not have to be modified and will run the 2.5 high-comp (which we call the frankenmotor) without trouble. It's also a relatively cheap modification - the first one I built cost around $700. $200 for a used (90k) EJ25D short block (the kid was doing a turbo swap), $160 for torque cams, $175 for head rebuild, and then misc. costs associated with gaskets, timing belt components, etc. The one caveat is that you must run premium fuel due to the high compression. But it's a proven reliable build and easily the best option for a factory 2.2 platform. GD

Could be a rod knock, yes. They are usually only audible under load just as you noted. Any metal in the oil? Hard to say without driving it but I would say there's a good possibility that you have a rod knock. GD

Ok - lets clear some stuff up here: 1. The valve lash check/adjustment is ABSOLUTELY neccesary at 105k. Period. 2. In the majority of engines no adjustment will be needed. And in the majority of engines no adjustment will be needed at 210k either. Some may be a few thou off. 3. In the few cases where an adjustment IS needed the engine WILL NOT make it to 210k. The two that I have repaired burned exhaust valves on had 199k (97 EJ22), and 169k (98 EJ25D) respectively. Thus the check is critical if you wish to avoid this potential problem. 4. Anecdotal evidence.... "mine was fine at 105k and so was my neighbors!" means nothing because 95% of them are. If you are one of the 5% that needs it you will be kicking yourself for not doing the check. 5. It has nothing to do with maintenance. The wear occurs in a location that has no oil anyway - on the face of the valve and the valve seat. The '97 EJ22 I repaired had spectacular maintenance using only synthetic oil since new. 6. It is easier to check the exhaust valve lash from under the car because the exhaust valves stems and rockers are easier to access from the underside. Simple. 7. All Subaru engines went to solid lifters in '97. They were all hydraulic in '96. Got it? GD

Fixed. That comes to a little over $600. This stuff isn't really that expensive if you shop around and utilize the forums - wanted and for sale sections, ebay seller reccomendations, etc. Trust me - those price ARE realistic. I recondition and sell Subaru's besides repairing them for a living. It's all I do - every day. Hell - I have a VC in my garage I would sell you - $50 shipped. . As noted they are common as dirt and almost never fail. I have spare tranny parts all over the place from building custom transmissions. GD

Yeah - probably a bad VC. They don't fail on the 5MT's much - just get a used center diff assembly and put it in. You can't remove the driveline and drive it in 2WD like that - it will wreck the VC even more. AWD's can't be driven that way. GD

You won't harm anything by using an impact. If a nut with the wrong thread was used - the axle threads will be toast. You should probably just replace the axle - they aren't expensive. At the very least you will need to run a die over it or thread file it till the new nut goes down smoothely. GD

Valve overlap will cause the intake valve to open before the exhaust valve closes and the piston will be traveling down on the intake stroke. When turned over slowely this wil result in a suction on the exhaust port for a moment - at operating speed the expanding hot exhaust gasses will help pull in more air/fuel mixture as they leave a vacuum in their wake upon exiting the exhaust port. So yes - that's normal. GD

That's not how it's done. You strip the EJ harness to just the engine computer and sensors. Then you install that into the Brat. You don't use the whole harness because you don't need and won't use 80% of it. Switched power is only one of about a dozen connections that need to be made - without which the EJ will not run correctly. It needs a speed sensor and a neutral switch for starters - along with ignition switched power, etc. GD

+1 vote for rear wheel bearing. GD