GeneralDisorder

Transmission is shot. If you get that one you will be replacing that tranny. GD

He would have to swap in some rear end parts and make the Legacy an AWD. But that's not real difficult. It all just bolts on. GD

That's not entirely true - if the '87 is a "Full Time 4 Wheel Drive" transmission it will be the same 4EAT as the '90 Legacy uses. You can interchange the front bell-housing sections between the two and you can indeed install it into the Legacy without an adaptor or any special work. But if it's the normal 3AT automatic. No such luck. Those are not at all compatible. But the good news is that 4EAT's for the Legacy are a dime a dozen. I can pick one up from any of the yards around here for $200 to $250 with a warantee. And they last nearly forever. GD

Having two pathetically small turbo's instead of one.... to what end? The engine still can't handle more than about 10 psi without serious reliability issues. There are only two reason to do a twin-turbo setup: 1. You need more CFM at a given pressure. 2. You run them sequentially. This is done using one small turbo and one large turbo. You can't use two of the same size turbo for a sequential setup. So.... you can't do #2 because you don't have two turbo's that are different in size. If you aquired another turbo that was larger than the VF7 it would do you no good because the engine still can't stand anything over 10 psi.... thus it would never really spool at all. And since the nominal pressure of the VF7 is around 7 psi.... the whole idea behind it being no turbo-lag due to tiny little turbo that spools instantly..... the whole point of the sequential system is lost. #1 is similarly a waste - you don't need more CFM unless you increase the size of the engine. Twin turbo's are typically used on larger displacement engines like V6's, and V8's so you can get the CFM needed without having an turbine wheel the size of one of your rims that will spool sometime next week. So no - this is neither practical nor desireable for the EA82T.... you are best served by not modding that engine at all.... unless you prefer walking. GD

Not easily. If you have to ask - you aren't equipped for the task. GD

Obviously it must be said that if it's either not-economical, or you have incompetant machinists.... the factory finish is better. But a skilled shop can do a resurface in like 15 minutes or less. They charge me $25 per head to do a hot-tank and resurface on Subaru heads. That adds $50 to the job and they will let me know how the valves look, etc. I typically have them install new stem seals at the same time to avoid oil consumption. As for surface finish - I can get a finish as good as the factory finish with glass, sandpaper, and WD-40. I can get a mirror finish if I want - that's not neccesary though. It's all about the surface finish IMO. I agree that warpage is very rare and is the engine has been overheated that severely it's likely toast. There are cases where I will have heads rebuilt from engines that threw a rod, etc though.... and in the process a resurface needs to done. GD

If you are just buying the bearings and sycro's the parts aren't that bad. The rear input shaft bearing and the rear driven shaft bearing are the big ones that fail..... Syncro baulk rings are like $15 to $20 unless you have a turbo tranny that has a double syncro on 2nd - those are like three times as much. GD

OBX through ebay - you can "buy it now" for $358: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/02-06-SUBARU-IMPREZA-WRX-OBX-LSD-HELICAL-Differential-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem4cf62b3801QQitemZ330547542017QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories And yes - I can confirm that this will fit ANY 5MT including the D/R from '85 to '06 at least..... it will work beyond that if you change axles in the newer stuff.... I'm not sure Jacob really stressed this enough - it casters itself back to center in a HURRY. Like the wheel is almost a blur even at low speeds of 20 to 30 MPH. If you are an idiot driver - you definitely do not want one of these. If you let go of the wheel the car will basically instantly straigten out and continue going wherever it was pointed when you let go...... GD

It's really not that hard to split the EJ 5MT's and rebuild one.... but setting the front R&P clearance and blacklash is the most involved part and it can be frustrating. I probably spent an hour or more just tweaking the R&P on the '96 STi 5 speed I just build - in addition to the guts going into a non-turbo 5MT case we also were installing an OBX Helical front diff..... so the R&P had to be reset basically from scratch. In the end it's a *feel* kind of thing with a little voodoo thrown in trying to "read" the pattern in the prussian blue dye on the teeth. Fun, fun. GD

Typically it's not needed. I do it because I am usually having stem seals replaced, valves done, etc at the same time..... Ultimately it makes for a better repair I think. Better gasket adhesion - and no possibility of warpage. GD

Doesn't surprise me that someone would burn an EA82T in the woods. Probably just lost their marbles trying to keep it running . GD

I have a VLSD on my '91 SS. It seems to react more to higher-speed manuevering on pavement. The rear will step out a bit when I'm taking "spirited" corners. I don't notice it much though. Jacob's Brat had a VLSD before we did the AWD transmission swap and even in 4WD I had a hard time noticing it was there. When we went to the 4.111 transmission I also built a 4.111 clutch-type LSD and it's much more "tail happy" now. From my experience and from everything I've read from the rally community - the VLSD's seem pretty worthless. Add in the fact that the clutch-type's can be rebuilt and also "tuned" with preload adjustments and the clutch-type seems the all-around winner for the rear diff. Front and center are different stories since those are less accesible.... the OBX Helical we put in the Brat is not a thing I would reccomend to most people - it changes the driveing characteristics of the car in a big way. GD

If you had the transmission out it would have been a simple process to just set the backlash correctly with a dial indicator through the drain plug hole. You remove both the o-rings on the adjuster cups and then set the gear tooth backlash to .007" - .015" IIRC. Mark those locations and then install your o-rings and seals. *edited* - I had the backlash numbers wrong. GD

The D/R's are easy find. I wouldn't worry about it till you can hear it over the stereo. The input shaft bearing arrangement on the D/R is quite robust and it is unlikely to fail suddenly. GD

You can cause internal damage to the transmission if the tires are different in overall size due to wear or improper inflation. It's not really an issue of saftely but rather that you will damage your transmission eventually if you don't pay close attention to tire wear. Tires should be rotated frequently enough that the wear remains consistent across all 4. Usually this means about every 10,000 miles or so they should be swapped front-to-rear. GD

All the 2.5's have head gasket problems of one type or another from '96 to 2004. Though the worst offenders are the '96 to '99 EJ25D (DOHC). They overheat due to exhaust gasses entering the cooling system. '00 to '04 (as well as '99 2.5RS/Forester) use the EJ253/EJ251 and these head gaskets are prone to EXTERNAL leakage - thus they do not overheat unless allowed to run low on coolant. Subaru has a stop-leak additive that addresses this problem quite well though these head gaskets also tend to leak oil but to a much lesser degree. Usually the leaks are only on the driver's side head. In both cases Subaru has updated head gaskets that solve the problems. GD

You are on the right track contacting members here that are in your area. If you were in the PNW it wouldn't be a problem as there are many of us that have the knowledge are are happy to assist a fellow member..... I don't think your problems are related to the Subaru engine designe but rather a lack of knowledge and understanding on the part of the "mechanics" that have worked on it thus far. Clearly something went wrong or was improperly handled by the shop that was supposed to simply fix some oil leaks. We can't blame Subaru for the incompetance of these hack mechanics. Have you thought about getting a tool set and trying some simple things yourself? You would be way ahead of the game in terms of price - a few hours labor at most shops would easily pay for the tools you would need. Verifying the timing on the belt for example is reasonably easy to do with only a few tools and we can walk you through the process. A compression tester is about $10 from Harbor Frieght tools.... you need only a 1/4" drive socket set to remove the outer belt covers and then a 22mm socket and 1/2" ratchet to turn the engine over by hand and check the belt sprocket marks..... GD

I get good used rack's with warantee for about $50 to $75..... it's about 3 to 4 hours labor to swap one out.... I charge about $40 an hour so figure another $160 and then you need an alignment which is about $75. So worst case from me would be around $300 to $350. A new rack from Subaru would increase the price by a LOT. I don't trust the "rebuilt" racks you can order through the aftermarket. They almost never fail anyhow so a good used one with good, dry boots is usually the best bet. GD

Adjust the choke? There are fast-idle adjustments but they aren't usually touched..... I would check the choke and adjust it first as it is integral to the fast-idle mechanism. GD

Could be a lot of things. Start looking around. Perhaps a blown-out exhaust gasket or a hole in the exhaust somewhere..... GD

It should be clarified that the AT Temp light will only flash after the 2nd key-on in a short period of time. You have to turn the ignition on, then off, then on again to get the light to flash indicating stored codes..... GD

The clutch pack itself is cheaper than the duty-c - I would have definitely replaced that while in there. With it locked up into torque bind they were probably overheated and damaged anyway. TCU's do fail as well - worth a try. GD

25D heads are popular for EJ257 short-block builds. They flow very well and make excelent turbo heads. That's why they are worth so much. GD

Based on your second-hand account of what the "family friend mechanic" told you.... he doesn't know squat. I seriously doubt the shop that did the work the first time does either. I don't think anyone that you have taken the car to really knows a damn thing about what they are talking about. You don't claim an engine has valve damage without some kind of hard evidence and plug wires routinely "look fine" and are definitely not. I see no evidence that any of these people have the first clue about Subaru engines nor even basic mechanical troubleshooting. Get that car to a GOOD mechanic. You have struck out twice. That said - you need someone to verfiy the valve timing on the belt, run a compression and leak down check, and find out what, if any, internal damage has been done. Beyond that - get a set of OEM plug wires from the dealer and some NGK plugs. Probably clear up the misfireing. GD

Much more likely an input shaft bearing in the tranny. Noise with the clutch pedal depressed is throw-out bearing. Noise when clutch is released is inside the transmission. GD