GeneralDisorder

No sealant on Subaru head gaskets. EVER. GD

Could be that you have a burned exhaust valve. A late 96 or early 97 with a late 96 build date would have solid lifters that need adjusting every 105k. If not done it can lead to a burned valve. GD

It does not pull out - it is crimped in place. You may have to source another fusible link box with a good crimp on the white supply side wire and then solder your wire (or new wire) to it a couple inches down. I suspect you have a corroded connection there and it's going to be a real pain to clean it and repair it. Better to find a used replacement that hasn't seen so much mud. GD

That fusible link should be the black one on your car - it's the largest of the three (1.25 square mm cross-section), and has a current load of like 21 amps. You definitely have a bad connection - I don't think the alt or it's wireing is your trouble because if it were then the other links would be damaged as well. That black link is like $10 from the dealer or you can find them at the junk yards, etc. I would start simple - verify that the connectors under the link are clean and not corroded, etc. Same with the wires going to the fusible link box, etc. That is a common point of corrosion and high resistance - it creates heat which will damage and burn up the links after a short time. My guess is that your problem is very close to that area. GD

We need to know a bit about it - there were two engines used in '81. And as above - these are very dependable and the engines routinely last 350k+ miles when maintained. What's the symptom you are having? GD

Won't fit without notching the frame rails. More than twice as much - rebuild on the DOHC heads is over twice as much (~$500 for the set), and the cams are WAY over twice as much. Like over $500 for the 4 cams vs. ~$175 for the SOHC's. GD

You have a DOHC 2.5 known as the EJ25D. GD

It's not real easy to turn the cam by hand anyway. You are going to have to overcome valve spring pressure no matter what to turn the cam. It won't hurt anything. Was a valve job done on this thing? Why didn't they cut the stems when they faced the valves and cut the seats? That's standard practice. It should have been setup so that it was basically the same as it was when it went together. GD

No because it doesn't have AC. But an EA82 with "2" fans (AC equipped model) as he indicated it has would have an electric on the passenger side and a mechanical clutch fan on the driver's side. That's how they were built. EA81's (previous gen) and EJ's (next gen) both have dual electric fans (except EA81T's) and thus the EA82 is the odd-ball with respect to cooling fan layout. GD

You have to remove the mechanical fan from the water pump, then unbolt the fan shroud and slip both out before you can remove the radiator. Yes - it's a pain in the rump roast. GD

I did adjustments on the hydro's in my EA81's before I ever touched a SBC (have one now in my '69 truck) and thus that's how I've been doing them. My 350 sat for many years and has a ton of miles on it (but runs alright and seems in decent shape considering) and when I did an adjustment on it I just did it using the Subaru method. Works fine. I'm not entirely sure of the logic - probably to bleed out the squishyness (air) and make sure you are adjusting the lifter with only oil in it..... that's my assumption anyway. GD

Either method would work. You just don't want the lifter at the end of it's travel - you want it slightly compressed. The FSM on the EA81's has a procedure that is similar to what I mentioned - compressing them and waiting for a bit..... GD

You don't have to - just install the cam and let it open the valves - they will bleed down once you start cranking it. GD

Rob - how many EA82T's did you build? Did you ever do a valve adjustment on one? EA81 and EA82 hydro lifters are ENTIRELY different. Apples and Oranges. GD

That's just wrong for soooo many reasons. Stick with the EA81 or move up to an EJ. Nothing to gain with an EA82 and it won't fit right between the frame rails. GD

No oil pressure is bad - though if it ran for 20 minutes then I doubt it had *no* oil pressure. Being it was severely overheated I would guess that it's got a failed sending unit and/or wireing to said unit. Snapped t-belt.... well did you replace them? Could just have been ready to go. Inspect things closely - check that the oil pump turns, etc. Reseal it as Rob mentioned above. Not sure what lifter adjustment Rob is refering to. I've not met the EA82 that had adjustable lifters and I wouldn't want to either considering where they are located and how much of a *************** it must be to adjust said units. I wouldn't worry much about warped heads - they don't usually warp enough to matter and the book specs are overly cautious about it. On a non-turbo I would settle for no cracks and a decent surface finish. It's an EA82 - not a swiss watch. GD

Sounds like you have wireing issues. GD

A ratcheting 10mm wrench makes short work of the driver's side valve cover. I usually pull the engine - because I am tired of leaning over engine bays. But I've done lots of them without pulling them. Just not anymore - EJ's are much harder to do without pulling and I don't work on much EA stuff outside of my personal stuff anymore. GD

The procedure for the hydro's is pretty simple. You turn it over till the valve is closed, tighten the adjuster a couple turns past zero-point, wait 5 minutes or so and then back it off till its just barely tight. Use the same procedure you would for a SBC. It's not difficult. GD

Hhhmmm - the chart I have doesn't show any differences in ratio between the two - but the tire size is definitely different. The 2WD's used 175/70R13's while the 4WD's used 185/70R13's - 2WD DL's ran 165 or 155 IIRC. Even smaller yet. Tires have to match transmission or your speedo will be off - which will throw off all your economy calculations as well. Installing a 2WD tranny is a much cleaner option than removing the 4WD components alone. It wil further reduce weight as well. GD

As a first-timer and one is not very familiar with engine swaps, you will NOT be able to do an EJ swap for under $1000. With experience, lots of parts, lots of tools, etc - maybe right around that. I know I would be hard pressed to do an EJ22 swap into a Loyale for under $1000 in a short time-frame. Give me a few months to collect parts, barter, haggle, etc - possible certainly. But for you it is very unlikely. You should do the head gaskets - they aren't hard and the engine doesn't have to come out. Just pull the heads, have them milled ($30 to $40 per) and put them back on with new Fel-Pro gaskets ($15 each). Should run less than $250 for all the parts as well as new water pump, timing belt kit, seals and gaskets, etc. GD

On a windsheild?!? As in the one in the FRONT of the car? WTH? I've never seen defrost lines on a windsheild before - have I totally missed something that's availible in some arctic package somewhere? AFAIK Subaru does not offer that option nor would there be any wireing present for such a thing. GD

If you really want improvment from going to 2WD then you need to install a 2WD transmission - the final drive ratio/tire size is much more favorable for mileage. Losing the 4WD stuff is troublesome and only a half-measure that won't gain you nearly as much as changing to a more favorably geared transmission. Take it a step farther and do all these mods to a 2WD 5 speed, non-turbo XT. GD

The lock system needs adjusting. Pull the door card and take a look. GD

No it does not. The advance is the same. FSM has the curves in it. GD