GeneralDisorder

Oil in the overflow is a sure sign of HG failiure on the phase-I. Sadly that's pretty conclusive - no other way it can get in there :-\ GD

I don't know but I can try and take some measurements - I have both apart in my garage. GD

It's an unknown used engine - it *might* take that much abuse - and then again it might not. Better to err on the side of caution unless you know the history, etc. LOTS of people have blown these without any boost increase at all. It's just the nature of that engine. GD

Someone made out like a bandit.... not sure it was you but hey - some people like S&M too. . Just not my bag. FWIW I've bought Legacy's in better shape for less...... you realize that has frame damage on the driver's side front right? A proper repair is going to involve welding on a new frame rail (yes I've done it before). But hey - if that's your poison man - whatever. But seriously - good luck with the project. Hope it turns out ok. Don't boost it past 10 psi and don't increase the boost at all without an intercooler. GD

Yeah - with a full rebuild - splitting the block and all - you can expect another 250k out of it easily. If you go with synthetic you possibly get to 350k+ Basically a new car at that point. Most of the hard stuff will be done by the machine shop you use - all you have to do is dissasemble and reassemble. Simple! Buy a cheap engine stand. Worth the $35. GD

Oil pressure reading is taken directly off the pump so it's mostly the pump that is responsible for the pressure - not the bearings. Bad bearings will not show any difference in oil pressure. If you are willing to do it - go ahead and split the block and replace the mains and rod bearings. An EJ22 swap might be cheaper but you don't get that 165 HP for free! IMO losing 30 HP isn't real desireable either so you have to weight your options - a bit more labor and parts to do the bearings vs. saving money, losing HP, and devalueing the car (not a lot of people will want to buy an engine swapped OB on the open market). The heads will run about $450 to $500 for a full rebuild - valves, guides, stem seals, resurface, clean, etc. You are looking at about $400 in parts for head gaskets/timing belt/water pump/seals/hoses, etc. The main and rod bearings and possibly crank machine work will add to that. I would figure at least $1500 in parts and machine work. GD

Use the Legacy 4EAT and put paddle shifters on it. It will do great off-road. The torque converter is all the low range you need. GD

I would say the tranny tried to be in more than one gear at the same time . Clutch lost on this one though I have seen the tranny gears be the loser before as well. Basically something inside the tranny really didn't want to go when the clutch was released. GD

Your head gaskets are shot. GD

That's a really broad question - why don't you tell us what you are trying to fix (and maybe what you are working on!) and we'll try to help. Bubbles in the cooling system might not even be "air" - could be exhaust gasses, etc. GD

I don't know about the Eugene area but have you seen the OBW I have for sale right now? It's over in the for-sale forum if you are interested - it's a '97. GD

Weird - the place I buy mine must have a different listing because I told him 83 hatch and got the 8002. GD

Confirm - ettev's numbers are what I have on my box. GD

Hhhmmm - some of the early STi mounts were fluid filled - it's possible though I've never seen them on an OBW. . Could be some previous owner upgrade??? GD

If you get an '83 Hitachi it will bolt up and you can strip it down to just about the same config as a Weber. That's the route I would go. I even converted the last one I ran over to a manual choke. It actually ran quite good for what it was - you can also wrap a bit of wire around part of the linkage to cause the secondary to open progressively. GD

I agree with one minor difference - I actually prefer the '83 Hitachi. The differences are small but the '83 version has a better (IMO) choke setup. But I despise them all for their vacuum secondaries and tiny barrels. GD

EA81's are so simple - and relatively easy to obtain that I just wouldn't worry about - in my opinion that's just a way to bargain the price down. Body and interior I can't fix easily but an engine swap is a simple fix - even better if it doesn't run at all! Get it cheaper that way. Even one that purports to "run good" could have the same problems - a local member recently bought an '84 sedan and the engine runs alright - no smoking, etc. But it's got a main bearing knock that is scary. It's not real audible unless you know what you are listenting for but we changed the oil and for a few seconds on start up (dry filter) it was UGLY loud. So it's on the way out for sure. I would look for a nice body and interior and *hope* you can find one that just needs an engine or tranny. That would be spectacular - you can get those but you can't easily fix 30 years of abuse to the body and interior. GD

There aren't any conversion issues - it's a pretty straight swap. Bolt on the carb, hookup a few vacuum lines (like 2) and the PCV. That's pretty much it on the EA71's. Adjust the choke and the idle speed/mixture - which is simple. Last Weber I did for $190 - good used carb, rebuild kit (they are simple), adaptor plate, couple jets, and a new electric choke and air filter. Problem with the stock carb is all those hoses and ancillery systems that may be the problem rather than the carb - thermo-vacuum valves, anti-afterburn valves, hoses, etc. That's a nightmare and getting it to run right will be a challenge - plus you would be very surprised at how much performance you get from the Weber. It's not the HP - it's the progressive linkage and increased low-end torque that you want. Personally I can't bear to drive the stock carbs - I won't own one with a stock carb anymore. GD

Check for 12v at the coil? Check coil resistance? Check for 12v pulse from negative side of coil when cranking? C'mon man - pull out the DMM and find the problem. Guessing won't work. Distributors can and do fail "just like that". I've seen it - of course the only time I've seen it is on Mitsubishi's - but then Chrysler is in bed with those idiots so you never know. Personally I steer way clear of Jeeps and all other Chrysler products. I prefer my cars and trucks to actually run a good percentage of the time - more so than seems to be allowed by Chrysler's build quality. GD

Must be for the Canuck Special Edition model. I don't recognize it either GD

Unlikely that a clicking axle will blow apart unless it's under power. Probably be just fine. GD

Yes - Weber it. Forget about the hard-lines. Run 3 vacuum hoses - one to the distributor (to whichever effects the most advance by sucking on the hose - leave the other one OPEN). Another to the EGR, and the third is for the cabin HVAC control actuators. That's pretty much it - you can throw the rest away. If you don't recognize what it is - it's probably round-file material. GD

Hhhmmm - I just installed a brand new NGK set on my wagon yesterday and it was totally fine. I'll see if I can dig up the receipt or box and get you the part number. DL/GL shouldn't matter in the least. GD

Do you *have* to go through emissions with a stock carb? Can it be a Weber? They will pass a tail-pipe sniffer when setup correctly (with a good 3-way catalyst installed). If I were you - I would figure a way to hide a Weber DGV or a Holley 5200 (Weber copy- cheap on ebay) under the stock air filter and get it running with that. Your Hitachi looks like a nightmare and quite frankly the emissions police requirements are pretty loose usually and there's plenty of room for a brand-new, tuned up Weber to slide by. It might not do as well as the stock carb but typically from what I've seen even 10x what a perfectly running stock carb puts out will still pass. Check rockauto.com for a replacement stock carb - I'm pretty sure you won't like the price and I'm not at all confident that will totally fix your problems. There are so many accesory systems to the Hitachi's that it might not totally be the carbs fault. The whole engine bay is over 30 years old afterall..... GD

Yeah - no crank pulley guide on the EJ22's. Those are on the later 2.5's (like '99 and up I think?). GD