GeneralDisorder

The only alts I buy for EJ's are Bosch reman's or Subaru (reman or new). Some of the Subaru remans are like $65 if you get them for the right year. I would be willing to change the car's connector if neccesary to get compatibility with the reman's from Subaru that are cheap due to the recall back in the 90's. GD

I would replace the battery as well. It is important for Alternator longevity to start with a good, fully charged battery. GD

The oddball one with the spacers is an Impreza/Legacy hub. I happen to have one here to look at and it's virtually identical (lacking the spacers of course). The one I have here is either from a '96 or a '93 Legacy but for sure it's not from an XT6. My guess is that Turbone is correct and the rusty one without the modified spacers and junk on it is a true XT6 hub and at some point the other got damaged due to a failed wheel bearing or a failed attempt to remove said wheel bearing and the best replacement they could source was the Legacy hub. From what I have gathered from reading posts on the subject - about the only thing that *needs* to come from an XT6 on the front is the lower control arm - the rest can be Impreza/Legacy parts and should work fine. So I would think you could just use Legacy knuckles instead of trying to find an XT6 hub.... though you might be able to just buy a new one - I'm not sure what they cost. Although the solution to the fitment problem they came up with seems ok if done properly (doesn't look properly done though). The problem they were solving was the location of the brake disc - the XT6 hub being much longer overall and having a different location for the disc. They had some space to make up - looks like about 1/4" - so they split the difference by moving the hub outward with the 1/8" of bearing spacers and then spacing the disc out the last 1/8" with some flat washers.... the problem being that flat washers aren't precision manufactured so would have to be selected very carefully or made identical with some machining process in order to insure that the is no wobble to the disc. Perhaps using EJ brake parts would make it work without the spacers too.... you would have to see if the discs are a different depth, etc. GD

Very nice! Can you get more of these heads? There are some of us in the US that would love to find some. GD

There is an access plate on the bottom of the bell - housing. Jack the engine up off the cross-member and remove the access cover. Should be easy to get the nut out from there. If there isn't enough cable to get the fork on it's likely that the pressure plate isn't tight to the flywheel or something isn't right with the fork. Typically I tighten the pressure plate through the starter hole as it's easier to get the engine mounted to the tranny with the disc a little loose. Don't need an alignment tool that way either. GD

I would talk to bratsrus1 (Jerry). He has a Samuria frame under a hatch. I think the frame had to be lengthened but he would have some insight for you I'm sure. GD

I think they just wanted OHC's from a marketing perspective. Just so they could use cool abbreviations in their marketing campaigns - being able to say "NEW for the '85 model year - a SOHC, quieter, more powerful boxer engine!" Has a nice ring to it till you dig into the engineering of the poor thing. But it's all done to sell cars and make money. If that means adding superflous components so you can say it's "New and Improved!" then so be it. I'm 99.99% positive that they just wanted a new engine to go along with the new body for a bigger impact on the potential customer. Building a whole new chassis generation is a HUGE undertaking and involves retooling factories and lots of marketing hype has to be generated to get people "exicted" about the new car and hopefully get them to upgrade even though they don't really need one. The more things you can say have been "redesigned" and "improved" and have "more power" the better. It was simply a case of the EJ not being ready and the management forcing the engineers to do *something* to make it new and improved. Anytime you force engineers to change things quickly and for the wrong reasons - you are going to get something like the EA82..... if you are lucky. If you aren't lucky you get something like the Shuttle Challenger o-rings being cleared for flight . You beat up the engineers till they give in and people are probably going to die. GD

1. Yes - remove the small brass screw. 2. It's another ported vacuum supply - probably used for different styles of linkage systems. You don't need it so don't bother with it. That's why it's capped off similar to the EGR supply - most folks aren't going to use anything but the disty advance. 3. Not related to the EGR. Just another vacuum supply to be capped if you aren't using it (I don't). You should pickup an EGR valve from an SPFI vehicle or an EJ engine. They don't have the AAV port so you could eliminate all that junk as well - it's not needed with the Weber. GD

You can install a spark plug heli-coil without pulling the engine or removing the head. It's not that hard at all really. And even if you do pull the head they are easily removed without pulling the whole engine. Get the heli-coil and use some thick axle grease on the tap so the tap holds all the chips from cutting the threads. Then install the heli-coil and get back on the road. GD

I use a 3/8" thick peice of plate glass backed with a 3/4" thick peice of plywood and held in place with nails driven into a solid wood bence. I start with 120 grit, then finish with 180 grit. Use wet/dry paper, lots of WD40 and do figure-8's with the head. You have to rinse off the paper frequently with WD40 - don't use any solvents as it will destroy the paper. It actually works quite well. I know machine shops that use big belt sanders to refinish heads - same thing going on there. There's many ways to skin that cat and you don't have to pay for machine work if you don't want to. A few supplies and some injenuity will suffice. GD

^+1^ From one enthusiast to another - I simply wouldn't risk it unless it's not your only means of transportation or you are comfortable with swapping the engine out for a 2.2 if needed. GD

No idea what you are looking for exactly but I have a '97 Legacy that is going to be up for sale soon. It's an EJ22, Automatic, All power, 147k, etc. It's white with grey interior. It will have been completely gone through - I'm pulling the engine to do a leaky head gasket this week. I recondition Subaru's on a regular basis and have many satisfied customers. If you are looking for a turn-key solution just tell me what you want. I can find good deals on first gens and then do a full 60k service and make any neccesary repairs to get them in top shape - I usually sell them in the $1500 to $2000 range but I don't buy them unless someone asks for one since the 95 to 99 body style are worth so much more and easier for me to sell to the non enthusiast crowd. PM me if you are interested. I'm in West Linn just south of Portland. GD

Not in stock form but it is capable of being built to 302 performance levels.... but it's the same block as the 350 just with smaller diameter pistons and crappy heads..... Personally I don't understand the "economical, small V8" concept. 302, 305, etc. The 351C and the 350 SBC should have been the smallest. Anything less should have just been a 6. The emissions police (IE: congress) created a lot of stupid designs by their meddling and forcing the engineers to accomidate their laws. GD

For the EGR just bypass the solenoid and hook the two lines together. The solneoid is only used to turn OFF the EGR durring cold operation. For the test, warm the engine up then plug the lines together. After the test disconnect the EGR and put a small bolt in the line. The purge line for the canistor will not change your emissions. Just cap the lines and install the resistor. Any good electronics supply (no - not radio shack ) can get the required resistors. GD

You don't need either one of the solenoids and you won't like the price from the dealer. Replace both of them with 5 watt, 33 Ohm resistors and cap the lines. GD

The EA82 line of engines is not like the 305. 305's were fine engines - they just didn't make any sense outside of some engineer's head. The EA82 series is the answer to a question no one ever asked. The same performance was availible from the EA81 that was already a proven design and identical displacement. Everything that was added to the EA82 caused a problem - the odd cam tower/head setup, the crappy lifter design, the non-hydraulically tensioned and thin OHC drive belts, the poorly designed cam belt covers, the head castings that always crack, the overly wide layout of the engine as a whole..... etc. They were already building dual-carb EA81 engines in Japan that put out 108 HP. And race engines that were closer to 140 HP. They could have easily pushed the EA81T up to the performance level of the EA82T (95 vs 115 HP). But for some strange reason they chose to go forward with the EA82 design instead. Spending years and probably a good amount of cash trying to make it work when they already had a good design in the EA81. GD

I wouldn't be afraid to do HG's on something with higher mileage. I've done HG's on stuff with 250k+ without issue. I won't do a valve job as that will definitely increase cylinder pressure's but a lot of Subaru engines are still in great shape at 200k+ so I see no problem with replacing $75 worth of gaskets. EJ25D's being a possible exception. They are known for bottom end fail if they have been overheated a bunch prior to the HG's so mileage is a consideration - it's always a gamble with that engine it seems regardless of mileage. As far as ring/cylinder wear goes - rod bearings will claim the engine long before you see any significant were on the cylinders. Just the nature of boxer's and how well they retain oil around the piston due to the cylinder orientation. It doesn't drain away effectively when the engine is stopped so it eases startup loads. GD

Most aftermarket Weber's are internally vented through their own air filter. You can change it if you wish but I don't see why you would want to. If you search you will find plenty of pics by me and others on PCV and EGR stuff. You don't need to hookup the EGR unless you want it for emissions reasons. GD

I fought with them for a long time and made quite a few of them run very well.... Till I learned enough about them to realize there was no way to eliminate the complexity due to them being fundamentally designed to be used with computer controls. Even those that are jetted and setup for non-feedback use are still the same carb but with "mechanical" mixture control systems. Ultimately what kills them for me is their non-progressive linkage and small venturi sizes. Their performance potential is negligable and that's not ok with me. Driving with a Hitachi is painful and scary. GD

Turbo heads are dual-intake port - NA heads are single. You can't use turbo heads on an NA application unless you build a completely custom manifold. All EA82 heads are prone to cracking. ALL OF THEM. They all suck - all three versions of the turbo heads - they quit trying before they got it right..... or the answer to the problem was the EJ22.... whichever answer you prefer. The EA82 engine is a dead design. Period. There is no future there. Understand? GD

90 to 94 Legacy. Hands down. The "cost-cut" models starting in '95 as well as the Impreza's from day 1 are much cheaper in more areas than it's possible to easily list here. In addition, the body style is somewhat dated so they are not desireable - you can pickup the nicest one around for less than $2k. The OBD-I system without all the extra goo-gah's of the OBD-II mess that came in '95 is just icing on the cake. Bulletproof from every angle. I can't reccomend them enough. GD

You can't check for warpage without a ground machinists straight edge. Chances are good that if it is actually checked by a machine shop they will say to resurface it. The spec is far lower than is actually tollerable in real life, and also the resurfacing is done as much to provide the proper surface finish as it is to remove warpage. With proper cleaning it is highly unlikely that you would have a problem just reinstalling them It is also pretty easy to resurface them yourself with a thick peice of glass, some wet/dry paper and WD40. That is also the only way to check for warpage without a straight edge. I've done heads this way and it takes an hour or so per head but the results are very nice and it's very controllable from a surface finish perspective. Though I'm sure you aren't into measuring RA and such. GD

Yes if you have the seat belts. They are original equipment and they are legal for passengers in all 50 states. Just like it's legal to ride around with no shoulder belts in my '69 GMC - it didn't come with them. GD

Yeah - no worries - just PM me if you need any advice. GD

5 speed or Automatic? 1. Generally, No. 2. Yes GD