GeneralDisorder

Were not talking about 18" of stack charge here - were talking about a silly spacer that's like a few inches thick. The EA and EJ intake runners are already like 14" long. Adding another couple isn't going to make any difference to speak of. GD

Yeah - this is a '91 that I'm working on. AT. I went looking for injectors and realized the difference. I don't know what it is about the 90/91's but they seem more sporty than the 92-94. Different ECU I guess. This '91 is a rocket compared to the '92 wagon we sold a few months ago. Both AT's, and both with excelent maintenance history - the '91 really moves where the '92 was rather slower. GD

Gen 1 Legacy wagons are pretty ugly too. Bigger inside and nicer to drive - about 100x nicer. Whole different generation of car really. And none of the problems of the EA82 engine. I've got nothing against the car's themselves - I like the EA82 sedan body a lot, but I can't justify the car based on the body and trans alone. My woman on the other hand - she can justify making me put an EJ22 into the EA82 body because....well I'm a sucker I guess. But if you like the EA82 then go for it. I stopped driving anything with that engine years ago - still have one in the GF's car, but all mine are EA81's and EJ22's. I will second the EA81 hatch - I have an '83 that's currently my daily but is being replaced with a '91 Legacy sedan as we speak. I'm half done with the brakes - just taking a computer break ATM. GD

Just upgrade to outback struts and springs. Get a gen 1 legacy wagon, fit up the OBW struts and springs and then some used 15" or 16" rims and your choice of tires. Easy. Find some place that does alignment's cheap.... instant Outback for peanuts. Struts are cheap from a lot of aftermarket sources and the springs are only like $60 or $70 each from the dealer IIRC. Used springs aren't hard to find anymore either. I see a fair number of OB's at the yards these days. '96 through '99 mostly - usually well wrecked but you take what you can get. GD

That's because the one's that have high mileage DO get traded in but aren't resold on lots - they are sold at dealer auction's and typically get sold to the junk yards or auto recyclers that reman or resell various parts off them. Only the low mileage cars get put on lots for resale to the public - thus that's all you will see. Look for a nice Legacy wagon. You won't be dissapointed. GD

The 5% change in distance from the injector to the intake valve will do virtually nothing. On throttle body injected vehicles the notion is that adding distance will cool the charge (as most throttle body's are heated), and will improve the mixing of the air and fuel (more time for the fuel to propery atomize into the air). But the "spacer's" aren't large enough to effect a dramatic change. One thing to consider is that some of these spacer's may be helping due to dirty injectors with poor spray patterns. Give it a little extra time to atomize and a poorly fireing injector might improve a bit. Cheesy is the proper word for this stuff. Now Phenolic spacers that are designed to prevent heating of the TB might actually help a tiny bit. Again probably not even noticeable without supporting mods but they are relatively cheap and might net 2 or 3 HP on a 250 HP turbo-charged engine - these types of mods are for the dyno junkies that care more about beating their friends on a chart than how worthwhile the mod actually is. GD

If the heat sheilds are loose, then just find a board member or an exhaust shop in your area to tack weld them in a few places to quiet them down. That's not untypical of these exhaust's - it's much cheaper to repair them than to replace them. If the heat sheilds are rotted out then you can just remove them - try to save the one over the cat as it protects the passenger side inner axle boot. GD

It's no aggrivation - I'm just trying to save the OP some headache's down the line. If he already owned the car and was asking these questions I would be happy to help - but if I can save him from getting into these issues in the first place then it seems wise to do so. GD

Went looking for injectors and I see that MT's have black top injectors and AT's have white tops. Anyone know the flow rate difference? GD

Don't buy an EA82 vehicle. There's not much point with Legacy's being in the sub-$1000 realm. I just bought a nice running driver for $260 - replaced an injector and it needs a brake job. Even has nice 15" alloys. Keep shopping. The EA82's are not worth the trouble anymore. Timing covers are worthless on EA82's. The belts don't last long enough to be troubled by dirt or fluids even with the covers on. I always run them without because it's a 20 minute job to replace them without cover's. 3 hours with. GD

That's true but the step on the flywheel is different so you have to have it machined to EA82 specs or there is a possibility that it won't grab very well. GD

5 lbs of boost into the 22E will net somewhere around 200 HP and will be reliable. GD

I completely agree. A Junk Yard engine would be my last choice. I would likely rebuild one first. But there are places that sell waranteed, used engines that came from running vehicles - they do compression tests and leak-down tests, etc. And then there's the option of buying a donor (my preference) - often very cheap after they have been wrecked. The '91 I just bought is a good example. I stumbled on it by accident (craigslist posting from someone's iPhone ), but it's had two owners, always dealership maintained - I have EVERY receipt for service from when the car was bought new in '91. I have all the paperwork from when it was sold in '99 including a compression test that was performed at 142k showing 175/180/175/180. I know every single part that's been replaced on the engine and they were all OEM. I got the car for $260 as it was running poorly and the brakes are worn out. It had a single injector with a failed driver coil - I replaced that and it runs like a BEAST. Pulls like freight train. Even with 215k I can tell the engine has a ton of life left with the power it has - doesn't burn or leak anything. I wouldn't hessitate to swap this into a nicer car...... My point is simply that if you are careful - good used engines of the sort I just bought *can* be found for really cheap. I haven't rebuilt a 22 N/A but I've done a 22T and several EA81's. I just can't justify the time and expense for a plain 22 - even if I get a dud the first time it's still less time investment to swap the engine twice. I think the difference of opinion here is a result of how we use our cars. I won't be keeping any specific Legacy for 20 years - probably not even 5 years. I drive them for a bit, fix a few things, and sell them or give them away usually. The stuff I keep is more exotic..... it's all about how much you value those engines. I value reliability but as that applies to the *short-block* there really is almost no concern that the short block is going to fail and leave me stranded without quite a bit of warning. I'm looking to avoid the failure that *suddenly* leaves me on the side of the road - not neccesarily the one that I drive around for a week somewhat troubled about the new noise it's making - that I can deal with as I'll just prep another car from my fleet to replace it...... GD

My Autometer setup came with the right adaptor for the temp sender - I had to do the oil pressure side myself. Cut the factory sender off below the hex portion and drill/tap it to 1/8" NPT. No big deal really. GD

A few have been convered to manual. There was a company a few years ago in WA that sold kits to do it. Basically it's like any other Subaru auto to manual swap. The interior isn't much of an issue as you just pull the auto shifter out and put a leather boot in it's place as most of the later EJ's are already setup that way. The biggest change is adding the master cylinder for the clutch and changing the pedal assembly, etc. As most of the right vintage parts for this kind of swap are now availible in the junk yards it wouldn't be hard at all. GD

Some folks have used Honda A pillar pod mounts with varying degree's of success - do a search and you'll find pics and part numbers, etc. Some of the installs look ok. Personally I only have gauges on my off-roader and for that install I just covered the clock/tell-tale because I don't care about that portion of the cluster. When on the trail you NEED specific and accurate gauges. I did a three-gauge cluster with volts, temp, and pressure. I got an Autometer set with electric sender's for like $65. I also moved the oil pressure sending unit to the fenderwall running off a stainless braided 36" pressure line from the pump. For the rest of my cars, I test the metric's that I'm interested in, note where the factory gauge reads and then if I see a radical difference in the reading I retest with a shop gauge. Typically, while the stock gauges aren't accurate, they are reliable enough that their inaccuracy is consistent GD

Try looking for the kit for an '87. We didn't get carbs here in '91. Last year for carbs was '87. Other than the carb base gaskets it will be very similar. GD

I understand your feelings completetly and what you are to VW's, I am to Subaru's of several vintages. I think nothing of yarding out an engine, or tearing down a 5 speed transaxle..... What's important to consider, and I'm going to have a tough time drawing a corollary here..... is that a '93 Legacy with a non-turbo 2.2 isn't worth your time and effort to rebuild as Subaru's go. It's fine for a learning experience if that's what you want it for, but if you are going to be rebuilding Subaru EJ's then...... there are many engines more deserving of your time than the plain EJ22. Mostly the various incarnations of the EJ turbo engines. With Subaru's, especially the EJ series, the name of the game is Turbo Charged AWD. All I'm saying is that *if* I'm going to the trouble of rebuilding an engine, I would rather my valueable time be spent rebuilding sometime a bit more exotic than a phase I EJ22. Either something vintage (EA81, etc) or something with some HP - EJ22T, EJ20T/TT, EJ257, etc. I just don't have the time to spare for something I can find already built under any rock. GD

Thanks for the drool. It means that much more comming from a Lady . Wish my GF was interested in what's in the garage. GD

Last time I lost a finger-nail I used a small drill bit to make a hole in the nail. They take FOREVER to grow back GD

Same - I'm in Willamette as well. I would rather not disclose in open forum my exact address, but if you remember where the Sentry was when you were a kid - I'm about a block east of that. Well if it's something that parts can be found for without much trouble I'm willing to give a go at repairing it. That would be a lot of fun - I'm just about to do some more cutting and welding - I'm going to finish up those strut tower blocks for my wagon. I've got the top and bottom plates nearly done - now I just have to fab some peices to space them apart the required 3.5" and do some mock-up work on the car. Perhaps after Thanksgiving we can give it a try. I know a very good welder that has a DC buzzbox we could likely use to try out the box. I'll talk to him about where I might find a torch and pedal and see if he is willing to help get it going. He is over in Happy Valley off Sunnyside so very close. He's much more familar with TIG than myself. What kind of Subaru's do you have BTW? I could about fill a parking lot with my collection GD

Wouldn't that be an optical pickup style distributor? I don't think those can cause tach jumping but I could be wrong. Would likely set an ECU code too..... I would think. Still - pull the cover and see what kind of play it has. Typically the needle bearing distributor's don't exhibit wear problems like the bushed units of old but you never know till you check..... GD

I concur. Given the oil pressure problem (probably due to lack of maintenance) and the fact that it's ALWAYS the #3 rod bearing that goes first in Subaru engines..... I would say you have a good handle on the source of the knock. That's a rare beast to find an EJ22 rod knock - you "got lucky" I totally get the draw of the air-cooled concept, and for their time they were amazing machines. Definitely the right technology for the target market..... 1930's Germany . Properly maintained, it's hard to get stranded in a Subaru. Mostly that means take care of the timing belts at the proper interval (and the new belts for the EJ22's are 105k interval so not a real chore - three whole times in the life of the engine), and the cooling system. You'll kill a water cooled engine pretty fast if you have a poorly maintained cooling system. On all the used rigs I buy - especially the higher mileage one's - I go down to the dealer and have them order me EVERY SINGLE hose on the car. It's worth the insurance..... I have been stranded more times in Subaru's for blown heater core hoses, tiny manifold coolant hoses, and similar problems than ANY other reason. I've had timing belts give out on me twice (never on an EJ though), and I've blown a couple water pumps. All of these failures were on cars I bought with unknown maintenance history and just started driving - I took the gamble and still do often enough..... I have AAA because I buy and sell a lot of Subaru's and that means driving a lot of unknowns. I respect that opinion for sure, but one has to consider a couple points in favor of the other side of the coin: 1. A lot of folks aren't capable of doing a rebuild or can't afford it. 2. The downtime is considerable compared to a swap. 3. A swap can allow you to rebuild the original at your leisure. 4. If you do it right you can minimize the risk. Buy a wrecked donor with low mileage/maintenance history or do a compression and leak-down test of the replacement as well as a reseal including the head gaskets which allows you to fully inspect the cylinders..... and definitely get a warantee if you buy one off a shelf. At any rate I don't think it's fair to NOT consider this option as it is satisfactory for many folks - often the car's these engines are going into are near or over 200k miles - if you get another 100k from a used engine the car is likely finished anyway. By that point so many things are worn out that it's not often cost effective to repair them. Gen 1 Legacy's aren't worth the dollar amount required to rebuild their engines - I can buy two or more whole running cars for what a single quality rebuild would cost. Again - in an ideal world I completely agree that it's not the *right* way to fix the problem. But most of us drive around in car's that have *something* wrong with them - maybe several something's. And one must consider what he is doing to the great "economy" perspective of owning/driving a gen 1 Legacy at the same time that he is wishing to do the right thing for the car..... I would assert that the right thing for a sub-$1000 car is ALWAYS to replace a bad engine with a used one. That is the only sensible approach if you consider all the angles - anything more would be throwing away time and money on something that will never return the investment. That whole argument hinges on the EJ22 being a super-reliable engine though and if it weren't for that..... well the car's wouldn't be on the road anymore and I sure as $hit wouldn't be driving one so I don't suppose that's really a valid angle either..... I simply am having a hard time seeing it any other way :-\ GD

Welcome! You'll find out quick that this isn't a VW - but that's a good thing in the opinion of most here. First of all - what is this knock? Are you *sure* you have it diagnosed correctly? The engine in your car is known to be reliable and mechanical-failure free for typically in the range of 300k+ miles...... I've spoke with numerous Subaru Master Tech's that have *never* seen an EJ22 with less than 300k and a major mechanical failure (that wasn't due to running it without oil). I would tend to *not* rebuild the EJ22's as they are so easy to come by for dirt cheap and last such a long time that it's rarely worth the effort. They can be purchased seperately from the Subaru dealer and I would reccomend no other place. They are inexpensive and you want the best for seals that are that far in. Absolutely replace it if you are splitting the case. The cautions are for those that are replacing them without dissasembly. Yes - this isn't VW land and they will be nasty and destroyed comming off. Remember these seal coolant passages and they are graphite impregnated metal head gaskets. Besides the fire ring not sealing after being crushed, the coolant passages will have their way with the graphite and it will be a yummy mess - half of the gasket material will be stuck to the heads and block. They must be replaced every time. Sorry. They are installed DRY - no sealant of any kind - no spray, no goop, NOTHING. The main bearings are in the way. The EJ engines have 5 of them. The pistons cannot be inserted from the bottom nor can they be removed from that direction. It's much too fiddly to try and undo the rod bolts. With a water cooled block there is no access from the bottom or the top to the bearing cavity. That's tough to say - I know a few VW fanatics and I've known a couple that bought a Subaru to steal the engine from but liked it so much they just kept it. I've coverted a few Baja bug folks to Subaru's - 4WD with independent suspension is very tempting.... You made the right move and the '93 you have is the BEST possible one to start with. They are so incredibly easy to work on and really amazingly reliable. I just bought a '91 for $250 on craigslist, drove it home.... replaced a single failed injector (215k on it) and been driving it all day today. Simply amazing. They occasionally need attention in order to be in top-tier condition, but really they will rarely strand you somewhere. GD

There really isn't anything that you can easily remove as there aren't many "emissions" systems in the first place. The Air Injection System is about the only emissions related system and it's entirely passive - doesn't have any vacuum hoses. You can remove the reed valve(s), cut the ends off the pipe and weld them shut to block the passages in the exhaust ports under the heads. The Hitachi carb is designed to have it's air-corrector's metered through valves and duty-solenoid's mounted external to the carb. All the vacuum lines and hoses are running these ports and you will comprimise the carb's efficiency by messing with how it's controlled. You don't want to mess with any of this stuff till you understand it and how it works. You'll never make it run right if you don't. I don't have the time to go into it but there are old posts on the board by myself about how to strip down the Hitachi's properly. They are horrific carbs though and should all go to the trash compactor. You will not regret a Weber or SPFI conversion. And you absolutely CAN install a Weber with the power steering. I've done it twice to EA82's and many, many other people have as well. You do have two options, but they aren't the two you listed. You have to keep an open mind...... 1. Install the carb backwards. The only changes needed to make this work are to move the fuel supply hose barb to the other side or lengthen the hose and then to loop the throttle cable - which is done all the time on the MPFI engines so you can find throttle cables to do this, or.... 2. Peen a dent in the power steering reservoir to clear the choke. This is my prefered method as it's the simplest and quickest. I use the plastic spacer from the Hitachi under the EA82 manifold adaptor to gain a bit of height and then dent in the reservoir with a ball-peen hammer and paint the area with semi-gloss black. The reservoir is removeable from the pump and sealed with an o-ring so even if you screw it up (I don't see how you could) then just get another. It's never been an issue on the one's I've installed. You can also go with a DGV-5A and a manual choke - which in my opinion is nicer anyway. It's easier to control and never requires adjustment. I have a 1960's Weber I rebuilt on my hatch with a manual choke and I love it. Perfect choke adjustment every time - no adjustment each season as with the electric's. GD