Syonyk

You can do it in the car, but it'll be easier (and probably just as fast) to pull it out. While it's out, you may want to replace most of the seals on it. There's a kit from somewhere (not exactly sure, 1stsubaruparts.com maybe?) that has all the gaskets for the engine in it (including the head gaskets). Replace the front & rear main seals, cam cover o-rings, and other stuff while you've got the engine out. -=Russ=-

If it's leaking from the mushroom shaped thing on the end of the fuel pump, it's a pulsation damper. It will continue to get worse, and since it's on the high pressure side, I don't think sealant will hold for very long. IIRC, you can't just replace the pulsation damper - my GL wagon was in the junkyard because of that very piece, and I ended up replacing the whole fuel pump assembly (I think it was around $150, I'm sure you could get a used one from someone here for a LOT less). Just be glad it's leaking back there. RX-7s have that device up in the engine bay, under the intake manifold, and when it starts to leak, the gas runs down the side of the engine onto the exhaust manifold. Car-B-Que. -=Russ=-

I'd suggest some Seafoam & high RPM time (5k+ RPM for a minute or so once it's warmed up). Half the seafoam in the oil, half in the gas tank, then just find your favorite winding road & let the RPMs get up into the range where it's not pulling as hard. Worked for mine. The lash adjusters were loud when I got it, a bit of seafoam later and they quieted down, but were still clicking on occasion. Another bottle of seafoam a few weeks back, and it's purring beautifully. Even my dad commented (when I was home for Christmas) that it sounded a lot better. -=Russ=-

That, combined with the fact that you were successful, is exactly why almost all of us work on our own cars. Welcome to the club! -=Russ=-

Sorry, 5 speed dual range from a wagon (FWD/4WD). I'm more concerned about breaking things inside the transmission - there are other ways to deal with traction. -=Russ=-

I'm debating an EJ22 swap, possibly boosted, and most likely controlled with a Megasquirt. How much power can a dual range 5 speed take before breaking? I know the EA82 block can put out around 200HP before things start breaking, but what can the transmission take? Also, though it's not exactly old gen, what kind of power can a boosted EJ22 make before starting to break things? -=Russ=-

I think most people around here use Seafoam, and I'd up that to 5-7k RPM for a while, but that's the easiest thing to try. -=Russ=-

OK! It's fixed. I just took it for a good hard run and it's not leaking. Steaming a bit from the radiator where it got wet from the spray earlier, but no "fresh" steam. Tips & suggestions: You have to pull the intake snorkel off to get at the rear of the hose. Pull the snorkel off the airflow sensor (by the airbox) and off the throttle body, remove the front hose from it, and rotate it around to the back to get it out of the way. A long screwdriver with a big handle on it will be VERY helpful. At least on mine, the rear hose clamp was very tight & difficult to remove. The easiest way I found to get the hose off is to loosen the clamps, remove the front one (and the rear if you can, I couldn't), take the hose off from the thermostat end (it's easy to get at), then just twist & yank until it comes off the back. It will leak coolant from the back connection, assuming you still have most of your coolant in the car, so have the replacement hose cut & ready to put on when you pull the old one off. You can cut coolant hose with a steak knife if you can't find anything else. I suggest washing the knife afterwards. And, the trip to the parts store for the coolant hose is a good excuse to get some Seafoam for your oil & gas. A bit of high RPM work on the test drive, and zero clicking. Anyway, hopefully this is helpful to someone. -=Russ=-

Try running a few bottles of HEET or such through it. If the fuel filter is freezing up from water in the gas, it'll be horrible when it's cold, but the restarts will go just fine because the engine heat will have melted the ice in the fuel filter. -=Russ=-

I'm pretty sure it's the coolant line going from the thermostat housing to the engine block. It doesn't look fun to replace, but I have the replacement line in the car now. I'm going to work on it tonight. The end of the line joining into the engine block is wet and kind of bloated looking. I think I can do it without taking the manifold off... I think. I just hope I can find my long screwdrivers. -=Russ=-

I found a number of threads discussing coolant leaks on carb'd engines, but there weren't any discussing the SPFI EA82s. My name is Russ, and I have a coolant leak. *waits for greeting* Coming to work, I noticed a cloud following me, more than the usual cold exhaust cloud. It's a fairly short trip, and it was quite cold out, so I wasn't too concerned, but it was definitely coolant (I could smell it when I was leaving the highway). I popped the hood at work and took a look - most of the smoke was from coolant boiling/burning off the junction of the Y-pipe. It seemed that there was also steam coming from the throttle body area. There was also pooled coolant on the top of the block. I'm assuming it just ran down from the block & was blown back into the exhaust area. Is there still a coolant line or two going from the block to the fuel injection throttle body like the carb'd ones had? And, if so, what's the easiest way to check/replace it? -=Russ=-

Bah, I keep a fat man under there. You can fit a full size. -=Russ=-

You ideally want the same tread depth all around, but you know this. Realistically, as long as you only use 4WD when it's really nasty out, it won't matter a whole lot. I wouldn't put brand new tires on the front & totally bald tires on the back (well, for a variety of reasons), but as long as they're close the drivetrain should be OK. Just keep it in FWD on the dry/mostly dry pavement. Also, snow/ice tires are a lot cheaper (well... usually, not always around USMB) than having to replace the car. I had cheap all season junk on the car, and it was still the best handling vehicle I've driven in the snow. After several cars zipped across my path on the highway (from the other side, totally out of control), I realized that it's not ME I'm worried about, it's being able to get out of the way of a random bozo sliding freely - I'd rather throw my car into a ditch than get slammed into (and I'm pretty confident I can get it out of the ditch anyway), but that requires traction. Enter the set of Blizzaks. The only way I can describe them is grip-n-go - I can get significant lateral forces cornering in the ice and snow now. -=Russ=-

Just another perk of old Subarus... failed axle? No problem! -=Russ=-

But... but... but... theory says it may potentially cause some sort of long-term problem down the road!!!1111one I love threads like this. People who have been doing it and tested for themselves the validity of the claims are saying, "It works. It doesn't hurt the fuel system." And yet, people sitting in theoretical land keep complaining that it might potentially do something long-term, and... etc. I'm going to give it a shot next time I fill up. -=Russ=-

Absolutely. Nasty, snowy, icy days have gone from "Ugh, I have to drive in that?" to "WHEEEEE! Let me drive! Let me drive!" I forgot about things like the ignition-keyed headlights... I never worry about headlights anymore. -=Russ=-

Damn... where to start? Ease of maintenance - it's one of the easiest cars I've ever worked on. Traction/handling in the snow/ice - it's my winter car. With cheap tires, it was the best thing I'd ever driven in the snow. With Blizzaks on it, it's absolutely insane how well it grips & goes. Cargo capacity - I've loaded it up many times, almost dragging the rear on the ground, and it's never complained. Fun to drive - for a wagon, it handles surprisingly well, and you can really hammer on it without exceeding the speed limit. Complaints: No AC. This is the *only* thing keeping me from using it year round. The ferrets don't handle high temperatures (>80F) well, and I can't really get to my destination as a sweatball in my line of work. Lack of power. 90hp just doesn't cut it when trying to merge onto the highway, uphill, with a full load in the back. I don't like having to rely on semis & such to move over when I hit the highway doing 55 and traffic is doing 80. I'm planning a turbo swap to fix this. -=Russ=-

I guess the way I see it, the damage isn't going to be undone. If it's fixable, wonderful, but if it's not, there are a lot of valuable parts that can let the car "live on" in other Subarus. Plus, it's often quite possible to make a significant chunk of $$ parting out a car after an accident. If my Subaru were totalled, I'd have the dual range drivetrain & such pulled and up for sale in a hurry. -=Russ=-

See if you can find yourself a $500 winter beater to get you through the winter? -=Russ=-

I'm glad you're OK to post about it. These really are great cars. This winter has been weird. Over in Iowa, I decided to get a set of Blizzaks this winter. I've never had snow tires before, and I was able to get around just fine without them in the snow, but... the car zipping across the highway 1/4 mile in front of me, totally out of control, at 50-60mph... got my attention. The highway had quietly gotten very icy, and while I still had plenty of traction to keep myself on the road, when I hit the brakes to slow down & try to help, I realized that I didn't have much excess traction to do things like evade or throw the car into a ditch if needed. Not that I can really afford the snow tires, but they're cheaper than a collision. Is the car totalled? And... if so... what condition is the engine in? I know there's not a lot of room between the front of the car & the engine, but if you're parting it out, I might be interested in the engine, or at least the turbo bits (and front crossbar, and ECU, and wiring harness, etc). -=Russ=-

Has anyone sent their fuel injector(s) in for a professional cleaning? The ultrasonic reverse flow flush type cleaning, not just sitting in some stuff. If so, what kind of difference did you see afterwards in terms of power/fuel economy? I know over in the RX-7 world, injector cleaning can make a huge difference, but I haven't seen it discussed much here (and the injectors are the same age as 2nd gen RX-7 injectors, for the most part). -=Russ=-

What ratio have you been using? I think I may try this with mine. -=Russ=-

That's a typical oil film bearing. The oil is injected into the bearings, and the crankshaft/rods/etc "float" on the layer of oil. If the oil pressure is low, or the oil runs out, or gets too hot, or (any number of things that cause it to allow metal on metal contact), the two metal surfaces will make contact and will scrape/gouge the bearing & wear it down to the copper surface (they should be somewhat shiny). -=Russ=-

Agreed. And after doing something like a head gasket, other things like axles & such just feel trivial. Welcome to the wonderful (and inexpensive) world of Fix-It-Yourself! -=Russ=-

Idle, don't worry about it. Just above zero is still acceptable (according to the car's manual). You should be running around 45psi with the engine warmed up and turning over 3000 RPM. -=RUss=-