BirdMobile

Here's what you do: Start with the engine off and car cold (not run recently). Remove radiator cap. Fill coolant to the level about halfway up the fill pipe, so you can clearly see the surface of the coolant. DO NOT put the radiator cap back on. Start engine. Apply E-brake and leave in neutral. If you have a helper, have them sit in the car and rev the engine to 2000RPM or so. If no help is available, it will just take a bit longer at idle speed. WATCH the surface of the coolant, for a few minutes. You might see a few bubbles, medium to largish at first, gurgle to the surface. This is normal. IF you see a constant stream of tiny bubbles, stop the car. You have a blown head gasket. If you don't see a steady stream of tiny bubbles, and the coolant level rises to the top lip of the coolant add pipe, turn off the car. No head gasket leak. What happens is called a "compression leak" - the pressure from the cylinder blows through a gap in the head gasket into the coolant passages around the cylinder. This raises the pressure of the coolant system, and eventually overcomes the seal of the radiator cap, blowing the coolant into the overflow reservoir. The only fix for this is to replace the head gaskets. Hope this helps!

P.S. I also want to KNOW that the final engine is mechanically sound and reliable, the only way I know of to accomplish that is to get inside it and make SURE there aren't any "ticking time bombs" of failing parts, head gasket wear, etc. Plus, I like working on engines. I'm a mutant that way. . . .

Both engines are partially disassembled or missing parts (injectors, belts, etc.) and one has a frozen water pump. That's how I got them so cheap!

I'd rebuild it myself.

Greets, all! I've scraped together 2 different pre-96 (non-interference) EJ22 engines, and a pile of associated parts (air cleaners, alternators, AC compressors, etc.). I have also located snd purchased a pair of ECU modules and harnesses, an older (1991) unit with 4 connectors, and a newer (1995) unit with a single large connector with locking latch lever for the connector. I plan to dissassemble both engines down to the short block (I have no interest in rebuilding the pistons or crank) then taking the best parts of both engines to re-assemble into a single "greatest hits" engine. I then plan to retrofit this engine into a very nice condition rust-free GL-10 wagon body from 1986. I have too many questions! First, and most important - what parts (hopefully with Subaru part numbers) will I need to buy in order to do the engine rebuild? In otherwords, what "consumable" gaskets, O-Rings, seals, etc. do I need? I don't want to spend a fortune and replace everything in the engine, but if there's a $2 part in there that is important, I'd rather err on the side of caution and "get-er-done" while I'm in there - and not break down in a few thousand miles. Both engines have less than 180K miles on them, my goal at the end of this is to wind up with one good solid rebuild that will give me 100K-150K of reliable service if I maintain it properly. Next question - which ECU should I choose? Is the older (1991) or newer (1995) version better in some way, or more widely available? I eventually plan to buy a spare of whichever ECU I end up going with. Last, what important question(s) am I not asking? I am new to the EJ22 world... and I know enough to know that I don't know enough. I want to do this right! Thanks for any input y'all can give. Peace out.

Parts ARE available, you just need to find the right dealership guy.

On mine (1987 GL) I didn't have to jumper any black wires... but my fuel pump had it's own ring terminal ground like we discussed earlier in this thread, so the pump is grounded through that. If you don't run a separate ground, you MIGHT need to jumper a ground across the connector, if both legs of the fuel pump are wired to the connector (with your model/year, I don't know). You DEFINITELY need to also jumper the automatic choke wire to keyed power, as you indicated on your drawing, or your choke will never open and it will run crappy. I would try jumpering the keyed power and fuel pump power and automatic choke wires together, see if you are reading 12V or so between the 2 fuel pump connector pins with key turned on to the running position. If not, investigate the ground wiring further and either run a 2nd ground with ring terminal, or jumper ground wires at the module connector.

Hmmm... I thought ghe EA81 used the same 5/16" I.D. fuel line as the EA82. Am I mistaken?

First, add another 2 gallons of fuel, just to eliminate that as a possible cause. Second, you will NOT see voltage at the fuel pump with the key turned to the "on" or to the "running on" position. You need to actually have the engine running (providing distributor/coil pulses to the module) before the module will send voltage to the pump. I think there is something like 3 or 4 seconds of power sent to the pump when you first turn the key to the starter position, but it's not long enough to run to the meter and check for it, unless you have LOOONG test leads and put the meter in the cab with you, or have someone else turn the key. To test the module, simply pull it and jumper past it on the wire harness - run a wire from the "key on" power wire (Blue wire) to the fuel pump power wire (Blue/Red wire). If the car runs fine, you know it's the module that's bad. You can keep it wired that way for the "fiery death" option, if you want to roll the dice.

I use NAPA Gold 3002 filters. They're clear so you can see how much junk they've removed from the fuel, and they're under $4.

I'd definitely pass.

I personally did away with gaskets, and sealed directly metal-metal with Permatex #2 non-hardening fuel resistant sealant in between surfaces as the sealant. This eventually resulted in a vacuum leak as the sealant was pulled toward the intake. I re-sealed using Permatex on the inside near the intake port, and anaerobic sealant on the outside to keep gasses from pulling into the edge of the assembly. That seems to be working fine so far, I plan to disassemble it in a few weeks to see if any further "sealant creep" of the permatex non-hardening has occurred. One last thing - I sanded the adapter plate, intake surface, and weber base with a large machinists parallel and 240 grit wet/dry sand paper before doing all this - to achieve flat mating surfaces.

Yep. That's the overall plan.

The other thing you could try is running a new ground wire off your fuel pump to any nearby bolt or screw, using a ring terminal. Sometimes fuel pump problems are simply a glitchy ground wire.

No, not available at part stores. It's a junkyard or Ebay only situation. I found one for $75 a few months ago after a brief search, which is why I decided to wire past it instead.

P.S. Search this forum, the module and wiring is well documented in at least one thread.

There is a "module" (sometimes referred to as a "revolutions sensor") that runs the fuel pump. It is an approx. 2-1/2" square black box with a 6-pin connector, usually located under the left side of the instrument cluster bolted to the sidewall. I have also seen them (on older cars) bolted under the right side of the instrument panel. To diagnose, find a wiring diagram, and jumper the "keyed" power past the module to the fuel pump power wire. If faulty, you can [a] replace module, or jumper past module and risk death by fiery inferno as your fuel pump keeps pumping gasoline into your wrecked front-end. I personally chose , you just can't worry about everything!

Only 190K? It's still young. Take care of it and replace the basic needed parts, and you'll easily get another 100K out of it.

Don't need a clutch or flywheel. SPFI is fine. Again, I'll take it... let's make this happen. PM me when you can.

P.S. Is it carburated, SPFI, or MPFI? Not Turbo, I hope...

I'll take it, provided shipping isn't too steep.

Do this stuff for Subaru EA-82 Wagon immortality: The coolant system is the achilles heel of these cars. Deal with it first. Replace thermostat and gasket, heater and radiator hoses, and the little coolant crossover tube between the top of the engine block snd the thermostat housing. Replace the radiator if you can afford it, or at least check it for blockage and flush it out. Make sure the fans work - especially the electric and thermoswitch. The mechanical fan is tricky to check - it will spin even if the clutch is bad. I tore mine out and wired in a second electric fan, on a relay so as to not overload the thermoswitch current carrying capabilities. After the coolant system is dealt with, replace the timing and V belts. Change the fuel filters, there are two. Check the oil pump and pan for leaks, and make sure oil pressure ia good. Most of these engines leak, KEEP ON TOP OF IT and check/add oil and antifreeze religiously! Replace oil pump seals and gaskets if the valves are ticking - most of the time TOD (Tick of Death) is due to oil pump problems. Finally, deal with the ignition system components, new wires, plugs, cap, and rotor. New battery if the old one is tired. If you have the time and money, tear down and reseal the engine... probably around $500 in parts and a week or two of work will make these cars run FOREVER. Seriously. One last thing - check all CV and DOJ boots for cracks. If you catch them early enough, I've had good results patching with bicycle inner tube pieces and Permatex Ultra Gray RTV, after squirting more CV grease into the joint if needed.. If they've torn too large a hole, replace with Subaru OEM boots. I've used the inner (DOJ) boot on both inner and outer joints with good results, and the longer boot gives outer CV joints more flex before tearing.

Knock will kill it. Back off a bit on the boost. EDIT: Misread your post.., thought you were saying it was knocking. I re-read it and saq it wasn't. Sorry.

My friend had a set, meth heads stole 3 of them and sold them for $7 scrap... got busted, but not before the rims were melted or whatever.He scared them away as they were stealing the 4th one... they left it behind. He showed it to me, beautiful!

No other input? I kind of need to decide today whether or not to grab this car... I'm thinking I might go for it to get the engine and tranny alone... but if there's any particular reason the car body is special or collectible, it would sway me quite a bit. So far it sounds like the "third eye" models are just any old early-80's soob.