1980ea71Brat

Hey whatever worked for you. I went with something a little lighter because of the Montana climate. I ended up using 3 quarts of 75W-85 Redline GL4 + 1 bottle of Lucas oil transmission fix. I mixed everything in the ATF can that I used for the flushing - so there's probably a little bit of that in the mix as well. Like I said, it didn't fix the problem for me, but I do think it shifting better than the 75W-90 Extra HIPO Subaru Transmission oil. Who knows, could have been the flush that helped and the old (2k ish mile) oil was fine.

Thanks Bennie. Well my fluid flush and fluid swap seemed to help it... a little bit. I have been thinking about it a lot, and calling around different shops, no one so far wants to touch something as old as this transmission. I could try to swap internals, but I wonder how long something like that will last for? I'm concerned about it not being sustainable, and I'm already having problems with parts. I will probably look to EJ transmission swap it, which looking on this website.... doesn't seem too bad. Have to shorten the drive shaft, custom mount the trans, and swap the diff to match. I'm going to keep an eye out on marketplace to see if a wrecked one of an ej with a blown motor shows up. Unfortunately I got rid of my donor car a few months back, could have used that. Going to ride it out this winter and weigh my options. Open to all suggestions. Thanks

Bennie, Do you know if the non dual range EJ series transmissions fit into the EA transmission housing? I have never seen an EJ dual range in the states, and it might be impossible to find parts for at this point too. My main concern with switching to a EJ transmission (say out of a 1990-1998 legacy) is that the transmission gearing is going to be 3.9 or 4.11 - and my RX LSD diff is a 3.7. If I were able to swap in the EJ gears/sychros at least those might be serviceable for a few years or I could order parts and shelf them for the future. A slightly different option is Loyale transmissions are still readily available in junk yards and off of Ebay. Would it work to try and swap the internals from one of those into the RX case, just to renew the synchros and bearings? Sure the gearing might be different, but smooth shifting would be ideal, and I could possible keep the same 3.7 gear output of the transmission. Either way both options are rather beyond my skill level. I could attempt it, but I might wait for the transmission to actually become undriveable first. For now I am going to try to flush the transmission with ATF for ~100 miles or so, then swap in some different MT gear oil and see if it improves. Like you said the WRX subframe was kind of a shot in the dark - and at that point I might as well just swap vehicles entirely. The fun part about the RX is its uniqueness and styling, neither of which I want to loose. Does someone know of a transmission shop in the states that is still rebuilding these older transmissions? Thanks, Matt

Well I did a lot of research on here before picking a gear oil and that was by far the most recommended. I could try a GL4 type instead to see if it'd perform better, but I don't think it will. Still, might be my only option if subaru doesn't stock any MT parts anymore

Well I have no way of knowing if they are bluffing or not. When he specifically looked up the struts/shocks he said they were listed as discontinued. As well as the bearings or gears for the transmission. If someone has a part number for the synchros or anything else id definitely try again. I tried looking at subaruparts.com or subaruwarehouse.com and other online 'subaru parts suppliers' but none of them even list part numbers for those items. From what I have been told by others, Subaru does not support older models and all that is left is old stock for parts, even in Japan. I'd love to be wrong here, and if there is a way to order directly from Japan I would do so quickly. Are Loyale parts close enough to order off Rock Auto? Usually Rock Auto cross references the part viability, meaning the struts/shocks for the loyale would show up under the RX section if they fit it, but they didn't for those.

Hey all, I just recently finished a EJ22 swap into my 1987 RX and been driving it around pretty regularly. Unfortunately, now that it is back on the road, a few problems have cropped up. The struts are barely passing the bounce test, and a bushing has started making it's presence known. The dealer no longer has struts available, and rock auto came up with nothing too. Is it worth even looking into aftermarket? Rock Auto does carry struts and shocks for the Loyale, is it worth swapping to those? Additionally - the dual range transmission can be hard to shift and the temperature hasn't even gotten to below zero up here yet. It feels like the 2nd gear Syncro is on its way out, and sometimes it grinds a little bit going into third gear. This gets better after the fluid is warmed up. This is the fluid I used: https://www.amazon.com/Subaru-75W90-Performance-Transmission-Fluid-1/dp/B007L6Q1EK I read on a different post that a member replaced the synchros and bearings in their dual range transmission by ordering the parts individually through Subaru. This was back in 2014 and my local dealer can't find these parts in the data base. Are these discontinued? Looking for any help and recommendations. Are the parts becoming so rare that I should be looking at swapping over to WRX sub frames down the road? Thanks, Matt

Awesome ride man. I wish my RX was as clean as yours! Might have to get some advice from you on drive train upgrades.

She isn't about to set some land speed records, especially by today's standards. but she at least gets out of her way. It'd be nice to get a turbo ej22 into it. Maybe one day - got many other projects to get started on around here.

Been about 6 weeks since I have updated here. In that time, had a baby and really just wrapped up everything I wanted to get done to the car. In another forum I learned the hard way that some MAF sensors are bad straight out of the box, but now she's running pretty good for an old and tired EJ22. Since my last update I: Installed the rest of the interior, all the trim panels and the recovered seats. The seats have new vinyl front and back, but we kept the original checkered material from 1987. I love the look and I'm really glad we got to recycle them. The seats were in terrible shape but the guy fixed all the foam issues. Also fixed the clutch problem. Not well documented on here, but the clutch was not properly adjusted, and it appears that the cable is a bit stretched out. Had a family member help me reset the clutch position which made a world of difference. Few things I still need to do - replace the front speakers, the current ones could be worse, but they sound pretty bad and my commute is about 20 minutes, I like to listen to the radio. Also going to create new cubby covers for the trunk area - the old ones are water damaged and warped. Was going to trace them out on peg board and use that (not sure if there is a better material) but got a ways to go on that. That's about it. Going to daily drive it this winter and see how it goes. She could use some new brakes but they work. Slight vibrations at 70 mph, but it has new balanced tires. Down the road when money starts flowing I will look into doing more body work, and doing a rebuild or buying a new EJ22. For now I'm just happy she's back together and running smooth. Thanks all for tuning in and checking out the build. It wasn't anything too fancy but it's one less loyale chasis in the junkyard.

Alright guys. The moment I have been waiting for.... After several weeks of diagnostic, scouring forums, trying out different advice from people here on the forum, I am happy to report the car is fixed. The idle problem and rich problem is gone. There may be a little hic-up in the idle but I'm good with that and its an old motor. What was the problem? What is the primary sensor that controls A/F ratio??...... THE MAF SENSOR. Yep. The one I replaced mine with was faulty out of the box. If you remember, I also had a mid throttle fuel cut issue, where the engine would stumble under acceleration sometimes. I replaced the MAF with a REFURBISHED napa unit, and that specific problem went away. But not the idle. Tricked me into thinking there was no way it could still be the MAF. Let me tell you fellas, I really appreciate all the ideas, feedback and support on this. It's hard out there for a home mechanic and forums like these really keep a guy going at it. In the end, it cost me $550 for the shop to find the problem and replace the MAF (they did this before calling me) but I'm not complaining. I could have easily spent that or more if I kept throwing parts at it hoping for a fix. Lesson learned. How does occam's razor go? If its the most obvious solution, that's probably the solution? Anyways. Hope this helps some poor fool down the road. I know I learned a lot about system testing and diagnostics. Time to wrap up this car and enjoy it!

Thanks Turbone! Much appreciated, and yeah I used this forum for inspiration and I'd love to drool over what you did. I just got my new interior back the other day, so one final update should be coming. The car is ready for the road again after much trial and tribulations lol. After a year or so of enjoying it, I will probably try to save for a new EJ22 to drop in it and probably do brakes, etc. Thanks for stopping by!

Been a while. Just checking in to let people know I have decided to let some subaru experts take a look. Hoping 3 hours is plenty of diagnostic time. If they find a solution to the problem I will post it here. This car is 95% complete, just have to button up the interior after I get this idle problem fixed. Thanks all, wish me luck.

You know I'm not really sure I know how to do that, or what I could do with it. If I trick the computer into thinking the voltage at the 02 is .5 volts, I could see if the 2nd 02 is still showing rich? Rule out the front 02? But I've never heard of that before. At this point I'm a starting to run out of time. I might consider paying the local subaru shop an hour of labor to plug in their SSM device and see if it tells them more than my OBD2 can. I measured resistance at my injectors today - they all measured 12.4-12.6 ohms. They could potentially still be a problem? But not very likely...

I forgot my list at work of course, but here is a TL:DR of everything so far: Replaced: Fuel Tank, All Rubber Fuel Lines, Fuel Filter, IAC (New), MAF (Refurbished), Spark Plugs, Spark Plug Wires, Front 02 sensor, (I am probably missing something here I will add later) Tested to Manufacturer Specs / Attempted Fixes: Fuel Pressure Regulator (passed), IAC (Yes I tested the new one), Knock Sensor (560 kOhms), Removed and Cleaned Throttle Body (New Gasket), PCV valve, Cleaned Electrical Connectors, ECT Coolant temperature sensor, TPS (As seen on OBD2 scanner - 0% throttle at resting, 100% throttle at full press), Tested for vacuum leaks by spraying brake clean, Steady Peak Fuel Pressure (Confirmed no leaks), Fuel Pump Pressure is within spec, Multiple ECU reset attempts, was able to blow air into the fuel return line (indicating no blockage), (I am probably missing something here I will add later) What's left to test? Fuel Injectors (Ohms) MAP Sensor? Total Vacuum Neutral signal Purge Valve? Bad Electrical connections under the Intake Manifold. ????? What's the current problem? Note: I don't have any check engine lights, or pending codes. Idle oscillates from 500-1000 RPMS in open loop, AFTER the car has idled for ~1 minute. Driving the car (while warm) with light throttle stays in Closed Loop. No throttle or slightly more than light throttle switches to Open Loop - Drive Front 02 sensor reads .9 - .95 volts for most operations besides light throttle or deceleration, indicating rich mixture Short Term fuel trims are maxed at -25%, indicating rich micture Once fully warmed up and stopped to let idle, the car will switch between idling in Closed Loop at exactly 1025 RPMs, and Open Loop with a lope from 500-1000 RPMs. It will switch between the two every 30s-1 minute.

Yeah I think this is a good idea I can look into. I have looked at maf wiring, but I really didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Unfortunately if its truly a wiring problem, I will have to unravel my whole custom loom to find it unless its close to the connector. I don't know if I'm ready to take it apart wire by wire back to the ECU yet lol.

Well it seemed to be a direct replacement to my old one. But I'm not sure. It was a pretty basic device, with two coolant ports and the main air duct.

Yeah I cleaned it at first, then ultimately replaced it with a refurbished one from Napa. It fixed the intermittent misfire issue but not the idle. I'm going to put together a TLDR of everything I have replaced and tested up to this point - I left it at work, so hopefully I'll remember to bring it home tomorrow.

Thanks for the heads up NVU - yeah it is a 1996. A lot of forums are suggesting that the 02 sensor really probably isn't the fault. It's just reading that the fuel is too rich, the computer is trying to correct it, and it's not able to. Right now I am at a bit of an impasse - it runs and drives, and it's at a really good milestone right now. I may not find the answer or to this problem for a while, especially if I start to daily the car this winter. Thanks everyone for following up and helping. If I don't get this solved before winter, I will be sure to follow up in the future if I figure anything out. Some other ideas I had: Take the intake manifold off and reseal Take the injectors off and clean them/ JY replacements (I really need to measure the resistance first) Check all the manifold wiring with the intake off. Unless it is an 02 sensor failing, I am kind of out of options! Did yalls know ebay also has $25 brand new MAF sensors? No way those work right?

The donor car was a manual. And I should back track a bit - the original car had a 02 sensor code, and I found that the electrical connector was broken. I replaced the 02 sensor for good measure and rewired it from there. After that it ran perfect with no issues. I have been doing some internet sleuthing and found that its possible the ECU is going back and forth between closed/open loop because it's not able to correct the rich condition in closed loop. This also explains why if I apply even more than a light throttle to it will drop into open loop - drive mode. I also observed that the I/M readiness function of my OBD2 reader continuously says 'incomplete' for the 02 sensor and the Cat. I have gotten the OBD2 to go green, and checkmark the 02 sensor, but I have no idea what triggers it. I drove for over an hour on sunday and the 02 sensor never got a green check mark. Luckily I don't have emissions in my state, but it almost seems to be pointing towards a problem with that sensor. Might try ordering a $13 sensor off of ebay just to try?

It idled so well* in limp mode, it must mean I have a bad sensor causing havok? MAF? O2 sensor? IAC? - all those were replaced already, but it almost seems like the MAF is still at fault. Does it running smooth in limp mode eliminate the possibility of having a wiring issue?

So here's what I did today: Got the car up to ~185 and shut it off. Unplugged the ECU, and started it up. The car sat at closed loop idle of 1025 RPMS and didnt budge. No loping nothing. Stayed this way for 10 minutes, without any changes, was hardly drivable (limp mode as you described), It had almost no power. Turn the car off, plug back in the MAF, restart the car - back to the way it was. 30s of closed loop idle, it auto switched to open loop idle where it surges from 500-1000 RPMS. After a minute of that it switches back to closed loop for 30s. and the cycle continues. It was BUTTERY SMOOTH in limp mode. First time I have ever tried to do this - what can this tell me about the engine? No vacuum leaks probably?

I'm going to look into it. I don't know of a way to turn the ecu 'off'' while still having the engine run on the EJ22 but we will see. Today I tried fully removing the throttle body and cleaning it, new gasket, etc. Seems to run slightly better? but didn't fix the problem.