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Been away from the project for a little bit - but I got your DM- we can chat about it there. Finally got back to a little bit of progress - Bit another bullet and decided to do a little exploratory deathwheel surgery to get a better perspective for the rear subframe mounting solution. I chopped out the passenger bed wheel well and I think I will likely be widening the rear frame slightly to accomodate a stock subframe and subframe bushings (hooray, buying more parts... 😶) This will end up being a much cleaner solution to my problem and I think the creative use of some welded captive nuts and box tubing will yield pretty great results. I kind of half-assedly leaned the new coilover through the wheel well cut after also chopping off the stock bumpstop - and I think the space will be tight but sufficient, especially since I'm planning on using the old Impreza wheel wells as a base for the new structure. There'll probably be some reinforcement of the stock bed sides too, but I'm gonna approach this as close to one problem at a time as possible. Like i said - tight but doable. Everything is also just loosely stacked in place, and the rear end is jacked up about 8" higher than it probably would be so everything seems short at this perspective. I only need about another 1.5"- 2" of real estate to mount the forward bushings, and I think I have a pretty good idea how I'm going to get those in once I've got a new subframe to play with. If anyone has a '98 or thereabouts Impreza subframe handy with the bushings still intact (I botched the original by being hasty - see previous posts), reach out quick or I'm gonna get impatient and go to ebay for one 🤣 Gonna repeat the procedure on the other side of the bed, then it'll probably sit for a little while again while I locate a suitable subframe replacement.

I've been there. I had a water pump fail and drove up to their Waterbury shop for the job. Some shops call in guys who are more or less retired for occasional jobs.

That'd be my guess. Because first start up the pressure was steady but during that start up the brittle o-ring may have sprung a leak (the engine was sitting for 20 years or so). Every start up after that first one the pressure was jittery, but it has been slowly getting less jittery. Either way I'll keep an eye on it. I have a spare pickup tube but I've tried to remove one before and it really is a major pain. I can deal with the jittery pressure so long as the pressure stays in the range that it should be then I'll just leave it. Thanks for the insight, I appreciate it. :]

I haven't had one of those apart in so long that I don't remember. I know an EJ has a seal - I just built one of those a couple months ago... EDIT: Found https://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/23378-ea82-oil-pickup-tube/

The kit number for my gauge is R12211. The gauges seem to be very quick and responsive. Oil level was okay (85% full by my eye). I added half a quart and it still is jumpy but the variation is within a tighter range. Maybe within a 3 psi range. Still no low pressure issues so I'm not super worried about it but I'll still keep an eye on it. I wonder if I bumped the pickup tube when I dropped the pan. That doesn't have a seal on it does it? I thought it was just pressed in.

40+ together. Wow, what an amazing achievement! Here's to another 40+!!

Already surpassed the 40 years milestone of being with my "BumbleBeast" in continous ownership and, despite that this SportsWagon is looking smaller as new cars around tend to get bigger; I preffer this Yellow noisy fellow over any other car, everyday in any weather condition. Lousy cellphone photo Kind Regards.

Due to the Photobucket ban, I saved "Offline" versions of my main Write-ups, complete with all their photos, Each writeup were saved individually, inside a compressed .rar folder; which you can Download freely, in the following post, here: ~► The BumbleBeast feel free to leave a "Like" there if you find this info, Useful. Kind Regards.

Their yard in Roxbury is wild. Ever been there? I might be up there this week.

I don't know anything about isspro's gauges, and their website seems to list at least six product lines but gives technical info about none of them... An oil passage being clogged wouldn't cause a cyclical reading. Nothing ever settles or needs a re-torque. lol. A leak on the suction side of the pump, like where the pickup tube connects, will let it pull air bubbles and cause a varying reading, without any external visible signs. The stock oil pressure gauge is *very slow*, so I don't know how much pressure variation is normal on those engines. I also don't know if isspro's gauges are prone to jittery readings.

Isspro electronic gauge. I'll double check my dipstick but I added 4 quarts and change. Granted I lost a bit between the pump plug leak and the head retorque but it can't be more than a few ounces lost. I do worry about an oil passage being clogged but I doubt it as the engine has ran completely fine and I took it on a very short trip into town (5 miles round trip, including a turn onto a 55 from a dead stop) and it hasn't done anything abnormal. Do the oil pump o-rings settle and the pump may just need a retorque? I haven't noticed any leaks from the pump body itself and the HLA's have quieted.

What kind of oil pressure sender and gauge are you running? Leaks do not cause jumpy readings. Low level or air leaks at the pickup tube or pump intake do....

It runs and moves under its own power. However my oil pressure is jumpy. It never sits still and constantly fluctuates within a 5 psi range. As the engine warms up, it fluctuates less but it still doesn't sit still. I am still getting leaks from the oil pump. Oil pressure is within acceptable range though, it's definitely got decent pressure. I had to use a thread adapter for my new gauge and it's leaking from that. Maybe that's throwing off my readings? Meaning my pressure is steady but because it leaks so close to the gauge, that's throwing off the readings? My oil is clean but I need to flush it and change the filter to get all the old milkshake out of it. Perhaps the remaining milky oil is causing this fluctuation since the two liquids compress differently?

Well, winning the Smoothest Brain Award is better than winning the Time For A New Engine Lottery!

It was the throttle body gasket. After I installed it I pressure tested the coolant system. I also had a leak at the temp sensor but after tightening that I had no pressure loss at 10psi over 3 hours. It started up fine, took about 20 minutes of idling to blow most of the coolant out or burn it off. Idled nice and healthy, though it was noisy due to the HLA's needing to fully prime. I am about half way through the retorque and I have an oil pump leak to deal with. I used a plug where the old sensor was as I added an aftermarket one. But other than that she's ready for the road. Also, I noticed there's no pressure values for the cooling system in the FSM only head pressure. For that 20 minutes mine sat right around 4.2psi. Not sure if this changes with extended driving but I'll post if I notice a pattern. What a learning experience. It was quite disheartening at times. :]

Any updates on this? Going to do any racing this summer?

There could be two leaking sources of coolant. I’d test again after that gasket is fitted on the throttle body before adding coolant. The other issue could be the O ring in the block between the two case halves is corroded and leaking - I reckon that’s a long shot but who knows. Cracks in the head are more likely than that ^ and they will usually occur between the valves and head down the exhaust port as they become worse. Once really bad these cracks will dump all the coolant into the exhaust on cool down. Not your issue here though. I wonder if you can use a bore scope in each spark plug hole to look around the cylinder and the combustion chamber when you have coolant in the cooling system - with air pressure at the radiator (if possible) to “load up” the cooling system and hopefully exposing the coolant leak.

I'm kinda surprised it's an intake thing... I think you'd hydrolock it before you get milky oil...

My money is on the bearings on the inside of the engine, at both crankshaft, and piston rods, are rusted up so that you would have to tear the crankcase completely apart and replace them. Then the steel piston rings are probably also rusted in place and did not help the cylinder walls any. Long story short, you are wasting your time with an engine that has water condensing inside the crankcase, due to the changes in weather, regardless of whether it was under a hood or not.

Video from our trip to Arizona in April

Plugs pulled, no coolant, radiator and heater core connected. I disconnected the hose going to the thermostat housing, plugged the fitting and shoved an air wand into the hose. My regulator doesn't go down that low so I just took it slow listening to the radiator cap. I can hear bubbling from the intake. Putting my ear up to the intake manifold with the throttle open. I can hear it. I can only assume it's the intake manifold gaskets. This intake came from a running engine with clean oil. I did clean up the surfaces, no sand paper tricks or anything just a brass scraper and a light buff with a scotchbrite. EDIT: I am proud to announce I have won "Smoothest brain of the year" award. I forgot to put the gasket on that goes between the throttle body and the intake manifold. I'm going to throw that on and see if the bubbling noises go away.

Anything between about 5ftlbs and snapping the bolts off will seal coolant. The exact torque amount and procedure will affect longevity of the seal around the cylinder bores. There is nothing you can do other than flat out forgetting to tighten them that will cause an immediate external coolant leak, or a major internal one. You could have a cracked block or a cracked head. I did a revival of a many-many-years-in-junkyard ea81 wagon that went great (well, great except the gas tank being plugged solid enough that even 120psi of air couldn't get the pickup open, and the carb being a solid blob, and... but I got it running!) until I added coolant, and it ran out as fast as I put it in... Or a problem with the intake surfaces. I'm mostly an EA81 wolfy, not an EA82 one, so I'm not familiar with the cam stuff. Put it together with no oil or coolant, no valve covers, no exhaust, leave the spark plugs out, etc - but do connect the radiator, and loop back the heater core lines. Re-use your last set of head gaskets, unless they're obviously damaged. Do the minimum amount of assembly needed to seal up the cooling system. Remove one of the little intake coolant lines, plug the end with a barb plug and clamp, then put a few feet of hose on the barb you took the hose off from, also with a clamp. Stick the end of that hose on an air fitting with a pressure regulator, fire up your air compressor, and turn the pressure up to 12psi. Listen closely everywhere. Do you hear air anywhere? Do you hear any hissing coming back out the intake? Out either exhaust port? From the spark plug holes? etc. If you turn the pressure up too much the radiator cap will start hissing - turn it down if you do.

Real estate has been a million an acre for a while; why LeBlancs sold out even with all the toxic chemicals from many decades of activity on the property. LaJoies will not sell exhaust parts claiming that they rot from the inside out. I agree that F and S is the area expert on Subarus, I've driven up to Waterbury for a specialist to install a water pump on a prior vehicle.

Okay, I'm really in need of some advice here. I have no clue what I'm doing wrong but clearly I'm doing something wrong here. This is the second time I've had milkshake oil after replacing the head gaskets on first start up. This time it's both sides. Oil pressure was bouncing in 5 psi increment up and down but was at a healthy level. 0 coolant pressure. Here's the process I've been doing, someone please tell me where I'm screwing up. I'll start from the disassembled short block. 1: Clean the head bolts, threads, deck surface, and cylinder heads. Cams, cam carriers, rockers, and valve covers are cleaned. 2: Install the head gaskets on a clean and dry block. Head bolts are oiled and toweled dry, only a light sheen of oil on the threads. Oil is also applied under the bolt head and washer. The FSM torque pattern is followed and the 3-step 22ftlb-43ftlb-47ftlb process is done. 3: The OEM o-ring and sealant is applied to the cam carriers. Rockers are greased and installed. Cam carriers are installed. 14.5ftlb on the bolts. 4: Intake is installed with OEM gaskets. 16ftlb on the bolts. 5: Rest of the engine is assembled and hooked up. Turn the key, milkshake. Am I supposed to retorque before first startup, then do another retorque? That makes no sense to me. Maybe it's just leaking from the intake manifold? But I used OEM gaskets on clean and dry surfaces and torqued to spec. I'm off to clean this engine out again. I'm not giving up yet. :[

Larry, it’s tough around here. Too many lawyers. Most places don’t let you walk around anymore. You guys enjoy what you have ! Tom, there’s always F&S. If it’s older than 20 years just talk with one of the guys in the Roxbury yard like Jeff. Not sure about Johnny’s in Thomaston, i think it’s changed hands but that was another good yard where he would let you walk around. Which place do you go to? LaJoie’s?