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I have never worried about the flammability of any automotive refrigerant I've used. They don't ignite as easily as people think and certainly are far less dangerous than the 20-30 gallons of gasoline in my fuel tank. Some people who have complained about the dangers of using 6-8 ounces of ES-12a or HC-12a seem to forget there an thousands of motor vehicles running around with huge LP tanks onboard. Good substitute refrigerants that are banned from automotive use are due to highly paid lobbyist in our political system, not because the danger is real. Ever notice that when a refrigerant patent is about to expire a new one comes along that is freshly patented and protected from competition?

Big update, the heads are on! The factory repair manual says to "coat each side of the head gasket with liquid sealer", which I interpreted as copper gasket spray. I've used this stuff on EJ motors, it seems to work just fine. I also used it on the copper sealing rings at the bases of the cylinders... Another thing the manual mentions is a spacer tool to help torque the bolts that hold the rocker shafts on. I just took apart some EA71 rocker assemblies and borrowed the towers to use as spacers. I was able to borrow the head alignment tool used when bolting these heads on, you can see it bolts to the coolant crossover flange and holds two of the intake bolt holes in place. It's starting to look like a real engine! I torqued both heads in steps, the repair manual is pretty vague on what I should actually do. This is the OEM manual, too. It says to tighten in stages before the final torque, so I did 5 pound increments. It went very smoothly! Next is rocker shafts, and I have some NOS parts on their way to continue my assembly.

The widely accepted norm from people that have done *many* Subaru headgaskets (and not just 1 or 3) is no spray and to do the following: Subaru gaskets or possible MLS equivalent Resurface the heads (it's pointless to "test them" and you can resurface yourself - it's insanely easy) Clean the head bolts and receiving holes in the block Lubricate the head bolts None of that really costs anything to do it the same way the most prolific and highly rated Subaru speciialists have been doing this for many years. So there's almost zero reason to not follow that protocol except laziness, lack of planning, anecdotal types who just like to think they're finding some new trick to solve a well known quarter century old question. I only do that so I can't comment on trying to deviate or follow some other method except that it just doesn't make sense to do so.

i swapped the clock spring out and it fixed the airbag light.

We switched to the Amsoil assembly lube and have better results with it. Cheaper too. We use it with the factory bolts, yes. It has the least propensity for creaking of anything we have used. Same torque regardless of SOHC or DOHC. We degrease the bolts and we also brake-clean the block threads and chase them with a head bolt that has several die grinder vertical slots cut into it. I generally apply the Amsoil assembly lube in two vertical lines up the threads 180 degrees apart. And lube between the bolt head and washer - washer to head is left dry although some lube often finds it way there and isn't an issue. Don't over-lube the bolts - this can hydraulically damage the block if there is too much in the bottom of the hole. GD

Hi everyone - thanks for the interest in the Loyale. The full car sold today to join an RX and another GL wagon owned locally. Best of luck to everyone on the hunt for parts!

check wheel for balance

Old post I know but this thread came up in a Google search and was questioned by others discussing it on FB today. I just checked the crank bolt thread pitch on the original EA82 engine out of my 87 DL and it is without a doubt a M14 x 1.5. I happen to have a metric tap of that size and it threads perfectly into the hole and lines up exact when laid alongside the bolt. I assume other EA82s will be the same.

lug nuts tight?

It was "fine" back in 2010. Unfortunately physics and reality have warped significantly in 12 years and now it is possible to annihilate the visible universe if you do this. It's actually quite dangerous - an intern at my shop accidentally destroyed a good part of the city of Portland a while back when the cam slipped about half a tooth and he put it back...... he was summarily dismissed and things got better after a few days. I'm told he still has a severe hangnail that's stubbornly remained untreatable despite visits to numerous specialists in Austria. GD

Okay. That works too. But there's no need to guess or research. I have swapped MT and AT ECU's, and done engine/trans swaps. There's one pin on the car side connector that determines automatic or manual: *without* that pin the ECU expects and runs as an automatic ECU *with* the pin, it runs manual All ECU's are the same, with no automatic or manual distinction, and the ECU adjusts accordingly based on that pin/wiring. The manual trans ECU you buy will be the same ECU as an automatic. The *only* difference is your body side ECU connector has one extra pin "telling" the ECU what it is. So when you convert an automatic transmission subaru to manual - you swap the transmission and then just address that one pinout, by grounding that one pin - to "tell" the ECU it's now a manual. It's that simple. And so is buying a manual trans ECU!

You might investigate a propane/butane mix. From what I have read, not as dangerous as it 'sounds'.....I mean, you have 10+ gallons of gasoline in the car anyway.

that's the classic symptom of the 'cardan' joint (u-joint) on the steering shaft going bad. To prove it, spray some light lube or even PB Blaster on the joint to see if it (temporaily) gets better.

After two Legs, a 92 and a 95, i moved on to a Forester 4 years ago, bought also one for my GF... But every now and then i check to see if a nice old Leg is around and gosh, shouldnt have open the site! this came up for sale, one owner, 80K miles.... on top,it's exactly same color as my first Leg, 18 years ago.... even the price is good.... I know it's dorky but how to resist?

That cars future issues will be if the headgaskets weren’t done well and having the original or aftermarket timing belt and pulleys. All of which are far more problematic than Subaru 4EAT auto transmissions. I’d install new subaru/AISIN timing kit. $300-$400 in parts. If you don’t want to put the money in it, install a new Subaru belt and Subaru lower cogged idler. inspect the tensioner and other pulleys (just spin them and see how much grease is still in them). If you can DIY small things you can do those two items in an hour. they cost $100 and are the most likely items to fail due to being aftermarket or never replaced which that low idler rarely is.

This is another one I was meaning to post about ages ago. This swap is into a Williams Wildcat skid steer tractor. Pretty cool piece of kit. From factory it ran the Wisconsin V4 - a popular stationary workhorse engine of that era. Not easy to get parts for over here these days… so what’s an alternative? Throw an EA81 above the location of the old engine with a solid shaft connecting the two hydraulic pumps that are mounted on either side of the engine, directly to its crankshaft. This one utilises a belt to deliver power from the flywheel to the hydraulic pumps: Pics borrowed from here: https://austrak-wildcat.com/wildcat-mods/ And this is the Williams Wildcat: The V4 in place: front view, seat is an addition: Above two pics from here: https://austrak-wildcat.com/2013/05/25/alans-incredible-wildcat/amp/ Very low centre of gravity gave it an edge on inclines, you can drive one of these across the sides of hills that would be considered dicey at best in a regular tractor. Great for slashing hillsides with. If anyone happens to be visiting Melbourne in Oz, head over to Spotswood Science works - they have what I think is the last one off the production line in one of their display sheds. Many of them were construction yellow, which is what this last example is painted in. That’s it for me and creating/swapping Subaru engines into bits of machinery. Now curious if anyone else has any to share, given the lack of responses so far I’m guessing it’s a pretty rare thing to do! Cheers Bennie

here in italy they were called "GL" spec, mine was exactly same level of spec, electric windows, all other buttons seem to there, just one empty switch space. my old one was a 92, this one is a 93, both have the high roof bulge, makes for a very airy feeling inside, specially for someone who's 6'4" like me, wish it had cruise control but never seen it in really old Legs round here.

You’re right - not likely axles and outer joint symptoms are more common amd typically noisy. But inner joints are more symptomatically varied than outers and can exhibit symptoms without noise and before outers. It happens. I’ve seen it. And If they’re after market - they don’t need wear to be garbage they just need to be installed !! lol bad inner joints, or inners with old liquified or low grease (one common issue with new aftermarket axles) can cause shaking at specific speeds, driving straight, and no noise. “steering wheel shaking” can be ambiguous in terms of being more the drivers experience or the axle/wheel or vehicle chassis. not a bad idea to consider given they’ve been chasing this already and our incomplete history/feeedback about the car.

I have...and I definitely have some advice. Make sure you buy from an importer who doesn't require the engine to be put in by a mechanic to have a valid warranty. #1 most important. Make sure they do compression tests and ask for the results. If you go that route plan to swap your intake over to the new motor. I wouldn't worry about wiring necessarily unless they cut wires on the engine side as with the lower mileage they are likely in better condition than original. However many will go with the intake anyway. If you are not sure what kind of issue your engine is having and it is possible it's a fuel delivery issue. Then buy some remanufactured/cleaned and flowmatched injectors and install them. The JDM ones are likely clogged from drying fuel. Change the valve cover gaskets and sparkplugs before install. Check that the flywheel or flexplate bolts are torqued to spec. Plan on doing a full timing belt and water pump. Probably not a bad idea to pull the oil pan, inspect for dents, make sure the oil pickup tube seal is good. They are often left sitting on the oil pan for long periods of time and it can be damaged.

I've bought one, and plan to buy a couple more. I just bought on eBay, paid with a Credit Card through PayPal. This gives me 3 separate avenues for accountability/charge dispute. Read the sellers feedback history, make sure they have a decent history, and have been selling engines for some time (I noticed at least one seller that had a decent rating, but almost exclusively on small parts...). Best practice is to swap the intake manifold and all wiring over from the old engine. The link that @idosubaruposted is for a bare, new shortblock. This will have a 1 year warranty. Call your local dealership and ask about remanufactured shorblocks. These are about the same price, but come with oil pan, pump, water pump, thermostat, etc, and come with a 3 year 36k mile warranty.

actually, crap axles can, will, and have caused symptoms like this... and as for it not happening right away.. i can see that happening with crap axles... chilly at night, grease in the joints gets stiff... initial driving the grease is still stiff so joints are not sloppy, but slowly warms up, allowing any excess movement in the joints to become noticeable. makes perfect sense to someone that has had it happen. bad tires (out of round) is possible, but i dont see that not showing right away... definitely have bushings, tie rod ends, etc looked at.. and yeah.. have the mechanic show you specifically what the problem is before having things replaced.

Have you tried http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Impreza/1998/ ?

There’s so many different ways to do this - it’s almost infinite. It’s hard to say much with confusing general questions. Whatever you do - Get a new Subaru turbo only. Or equivalent OEM supplier. The choice of block and internals and transmission depends how much power you’re aiming for, how much you’re willing to spend, and *how long you want the engine to last* - which everyone says they want but actually spend no time considering. First you wanted a 97 DOHC which isn’t turbo, nor ideal. Then you wanted forged internals which isn’t necessary or beneficial on a non turbo. Then later you say turbo. You also said “little modification” but now you’re mentioning turbos with forged internals that you’ll be installing yourself - which will require rewiring and controllers with extensive cross member and exhaust overhaul and/or cutting/welding. Then you mentioned upgraded transmission. That’s the opposite of “little modification” price tag of your implied goals has ranged from $500 to $15,000 depending how we interpret it. Id work on narrowing down your goals here to something chewable and manageable. One of the best subaru builders is in your state, Superior Soobie in Oregon could do it for you. You’ll get top notch work and more importantly it’ll last.

22mm 1/2" drive socket on bolt with end of 3-foot breaker bar on driver's side ground (if right hand drive) then bump starter. Make sure to pull the coil wire FIRST!

Click and Clack once recommended a new driver be given a nice square car like a Volvo (or Forrester?) so they can turn it into an oval.;-)

just gonna throw this out there... one of my Legacy's acted similarly & it turned out to be a bad O2 sensor.. it would start and idle fine, but get into the throttle and it would stumble and what seemed to be a misfire... took a long time for it to finally throw a code, tho Was about at my wits end with the damned thing when it finally got around to throwing the code.

Make sure both surfaces are clean and flat. A good set of precision ground stones or diamond hones can is the best way to see if the deck/head are smooth, and a good precision straight edge and a flash light to see if its flat. When a head gasket is tightened on an aluminum head/block, the fire rings dig into the surface. You have to get that section back to being smooth and flat. If you have a good set of precision ground stones, you can blue that section of the head/block and run the stone over to see if its still there.

Absolutely. Nobody here thinks any less of you for asking. For my part, I too first came here with a "stupid question" that I couldn't get a straight answer to elsewhere, and I stayed because this is where I found clarity. So forget the greasy kid stuff. Get over your nerves and do it the way they tell you to do it. If you start winging it, that's when you're going to be stepping outside of established parameters and getting into trouble.

B and I met travelvw last Friday in Missouri for some trail riding and camping. Within an hour we got to a paved stream crossing. Got enough water in the car the power locks on the Outback stopped working. Did some trail riding that night, saw some small waterfalls. Travelvw got stuck in a mud hole in his Marty McFly Toyota so I drove around and pulled him out. Didn't seem to hurt anything, he said later it was just an inch below the doors and trans/tcase vents. Camped out on a little hilltop, it was warm at night and rained quite a bit very early in the morning. The next day we followed travelvw around. Saw more little waterfalls and some excellent views. He talked us into trying one rocky climb that we probably would have just driven around on our own. I was able to get most of the way up the hard way in low with center diff locked but the ledges were spaced just right so I'd get all four wheels stuck in muddy ditches and couldn't quite make it all the way. Took an easier line and was able to make it up. B tried it in the Forester with the dual range a couple times, couldn't get quite as far, and took the bypass. Went to an old school bus that's been parked for a long time. Went to a campsite along a big stream and parked the cars, travelvw's friend R showed up and we all rode in travelvw's truck across the stream and a little farther down the trail to a cool waterfall. While we were walking around I saw a baby snapping turtle floating helplessly down the stream. Thought it was a leaf at first. I was able to grab it out of the water and showed the guys. It was playing dead so I took it back to the campsite. It eventually started crawling again so B took it in the woods so we wouldn't step on it. Sunday morning we went to a trailhead and travelvw got in B's car and R got in mine. We did a loop we'd done Saturday just to show R the trails and what the cars could do. More cool rocky climbs and great views. Stopped at an old cellar to make PB&Js and check on a few things, just tightened up some bolts. Kept going and got to a badly rutted out muddy section (with an easy bypass). Travelvw was going to just drive around it but when I told him I was going to try it he had to. After about half a dozen tries he made it through. I made it most of the way through and to keep from backing up and packing my skidplates with mud travelvw pulled me the rest of the way through. Got to an old farm and a strong flowing spring and big stream. Left front corner on the Outback was starting to make a lot of clunking noise. At first it just seemed like the control arm bushing(s) was worn out but then we noticed the subframe was cracked. Turned out later the inner tie rod was worn out too. It was supposed to rain an inch the next morning so we wanted to be fairly close to gravel so it wouldn't be too challenging to get out. Travelvw found a moth with a cool paint job. Monday morning I wanted to get off the trails before it started raining so we aired up and ran from the storm. Corner was a little sketchy on hard right turns but mostly unnoticeable on tarmac. Stopped at a little city park on the way home to get out of the cars and make PB&Js. While I was making them I saw something swimming in the pond, it looked like a carp. We looked at it closer and it turned out to be a common water snake. Got some good pictures of it and saw another one swimming around too. Power locks were working again by the time we got home. Overall a great trip, no major issues, each of us only got stuck once. Lots of low range usage. Probably the trip we've done where low range was most required just to make any of the major trail loops. Used it less than 5% of the time but absolutely required many of those times. Also made it a lot easier to hit some of the steps and obstacles slower than we would have in the past to go easier on the cars. By the end of the weekend I figured out that it's difficult to unlock the center diff (all other shifting super easy) so I only locked that when I really needed it, which was quite a few times. Travelvw wants the low range and long travel but is thinking he'd add 2” of subframe and strut spacers. This would reduce a lot of rubbing, banging, and scraping on those trails. I told him just stick with his Toyota for that kind of stuff but the lift would definitely have helped our cars down there. Already welded the crossmember and removed the control arm to replace the bushings. We're planning a couple of trips to the UP in late May / early June, if anyone's interested in joining us please PM me.

Much simpler, given they made 2006 Baja XT's, to just buy one and start with that. The Baja XT is very similar to a similar year STi except with a 5MT. Cost to do this swap is probably in the neighborhood of $10k in parts to do it the right way. You'll always be money ahead starting with a turbo chassis from the factory. GD

https://japanesenostalgiccar.com/miyagi-subaru-ff-1-wagon-restoration/

lol, one of the first cars I drove regularly had a sticking throttle, being a dumb teen, I took to driving barefooted so I could use 'toe grip' when need to pull the pedal back up. When my sister told my Dad, he just came out and lubed the linkage to fix it. ah...good times, good times...

So remove the throttle return spring?? Cheers Bennie

pretend there is an egg, that must not be broken, between the top of the gas pedal and the bottom of your right shoe.

MAF sensors are extremely sensitive. So sensitive that I can't even begin to illustrate it to you. You should endeavor to replicate the EXACT conditions of a factory intake and MAF sensor as much as possible...... The ECU has a VERY CAREFULLY defined MAF sensor scaling table. ANY changes to the filter box, bends near the MAF, or the MAF housing itself WILL result in incorrect and non-linear scaling. The ECU on a '93 is not capable of flash programming and thus not capable of ANY adjustments for MAF scaling. You will ALWAYS be best served by EXACTLY replicating the factory intake and it's air filter. Make sure all connections are clean and tight. There is NO PERFORMACE to be had without tuning of the MAF scaling. Which is not possible without a stand-alone ECU. LINK ecu does make a plug-and-play compatible ECU for this application. It is speed density and you can toss that manufacturer specific MAF and it's housing. GD

yup, that right there is your problem. You should be able to get closer to 300 miles to a tank full... (roughly 10.5-11 gals of the 14 gal tank) I am going to guess you are under 25 yrs old, right? driving like that is not doing your car any favors - wearing things out faster. Sure, it can be fun - in the right setting - but daily driving on city streets, not so much.

Thanks everyone - have a local interest who has a body shop and frame rack, he’s coming to check it out in the next few days. If he isn’t interested or doesn’t think it can be put right I’ll start working with folks on parts…

You sure it’s not light lifter tick? Cheers Bennie

They look like wave spring washers maybe? https://duckduckgo.com/?q=wave+spring+washers&iax=images&ia=images

hey, you stayed with and got it going. kudos

the backfiring through the intake sounds to me like the timing is still off.

you dont seem to understand.. you cant just buy stuff off the shelf for these like you can a SB chevy or whatnot, there is no after market for these, to be honest. the WRX/STI line is about as high performance as it gets, and if that is what you want, then that is what you should buy. you are not going to make a bog standard, NA 2.2 or 2.5 into a power house.

how many miles? how old are the struts? Is it bouncy or do you want flatter cornering? Has it been regularly heavily loaded?

Turn it over by hand. 22mm nut on the fromt of the crank. The side timing covers can come of pretty easy. The center section is a bit of work, but you can pull the crank sensor and see the mark on the tooth. Have you replaced the starter or starter contacts?

While you are 100% correct - it's a life skill that any self respecting man, woman, gear-head, etc should learn. So owning one for a while is a good choice. GD

Yes i have cleaned everything and even fixed the wires that are broke still just trips out and moves all over the place

check the vacuum line on the fuel pressure regulator for wetness/fuel. maybe try a throttle body cleaning? like the SeaFoam with the curved nozzle gadget. check the knock sensor for cracks. can you get live data or freeze-frame data? what are the fuel trims? ignition timing/knock events?

no, the Impreza is a completely different platform to the Legacy - the body panels are not interchangeable

won't do anything unless you want more underhood sound/noise.

For what it's worth I've now read that all the wiring should be there, module is different between manual and automatic.