edrach

If the body is rust free, it's certainly worth the $100. Interiors are easy to come by if you have a Pull a Part near you. Also, check the gearbox and take it for a drive. Local PAP yards here charge under $200 for a complete EA81 engine.

Tex, I'd be glad to bring my Brat over to you. A picture (or the real thing) is worth a thousand words. However, Skip's description is as good (or better) as any. If it's not in the USRM, it should be. Anyhow, I'd go down to Bow Wow in Lynnwood and get the linkage adapter from them and only costs $10; you'll waste more than $10 worth of your time trying to fab something different. I also have a neat trick for plugging the ASV ports....I bought brass plugs which are a perfect interference fit inside the ASV and pressed them into the pipe. It's esthetically pleasing and does the job quite well.

If it's a sticky lifter, I'd suspect the more you run the engine the better it will get. A little seafoam might do the trick. Also, switch the manifold if you haven't already....qman's got the right idea there. It's unlikely you have a '97 or later EJ22 with a bent valve; and before '97 they were non-interference engines. If my EJ22 (a '91) has an EGR valve, I can't find it and I doubt they would add one on the newer engines. Lastly from what I know of JDM engines, they are usually pulled at 30 to 50K miles, well before any timing belt would normally break. My JDM engine came from a car that was "retired" with a bad transmission and had a documented 50K on it since it was installed out of the crate. Went into my car and has performed like a charm ever since; I just needed to replace a faulty canister purge control solenoid and run a can of seafoam in the gas to clear up a sticky IAC valve and all the odd idling and CELs were gone.

I have the answer for you. Go to the Emissions place on 6th Ave. South (about 1/2 south of Spokane St. On an adjacent street right next door to the emissions place you'll find a van parked with emissions testing gear inside. The tech is named Warren and he charges $40 plus tax to get your rig to pass emissions; if it doesn't pass he doesn't charge. He is state certified and very good at his job. If he can't get it to pass he can usually tell you what you need to change to get it through. I've run a dozen or more "beaters" and a few old Subes through his service. Make sure you bring the Failed emissions form. You can't go wrong with him.

I'd try releasing the hood release with a screwdriver first; if that doesn't work for you, I guess you can try removing the grill.

Legacy777 might know what that's for.

I have a set of the Premier wheels with centercaps and a set of the 13" Notched without centercaps if you are interested. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/80s/wheels2/wheels.html

The 165s should even fit a 4.5" rim.

Find a car with rear disks (any turbo, some GL-10s, some XT4s, any RX). Take the hub, rotor, caliper, old pads, AND backing plate. I also disconnect the brakeline near the rear swingarm so I can re-use the old brakeline. Save all the hardware in case you lose some working on your car. Make sure that you get the 2WD or 4WD backing plate to match your hatch (the backing plates are different). Take some rust penetrant like PB blaster and a knife to scrape off the rear hub before trying to pull the backing plate; this is usually the hardest part of the job. Good luck with the conversion; you'll find it's pretty easy and will be a great improvement to your Hatch.

Two comments: Why not pull the egr off your old engine and install it? Check the trouble codes to see what's causing the CEL. That will help you find the cause. JDM engines are usually pretty good; did you get any kind of warranty with the one you got?

It is non-interference; EJ22 engines were non-interference up to and including 1996 model years. Note I said model year and not manufacture date.

I consider myself pretty knowledgeable when it comes to buying a car, but I always take the car to Smart Service in Shoreline for a "pre-buy inspection." It's a $100 bill but well worth it. It's no guarantee that the car will be entirely trouble free but they can rule out the most expensive possibilities for you including torque-bind. You're in Redmond so Smart Service is only a short drive for you and I've never found a seller refuse to have the car inspected on the promise that the sale is done if it passes muster. http://www.smart-service.com/

If you're talking 13" alloys, the enkie spoked alloy wheels come in 5, 5.5, and 6 inch widths. Most common seem to be the 5.5s.

gemery10 has the right idea; then head for Pull a Part and get replacement cable (get a 2nd for a spare); they aren't too difficult to replace.

With all the cheap axles available at the local Pull a Part yards, you really should replace the one with the metal dust. It takes less than an hour to replace an axle once you've done a few (pulling them at PAP is just practice). You're welcome to keep running as is but you know that an axle might just break when you really need to use the car....Murphy's law will dictate it'll run fine until you really need it.

The '92 rear diff should be 4.111 ratio for your daughter's manual transmission. Same as my '91.

If you're near Bothell, WA stop on by. Safe trip.

I't suggest going back to the shop that did the work and have them check it out. It's not unusual for refurbs to fail shortly after install (search for similar posts). New axles are not cost effective; two good sources for axles are www.cvaxles.com or ccrinc in Colorado.

Spokane has a great Pull a Part yard and used diffs are under $50 if you pull them yourself. There are at least two members in Spokane who could help out your daughter on this.

Interference.

Try www.1stsubaruparts.com; call their 800# and ask for Jason. It's a dealer but will sell and ship with about 35% off list price. Good luck.

So how is $70 for an OEM alternator from a dealer (1stsubaruparts.com is a Subaru dealer) getting ripped?

If you have the hitachi distributor and need the ignition module (common failure item), I have a used good one for $25 if you need it.

No timing belt in your Brat if you still have the EA81 engine installed.

Brian, How about replacing the "O" in Coast and Show And Oregon with the Subaru oval emblem? Just a thought.