DaveT

If yours is rust free, I'd stick with it. Reseal the engine. coolant can get burned a few ways - intake manifold gaskets, throttle body gasket, headgaskets, cracked head. I haven't heard that cracked heads are common on legacies. I am more familiar with the older models. Miles don't matter much to me. The one in the ad, the engine could have a small problem, or could be totally shot. In these ages and mileages, I just assume (and it has been my experience ) that the engine is due for a reseal anyway, no getting around that. Still way cheaper than car payments. Buy the dead one as a parts source maybe, if it has the same engine and driveline as your current car.

Oil pump shaft seal. Possibly one of the o rings that seal it to the block? If the tick is caused by the pump, it's due to air getting in through the old seal. It takes a long time for the air to get out of the lifters. It takes a long time for the atf trick to clean stuff, too. I haven't run 20w 50 in an ea82. Too cold here half the year, and the timing belt doesn't need extra load. Typically thicker oil raises pressure on the gauge, I don't know what effect it may have on the lifters. If it's only one that is noisy, it may be stuck or failed, and just need replacing. Oil pressure drops to near zero at idle normally. There is no load on the engine, so not too big of a deal. The gauge on the dash is not super accurate. To be sure you have to get a mechanical gauge.

Fel Pro head set and conversion kit. The from dealer, only the intake manifold gaskets and the 2 reinforced o rings for the oil passages to rhe cams.

I added the 4wd parts to my 87 fwd. It was rust free, which is rare around here. I had all the 4wd parts off similar cars that I lost due to body rust. Mostly bolt on, a little bit of fabrication is needed.

Oil pump shaft seal. 10w 30 is too thin unless you are in very cold climate. +1 try the atf trick.

Watch the level like a hawk. Check every day, before first drive. The level may go down a small amount as the last air gets out, but it should level off in a few days. I don't know these newer models as well, but with my ea82 engines, this discription of events means new headgaskets sooner or later. Idiot light for temp Is useless. Overheat due to low coolant is bad. Best way to avoid is check often. Check the upper hose by squeezing, listen for water sloshing, and the giggle pin. And check the overflow level.

The battery is likely dead. With the charger on, you should be able to get lights and other things to run, maybe not all at the same time. If the battery was new when parked, maybe it would recover. If it was past a few years old when left, I'd expect it's toast.

Are there any steel wheels that would fit? Preferably similar size? It came with Subaru wheels as far as I know. They are not obviously low profile tires.

Yes, you always have to check shipping charge before ordering. eBay, Amazon, anyplace, really. My experiences with the few low price high shipping charge orders, was typically they are the worst to deal with if something isn't right, so I don't order form those type of sellers, unless I think about it a lot, and accept the risk.

ok, sounds like I have another project... I have to find an extra matching wheel to make this practical .

The front plastic piece has a few scuffs on the sides below headlight area. What if anything do I need to do / deal with to repaint? I've done paint on steel body panels before.

I've never had a car with alloy wheels before. New tires, in about 2-3 months, they loose significant amount of air. My almost 30 year old steel wheels on my older wagons hold air a lot longer. I will have to check the stems, etc. with soapy water, but is there anything I should know about particular to alloy wheels? 2 of them leak down faster than the other 2. Also, related, the car has tire pressure warning light. It seems to be complaining now, even after I aired the tires back up.

Coolant temp sensor is something to check.

Check the bearings, axle nut, etc. For axles, I buy used oem, and repack and reboot.

These engines are not made for high torque low RPM running. I suspect any mods that increase power in that realm will cause problems with connecting rod bearings.

They get chewed up by running with dirt inside, start to seize.

POR15. just remove loose rust. The stuff is incredibly tough. On the inside, non visible areas, Waxoyl. On less you are certain that the rust is only on one side, you have to get at it from both sides.

To test fuel pressure, get a t fitting and a fuel pressure test gauge. Connect after any filter in the injector supply line.

I know ea82 spfi best. Earliest one of those I've seen is 87. What engine and fuel system on yours?

Idle air control valve. Coolant Temperature sensor. Check them and thier circuits. I doubt it is spark related.

That's odd. Near zero at idle is normal. The only thing I can think of that would make intermittent readings like you describe is electrical connection between the sensor and the meter on the dash. A leak that dropped pressure to zero while driving would empty the oil pan pretty quickly.

Hard to tell from here... I have had a bad axle make a pulsing pulling when it got bad enough. If the wheel has play, that's something else. The CVJ could strip out, and the wheel bearings would still be solid. But you would not be going anywhere with one side open / unloaded.

check oil, ATF, gear lube. Check the cooling system. very important to watch the condition of all of it. Yes, find out what is in the fuel tank. I've run some pretty stale gas in mine, but it was known to not have gunk, or water in it. Mixed with fresh gas.

Damn autocorrect. ... I have read a lot..

A regular EJ 2.2L is about 40% more horsepower than an EA82. More than that - and I'm guessing - the rest of the driveline won't handle well.. I have t ea f a lot, and considered doing the EJ s a p. If I went forward, I would get an entire donor car, it just the engine. You need the harness and ecu, etc.