blitz

Do Impreza's not have the air bleed screw on the radiator? I don't see them on either of mine.

destey, expound on this comment a bit. To me it would imply that the alignment is changing dynamically ala tie rod ends. Did you grab each tire in a bear hug and check for play by rotating it left/right around it's steering axis?

Along with the other suggestions, just for shznits & giggles, check the front swaybar to make sure it doesn't have a clean break in it. Also check the swaybar & endlink bushings to make sure none have dried-up and fallen out.

The dog story is just a cover and you really did piss the seat in a drunken stupor.

I'm a bit concerned about the accuracy of the info. Impreza Outback & Outback Sport are listed as two different vehicles ...which wouldn't bother me if the recall info for each were at least identical.

Found it: http://www.imakenews.com/lng/e_article000463013.cfm?x=bK2ryfS,bK2ryfS,w Give this a read if you get a chance, maybe you can make more sense out of it than I can. I swear it basically sez: a higher price-tag stuck on motor oil of possible dubious spec. Let's just call it "licensing relief".

Most oil manfs DO offer some diesel-only products which shouldn't be used in a gasser. That's why I like to make a point of calling the mixed-fleet lube "mixed-fleet lube". Here's the sulphated ash levels in common Exxon/Mobil products: M1 5W-30 - 1.0% M1 10W-30 - 1.0% M1 0W40 - 1.2% M1 15W-50 - 1.3% Delvac 1300 - 1.3% M1 Truck & SUV - 1.35% Delvac1 5W-40 - 1.35% I'm not sure how large of a difference those numbers represent, but it doesn't seem like too large a disparity. IIRC, it's the phosphorous content (via the ZDDP) that messes with the cat, but phosphorous levels of SL fleet-lubes are typical SL levels (800-850 ppm). Unless you've got some massive oil-consumption, those numbers shouldn't be a problem. Most racing oil for gas engines has about double those levels.

2nd paragraph: "Mobil Delvac 1300 Super 10W-30 and 15W-40 also meet the API SL specification for gasoline engines and mixed fleets." For obvious reasons, the marketing dept feels it's important to have the "Tough Truck" rhetoric separate & up-front.

Some folks prefer light oil, others prefer heavier oil. It's just a preference ...use what you feel comfortable with. At steady highway cruise in really cold winter air can result in as much as 30*F lower sump temp than the same steady cruise in a high summer temp situation. That's equivalent to jump in one SAE grade.

Something about the Sube motor just seems to make for a good match with the 15W-40 ...for warm climate anyway. It doesn't cost a whole bunch, keeps the inside of the motor clean. The stuff with moly helps quiet piston slap. I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it below 40*F. n16ht5, try it if you get a chance, I doubt you'd notice any significant change in fuel mileage. I had it in a 2.2 this past summer and hadn't noticed any loss in fuel economy.

Try a 15W-40 HDEO Fleet oil like Delvac 1300. Some folks refer to it (erroneously) as DEEZUL AHWL. :-\

That WAS a good tip, thanks. If the thin coating of anti-sieze I applied to my crank snout the last time I had the pulley off doesn't keep it from welding itself back on, the tap'll be the first thing I try.

Were all four replaced, or only two? If two, which ones?

Scott, is it affected at all by outside temperature? Also, did it just begin suddenly one day out of nowhere?

I wish I still had the link. It was a news item on a petroleum industry website and was worded in a way that kinda made it difficult to understand. After 3 readings I sorta got it. In a nutshell, it allows refiners/blenders a lot of temporary leeway to do whatever they decide "prudently necessary" to meet volume. I don't think the article mentioned any cutoff date associated with the "temporary" nature of the plan. That's a large detail missing right there. My sceptical nature suggests greed. e.g. Charge more to build a crappier product more or less indefinitely. Just another "coincidence" in a string of about a hundred over the last few years I 'spose.

Seems like a lot of the Subes assembled for North American consumption in recent years spec a 4.111 final drive, whereas the 4.444 number is more prevalent elsewhere, Ozzieland, NZ, etc.

Stock up on affordable quality motor oil now. Very shortly, prices will be half again as high as they are now ...oh yeah, one other little thing, motor oil is currently heading towards the shelves which has been "allowed" to not neccessarily meet the labeled specs. Hang on tight folks, looks we'll be embarking on a magical mystery tour very soon.

I gotta agree, your numbers seem kinda low. With reasonable driving, my city mileage is 23 (summer) / 21 (winter). If I hold to 70 mph, I'll return 27 mpg highway (A/C on 50% of the time). What kind of tires are you running? When I switched off the original RE-92 for RE-950, my mileage dropped about 5%. Cornering improved 100%.

The book lists the thermostat "starts to open" temp as 172*F and the fully-open temp as 196*F. 184*F falls right in the center, so I'd say your coolant temps look normal. One thought would be to use the scanner to check for ignition retard while driving. If the timing is getting bumped back for any reason, that'll kill your fuel economy.

Funny guy.

All in all, the EZ-30 looks to have been a solid performer up to this point. No slapping or gasket issues.

A competition multi-angle valve job increases the effective duration. Free-flowing, straight-through exhaust with a medium diameter to hold velocity goes without saying. Some numbers (just off the top of my head) would be something in excess of 320 ft./lbs. over the entire range 3000-5000 RPM, but no greater than 280 HP at the top. It would fall flat on it's face at 5500 and wouldn't rev past 6000 if you tried. You could miss gears left and right and not lose the motor. That's good right? Without the cam advance, everything would move up by about 500 RPM. To get the big horsepower numbers, you'd have to go with bigger cam and bigger turbo. Check out Techworks Engineering Cams.

Just some rambling thought here to chew on: My knowledge is limited, but my intuition is good. I have a sneaking suspicion that the stock 2.5 SOHC cam profile advanced 4-6 degrees, in combination with slightly heavier springs and great attention to detail regarding the head head-work (ports, chamber, seats) will give you the best overall compromise between cost, reliability and FAT upper-mid torque/minimal lag. Use a medium-size turbo spun to a higher pressure in combination with a really good intercooler setup (this includes outside airflow to the I/C). Top-end HP might be down a bit, but turbo lag is a bigger enemy in a 5-speed AWD boxer-porker. Not having to spin to the redine will save the botton-end too. It's a good thing to have a motor that's forgiving of low-revs coming out of a corner, gets you through a season with no breakage and minimal refreshing. There was someone offering adjustable cam gears for the 2.5 SOHC, but I lost the http. A re-weld, aggressive-ramp, high-lift cam in combination with heavy springs is gonna make more top-end, but is gonna need more babysitting & TLC. Cobb's are re-welds. I think you'll bust the factory 2.5 STI shortblock before you bust any of the heads. What heads were used on the 22B? Re-worked 2.2turbo castings? I'm not sure. Here's links from my collection. These are from about two years back, there's probably several others worth checking out that I don't have here. There's gotta be nuggets in there somewhere. http://www.xcceleration.com http://www.renickmotorsports.com/oscommerce/catalog/ http://www.boxer4racing.com/ http://www.techworkseng.com/ http://www.axispowerracing.net/ http://www.pdm-racing.com/products/subaru_corner.html http://www.modacar.com/car/Subaru/Impreza/ http://www.forcedairtech.com/ http://www.rallispec.com/ http://www.mrtrally.com.au/

I think that if you bolt on the 2.2 heads, the compression is gonna jump a bit (smaller chamber). Not sure by how much. The 2.5 SOHC heads will work, but at the very least, re-working the exhaust ports would be a good thing. Not sure about the cam profile. Cobb claims that their "Street Performer" is a good match for a bolt-on turbo kit. I think they'll work you up a custom grind based on a specific need. Turbo 2.0: 240*/240* - 109.5 LDA N/A 2.5: 232*/236* - 113.5 LDA When I compare the WRX 2.0 against the N/A 2.5 SOHC, the biggest significant difference I can see is opening the intake 9 degree sooner and closing 1 degree sooner for the turbo cam. The exhaust valve is started 3 degrees earlier and held open 1 degree later.

Out of lazyness, I've always just done a regular, frequent petcock drain followed by a refill with 50/50 (demineralized of course) ...never had any cooling-system related probs with that schedule. Growing up, I used to watch my dad do the whole shebang with the prestone valve spliced into the heater hose, then check the concentration. Seemed like a lot more work than necessary.