carfreak85

Should probably add an engine skid plate to that list. That oil pan is ripe for the poking if they'll be traveling on unimproved roads.

Why are you using an impact wrench to install bolts? I doubt that moment of lapsed judgment killed your bearings (They were probably on their last legs anyway) but for god's sake, use common sense when reassembling things.

Yeah, the interior looks GREAT! Lightyears better than mine! MOAR PICS!!!

They are adjustable, but they aren't designed to be adjusted that far. The REAL problem is that there are cutoff plates mounted between the light source and the projector lens that are different on LHD vs. RHD cars. Even if you use up all the "adjustment" in the lamp, you can never correct for the cutoff being backwards. The only true fix is to retrofit U.S. spec projector assemblies from some other vehicle into the legacy projector headlamp housing.

I've seen some EA81 carpets for sale on eBay, via Australia.

Any updates on this BRAT?

Same idea as the factory flywheel-stay tool. I made one out of flat bar stock with two holes drilled in either end. One end slips over the engine stud, the other hole is captured by a clutch bolt in the flywheel.

His car is LHD... Different parts, I remember your photos. The LHD and RHD clutch pedals are different.

Well, I'll chime in, since I just solved this problem on my own wagon. The throw of the EA81 clutch pedal is not long enough to fully disengage the clutch. You need to lengthen the lever arm at the end of the pedal to match the EA82 clutch pedal's length. No, the EA82 pedal does not bolt to the EA81 pedal box. Do a search for a thread by me and you will find pics and info.

You're probably fine, what did the Blackstone folks say about it? I know they get a TON of business from the NASIOC crowd, so they should be able to compare to that population. These cars tend to wear pretty well, the problem area is under the hood. They make over 100 HP/liter (A massive number only a few short years ago), but tend to get the bare minimum of maintenance due to their humble origins. This thread discusses some of the "midlife" maintenance that should be performed on this platform.

I don't think you can order this part indiviually, even if you can still order the assembly it's part of. I recall another member having trouble with this and having to source an aftermarket FPR, that will probably be the route you want to take, if you can't source an OEM replacement. When people raise the boost, they generally use a rising rate FPR, or an adjustable RRFPR. This is the quick/dirty/ugly way to increase fuel on older turbocharged cars. On many newer cars you can simply ask the computer to deliver more fuel, but very few people have bothered to crack the codes for these ancient ECUs.

Good to know! Now I just have to decide if I stick with the crummy old EA81T or start saving my dimes for an EJ swap...

52 psi of fuel pressure seems awefully high for an EA81T, isn't it supposed to be around 38 or so?

Sad to hear another member has passed. This little forum has brought a lot of good people together.

Check out the forums at Bobistheoilguy.com. They love this kind of auto-nerdism and there are several chemical engineers who roam the forums.

Well yeah, most people don't track or modify their cars. Most people convince themselves they need more than they really do. That's why you see full-size 4wd pickups dropping kids off at school and old men driving Corvettes and Ferraris to play golf. We have both a WRX and STI in our family. We have raced both, used both as ski taxis and used both on the daily commute (Granted we have an '02 WRX and an '07 STI, this presenter was comparing the new stuff). If you like cars and enjoy the driving experience, there is no doubt that the STI will make you happier than the WRX ever could for innumerable reasons. If, like this host suggests, you just want an AWD car with above industry-average performance, the WRX is far and away the clear winner of the two.

I'm currently running a set of Ingalls camber bolts on the lower front position on my WRX. 2.5* camber, aligned by Firestone lifetime deal. Just follow the instructions that come with the bolts and you will be fine. I would look at your suspension before going any further and try to determine if anything is bent or buckeled and figure out why the alignment isn't even side to side.

I'm going to have to disagree. I'm currently scheming for an EJ when MY EA81T finally pops. This thread is pretty silly, IMHO, either you're open to the idea of an EJ swap or you aren't. All things considered, if you have the time/space/funds/enthusiasm, an EJ is the only way to go. More efficient, more powerful, more common. If you don't have the time/space/funds/enthusiasm, you will be just fine with the EA, just plan to be the last one to the party.

Sounds like it started in California....

PZEV started in California, but is also sold in any U.S. state that follows the California Emissions model (WA, OR, ID, etc.). It is essentially a fancy evaporative emissions system, from what I understand.

In case anyone is doing research on this topic in the future, here is how I fixed the problem. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/152674-ea82-pedal-box-into-ea81/?do=findComment&comment=1278581 From this thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/152674-ea82-pedal-box-into-ea81/

Better tires will do more to improve braking than just about any other modification. I've done everything you can do besides installing larger rotors on the front and my Yokohama A048s have done more than stainless braided lines, track pads, nice rotors or rear discs.

I gotta ask, why did you use road speed on the x-axis instead of engine speed?

No problem Crazyeights. Now, just becasue there are known problems doesn't mean that every engine will have trouble. For the EJ205 example. We have owned our 2002 WRX since new and the bearing started letting go at about 80k miles on the stock engine, finally failing around 90-95k. My close friend bought a one owner, modified 2002 WRX wagon that had rod knock around 120k miles. Yet another friend bought ANOTHER, unmodified 2002 WRX from an additional original owner, but sold it just shy of 200k miles with zero signs of rod knock (It DID seem down on power... His '94 touring wagon was nearly as fast, despite being down almost 90 HP). The first friend replaced the EJ205 shortblock with a hybrid setup (EJ205 heads, EJ257 shortblock) got it all fixed and popped a ring land on the brand new shortblock (His car was far from stock however). Why all the bearing trouble? It is a bit of a perfect storm. Subaru spec'ed the rod bearings too tightly in the EJ205 and government fuel economy standards have driven manufacturers to use low viscosity oils in their factory fills. Moral of the story? USE GOOD OIL! Shell Rotella T6 is widely available (Walmart, NAPA, etc) and endorsed by many engine builders. I have had great sucess with Redline synthetic oils. The rule of thumb is to use oil with good HTHS (high temperature, high shear) properties. LOTS of info on bearing failures, pickup failures and which oils to use on NASIOC.

I hate to say it, but pretty much any of the USDM factory EJ-turbo cars (and by extension, any homebrewed N/A turbos) will see an oiling problem at some point. EJ205 - Spun bearings (Usually on cyl. #3) <-- Personal experience x2 EJ25X - broken oil pickup, starved bearings (broken ring lands too [personal experience x1]) <-- beat the crack, replaced with Killer-B pickup