88RxTuner

Possibly.. but I think the Frontiers have the hubs set too far inboard, and if these fit the Frontier then they may stick out too far on your Subaru. Definitely worth checking out, though.. Email the guy and have him measure the depth of the back of the wheel, from the inside edge of the rim to the hub.. if it's close, get them, cause that's a screaming deal on some nice wheels. Pictures dont definitely show what the offset is, though. 88RxTuner

<<sheepish grin>> OOps... that's right. I was thinking of the 3 lines when I typed "0", but forgot there is another "0" there! lol@me Very easy to check cam timing, takes less than an hour including beer/smoke/look at the girlies/check out the hot car/whatever else... Failing ignition components will generally run WORSE at higher RPM due to cylinder pressures and loading which makes the ignition have to work harder. However, it's always a good idea to make sure your ignition components are in good shape, and make sure the ignition timing is set correctly. 88RxTuner

I may have it backwards, and be mistaken about positive/negative offset...and If I am, Thanks for correcting me. But in any case, the hub of the wheel needs to be closer to the outside of the rim. If you have a 6" wide wheel, I should think there will be at least 4" between the INBOARD edge of the rim and the hub of the wheel. Sorry for the mistake, and I hope this helps! 88RxTuner

Have you checked your O2sensor readings? It sounds like you are fairly capable, if you havent, please do. Use your multimeter, tap into the signal wire on your O2 sensor and check the voltage output. Bouncing .300-.700v or close to it is normal. Stuck under .400v means you have an relatively large air leak, and are running lean beyond the computer's ability to adjust fuel delivery, and should probably spray some brake cleaner or ether around your engine to find out where it's sucking air. Over about .800v COULD mean there's a minor lean condition and the computer is adding fuel, but usually it means you are running somewhat rich, i.e. too much fuel or not enough air. That would be the first place I would go after ignition timing, which it sounds like you have already been through and had plenty of advice on. +1 on re-checking the basics... Plug gap, EGR system, vacuum hoses, etc... If you haven't already. Hope this helps! 88RxTuner

That's what I thought, too... I guess the different part #s could be different brake line brackets or something like that...? Anyone have some first hand experience with interchanging EA82 struts? How about rear struts? Which cars came with the "adjustable ride height" struts? Thanks! 88RxTuner

+1 on checking for debris or clogging inside or in front of the radiator. Yes, 2 years on a radiator can DEFINITELY cause problems, especially if there are mineral deposits in the Radiator or Engine, or poor/ infrequent cooling system maintenance has been performed, such as sitting for 18 months... Just because the engine isn't running doesn't mean the chemical reactions that cause deposits and mineral sediment are not happening... When you run the A/C, it pressurizes the gas in the system. This makes LOTS of heat... That's what the condenser in front of the radiator is for. Now, lets take an average day. 80degrees outside, driving along, 80degree air going into the radiator. Just fine, even for a partially clogged radiator, to dissipate enough heat. Now, turn the A/C on... That condenser, which sits right IN FRONT of the radiator, gets up to about 150- 175 degrees, sometimes more. Now, you dont have 80 degree air going thru the radiator, you have 125-150 degree air going through there after heat transfer from the condenser. This will Drastically alter the heat transfer out of your radiator, and if it is not performing 100% it may not be able to give up heat fast enough. Look into the radiator. Have it checked out, Rodded, or Replaced. GeneralDisorder has a very good point when he says fix it right or pay the price... 200.00 for a radiator, or 2000.00 for an engine or head gasket job? Wont hurt to check into the gauge possibly being off, either.. My RX goes to the red at 205 degrees... Not very hot, but the gauge is off. It's fairly common. Hope this helps... 88RxTuner

Okay. I cant seem to come up with any DEFINITE results for this problem. I need to know what EA82 front struts are interchangeable. Supposedly, they ALL should be, right? Everything else is the same... But I keep coming up with like 4 different part numbers, some for GLs/DLs, some for GL-10s, Some for XTs, Nothing seems to have a listing for my RX... I need struts for my 1988 RX, AWD. Do the XT(4cyl) struts interchange? Do the GL/DL struts interchange? Do the GL-10 (non-air) struts interchange? I would Think so, but if they do, why the 4 different part numbers for the same right side front strut? Need to know what will interchange with my car. ARRRGGHHHH!!! I hate shopping for parts. Thanks for your help, people... 88RxTuner

Tried the Nighthawks, Tried the Silverstars... I now have Silverstars in everything I drive that doesnt have "auxiliary Off Road Lighting".... Silverstars rock. They are kind of pricey, and Yes, they will burn out sooner than a regular halogen, Specially if you use them for Daytime Lamps. I usually just run my parking lamps during the day... I went 1 year and 3 months on the last set of Silverstars in my RX... Course, there is that other option... "auxiliary Off Road Lighting"... Hey, if nobody else is on the road, it's okay to use the 800w mounted on the roof rack, right? lol 88RxTuner

+1 on cam timing. Very easy to get it incorrect or have the belts slip while tensioning. If you pull the end covers off and set the crank at "0" according to the marks on the FLYWHEEL, not the balancer, then look at the cam timing marks, One should be STRAIGHT UP and the other STRAIGHT DOWN. If one or the other looks not quite straight (and there are notches in the timing cover to align them to, both up and down, if I'm not mistaken) then I would strongly suspect that's your problem... Hope this helps! 88RxTuner

Honestly, without flaring the fenders, you should probably keep your wheels to only 6-7" wide with about 4-5" negative offset (hub is closer to the OUTSIDE of the wheel). The hubs on Subarus are set up for "dished" wheels, with the wheel hub almost as far out as the outside edge of the wheel. You dont want to put the outer edge much past a couple inches outboard of the mounting flange. If you run wider wheels and more offset, that's more wheel inside the wheel well and it will be closer to the inner fender, and probably rub when you turn. Wider wheels with LESS offset will stick out farther and lead you to need flares, as well as probably rubbing on the outer fender. I wouldnt run much wider than 6" wheels on a stock body, but I dont really have a lot of "applied" experience... Maybe someone else has been there and done it with something wider... Hope this helps! 88RxTuner

I have never had to pull an engine to remove an item from behind the flexplate. Generally rocking the engine back and forth will be sufficient to dislodge item and it will fall out the bottom, either onto the crossmember or to the ground. Check and see, your engine MAY have a cover plate on the bottom. If you cannot SEE the ring gear on the flexplate and the bottom of the torque converter when you look up at the bottom, you will SEE a sheet metal cover there. There are 2 6mm bolts which hold the cover on, these are sometimes tricky to access. If you need to remove the cover, it is simple to remove the lower engine mount nuts and the torque strut, then simply lift the engine a couple inches without disconnecting anything. In the event you have to pull the engine, it's fairly simple to do so. Access and remove the air box, intake tube, and torque strut. Depending on your engine, you will have either 4 or 8 bellhousing bolts including 2 studs/ nuts all the way at the bottom. If you have 8, there will be one under the starter that requires you to remove the starter to access it. Remove these 8 fasteners. Access and remove 4 flexplate to torque converter bolts. This requires you to turn the engine over. Always rotate clockwise when viewed from the front (i.e. same as engine turns when running) to prevent slack in the timing belt and possible skipped cam timing. Yes, this is quite possible. Fit a pry-bar, screwdriver, or whatever else BETWEEN the flex plate and the torque converter. Gently pry the converter back into the transmission to disengage it from the flexplate. Careful to do this gently, as you do not want to bend or damage either piece. Remove the lower engine mount nuts that come through the crossmember. This may or may not require you to remove the exhaust Y pipe (nuts hold the Y pipe onto the cylinder head. ) At this point, you should be able to SLIGHTLY lfit the engine to get the engine mount studs out of the crossmember holes. This will allow you to rock the engine forward about 1.5 inches and still have the engine mounts sitting on the crossmember, so the engine wont fall. If at this point you still have not recovered your item, it is a matter of wiring harnesses and vacuum/radiator/fuel hoses that will be obviously holding the engine back and the engine comes right out. Hope this helps, and good luck! 88RxTuner

Hello, I have to agree, do your mechanical skills qualify you to do turbo swaps? Not necessarily difficult, but experience is helpful, and if things dont go together right, bad stuff can happen to your engine... That said, if you feel up to it, here's a fairly cheap and easy swap for you. I dont know if it qualifies as "aftermarket", but the stock 2002-2003 WRX TD-04 turbo is a very simple, straightforward installation, and can usually be had very inexpensive as well. You will need: The turbo TD-04 The up- pipe for this turbo, or the flange from it Any WRX downpipe you choose to use The Intercooler for this turbo. I got all my parts in trade for a little bit of labor, I have found the same parts for total less than 300 bucks before, used of course. I have since built a complete header for my car, but the first stage of the build went like this: I took the factory up-pipe for the VF7, cut off the flange, used the flange/ up pipe for the TD04 and welded it back together after measuring how high the turbo needs to sit. After that, it's a matter of bolting everything together and making some mounts for the intercooler. You will need to find some silicone boots to go from the intercooler to the intake manifold, a little bit of creativity is required but not much money... Worked for me! If you are not skilled enough to weld it all together, have your local exhaust shop perform the welding, and you can do the rest of it. P.S. Do not part it out.... Good luck! 88RxTuner

Sorry for the rant. As stated above, I would verify the general mechanical condition of the engine before delving into the "turbo doesnt work" merry-go-round... Start with the basics, and do your research on turbos. Read books, blogs, websites, tuner magazines, etc. Use Google. Expand your experiences through text and pictures. "Turbo doesnt work" could be something as simple as bad exhaust gaskets or a hole in the up-pipe. It could also be 'my engine has no oil pressure' or 'my engine has such low compression it wont run well enough to spool the turbo'... Start with basics. Make sure the engine is worth putting another turbo on. 88RxTuner

I tend to disagree with the "EA82T is crap" mentality. Mine has served me loyally and faithfully, notwithstanding the RIDICULOUS amount of abuse I dish out... The rest of the car seems to have weak links, such as admittedly crappy electrical and the limits of the drivetrain, but the engine has never once been an issue. But, that said, YES. It costs money. I was smart enough to invest it in the right spots at the right time. Someone gave me my RX with blown HGs. I spent the money, got new Gen3 heads, GOOD head gaskets, did all the work and installed steel threads in the block, used GOOD head bolts, made sure my cooling system was up to par, installed a second radiator fan, basically did everything I could possibly do to ensure a long and happy life. I change my oil every 2500miles, replace my coolant every 20,000. I replace my timing belts at 40,000 and re-tension them every 10,000 or so. I plan on pulling the engine at MY convenience around 70-75,000 miles and doing the head gaskets again, because I'd rather do it when I want to than when it craps out on the road someday. I've never once had an issue with the engines, and I agree totally that this engine reflects directly on how much time the owner devotes to it. So, YES. They are high-maintenance. YES, they can cost money. But they are not crap... in my opinion. The only 2 engines I have never been able to blow up (of the cars I've had, which are many... and I drove/drive them all the same) are my Suzuki 1.3l in the Samurai and the Subaru EA82T in my RX... But I only have about 40,000 miles of 7500rpm no-clutch shifting, over-boosting, going lean, pretending it's a dune buggy,wet burn-outs, running rutted bumpy desert trails at 70+ mph, getting wheels off the ground and accidentally putting the needle on 8000rpm more than a few times, and generally beating the ever loving SNOT out of this engine since I did the HGs... We'll see! Oops, time to do timing belts... I'll get on that next week. I dont want to start a flame war here, 'specially not on someone else's thread... but Why do people have to go around saying something's crap when that opinion may not be shared by everyone?? YOUR opinion may be that these engines are less than stellar. But Mine isnt... and the guy down the road doesnt think so... and maybe the guy who is buying the car can turn it into something better. Why is the "crappiness" of this engine relative to what the guy is trying to do? He found a cheap RX.. That by itself should be treasure enough. Live long, and prosper. Invest your money wisely and this engine will treat you fairly. Neglect it, and it will become the bain of your existence... 88RxTuner

First of all, verify good mechanical condition. Does it start and run? Drive smoothly, without chugging or bucking or misfiring? If it does, does it have any funny noises, grinding, whining, vibration, exhaust leaks, etc? Is the coolant full, or low? Does it have any major leaks? When you look at the engine, is it clean, or a huge ball of goo? Check engine lamp on? Do all the buttons and switches do what they are supposed to? How about maintenance records? Had timing belts lately? This is important... Do a compression test and basic tune up. Plugs, wires, cap and rotor, fuel and air filters. Chances are, it's been a while. As for the turbo... First of all, is it THERE? It will be on the passenger side, rear of the engine compartment, and connected to the engine with exhaust pipes. It will probably have tin heat shields around it, and there will be 2 water lines, one hard oil pressure line, and one large oil drain line on the bottom. If it drives, does it have any power, or is it a gutless slug? Does it puke smoke out the tailpipe? Does the engine rev up freely, or is it acting choked up? It should go to 6000 rpm without too much trouble, just make sure you warm it up a little first. Is the turbo leaking oil or water from the fittings? At this point, it would be helpful to find a boost gauge or something similar, I use an old-school fuel pressure gauge that goes from 30"vacuum to 10psi of pressure, get one at Kragen/Autozone/Napa for like 15 bucks. Hook it up to one of your vacuum ports on the intake, run the line into the cab, and drive it. Does it make pressure when you step on the throttle? or does it go to "0" and stay there? Get back to us... 88RxTuner

Do the Nissan / OEM Subaru turbo injectors have a higher flow rate than the N/A injectors? If so, switching back to the N/A injectors may actually make your problem worse, IF it is indeed running lean. The turbo ECM will have compensated for higher flow injectors by turning down the non-boost injector pulsewidth. If you combine that with lower flow injectors, that will actually make the lean condition worse, I think. But, if it's running rich instead, that would help by leaning it out a little bit. Get a can of carb cleaner, starting fluid, brake cleaner, etc, run a good-sized vacuum line from the intake into the cab, and have an assistant cap it with his thumb. Go for a drive, and have said assistant spray the juice into the hose while driving/ creating the symptoms. If the hesitatioin/bog/running problem lessens, it's lean and needs more fuel. If it gets worse, it's rich. If it doesnt change, it's likely it's not fuel-related, possibly timing or mechanical. +1 on possible cam timing issues if it's popping back thru the intake. Are the sprockets different between the turbo / N/A cams? Alignment dowels in different spots? Excessive back-pressure would cause it to stumble and hesitate as well... especially on a MAF system. Just some thoughts. 88RxTuner

From what it sounds like, the smoking issue is not going to be fixed with capping the vacuum lines. Do a compression test. Save yourself the wondering and contemplating, start with basics. If the compression test comes back less than ideal, and its the rings that are worn out, that would explain the smoking... I'd make sure the engine is OK before I worry about the trans. Hope this helps! 88RxTuner

It's one of your Hydraulic Lifter Assemblies, or Hydraulic Lash Adjusters, or simply HLAs. They use oil pressure to adjust valve lash automatically. When one of them is 'bad' ( I use this term loosely, cause you'll probably retire before it actually fails..) it will bleed off oil pressure inside it, which creates more valve lash, and it will start tapping. It's a Subaru thing. The reason the cycle repeats itself? They spin. The head has an oil pressure galley that goes into the bore. The HLAs have an oil port on one side with an oil groove that goes all the way around, supposedly ensuring no matter where in it's spinning it is, oil can get into that hole. Well, that's not always the case. When it spins around to where the holes line up, it gets full oil pressure and pumps up the HLA, making the tapping noise stop. When it rotates away from the pressure hole, depending on how much carbon and crap is in the oil groove, it may not get enough pressure to pump up, and will start to bleed down. This results in excessive valve lash, and the tapping noise. When it spins round to where it lines up the holes again, it pumps back up and the noise stops again... Thus repeats the cycle. Another possibility is that the O-ring on the oil pump is sucking air, but this will lead to fairly consistent tapping across the board, and it wont stop or cycle. It's pretty normal. I havent heard many older Subarus that dont have lifter noise. My advice is to ignore it... You could throw some QUALITY oil treatment like Sea-foam or Lucas in there, and if it doesnt fix it, dont worry about it unless it becomes dramatically more pronounced. Hope this answers your question! 88RxTuner

He meant that possibly, the Charge Relay has bad contact points... It's a possibility. This could lead to your original wire not having any voltage on it. 12v is adequate. There should not be any resistor in-line. The choke pulls off when the bi-metal spring in the housing heats up and un-coils, operating the linkage. It's supposed to get hot... How hot is a matter of opinion. It shouldnt be too hot to touch, but it shouldnt be cool, either. If it's cool, it means the spring is not warming up and the choke will not pull off. If it's too hot, as stated above, it's possible that the spring is shorting out or drawing too much current... Hope this helps. 88RxTuner

Mine's disconnected.. I found that when doing reverse 180s in the sand, if you're going backwards, declutch to shift and tap the brake pedal to lighten the front end and whip it, it engages the hill holder... and screws up the whole ballet... That and it seeps brake fluid... 88RxTuner

Possibly a stuck shift fork or damaged synchro inside the trans... Have you tried shifting it while it's rolling? If not, try it... Does it move in first gear? YES, it's worth splitting gears!! If not for the improvement in driveability (and there IS and improvement, once you get the shift pattern down...) , it's still worth it when camaro next to you hears you shift 4 times while he's still in first gear!! HAHAHAhaa ((The RX has both shifters right next to each other, so it's real easy to bump HI-LO with my elbow while shifting with my hand...I can split faster than I can shift normally.))

To the best of my knowledge, the RX and the Loyale struts are FUNCTIONALLY identical. Yes, the RX has a higher spring rate, but that shouldnt matter because you're changing struts, not springs.. I would source some inexpensive GL/GL10 (non-air-suspension) struts, and put them next to each other.. I believe the only difference is maybe where the brake line bolts up to it?? Correct me if wrong... Adjustable Wagon shocks work on the rear of an RX... 88RxTuner

Sorry my idea didnt work... Apparently Naru has a better grasp on electronics than either the RadioShack guy or ME...it was just a thought. The optical dizzy can be found in just about every EA82 form 1987-1991, I think. Someone correct me? Any car that has the same type of "transistor" ignition with that stupid coil-bracket-mounted-transistor thing will have the optical distributor to fit your car. I would have had a spare dizzy to sell you, but it went into my car when it had electrical fits a lil while ago... and seemingly fried everything from the fusible links to the dizzy and transistor. I should be hesitant to think that the dizzy is bad and the car still starts before it dies... If I'm not mistaken, the ECM uses those signals to initiate fuel and spark, even while cranking... You never did give us a clear list of sypmtoms. Maybe you could get back to us on that? 88RxTuner

Consequently, man invented Bull Bars... I hate deer... Unless they are on the barbeque. Venison Jerky rocks. Better luck next time.. If you catch it from the neck up, it doesnt spoil the meat... and usually does less damage. :-\ 88RxTuner

My suspicion is that the LO lamp switch has either developed a particular liking for that spot on the shifter travel or the contact for it has worn it's own groove into the linkage. The switch is a simple push-contact, normally off, when you move the linkage to "LO" it presses on the switch and closes it, thus illuminating your lamp. The downside is that after some number of years, like almost 30, this rubbing on and off will eventually lead to some sort of wear. I had an issue with my RX, when going into LO the lamp did not illuminate at all, and found that the contact for the switch had worn so far as to not push the switch all the way closed.. a used junkyard switch fixed this. There may be an adjustment on the switch itself, Not real sure on this. Someone with more experience may be able to intervene on my behalf? :-\ 88RxTuner