Numbchux

OK. first, 250 hp at the crank or wheels? that's a big difference, and will drastically effect the setup. at the wheels, then yea. what tex said is the cheapest way to get a reliable 250 out of it. BUILT 2.2 shortblock (pistons, rods, re-bored, etc.), USDM WRX heads, intake, wiring, and ECU. We did this on my buddies '95 impreza last summer, awesome combo. he's runnin 8.8:1 compression and a TD04 right now, hasn't seen a dyno yet, but I bet it's in the 225awhp range, and plenty strong enough for 250 with a little more work. I'll do this wiring swap, plug and play for $500. at the crank? that could be done with the 22t/251(or 253, whichever yours has) combo. But you'll need to upgrade your fuel system (pump and injectors, converting to parallel fuel rails isn't necessary, but not hard either and offers a bump in reliability). And management.... Don't go PP6 when turbo'ing an N/A car, it's great for adjusting fuel trims, but terrible at timing. If you're doing piggyback, get a GReddy EManage Ultimate (aka EMU). But I would highly recommend a standalone, I'm partial to the Link system, that's what my built, blown 2.2 will be running off of if I ever get around to putting it in something. But any of them will do. This can be done just with some wiring at the ECU, keeping the rest of the harness. I've done this as well, I can do it for you if you want, but it's much easier in the car (don't have to pull the dash). if you're looking for 150awhp. throw 5psi-ish at your stock system (better with N/A compression). assuming it's a MAF system (I don't remember which years are which), it'll do a great job of compensating for a little boost.

low compression means you can run a lot of boost *without worrying about detonation* (there are still other issues, that will NOT be able to solve on stock management). it will still have a lot of lag. Even the big power builds usually run 8.5 or so. N/A 2.2 pistons will work. they usually run 9.5, so they'll probably be 9.2 or so with 2.5 heads. that's pretty good for a low-boost setup. but really, it'd be easier/cheaper just to get an N/A 2.2 block. the 22t just has a harder time cooling (closed deck means most of the coolant passages are full of aluminum, there's a reason they don't make those anymore).

anything's possible. with a LOT of cutting, welding, and painting. only thing bolt on is going to be other '95-'99 legacies.

I just went to advance auto parts and picked up a generic one. stuck my AFR gauge in it, grabbed some double-sided tape, and called it a day. I never took a picture of it, because it really wasn't anything to look at. obviously aftermarket, but it wasn't ugly either.

pulling the cluster is independent of the ECU. decent EA82 diagrams are hard to come by. the only one I've found that's 100% reliable is the plugs right at the cluster. also, no. they don't all go to the ECU. temp, oil pressure, and tach signal come from other sources. so you'll be tracking things down from a few places, and size, shape, and quantity of plugs on the rest of the harness changed a few times, so you'll have to be sure to get the right diagrams. I don't know, I haven't done it any other way. but the ones I've done were pretty simple, and had the correct number of surprises (none).

I'm quite sure that WJM sold his RXs. which is why he isn't around on here anymore.

been done hundreds of times. there's a great write-up on it in the USRM (it's old, so you'll have to go to page 2). proportioning valve is only an issue on non-EA82 cars. they're definitely different than EA81s. but if you're just replacing the drums on an EA82, you're set.

I would test-fit first. my only concern would be too much offset, and the inside of the rim hitting suspension components and such. trucks tend to use less offset to more evenly transfer weight to the ground, whereas cars use more to put less strain on the bearings. also, center hole. I have no idea what the sizes on either would be....but I've had that problem mixing and matching wheels on other cars. lug pattern is the same, but the center hole doesn't clear the hub.

"involved"? just take it out. 4 plugs and 3 (?) nuts holding it on the steering column. un-plug it, stuff the wires up out of the way, ziptie the EJ one where it was, done.

I have not seen videos of this car being beat up. the videos I saw were definitely a different car. This car actually has USMB history before AA got their hands on it. it was owned by Hillbillyles in missouri, and it had a 4" BYB kit on it then. I don't remember exactly how it happened, but the short version is, it rolled backwards off a retaining wall. He had it fixed, and then ebayed it, and that's how the AA guys got it. they first used it to take a bunch of pictures of how their lift differed from the BYB one, and then retrofitted their kit to this car. and then it became the showcase car for their parts, bumpers, wheels, etc. although the black graphics came after they sold it. thread about it: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=22936

agreed. this business with the ammo can just sounds like more work for something that might be as effective....

my point exactly. you've seen posts about it being done. and then you start a new thread asking if it's been done. next time click "search", instead of "new thread". you know the search terms, and you know where to look......

seriously. don't knock it unless you've tried it. the front sway bar does so little on the street. also, if you're at stock height, you won't see much improvement by removing/disconnecting it. and if you're lifted. you've got no business driving like you need sway bars.

so, where did it come from? You just randomly guessed at some springs from some other cars and asked?

I still don't understand how that happened, but it obviously did. do you think XT6 rod ends would solve that problem, though? I'm not clear where you were having the issue, so I'm not sure how to prevent it.

I'm sorry. I don't think there's any way to say this without being rude. So if you're not ready to hear it, stop reading now. Seriously, you're talking about a major modification to your car, that will require some creative wrenching and parts buying. and you obviously have an extremely basic understanding of how cars work. ABS has NOTHING to do with calipers. EA82s and XT6s don't have rear knuckles. struts and hubs are completely unrelated. You have a ton of research to do. And I would recommend that you jack up your car, pull the wheels off, and spend some time seeing how things work. And then go do the same with an EJ car and see what's different, and how they work. and then look at the pictures of the crossbred kit, and the detailed write-ups here about the 5-lug swap, and how that's all going to work.

"only one fan". as in, only one fan is working? or you only have one. EA82s without A/C only have one, although I don't remember if it's electric or mechanical. I only worked on one EA82 without A/C, and the fan setup was not original on it. pretty much no way to check if the water pump is weak. other than by eliminating everything else. it will still move water around, just not quite enough. like I said, my '88 had the same symptoms yours does (well, it would overheat idling, but that was in August), and was completely cured with a new water pump (it also didn't have A/C or tbelt covers, so I did it before tstat or radiator flush).

:-\

anybody who is serious about actual performance and not just spending money on stuff that looks cool doesn't buy "off-road" sway bars. they're a joke. if you're that set on having them connected for the street, remove the bolt from one end-link. that will render it useless. if that's too much for you, replace the bolt with a pin of somesort. That's what I did. then the first time I disconnected it, I didn't feel like reconnecting it for a short drive on the street. it was never connected again, removed it all together not long after that. it's a very small change.

definitely lies. the car will not know the difference. it will just think you're going a little slower than you are.

no. those hatches are heavy, just because they don't hold it up doesn't mean they're not helping!

vice grip will chew up the shaft, and is hard on the seals. pretty good way to get it to totally fail. a jack/broom handle from above the tail-light works well without putting any more leverage on things than the lift struts do anyway. they are not adjustable to the best of my knowledge. I've never seen any way to do it....I'm betting something is bent. find out what it is, and bend it back. or, if I can get the back open, I'll pull the hinges off my parts wagon and you can have them for shipping.

First off, what is the car? it doesn't matter TOO much, but things are a bit different between engines. I would try: Fan radiator tstat water pump in that order, but mostly because of difficulty to replace/diagnose. really, I would suspect the pump before radiator and tstat. as mentioned, the fan is super easy to check. when it's getting hot, take a peek. if it's working....great! the fan in my XT6 is not functional, so if I let it idle it gets warm. having the heat on helps a bunch, but I still have to be careful. again, radiator will not be evenly hot if it's causing the problem. you may have to let it warm up, and then turn the engine off so you can poke your hand in around the fan without loosing a limb. If your radiator is cooling evenly, and fans working, you likely have a coolant flow issue. my old lifted '88 had this problem, it would get hot at idle. the combination of low rpm and low airflow was just too much. a new water pump fixed the problem. you might try flushing your radiator out before diving into the water pump. but if it doesn't have cold spots, it's likely not the problem. also, a tstat limits flow at all rpms, so the car would likely still overheat while driving. especially under load. But, it's a cheap part, and easy to replace....so I'd try it before the water pump. if you've ruled out the rest....then it's time for a water pump. details on this are pretty dependent on the motor.

I don't know for sure if they are the same. But I know that they're interchangeable. But why? just use the EA81 rod ends. the taper is the same size as XT6 and EJ knuckles, but they're shorter. then you won't have to cut anything down.

what struts? GD ('02-'07) impreza sedans have a wider track, so the struts are slightly different. using those struts on other subarus will make camber adjustment difficult. I had no problem with axles bottoming out on my wagon. setup was '92 fwd legacy axles, struts, and knuckles. XT6 control arms. RX trans. the XT6 shaft is definitely shorter than EJ ones though. so axle interference fits with your symptoms.