Numbchux

The fact that it's felt in the steering wheel has me thinking it's not the transmission. I just replaced a CV axle with a completely failed inner joint, and it could not be felt in the steering wheel any more than anything else (it shook the whole car....). I've been chasing this vibration for years, and because it wasn't felt in the steering wheel, didn't even occur to check the front axles. Boot was fine, and it only happened once driven at least a few miles. Does it change at all when on or off throttle? Brakes? Pull to one side more than the other?

That's puurrrrdy

The ECU, and emissions system in the car is not expecting an EGR. So you are just keeping it factory. Blocking off EGR on a system that had it is different.

Yep, Take the wire off the starter solenoid and run it to trigger the relay.

I've put a hot shot relay in a couple subarus with no trouble. As long as it's triggered by the factory switch, it should all be fine. The system doesn't know if it's directly triggering the starter solenoid, or a relay. It's possible that the original problem was a failing neutral/range switch or wiring to it, and you are now getting a second symptom.

Should be a yellow tag on a battery cable with instructions. But yes, if the battery is disconnected, the parking lights will flash. Ignition "ON" and press that button for 1 second resets it.

A lot of variables. Be more specific with your questions, and you will get more specific answers. All EJ engines share essentially the same basic dimensions. So they will all physically fit almost identically (with the exception of the last few years of the EJ253, 2010-2012 or so, where the motor mount configuration changed a bit). 2.2s were made 1990-2001. So the difference comes in the electronics, which can be changed. But ASSuming you want to use the ECU and wiring from your donor car (cheapest option), the rule of thumb, is the older ones are simpler, and the newer ones are more complex. 1995 (for the 2.2) added OBDII, which makes them far more easy to diagnose, as any off the shelf code reader can connect to it. But much newer than that adds fuel tank sensors and stuff that will be hard to replicate/bypass in the new chassis, so you will likely always have trouble codes.

IIRC. The viscous LSD unit is separate from the spider gears. If you were to cut that shaft in half, it would be like an open diff.

Yes, both fans should cycle in test mode. I would use a test light or multimeter to backpin the fan connector while in test mode and see if it's getting power. Might just be a failed fan. The fans really only make a difference under 15-20mph. So with those symptoms, I would question the gauge reading. Might be worth plugging a code reader in and seeing what temp the ECU sees (separate sensor), and/or using an infrared thermometer to test. Might be a grounding issue causing both problems....

quick google search turned up this

We saw many at the dealership. Causes a misfire. Wasn't uncommon to have cars towed in from other shops that had thrown a coil, injector and more at it trying to "diagnose"/repair a misfire, and it was a dropped guide. Never heard one make a noise.

Knock knock, your new engine is calling. I bet you have very little oil pressure, as it's all blowing out past your rod bearings. Thicker oil and/or a high volume STi oil pump might buy some time. If the guide around the crank pulley is too tight, it will rub the text off the back of the belt. Was this clearance set correctly? Mitsuboshi makes belts for most Japanese OEMs. They do not sell them through the major parts stores, so many people don't realize they exist, but if you start watching, you'll see their name, or logo, on most belts (just did one on my Honda Odyssey yesterday, the original belt said Honda on it, but had the Mitsuboshi logo). Gates used to use quality Japanese bearings, but started phasing lower quality ones in probably 10 years ago, becoming increasingly more common. You don't have to search very hard to find wrecked engines due to Gates kits. With a little homework, it's not hard to find quality Japanese components from reputable sellers (NOT Amazon or eBay, lots of counterfeits) for a reasonable price.

Just looks like an old belt, to me. Certainly time to change it. But if it were really rubbing, it would be far more badly damaged. That just looks like the scuffing from the crank guide. Aisin tensioner, Mitsuboshi belt, and Koyo or NSK idlers only for me.

The tensioners I've had fail were entirely unaffected by temperature. I supposed it's theoretically possible that it's only failed a little bit, and it might change as it warms up, but I would think as soon as it cycled through it's range (which is what the noise is, the piston bottoming out and the housing hitting the block), the fluid would be gone, and it would be spring only.

Rod knock comes from connecting rods, not pushrods. EJ251 is not a rotary engine, so they absolutely do have rods.

Sounds like rod knock. Piston slap goes away as the engine warms up. Timing belt tensioners are unaffected by engine temperature. Rod knock gets worse as the engine gets hot. Put a real oil pressure gauge on it, and see if your oil pressure drops as the noise happens....

Speed and neutral signals both help with drivability, preventing the engine to stall when coasting and such. Not a major change, but super easy to hook them up, so just do it. Yes, both fan signals are ground signals to trigger relays.

Maybe try a different dealership. Also, spend as much time on the freeway as possible during the consumption test. I know when I worked at the dealership, we would have claims denied (by Subaru), and then a few days later, SOA customer service would call us and have us Goodwill a repair. So a call to them would certainly be an option. Quick google search turns up 1 (800) 782-2783

Blinking CEL, Test mode? My first EJ swap cranked a lot before starting. I didn't have the start signal wired to the ECU (12v while cranking), this changes the enrichment (choke) while starting. I bought a dry cell battery and a block heater, as it would struggle to start so badly in the winter....then I hooked up one wire. But I think I had a code for it.

Yea, technically here in MN it's a "Prior Salvage". True "salvage" stamped titles cannot be issued plates. The inspection to convert the title from "Salvage" to "Prior Salvage" has nothing to do with safety. They just want to see the receipts for the major parts purchased (to verify that nothing is stolen). Whatever the verbiage. Once it's totalled, no warranty of any kind applies. Recalls, however, still do (had the Takata removed from our '04 VDC).

Yea, the oil consumption suit happened about 6-7 years ago (right in the middle of my time at a Subaru dealership), extending those engine warrantees to 100k miles. And yes, the rings in the replacement short blocks are tighter, and fuel mileage will suffer. My mom's 2012 Impreza has a salvage title, and so is not covered. It's now over 200k miles, and I think burning a quart of oil every thousand miles, or so. And it's intermittently throwing a P0420 code (cat converter efficiency, likely due to all the oil gone through it over the years). And yes, I've heard from several sources I trust to switch to a synthetic 5w30.

Must be your first car Or, maybe you got a reliable EA82. Thank every deity you can think of, and don't mess with it. It will be more expensive, more work, slower, and less reliable than a non turbo EJ Not a chance that it has the same compression ratio as a turbo.

AFAIK, the warranty for a DIYer is generally 30 days, and they just give you another engine. And they expect to get theirs back in exactly the condition it was sent. As such, I waited to order mine until I was 100% ready to put it in. I had all my gaskets, timing components, etc. on hand. The old motor was out with the intake manifold off and ready to use. So I swapped everything over (kept everything I removed from the JDM engine in a box) and was ready to start test driving about 3 days after it arrived.

I've bought one, and plan to buy a couple more. I just bought on eBay, paid with a Credit Card through PayPal. This gives me 3 separate avenues for accountability/charge dispute. Read the sellers feedback history, make sure they have a decent history, and have been selling engines for some time (I noticed at least one seller that had a decent rating, but almost exclusively on small parts...). Best practice is to swap the intake manifold and all wiring over from the old engine. The link that @idosubaruposted is for a bare, new shortblock. This will have a 1 year warranty. Call your local dealership and ask about remanufactured shorblocks. These are about the same price, but come with oil pan, pump, water pump, thermostat, etc, and come with a 3 year 36k mile warranty.

Cruise control is disabled whenever the check engine light is on, in those cars. Pretty long and well-documented diagnostic process to the P0420.