canajun2eh

Your starting problems were probably due to having flooded the engine. You shouldn't need to disconnect the igniter and then crank the engine. There's no harm in just letting the engine run while the lash adjusters fill up with oil. Essentially, you already did that with the repair procedure you described.

Replace the ECU. Troubleshooting the ECU or finding the reason it's causing fuses to blow is beyond the capabilities of most people. Before you do this, however, unplug the ECU, and see if the fuse still blows. If it does, you have a wiring problem.

Just have a wheel alignment done on all 4 wheels. That should actually be done every year.

If this thing doesn't have an ECU, it would still have a fuel pump controller. The fuel pump relay's coil sees constant +12v when the ignition switch is on. The coil is connected to ground by the ECU or the fuel pump controller when they see an "engine running" signal. Tach pulses (from the distributor) provide the "engine running" signal. If the fuel pump doesn't get any power, you might have: blown fuse bad relay broken wire from relay to pump broken wire from ECU or pump controller to relay missing "engine running" signal bad ground at ECU or pump controller bad ECU or pump controller The ECU or pump controller require the "engine running" signal so that the pump shuts off when the engine is killed by an accident. You don't want the pump spraying fuel all over the place when there's been an accident.

I'd replace that cam and cam carrier. When the assembly is removed from the engine, the cam should spin freely. If yours doesn't, it's damaged and probably not worth repairing.

Yup, that's a classic "bad alternator" description.

Helicoils aren't the right thing to use on stripped spark plugs. You need a threaded sleeve insert. These are solid steel, threaded inside and out. It's the same idea as Helicoil, but not made of wire. Because they're made of solid steel, you can use Loctite on the outside threads. They also provide a better seal than Helicoils. One manufacturer is TimeSert, and there are others. I can't tell you where to get them. Princess Auto Parts in Canada has a sleeve-type plug repair kit (tap, 4 different length sleeves) for CA $ 7.50. I suspect the kit is made by Lisle.

It's possible that the clutch plate isn't properly centered. There's a special tool that lines up the clutch. It's basically a metal rod that's identical in diameter and shape to the transmission input shaft. While the engine is out, you stick this tool into the flywheel, put the clutch plate on the tool, bolt on the clutch pressure plate, remove the tool, and then install the engine.

That's exactly right.

Fuel pump is controlled through a relay, which is in turn controlled by the engine control computer. The relay coil sees constant +12 volts. The coil is connected to ground by the ECU, when the ECU sees a running engine or the engine is in "start" mode. "Running engine" is indicated when the ECU sees tach pulses from the distributor. You have to solve the blowing fuse first. Disconnect the ECU (located under the parcel shelf in the trunk). If the fuse doesn't blow with the ECU disconnected, you know that the ECU is bad.

Re-check the timing belt alignment. I suspect that one of the belts is out by 1 tooth. (probably the left belt) Be sure to check the condition of the idler pulley bearings. You should not hear any clicking or ticking noises when you spin the pulleys.

If you're going to replace the water pump, you should replace these items too: Oil pump main shaft seal Front crankshaft seal Oil pump gasket Timing belts Little bent rubber hose at top of water pump O-ring at end of tube from rad to water pump Camshaft oil seals O-rings between cam carriers and head Fresh high-temp RTV between cam carriers and heads Valve cover bolt washers The reason for the timing belts is that you don't know the state of the ones that are in the engine now. The bent hose and the O-ring are things that can go at any time, and both are a pain to deal with -- especially that dinky hose. The rest of my recommendations just deal with curing any oil leaks that might occur.

I guess you have developed 20-20 hindsight. You should have been advised to replace that small bent rubber hose and also the O-ring at the same time you replaced the water pump. These parts are very inexpensive, but the labour to get to them is too much. Therefore, replace the parts when they're accessible.

DO NOT use RTV sealant to stick that oil pump gasket in place. If you get sealant anywhere else in the pump, you're screwed. Instead, use Vaseline or other grease. The reason for using grease or Vaseline is that this stuff will dissolve in the engine oil if you get any inside the oil pump. You won't end up with clogged oil passages as you would if you used RTV. That's also the reason for using grease/vaseline to stick the valve actuators in place when you work on the heads or cam carriers while the engine is in the car. BTW: Subaru has designed the engine compartment so that you CAN remove/replace the heads while the engine is in the car. The side rails have holes so that the middle row of head bolts can be removed easily. Been there, done that, on 5 EA82 engined cars, including an XT. The only time you'd need to pull the engine is if you need to work on the rear oil seal or if you need to do major work on the flywheel or clutch.

There have been quite a few posts on this subject. From what I've read, hairline cracks between the valve seats are nothing to worry about. When the cracks are more than 1/32" wide, you have cause for concern. To be really sure, you need to remove the valves and inspect the ports. If you see a crack inside a port, the head needs to be replaced.