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.

Dark brown smoke is usually caused by too much fuel. The fuel/air mixture is too rich. It can also be caused by a cold catalytic converter. Since the problem only lasts a few seconds, I wouldn't worry about it. I'd be more concerned if the problem didn't go away after the engine was at normal operating temperature. Blue smoke is oil burning. White "smoke" is coolant, probably due to a leaking head gasket, but there are other ways in which coolant can get into the combustion chambers. Black smoke is too much fuel. You COULD try different brands of fuel. Some will produce less of that brown smoke than others. Try for an Ethanol blend (not more than 10 percent), if you can get it. Ethanol blends burn much more cleanly than non-ethanol gas. When you try different brands of fuel, you need to do your checking after you've filled up for the 2nd time.

Cargo cover from 92 Legacy wagon will NOT fit 95 Legacy wagon. They changed the cabin design in 95.

You're looking at a timing belt tensioner pulley with a broken bearing. The tensioner pulleys should have been tested during timing belt replacement. I'm sure they were making noise. Noise is BAAAAAAAD. Bearings are replaceable. A good bearing supply shop would have been able to match the bearings (probably type 6005 -- that's what's on the XT6). You'd need 2 (1 for each tensioner) on an EA82 engine. 3 on an XT6. Bearings cost CA$ 12.00 each, including tax here in Ottawa, Canada. Labour to press out old bearings and install new is around CA$ 40.00, including tax for both tensioners.

The fuel pump isn't supposed to see constant 12 volts. The fuel pump relay is energized when the ignition switch is in the "start" position and also when the engine is running. "Engine running" is defined as the pump controller or ECU seeing tach pulses.

It's probably the ignition switch.

Oil pump replacement is not very difficult. You need to remove the timing belts, since the pump is behind the driving belt covers and is driven by one of the belts. IF you're replacing the oil pump, you should replace the timing belts as well. You should also consider replacing the water pump, even if it's not giving you any trouble right now. Also, there's a small bent rubber hose at the top of the water pump, that links the water pump to a metal tube which supplies coolant to the heater. This hose should be replaced, even if it looks OK right now. Don't forget to replace the O-ring at the end of the large tube that fits into the water pump. I'm recommending all the cooling system work at this time because (a) the parts aren't very expensive, ( the water pump will probably fail soon, © you need to remove the timing belts to replace the water pump, (d) you need to remove the water pump to replace that small rubber hose, (e) that small rubber hose can soften and fail at very inconvenient times. Are you SURE the oil pump needs to be replaced? These things last a very long time. I've had 5 cars with EA82 engines, all went over 400,000 km without ANY work being done to the engine other than water pump and timing belt replacement. Your problem is very likely to be a bad wire leading from the oil pressure switch, or perhaps the switch itself. I would start by carefully inspecting the exposed parts of the wire. If in doubt, replace the wire and its connector. Replace the oil pressure switch -- that's a LOT less work than replacing the pump. Remember that on EA82 engines, low or almost non-existent oil pressure when the engine is running at low speeds is normal. My owner's handbook even has a paragraph on this subject. If you see at least 20 psi (sorry, don't know the metric equivalent) when the engine is warm and is running over 3,000 rpm, everything is normal. If you're still worried about low oil pressure, just use thicker oil. I usually use 20W50 oil in the summer (temperatures over 20C), 10W40 in spring and fall (temperatures above 0C), and 10W30 in the winter (temperatures down to -35C).

Right. 1.25 thread pitch, 14 mm diameter.

It sounds as if your fuel pump isn't producing enough output pressure. Check the input voltage at the pump. Pressure regulators cannot increase fuel pressure -- that's a function of the fuel pump. Pressure regulators can only reduce pressure.

That depends on how the fuse was tested. Normally, you have to pull the fuse to test it.

Be careful if you get something more recent than a 95. You need to be sure to get one with a 2.2 litre engine; there were lots of reliability problems with the 2.5. Avoid the "Brighton" model -- it's VERY basic, and you'll miss all the bells and whistles you had on your '90. The 95 Brighton doesn't even have remotely adjustable outside mirrors. I absolutely HATED the used 95 Brighton wagon we bought to replace our 92 L wagon. What a piece of s..t. Our 95 L sedan is very good (no problems at all), MUCH better than our 2004 L sedan. The automatic transmission in our 2004 is garbage, compared to the one in the 95.