Fairtax4me

If he was cranking it and any water got in the engine the damage there is already done. Hopefully no water got in. You do want to change front and rear diff oils, and change the auto trans fluid. Trans will need to be drained and filled 3 times to get through all 11 quarts. And you probably need to do that twice if the fluid has water in it. For electricals, make sure everything is completely dry. Spray contact cleaner on the ECU connector to prevent corrosion. Then hope it works out.

Could go to Home depot and get 1" cast iron pipes and run them straight back from the heads! True duals!

Find out where the leak is coming from. Front, back, side? Too many places where these leak. Could be fixed in an afternoon, or you could spend a weekend pulling the engine.

Possibly, although the 18 never came in a legacy here, so we would have to compare Impreza exhaust systems on 22 vs 18 equipped cars. Cat and rear sensor have no effect on A/F ratio. Rear sensor is only a check sensor to see if the cat is functioning normally, it has no effect on fuel. Au contraire! A 1 7/8" O.D. pipe has a 13% smaller internal area compared to a 2" O.D. pipe.

Is it making noise? Clanking? banging? Snapping? Have you checked the gear oil for big chunks of metal? Manual trans oil generally comes out a bit grey anyway, especially if it hasn't been changed in forever. Movement of the transmission case when engaging a gear is normal. There a lot of weight that needs to start moving, tires axles, driveshaft. If the engagement of the clutch isn't smooth you'll see plenty of jumping around, just like if you stall the wngine trying to start. The mounts on the engine and trans are designed to absorb that movement so you don't feel it inside the car. Otherwise the whole car would jerk around the same way. Ever drive a riding lawnmower on a bumpy surface? It bounces around everywhere because it doesn't have anything to absorb motion. The whole mower has to move up and down over every bump. Point is, if you have just a clunk when turning, its probably an axle. And the rest is just inexperience or dramatization to make the issue seem worse than it really is.

You think the metal is any thicker or the paint job is any better on the "Truly amazing WrxSti"? The Impreza platform (what the STI is built on) is an ECONOMY CAR. It's lighter and cheaper to save cost. The only thing different about an STI is they put some leather seats in it and a bigger engine. The thickeness of exterior body panels is no indicator of safety.

Auto or manual trans?

High NOx is because of a lean mixture. Check for vacuum leaks, and check all of the breather and PCV hoses for splits. Did you replace the front O2 sensor or the rear sensor?

Double post...

Stock ej22 pipe is 1 7/8" O.D. Had to weld a section onto the front of the resonator pipe on my 95 and it was a trick finding a pipe section small enough to jam into the resonator. I wouldn't want anything larger than that for an 18.

Don't discount the rusted filler tube. The plastic shield traps dirt and moisture which is what leads to the rusting. The purge valve can get crudded up with carbon and cause problems. Often it causes the valve to not seal properly, or stick slightly open. This allows vacuum from the engine to draw on the evap canister all the time when the engine is running. But it also causes the evap system pressure to drop lower than normal while the ECU is trying to pressurize the system in order to check for leaks. The purge valve is under the number 3 runner of the intake manifold on the right hand side. It is normally closed, so it should not allow any air to pass through if you try to blow through a hose attached to the valve. If you can blow through the valve it is not sealing and should be replaced. The valve can be disassembled and cleaned and sometimes work properly again. If you find carbon in the purge valve you should replace the canister as well, and blow out the line from the canister to the engine with compressed air.

You don't have a u-pull-it yard nearby? I'm pretty sure the valves changed between phase 1 & 2 heads.

Most of the fuses in the interior panel switch on when the key is turned On. Do you want constant power or switched?

Could probably just get one imported for about that much and wouldn't have to do any work. There's also the option to use an EA trans. If you're handy you can make your own bellhousing adapter.

Outback struts give 1", Forester springs give 1". Outback struts give clearance to run up to about a 28" tire IIRC. Which will give you another 1.5-2" compared to a stock size tire. You could also find a 2" lift block kit, but that requires much more work.

The contacts in the starter wear out with age and use. This is the most common issue with these starters and is the primary reason for the "click" a few times and then turn over. Contacts are fairly cheap to replace, but there a couple different types and you need to remove the rear cover on the solenoid to see what kind you have. Doesn't take long but some people prefer to just replace the whole starter. I'm weary of any aftermarket starter because I've had too much trouble with them. I'd rather put a set of contacts in and know that what I have will work. For the shifter you can generally jump between Nuetral, drive, and 3rd or 2nd depending on which shifter you have, without pressing the button. With the shifter in Park press the button to go to Reverse. From Reverse you can slip to Nuetral, then drive, then sometimes 3 or 2 (depending on which is directly past drive). Press the button to go to 2, then to go to 1. With the shifter in 1 you can slip it into 2, then 3, then Drive, then Nuetral without pressing the button. To go to reverse press the button. To go to park press the button. The shift lock will prevent the shifter from slipping from Nuetral into Reverse unless you press the button.

From what I understand there isn't a whole lot of wiggle room in these heads for extra porting. Port matching (grind out the openings to fit the shape of the gasket) is about the most I would do, and just knock down any really rough spots, but I wouldn't go hog wild on it. Might let out a few ponies on the top end. I don't see any compelling reason to spend hundreds of dollars on valves when you can get a set of junkyard heads for like $100.

Have to remove the seat and the track. Then there are a couple bolts or screws which secure the hoop to the seat track. Gonna be a junkyard only part I think. Easiest to get the whole seat.

Volume is fine if the pump holds pressure under load. < the reason you drive the car with the pressure guage hooked up is to see if fuel pressure drops off. If pressure drops its because pump cant move enough volume to keep pressure up. Rent a pressure guage from the auto parts store if you don't have one.

Then scratch that idea. Junkyard heads, delta cams. Cheap valves are cheap valves. Wouldn't trust them as far as I could smell them.

All the performance pistons I know of are low compression. Go grab some phase 2 2.2 heads from a u-pull and build a Frankie. Not sure how well that combo would accept delta cams. The phase 1 25D block with 2.2 heads needs a tune in order to deal with delta cams. 5 second rattle doesn't sound like piston slap. I'd pull the oil pan and wiggle the rod ends. Could have the very beginning of a bad rod bearing.

Have you checked signal voltage at the ECM? If you have 5v at the sensor, reference voltage at the ECM is fine. Did you check for resistance on the ground wire at the sensor? (Needs to be unplugged)

I think the code will go away if you figure out the power issue. I would check fuel pressure first. Some years around that time had an issue with a cap on the fuel pump assembly. The cap fatigues and breaks and bleeds fuel pressure back into the tank. Pics here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/130624-2000-outback-fuel-pump-assembly-metal-cap-is-broken/ That thread also has a link to a replacement part. Subarus option is to replace the entire sender assembly.

You already have a 251 short block. Pull the heads and check the pistons. They're probably the same as the spares set you have.

At least he/she is honest! I would only consider it as a temporary solution if I needed to drive the car to get home, but some people drive for months with no thermostat. Sometimes people just don't have the money to fix it right away and have only the one car to get around.