Nug

Unfortunatley, the only way to test the tensioner pulleys is to take them off and give them a spin. They should spin a long time, and have no roughness or tight spots. Nothing leaking? Odd =) Install the gauge to make sure you have at least the minimum acceptable pressure (whatever that is). Check it at idle after it's hot, if it's hovering around 0, then you might have issues. You might do this before anything else, to make sure everythings ok. If pressure looks ok, I'd start with something easy and cheap, aka change the oil and put something thicker in it. If the noise goes away, problem solved.

Yes, Permatex Ultra black, blue, gray, and copper are all excellent RTV's.

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2.2 legacy turbo, huh? Nice car =) Whether or not you can see the original markings on your timing belt is inconsequential. When it is time for replacement, replace it. If you don't know when it has been replaced last, replace it. If you have leaking oil seals and the t-belt is soaked, replace it. The 2.2's have a couple of things that you need to know. First, the idler pulleys, which the t-belts ride on, don't last forever. When they start going bad, they make a ticking or knocking sound. You might have lower oil pressure than normal, or oil areation, both which will make the lifters tick. You should, when replacing the t-belt, inspect the tensoiner and all idler pulleys, replace cam and crank seals, water pump, AND probably throw some seals at the oil pump, too. Simply changing your oil viscosity might make the lifter noise go away. Try some Mobil1 15w-50 synthetic. It's thick enough to boost oil pressure, besides being a great oil. Heck, run whatever you want, just try something thicker than 5w-30. Auto-RX gets recommended frequently, it apparently cleans the s*** out of everything, including clogged lifters. Do a Google search for it. This should keep you busy for a while. Legacycentral.org is another good place to post, it is fairly crawling with people willing to help you, as is this place. Eric

They have the piston pin puller/slide hammer thing, too. Interesting.

You pretty much need it spotless to seal correctly, whichever method you use. For such an area, I like using 'Hondabond', a thick, RTV-like sealer from the manufacturer we all love to hate.

How would the rest of us send donations? AKA money? Paypal?

Or put a fuse in the "FWD" terminal under the hood and cruise in 2wd until you can fix it.

Good to hear it's running. Chilton's manuals suck.

Yep Check your firing order...again.

Sounds like a waste of time. Motor oils, both conventional and synthetic, have additives in there to cover viscosity changes, sludge formation, deposit formation, etc.etc. There is no need to add anything else. IMO, anyway...

I don't think a code reader is necessary, there are some connectors under the dash that you plug together. Someone else should chime in. electrical noise: You can try putting a capacitor between the positive terminal and ground on the alternator. I couldn't begin to suggest what size you you'd need. Also, some magnetic suppression spark plug wires might help, specifically spiral-wound wires from ACCEL (advance auto-you cut them to fit), MSD, Taylor, etc.

Your test results are nearly perfect. You have problems elsewhere. Your engine seems to be in very good shape, IMHO.

The front brakes are too good, the front tires will lock up and sliiiide. It's quick though. Howsci, Open element air filters can transmit intake air noise, so it makes the engine louder. Psychologically speaking, more noise=more power. As long as you keep a fresh air filter in it, I don't think you'll notice much. I think you can drill a bunch of holes in the bottom of the airbox for increased airflow. On some cars, cone filter=power. On others, cone filter=more noise.

Looks pretty darn good! Just for curiosity's sake, how clean did you get the metal before you welded it? I find that if you are migging nasty metal, you need more heat/weld slower to burn through all that crap, and it overheats the thin metal and makes nice holes. Something I like to do while welding is position the wire feed approx 45 degrees, pushing the nozzle forward. Not laying it out. I also tend to concentrate the weld on thicker metal, like the battery tray itself, and as the bead widens with heat, it will lay over and melt into the thinner metal. That way, the thin stuff doesn't overheat. Apparently you know how to weld, so sorry for the lesson. This is what I found to work. Your results DO look good, though.

Richmonder! AAAAAHHGH! HEy there, what's up? I'm in lakeside. Monitor your tire pressures, keep a clean air filter in it, throw some NGK spark plugs at it, run a low-weight synthetic oil , drive it sanely, and oh yea, replace o2 sensor if it hasn't been done recently. Not much else, I guess. The driving sanely part is the most effective, and the hardest to do, IMO.

Haven't tried vinyl. I like nitrile, and can get a free, unlimited supply (as long as my g/f works for Ethyl Corporation, that is). Latex disintegrates on anything more stressful than an oil change. I wear Mechanix gloves when I'm doing suspension work, or removing large assemblies.

C'mon guys, these vans are almost free now. That waterboxer engine is total crap. Find a good one with a blown engine and do the conversion yourselves. It's a good excuse to buy a welder.

90-94 are all the same, 95+ to ? have EGR valves, and i think maybe the ecu/wiring changed at that point. I don't know.

You know, I had no idea that Indiana was so "close". I might seriously have to head on up. Does anyone know a route from Lexington, KY, north? I think I'd rather take the Subaru bug west from Richmond on I-64 to Lexington Ky, and then head north, Rather than going through Pittsburg, and then heading west. Hello, just did a mapquest search. Going north first cuts about 150 miles off of the total. So If I go, i'll do that.

Sooooo, how's it going? Any updates yet?

I was kinda thinking bearings, but usually bearing noise (in my experience, anyway) was never very dependant on moisture or temperature. I'd check the brakes first, I suppose.

Yeah, Legacy777 has his sh-t together. His boys over at legacycentral have their sh-t together, too. Good luck on the wiring. It may be easier to hack all the terminals off and wire them straight per the FSM, rather than take the harness apart and try to figure out what goes where. Don't get carried away.

West VA, huh? Ride on over and we'll slap one together!

Can't help you on the tranny much, but I don't think the ECVT likes a lot of abuse. Yep, it's a 3 cylinder engine.