jboymechanic

I would replace all the gaskets that will be removed in the process of removing the heads, such as valve cover gaskets. I'm going to check the connecting rod and main bearings on mine as long as I have easy access.

Tom, I'm not surprised this happened to you, but it still really sucks. Just be glad that you have the ability to fix the car yourself for minimal cost. If it happened to some one with no mechanical ability, they would be truly screwed.

I'm with GD. Normally I'd say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" but is sounds like this one is kind of broke. Besides, if the job is done by the book, it should be back to it's proper long living form. I plan on going through my 192,000 mile EJ22 that I just bought even though it ran beautifully on the way home and doesn't leak anything. It's out of the car and accessible, it would really suck to drop the motor in only to find a problem later. As my wife says, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

I need to do the same thing in my car, and I just pulled a steering knuckle from a Legacy to try on mine (they look to use the same spline as the EA cars but I wasn't absolutely positive). Good to hear that some one else already made that discovery for me. I'm going to wait until I pull the motor for my EJ swap to lower the cross members and install the new steering linkage.

Where is the EJ vacuum pump? I have already saved all of the cruise control components and after starting to read the Haynes service manual it appears that the only difference in the cruise setups is a relay next to the cruise control box.

I saved the switch off the pedal of the donor car tonight, I don't have the switch in the above picture sent by Numbchux. Should I plan on using the EA car dual switch or the EJ single switch? Both actually look like they have the same plug.

I'll look for the cruise switches in my car and in the donor. So, if I get this correct I don't need to take the VSS off the donor? I'd really like to have the cruise control, the wife and I plan on taking this wagon on long distance camping trips.

Would VSS stand for Vehicle Speed Sensor? Where is it on the donor car? The donor was an auto and mine is a manual, will it work? I have removed everything connected to the EJ donor car's cruise control setup that I could trace a wire to (I think), but I can double check with some helpful instruction. I still have the donor car in my drive way, but my wife wants it gone soon so I have to act fast.

Before I start, here's what I have: Body: 1987 GL-10 Wagon (EA82t) Trans: Originally a 3 speed auto, now a 5 speed D/R Engine: 1993 Legacy OBDI EJ22 Other: 2 inch SJR lift I just pulled the motor and entire wiring harness out of the Legacy donor car and I haven't stripped the harness down to only the things I need yet. My '87 wagon originally had cruise, but no longer works and I'm assuming it was lost during the previous owner's conversion from 3 speed auto to 5 speed manual with dual range. I was wondering if it is possible to use the EJ's cruise setup (I saved everything including the cable) and tie it into the cruise control buttons in my '87 dash? Has any one done this? Also, does any one out there have the exact setup that I'm going for? I found some that were close, but maybe they had some extra lift or a GL instead of a GL-10. If any one knows of some one that did the same conversion I'm planning on in the future, can you put me in touch with them?

That was exactly the case with the '93 Legacy I just bought as a EJ22 donor. The owner thought the trans was going, but it was just the axles making all kinds of noises exactly as you describe.

Yup, your axle angle is a bid extreme. These cars are know for going through axles rather quickly so if you add any lift it decreases the axle life even more. You need to lower the cross members which will bring the axle angles back to stock, but you will have to add length to your steering knuckle assembly.

Just make sure you use the correct ATF type!

Change the ATF. All those stories about changing the ATF causing the transmission to then fail are old wives tails. Those situations are perfect examples of too little to late. Porcupine73 is exactly right.

I just bought a complete running and driving '93 Legacy (FWD only) for $400 bucks and drove it home. Pulled the motor and complete wiring harness in one weekend, now I'm working on removing all the un-needed wiring (head lights, horns, stereo, turn signals, air bags, and so on). I would definitely start with a whole car to get an unmolested engine and wiring harness, then you know exactly what you have.

My daily driver is a '95 Honda Civic with 5 speed manual. All I ever have to do is change oil on that thing, super dependable. Should be able to buy one with 200k + miles pretty cheap and it will still run forever. Good driving/handling car too for 24 hours of lemons.

Nice job, should work perfectly and for only a couple bucks, just how it should be.

Buy a Haynes repair manual and it will explain the CEL code reading procedure. It will involve removing a plastic panel on your dash below the steering wheel where you will find a blinking light. The service manual will give more details, but you will have to count the total number of long and short blinks of the light (I'm not sure which blinks go first, long or short). For example, 4 long blinks and 6 short blinks would be CEL code 46. You'd then look that code up in the service manual and go from there.

You best bet is to pull the part needing to be replaced and finding the factory part number on it (if readable after years of service). If you ever order parts I would suggest partsgeek.com. I'm still very new to old Subarus but that website has very good descriptions of what parts are for various models with slight differences. For example, I have a EA82 turbo and I just ordered all of my ignition tune up parts there and they had all of the turbo specific components listed correctly. I starting using them versus my local Napa as they were giving me incorrect parts.

Pick up a Haynes manual for these vehicles (cover all 1600 and 1800 cc motors) for like $15.00 and you'll have all the information like this you will ever need and more.

You can try your local hard ware store, they have a variety of clips and speed nuts that may work in place of the original style pieces. I was able to do this a lot with my '56 Imperial for which many of the original clips have been long gone.

Why not just remove the AC compressor, lines, condenser and so on, use the original AC and Alt bracket and then get different belts. I believe that's what Tom (TheLoyale) did as his setup works just fine.

Just get any old POS that will run and drive. If it blows up, who cares, that's part of the fun. I've always wanted to go to one of those and definitely would like to race in one some day as well. I understand that if your car looks like it might be worth more than $500 the crowd can vote to have it destroyed. Awesome.

If that is the right tank for your Brat that is pretty cheap. I paid $500 to have my gas tank restored in my '56 Imperial as aftermarket units are not available. It did come with a life time warranty though. If you buy it I would rubber coat, like truck bed liner in a can.

I had some hesitation in my '87 GL-10 and it turned out to be corrosion in the fuel injector wiring. Was only running on 3 of 4 cylinders some times.

I was able to buy new fuel injector connectors on ebay for a whopping $2 each. Thanks for the advice.