Snowman

I'd do a compression test, look at the CV axles, and check for underbody rust. If it's in good shape, it should have another 100k in it if you take car of it.

My vote is for the d/r too. It's seldom needed, but VERY nice when it is. If the car's in primo shape, buy it and put in a d/r tranny. It's an easy swap that you could do in a matter of hours.

Is the pressure plate the same too? My understanding is that it's the PP that's special on Centerforce clutches, not the disk. You can already get kevlar or ceramic disks made for the EA82. A centerforce PP with kevlar on the disk would rule!

Anybody got performance specs on those cars? It'd be interesting to see what they could do with a car that had 26 hp stock.

Miles' T-belt explanation is pretty good, so I'll leave it at that. DO get OEM belts though. They're not that expensive, and it's worth it to know that you've got the best quality belts in there.

Should be a piece of cake. I've done it once before and it was really straightforward.

My GL stock/stuck: My GL not stock: My Legacy and my mom's Outback, both stock:

Just put the engine on a 5-gallon bucket. Works PERFECTLY.

Probably. If you've tens of thousands of dollars to blow on an engine, go for it. The EJ20G is probably the best bang for your buck as far as Subaru engines go.

Turbo cams have less overlap than n/a cams, generally speaking. That's so less of the pressure gets bled off through the open exhaust valve.

I'm currently running an auto ECM in my 5 speed car with no modifications whatsoever. The only problem I've experienced is that once the engine is warm, when I coast to a stop the idle will fluctuate way down then up to 1000rpm like three times before it stabilizes around 600-700. I assume this is caused by my lack of a vehicle speed sensor causing the ECM to get confused since it doesn't know if the car is moving or not.

I bought some from the dealer. They should have them in stock.

Okay, now I HAVE seen everything.

Oh yeah! What was the problem?

Stock spec is like 75 ft-lbs. I do all mine to that and have not had trouble (unless you count the time I left out the little locking pin...).

People have run 27s on nonlifted soobs, but it required severe fender trimming and bashing. You could probably get away with a 25 or 26 inch tire with a little bit of trimming.

I don't know if it would go so far as to keep the car from running, but losing oil pressure in one head would cause lifter noise and potentially not lubricate the cam enough, which would explain the metal on metal sound.

No such thing on Subarus. They do that on large diesel engines, but probably because they cost twenty times as much as a subaru to replace. Have you personally talked to the guy that said it was a broken valve? You might be able to figure out a lot more if you get in touch with him.

The squeaky sound is likely the throwout bearing...maybe your clutch cable is adjusted a bit too tight. Just trying to brainstorm here: Are you sure it's a rod knock and not some other noise? I wonder if maybe the oil pickup screen is partially clogged, causing oil starvation sometimes. Does the oil pressure change when it makes the noise?

I'd say that motor is probably done. HGs probably blew, causing low compression and no power as well as the spitting out coolant, and running that much at those temps may have cracked the heads as well. I'm not terribly familiar with the EA81 engine, but on an EA82 it surely would have cracked the heads.

I'm kinda tired so I'm not entirely sure I understand what you're asking, but I'll give you my schpeel on clutch adjustment and I hope it helps. It sounds like you need a heavier return spring, as the existing one is not holding the TO bearing off of the clutch fingers all the way. The chirping noise you hear is the TO bearing barely riding on the clutch fingers. You also need to make sure that the cable moves freely, as resistance in the cable will not allow the clutch fork to return properly. To adjust the clutch, don't worry about if the pedal is even with the brake pedal or anything like that unless you adjust the clutch properly and it still has problems. Start with the adjusting nut all the way loose. Grab the clutch fork in your hand and push it in the direction the cable pulls until you feel it pushing the TO bearing against the fingers. Tighten the adjusting nut until the fork sits so that you have to push it just a little bit (like a centimeter or so) for the TO bearing to touch the fingers. Make sure the return spring pulls the fork and the TO bearing back off the fingers when the clutch is released. Basically, you want the TO bearing to be almost touching but not quite.

You can do it with a timing light or a vacuum gauge. Using a vacuum gauge, adjust the timing until the gauge reads highest, then back off the timing if you experience detonation under load.

Valve seals are more likely. Subaru engines are normally very easy on rings, so they don't wear out often.

I'd plan on a day, just in case it takes longer than expected. It's really not very hard at all, but you will have to get the car aligned afterward (you can get it pretty close if you mark the adjustment bolts and everything, but it won't be perfect). The spring compressor is not dangerous if you're careful with it. Just take your time with the first couple of struts.

Dang, no pics of it, and I couldn't get a good pic in the dark. You could go look on your other wagon and find it. Oh wait, if you've got a Chilton manual, there's a picture of it in section 2-6. It's fig 17, and they refer to it as the ignitor assembly. Haynes' legacy manual has it in section 5-5, fig 9.3.