Snowman

Sooo, where on the gasket/head did it actually blow out? I'm curious as to whether there's a specific PLACE that is prone to leakage.

As mentioned, I put springs from an 89 Honda Accord on. I specified A/C and auto tranny when I ordered them, since those both add weight and would require stiffer springs. I would guess it raised it about 2" from where it sat before my stock springs got horribly worn out. I would highly recommend putting RX springs in the front. Before I added those, it was raked forward quite a lot.

Just to eliminate any doubt, have you replaced the fuel filters?

Ditto. That sounds awesome!

Primitive Racing makes some nice aluminum skid plates for the newer Soobs, but they aren't cheap. It might also be possible to adapt the sump guard from an EA-series car. That would at least protect the oil pan and stuff.

Ummm, okay. How did that happen?

86 wagon, slightly modded SPFI EA82, 3" BYB lift, Accord rear springs, RX front springs, running 27" by I can't remember if it's 8" or 8.5" BF Goodrich A/T's on 14" Pug steelies. Had to cut and pound on the front fenders a bit.

The lifter noise will often go away if you just drive the car hard for a while. I have personally had great success with Marvel Mystery Oil, while others have said that Seafoam works very well. Do a search on the issue and you will find a HUGE amount of information.

The oil goes into the bottom of the head just before drainging down into the pan, so I really doubt that would make much of a difference.

What the heck is that beast that the pics are from?!!!!

I've got some old road signs attached to the floorboards of my car. They were free and seemed to work out pretty well.

That looks wicked man! Those offroad-EJ mods are really working out nicely. I'd give it another year and a half until we start seeing 8" lifted, divorced-T-case Imprezas running around (hint hint!).

What about on n/a cars? Any definitive trend there?

If you look in the SPFI conversion manual, there is the timing procedure taken from the FSM. There is a mark on the distributor shaft and one on the housing that should be lined up before dropping the disty in.

That's wierd that people keep having trouble with those, but maybe I've just gotten lucky. Mine's held just fine since I did the SPFI conversion. I think the new lockwasher helped.

Maybe it's been retrofitted with the adjustable rear struts from an 85-86 model, in which case you need a spring compressor to turn the adjustment down. Are you sure the front isn't just sagging a ton?

Some EA81 cars had an ECM, others didn't, depending on whether they had a feedback carb or not. Your "underhood emissions junk" sticker might tell you if it has a feedback carb.

Yeah, bad TPS could definitely cause your problems. Also, run a bottle of Chevron FI cleaner and change the fuel filter while you're at it.

The computer bolts to the bottom of the steering column, right above the pedals, underneath the dash. I'm not sure exactly what it would look like on your car, but most of the older ones were a black rectangular box maybe 6" by 8", with a bunch of wires going to it.

Does your car have an engine computer under the dash? If it does, then the oxygen sensor should be there. If not, the Y-pipe was probably replaced with one from a car that had an oxygen sensor. If you've got the little black plastic muffler things and all the tubing to hook the ASV back up, it really shouldn't make much noise at all. I would just be scared to disable it because the cat might melt.

Hold up....oxygen sensor? I've NEVER seen an ASV system on a FI soob, or one with a feedback carb. Wouldn't the extra air give horribly false readings? The only worry I would have about plugging them is that the cat might get loaded up with unburned gas, causing it to melt and plug.

These are DRINK COASTERS, as seen on allsubaru.com. They are the epitome of pimpness!

It's the ASV (air suction valve). It allows extra air into the exhaust so that the cat can work better. Remove the four screws and take it apart. There will be some reed valves in there that allow the air to only flow one way, which you should inspect as they tend to get dirty and/or break. They do make some noise even when working properly.

If it overheats badly, the HG's can go out. This often happens because they are about to blow anyway and that one bad overheat pushes them over the edge. Being run "hot" without overheating can leave the HG's perfectly fine, but will start to cook seals and stuff. That motor's not too dirty...but yeah, synthetics do wonders for keeping them clean. The last one I tore apart looked brand new inside after running Mobil 1 for 10,000 miles.