Snowman

I think it's perfectly reasonable to theorize that the filter was at fault on that dyno run. Restriction=no top end.

How does the oil not get all over the flywheel and clutch and everything else?

That was a SWEEEEET brat. My friends didn't believe me when I said it was a factory subaru. Probably because it's hard to find one around here that doesn't have any rust holes.

Check the thermostat housing gasket. Mine leaked exactly as you describe. The coolant runs down to the bottom of the engine and drips from the bash plate. The small coolant hose that goes from the block to the intake manifold could also be leaking and produce the same results.

WOOOOW!!!! That thing is GORGEOUS! Can't wait to see it finished up! Slightly going off on a tangent, wouldn't it be killer to put a hotted-up EJ22T in an old bus making over 300 hp? Could you see the looks on peoples' faces when they get blown away by that?

Could you take a picture of that? Sounds funky. Also, even though I am a huge fan of "creative" tricks (Voodoo Engineering is my "company" after all), I have tried the 14mm allen wrench substitute twice and it didn't work either time. I even used thread locker on the bolt to no avail. Just buy a wrench (they're not that expensive) and it will make your life much easier. Some tricks like that work, but not this one.

Could you clarify exactly how the engine is mounted?

Check the diaphragm to see if it's torn or obstucted.

I can't remember exactly how my trick works, but when you try it, it's really easy to figure out. Put one or two of the pressure plate-to-flywheel bolts back in, and wedge a long prybar or similar device between the bolt(s) and the studs that extend backward from the flywheel housing. This will hold it there so you can remove the crankshaft pulley as well as the flywheel.

I agree with Qman on this one. The only way that the fan clutch could damage the water pump is if something went horribly wrong causing it to go out of balance. If that happened, you would have heard and felt all kinds of strange stuff going on. Also like Ken said, the timing belt pulleys do not need replacement unless something gets fubared really badly. They screwed up there. Not too sure about the timing belt tensioners though, as these do wear out. Have them show you the "defective" ones. If you can feel play or drag in them, it was time for replacement. If not, they were just fine. I wouldn't go to this shop anymore though, that's for sure. At best they do shoddy work, and at worst they ripped you off.

Not sure if Kerry is on the board. Look here: http://www.ccrengines.com/roobuilders/

I think the suggestion of tranny modulator was presented as a possible explaination of the appearance of smoke, not necessarily produced by burning coolant.

Hmmm.... that's interesting. I haven't looked into this issue much, but I have noticed something peculiar now that I think about it. When I rebuilt my first n/a ea82, all the pistons except one were pristine. I can't remember which one it was, I'm pretty sure it was either 3 or 4, but more likely 3. The turbo engine I have apart right now has exactly the same thing going on. Has anybody else noticed this among n/a ea82s? I haven't had many apart yet so I don't know if this is a trend or a freak of nature. If that is a trend, it would indicate that it's not due to the fuel system or the turbo heat, but something inside the block that causes this.

Check the PCV hoses very thoroughly. You could try running the engine with the PCV system disconnected and seeing if the oil spews out of the hoses. That would tell you if it is in fact excessive crankcase pressure.

Take a serious look at the intake manifold gaskets. These are often problematic, and fail often if non-OEM gaskets are used. You might try tightening the bolts a little bit and seeing if it changes anything. Are you getting bubbles in the coolant while running or anything else indicative of HG failure?

If you're looking for a good spray lubricant, the best I've found is Torco MPZ. It's red and I have no idea what it is, but this stuff works like nothing else. It penetrates pretty well but DOES NOT fling off. I found it at a snowmachine place when I needed some good lube for the problematic steering system on my Phazer, and now I spray it on everything from suspension bushings to throttle linkages to putting a tiny bit on the throwout bearing where it contacts the clutch fork.

I was thinking more about offroad use. For the street, whatever you can fit in there should work fine. Your brat should be pretty sweet when it's done!

That's darn cool! The wheels in my head have started turning..... he he he....

Have you tried swapping out the boost sensor that triggers the fuel cut? Maybe in its old age it has gotten a little trigger happy.

I have the technical service bulletein that says bridge cracks between the valves are fine and cause no harm. As long as they don't extend into the ports and there is no coolant loss, everything is peachy. It's a good idea to use a small punch to "flatten" the protruding part a little. This will help reduce the sharp edge, which could potentially get hot and turn into a glow plug.

Thanks Jon! It's my parents' car, so I'll see if I can convince them to pay for both sensors. I'll also look into the possibility of a manifold crack, which is probably more likely to occur up here with the temperature extremes.

Hey everybody, The 97 outback has been getting less than stellar fuel economy recently, and since my mom commutes 60 miles a day, I want to fix this problem. Since I put in new plugs and wires as well as doing a bunch of other PM this last summer, I'm pretty sure that the oxygen sensor is the culprit and needs replacing. It's been in there since we got the car five years ago so I think it's probably getting old and the response time is slowing. I looked on 1stsubaruparts.com and found that they list 2 sensors, it appears to be one before and one after the cat. Do I need to worry about the 2nd sensor at all? I would think that all that one does is tell the computer if the cat is working or not, but I wanted to ask here before ordering a new sensor to see if I need to get both. Your thoughts please.

What is the weight difference between an ea81 or ea82 and the engines that are being discussed for possible transplants here? It would seem that putting in a big engine and a transmission to handle the power would completely eliminate the Subaru's biggest advantage, which is its light weight. If you're going for a big-power, heavy duty 'wheeler, there are much better vehicles to start with.

Yes it will swap over with no modification. You will have to block off the air suction valve ports on the bottom of the carb heads, but that's it. It won't have the power of the original engine due to the previously mentioned compression drop. BUT, I also question whether or not this is necessary. Unless you have done a compression test or have noticed a HUGE drop in power/fuel economy, I doubt that the rings are bad as that is not a common problem on these engines. The PCV system can easily get fouled up and suck MAJOR oil like you are describing.

That would be awesome if we could put those cool new high-tech clutch materials in our cars, but I'm still wondering about one thing. I don't know much about clutches, but I would guess that these new ceramic and kevlar discs would need increased pressure to function, so wouldn't net a whole lot of gains without a beefed-up pressure plate. Is there a source for either a later-model plate that will bolt up or a way to modify our old school ones with heavier springs?