Cup O Noodles

Good, I'm glad he's probably not an idiot. He seems like he knows what he's talking about otherwise. Thanks for the info.

I talked to my local used Subaru dealer about constructing a Frankenmotor and he seemed pretty sure that 2.2 heads wouldn't fit on a 2.5 block. Of course, I've done a bit of research on this site so unless we have a bunch of story tellers here, I suspect they fit just fine. The reason he gave for not believing they were compatible was that the 2.5 was DOHC, some of them at least. I didn't want to argue with the guy because I really don't know crap but I really didn't think the cams would have anything to do with the head fitting to the crankcase. Am I right on this one? Is there any reason any of the 2.2 engines wouldn't be compatible with any of the 2.5 engines? In fact...is the difference between the 2.2 types outside the block? Ugh, it is, isn't it? It won't matter at all what 2.5 short block I get, they'll all be exactly the same. I think I just answered my own questions didn't I? -Thanks.

From what I've read the water choke is more accurate than the electric choke. I wouldn't mind having the electric but the water choke is only 10$ more.

I'm going to order a Weber with a manual choke from carbsunlimited.com. It's going in my '87 GL. How to you run the choke lever (or linkage, I don't know the proper term) through the firewall? I was also thinking about ordering the water choke instead. They aren't a big deal to hook up, are they? It seems like it would just be one in hose and one out hose. Thanks.

Thanks for all the awesome info. I read Numbchux's write up when I first decided I wanted to do the EJ swap and I'll read it again when I get ready to do the swap. This is actually something I don't have to save up for, isn't it? I can buy the parts as I find them. That's actually awesome because I've seen the engines I need on Craigslist for 100-250$. I'm going to stick a Weber in it for now and collect parts over time, hopefully not too much time, though. -Thanks

Frankenmotor -> '87GL There is a Subaru mechanic in Eugene who has a lot full of cars, not all Subarus, and a couple 15'X20' walls full of Subaru engines and engine parts. It's been difficult for me to get in touch with the guy lately so I don't have any good information about the engines except that they would probably need to be rebuilt. The owner of the shop seems like he's a pretty decent guy and I think he would probably help me find some good engine parts but I was wondering what I should look out for or keep in mind. Are there any styles of engines to stay away from? I've heard bad things about the EA82T, is there an EJ equivalent? Is there already an existing thread about doing an EJ swap without a donor car? -Thanks

I have not yet replaced the belts but now that you mention it, they may not be installed correctly anyway. Will there be visual or audial evidence one way or the other? Where is the ASV and with what should I plug it? Is an exhaust leak just an opening in the pipe or might it be the head gasket? I haven't looked at the plugs since installing them but they're only a month or so old. I have one lifter that keeps making noise and I keep changing the oil so it'll shut up for a couple weeks but the problem is still there. Would a weak valve spring/sticky valve cause the lifter to knock? In a week or so I'll order me some lifters and take care of those while I'm replacing the oil pump seals and timing belts. I don't know about the disty but I changed the cap and rotor recently. -Thanks for the info.

1987 GL. I know they aren't supposed to be fast cars but it takes longer than I'd like to get up to freeway speeds. I give it what I think is a moderate amount of throttle and I shift at 4k-4500 rpms but if I give it any more throttle or if I get the rpms any higher it backfires. Yesterday when I got on the freeway, just to see what would happen, I gave it full throttle (or close) and shifted around 4500 rpms and it got up to 65mph pretty quick but the backfire was really loud. Is backfiring bad for the engine? It seems like it would be. To combat the lack of speed I'm going to put a Weber in when I can afford it until I can afford an EJ swap. GD drove me around in a couple of his cars that have Webers in them and they have the acceleration I would like to have in my car. How much horsepower does a Weber add? -Thanks

Awesome. Thanks for the info.

So as far as leaving the belt covers off is concerned, lifting the car means off-road, right? Since I'm not doing any off-roading, I don't need to concern myself with the belt covers? I'm pretty sure that is exactly what you just said but I'd like to be certain. Are there any everyday conditions I might worry about, like driving through puddles or something, I do live in Oregon? Also, where are the 5 bolts I need to remove to take off the oil pump? Are they just on the other side of the outer middle belt cover? Oh, secondarily, my question about the oil pan: should I replace all the bolts? They seem pretty worn. How do I get to the ones on the other side of whatever is in the way? I don't know what it's called but it seems to be part of what ever is holding on to the half axles. -Thanks a lot.

I was wondering if I could just leave them off... My concern was the debris. It isn't lifted but what about it being lifted makes it more in danger of getting debris in there?

I was going to replace the gaskets on my oil pump ('87 GL) and one bolts on both the left and right belt cover on the bottom are stripped or something. At first I thought the hex was stripped but when I tried from underneath the engine I could see that the bolt was turning. I haven't tried pulling it out with pliers yet, is that a good idea? Also, one of the other bolts on the bottom is just holding a broken piece of the inner belt cover. A year or so ago I pulled everything off (of an '85 GL) that was required to change the head gaskets but I forget exactly how that went, though it seems like I'd have to pull the inner belt cover on both sides to get the cams off, is that right? If that's the case they should be easy to replace. So, the oil pump gaskets: where are the 5 bolts I'm supposed to remove to get the oil pump off? Can I get to them if I pull off the middle belt cover? Is there a gasket or sealant in between the oil pan and the crank case? I tried tightening its bolts but I felt like I was going to pop the bolt heads off if I tightened them any further so I stopped. I was wondering if they should be pretty snug or if there was a gasket that was that gave them a little 'squish'. -Thanks.

I found a leak. A worm gear clamp was loose. I think I'll take your suggestion GD and replace all the hoses. Also, I noticed a recess on the passenger side of the radiator right about in the middle. It looks like it should be plugged up but nothing was leaking out. I haven't looked at it with the engine running yet but I'll do that tomorrow unless I hear back that it's just a valve or something. Thanks.

Thanks for all the advice. The coolant tank was totally empty so I suspect there was very little in the radiator and that's probably why all the water boiled off, or almost did. I'm going to keep an eye out for a possible leak, though and will probably change the head gaskets anyway.

Thanks a lot. It's an '87 GL.