NorthWet

I think that there is a lot of unnecessary prejudice against FRAM. In our culture, it is fun to hate, but it doesn't mean that we need to play along... The size matters mostly in maintenance clearances, and, to some extent on a new car, cost per unit. Smaller ones are eaiser to work on and around, and might save a few cents. The originals meet the manufacturers criteria for maintenance intervals.

Forgot that another common ID for the tranny is an EC8. TRANSGO offers a kit (NOT an endorsement), example of which is on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TRANSGO-SK-RE4R01A-Shift-Kit-JR403E-RE4R01A-RL4R01A-RE4R03A-R4AEL-ATAXLE-R4AXEL-/290614397869

"No matter. Its Ok... I'll just lead my cloud away from you." Was it a new/rebuilt water pump? I have had only 1 subie pump fail like that, and it was on an EA81 with lots of miles.

If it is truly coming from that whole ("weep hole") then the internal seal on the waterpump has failed. I assume that you are using dyed coolant (antifreeze), so can see a dye tail from this hole. If coolant is leaking from the weep hole, there is nothing that can be done other than replacing the pump.

A QUICK look at the FSM indicates that you just need to remove the input shaft, remve the case bolts, and then tap the case sections apart using a soft mallet on the starter mount.

Commercial diesels are a different world, as are aviation uses. The wide-range flexibility that MIGHT come from sequential turbochargers is irrelevant in applications where gas volumes vary little.

They do, kind of sort of. You would probably find more info on sites that consider the 4EAT (not its technical name) part of a performance vehicle, and thus worth keeping. You might try SVX sites, such as: Subaru SVX World ( http://www.subaru-svx.net) Main sources there are probably from contributors "OldTom" and "LAN" (LongA**Name). The transmission core is an R4AX-EL (I believe a JATCO design) that is used on Nissans like the Maxima and Pathfinder. Nissan sites are another place to look for mod info. IIRC, most of the mods just have to do with minor things, like firming-up one of the shifts (1->2 ???).

No centrifugal advance on this distributor.

The suspension? Seriously, though: Any recent work on suspension, axles, bearings?

The oil pressure sender might be toast on your engine. If it came with the engine, good chance of it being damaged. If you ground the sender wire and your gauge gives you a full-scale reading, and remove the wire and get a minimum reading, wiring and gauge are ok. Right now, it looks like you are geting at least minimal pressure, something that should register on the gauge.

Since you mentioned a vacuum leak... How about a vacuum leak? Possible issues with PCV tubing, IAC tube, brake booster (though you made no comment about brake effort increasing). Couldn't see any more obvious sources other than intake gaskets.

My 88 XT (MPFI, NA, MT, 4WD, fun) is having fuel starvation problems below 1/4 full (call it 3 gallons and below) and mild cornering and uphill acceleration. For several years I had noticed that it got a little cranky going through a 35mph sweeping right hand curve near me, but having driven an SPFI without the PCV mod, I never really "noticed". Since an engine change this summer (to deal with a decrepit rod bearing), I have been driving it more and longer. After a couple months of trying to track down a sudden drop in power, particularly on an uphill freeway onramp after a left-hand turn to enter, I finally figured out that: 1) my fuel gauge was registering a little "differently" (optimistic: E meant E) 2) the low-fuel light was inoperative and, most important here, 3) my pump sucked air during minor maneuvering below about 3 gallons of fuel. (The onramp was annoying, as it was part of my commute and it took upwards of 2-3 minutes to recover enough to crawl up the incline and get to traffic speed.) One of the first things I did was swap in a known-usable fuel pump. No change. OK, I hear someone saying, "Duh! Keep more fuel in your tank." Sound advice, tough to follow for domestic reasons. I have not noticed this behavior in any other of our MPFI/SPFI EA82's (got a "couple"), all of which should have a similarly baffled tank to my XT. Is this "normal" behavior? Is the XT tank different in a bad way? Is it possible that the baffle(s) has(have) come adrift? Or am I just nuts?

Oh... perhaps a silly thing to look for, but... Are all of the sparkplugs (and wires) still where they should be? I have seen a loose spark plug vibrate all of the way out before.

I suspect that your oil sender wire is hooked up to a dash-light ("idiot-Light") sender: This would give you a high-pressure indication with the engine off, but as soon as pressure came up to 5-ish PSI the gauge would drop to 0 (-ish). If you are unsure, the pressure sender is a relatively big can, perhaps 2" in diameter and about that long. The light sender is not much a dinky-ish nub: IIRC, it is short and less than an inch in diameter. The outside of its body has the flats for wrench or socket.

It would be a little helpful to know what year and whether it is carb'd or SPFI. If the disty cap was loose, i would take a quick look underneath it and make sure that the rotor is ok and the inside contacts are not mangled. (not too likely if you heard a sound while driving.) Check the ignition timing. it being off might be due to t-belt slipping a tooth (see below). No nasty mechanical bangings since the POP? Probably not a valve; I would think that this would make a racket unless the head snapped off and stuck somewhere safe and soft. But if this happened, you should be hearing some major backfiring. Lack of mechanical noises should also rule out a siezed/broken rod (since you mentioned oil pressure concerns). I guess that it might be possible for a cam follower to have slipped off. Check out the timing belts and tensioners to see if the non-distributor-side belt broke (unlikely, per description), or if a belt has loosened up and jumped a tooth or two. The low oil pressure may be phantom. What do you mean by "it would come on when Id turn the key over"? Sender wire may be off, you may have hooked a pressure guage up to an "idiot light" sender, or the sender could have been damaged in the whole wrecking yard/install experience. (I had a damaged sender that would rotate enough for me to get negative readings...)

Not wise, just questioning/cynical. No progress occurs without questioning "common knowledge", so keep thinking. Just keep in mind that the Laws of Physics aren't just a good idea... they are the Law! (As in: No, you can't "burn" water, it is already "burned" to its lowest energy state. And, lacking "Maxwell's Daemon", perpetual motion is not possible.) Edit: what I had originally typed at this point was too much like a thread hijack, and little relevance to this thread. So, I removed it. :endEdit

Maybe it doesn't have to be EPA/CARB certified, as in lasting 60k/105k? Real possibility.

This has issues with the First Law of ThermoDynamics: Energy is neither created not destroyed. You can not get any more energy out of the second turbo then you put into it. Although it is conceivable that some of the heat energy from the Primary's output stream might be converted to kinetic enegy in the exhaust turbine of the Secondary (and thus into pressure and volume in the outlet), it is far more likely that the ineffiencies of a mechaniical system will just turn more useful energy into low-level waste heat.

A couple thoughts along the lines of your engine-mod question: Try making a hot-air intake. Same concept as a cold-air intake, but for a much different purpose. More expensive and involved: Raise the compression ratio. For a more challenging engineering solution, look into the Atkinson Cycle, a modified version of which is used in the Prius. Basically (if I understand it mostly correctly), it reduces pumping losses by holding the intake valve open for a portion of the compression cycle. It can improve fuel consumption at the cost of power density... not a real concern at freeway cruise. Experimenting might be more easily doable on a DOHC...

So, the secondary turbo is being driven solely by the energy from the air from the compressor side of the primary?

Did you mess with the carb while doing the HGs? There are so many other possibilites for vacuum leaks elsewhere. I assume that when it was being unresponsive to the acclerator that the sound from the carb changed? (Became "throatier", or otherwise had a change in sound.) If not, something is wrong in the throttle and/or its linkage. As far as setting the distributor, I am pretty sure that there are some excellent instructions elsewhere, maybe even a pictorial or video by MilesFox. But lacking that, here is how I would go about it: Edit: Removed an overly-complicated, overly-wordy way to set the distributor, in favor of the simple way from MilesFox in a later post. Thanks, Miles! :endEdit

Your gearing is probably pretty good right now. What is your rpm@cruising-speed? As long as your TC is locking-up, the AT might actually be good for your mileage. I would think that your best investment would be in proper tune/tire pressures. After that, speed and aerodynamics will have the biggest effect. Speed's effect on fuel consuption is moderated by the engine's characteristics, plus the body's aerodynamics. You have increasing power needed to overcome aero drag as the speed increases, plus increasing fuel needed to maintain the engine at higher rpms, and the engine's power curve that varies how much fuel is needed per HP at different engine speeds. Best fuel consumption will probably be with engine speed 500-1000 rpm below torque peak. (WAG) Aerodynamic improvements might be worth pursuing. At the very least, make sure that the front of the car is not higher than the rear of the car. Lowering can help. Making a front air-dam, or better yet a "splitter", would be worth looking into. The splitter helps reduce turbulent flow underneath the car, reducing drag.

First, there is no way that the engine can rev to 7k rpm just sucking air past a closed throttle butterfly. 3k rpm is only slightly more possible. Sooo... make sure that the throttle is closing to an proper idle position. Might be getting stuck in fast-idle. Second, check for vacuum leaks: IF the mixture is very rich, a vacuum leak might cause really high idling speeds. During testing/adjusting, did you take the distributor out and try a different position, or are all of your results from just from turning the mounted distributor? (Next time, don't remove the distributor. It makes life MUCH easier. )

+1. Even if the dished washer is on correctly, the axle does not always (usually...) seat all the way after reinstalling and torquing the nut. This causes axle movement within the hub, which can sound like grinding. Check the dished washer, then retorque the nut.

Electronic "breadboard" (phenolic circuitboard) from RadioShack might be a good choice. Edit: If you work with phenolic board, take respiratory precautions. Dust from phenolic boards is nasty stuff. :endEdit