NorthWet

Edit: Originally posted as EJ18 rather than EJ20. I was mistaken about which had the 92mm bore. EndEdit As i understand it, the EJ18 has the same bore as the EA81 and EA82. Assuming that is correct, does anyone know if the wristpin bore and position are compatible with the EA81/EA82?

GD had a thread about Mizpah a little while ago: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=117067&highlight=mizpah If you want to be certain, this would be a good way to go. Otherwise, I saw a good deal at RockAuto a few months ago... don't know if they still have it. I would still probably go with Mizpah unless turnaround time dictated otherwise. You might want to consider getting the proper "o-ring" seals from Subaru. If this is impractical, I probably have several extras that I could mail to you. Do you have a Factory Service Manual, or access to one of the online copies? If so, read about the pressure relief valves in the cam carrier and make sure that they are clean and working. (Glad to hear that there is no obvious upper-end oil starvation.) RE: Oil - Lots of people have opinions and biases about oil. I think that the the best thing you could do is change the oil and filter regularly, every 3k or less. 10W30 is probably good, be careful about wide differences in the cold vs hot numbers, as these typically have Viscosity Index enhancers that tend to degrade quickly with heat. Oil cooler would be a good thing.

HLAs (Hydraulic Lash Adjusters) are the pivot points for the rockers. One end of the rocker rested on the ball of the HLA, the other end on the valve stem tip, and the cam lobe pressed down on the rocker. The HLA is equivalent to an hydraulic lifter in a pushrod engine: It serves to take up the slack in the valve train so that you don't have to set valve clearances. It is a little hydraulic cushion, one that can move up a little and move down a little, controlled by oil pressure fed to it, its internal valving, and the pressure pushing down on it. I have heard that if they are not properly filled with oil prior to reinstalling then they can have some serious issues: I THINK that someone said that they could collapse to the point that they won't function again. (This is from a foggy memory, and MAY be completely WRONG.) (Keeping them stored in a container of motor oil after removing them from the head might be the best way to prevent troubles... or, better yet, buy rebuilt units.

The 4wd and hi/low are, in stock form, linked to a pull-up lever. With the lever down, you are in 2Hi. Pull up one notch, and you are in 4HI, pull up all the way and you are in 4Low. Shifting is done on the fly, just needing to depress the clutch if you are in gear. 4WD is for loose/slippery surfaces only, as there is no center differential to accommodate differing rotation speeds. 2WD is FWD.

Regular o-rings tend to not work well. Another possible cause/issue is there is an oil-pressure relief in each of the the cam carriers (IIRC, accessible under the cam covers). Trouble can be caused if they stick either open or closed. (Yours would more likely be open.) Do you know where the clacking noise is coming from? Are you reasonably certain that it is the HLAs? Is there a possibility that the HLAs drained away their oil while removed? (Laying around on their sides, oil deliberately pumped out of them, etc)

PLEASE take the time to fix/wire this properly. It really is a safety item, one that prevents/minimizes fuel-fed fires in an accident.

A couple of core removal links: First, a How-To from moosens http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49973 And a reference to cutting the heater box (see post#7) http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=106397

Oil "idiot lights" typically go off at only a couple PSI. I gather that your car has the light instead of the gauge? When you put the can-carrier onto the head, you had to put a sealant around the periphery of the cam-carrier. You also needed to install 2 special gaskets that are often mistaken for o-rings; there is one per camcarrier, located on the lower right edge as looking at the carrier-to-head mating surface. These special gaskets seal the oil passage between the head and the cam-carrier, so if they are missing or an o-ring is substituted, you will not have proper oil flow/pressure to the cams and to the HLAs.

2 basic questions that SOMEONE will ask, so I might as well do it. Assuming that you had the heads off (or at least the cam carriers), did you use the special Subaru rubberized-metal gaskets (commonly referred to as O-rings, though they are not) for the oil passages between head and cam carrier? Did you ''reseal" the oil pump, with 2 o-rings and the mickey-mouse gasket? BTW, how is your oil pressure? (sometimes the M-M-gasket slips during installation.)

You may not need to replace it, just work on the underlying problem. Does the rest of the cooling system come up to proper temp? If not, check the T-stat. If it does, you might try CAREFULLY backflushing the heater core. Lots of people recommend using a garden hose to backflush the cooling system, but please remember that the domestic water supply has several times the pressure that the cooling system was designed to handle. Also, if it is related to airflow from the ventilation system, that points to other issues/resolutions.

Just to clarify: The box is inside the passenger compartment, not by the latch mechanism under the hood. It is near the hood release "pull" near your left knee.

The base ignition is set at 20degBTDC or 25, depending on year, WITH the green connectors under the steering column connected. (This tells the ECU to not diddle the timing while you are trying to set it.) 10degBTDC will leave it gutless. Your high idle is probably due to issues with your throttle body, and more specifically your IAC (Idle Air Control).

I am OK with being corrected. I had assumed that the change to different ATF was more recent.

Edit: The following is incorrect. Please ignore and follow the following post by ShawnW. endedit Regular Dextron ATF is used. The AWD pack is no different from any of the other clutch packs in the automatic.

I trudged through the snow and slush, and found my spare. It seems to be a 202.

I should have assumed EA81 from your screen name, but I get in trouble every time I assume... So, pretty simple engine... Is this the same one that you were changing the fuel filter on? Did you ever get the real filter (as opposed to the vapor separator in the engine compartment) replaced? If not, good place to start. In your tune-up, did you replace the distributor rotor? If so, does yours use that annoying screw to hold the rotor on? You say that it is getting gas... if you look down the carburetor throat and work the throttle cable, do you see gas squirting into the carb? When it was running, did the tach jump around at odd times? (Indicating worn distributor bearings.)

There are microscopic differences, and they matter a little: There will be accelerated wear if they are not matched with their mates. But in the real world you probably will never notice.

I took a quick look through the "similar threads" listed at the bottom of the webpage, plus did a quick search on AC tensioner bearings; I did not find a number, but it does indicate that you can look at the bearings lip and it should give you a number (e.g. 204 or 205 or similar), and these are common bearings at places like NAPA. Check out : http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=71973&highlight=tensioner+pulley+bearing I would go read the number or a spare one of mine, but iwe have 8-10 inches of snow covering everything and I might freeze before I remember where I set it.

No way to tell that I know of, unless they have massive damage that mirrors a cam lobe. The "keep them in order" is the same instruction used on any other engine that has surfaces sliding against each other. They are trying to keep parts that are worn-in to each other paired up. No great explosion will occur if they are mixed, but you MIGHT see accelerated wear over the next 100K miles or so.

Mostly likely cause of such a quick leak is intake manifold gaskets. The drip that you see is most likely due to it being a low point and the drip found its way there.

Info about the car would help... year, engine, stuff like that.

Previous poster probably thought that you were talking about timing-belt idlers/tensioners rather than accessory drive. I am guessing that you have air conditioning, as the only belt tensioner that I have seen is for the AC compressor; if this is so, then you can do without it, though power steering might cause the remaining belt to squeal at times.

I did mine last spring (which is why I knew ), and was able to do it in the car without any problems.

Have you checked/set the ignition timing? I assume that this is an engine with SPFI. If so, do you know how to use the green connectors near the wiper motor to set the ignition timing? And to undo these connectors after you are done timing?

Cold weather + water draining into the crankcase as quickly as you can put it into the radiator + flowing water noise under the valve cover = popped freeze plug(s).