NorthWet

I am very biased on the copper/aluminum issue: Copper is much better (IIRC, around 50-100% better) at transferring and dissipating heat than aluminum. Aluminum is used chiefly for 3 reasons: Cost, weight and cost. (I know I typed "cost" twice, but it is so important I thought that it needed repeating.) It has also been claimed that aluminum tends to form a thermally insulating oxide film which further reduces transfer efficiency. Aluminum radiators are for chumps and chumpettes.

My little 4bbl (smallest Holley made, and wickedly expensive at the time) was great everywhere. Good idle, no off-idle bog, and good gas mileage. Vibration took its toll, rattling a booster venturi loose. (Also had trouble with sunken floats until I replace the brass float with a nitrile one. Bad news when the fuel tank level is above the float level... )

Compared to a brand-new, cutting-edge head design the EA82 head would not flow well. As I see it, it is what it is: No use comparing it to an F1 engine's head. Again, if we are talking a forced-induction engine with low specific output (high-perf NA standard was 100 HP/L... 40 years ago!), then there is little point in the expense and effort to port the head. Especially when you consider the passage contortions dictated by the design and the siamesed exhaust port. Fluidics is not simple, so you are probably more likely to reduce the flow than improve it by any porting and/or polishing that you do. If you want performance, bridge the exhaust port divider all the way out to the port's flange so that you can run individual header pipes to the turbo.

I have driven on several sets or regular tires that have less dry-road grip than any of my studded tires. Around my area, studded tires are nearly a necessity for getting around in the winter. Plenty of precipitation in various forms followed by freeze/thaw/freeze cycles glaze the roads, and the hilly terrain (>6% grade) to and from my house means that I would be parked somewhere for several days at a time without studs or chains. Statistics are just numbers, numbers to be used to prove whatever point you choose to make. Everything in life is a compromise, and the point is to operate within the parameters of our compromises.

I had a 350 (360?) CFM Holley 4bbl on my 2.0L Datsun, and it did really nicely. The 2bbl is likely to behave differently, but shouldn't be overkill. (I personally like vacuum secondaries like my 4bbl had, though seemingly nobody here likes them.)

I would think that there would be little to gain by it. Any improvement would probably be less than an extra PSI of boost. More efficient turbo and intercooling would be cheaper and easier.

The IHI RB5 (V7?) turbo (hope I got it right, did it from memory; don't want to get flamed) is a fairly old design with little data on it (no flow maps and such). Nothing horrible with it, pretty sturdy unit, just a little strained for the EA82 (EA82 doesn't seem to spend much time in good area of its flow "map".) High boost pressures (not much above stock) tend to have no flow increase, just a temperature increase. TD04 is a pretty popular upgrade, IIRC it was stock on the WRX and is commonly tossed aside by WRX owners wanting more. (Can be had with very low miles for $100-200.) Newer design, known flow maps, and various mods available for it. Another option might be the VF11 (again, IIRC) that came on the early turbo Legacies. Both are just newer, better designs. The overboost issue is just because the newer turbos CAN produce more boost/flow. So easy just to want a littttllleee more... Many (you have heard from them) think that the EA82 is "unsafe at any boost". Stock 7-8Psi, cooled down, is OK for the stock low-comp motor. I have my doubts what boost could be used on a high-compression motor.. this goes back to my cooling system concerns. My original thoughts was just to use the turbo for VE compensation so that I could spin the engine faster. Now, I think I know how to help te engine live with higher ("normal") boost lower in the RPM range. (Just need time and money and a few of my sacrificial engines to refine the ideas.) BTW, I have never seen a cracked cylinder wall or block on an EA series engine. A couple of new people have claimed that their block was cracked, but no evidence. I would REALLY be surprised to see a cracked iron liner in an aluminum block. Not saying that it can't happen, though.

Scoobywagon beat a lot of us to the offer. I also am sure that you would get plenty of help and support.

Are you experienced in replacing Subaru axles? (Not a putdown, just gathering info. ) A common novice error is to not put the dished washer on the right way, causing the force from the axle nut to not hold things together tightly. This can cause the waxle to move in the hub making all sorts of noises. Another common error is not to tighten the axle nut enough. Some books show way too low of a torque value for the nut. This can also lead to the axle shifting in the hub. Edit: And other than cost and some of your time, replacing the wheel would be a good thing regardless.

Since the base, lower compression EA82T is already supposed to use premium, you might not get too much protection from running premium... It has been posted by at least one reliable member that, without an intercooler, the throttle-body air-temperature can be at least 250degF. Gives you some idea how far you need to lower things. You might also want to consider a better turbocharger, as the original is not all that efficient, causing increased charge temps. A TD04 is a common upgrade, though it needs a slightly different uppipe mount. An additional risk is the temptation to overboost... Oilcooler, maybe supplemental engine cooling are both good ideas. Might want to look into the SAAB detonation control used in some of their early turbos: It backs off the boost when it senses detonation. I would also start with a freshened engine: If you notice, most of the horror stories and/or broken engines start out as tired engines that someone started playing with. IMHO, new rod and main bearings and properly working oil pump are critical. I suspect that some of the broken piston lands might have started out as ring issues (stuck and/or broken rings) so clean ring grooves and new rings would also be up there. I personally believe that there are some serious cooling system issues on the EA82. I seem to be alone in this belief, but the major contrary argument seems to be that it worked in the EA81 and the EA82 is almost the same. Not a convincing argument from an engineer's point of view. The flip side of this is that almost everybody says to watch the cooling system, as an overheat will blow the headgaskets and/or crack the heads. Hmmm, my Datsuns in 30 years of driving never lost a headgasket, and they have suffered several overheats. A bit of apples-and-oranges comparison, but an indicator. The thread that I started has a lot of chaffe, and a lot of dissenting views, but it does give a laundry list of where things can break, and possible when and how. My biggest disappointment is that most of the people that said it broke really didn't look into why, or often even question why. "Head cracked; everybody knows the castings are bad" dismisses so much, like which one?. "HG blew"... which one? "Broken piston ring land"... which one, and was the oil ring gummed up and the compression ring broken? So much data is missing so that it can't be correlated and analyzed. Easier to dismiss the engine as a poor design that will break on you. The EA82 is not a great design: Subaru isn't going to go looking for old, used blocks to make the next Formula-! killer-turbo-engine like BMW did with their 1500 4-cyl. But I think that it has a bad reputation due to its transitional nature and the economy of the times. A few minor tweaks might go a long way with it.

Expect different answers from different people... Without making any other modifications this is not a good idea. Due to high charge temperatures you will have trouble with detonation. I would consider an intercooler to be a must if you do this. I personally would do (and plan to do) other things. Several people on the board have done this before, with various degrees of success. Most attempts have resulted in broken motors. I think that calebz has had the most success. I think that you should read the thread, "The EA82 is a Bad Engine Because..." if you haven't already done so. Don't let the title put you off: I picked it to get noticed by certain members. It does contain information that you would find useful, plus introduce some members and their views. Good luck, have fun, and ask questions.

+1 I installed studded tires on all of our cars in early November (ahead of a bad snow storm) and we have driven on them since.

All leaks eventually drip on the hot exhaust system. Do not limit yourself to looking under the engine.

An EJ22 is an EJ22: bore and stroke are all the same.

If it shifts into 2 with the gear selector, it is almost certainly the governor giving you troubles. The governor is what provides "road speed" (really just output shaft speed) to the automatic's valve body whle in Drive (and only in Drive). The governor is externally accessible, and from within the engine compartment. It lives under the aluminum dome on the US passenger side of the transmission almost above and slightly forward of the right axle. 3 small bolts gets you access to it. The 2 usual problems are gummed-up/stuck valving and a damaged ("apple cored") driven gear. Check out this article: http://www.indysworld.com/80s/general/USRM/Transmission/Governor/ATgovenorclean.htm If the driven gear is damaged, the drive gear might also be damaged. Most of my experience is with vehicles that have the steel driven gear (as opposed to plastic on other/most? models), and a damaged steel gear usually means that the drive gear in the tranny will damage replacement driven gears.

The pack is literally mounted to the bottom of the plastic heater ducting, with all of its resistor coils inside of the ducting. IIRC (it has been awhile) one of its (2???) mounting screws is also used to mount the blower motor in the same duct. Regarding the control, I have not done one, but I believe that someone else asked and was given directions in the last month. (Winter always seems to bring out these Q's)

Information on year, model (engine-type), and carb or fuel injection would be REALLY helpful... Fuel, spark (properly timed), and compression. Which one are you missing? Do you have any spark at all? If so, does the spark occur every time that it should? (Coil producing 2 sparks for every crankshaft revolution.) If so, does the spark occur on the compression stroke? Do you have fuel? Are the fuel lines pressurized? Does the fuel pump run for 3-5 seconds when you first turn on the ignition? Other fuel issues depend on carb/injection system.

Other than checking tranny oil, I don't have too many ideas here without actually experiencing the noise. Hopefully, others will recognize it.

It doesn't come undone so much as makes spotty contact that makes it overheat, melt the connector plastic and burn the the spots that were still making contact. (What this is meant to tell you is that it may look still connected but is not really working.) Pull off the trim panel on the tailgate. It has been a few years, but IIRC it is held on with the typical plastic plastic push-pins around the bottom and sides. If you haven't worked with these before, it is best to use flat, forked trim tools to pry these out of their holes in the bodywork; a pair of large flat-head screwdrivers, one of either side of the plastic pin, can also work. The connector should be secured to the latch mechanism, and is identifiable by the wire being taught (and the connector might look a little crispy). IIRC, it is just a single power-wire (moderate gauge).

Please do not condemn a make or model simply because a poorly maintained/abused example did what you were warned about. My son's Camry was needing new radiator hoses and he was warned about it. Hose blew on the freeway and toasted the engine. No intellectually-honest person would conclude from this that Toyotas were junk. My EA82 started knocking a few months ago. I pulled over and parked it, and then had it towed home. I had spun a bearing, but the damage was minimal and correctable. My son is less mechanically responsible than am I, so a Camry seemed like a better choice for him then one of our EA82s... ...It didn't help much.

I reread the rod bearing posting, and the vendor did clarify that these would be for a machined crankshaft (making them "undersized"). Probably right on the main bearings being the same for EA61/EA71 and EA81. (Got to love parts commonality!) Rod bearings are clevite, main bearings are indeterminate but probably decent, and rings are from a common maker/distributor so should also be decent.

The defroster strips can be repaired using a circuit board trace repair pen.

Between the bottom of the front knuckle and the control arm.

Yes, it is pretty easy to pull the pump assembly. Biggest issue in my mind is pulling the fuel lines loose off of the pump fittings: space is a little tight. But, you do get the perk of doing it in the comfort of the car instead of crawling underneath.

In a not-terribly easy place... Facing engine from the front of the car, to the left of the throttle body (Oh, did I mention that you probably need to remove the aluminum "TURBO" manifold?), behind the intake manifold. IIRC (I block bad memories...), it is screwed into the water crossover tube, roughly forward of the knock sensor, underneath one of the easily broken solenoids (EGR, I think). It has a "injector"-style connector on it. I think that there are some pics in at least one other thread, but I didn't think to look for them prior to posting.