NorthWet

Tranny particulars probably won't make much difference, except for final drive ratio. Minor differences in planetary gearing and torque converter specs may exist. Dealer is probably CYAF'ing for liability/emissions reasons. Check out this thread on diff ratios: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=60618 Sounds like your car is likely a 3.900 and the tranny is a 4.111. Bad combo.

I have heard (hearsay/gossip level) that the 90s had issues with input-shaft bearing failures. I have a 90 Leg 5-speed that seems to have that failure. TO-bearing/clutch/cable/pilot issues far more likely, though.

2 dumb questions (neither of which answer you): Do you have the vacuum advnce disconnected and plugged while checking/setting advance? (not so important with ported vacuum) Does the advance advance change with change in engine RPM? If the distributor's advance mechanisims are not working then the engine will want more advnce than the static 8deg BTDC.

Lots of the Loyale stuff is just "DL" level trim. There is wiring for power mirrors, so I expect that there is wiring for other common options.

Might want to let a battery charger top off your battery before putiing in new alt. Lower the stress on the new alternator.

Boots tend to deteriorate quickly, possibly because of poor quality aftermarket boots. I think that the tight turning radius of Subarus increases wear and boot failure.

By "blunt" I assume you meant "straight to the point". GD's answer is right on. The only difference that I am aware of in starters is that the original starters for automatics had a higher KW rating. I have heard a lot of talk about drive differences, but I mixed and matched standard and autos several times without (apparent) issues. Different how? Also, check the ground cable. I have been unable to jump an EA81, until I tried running the ground of the jumpers to the starter, too.

My guess is loose fan belt or loosening crankshaft bolt. The charge light is an indication that the alternator is not putting out power, and there are many causes with the alternator itself being near the top. A glowing light indicates a marginal power production, which could be overheating/going-bad rectifier or regulator. But it could just mean a loose belt or something else not driving the belt well enough.

Check to see if the turbo plenum (the aluminum thing that says TURBO and connects the turbo outlet to the throttle body) has popped loose... typically at the throttle body. Make sure that the plenum is seated in the rubber connector hoses at both ends, and that all hose clamps are tight. What usually happens is someone forgets to tighten the clamps and the plenum pops up out of the rubber when on boost. Since you are losing metered air, not only are you lacking boost but also injecting too much fuel.

Same port, or at least close enough that it uses the same gasket.

A couple minutes to a couple hours, depending on how much water needs to be vaporized and how hard the engine is ruinning; idle might take a long while to vaporize a lot of water.

Over the decades I have been frustrated by what seemed a high failure rate with t-stats. Mine seem to be related somewhat to disuse, but more so to my being really bad about using just plain water as a coolant. If I were to guess, I would say that the design of t-stats really relies upon the coolant having the lubricants and anti-corrosives in "antifreezes".

Ignorant (literal meaning) question: What do you have for auto parts supply stores? (Hopefully that translates well into the Queen's English, what with our "common language" and all! ) Can you source US parts locally, and not for a King's ransom?? (OT again, but a friend visited the UK a few years ago, and people were in disbelief that his daily driver had a 7+liter engine. )

Canada, eh? Some emissions control may be different from US-spec, but yours should have a PCV valve. The PCV system is used to remove blowby gasses and other combustible vapors from the engine case. The system (valve and vent/breather hoses) should be checked and cleaned. The PCV valve itself is probably to the right (driver's perspective) of the throttle body. Do not forget to check hoses to both cam covers.

GM-USA cars, built in the USA. Large engined Chevrolet/Caddilac/et al from the 1980's is the popular ones. Not to many of these running around the Sussex countryside???

As long as the 5-speed is not FT4WD/AWD then dolly trailering is OK. Automatics are different. No wiring to "disable" rear drive for towing... have to pull driveshaft or axle shafts to do that.

The EA82 uses more headbolts than the Datsun L-series, and more concentrated around the blowout areas that I have seen. And there is no "waterpump outlet pipe"; it has an inlet pipe, then its outlet is through the case.

Although I personally would LOVE some affordable studs, I don't really think that the headbolts are the weak link. Datsun/Nissan uses similar size bolts (and Toyota, probably) and have virtually zero headgasket issues. (Datsun L-series engines use 43 ft-lbs head torque; less than the EA82...) I feel that if there is a weak link with the bolts, it is in the block threads pulling out. Daeron, do you happen to know what the Turbo Datsuns/Nissans use for headbolts, and what tightening torque they get? (Sorry to keep equating EA82s to other engines, but these are contemporary engine designs.) I would REALLY like to know how many disty-side HGS blow out solo (not along with non-disty side). All of the single HG failures that I have seen (not that many, admittedly) are on the non-disty side, which I believe (really need to do a full teardown ) receives its coolant flow through the small port at the TOP of the engine case. Low coolant level means little/no coolant flow to non-disty side. Daeron, yes there are ways around this, but I think that it would entail external coolant lines to the N-D side. So which side blows HGs more would be good to know. Something else that would be good to know is the WAY in which they blow; the ones that I have seen have blown outwards into the adjacent coolant passages. They don't seem to leak inwards (up or down) along the broad area of the mating surfaces near the intake and exhaust passages. This makes me think that this thin width of gasket is just getting pushed out of the way and into the coolant passage; if these gasket sections could be stabilized it would be less prone to fail. I have some ideas for gasket stabilizing/reinforcing, but I think that the first step are freshly milled heads and blocks. Another thing that I have noticed is that the coolant passages don't really match between head, gasket, and block (at least on the MPFI/turbo engines that I have looked at). One glaring mismatch is that the block has a coolant passage that is aimed right at the MPFI's exhaust port divider (common crack point) but the head does not have a passage there; looks like the passage could be drilled, and I have a scrap head that I will use to explore this. *edit* - Daeron, I am not trying to tease or anything. I have some ideas, turning them over in my mind to see if they make sense and are the best way of doing things or if they are likely to really screw things up. "Better to be quiet and thought a fool then to speak and remove all doubt."

Warning: Sacrelige (sp?) ahead!!! After staring at some blocks, heads, and blown gaskets, I am beginning to believe that the design and quality of the head gaskets aren't the problem. I think that there are head/block mating surface issues and cooling system design issues. I think that if these issues were addressed the HGs would last even under lots of boost.

Old Gens are supposed to go open loop when manifold pressure goes slightly positive (based on a pressure switch similar to the one that turns on the "TURBO" indicator on the dash).

Engine is breathing 6-10K liters of (STP) air per minute at max revs-boost... a liter or two of air, with plenty of time for pressure rise, is not going to make a real difference in AF ratio. It *can* add a little lag. Density does not enter into it, as the MAF has already dealt with quantity of air. It is possible to stuff more oxygen into the engine than the injectors can deliver fuel for, causing a full-power lean-out.

Oh, and I forgot to state the obvious: Make sure that the cam-cover breather is not narrowed by caked goo. I have seen quite a few that were narrowed to only a fourth of their nominal diameter. This would cause lots of oil entrainment.

A short somewheres. Where did the wire smoke? (front, back, dash)

Gasses will come out somewhere, so it is better to be controlled ventilation than blowing seals. And/or getting a case explosion! Mesh in and of itself would have little effect. Need to slow the velocity of the vent gasses and cool them down. I just had a radical idea... create a "syphon tube" (dumb name, but can't think of something better) in the exhaust pipe past the turbo. Exhaust gasses would create a depression to draw the gasses out. Use metal line to run to it (eliminates chance of igniting mixture in tube/case) and a check valve (PCV?) to deal with pressure reversions. CatCons might not like it if you dumped a lot of oil, though.

A truly noble steed... got you home before it expired.