NorthWet

Which gaskets are you using? Aftermarket or OEM? There are a lot of really poor aftermarket exhaust flange gaskets out there. If you haven't done so already, try a set of OEM gaskets.

Not much of an aftermarket for goodies on older (pre-Legacy) Subarus. As has been mentioned, most people end up custom fabbing things, or "borrowing" semi-compatible parts (turbos, downpipes) from later models. "Chipping" is currently not an option, but you can go with a "kit"-style fuel injection computer (MegaSquirt) which a few members have been playing with. As Alleyboy mentioned, emissions testing can put a crimp in your modifications, and if you live in the Seattle Metro area, you are kind of limited. (I live outside of E-testing area...) John: The car is an RX, not an XT .

The point with regen braking is not that the efficiency is giving you the 15%-ish return, but the usage is doing that. If you hopped on the highway, drove 200 miles/Km/leagues/whatevers, then got off of the highway and let the car coast to a stop and did not touch your brakes, you would have 0% regen braking. (Extreme example, but to make a point clearer.) In other words, most of the used energy is lost to other resistance and not to the braking action that would allow regen braking. So, regen braking might return 15% of TOTAL energy usage, more probable in in-town driving.

No power at the injectors... did you intall the dropping-resistor pack, and do you have power to it. (Can't remember if this pack is between battery and injectors or injectors and ECU grounding.)

Any EA82-type radiator will work (though it yours is an automatic then you should find one with the tranny cooler lines...). Dual row cores are thicker across the core; tanks are the same size.

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RE: Power - I have an 89 SPFI with 3AT. It is reasonably peppy. I would first look at tuneup items/issues before taking hammers and saws to the car. Plugs, wires, cap, rotor... and timing! I have seen lotws of FI EA82s that have their timing misset. A/C pulser coil on front of compressor is to detect when the compressor is not turning (like it is seized) and disable the clutch circuit. If the pulser does not put out a regular signal, the clutch will not stay engaged.

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I found it recently while looking for just the same info... did a Search rather than look for a sticky... oh, well, found it anyway.

One of the reasons a manufacturer would recommend premium fuel is that premium generally contains a better additive package, including fuel system cleaners. Better additives produce better running engines and happier customers. Fewer regular fuels contain these additives; so called "Top Tier" fuels, which conatin these additives even in regular, should make your car run happily. "Octane" is not power, greater ignition advance is not power. The popular term "Octane" refers to a fuel's ability to resist chemical breakdown and spontaneous ignition (detonation). Higher octane fuels break down slower when exposed to high peak temperatures and time-related temperatures. Higher octane fuels also burn slower, thus requiring greater ignition advance in order for the engine to develop peak pressure just past TDC. This slower burning and greater ignition advance actually means that more of the fuel's power is spent resisting the compression stroke. An "ideal" engine/fuel combo would require virtually no ignition advance. For most of your everyday driving, your engine would probably be content burning 40-50 octane fuel, and if the engine was optimized for it would give better fuel economy than on 87+ octane fuel. 87/89/93 octane fuel is only needed when you start asking your engine to produce significant power, like accelerating or climbing hills. You can "gain" detonation resistance by running at a higher engine speed, which reduces the time-related aspect of the chemical breakdown. My 2 cents: Running higher octane fuel than your driving style requires is a waste, but one we all do to some extent everyday. If you want the fuel additives, then buy a higher grade of gas or buy "Top Tier" fuels.

EA82 (and EA81) are press-fit. You really should use a brass drift to remove the old bearings, as any steel is likely to be harder than the cast iron of the bearing housing.

Yet another link, from a FAQ "sticky" in this forum: http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/engine.html

I would imagine that you could run into issues with cylinder liner retention if you started planing the block significantly.

I think that it depends on year and application. Some engine versions did not have EGR, others did.

For what it is worth, the shift lever has no noticeable slop, and it does not shake. It just rocks fore and aft in response to power. PO had started to remove the tranny before I bought it, so who knows what got disconnected...

Oops... cephalic flatuation... I was trying to NOT think Edmonds, so of course that is what I typed. Prev post amended.

Unknown to me. Haven't seen that one around Kitsap, and I see alot of them going to and from work on Bainbridge Island (Edmonds/BI ferry route). EDIT: oops! Seattle/BI ferry... see next post

Yes.

As long as you don't want to use several gears, it is just fine! Depends on the reason it is rocking. I suspect mine is linkage related, but as I have written, I haven't crawled under it yet. (Only 3 jack-friendly slots at my house, and all 3 are spoken for at the moment.)

FINALLY got one of my new-gens running... a 90 Legacy with a 5MT that I picked up for $125 due to a "bad transmission". Pretty sure it was the clutch, and it turned out to be the case: Clutch disk hub sheared away from the friction ring. Anyways, got it all put back together, took it for a test drive, and the shifter is rocking fore and aft 15-20degrees in response to power. Engine mounts look good, dogbone looks ok, and am unsure about tranny mount. I have not crawled under to check out shifter linkage yet. (Orders to get my wife's 90 Leg Auto running... ) So, what is most likely to cause this much shifter movement? I can't use 4th under power, as I can't keep it engaged, but can use 4th on overrrun; 5th works fine under power but pops out under overrun. Thanks all!

To check for a clogged radiator, you can have the radiator flow-tested at at radiator shop... or, you can just feel for hot or cold areas on the radiator with the radiator properly filled, the car at operating temperatures, and the engine running. A clogged radiator will usually exhibit cold horizontal bands across the core. Also, please note that aluminum radiators loose their ability to adequately transfer heat as they age. A 10 year old aluminum radiator may flow well but cool poorly.

Start with plugs, wires, cap and rotor. Ensure that the timing is correct. What is the past history of the car? Have you had it for awhile and it is just now acting up? Does it belch smoke/vapor, and if so, what color? waht do the plugs look like; is one/all fouled with either gas or oil?

Alan, is it normal vacuum line sized hose, or is it more like a PCV hose? I don't have a carb'd EA82, so I can't go out and check, but I would suspect that it is either a PCV line or an ASV (Air Suction Valve) line... either, disconnected, could give you an exhausty smell. (The PCV would be a little more hot-oil smelling.)

If you don't want the spark plug hole sealed and want to risk damage to the hole's seating area. I sthere a reason you would want to do this? Maybe looking for a projected-tip plug? NGK makes them...

My thoughts are the same as manxsta's and vanislru's, that the filter should have caught any offending particles... unless the filter was so plugged that the bypass opened.