idosubaru

i thought you'd find that amusing. Lol It's there for when you do finally have time to burn. Lol.

Hey John! Auto tensioner. If it's making noise, Check the bearings soon. The serpentine belt pulley bearings (idler and tensioner) in those H6 engines fail all the time and can at very low mileages. I consider them 60k replacement items or on anything a few years old with unknown history. They're super easy to replace. Standard 6203 bearings and just tap them out of the pulley and tap new ones in. You'll find it a breeze. Just make sure you don't loose the captive nut that the bolt threads into when removing/installing the bolts.

Wrong forum. A moderator could move it. I'd start by finding an EA81 FSM online for free. Is this an MT or AT? Are EA81 the same as EA82 front diff set ups? Did you remove any parts that are adjustable or could affect t clearances? (EA82 and newer gens have a retaining ring that sets preload/backlash). No one I can think of that posts regularly knows front diffs well enough to say. Gloyale has a few threads about front diffs and pics of his gauge set up for measuring clearances. Check that thread out.

Does Subaru offer a reman starter for that vehicle? Where did you buy it, how much did it cost, and what was the part number? In general reman and aftermarket starters (and alternators and fuel pumps) aren't excellent long term performers. Best to stick with OEM. Most people avoid the high cost OEM Subaru part. There are subarus up to 2006 that use that same starter, another options is to find a lower mileage/newer OEM Subaru starter www.car-part.com Starter is just an electrical motor so you can attempt to check and replace the brushes and clean up the internals.

Yep, air systems are best just to move away from. I wouldn't consider the pumps worth converting, they're ancient, weak, and the 5 intergrated air lines (1 for each strut and 1 for the tank) aren't ideal. the pump and the tank line are "open" to all of those strut lines - so the rears would need capped and you need to hope all the solenoids and orings in the system don't leak on all 4 air lines. or work around that. not terribly hard but far from a clean install. then you'd have to tap into the tank for a hose. and determine how you're going to make the compressor turn on and off - install a switch or switch-like function somewhere. but yeah if you've got time to burn and don't care if it works - it would be fun to try and eek out some functionality out of it and see how it does. or install an aftermarket pump to replace the stock one.

1. yes they generally accept 2" lifts just fine for daily drivers. if you're doing a lot of aggressive offroading the axles might not take that extra strain. you then need 2" lift and lowering blocks. 2 & 3 no big deal IMO 4. i'm not of the opinion every dealer treats every owner and vehicle identically. though there are obvious some guidelines, but i'm not convinced this will fall under any hard and fast rules. if an alternator fails at 30,000 miles and the thing is a garage kept, waxed, meticulously maintained grocery getter - i'd gladly take mine to my local dealer, they wouldnt' blink. if it's scratched, dented, mud in many crevices from being plowed off through offroad ruts and looks like the engine was half submerged previously and you walk in abrasively demanding service....then it will start getting more gray. if you're like the 98% of jeep owners I see running around town - lifted, stickers "turn this over if you can read it", and jacks, who love to park in the end spot of a parking lot because i guess the gravel makes it "offroad" - in a spotlessly waxed jeep that doesn't look like it's ever seen a blade of grass.....i think you'll be fine to lift your Subaru.

No they're not - they're $15 - $30 all over the place. Local yards, pick and pulls, pull a part or order one: www.car-part.com What axles/knuckles are you running - EA81 or something else?

www.car-part.com is a nationwide database of used subaru parts. i can find a $15 axle and have it shipped to me. i don't need to wait for the local place to get one. I think i've even seen some canadian yards on there as well, not sure if there are many or just ones close to the border? with shipping or knowing someone, you've got options. or craigslist - or kiji or whatever that board is in canada they use - there's others place people part out subarus. subaruoutback.com would be a good place to ask for assistance in canada as well - if someone knows someone parting a car, sources of used parts, axles, etc.

aftermarket axles absolutely suck. i've had brand new ones explode in a few miles, noisy and vibrate on lifted Subaru's but not non-lifted ones...etc, and so have many others. get good at swapping them and have a pile in the back? OEM Subaru, MWE will last longer. i don't play offroad but i've never blown one of those on a 2" lift with no drop blocks.

another axle option is to buy a used axle at a local yard - make sure it has green inner joints which is Subaru OEM and reboot it. reboot Subaru axles and they'll last the life of the vehicle. i've done it countless times and they'll last the life of the vehicle and are cheap. $25-$33 all day long stateside. www.car-part.com

yeah/engine if the bolts stripped - just helicoil them, it's not terribly hard even if it seems like it is. on EA82/ER27's it's fairly common for many of us to just tap and use a different size stud/nut, which is slightly larger and doesn't require drilling, lots of threads about it on here.

How positive are you it's in the vicinity of the bellhousing? Heatshields are common. Check ATF and diff fluid level and condition. Torque converter? Does it do it while idling? Revving? While coasting down hill in neutral? In reverse?

I dont' play offroad but aftermarket axles don't last at all for me, i've had them click right out of the box multiple times and blow up twice, and always fail in short order. OEM Subaru axles I've never had fail one time with a 2" lift. granted I don't beat them up like you offroad guys do, but avoiding aftermarket is a big plus for a daily driver at least.

yep oil is getting past the rings. price out rings, used engine, used block, new/rebuilt short block, JDM, CCR reman with 36,000 mile/36 month warranty and see if anything is palatable.

Thanks for the added information - I think you need to check the Oxygen sensor immediately. Unplug the electrical connector immediately and see if the symptoms change. It's not needed for that engine, so it'll run just fine with it disconnected. Report back what happens. Also - I wasn't asking about electrical problems - I wanted to know about the alternator output. Voltage should be checked at the alternator output post and battery terminal while the engine is running. Takes less than one minute to do. Post results here. And draw/paint a line across the crank pulley to keep an eye out for separation.

Thanks for the added information - I think you need to check the Oxygen sensor immediately. Unplug the electrical connector immediately and see if the symptoms change. It's not needed for that engine, so it'll run just fine with it disconnected. Report back what happens. Also - I wasn't asking about electrical problems - I wanted to know about the alternator output. Voltage should be checked at the alternator output post and battery terminal while the engine is running. Takes less than one minute to do. Post results here. And draw/paint a line across the crank pulley to keep an eye out for separation.

Check out the EA2EJ swap threads - there's some really good ones and information out there. The adapter plate is probably the challenging part if you're not going to buy one. For wiring - if you've got time it's just the sifting and trimming of the harness that's time and detail intensive. Aside from that - i think they can end up only having like 3-ish wires to splice into the vehicle, so it mostly all happens on your floor/table at home inside. the OBDI and OBDII long blocks are essentially the exact same engines - so you can use any EJ22 long block you find basically. you can bolt an OBDI intake manifold onto an OBDII engine. and you can bolt an EJ22 intake manifold onto an EJ18 as well. I would aim for 1996 and earlier because they're non-interference engines and I like HLA's because they never need adjustment and i don't care about the 3 hp gain from solid lifters. but that's just personal preference strictly and if you do proper timing belt maintenance it doesn't matter that the 1997 and later are interference, just replace the belts and pulleys/tensioner on time.

any large guage wire is good within the same relative size. bigger is generally better as long as size doesn't hinder working with it and end results. once you get it repaired maybe check it for heat - see how hot it feels - though it could be intermittent. replace wire and make sure end connections are absolutely clean and tight. you can strip the old wiring of insulation and you may find significant corrosion all up in the wire strands. it's most likely the end connections are just dirty and not tight. it's like using jumper cables - if you don't have a great clamp/contact the cables get extremely hot very quickly due to basic electrical principles.

Follow up with a response to those first 5 suggestions I gave and I bet we can get somewhere rather easily and for very little money.

Most of the time this kind of stuff isn't a big deal and it just needs proper diagnosis and maintenance. A friend outside philly was told she needed a new engine (basically same engine as yours in a legacy sedan) due to cylinder misfires (some of the same codes you have), I talked to the shop and they said they tested and it's not worth fixing. but they didn't do any real diagnosis, I told her to drive it to me and I fixed it for like $100 with new plugs and wires. ***How is it running? Good or terrible? First 4 codes indicate all 4 cylinders - so this should be (with the limited info you've given) something that affects all 4 cylinders, which are: 1. Clear the codes and see which ones come back first - read them the moment the light comes back on or even check before the light comes on for pending codes. Which ones come back first? 2. Check the charging system. Alternator, battery, connections. Poor elecrical system will result in phantom codes. NAPA, Autozone, Advance and others do on car testing for free. Drive in and let them test it if you can't. 3. verify the crank pulley isn't separating (draw a line across the face of the pulley and check it a couple times the following weak to see if the line is "broken"). 4. Has the timing belt or pulleys ever been replaced? It's an interference engine so if any of those fail you'll have a non running blown engine and $$$$ repair. his is unlikely if the car is running fine. 5. test or swap in a used ($30) coil pack. they're a dime a dozen, i probably have one and have thrown them away. ebay, www.car-part.com for used ones cheap. The following are less likely since we're talking about all 4 cylinders (although I should know how long those codes have been there, which come back and how fast - but I have to guess with the limited info you've given) - so these aren't likely but they are the most common cause of some of those codes you have if they showed up by themselves. 6. They need Subaru or NGK or other high quality premium wires and NGK stock plugs. I've seen brand new wires cause misfires on those engines (more so on those engines than others) from day 1. But I wouldn't expect all 4 to be bad at the same time, so that's why I say it's unlikely based on some assumptions. 7. pull the plugs and check for oil on them - the valve cover spark plug tube gaskets leak and get the plugs wet. most by this age/mileage have needed replaced already, i've done tons. Have those spark plug tube gaskets ever been replaced?

Couple suggestions: 1. New York has rust issues. Clearly this one was in some kind of odd situation due to the mileage so it may have avoided some, but I'd want very good pictures of all the exhaust, brakes, and suspension. I don't know how familiar you are with salt and rust - but you don't want rust or the beginnings of it. 2. Low mileage. I wouldn't pay premium prices for a super low mileage Subaru unless it's a specialty car that's hard to fine, but just for an average late 90's Subaru I wouldn't pay premium for it without a very compelling reason besides just mileage/condition. Like impeccable maintenance records, being sold by the original owner who's very forthcoming and honest about why it's got low mileages and the timing belt kit is completely replaced. The couple of low mileage Subaru's I have had seem to have weird non-typical issues, like wipers, speedo, door guts, leaks, etc...I think lack of use doesn't help things. They're all minor and not a big deal - but I'm just saying I wouldn't without a compelling reason. 3. Get a 1998 or earlier 2.2. 99 2.2's are Phase II and have identical heads/valves of the 2.5 and similar headgasket and rod issues - it is not the robust pinnacle of Subaru reliability of the 1990-1998 2.2 liter engines. Not a huge deal or deal breaker - there's just no compelling reason to sacrifice the much better track record of the 1998 and earlier 2.2 engines. *** The 1999+ 2.2's are known for external headgasket leaks - make sure you get detailed pictures of the head to engine mating surface and verify it's spotless. (Hopefully they don't clean it before hand knowing you're looking for it) 4. I would look out west - I've gotten Subaru's from Texas and California - rust free, excellent deals that aren't subject to the price surge of Colorado and the PNW. With shipping I ended up paying the same or less than what I'd pay to get one around here - priced right, reasonably versed Subaru owners so I knew they were drivable/reliable and ***absolutely no rust***. You seriously don't want rust. 5. Yes $800 shipping, I'd budget $800 but depending on details it could easily come in less. I had one shipped across the country from CA to here for $760 or something like that for terminal to terminal (no upcharges from them bringing to or delivering from the terminal which is usually an extra $100-ish very roughly. I don't know if this is the norm but when I've checked with DAS in the past prices vary, I get a quote of $740 one week and then $820 the next.

Clean tube and mating surface on both sides of oring The aftermarket water pump gaskets suck. Get a Subaru one next time.

what about the other important aspects of this job: 1. resurfacing the heads 2. resurfacing the block Open questions like this are usually limited in scope. The best qualified people don't usually respond. So you'll get anecdotal low grade replies. Ideally you get info from GD, GLoyale, Crawlerdan and people that have replaced significant numbers. Ivansimports as well. But they'd have to quit their jobs to reply to every common question so they don't respond much here. Ideally you do some significant searching and post links or specific questions. It would be nice to curate a thread comprising all of the high capacity folks comments on the subject. I've owned 40 Subarus, worked on many more and have no clue how many headgaskets I've replaced - and still my experience regarding your question is anecdotal and not technically worth a lick. By reading replies you'll just get a bunch of statistically meaningless opinions and experiences like mine. If you search, I know some of those guys have reported before what they use and have seen. It's worth finding what they've said. Use google search and find their usernames from USMB. I'm comfortable using Subaru or Fel Pro based on the comments of really experienced people who have come to their own conclusions. I'm pretty sure crawlerdan has used Fel Pro for years hundreds of times without issues over many years. He's got a statistically significant look at long term success and enormous same size a thread like this will never touch.

Auto trans will shear the drum off inside the trans if driven with too much binding. Does anyone know the equivalent failure of an MT stressed internally with torque bind? Torque bind seems the obvious starting point - maybe it's been happening awhile or was happening under the aggressive driving described which precipitated or accelerated the U joint failure and busted some stuff in the trans as well. Never seen a ujoint mess up the trans wxcept shearing off and flailing around and crack the extension housing.

I'd EJ swap. Truthfully EA82T's are actually very reliable engines they just have a quarter century of history against them and forced induction issues to boot. Cost wise - an EJ engine can be had for about the same costs as the head job so cost wise yo'ure down to the adapter plate. Look up every year legacy/impreza from 1990-1996 and see if you can find a cheap EJ engine. www.car-part.com. I've gotten sub 100,000 mile EJ engines for $150 in great shape that then accumulated 150,000 miles before. If you buy a wrecked or rusted legacy/impreza for cheap - you could have an EJ egine and trans for cheap. i see them regularly rusted out or ocassionally wrecked for $200 - $400. You can bolt an EJ22 intake manifold onto an EJ18 and then it's just an EJ22 swap but you have more engine options and they're so rare and uncommon they can be had for cheap sometimes. If you swap the transmission as well you could avoid the adapter plate, but I prefer the EA82 center diff lock 4WD and they are less likely to experience torque bind than EJ transmissions. I've never even seen an EA/ER trans with torque bind but i've seen zillions of EJ's with it. EA82T's are reliable when new. but to get them there you have to rebuild the turbo, replace all the lines and fittings, head gaskets, resurface heads, replace the oil pumps (or be prepared to live with TOD) but oil pumps are no longer available, timing belt kit every 50k, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, valve cover gaskets, cam seals, cam cap orings, cam carrier orings...etc. And then after all that work - assume it wasn't overheated enough to compromise bearings which throw rods through the engine case. An EJ would only need valve cover gaskets, timing kit, cam seals/oring and reseal the oil pump to have excellent 100,000 miles reliability, way more power and an endless supply of needed parts for cheap. So I guess if you want as cheap as possible keeping the EA might be "cheaper" if you're okay with unknown overheating events, harder to find parts, unavailable oil pumps, additional turbo support and work and longevity issues and low power. I think it ends up being a pennywisedollardumb kind of deal but hey i'm just as prone to that as the next DIY adventurer, which is why I know it so well. LOL