idosubaru

Wow! how did you figure out to use water?!? These have electrical fuel pumps in the back. Fuel is a good place to check. Check fuel pressure when it stops running. 1. how long has it been running and driving? 2. has it recently sat for a long period of time?

You can swap the 2002 short block into the 98 but not the engine. In other words bolt everything from the 98 onto the 2002 block - heads, intake, etc. but I don't recommend doing that unless you know what you're doing. I think I needed to use thicker headgaskets for clearance when I've done that swap in the past. But it's been 10 years since I've done that same swap so I might be off. If it's an automatic you keep the trans with the original vehicle. 02 and 98 are not interchangeable for the transmission, if it's a manual you may have options.

Same OEM ball joint and OEM bolt all the way.

You can pop the hood and see the head gasket protruding from the head to engine mating surface. Just follow that seem until you see a part oft he gasket sticking out. Does it look new? Can you take a picture and post it here or a link to it so we can see? We can give you some feedback if you take good pictures of the gasket or any fluids. There's bound to be some CV splatter, or benign seepage, so don't worry about seeign some fluids - we can help tell the difference or where it's coming from for you if you get a good pic up.

Great car. If it's an automatic the transmissions are great, of least concern. Engine is great - keeping in mind what I wrote about earlier. Have a look at the engine with those things in mind. They easily see 200,000 miles. If it's been maintained at a local dealer - I'd stop in and ask if they can let me see the maintenance history of a car I'm about to buy and give them the VIN. They've done that for me a number of times.

*Install new Subaru timing belt and lower cogged idler at a bare minimum. Takes an hour, parts are roughly $125. $400-$800 at a dealer or $200-$500 at a local shop. Even if they have "a new timing belt" I still always install a new Subaru belt and lower idler. Because they usually don't change that idler which is prone to fail and aftermarket belts are known to fail early. They bend valves if the belt breaks. That is all I'd want to ensure before a long road trip and moving. Ideally the following are checked or considered or addressed as well: Brakes - clean and regrease the slides with Sil Glyde or some other high performance grease. If you're headed east this would be wise too as that higher end grease performs better in our salty/chemically treated winter garbage out east. Check the drive belt and battery connections and age. Clean and tigthen battery posts and connections. Spark plugs, wires, PCV valve, air fitler - general tune up stuff. Use stock NGK plugs only and Subaru or NGK wires and Subaru pcv valve. Very easy job on that vehicle. In the end a bad wire or plug will just give you a check engine light that's benign (you can keep driving) and you fix it when youi have time - so it's not a big deal or worry of a stranding situation. Not the case. There are two distinctive EJ22's for this discussion. The 99-01 EJ22's are not the same as the earlier subaru fan favorites of 1990-1998 EJ22's which were one of the best engines Subaru ever made. So that's why there's incorrect, or conflicting, statements. The 99-01 EJ22 heads are essentially Phase II EJ25 heads - the valves and springs are identical and even have the same Subaru part number, and the heads themselves are identical except for the exhaust ports. It's not like earlier Ej22's where the heads were completely different designs from the EJ25 and shared no parts. These are, by design, the same head molds, just tweaked for different exhaust ports. I'd still recommend getting it if it passes other assessment/requirements, but be aware of a few things when you look at it or in the future as an active owner of that vehicle. If they have the original manufacturer installed headgaskets from the factory they are prone to external leaks. Usually oil and it usually gets worse very slowly over a long period of time. You can wait and plan a repair for 10's of thousands of miles or just ignore it if you're not worried about drips here and there. The good news is this is of zero consequence for reliability. The bad news is it could have leaked/be leaking or have been repaired. 1. I'd be looking for signs of repair and who did it or if a Subaru gasket was used. 2. I'd be looking for signs of cleaning - squeaky clean, as if to remove lots of oil. Or clean in some areas and saturated in areas that are hard to clean. That would be a sign it's currently leaking and was cleaned up for sale. 3. It has no signs of leaks at all now or in the past and you just drive the thing 100,000 more miles - which is a very likely scenario.

Those H6's are the most recommended Subaru I've helped a lot of people buy/repair, many first time Subaru owners I know I helped them into an H6.. since all the Ej22's rusted out many years ago around here.

If that car sees any salt or rust prone situations, I'd consider Subaru or better grade bolt for the pinch bolt. Aftermarket metal is almost invariably more prone to rust than Subaru OEM and pinch bolts are annoying if they're seized.

You want to make sure you don't get someone who doesn't know what they're doing and covers it up to just pass inspection which can often mean trapping rust and water inside of it. Some places in areas with inspections will do this - just get it rhough inspection and there very well may treat an old Subaru like a Ford Tempo. You don't want that kind of a "patch". I'd almost want it more open than covered unless they do a really good job of attacking the rust directly.

Another question which is a better fit is: "Are there any oil induced failures or issues that oil choice could mitigate?" There are none. Most oil decisions/questions try to solve an issue that doesn't exist. With a 20 year old model, there's many thousands of examples with a total of billions of miles of opportunity for the greater Subaru community to see any issues, timing tensioner, or otherwise. The good news in all this - is it truly doesn't matter at all. So you'll be right whatever you choose. Enjoy the JDM i've installed JDM EZ30's as well.

Good call! That quote is for exactly what you said and some supporting work I assume. His was imported from Germany to the US and isn’t a variation or model available here though I’d imagine the frame is the same.

headgaskets i mean we can't see the car so i guess you'd be wise to check for the intake manifold still leakinng into the combustion chamber but based on what you said the headgaskets have failed and are blowing exhaust into the coolant. it prevents the fluid from properly circulating and thus the heat doesnn't work. EA82's are tiny engines and easy to replace the headgaskets in the vehicle...well, easy relative to headgaskets.

Same symptoms with two thermostats suggest this is something other than a thermostat issue. Definitely check or just get an oem one in there but don’t hold your breath.

Let's start with the good take on this - an 88 hatch is a sweet ride! Get it, and keep it, drivable and enjoy driving it. It's really dependent on you finding someone, there's no "going rate" for a job like this. It varies wildly and many shops/mechanics don't want to touch stuff like that. Body shops aren't a good fit, they'll be pricey and have plenty of insurance work. But ask around and see if there's any where that's willing to give it a rough patch job for a reasonable cost. I'd ask friends/shops/mechanics who they know that might be a good fit, don't just ask if they'll do it. Actual, legitimate, long term repair is for hard core DIY or restorations, or custom work only. In many areas that's a high priced sector of the automotive world, not something you're going to get quick lube oil change rates for. With a little effort and cost you should enjoy a solid 5 more years out of this vehicle. Also - if it's driven in the snow/treated roads or salty ocean front environments - copiously spray/wash the underside of the car off as much as you can. At a bare minimum spray the under side of the car in the spring a few times as the weather begins to warm. Or frequently if it's in a garage that's considerably warmer than outside. chemical reactions happen exponentially in relation to temperature as described by the Arrhenious equation. So wash the salt off and particularly wash the salt off before/when it gets warmer out if you can't do it regularly. The bad news. That's essentially non-repairable. A proper repair would be thousands of dollars and finding someone to do it wouldn't be easy. Of course call some custom shops or body shops and get a quote or ask who does that kind of work to see what happens locally. A friends German landrover looks like that - all his body panels are immaculate and perfect. No rust - except underneath on similar parts as yours from sitting in grass. No body work needed - $20,000 quote just to fix the rusty frame. It's almost impossible to get it all out - and it WILL come back. I've tried. It's crazy how far back it goes, how you have to keep cutting and cutting, and then there's areas you can't cut without getting into more stuff or much bigger job than you wanted. It's a loosing endless battler without massive overhaul. Whatever you see - it's 10x worse. And unless you're really good - it'll come back.

Owners manual is a good source for viscosity. When searching here - search his user name and "Amsoil", his most detailed responses involve that. Google search might work better but it should be readily available here too. And you might try searching his posts for EZ30 in case he's ever pointed it out. Oil opinions are 99% of the time not given by someone acutely aware of failure modes, causes, metallurgical deterioration, interplay of lubricity degradation and heat escalation, oil degradation, or any kind of engineering/large scale data analysis, when it comes to oil induced issues. This isn't a big deal except when we consider how obsessed people are with oil choices. Except maybe GD. Hours and hours of internet reading/watching is just a bunch of half-baked (at best) opinions and picking whatever sounds good, there's nothing scientific, engineering related, or data driven about that. But here's the thing - it doesn't matter. Run synthetic, never let it get low, and change it on time and you'll never have an oil induced issue. Outside of "don't be dumb", follow the owner manual, there's no chance of viscosity giving any meaningful benefit (ignoring fuel mileage) for an average daily driver. Change two different EZ30's from new with 5w30 and 10w30 for 200k and if it's never run low or past interval there will be no difference. EZ-30 guts/materials/clearances are commensurate with all modern subaru engines. There's nothing special regarding the EZ30 related to oil viscosity. There's not much information or consensus because it doesn't matter. That engine runs 250,000 miles all day long on the cheapest on sale oil you can find if it never gets low, and is changed frequently. Technically even conventional oil is fine if you change it a lot, but synth is so good and forgiving of potential running hot, or low oil, or other compromising events, and longer change intervals, it's silly not to run it. There are two minor oil related considerations on the EZ: 1. the timing chain tensioner supplies 2. the EZ30 has 6 cylinders - so failure or incidence rates of unforgiving circumstances will be 50% higher when speaking about the combustion chamber just mathematically speaking. Keeping the oil clean, full, and changed regularly is key to those two points far more than viscosity...again, follow the owners manual.

Yes - consider this! Regrease both axles and switch sides left to right. I'd be very surprised if you have any noise regreasing and certainly not after regreasing and switching sides. Also a visual inspection of the guts is smart cookies.

Crow bar will probably work if it’s been apart and not stuck. The further you spread the receiving side of the ball, the easier it’ll come out too. I use a pickle fork to remove ball joints but that damages the ball joint boot and I’m almost always replacing them. Works every time even on nasty fused rusty garbage. Ive got a 100% success rate cleaning and repacking noisy axles. Some really bad ones. But I’m always doing it to my own axles I know their age exposure and some or all of their history. The noise is caused by lack of grease or it’s all watery and in terrible condition. pours out when you cut the boot, not like normal grease. If it’s seen sand or aggregate your chances probably go down. I have tossed some I wouldn’t bother repacking too if they’re unknown or saw copious sand. You don’t have much to loose to try. they basically drive forever on noisy axles anyway. My 230k Tribeca OEM axles have been noisy for awhile snd I’ll wait 10s of thousands more miles to repack and regrease them. They’re not broken and I’ll wait until I have to pull the axles for some other job. Zero worries. But I detest aftermarket axles so I’m not saying they’re a good candidate to approach the same way. But that aside, the axles are probably more forgiving than colloquial auto wisdom touts. As a test - if the boots are broken you can simply repack grease in through there with a grease gun and needle fitting. If it quiets down then you’ll likely be fine. I’ve done this before and they quite down immediately just like a freshly greased door hinge, but the grease will sling out almost immediately. So it’s not lasting or workable even as a short term fix. But it gives you a proof of concept and test if it’s hard to believe me over conventional axle “wisdom”

1. headgaskets 2. intake manifold gaskets leaking internally into the combustion chamber 3. another leak you haven't found yet Carefully look for an external leak. Pressurize the cooling system to check for leaks. When it's running hot look for bubbles in the overflow tank.

Hey buddy! I can't answer your question but it's good to see you again and hear the XT6 getting some tune up. I run stock, I'm too gutless to play with timing, it sounds mystical to me! I changed my username, but this is Gary.

1. *** Critical question - how positive are you the noise ever existed before the wheel bearing job and started immediately after the wheel bearing job? 2. Does it only start grinding with your foot on the brake? 3. If it starts grinding and you immediately respond with more brake pressure, or let off, does the noise go away? Front or rear bearing? Describe the symptoms and how long was it bad? Was a Subaru or aftermarket bearing installed? Did it fix the issues or was this "brake noise" the issue that the wheel bearing replacement didn't alleviate? If you replaced the fronts, maybe it's the back making noise? Or the other way around. Jack up the vehicle and turn the hub (with the wheel on and without the wheel on) by hand and reproduce the noise to help locate. Look for debris stuck in, or around the backing plate, or a bent backing plate that's rubbing the rotor. Open the caliper and check for a distorted wear indicator or bent brake pad clip touching the rotor. This would be very uncommon but as I can't see the car you want to make sure nothing is inordiately close to the rotor - pad clips, rear backing plate, and wear indicators are easily damaged/shifted. Aftermarket wheel bearings are lower quality and can fail shortly after install - is there any chance this new bearing is bad or was damaged during installation?

1,000 ft-lb 3/4" impact gun. Or a 3 foot pipe over the handle of a 3/4" socket wrench. Axle nuts routinely break generic/average 1/2" breakers/sockets all the time. Ball joints vary wiidly based on corrosion and time in situ. Yes a crow bar "is enough" if yours isn't bad. Have the ball joints ever been apart before in the past? If not they've sat there for decades. People here do it on the side of the road because they've probably done a bunch and often times have already had that axle/knuckle apart in the last couple of years so removal is easy before age/corrosion set in. A first timer with even minor corrosion/rust issues has zero chance of getting this done without a headache so you're right to ask. just look inside the axle hole and the stubby shaft hole. on one side of the axle *the VALLEY of the splined shaft will be in the center*, on the other side the TOP RIDGE will be in the center. Line it up appropriately. It's not hard, just need to know to look for it.

Get an FSM. The XT FSM is the same as an EA82 in terms of axles and was widely available free online. Try to find it but if not I can get it to you. PM me. It’s straight forward and not many fasteners or parts. The tricky parts are: Rust - if it’s rusty, ball joints are nightmarish and axle shaft sticks in knuckle. The boot replacement is a greasy mess. Have lots of shop towels. Other than that it’s really easy. Also make sure you line the splines up the right way - they only have one orientation, not two. There’s a through hole on the axle and stub that need to line up and at first they appear to just like ho either way. But they can be 180 Degrees off. Easy but if you don’t know to look it confused people. I’ve pulled one on the side of the road an hour from home. 1-2 hours without tools in a snow storm at dark. Knocked out pin with whatever I could find. then beat the snot out of the outer joint to pull the shaft and leave the outer joint in the bearings so I could drive home in 2WD without that axle installed. It was a brand new, about 100 miles, aftermarket axle that had failed. I forget which side failed, but that aided removal.

1. Push valve to let some refrigerant out. Done. 2. If you think it’s leaking, or don’t trust the amount in the system - I’d replace the orings at the compressor lines and put 20 ounces of refrigerant (put however much the sticker says that’s usually on the upper radiator support) in it and call it a day. The orings get brittle and hard like plastic instead of soft and pliable like an oring. Interestingly all the other orings can be fine in the entire system except those two. I assume it’s due to heat cycling at the compressor/engine increasing the degradation rate of the rubber. The cause doesn’t matter, what’s important is how common this is on older Subarus. Done it to countless Subarus, and importantly, only once to each one! Those lines at the compressor leak *all the time*.

Yes. Original gaskets start leaking oil externally. But at this age and probably already being replaced they can leak coolant and ocassioally over heat too. Radiators crack they loose like half or more of their material density over 5-10 years or something like that. It's not a surprised it failed or that it may have failed due to the job being done. There's a coolant hose that runs across the front bottom of the engine, make sure it's not that. If the radiator wasn't burped they can also overheat from having air in them. And the overheating and over pressurize the overflow tank which spews coolant everywhere and looks like a leak, but it is not. **It sounds like you filled it up and it just started coming out so that does seem to confirm a leak but I thought you should know these do overheat when they get air into them. Fill nose up and top off after running/cooling. The air bubles don't allow it to suck coolant in the from the overflow tank so that's not an ample solution to air.

Www.car-part.com Those 2002s usually just need new orings where the high and low pressure lines bolt to the compressor. Remove, replace $1 worth of orings and recharge. I’ve fixed those in 15 minutes.