idosubaru

newer Subarus have the fuel filter inside the fuel tank/fuel pump - under/inside a metal cap.

might be able to make up for it at the wheel? get a bit smaller or bigger tire/wheel combo to make up the difference?

normally: one hose to and from the cooler = 2 hoses and 4 clamps. with Both in place it's now: 1 hose from trans to rad 1 hose from rad to cooler 1 hose from cooler to trans so we are both a bit off - it's now 3 hoses and 6 clamps instead of 2 hoses and 4 clamps. 50% increase in risk and failure modes.

oh really, sideways is okay? it does not move up and down at all. i'll check endlinks and compare it to my wagon. never seen a bad endlink or replaced one before so not familiar with those very much.

Headgaskets are an issue. Make sure they aren't leaking externally, have someone (or yourself) visually inspect all headgasket mating surfaces underneath the vehicle, the leaks are visible. Price seems a bit high but your area is probably going to be that and I guess you're wanting less miles rather than newer.

I install one separate, dedicated cooler rather than both. I don't like the extra failure points of having both - I want as few hoses and clamps as possible, it gets sloppy with all those extra hoses and clamps and is twice as likely to fail (though the risk is miniscule). That being said, i totally understand and hear the issue with temps and too much cooling and heating. So far i've never had an issue so I'm not worried about it.

Ding Ding, this was it. It got worse and I was just under it the other day. I can easily, without much effort at all slide the sway bar from side to side inside it's bushings with one hand. I suspect that's probably the issue? Will try some new bushings and see what happens.

too late but for future reference, if everything is normal - just swap in another fuse and drive it. if it's a regular fuse or fusible link, just swap it in, don't do anything crazy and it'll be fine.

okay - ignore my PM, i see that you have an RX now. http://www.car-parts.com is a great resource for finding parts. nearly every yard ships now, well except hoods and fenders LOL. problem is they don't have great listings for older subarus but you might get lucky.

Thought I'd share these results for anyone else that might search later on. I'm grinding in some new valves on a 99 EJ22 and I wanted to verify before I put it all together that the intake and exhaust valve springs and retainers were all the same. I checked on opposed forces and they are all the same. Basically only the stem seal is different between intake and exhaust for most (maybe all?) EJ engines. I check earlier EJ engines, later one, EJ25's....all the ones I checked were this way.

Good luck moving forward with it all Scott, that's great. Focus, focus, and get a great thing going!

i've installed two different grinds (forget the names) into XT6's - which are essentially EA82's with two more cylinders (same valves, springs, pistons, etc). not noisier and no drivability issues. one grind was the typical lumpy cam-ed thing - and was lacking in low end - but that was like (forget names and such), a step up from what most people get...probably supposed to be for racing or something, not daily driving. it wasn't the basic grind and i'm sure not what you got. Doug just posted and knows his stuff about clearances and tolerances so follow his lead for tracking down your issue.

are they at full height as they would be when running and under oil pressure? when running the HLA's will pump up and remain in contact with the followers? when off the car they can bleed down and not be fully extended/pumped up. just speculating....if the HLA's came out of a non-reground/stock cam head and now you're putting them in a non-stock cam equipped head - then the HLA's are likely stuck at a "stock" level so to speak and need to pump up more to take out that additional clearance? i've installed a few sets of delta grinds and never had an issue, but never thought to check clearance as you're doing. i just put them in and start it up and let the HLA's pump up, they're usually crazy noisy after head jobs, cam job, rebuilds, etc. clear up in a few minutes.

As I said before, "What GD said". so read his last post, it's right. the engines you were told about are the ones listed in the autoparts interchanges, like at a junk yard - so whoever told you that only knows how to read, that's it. they don't know Subaru's. listen to GD, myself, and others here - we've actually done this stuff many times. http://www.car-parts.com for lots of available engines...as I said before the Phase II EJ22 you need is generally a much rarer engine than it's predecessors and the EJ25's are generally expensive and I'm timid to buy a cheap one due to some of the issues they have. a 1998 EJ22 is easy to replace cheaply, not so with the 99's.

what GD said. those later EJ22's are just plain hard to find, their weren't many of those vehicles sold/made so the parts are hard to come by. the EJ25's are expensive because of the high number of headgasket and rod bearing issues. just a tough motor. if you end up with another engine - let me know if you want to sell the heads off the blown one.

I think the PCV valve is the same. LOL if you did a 5 lug conversion you could use the front hubs, brakes, and struts. but that's all the easy stuff for a 5 lug conversion that can basically come off almost anything.

Common issue is the wiring, where it goes into the trunk and "hinges" can, over time, wear through and crack the insulation and wiring. Have to pull the covering and yank on the wires - sometimes they "appear" fine visually but a light tug will separate the compromised wires. that's the most common issue besides bulbs, fuses, simple stuff like that.

east coast folks need exhaust parts due to rust. both daily drivers i've had to weld back together and my buddies we just did last month and another forester needs more welding....all 2000+ model Subaru's. but, all older subaru's have rusted away so the market around here for old stuff is almost non existent. my last 2 1980's Subaru's I bought came from Texas and California.

gas cap broken tab and the oring pushed out. easily verified by checking fuel flow in the engine. just pop the hood, unscrew the clamp, pull the hose and turn the key on. if gas shoots out the fuel pump/cap are good. if it doesn't come out or is really weak - it's bad. or the timing belt let loose. interference engine so there will be bent valves. best repair in that case is to just buy two used heads and bolt them on. you can lap in new valves too, not that bad but finding a shop to do it may be tough. get an entire ebay timing belt kit if he's saving the engine. new tensioner, pulleys, and belt. the pulleys and tensioner generally cause belt failure on these rather than the belt letting loose for no reason.

it's probably just low on refrigerant due to a leak, most common in my experience. i have yet to see an actual component failure on an EJ vehicle. i have a write up here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?p=1102617

Valve cover gaskets - very common and easy job on this motor too. Best to start there anyways since it's common and easy, but it sounds like you did a good job diagnosing it so far. Doubtful the oil is "causing it", except that you're using very thin oil, that may leak more. But either way the problem is a leaking gasket or seal and was likely to start leaking at some point anyway. A properly installed gasket is not going to leak. The next time a timing belt job is done you will want to replace (or be ready to if they're wet at all) the cam seals, cam cap orings, crank seal and reseal the oil pump. Ebay timing kits are $100 for all the pulleys and timing belt, can't beat that.

like JCE said - if the options were originally there on that vehicle in that year and trim - the plugs usually exist. So i would expect a 99 OBW to have them... i have one of the heated seat wiring harnesses Larry...O MY WORD that thing is a mess!!!!

*** i agree - how many miles? could be quite a few things. timing chain would have me wondering although failure of those is almost unheard of. the gas cap oring is my guess. you can check in a matter of seconds - simply pull the fuel line in the engine bay, turn the key over and look at the gas flow. if there's nothing or it's minimal then that's your issue. you will need a new fuel pump metal cap. they aren't sold as a part though and you have to buy the complete fuel pump ($$$$). there's is a metal cap that fits, search for it and you should find the part number and all. caps are the same for 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder so you can pilfer from either. if you need an emergency fix you can try to reinstall the cap with a new oring...or let the original one dry so it shrinks back down to normal size...and then install the old cap with a healthy arrangement of hose clamps or heavy duty zip ties to hold the cap and oring in the place. it might work...it might not, but should be able to buy you a couple days while you get a new part.

i'd first try to test the seats to see if they work as they aren't very robust. they don't last long, begin to fade, quit working, or work sporadically. i bought a complete set of heated seats for one of my other cars. i happened to buy two Subarus that came with heated seats around the same time and they're so lacking i have not concerns about ever having heated seats again. anyway, i'd want to know that they worked before going through all the hassle.

*** Nevermind - Forgot to search, never recalled seeing much so didn't think I'd get anything. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=136233&highlight=steering+pump