idosubaru

i'd wonder if the TPS isn't bad or the wrong one. the 1987 model year, particularly with the XT, is a very strange year with significant differences based on the month of manufacturer. i have one and ran into gobs of issues like this. best solution is to verify the exact engine you need and make absolutely sure you have the right part. i ended up making a spreadsheet and documenting all the part numbers available...which were the same, which weren't, and making sure i had the right ones in my 87.5 XT Turbo engine swap. was annoying, but i think i finally figured it out. i don't think i have all that info any more though.

+1 on what he said, the SVX's are awesome. there's just some need to know stuff about them when buying and owning. the wagons are much more popular in my area too, but keep your eye out on ebay/craigslist/crazedlist/autotrader and you should find one. if you want him to consider a legacy, better not let him test drive the SVX! good chance of hating any other subaru you test drive if you drive that one, they are sweet! like i said - some of the 95/96 legacy's have the EJ22 and look really nice, just keep your eye out. the 90-94 and 95+ have different body styles. check both out and see if you like them or don't. wagons are great to have. my wife wasn't looking for one, but i bought her the Impreza OBS hatch (basically bought it because it has the EJ22 - same engine we're recommending to you). she was looking for a sedan but ended up falling in love with the OBS. easy to carry, haul, throw stuff in and take it out, clean it out, etc. she totally digs it now and it's never left her stranded in 3.5 years (good EJ22, pat, pat).

Ignition wires (or connections to them) or the ignition coil are bad. You're at a prime age...and probably age...for needing new wires.

i don't know, hence the question mark in my reply. maybe all the MT brightons did, that sure would make things simpler if it was. as for no vacuum hoses and sensors, that's going to be tough. i ended up swapping the non-EGR intake off my 97 impreza onto my last project car and it was really nice. no charcoal canister, no EGR, fewer lines and stuff in general. not sure why, but it makes a cleaner looking engine bay and simpler. still a far cry from "no hoses or sensors" of course!

not all 96's are that way. i didn't think all 96 Brighton MT's lack EGR, but maybe they do? it seems they're hit or miss after 1995.

you mean dual port exhaust manifolds/heads? 1996 and up are all single ports. so a 1995 would be dual port. 1995 manual trans are dual port and even better - NO EGR! i've actually never messed with the older ones 90-94 so i'm not sure. the 95's look much nicer IMO, i'd try and snag one of those, they're easy to find.

i have one but i agree with the consensus here and don't use it! not for the oil pump bolts anyway. i saw that, but that spec comes right after the "install oil pressure switch" comment, so i think it might be for that. might want to edit that post for future searchers/seekers if that's the case?

it will hands down be the best one you test drive and look at. they drive real nice, they're very smooth, and lots of power that you can feel....as well as being a great touring vehicle, you don't mind sitting in them for awhile. but it would probably be a bad choice over the long term. parts are very hard to find and therefore pricey. go price some windshields, TPS, hoses, etc if you need convincing. they are very reliable and the motors are excellent - but they are notorious for transmission and wheel bearing failures. costly repairs. if the SVX has caught your attention then it's my guess that you're looking for a sporty and quick vehicle. more than likely you like the idea of an expensive (maintenance / high cost repairs are likely), but rare vehicle over the idea of something more plain yet more reliable. that would make sense based on your first post. if that's the case you don't have many other subaru options in that price range. a legacy or impreza would be a much better first car in every single category except aesthetics and power. but it's highly unlikely you'll find any of those appealing, they're not anything like the SVX. so assuming the SVX is your choice vehicle. that's not a terrible price for an SVX - but for a 1992 it's not a smoking deal either. you'll want to make sure the timing belt has been changed and when you get it you'll need to install an aftermarket transmission cooler if it hasn't already been done. and have the ATF changed. this is one of those cases when it's a "when" not an "if" for transmission failure. they have too much heat which destroys them - installing an aftermarket cooler will help. personally i'd go for a Legacy in that price range. a mid to late 90's with the 2.2 liter motor - and rear spoiler and hood scoop. those look nice, have excellent safety features and have one of subaru's best - the 2.2 liter EJ22 engine.

i wouldn't pull one EJ25 and install another with original head gaskets in the name of reliability. your current one may be due for a timing belt, pulleys and water pump though, i'd plan on changing any of those that are old and keep the same engine. i've towed small trailers with riding mowers with mine (EJ22) with no problem. light stuff like that, it's like it's not even there. there's a number of towing threads, maybe you could check those out and see what people with EJ22's are saying. i can't imagine you'd have a problem. maybe if you're driving over mountains you'll need to downshift to 3rd sooner, but even the EJ25 will need to downshift on steep mountain grades. i haven't gotten many answers to upgrading an EJ22. i would imagine an exhaust or intake change might make a small difference but it's not going to bump you 20 hp that's for sure.

subaru's is "slime" it's a bottle of liquid. i'd start by checking the radiator level - knowledge is power. i'd like to know how full or not full it is. let us know how much fluid it takes. after that a new radiator cap and some additional subaru slime conditioner would be a good bet. but then again...you might want to avoid this is there's a chance of getting it fixed properly for free from Subaru - see below. if you know how to look at the rear of the engine - that is where these leak externally. it's essentially the part of the engine that's facing you while driving, you'll have to bend around and look under hoses and need a good flashlight. look back there for any signs of leakage. if it's leaking start working on that free Subaru extended 100k warranty business. this is only available on some EJ25's, not all of them - but there's a really good chance yours is one of them.

have to decide what kind of job you want done here. you could overlap and bolt in place like larry suggested. or you could weld it in place, that would probably be ideal. the in between solution might be to strip everything down and find someone to weld it in place for you. if you do all the prep work - hand them the car and part with everything removed to get access they probably wouldnt' charge much at all - maybe for mcdonalds if you have a friend who welds? there's a great thread on here of a guy in the past year or two that welded in a front section of his wagon to repair an accident. he had to weld in most of the front clip though, much more work than you, but it's a great thread, great read with excellent pictures. might be nice to read through that if this is your first time doing it. i thought it was a neat thread, don't see too many people doing and documenting that kind of work. be careful of your air bag system - did it go off?

this needs to be addressed immediately. not doing so risks ruining your engine, it's an interference engine which means severe engine damage is po$$ible. the bolt is loose - tighten it and find out why it's loose or the pulley is separating. the pulleys are made of two concentric metal pieces separated by a very thin ring of rubber. the metal can separate from the rubber and the outer piece will be slightly offset from the inner - giving it high and low spots laterally speaking - 90 degrees to the plane of rotation. replace the pulley. if you've recently had work done and it was removed then they likely damaged it during removal. timing belt, head gaskets, water pump, oil pump, crank seals, or cam seals would require removing that bolt.

that is ridiculous that it's not in the FSM or it's very obscure if it is in there. not in the oil pump section of on car services, not on the exploded engine diagram and not in the section where it talks about reassembling the oil pump. i've always tightened about "that much", just by guessing. it's not a torque critical part and they rarely leak or fail for me so never thought much about it. i'd probably use the water pump mounting bolts as a guide.

there's an off chance that the system just had air in it....but much more likely it had head gasket issues. so you're looking at head gasket and water pump replacement. odd, i thought it had a new water pump on it? if there's enough coolant left somewhere they should be able to do an exhaust gas test on the coolant. that may verify the headgaskets. yank it and put an EJ22 in it.

when you're doing a swap there are a couple ways to make it work. but i'm not familiar with the one you're doing so i can't say which do/do not work. plug and play. this variety plugs right in no problem. intake manifold swap. if the original intake bolts up to the new block then it's easy becuase you're retaining the harness and electronics of the old engine anyway. the last resort is to swap your existing wiring harness (the Phase I that's in the car now) onto the new Phase II intake manifold/engine. swap everything, all the sensors too. not that hard and it's the sure way to get it to work. the only thing i'm not sure of is if the cam sprockets will work. that's alleviated by just swapping the cam sprockets usually. but in this case when going from DOHC to SOHC...i'm not sure the sprockets are interchangeable in the same way they are on other EJ's. you're not reallying getting a HP upgrade with the Phase II EJ25 if that's what you're after. but they are a better motor in my opinion.

you'll find all you need to know already on the forum. up above you'll see a "search" function. it is awesome for simple stuff like this. i know there are threads and even pictures of where it is located. the knock sensor is a fairly simplistic part - they dont' really fail, the rubber housing just begins to crack with age. it's a poor design really, but it's not a failure due to "poor quality" per se - meaning getting it from AZ, NAPA, or Subaru shouldn't matter. and it's easy to replace...tight but worth it considering it doesn't take long. now the spark plugs and wires you replaced - those should be Subaru OEM wires and NGK plugs (OEM). EJ engines are goofy jokers when it comes to that stuff, they are not very forgiving. you are not going to want to do that job again, so at least keep that in mind and if you get a check engine light and cylinder misfire code any time soon that will be why. i've seen brand new wires cause this multiple times (and it's quite common to see on the boards here as well)

might make a difference what legacy sedan you have. some models have the EJ22 (like L) and others have an EJ25 (like LSi and GT). but yes - that post by jamal is EXCELLENT and will probably answer all your lifes questions about subaru brakes. i'd do some searching to find it or links to it at NASIOC.

ah! i wouldn't think about this any more. it would be a significant amount of work. the engine would drop in place (motor mounts would be easy to figure out) and there is plenty of room obviously - the everything else will be all wrong - that's a new gen car (EJ) and old gen engine (EA) so they won't line up at all. even if it was easier, it would be a bad, bad idea. the SVX is an extremely heavy car, it's a full out luxury touring car. it's not a good fit for an EA82 at all. the EG33 is a fantastic motor...though some parts are hard to get a hold of for a decent price. but excellent reliability. an EJ engine would be an easier swap. i'd personally do an EJ22 5 speed swap. but i'm guessing all the computer and wiring stuff would be all wrong...being a 6 cylinder and all.

i've heard people say that the "shelf life" of gas is 28 days, but i've also seen cars sitting for a long time start up. seems to me you need to rule out the gas first. fill up with good gas, maybe add some water drying solution to it. i'd probably look to refill from a pump if possible. if that does nothing then warranty time it is. you didn't mention how many miles were on the car?

the automatic transmissions are not bad. the problem you will hit is not whether the trans is reliable or how long it can last but how much of a beating it's taken from the past 12 years. but to put a number on something that a number can't be put on - i'd say 150k-200k is when problems tend to start creeping in. it's obviously been overheated - that's not good for an auto trans. change/flush your fluid right now - just assume it's been severely overheated (the phase I EJ25 in a 96 outback is an overheating behemoth). aside from that, there's no telling how well the previous owners rotated tires or made sure the tires matched. improper towing will also degrade internals. if it's running and shifting fine now i'd flush all the fluid out and plan on it lasting you awhile. there's two good things to note about this 4EAT auto. they don't typically just blow up and leave you stranded. there's usually signs and symptoms prior to failure. i wouldn't consider them a real threat to leaving you sitting somewhere. otherwise i wouldn't have one as a traveling vehicle. and second, they are very abundant and easy to find cheap. the demand is low since failure is low (unlike the EJ25 - high demand - high prices). given the reliability a used trans is a good option.

awesome! there's no need to mess with wiring or the ECU. just leave that in place. and to answer the question, yes the EJ25 ECU will plug and play in your EJ25 vehicle! the EJ22 will plug right into the wiring harness in the engine bay, so no need to worry about wiring/ECU stuff. if in the future you want to switch to an EJ22 ECU you will probably want a 1996-1998 EJ22 ECU. some people claim better performance/gas mileage, etc. even if you get a 1995 engine, don't get a 1995 ECU - it won't work. correct. if you get a single port EJ22 (1996+) then get the exhaust header to go with it. yes.

i wouldn't install the coil unless it's a Subaru OEM coil. aftermarket coils tend to cause a lot of problems and don't solve any. as for your power issues, i'd definitely check those vaccuum lines out. EA82's are very sensitive to vacuum leaks...well a lot of cars are i suppose. i've always found it odd that some EA's will stall with the oil cap removed. EA82 idle control stuff tends to cause problems too, but i've never had much time fixing those. check engine light? mileage? last tune up? any parts ever replaced on it?

this is a 2wd vehicle right? so by getting an AWD trans do you mean to convert it to FWD or to swap the car to AWD? swapping to AWD requires a bit of work and parts. driveshaft, rear diff and hanger, drilling carrier mount holes if they're not present, rear crossmember, rear hubs, emergency brake cables, axles....be a decent amount of work and parts. the FWD trans is the better fit for most people in this case.

ideally you take all the plugs out and prop the throttle plate open. otherwise, the engine has to work to compress all the cylinders (except the one you're testing or ones left out) and can't get any air - due to the throttle being closed. doesn't typically make a huge difference, but might make some. you can search here or someone will eventually know what the SPFI compressions are.

the only thing remotely close is a justy - so i would think that has to be it. although those are hatchbacks - maybe you just didn't notice?