idosubaru

what still baffles me is that the first generation EA/ER series 4EAT's are more reliable...of course i'm basing this on experience and oppinion, than the newer 4EAT's. older 4EAT's never have torque bind issues. they are more prone to overheating, failing hoses, coolers and radiators, old fluid, abuse (people tend to treat old, undervalued cars worse than newer ones)....but yet they still are very durable today. i'm still baffled why the older model ones don't have TB issues like the newer EJ varieties. i've owned about 20 XT6's, worked on a bunch of others, been moderator of xt6.net and was a member of another xt6 group for over 10 years before xt6.net even existed....i've yet to see one XT6 with torque bind. i'm sure it's happened, but it's very, very rare on EA/ER stuff.

a machine shop will check those spec's, like he just mentioned, unless it's been specifically worked to increase compression it shouldn't be anywhere near causing any alignment issues.

yep, great motors and another 100,000 is not unreasonable to expect after you're done. that head work quote sounds about right for having it pressure tested as well. if it's an automatic, be sure to read very carefully and pay attention to reseating the torque converter when putting it back together. it's a bit tricky and if you get it wrong you'll end up needing another transmission, unless you like taking those apart. i believe some of the rear separator plates around your year are plastic. you'll see it next to the rear main seal, replace it with a metal one available at the dealer. remove the oil pump and tighten the backing plate screws with some threadlocker on them, they tend to back out. other than that, everything else is fairly straight forward. there's a ton of information on here about everything...crank bolt, cam bolts, cam seals, oil pumps....etc.

no joke these are hard to find, that's an understatement. personally i'd probably look around NASIOC for sale forums and see if you can find one, call CCR and then consider a non turbo block.

pay the money for a known good EJ22T. if that's not a good option then look into an NA install, i know people have turboed and supercharged the NA blocks very reliably. myxyphlyx...i still can't get his username straight, i probably know him the best of all the board members...anyway, he ran his 1997 OBS NA with a turbo and nitrous years ago, raced it and loved it. he still owns the car and has the turbo stuff still removed, car is in great shape. i wouldn't push it, but they are very easy to find. start a new thread if an NA block is a better option for you, just need to find someone who's done it, NASIOC may be a place to look if you can't find much here. but i would anticipate some not so friendly remarks!

no joke, exhaust port cracks definitely = scrap metal. he read correctly and got it straight - that head is trash, resort to your used one. a machinist should be able to check the spec's on it.

sealant is only necessary between the cam carrier and head, not the valve covers. it'll be very, very obvious where the sealant goes, it's a groove all the way around the perimeter of the cam carrier. the most annoying part is cleaning out the old stuff from the groove. if you're getting head work done the machine shop might be nice and just hot tank the cam carrier for you. save you the cleaning and it looks nice and shiney when you're done as well. technically speaking a small dab should also be placed at 12 oclock and 6 oclock on the oil pump housing. you'll notice that behind the oil pump housing the two halves of the block mate together and there's a zig-zag seam there. a very small amount of sealant should be placed at this seam but not on the oil pump to engine block o-ring, just the oil pump housing. it'll all make sense once you're looking at it. and as for type of sealant, it is best to use anaerobic sealant, ask for it at the auto parts store. it's expensive, but it's what yo'ure supposed to use, what subaru uses and is less risky as it won't coagulate in the oil supply. but, many people do use RTV sealant. if you do, be cautious, don't use so much that gobs will get caught and stuck somewhere in your oil supply..most likely in the bottom corner of your cam carrier, it does happen. best bet it to follow along in the FSM and ask questions to supplement. we had the FSM all uploaded to http://www.xt6.net in .pdf format, but seeing how our site is down at the moment you can't go there. if we're really lucky it'll be up and running next week. otherwise, it's more or less in the air...don't hold our breath. it's still accessible but i'm not sure where. we had the entire XT Factory Service Manual loaded for use and approved by subaru as well. the XT uses the EA82, so that's what you would want, the 4 cylinder XT info, not the 6 cylinder XT6.

wowsers, that block blew up huh? did it run like that? what caused it? overheating, blown turbo, detonation?

cracks between the valve seats are common on EA82 and ER27 engines. i don't recall ever pulling a set of heads that didn't have at least one, i see more with than i see without by a long shot. now...every one i've ever had were benign, they didn't go all the way through or cause any problems. yours may. ideally the head should be properly pressure tested and milled at a machine shop, i have all of mine done that way. that's a ton of work and not worth any risk or guess work for me. that's not an opportunity cost i'm willing to take. if you're certain it was internal coolant losses then the cracks may be that bad. was the car ever extensively overheated? usually takes a trip into the red to make things real bad. i'd even have the used one tested and milled. that being said...they'll check the thickness and surface spec's and see if it's out of specifications or not. with the proper tools i suppose you could do it yourself. that it was loosing coolant is definitely critical, but a thorough diagnosis should have been made before tearing it down, or at least that makes your work now much easier. intake manifold leaks are not all that rare on EA82's, yours could have been something that simple. that's a common internal leak. loosing a gallon it should have been obvious if it was internal or external, so i'm assuming you're fairly certain it was internal losses? do you have your old intake manifold gaskets to look at or do the heads/manifold show any signs of seapage at the water jacket?

i wouldn't replace any bushings or bearing if replacing struts/springs on an average late 90's subaru. find that thread i mentioned for upgrade info. the rear suspension of the OBS is not up to snuff, they typically sag. i'm not a suspension expert so i'm not sure of the cause, but i'm interested in an upgrade to avoid it in the future. either the struts or springs are weak in the OBS.

is the check engine light on? if so you need to read those codes and start there. the knock sensors are problematic for this year, it's only one bolt to remove it, worth checking. the housings crack. when is the last time the plugs and wires were changed? and are the Subaru wires and NGK plugs? if they aren't Subaru wires, it wouldn't be surprising if that was the problem. but you should have a cylinder misfire Check engine light if that's the case.

nope, not the same. it probably could work, but i'd be careful about boosting it. the NA blocks are quite solid and handle boost well...for an NA block, i know others that have turboed their NA blocks. and you'll need to address the oil and coolant supply to the turbo, the NA block won't have the oil supply and return lines.

you can post this under the New Generation forum, it will probably get more input. a search should provide some useful information. i ended up wanting the same thing for my 97 OBS as well and found some useful information on here. try using the search function. Zapar has a recent thread about "sagging a$$ end" or something like that in his impreza, some excellent info on that thread, try to find it. from what i remember you want WRX rear springs, but impreza 93-01 struts. but, i do also recall that there are two styles of WRX rear struts, some are tapered and some are not. i do not know exactly what that means, just regurgitating what someone told me. i'm picking up a set of 04 WRX rear struts tomorrow for mine, so i'll know soon what will and won't work. if the entire struts don't swap i'll use the WRX springs with new impreza struts.

gAH! that's horrible! at least she's well, but man that's bad. get a great lawyer and doctors, that is one horrific looking accident. hopefully she was moving and not standing still? anyway, don't let down on doctors visits and let a lawyer take care of all the headaches of insurance, vehicles, etc so you can focus on the most important thing...doctors and health. my best friend has permanent issues, and not to be gloom and doom, but his car didn't look nearly that bad.

you guys are great, that's funny and insightful all at the same time. i'll probably just tow it because i can. but it sure is tempting to just drive the thing since strapping it down and towing is annoying. see how the test drive goes. i'll figure out which wire is for the duty C solenoid incase somehow the front diff can "free wheel". i may drive to get it with my truck and have someone with me. drive it until it blows and load it if i have to.

doubt it's the cam sensor. i think his starting point and where to go after is pretty well laid out right now.

got a front diff making a racket, can i drive it 100 miles? 4EAT AWD automatic. i'm doing a trans swap on it anyway, so i don't care what happens to the one in the vehicle or how bad it grenades the transmission. any comments?

if you just swap wires, both ends that is, then it doesn't matter what the firing order is no more than installing new wires, you're just rotating them. in other words put the #3 wire totally in place of #1...or however you want to do it. odd that you're both listed from NY, from Long Island, misspell things in a similar fashion, seem to communicate similarly, like the smilies, joined the group at the same time and don't use punctuation...then you questioned your own comment about fuel injectors, had me going.

uumm...are you playing around with usmb! are surfsubbe and kc reale the same user? looks like it.

the wires are more important than the plugs. i can't gaurantee that it's the wires, but it's likely. to rule it out you could swap wires...cylinders 1 and 3 and 2 and 4 so to speak (swap sides) and see if the cylinder misfire code moves with the wires, then you know for sure. that requires clearing and reading codes later, may not be very definitive and i'd much rather have Subaru or Magnecor wires on an EJ engine anyway. even if the problem lies elsewhere, i wouldn't be at all surprised for those aftermarket wires to cause issue later, so to sum all that up, i'd just replace them whether they are the problem or not if it were my vehicle. highly unlikley to be injectors, but that's a common thought. misfire...injector...sounds plausible.

i am thinking that was the original poster replying under a different name as a joke...which would have been really funny.

doesn't matter. what plugs and wires were installed? i know what you're thinking, but in this case it is highly possible...actually the most probable explanation, is still that you need Subaru wires and NGK plugs. could be something else, but you need to find out what plugs/wires were used first.

did you clear the code after installing new parts? make sure your plugs and wires are clean, seated properly and gapped correctly. it is imperative that the wires are snugly fitted. if NGK plugs and Subaru wires weren't used, then that's probably the issue. these EJ series engines are very sensitive to ignition components. i've seen brand new wires cause cyilnder misfire codes right out of the box on these motors.

sounds like a motor mount, but could be other things. check the pitch rod device on the top of the motor as well, they can crack, though i've never heard of noises resulting from that. not sure of a good way to test motor mounts.

am i the only one that is seriously bothered by the function of that big air box? i've always wondered what that stupid thing is for? and...while we're on the EJ intakes, how about that dead space that some have, that 45 angled pipe that just ends after 6 inches, what is THAT for too?