idosubaru

sounds reasonable. i'd probably look into subaru options, they might be easier to swap around.

if they are not subaru OEM spark plug wires, then get another set. i've seen brand new off-the-shelf spark plug wires from auto parts stores cause cylinder mis-fire codes exactly as you say. the newer EJ motors like you have are not forgiving at all. stick with OEM Subaru only spark plug wires. you can attempt to test this by swapping ignition wires around. clear the code, then swap the bad #2 ignition wire with your #1 cylinder. if the code comes up next as a #1 cyilnder misfire then you definitely isolated the wire as the cause. even if it stays at #2 though it could still be wire related but much less likely. i'd swap in a coil pack before an ECM. both can be had cheaply on here or at a junk yard. call and search around, i was looking for an EA82 ECM and saw the prices range from $35 - $609 for USED ones. i took the $35 route.

+1 XT6 lift kit! (i know...ha ha ha on me)

this will not work on your manual transmission. only the older ones with a Differential lock can accomplish this.

someone slashed 3 of my tires in my 88 XT years ago. this was in highschool before i knew anything about cars. i drove to my parents house 25 miles at about the same, no more than 30 mph tops. the tires eventually came off the rim. made it home, got new tires and all was well. drove the car a few more years after that into college and never had any problems with it. didn't even bend the rims. stock steel wheels with hubcaps as opposed to aluminum i guess prevented them from bending.

great cars, great motor. it is old so the air suspension is for sure the first thing to worry about. look to convert to coil over if you like to keep things simple, cheap and reliable. the turbo has oil and coolant lines to it. that's fine....except when they leak that basically pumps oil and coolant away from the motor. i'd replace any related clamps, hoses or o-rings first thing. the head gaskets are the first things to go. at this age/mileage the turbo's put too much stress on the motor to take any overheating or negligence in the maintenance department. at 20 years old it's very easy for the car to have been overheated or driven hot at least once...not good on 20 year old head gaskets. some tips of checking for head gasket issues - look under the oil cap for a milky type substance, start the car up when cold and see if any coolant/water blows out the exhaust pipe. see if there's any oil in the over flow tank. run it for awhile and make sure it doesn't overheat at all. after it's warmed up, get out of the car, pop the hood and see if any bubbles are coming out of the overflow tank. bubbling is bad. check to see if there are any new cooling system parts - radiator, water pump, hoses. i'd buy the car even with bad headgaskets, but i'd like to know before i start talking price.

first - completely ignore the passengers side cam, this is a two step process. install each belt indepently, not both at the same time. line up the MIDDLE of the three marks you're talking about. line up the drivers side cam - install the drivers side belt. once that step is complete, then start thinking about the passengers side belt. rotate the crank shaft one complete revolution (360 degrees) and bring the same middle mark to line up again on the bellhousing. now line up the passengers side cam and install that timing belt. once you're done you'll notice that each belt is 180 degrees off from the other. when one cam mark is down, the other is up. if they are both up or both down, it is wrong. rotate the engine around at least one time and check that both belts are lined up dead on before continuing. no point in putting everything back together if it's one tooth off, which is easy to do.

friend of mines explorer wouldn't get out of 4WD and i crawled under the truck, found a mysteriously cut wire. spliced it back together and all was well. i'd keep checking the codes...wondering if those others were residual or legitimate. if they are actual codes, all three, then i'd definitely expect a wiring harness plug or wiring somewhere. many squirrels/mice around your place? they like to chew on wires. also wondering if the TCU has issues if it's multiple circuits showing up. didn't you have at least one (if not two) vehicles with a cracked/broken rear window? the TCU is located directly underneath the rear window on the drivers side in an XT6. i'd wonder if any glass or water could have gotten on it/in it and caused issues if this is one of your cars with broken glass.

the transmission fluid and transmission itself are designed to run at a certain temperature. running at the designed operating temperature should be your best bet and i can't imagine significant gains below that. overheating the fluid is bad and what you're trying to avoid.

if no water circulates through the radiator it seems coolant is not moving for some reason....but i can't remember if it had heat or not.

i think i'd try to extract those codes before doing anything else to the car. if it's flashing, the TCU knows something and that will only help you. just get a long piece of transmission hose and run it from one side to the other. did it to my grandmothers car a few weeks ago when her radiator ATF cooler sprung a leak. ran fine. for the cost of hose you rule out the radiator. one minor bump in the pan shouldn't cause alarm, but a big dent might be worth looking into. got any large magnets to pull it out? drill a hole and pull the dent out, then weld it back shut. that would be quick. pulling the pan is very annoying as the old gasket will be caked on, hard to get off and the new gasket likely won't seat right on the pan because the screw holes are all non-flat. they get concave so to speak and end up making the new gasket leak in short order. really annoyihng...just like oil pans if you've done those. should be able to order just the gasket for a couple bucks, i've bought them before without issue. but that being said...you might be better off replacing if not the filter, the o-ring at the top of the filter. the filters really aren't worth replacing because they aren't much of a filter. they are only a screen, a fine mesh screeen and i've never seen one have so much as a fleck of dirt in them. i've replaced them but have to be honest and say i've never seen one that needed it. so if you're not wanting to spend the $, then don't you won't suffer for it. but....with your issues i might want to look at the o-ring that goes on the filter where it slides up into the trans pump. there's an oring around the filter outlet. maybe that's causing loss of pressure to the system?

sure it's not a turbo oil line?

all of the EJ cars are very similar in terms of the motors and transmissions. the 2.0, 2.2 and 2.5's you can even swap heads on...that shows the similarity a bit. many parts are close, or identical or swappable. for exhaust - i'd have one custom made, forget aftermarket parts. except headers if you really want to go that route, but i don't think there's much return available there but what do i know i haven't tried. would like to see someone do it and post numbers. i know the older models better (like the XT6 that i've owned about 15 of), they're good for an additional 3+ mpg highway miles by removing the stock POS muffler and playing with the intake a little. i have an impreza and am curious what difference a muffler would make on it, but it's too young to bother replacing stuff on yet. if you want good offroad capability you need to splice a duty solenoid C switch in to control the lock-up of your rear transfer clutches. lock them up and these things are AWESOME offroad. makes all the difference in the world. i have that and an LSD and i never worry about getting stuck anywhere. do a search there's plenty of information on this board about how to do this if you want it. for cruise - your throttle body and wiring is probably all there, you just need to find a car with it and scavenge the parts off of it. i'd check to see if your wiring plugs/harness is in place on yours, if it is then it would be MUCH easier to add the cruise, i'd bet alot that stuff is there. cruise control stuff is typically mounted to the passengers side strut tower, look there for some unused plugs/harnesses.

you can always just stuff grease all up in the broken joint too, that quiets down your CV's for a good week or more. yours sound like they are on the brink of blowing to bits, but might be worth a try if you need to drive it. 50,000+ miles on fronts and well over 100,000 on rear broken boots with never a breakage. when they start clicking while driving straight i stuff some grease up there in the broken boot and replace the axle with the next brake job or tire rotation. the only annoying part is crawling under the car and the grease splattering out...but better than the axle blowing up. it NEEDS grease. if you're going to drive with broken boots, at least add some fresh grease from time to time. they'll last a looooong time if you do...check my mileage statements above done it more than once.

i'd imagine this is in the same place as the XT6 TCU. it's behind the drivers side rear seat side panel. remove the panel and the TCU is semi-tucked away behind the metal shell. that's where the XT6 is and i have a suspicion this one would be as well. first check the transmission pan. the sump is REALLY tight to the bottom of the pan, if the pan is dented you could have restricted oil flow. doubtful, but easy to check. if the TCU was to blame i'd suspect a blinking POWER light when you start the car, but wouldn't be too surprised if it didn't either. if it is blinking, find the procedure for pulling the TCU codes. it's a rediculous procedure but would be very good to know if the POWER light is blinking that indicates it has a stored code. i'd pull the transmission hose and bypass the radiator, it could be clogged. install an aftermarket transmission cooler or just run one hose from and to each inlet/outlet of the ATF pipes to temporarily check it. i'd start looking for/keeping your eye out for another trans in case....

i'm with you on that one. i'd find it hard to believe that i would have not noticed. i looked at it a good bit since i wanted to make sure it was the right EA82 pump so i think i would have noticed if it was plastic, that would be too weird. i'll post back for sure.

in my oppinion it is best to completely bypass the piss poor factory side tank lines and just use the dedicated cooler. a stand alone cooler will far exceed the cooling capacity of the radiator tank. and no need for the extra hoses, routing and clamps, just something else to leak. frankly i run one entire hose from the transmission to the cooler, just to have fewer clamps. some Subaru's have a hose to a metal line to the cooler. i remove the metal lines and install one piece rubber hose. don't think that's necessary but fewer clamps are better for me. Advanced Auto parts has a complete kit for $29.99, i think that's what they run and that's the smallest size they have. the smallest size they have is more than adequate for any subaru. they come with plastic things that poke through the radiator, but i don't use them. i don't like messing with my radiators and you have to cut them off to remove the radiator. i use zip-ties and tie them the end of one coil to the center support where the hood latches and use another on the other end by the hoses to hold it in place and the hoses where i want them.

right on!! i'm still thinking EA82!

this is jacked up (also known as BS!!!) plan is to pull the hoses, the water pump, heater core lines and see where water wants to flow and where it doesn't. and check the water pump out. thanks again.

an 1997 impreza EJ22 with AWD automatic gets 26-27 all highway miles. i'd think a manual FWD is capable of low 30's. there's some interesting fuel mileage threads on here that might be an interesting read. i'd bet someone with a FWD EJ18 has posted there.

what car? i don't recall seeing a valve on the XT6, XT Turbo and RX Turbo fuel pumps i've removed.

so if you get the engine harness and ECU you should be golden. i have the engine side harness and ECU as well....it'd all be the same car and would have to work...heck i'll send the entire intake manifold with the wiring on it which will bolt to your EA82T.

so the water pump is correct. that's nice news.

from a search i just did (on a thread that i started!!!) subyrally said: "86 wont fit the harness from an 87 or newer car."

i'll give the hose through the engine a try, will it come out even with the water pump bolted on or do i have to remove that? anyone know if i could have the wrong pump installed? belts/pulleys all line up perfectly. are the impellers different?