idosubaru

i also doubt it's the fuel pump. i would look at the ignition pack (the black box the spark plug wires plug into). don't know if there's a good way to test those, but i'd swap in a used one to test it. this is somethign that would be intermittent like you're experiencing. did you use Subaru OEM ignition wires? if you didn't use Subaru wires i'd replace them. unfortunately these engines are not very forgiving with other wires. although - i doubt this is your current issue because if it was you should get a "cylinder misfire" code and a CEL light.

older generation EA82 cars are not directly interchangeable with EJ series cars (the newer EJ22, EJ25 and also the 1.8 and 2.0 liter imprezas etc). if you do the 5 lug conversion with XT6 parts or impreza parts you can get wrx/impreza front struts and wrx wheels. agreed on keeping that engine cool. watch the cooling system, replace hoses and radiators BEFORE they break.

the shop i go to is an aluminum head specialist and they aren't the cheapest place in town but they are good. they charge $275 for a complete job on XT6 heads, and that's for a 6 cylinder. that's a complete valve job, milling the heads and fixing the cracks. a 4 cylinder XT would be cheaper than that. they use stitch pins to fix the cracks, they are made for this application. i've posted about them before including company that makes them, part number and phone number if you want to look it up. the cracks are almost always there in my experience. think of it this way...if the cracks are on nearly every set of heads you pull then you can probably figure that most EA82's on the road today have cracked valve seats and run fine. it's not like they crack when you pull the motor apart! if they get deep enough they will hit a coolant jacket. that's probably not likely but i go ahead and have the cracks repaired.

you'll need the Exhaust header/y-pipe and intake hose from the air box for the non-turbo engine. i just did this swap a few weeks ago. just swap the long block and leave the intake manifold that is in the car which would include all the sensors and such. you might have to swap the knock sensor from your turbo block to the NA block if it doesn't have it.

that tire swap is completely fine.

i'm with S on the final drive. could be a number of things. the rear driveshaft, the rear differential or the transmission. first two are easy fixes, last is a bit trickier (exaggeration). ask him what the car is doing and what's wrong with it and you can probably figure it out that way.

dealer wires are the way to go. magnecor wires are excellent too. they've done multiple designs to deal with the quirkiness of the spark plug chamber. off the shelf wires suck in the EJ series motors because they aren't designed with tight enough tolerances or materials up to task. i've used them before and they will short out immediately, i can't believe they continue to even supply them. they'll short out around the spark plug holes, apparently the deep holes make seating and fitment an issue. any compromise in the boot leaves a short cut to the side wall of the chamber. the spark will short out the side of the boot to the chamber, seen them, burns right through them. this is partially speculation, but i have seen it and they usually blow through the plug boot for sure. magnecor went through a growing phase with these wires and that's why they only carry one size/style wire for the EJ22. i have a set on my EJ22. i've bought numerous sets of wires from magnecor for jeeps, fords, older generation subaru's so i gave them a chance. i have had excellent results with these other vehicles. they are awesome wires and will last the life of the car. i've run one set for 200,000 miles. they have been fine on my impreza.

forget the K&N just keep drinking whatever it is you're drinking...this is a 8 or 9 second 0-60 car! for real though, i have a K&N and they do help a little and sound good as well.

xt6.net for sure. kevin has done extensive dyno testing on intakes, review what he's done and the gains he's had. he got best gains on a cone filter, but like mentioned it's all custom. the K&N does help some as well as removing the intake snorkel going through the fender. pull your wheel and wheel liner and you'll see the big plastic snorkel that needs to come out. it's a silencer of sorts, get it out of there.

timing belt isn't too bad. i wouldn't say an oil-change only type should go into it, but there is certainly enough info on these boards to get you through it without issue. i did my first EJ in just a couple hours with no issues. timing belt, water pump, pulleys, oil pump seals and no problems. cam seals are tricky as there is one cam bolt that doesn't want to come off...but there are ways around that. i'd plan on doing the timing belt, if they don't budge on price they might offer a new timing belt with your purchase. i always install new belts on any car i sell, it's the right thing to do if it's an unknown.

you can use whatever oil you want. that's the point. there's no miracle oil or oil that will completely destroy your motor. if you ask what kind of oil to use it's a very subjective and vague question that doesn't really demand an exact answer. get Mobil 1 10-30. why...because it's oil. there are plenty of other options out there as well. you should feel confident with many different oils.

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=56483 here's your original post.

the HLA's (tappets you call them) need to be disassembled and cleaned if a new oil pump and new seals didn't solve the trick. if the engine was just put back together it can take some time to go away. clean oil helps alot. dirty oil kills them, they get sticky or something. might be good to verify oil pressure with an accurate gauge. check the oil pan, make sure it's not dented as the sump in the oil pan is close to the bottom. a dent can restrict flow to the dump and rest of the motor (including the HLA's). how long has it been doing this, recently, all the time, many miles? if it just started, change oil filters. any leaks or loss of oil? on the cam housing is an oil rail. remove that and clean out the banjo bolt that has a spring behind it. weird set up - 17mm bolt i think the banjo bolt is. there are two bolts holding the fuel rail on - the larger one is the one i'm talking about. don't think that should cause the HLA noise, but good for the lube system.

thumbs up!

my favorite trick is to weld a nut on top of the stud. then you can use a socket to get it out.

sounds odd. i've swapped transmissions and never had to adjust the auto lever mechanisms. just bolt it in and go. i'd probably tell the dealer and have them look at it, in case there's anything that could have caused it to come loose.

yep timing belt. should have been done by now. if you don't know then you're looking at at $500-$1000 job if you're paying someone else to do it right. can be done in the $300 - $500 range if you belt slap it and ignore everything else that should be checked while the front of the motor is open. the 2.2 rocks, the 2.5 has the head gasket issue which is hit or miss. i think some auto trans have torque bind issues, not sure what years that applies to, but i believe it's a wide range. take some sharp turns at slow speed on dry pavement and see if you feel any "hop" or dragging while turning. that would indicate torque bind. not real common, but not something you want to pay someone to fix either. other than that, the 2.2 will last a looong time.

im getting an aluminum pulley for mine (EA82), but i'm doubtful you'll come up with 100 buyers. that's alot of orders. i think mine will be custom anyway because i removed the power steering pump and went with electric power steering and i might move the alternator and install an XT6 alternator. my pulley has routings for two belts, i'd like a crank pulley with one belt design.

agreed - he installed the timing belts incorrectly. tell him to install the cams 180 degrees apart from one another. very common mistake (and it shouldn't cost you anything, it was his fault!) but don't start pointing fingers, you're at his mercy until he gets the car done. i've owned like 12 of these things, there should be no need to tear into this motor just because the timing belt broke. too bad you're on the West coast of ohio, i'm headed to akron tonight until monday and could fix it for you with my eyes closed.

there's mention of other tightening down more on the head gaskets. to use the spider, have a shop weld a fitting in place on the intake manifold or drill and tap it as opposed to JB weld. i agree, i've had bad experience with that stuff as a long term solution. it's usually fine for a long time, but for 50,000/100,000 mile life of the vehicle type stuff it doesn't cut it. but lots of people do get it it to work for some situations.

agree. 10 minutes you say? that much, i think you're exaggerating! it was so simple the first time i did it i thought for sure i had done something wrong (even posted about it!). so easy, air filters can be trickier to install that the clutch disc!

i HATE those kinds of bolts. anyone ever replace them with normal bolts. i guess no one would typically mess with head bolts. if i ever have to go that far into an EJ22 i'd want to put something else in there, i hate those things.

ah...great point. my mileage went up last summer by about 2/3 mpg after doing a brake job on my 1997 impreza outback sport with 70,000 miles. it had always gotten about 25 since i got, i hadn't had it very long so i figured that was normal. i never noticed anything wrong with the brakes, but after replacing the pads my mileage went to 28. this is on all highway/road trip comparisons. be sure to grease the caliper slides when doing a brake job. if they are dirty at all that will cause the pads to ride on the rotors more. like i said, mine had nothing wrong with them except the pads were low. calipers and rotors were perfect and i only replaced the pads (and greased them slides!)

most oil bottles say "compatible with other oils that meet so-and-so specifications"....etc. so, yes they should be, pick up a bottle of the stuff and read the label. but it is usually recommended to stick with one kind. if it were a really bad thing to mix then anyone who doesn't use the same kind of oil in a car since new would be doing something bad because there's no way to drain all the oil out of car....well there are ways, but not conventional of course. did it use oil, how much after how many miles?

does this EJ22 have solid or hydraulic lifters? i think early models had one, later had the other? it could be as simple as valve train related? if the motors been sitting and you have hydraulic valve lash adjusters, they could be to blame and that may be an easy fix. sometimes just pumping them up.....cranking the oil pump, cranking the motor over will pump them up. sitting on the ground that does not do you any good. i know on the HLA motors i've pulled and reinstalled the HLA's are very noisey from sitting and/or being disassembled when you first start them up. i've never tested compression but i'd imagine during the "noisey" stage the compression would be off. takes a minute or two of running to get them all primed and working right again. last one i did just a couple weeks ago i slapped a high speed air ratchet on my oil pump socket and ran the oil pump by itself (timing belts off) for a few minutes to cycle oil through the engine. put the timing belts on and turned the motor over by hand a few times. cranked the motor a few times with the starter before finally hooking everything up to start the car. first time it started, no HLA noise. i'm not nearly as familiar with the solid lifter set up and what issues are possible there. i have a 2.2 i'd like to do a leak down test on. how did you do it? Just used an adapter for hooking your air compressor to the spark plug hole? leak was obvious or hard to tell?