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i'll find out if it works shortly. funny thing, i'm almost positive the EA82 JDM and EA82T US motor both had a 4 plug TPS. there is definitely one plug and solenoid looking device under the intake that is not on the EA82 JDM motor that is on the EA82T. i'm assuming it's a solenoid related to the EGR. or it could be a solenoid for the transmission since the JDM was likely a FWD. not sure if any trans solenoids are on the engine though, i'm used to them being mounted in the engine bay. other than that one plug, everything else plugged right in perfectly.

dang it, i'm dying to do this on my XT6 and XT. once i get them running i will, i already have impreza holders as well. nice job, definitely annoying not having anything.

sweet, nice. i'd like to do this to the XT Turbo once it's up and running. is this set-up reliable? or constant maintenance?

not a big deal. the CV boot at the end of the axle is just rubber, they break all the time. they only last so long and are replaced on nearly any subaru at some point. it's not a big deal. they run about $80 each, plus labor to install. be sure to replace with Subaru OEM axles, rebuilt axles are risky. very doubtful your wheel bearings are bad if it's just broken cv boots and axles clicking. you could drive this thing for thousands of miles without replacing them and you'd be fine. i've put 50,000 miles on a broken cv boot (bad axle) before with no issue. even when they start clicking it's not a big deal if you can tolerate the noise.

dylan, are you installing MS on your EA82T? you're going to have MS and EDIS? have you started yet?

thanks guys! i ended up being able to keep almost all of the lower mileage and nicer condition JDM intake stuff. strip the turbo wiring harness off the XT Turbo EA82T intake manifold and installed it on the JDM intake. this was fairly easy and everything worked out fine. i spliced in the JDM terminals/connectors though as they and their rubber boot covers were in much better condition. there is ONE "part" that is missing on the JDM. there is a solenoid just behind the thermostat housing and towards the center of the intake manifold, had to see as it's tucked way under there. i left it disconnected for now. i'm not sure what it's for but it reminds me of solenoids i've seen for locking the transmission center diff? anyone know what this is? since this was the only electrical connection left no used i assume it might be EGR related? but i can't imagine that having a solenoid? one weird side note that has nothing to do with anything. of the two connectors on the JDM motor, one was identical to the XT Turbo motor, the round one. the JDM did not have a square connector like the XT Turbo. the round ones that were identical had the same number of pins and the exact same connector so i assumed those were a dead match. i went to verify this. the wires were all different colors. so then i used a multi-meter to test continuity through various paths. the pins were not even close to the same. i test FI, oil sender, coolant temp, and TPS paths and they didn't match up at all eventhough the connector was the same. but it didn't really matter it was much easier to swap the entire harness then to try and only swap "one" connector or "half" of the harness anyway. the JDM harness connectors looked identical to my RX Turbo (non spider) wiring harness, but i didn't compare anything. two round connectors, one white and one black.

the 4EAT doesn't have a center diff. the clutch packs serve a similar function. 90/10 normal and 60/40 at most is the break down i've seen. amen, check out endwrench.com or whatever it is, it's Subaru's official documentation website or whatever you want to call it. excellent information on the details and workings of the 4EAT. for snow/rain and stuff it depends. in general the manual trans are better. the 4EAT doesn't add any traction until it detects slip, well who wants to wait until then to gain traction? that being said the 4EAT is nearly as good if not better than the manual transmission if you install a switch to control the clutch lock up. when it's snowing, you "lock" it and have your front and rear wheels "locked" together. in the models that offer 5 speeds without any differential lock, the 4EAT with this switch installed would be better in snow and off road driving.

there was just a post about this in the past month, i'd do a search and read through that thread. i can't recall the details but i think someone was quoted in the $500 range to replace plugs. not a ton of information/experience yet on the 6 cylinders. most are still under warranty and they're still relatively new so alot of us that work on subaru's haven't seen them yet.

i'm confused on the severity and talk of rebuilding, this is a really simple fix. this happens all the time on these motors. the exhaust studs strip out very easily. unless i'm missing something, it is hard to see anything with all that oil and stuff everywhere. the exhaust is leaking out, blowing on the timing belt covers. they melt when they get hot, just plastic. helicoil the threads and you're done in a hour. without doing any work but removing the exhaust header and putting it back on. the only annoying part is working from under the car. wear goggles so the aluminum, oil and rust doesn't get in your eyes.

My JDM motor has a different engine connector. JDM Motor - 88+ EA82 non turbo it's going in my 1987.5 XT Turbo. There are two connectors- one is identical to my USDM motor, the other is different. can i just splice the connector that's different? i plan on tracing the wiring either with a meter and/or the FSM wiring diagram. hopefully i can get it to work. My USDM engine is a Turbo and has more junk on it and it's dirty and isn't in as good condition as the JDM. i'd rather keep the JDM intake on there. the turbo motor has that drives side exhaust port tube that routes up to the intake with that big thing on it...don't know what it is but the JDM motor doesn't have it and i don't want it on there. less stuff is better. the JDM motor doesn't have the exhaust port tapped out anyway.

district of columbia as in washington DC? i work just north of DC, live in maryland.

the only issue i can think of is to check your VENT hose and vent orifices at the top of the transmission. these vent pressure from inside the transmission. if this vent hose or orifice was plugged somehow that could build pressure internally that needs to be relieved somewhere and could put too much pressure on the backside of the seal. if the venting isn't too blame, this is very strange, it's strange anyway. i have no inclination as to what the problem would be, but i'd probably do all of the following to make sure it doesn't happen again: first the seal is held in place by the transmission. i would thoroughly check that mounting area the seal is pressed into. i'd mic the the entire diameter, sounds suspicious if it's not holding. then be sure to get a Subaru OEM torque converter seal and make sure it's for the right transmission. (it should be, not a ton of variance there). the only other thing related to this seal is the torque converter shaft riding through the middle of it. suppose it's out of balance or something? i'd replace the torque converter with the shaft and flexplate if you can find them. post in the parts wanted forum. good luck and i hope you can resolve this.

it wasn't always a standard option so some models may or may not have it as well. XT6 and GL-10's and maybe others could have it as well, but few of them do.

head gaskets are easy. best bet would be to get two used heads (sounds like you can pull them from another motor?), have them milled, valve job and cleaned before you start on the motor. the longest part of the job is cleaning up the heads, head bolts and head bolt holes. having heads ready to throw on saves a ton of time.

the engine typically would be fine for quite some time beyond this. but you are at the point that for reliability the timing belt pulleys need to be addressed as well. kind of a risk to replace belts and water pump but leave 200,000 mile pulleys and bearings in place. the pulleys loose grease over time. buy new ones (pricey) or repack them. i posted a thread on how to repack the timing pulley bearings for zero cost (well the cost of grease and 3 minutes of time). if you're looking to do this job and run it another 100,000 miles, i'd go ahead and do it right if reliability is a concern, which it sounds like it is since you're talking about buying "newer".

that is not correct. splice a switch in-line with Duty Solenoid C and you can lock the rear transfer clutches. i modded mine a couple years ago and others have recently done it as well. seems to work across the board on most 4EAT subaru trans. very simple and it works great. search the forum for more info before this topic gets off topic. P.S. - if you're looking for hauling capabilities of the Baja, why not get a trailer for your goods? is that a better option than major body modifications. then you can still look into lift kits and larger tires, locking rear diff, etc. i wouldn't expect too much in terms of body flares and such, never seen that. lift kits, if not already available are in the works.

you can rebuild, if you're close to a warehouse or electrical shop willing to help you find the right brushes and solenoid. i rebuilt some van, forget the make when i was in atlanta. but at the time i knew of a good supply warehouse. they matched up the parts and i put them in. they are very cheap, but finding them is the hard part. i've tried to source some good supply stores in maryland and no luck with any that will help out. it ends up being really cheap, but like i said need a little help or know where to find the parts. it'll be a matching type deal, find a replacement part based on the old one. agree with the above too...check battery connections and starter connections. any bad connection or a bad ground from battery to engine/body will cause the same situation. next time it clicks run jumper cables from battery ground to a good engine ground and see if it starts right up. that would narrow it down to a bad ground wire. or - do the opposite - run jumper cables from positive battery to starter and see if it starts. if it does then your cable, connections are to blame. as you can tell, you're only using one line of the jumper cables, make sure you use the same one.

thanks! i'll keep that in mind in case i don't find one, find a rusted one, end up welding up something to bet by for now.

i'm not having very good luck finding one, that's likely why. probably not legal in some states.

i'm looking for an EA82 (non turbo) exhaust header. none of the local yards have older subaru's. anyone know of any WV or PA pull it yourself yards that have a decent number of EA82's? preferrably close to MD?

i woudln't recommend any locktite on the threads, but i'm not saying "it's wrong", not trying to start a debate. the crank and pulley bolt are both iron, crank the CRAP out of them. if you reinstalled this bolt and did not crank it really tight, it'll come out again. that's likely why it came loose this time. the last time the timing belt or some other item requiring removal of this bolt was done, the bolt wasn't tightened enough. i use my socket with a 2 and a half foot pipe over the handle and have at it. I make it really tight, it's all cast iron so no worries on stripping threads. i mean you could if you wanted to, but you'd have to go ballistic on it. be sure it's tight...very tight right now or it'll happen again quite soon. i've never had one come out that i've tightened and i've probably done it 50-100 times. i have forgotten to tighten one before though!

i know nothing about gas. but i do know that years ago i did notice a couple mpg difference at the two local cheap gas stations compared to the others. a mile or 2 per gallon.

Could you get a better price on the vehicle? Running vehicles without a blown head gasket routinely sell for under $3000 at your mileage and year. I'd look for a better deal. Three subaru's of your vintage locally sold for $800, $500 and $1,500 - 2 with blown head gaskets and one with an "engine problem". i can buy you one and ship it to you for well under $3,000. If you stick with the car and want to keep it awhile then CCR is a great route, they have an excellent reputation. You get a warranty and a brand new motor. Well worth the extra expense. Replace the torque converter seal on the transmission and it should be golden.

i have a 1997 bumper available, it's blue and or gray. car is blue, can't recall what color the bumper is, i guess it's blue. i'm in maryland, i'll send an email.

how the vehicle is driven makes a significant difference as well. and terrain (flat verses mountains). driving to work, using the same gas station my mileage on my 89 Subaru XT6 is pegged at 25 mpg, doesn't vary more than 0.5 mpg. i drive 500 miles a week nearly all highway miles so i get very consistent conditions to compare, drive the same every day to work and back and mpg is almost always dead on. take the impreza on roads trips and get the same thing, nearly 25 mpg almost exactly every time. within 1mpg. that one seems to sway a little more than the XT6, but still less than 1.0 difference each time. since my wheels/tires are larger than stock it's really over 25, but that's what the numbers come out to. (it's really whatever percentage difference my tires make, haven't calculated it yet, but probably only a few percent higher mileage). either way, the comparison is the same. i'm driving 1000 miles or so this weekend in the impreza and expect the same consistent gas mileage, so i'd probably attribute it to driving conditions, weather, mountains or something like that.