GeneralDisorder

Get the gaskets and grommets from the dealer. They still sell them. Coat both sides with RTV and let it dry. Tighten lightly. GD

For you Aus. and UK folks.... I have no idea what Subaru sent you. But here in the US there was never a points based distributor used on an EA81. In fact the late 70's EA71's were electronic also. I think you have to go back to about 76 or 77 to find a points based distributor. They may have done this to compete with the big three on marketing wank. GM had electronic "HEI" ignition in all passenger cars by about 74/75 or so. Having the ability to publish bullet point comparisons in their marketing materials was important in our market. Probably couldn't build enough of them to roll it out into every market. GD

There were some service bulletins about that value being insufficient. I believe they changed it to 147. Regardless the fastener is more than capable based on it's size and so we just use the 150 because it's a round number. Based on experience we use 150 for the crank, and 75 for the cams. It's easy to remember, etc. Remember that all torque values are mostly based on the size of the fastener. You can find torque by fastener size and grade - it's given on machinists charts and reference material. GD

Tighten it to 150 ft/lbs. That is all. Inspect for thread damage or stretching of course. We have NEVER had a failure or a back-off at 150. All this is way overkill. There are many other vehicles with similar sized thread for the crank pulley that are 250 ft/lbs. GD

Excellent.

Depend on where you are. Have to call some machine shops but most don't have the equipment anymore. We charge $100 for a set of pistons. It is the installers responsibility to file them for proper fit. GD

Yes they will fit. You will have to swap the front lower bushing. The best deal is buying them from Subaru through the SPT catalog for a WRX. The same arms are used on 2006 non STI WRX's. You do not need a full STI swap. They are a direct bolt on. We have installed them on a 96 Legacy and many other applications. GD

Those look fine. Get them knurled if you like - it will help with piston slap. Otherwise just put them back in. I've seen 1000x worse - we just knurl them, and file to fit. GD

Early EA71 distributors were non electronic like that. Someone probably swapped it. Just get the correct distributor and it will be electronic. GD

Then it's either not an EA81 or not an EA81 distributor. Just get a factory EA81 distributor. GD

A hydraulic shop will be able to modify and reuse the hard line sections as needed. GD

It IS too old for most professional mechanics. They (I) have to make a living. That living, necessarily, is based on working on vehicles and charging an hourly rate commensurate with that work. EA81's pose a huge logistical nightmare to us. 1. Parts, if they are available at all, are hard to get and time consuming to acquire. 2. The car is OLD. Increasing by a significant factor the chances of broken fasteners, corrosion, unforseen circumstances and other rabbit hole situations that cost us time and money. It is not economically feasible to work on them. 3. The kind of customer you CLEARLY are would preclude me ever touching your car. You have unrealistic expectations, you have an old, unreliable vehicle as your only mode of transportation and in fact are living in the thing. This spells boondoggle for any shop and they would kindly ask you to PFO (Please F**k Off). People that bring me EA cars PAY for the privilege. At this point it's like having a shop work on your classic muscle car. Ain't cheap. The EA customers that come to my shop spend thousands (and not just a few) typically. The cars spend weeks or months in my possession. You want cheap to work on - go buy a Corolla. And stop ranting at us. Jeezus - PFO already! GD

On for all. If you have the right tools the TC bolts are no issue at all. GD

Yeah that one would have to be bored oversized. Which means oversized pistons would be needed.... It can be done. The primary issue with rebuilding involves the acquisition of parts, and the steep, treacherous learning curve with machine work and assembly of Subaru short blocks. As simple as they seem, there are several traps for young gamers. Aluminum does not have temperature stability, it does not stay the same shape with age, use, or repeated assembly/disassembly. It is highly unforgiving and the bearing clearances are exceptionally tight when cold. Rebuilding a Subaru short block is much more rebuilding a Ferrari or Corvette engine than it is a Chevy small block - let alone the Briggs and Stratton that it appears to be most closely related to when viewed under the hood. GD

It does have a MAP. It is not used for fuel mixture control. It is on the passenger strut tower along with it's switching solenoid. This sensor is used both for atmospheric pressure as well as manifold pressure sensing. Thus the switching solenoid. It is used to detect when the EGR flow occurs which is probably it's primary function and why OBD-I models did not include it. GD

The valves will be fine. Lap them and reset the lash. Call up some wrecking yards and find a 251 that's been hit in the front and blew off the timing. You don't care if it has bent valves you won't be using the heads anyway. I usually pay $500 for blocks in this condition. Cut open the oil filter to looks for metal and check under the valve covers for varnish. Swap the 7mm or 9mm oil pump to a 10. Install new rings. STi head gaskets. Done. GD

How far do you have the engine torn down? That is not an easy thing to fix. In fact it probably isn't economically repairable. That said, most likely it will continue to run like that for some time. That appears to be deterioration of the aluminum above the cylinder liner. It's not a crack - the aluminum is deteriorating in that area due to the corrosive nature of exhaust gasses, etc. If you want to completely rebuild the engine, bring it to my shop and we can see what can be done. Most likely we would start with a different block. While anything can be repaired, the machine cost of sleeving a block (if we can buy sleeves from Darton, etc in that size) is around $1000 plus the cost of the sleeves. Getting parts for these engines is becoming next to impossible as well. Just finding intake valves for the 83+ heads is nearly impossible. GD

Yes and you are probably a little low on coolant because it's been leaking perhaps? Check all other hoses and top off system. GD

It's probably the pump but you should check for power at the pump connector under the access panel behind the rear seat. Disconnect the pump connector and use an incandescent test light at the pins containing the largest two wires. You should have power there at key-on for two seconds and then only when cranking. Do not use a DMM or an LED test light. They can give you false readings if the problem is a burnt or corroded connection. GD

Get the new updated silicone o-rings for the pump inlet, and a new suction hose. Use Oetiker style ear clamps - we use two or them on the pump side. GD

You can do the o-rings yourself. But have someone with a proper gauge set and refrigerant scale do the recharge of the system. Need to insure it holds a vacuum and then need to charge by weight for best results. GD

That's a coolant line. Just use generic coolant hose. You must have something like Toyota coolant pink antifreeze in the car rather than the usual green. GD

You have grounding problems. Current is trying to get back to the battery and is finding pathways through bulbs, etc. Clean all your grounds. GD

Yes we generally install 10mm pumps, new piston rings, 2.5 turbo head gaskets, and we run all EJ engines with over 100k on 5w40 oil. Our high HP turbo builds run 15w50 race oil and 11mm pumps. GD

Many dealers will gladly ship you the parts you need. Call Lithia Subaru in Oregon City, Oregon. Tell them Rick from SSI sent you. GD