GeneralDisorder

Toss it in the scrap metal bin and drop in a 2.5 under your existing heads. We call this the frankenmotor - makes about 180 - 190 HP. No point rebuilding a 2.2. They are cheap to buy used. If you are going to rebuild one get a 2.5 in need of a rebuild for $100 and spend your money on that. GD

I routinely steam clean all my engines and most engines prior to removal - so far I've never had a problem. The worst I've had happen is the distributor get wet inside and have to be sprayed out with WD-40. One thing you can do to mitigate any problems is have an air compressor ready to dry out everything. I steam clean for sometimes 20 or 30 minutes - I follow by immediately drying out the whole engine bay with compressed air and then (if possible) I start and run them till the radiator drys out, etc. If you can - spray the whole thing down with simple green and allow it to sit for 15 minutes or so prior to the steam clean. Works wonders. I worked for an industrial machine manufacturer/rebuilder - we would open up 480v electric motors, steam clean the windings (useing soap even!) and then allow them to air dry before reassembly. This was common and accepted practice - we did Meg-Ohm the windings prior to running them but typically they were dry by the following day. Avoid spraying the Weber air filter directly. Otherwise - go to town. GD

No such animal as a '92 Outback. And as mentioned there are no EGR equipped EJ's prior to '95. GD

Yeah that little gear is plastic and runs off the pinion shaft.... I'm sorry to inform you that you have to split the case to replace it. It is impossible to change the driven gear from outside of the transmission. It can be done on the auto's - but the 5MT is a different animal and that little $10 gear requires about $800 in labor to replace GD

Yeah he didn't replace the bearing. Which is silly not to do as a 6203-2RS is only like $5 and you can't replace the front lip seal without pulling the shaft/bearing assembly. Don't really need a press - totally overkill for such a tiny little thing. I use a vice with some soft-jaws and some carfully selected sockets. I have a 20T shop press and I wouldn't even consider using it on this. If I had a whole assload of them to rebuild then I would setup an arbor press to do them. Just too small and the forced involved are trivial. I have done about half a dozen EA and EJ pumps - note that there is quite a variety of kits and they aren't the same from Legacy to Impreza even in the same year.... nor are the EA pumps quite the same. Some don't even have the same size bearings - some are 6202's and some are 6203's. So you want to verify what you have - especially if any junk yard pumps have been involved. GD

You don't *have* to buy a new one. Replace it with a 35 Ohm, 5 watt resistor for about $1 and the ECU will quit complaining. The job of that solenoid is to open the port that pull fuel vapor from the charcoal canistor. You won't miss it if you just just plug the lines and fool the ECU. GD

With that many miles on it and the lift/tire stress - I question the replacement of the rear diff at all without also splitting the case and checking everything out. When the 5MT's fail - it's the rear input shaft bearing that goes. If you are going to replace bearings then I highly sugest you split the case and replace that one. None of the other bearings really matters if you are going to leave that one with 200k on it. They won't be the first to fail and typically they are just fine even after a tranny is nearly destroyed inside. Inspect them. Blown them out with solvent and spin them - if you feel any roughness then replace. But don't just replace a bunch of bearings that aren't failing for no reason - especially when the main transmission has 200k on it. Chances are that they are fine and they don't need to be renewed because the rest of the tranny will amost certainly blow up first. GD

If the wet test only brought it up to 90 then it's got valve sealing problems. Possibly a burnt exhaust valve. The rings are sealing from the oil but the valve can't and continues to leak. Unlikely to be a head gasket - those don't typically show up on compression tests. Also it would be having other issues related to the cylinder compression escaping to where it should not be. Why wasn't the compression test followed up with a leak-down test? Wet/dry compression test is just a pass/fail for the rings. The rings passed that test - now you need a leak-down to check the intake/exhaust valves. GD

I agree with letting it sit all weekend. So far we have had the best luck with the first cylinder I treated which sat overnight with a 50/50 mix of ATF and Acetone. That cylinder (#3 pass. rear) came up 40 psi and has stayed there. Both of the further treatments I have done to the 90 lb cylinder (#1 pass. front) were only able to sit for about 3 to 4 hours before I had to put the car back in running order. That doesn't seem to have been enough to really accomplish anything. I think patience is the key. And possibly the application of some air pressure to the cylinder. About 10 to 20 psi behind the solvent mix and just let it sit over night like that. Should yeild some results I think based on what I have seen so far. Overall the engine has smoothed out a lot since we first started it but the oil consumption is not acceptable. GD

EA81 heater core lines are two-peice with a coupler in the middle. Those don't look like stock couplers though. They probably rusted out. You should go to the dealer and get all four hoses and new couplers. GD

Don't bother replacing those bearings. They aren't a failure item on the 5MT's. The input shaft bearings on the transmission main shaft will go out long before those do. There's just not enough stress on them to worry about. Needlessly expensive. GD

No - it should be about 35 ohms. The book is pretty vague. GD

I have a customer with over 270k - uses Mobile-1 at 5k intervals since he bought it new in '90. First production year - slam dunk for reliability. Superb engine design and implementation. With the proper maintenance they can easily go half a million. You could use one of his valve covers as a dinner platter.... or meatloaf tray :-p. GD

Yeah those are perfect results. You can average that to 185 which is exactly what you should see. GD

Lets all say it together.... "PRE-TOW INSPECTION!" There's no such thing as bad luck. Proper inspection of the trailer and it's hitch probably would have shown worn out/rusted/cracked/fatigued components and this could have been avoided. If you rent a trailer - buy the insurance! GD

Are you refering to the small line that opens to to a squarish port under the carb base? That is the carb base-heater port. It flows coolant to heat the carb - it's basically an emissions trick. Hot air burns cleaner. It's typically blocked when installing a Weber as it tends to leak from ill-fitting weber adaptor plates. GD

Beautiful hatch! Do you have many of these in England? I was under the impression that Hatchback's were rare in the EDM world. I know I've heard there's less than 10 of them in Austrailia and I has assumed the other European markets were similar. I think your's is the first picture I've seen of a hatch from England.... I'm a much bigger fan of the hatch than the Brat personally. Did you see the aluminium rear window latches that a friend and fellow board member made not long ago? He may offer them again. Best way to solve the weak plastic handles.... GD

No - auto or manual does not matter as long as it's a 25 spline inner and NOT an XT6 axle. Those use a totally different outer joint interface like a Legacy, etc. Again - avoid NAPA axles - they are reman garbage and you will regret the purchase. Get an axle from a retailer that sells NEW axles. I get EMPI or another house brand from my local import parts supplier for less than $60 - lifetime warranted. GD

The valve is designed to sense engine temp and to open or close an internal gate between the two vacuum ports. It is a way of turning on or off a device that is vacuum operated based on engine temp. For example - the EGR valve will only be enabled after the engine has reached operating temp. This valve interrupts the vacuum signal to the EGR valve (or whatever) till the proper temperature is reached. It does not itself supply the vacuum - only regulates if it's allowed to flow or not. Therefore it does not need an opening at it's base - just an appropriate metallic interface that facillitates the thermal transfer. Typically the bottom of the valve will be in contact with coolant..... GD

And - just to insult the counter guys at NAPA - their part number for a 25 spline turbo axle is: NMD 953109. Right off their own web site. Idiots I tell you..... To find it you have to lookup parts for an XT and then drill down to CV driveshafts..... it's right there in the description of the part which spline count it has. GD

If the inner axle joint cup (the "cylinder thing") is spinning but the shaft is not then you have a bad DOJ (Double Offset Joint). Not sure how you could have done that while replacing the components you mentioned but if your description is accurate then clearly there is a problem inside the DOJ. Pull it apart and inspect. GD

Order an axle for an '89 RX turbo coupe. That will be the one you need. Don't go to NAPA - their parts blow. Anywhere else is better. Find an EMPI axle dealer if you can. GD

Not since Art retired. It's not the same with George. GD

The torque cams don't really make it sound any different except at idle - it's not a V8 type of lumpy idle like you think though - it sounds more like..... it's just not tuned very well at idle. Sound a bit like it's got a vacuum leak actually. Remember this is a 1.8L engine. You are comparing it to 5.7L and larger V8's that have twice as many cylinders. Subaru's have 4 and a lumpy idle on a Subaru just sounds like it runs crappy. Not enough cylinders to get the lumpiness that you desire. SPFI pistons will increase the compression ratio to 9.5:1. Decking the block and heads can further increase the compression into the 10:1 or 10.5:1 range. EA82 intake can be used for somewhat better flow. Port and polish the heads. Exhaust should be upgraded after the header to 2". Those three mods alone - along with a good tuned Weber can get you close to 100 HP which is a decent increase over the stock 73 HP. Of course - all of this will cost more than doing an EJ22 swap - which is 135 HP without changing anything on the engine. And a frankenmotor (EJ25 with EJ22 heads) is about 180 HP. You'll never come close to the performance-per-dollar that you will find in the EJ's with a modified EA. GD

I wasn't aware of the AM reception issues with our new-fangled digital sets so if that's your poison I appologize :-p. I pretty much listen to FM rock or the multiple GB's of MP3's on my phone.... and being that I'm not a sports fan.... AM is pretty much what I plan on tuning into for the Zombie Apocalypse and as such I have a one of those emergency units with a hand-crank . GD