GeneralDisorder

For an EJ25D - you must use the thick MLS gasket that Subaru sells for the DOHC EJ25D.... you cannot use the single layer EJ253/251 gasket - it does not provide enough clearance for the piston to crest above the top of the cylinder. EJ25D's have peek-a-boo pistons and what you are hearing is the piston slapping the head surface. GD

Get the Redline kit. www.cafbsunlimited.com has them. EMPI makes a kit that I've used before as well. Either will work. GD

Advance curve is the same between 4WD/2WD. There is no difference according to the graphs in the FSM. As stated - anything other than a Hatchback will be fuel injected and thus will not work. GD

Subaru doesn't have bearing "kits" for their transmissions. You have to order each one seperately. I sugest you open it up and find out which one's you really need because unless you are planning on spending up around $1000 US for bearings and syncro's.... it's cost prohibitive to buy everything. Typically there are only one or two that go bad and/or are destroyed when pressing them off the shaft. GD

No one but a previous owner of that car could give you an answer. It's highly custom and as such only the builder(s) will know enough to assist you. Talk to Tex. GD

They are not interchangeable. GD

Yeah - I can do it. Would be $100 plus the rebuild kit ($35 or so for the Redline kit IIRC) and shipping both ways - probably be about $150 total.... It's not difficult but it's a couple hours punctuated by some waiting for stuff to soak in the chem dip. PM me if you want to send it my way. GD

Nope. Not really. Without increaseing displacement or thermal effeciency (compression/forced induction) any gains to be seen will be very minor and not worth the money they would cost. You can port/polish the heads till the cows come home and only get about 5 HP from it. With a non-turbo your options are limited to changing how the engine breathes and to do that you have to get into the internals. 101k is low - so sell the short block to offset the cost of the 2.5 . GD

The best mod for the 2.2 is to drop in a 2.5 short block - retaining the 2.2 heads, intake, exhaust, etc. This results in a high-compression engine (around 10.8:1) and an increase from 135 HP to around 200 HP with proper attention to cams, exhaust, etc. The ECU does not have to be modified and will run the 2.5 high-comp (which we call the frankenmotor) without trouble. It's also a relatively cheap modification - the first one I built cost around $700. $200 for a used (90k) EJ25D short block (the kid was doing a turbo swap), $160 for torque cams, $175 for head rebuild, and then misc. costs associated with gaskets, timing belt components, etc. The one caveat is that you must run premium fuel due to the high compression. But it's a proven reliable build and easily the best option for a factory 2.2 platform. GD

Could be a rod knock, yes. They are usually only audible under load just as you noted. Any metal in the oil? Hard to say without driving it but I would say there's a good possibility that you have a rod knock. GD

Ok - lets clear some stuff up here: 1. The valve lash check/adjustment is ABSOLUTELY neccesary at 105k. Period. 2. In the majority of engines no adjustment will be needed. And in the majority of engines no adjustment will be needed at 210k either. Some may be a few thou off. 3. In the few cases where an adjustment IS needed the engine WILL NOT make it to 210k. The two that I have repaired burned exhaust valves on had 199k (97 EJ22), and 169k (98 EJ25D) respectively. Thus the check is critical if you wish to avoid this potential problem. 4. Anecdotal evidence.... "mine was fine at 105k and so was my neighbors!" means nothing because 95% of them are. If you are one of the 5% that needs it you will be kicking yourself for not doing the check. 5. It has nothing to do with maintenance. The wear occurs in a location that has no oil anyway - on the face of the valve and the valve seat. The '97 EJ22 I repaired had spectacular maintenance using only synthetic oil since new. 6. It is easier to check the exhaust valve lash from under the car because the exhaust valves stems and rockers are easier to access from the underside. Simple. 7. All Subaru engines went to solid lifters in '97. They were all hydraulic in '96. Got it? GD

Fixed. That comes to a little over $600. This stuff isn't really that expensive if you shop around and utilize the forums - wanted and for sale sections, ebay seller reccomendations, etc. Trust me - those price ARE realistic. I recondition and sell Subaru's besides repairing them for a living. It's all I do - every day. Hell - I have a VC in my garage I would sell you - $50 shipped. . As noted they are common as dirt and almost never fail. I have spare tranny parts all over the place from building custom transmissions. GD

Yeah - probably a bad VC. They don't fail on the 5MT's much - just get a used center diff assembly and put it in. You can't remove the driveline and drive it in 2WD like that - it will wreck the VC even more. AWD's can't be driven that way. GD

You won't harm anything by using an impact. If a nut with the wrong thread was used - the axle threads will be toast. You should probably just replace the axle - they aren't expensive. At the very least you will need to run a die over it or thread file it till the new nut goes down smoothely. GD

Valve overlap will cause the intake valve to open before the exhaust valve closes and the piston will be traveling down on the intake stroke. When turned over slowely this wil result in a suction on the exhaust port for a moment - at operating speed the expanding hot exhaust gasses will help pull in more air/fuel mixture as they leave a vacuum in their wake upon exiting the exhaust port. So yes - that's normal. GD

That's not how it's done. You strip the EJ harness to just the engine computer and sensors. Then you install that into the Brat. You don't use the whole harness because you don't need and won't use 80% of it. Switched power is only one of about a dozen connections that need to be made - without which the EJ will not run correctly. It needs a speed sensor and a neutral switch for starters - along with ignition switched power, etc. GD

+1 vote for rear wheel bearing. GD

You can't bolt-up the pressure plate with the disc turned around. EJ flywheels being built flat like they are..... the spring pack is too thick. It just won't go together that way. The spring pack must be in the cavity provided by the pressure plate. I've done a few GM clutches...... I don't doubt that it could be assembled backwards - especially by the typical Chevy owner GD

Change both the front and rear fuel filters. GD

Normal. You don't actually even need to do the second 180 most of the time. Loose is loose. GD

Entirely uneccesary as the inner joint is easily dissasembled by removing the retaining wire with a screwdriver. Beating on joints with hammers is not a wise move. GD

The outer joint doesn't come apart. You have to do everything by dissasembling the inner joint. http://home.comcast.net/~trilinear/axle_rebuilding.html GD

Virtually no other manufacturer competes with Subaru in tests like that. There are vehicles out there that can - Audi has quite a few. But not at the price point that Subaru offers. If build quality, traction, reasonable size and fuel economy, and affordable price are what you want - you really don't have any other choice. As many others will state - when it snows around here - Subaru's are one of the few things moving *effectively* with almost no chance of getting stuck if you aren't totally stupid with your driving. I relish those days - I love passing the 4WD Volvo's/BMW's and trucks/SUV's in my '91 Sport Sedan. I just find it hilariously ironic that I can go anywhere in snow/ice with my low, sporty, turbo and just wave at all the suckers who are stuck. I live in an "affluent" neighborhood or at least very near to one and It's not uncommon to see Masarati's and other very high end vehicles - so when it snows it's just a mess of stuck BMW's, 2WD Audi's, and tons of SUV's with gigantic rims and summer tires . GD

These are AWESOME! My post on the install with pictures, etc: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=114042 GD

If you think that $400 is a lot of money - you probably shouldn't be considering doing an EJ swap into your ride. Here's how it breaks down: EJ22 + wireing harness: ~$500 Doesn't really matter if you buy a junk car for it's engine and harness or buy one from a dismantler/junk yard. That's about the going rate. Sometimes you find stuff cheaper but you usually get what you pay for. I bought a good 22 two days ago with a 6 month warrantee for a customer of mine - $450. Timing belt kit, seals, gaskets, and other neccesities to prep the engine for install: ~$250 Having the harness stripped (assuming you can't do it yourself since most people here can't): $250 That's $1000 just for the engine and the harness to make it run. Add in the adpator kit, new clutch, custom exhaust, and all the other bits and peices you will need because you don't have a shed full of Subaru parts like myself and a few others around here - you won't get the job done (as in running and driving as a reliable daily driver) for less than $2000 to $2500 - assuming you can do all the labor yourself and have the ability to fabricate as needed. So are you prepared to spend $2000 on a car that's worth $600 when you could just sell it and buy a Legacy - installl some outback struts/springs, and with the same adaptor kits and a little fab work install a 5 speed D/R from an '80s GL? And no - you won't find much as far as used conversion kits. Sometimes they come along but you will just have to watch and wait. Might take a year or a couple years to find one and even then you will pay $200 or more. You should easily be able to go out an earn $200 in less time than it would take to wait around for a used set. GD