GeneralDisorder

NOTHING I listed was for racing - that's a whole different ball of wax. The parts listed are ONLY to get the engine mated to the trans, wired up, and driving. He's going to have a real "oh $hit" moment when he realizes that the engine he buys won't bolt up to an EA transmission nor even attempt to run with the car's wiring. No way he's going to buy an engine for $800 and have it installed for "less than $1000" total. He's a total idiot if he believes that claim. His "buddy" probably does GM stuff where just about any combo is possible due to similar bell-housing systems between engines. Knowing what's going on in this kids head - I'm not even willing to do the swap for him. I dont want his money or his problems. He can take his "business" elsewhere. I have plenty of sane customers that don't ask me to do stupid things like dump $4k into a crapped out eEA82T sedan with a junk homemade lift and messed up body. GD

Unlikely that your tapping is a valve adjustment problem.... the EJ25D valves get tighter not looser. But you should still do the adjustment to avoid a burned exhaust valve. You are very near the mileage where I've seen that happen. Last one I did was a '97 OBW with 169k on it - just 9k from where you are. You can't just buy a shim *assortment* - there are way too many part numbers and it's likely that you will need duplicates, etc. Also it often is the case that a few of your existing shims are suitible for other buckets so some swapping around can happen and you may have to only order 3 to 5 shims, etc. It's usually only the exhaust shims that need to be changed - the intake's generally don't need any adjustment. I agree with pulling the engine - it's the easiest way to do the valve adjustment without the $300 special tool that the dealers use. It is best if you have access to a metric micrometer and know how to use it. The adjusment of the valves is tight - .008" on the intake, and .010" on the exhaust. GD

There's still checks that need to be performed around the same mileage interval (105k). It's not exactly an EA81. Chains still do wear and need inspection/replacement. Just less chance of breakage overall and less likely to have a problem if ignored. GD

'95 to '98 *automatic's* have EGR. Manual's do not. Basically - if it's a dual exhaust port EJ22 - it is a 90 to 95. There aren't any other differences beyond that. Why does it matter? They are all the same. GD

Yes - it will be fine. Drive on soldier. GD

Unless this "buddy" of his is charging nothing for labor - it's not going to be under $1000. There is likely close to $1000 in all the support parts minus the engine itself. Seals, gaskets, belts (timing/water pump/thermostat), hoses, adaptor, flywheel, clutch, radiator fans, wireing, ECU, etc, etc. Then you have to buy an engine. Then you have to pay for labor. Hell - you can't replace an EJ with another EJ for less than $1k usually if you are paying for labor. If you are doing a full conversion - double it. Easily. GD

Joint type doesn't matter. Some use the Rzeppa ball-type plunge joints (OEM are typically built this way), and some use the Tripod-type plunge joints - EMPI uses these on some of their aftermarket EA series axles for example. They all work just fine and most people never even realize that internally they are different types of joints. GD

I like it. Looks simple and efficiently laid out. Looks like they took a few chapters from the H6 design book and pasted it into the new H4. I particularly like the serpentine belt - no more idiots destroying alt and AC compressor bearings from over-tightening hard belts that should have been replaced. Also a simple change out - looks like it would take about 30 seconds to toss a new belt on. Total win in my book. External water pump like an EA81.... another win. I really don't see anything I don't like here. If anything Subaru has continued to stay true to the their herritage of using extremely simple and well-thought-out designs. GD

Pretty simple - either swap the electrical components from the EJ25D's manifold to the EJ22 manifold and drop it in, or find a '95 to '98 EJ22 manifold (with EGR prefered) and use that. The engine will bolt right up. It won't be real underpowered - the EJ22 is 135 HP to the EJ25D's 165 HP. The loss of 30 HP isn't that big of a deal. You can offset it some by going down a size in tires, etc. This swap is done all the time and is very easy. I can pretty easily do one in a day. Since you already have the engine - you should be able to do this for about $250 in parts (timing belt/water pump, seals, etc) and about another $300 to $400 in labor if you pay for that. It's going to add a bit to the labor bill with the 22 being in a car - has to be pulled vs. unloaded from a truck. GD

I had mine (for EA82 pump to EA81 rack) made at my local hose/coupleing supplier - he used 3000psi rated hydraulic hose for the supply. Silver soldered JIC fittings to the hard-lines going to the rack and to the hard lines going to the pump. Works awesome - cost was like $73 for everything. GD

Engine isn't reaching operating temp with a 1 mile commute. It's running in open-loop mode with no feedback from the O2 sensor and the CTS is reporting cold operating so it's enriching the mixture to allow it to run (ECU's version of a choke). 18 MPG is about what I would expect for that type of driving conditions. Get a Moped. GD

You didn't wire the battery in backwards did you? GD

EJ belts are 60k till around '97 when California models went to 105k. But the rest of the country stayed 60k till I think around '99 or so when they all went to 105k. If you have a phase-I engine (90 to 99 except 99 Impreza/Forester) then chances are it's a 60k interval belt. GD

Excelent! I'm really happy I was able to get you on the road quickly and efficiently. It worked out exactly as planned. For anyone else in the area interested in this conversion - we came in at just about $1100 including used 160k engine with warantee, seals/gaskets/timing belt/water pump/plugs/etc, and labor. GD

I don't see a problem - make a new gaket or alter the one they gave you.... you only need 4 air filter clips so pick the best one's. Carb looks fine - that passage isn't drilled through on the optional accelerator pump flange. Look up my older threads on how to hookup the PCV system. Just using a T is wrong. GD

Your Hitachi is a two-barrel - they just share a round air-horn like many carbs. And yes - it's a DCZ-328. You want a Weber 32/36 DGV - manual choke would be better for an EA82 as there is no mods required to the power steering reservoir to fit the electric choke. But either can be used. Don't buy the "kit" - it comes with the carb/adaptor and an air filter than you can't use because it's too tall. That's it. You don't want the air filter and you DO want some other stuff...... Call up www.carbsunlimited.com and tell them you want a Weber 32/36 DGV (manual/electric - your preference) with default 4 cylinder jetting (140/140 mains, 170/160 AC's, and 50/50 idle jets), a "short" air filter, EA82 Adaptor plate, additional primary idle jets in 60 and 65, and a choke cable if applicable. They will hook you up with the right stuff. The additional idle jets are for tuning the idle on the EA82's - they often require a larger jet than the stock 50. GD

Just a couple squirts of oil from an oil can - but yeah it sounds like an exhaust valve issue to me from the number. That's a lot of blow-by and rings would not be suspect with an engine that doesn't burn a TON of oil and in any case you have good numbers for the other three which typically indicates properly sealing rings and good maintenance - almost certainly a valve job. GD

Well - that engine has 84 HP so it's not going to be fast. Yank that carb off and put on a Weber. The Hitachi's are best left to people that KNOW carbs. If it's screwed up and you don't understand them - it's quite likely a lost cause because you and none of your mechanics really understand it. GD

Turning the rear wheels slowly like that wouldn't hurt anything - just causes the transfer clutch to spin (it's like a wet motorcycle clutch). Not a big deal as they are designed to do that to some extent. If the front wheels were on the ground also.... it's not good for the parking system. This could have been avoided with a screwdriver - pop out the surround and disengage the parking interlock via the hole provided for this purpose..... the guy was an idiot. GD

Throw that engine in the scrap heap. It's hosed. Used replacement is cheaper than fixing it. GD

If they are ticking it was abused at some point or has had infrequent oil changes, etc. They typically last the life of the engine with even average maintenance. If you really wanted to fix this - just get a decent used set of rocker assemblies and bolt them on. Or go to '97/'98 solid rockers. GD

Plug and play - you take a '95 to '98 EJ22 with EGR (most automatic's) and drop it in. If it's a '96+ engine you need the exhaust header. That's it unless you want to replace the power steering lines because it annoys you that two mounts for them are hanging out in mid-air above the passenger side head. GD

This is why I will not be sad when CA sinks into the pacific ocean. I won't miss it. They can tax the fishes for all I care. GD

I wash my shop rags in the same washer/dryer that my woman uses for her clothes - I think if there were going to be a problem it would have shown up already. I always wash them twice, and then I wipe out the interior of the machine carefully. No issues yet. I also make a point of not getting *most* of my rags really nasty - I use paper towels/dry sweep/sawdust to mop up ugly spills, etc, and I toss the used rags in the dirty bin long before they are totally disgusting. GD

Unlikely it has bad front diff bearings. The axles do have play on the stub shaft splines - that's normal to be able to move them around. But if you pull the axle off you will see that it's not the stubs that are loose - just the fit with the splines. Look closer - you aren't seeing what you think you are. GD