GeneralDisorder

'82 and earlier are all chrome - 4WD and 2WD. 2WD's still have the 5 MPH shock bumpers though. '83+ the 4WD's are black plastic and the 2WD's are still the chrome 5 MPH shock bumpers. 4WD and 2WD bumpers are NOT interchangable. The mounting system is entirely different. GD

Couldn't you just use the matching torque converter if you had to? Don't the TC's slide into the tranny in the same way? You just have to use a matched set. TC/flex plate - both must come from the same engine size. Probably a typo or misunderstanding - the EJ22 flexplate will work if you use the EJ22 TC as well. Or the EJ25 flexplate will work if you use the EJ25 TC..... you just can't mix them. They bolt up to the engine and go into the tranny in the same way(s). GD

renob123 has a 5MT D/R in the frankenbrat - light weight and big power. Probably wont last forever but it's been through basically a whole rally-x season and has been daily driven as well as road-tripped across the whole length of WA state countless times without a hitch so far. Definitely will depend on how you drive it. This was a used transmission with unknown mileage - probably north of 150k. The wheel slip when it's in 2WD probably is a good thing for it. It does not see 4WD except on dirt. GD

+1 on the timing being wrong.... pulling plug wires shouldn't EVER cause it to run *better*. That's a pretty strange set of circumstances. They either do nothing or make it worse. GD

Doesn't really matter since only a dealership would ever consider replacing only one - and it's typically a warantee claim that would prompt such a rediculous amount of labor to only do half the job. The other gasket is *maybe* an extra hour of dissasembly, cleaning, and reassembly. I would say this is NOT the case except with a specific model of EJ25 - the phase-II EJ251 and EJ253. In that specific case it is nearly always the driver's side head gasket that blows - my theory is that it's either coolant flow or temperature related on that specific motor. The sealant on the head gasket (which is stamped metal with special coatings) washes away causing external weepage of coolant. I've seen a lot more burned valve problems on the driver's side as well and it's typically the one that needs more valve adjustment too..... I'm not sure of the reason for that. I've seen my share of cylinder 1/3 problems too - blown head gaskets included. Last HG I did because it was "blown" into the combustion chamber was a #3 cylinder on the passenger side. The EA82T is prone to blowing head gaskets (and sometimes cracking heads in the exhaust port area) - period. Doesn't matter which side. The cooling system is a weak link and failure prone on them because they are old and were not given a large cooling capacity overhead to begin with. They are further handicapped by the poorly designed head castings. Even if you were to determine this was actually the case (failure on driver's side has a higher probability).... what would you do about it? . There's no love lost around this forum on that engine and quite frankly I doubt such an issue *could* be fixed even if it were found - not that anyone would want to invest the time. Sadly that's a dead-end engine. GD

There's about a 1" diameter difference between 2.2 and 2.5 flex plates. You can just use the 2.2 flexplate on the 2.5 engine. Personally I would do the 2.5 w/2.2 heads. No turbo mess (some of us prefer the simpler NA). Lots of power and the same premium fuel requirement as the turbos. Quite a bit cheaper than turbo kit as well. That's just my preference. GD

Huh. I've not had a single EMPI axle failure yet. Had a boot fail on my hatch (inner) but no noises. Could be a fluke. They are new, not reman so manufacturing defects happen..... I've used dozens and dozens of them and not just Subarus either. No complaints here. GD

Hand impact - smack the ratchet/breaker bar with a 3-4 lb hammer. I do it all the time. I can EASILY put out more torque than my "650 Ft/lb" 1/2" impact gun. I routinely loosen crank pulley bolts, axle nuts, etc with this method. GD

The mounting system is the same, yes. When you find a replacement run the number on the bell-housing through this chart to see what you have found: http://www.gearhack.com/myink/ViewPage.php?file=docs/Subaru%20Transmission%20Chart GD

The problem cannot be broken down by year because there are engine that cross-over year bounderies - it MUST be broken down by engine model AND year. '96 to '99 EJ25D's are one engine and production dates matter for which head gaskets they were equipped with. '99 EJ253's are completely different phase-II MAF engines. '00 to '05 are EJ251 MAP engines and have to be further broken into production dates for changes in HG's. Also there is the Subaru "Conditioner" (stop leak) that will solve a lot of the EJ253/EJ251 weeping problems in a more-or-less permanent way. Unless the customer is completely anal about the tiny bit of oil weepage that this product cannot possibly stop - in which case the head gaskets must be replaced. In a large percentage of cases shops will reccomend replacement of the head gaskets when this is not neccesary - it's an easy to point out problem and hey let's face it - dumping in a bottle of stop leak for a customer is not the kind of work that keeps shops (or dealerships) employed..... GD

Not unless the 5 speed axle is for a turbo car. The only difference in EA82 front axles (excluding XT6's) is turbo vs. non-turbo for fitment purposes (inner joint spline count). There are more differences between 2WD and 4WD but they are fully interchangeable. GD

There's nothing but the 2 top bolts and the bottom nuts on the bell-housing. On an MT car there are no bolts inside the bell-housing - that's for automatic's only (flex-plate). GD

Nope - shouldn't bother anything. Should be a simple fix though - the EGR and associated hardware from your old manifold should fit. I think that should work. I haven't tried it but they are electrically the same so if the TPS is bad then that should solve the code. Unless there is a mounting difference it should work fine. Inspect carefully and make sure all the ports are the same or that you can swap additional hardware to make it work. Rich exhaust smell could indicate a mixture issue - doesn't sound like a severe one with you getting mid-20's. O2 sensor could be old, etc. Also strange smells in the exhaust can be related to failed/failing catalytic converters - but as long as they are not plugged it's just smelly. It might eventually throw a P0420 code but that is easily solved with a spacer on the rear O2 sensor. If the front O2 sensor is original or in unknown condition you might want to just replace it on general principle - especially if the EJ25 that came out could have fouled it when it died. For $75 (about) they should be replaced every 100k because they become slow to react and you will lose effeciency. GD

I think he's in Canada - Vancouver British Columbia I think..... so probably closer to you. LOL. I have a left-hand set from Harbor-Freight - they are fine for $15 or so. Not the best quality but HSS and they are easily sharpened on a wheel or a belt sander... they have worked for me anyway . McMasters will certainly sell them - generally high quality stuff from them. GD

The SUS wasn't sold on the NW that I know of - it was an east-coast only model. The few out here have migrated. And yeah - that automatic only thing kinda sucks. GD

You don't need a knuckle - they aren't a wear item. Just replace the bearings and seals. GD

Might take longer to heat the start of your cut but once you hit the critical temp of oxidation then the O2 stream takes over and as noted you could just shut off the fuel. So in principle at least the lower temp of the Propane should not matter for thin material. The thicker the work is the longer it will take to heat up and possibly cause issues by heating too much of the surrounding area. But for rusty bolts, exhaust, the occasional need to heat something, etc - propane is far easier and safer for what you are looking for I think. Plus it's way cheaper to get into. GD

There's a number of factors - mostly it's flow rate. And as mentioned previously since the fuel flow rate can only be about 5 psi from any given cylinder of Acetylene you are limited in how thick you can cut by the size of the cylinder ..... strange as that sounds. Propane might not have that restriction.... but 1/2" should be no problem at all for just about any size cylinder and hose you are likely to get. Then it's tip size - a #0 tip will easily cut 1/2" plate. My torch (Victor) is a baby - the smallest combination torch they make. And I think it's still rated at something silly like 2.5" thick steel with the right size tip, hose, and flow rate. Totally rediculous for me but as I noted - smallest size they make :-\ I haven't had a need for Acetylene pressure over 5 psi. That's where I have mine set and it works great for everything I've used it for. I've cut through 3/4" plate like butter. GD

Any turbo is a LOT more work. Stick with an NA if you are on a budget. GD

When the valve gets hot it can damage the stem seal and of course the guide had failed causing increased oil flow into the area beneath the valve face.... thus increased oil consumption. GD

You need a battery positive to the + side of the coil. The black/white is + The Yellow is - In a typical installation you will have two black/white wires to the +: Distributor and ignition switched battery supply. The negative will have the yellow wire from the distributor and another yellow wire that is the tach signal wire going to the tach/FPCU/ECU etc. Important to note that the distributor body is grounded to the engine block so is battery negative for a bench test.... GD

For a frankenmotor you want a '96 to '99 EJ25 short block - doesn't matter what year. Even the '96 will work fine but newer is better as there were a couple generations of pistons used - they were trying to control the "piston slap" issue (benign but nice to have the newer pistons). Avoid the '99 Forester and Impreza as those are actually EJ253's (phase-II). The frankenmotor has been done with the EJ251/EJ253 but the compression increase isn't as great because they don't have pop-up pistons that crest above the block. You can change out the pistons for the EJ25D units but that's more work for little gain..... EJ25D block + head gasket + '90-'95 EJ22E heads + '97/'98 Roller rockers = That's the best combo IMO. GD

The block alone is not heavy at all - maybe 75 lbs? You and your dad could easily lift the engine block out with a bit of chain on a 4x4, etc. Should be no problem at all. GD

As long as mileage and performance aren't suffering - I just go right to the spacer. Less time and frustration involved that way. Once you do that all you have to typically worry about is the front sensor for mixture control. GD

I just pulled the manifold from an EJ25D (your engine), and the knock sensor connector is a single wire unit. For whatever reason they switched the connector in like '97 to a 2-wire plug with one of the wire holes plugged off with a rubber plug on the sensor side . So even though it has a 2-wire connector - it's still a one-wire sensor. What *I* would do is go to the junk yard and cut the actual correct body-side connector from a wrecked car and solder that to the harness. Any of the '97 and up EJ25's should have the correct 2-wire plug. Then you can install a new knock sensor - your's may be cracked. It's pretty common. Or you can just grab both plugs and fix your knock sensor's plug as well. GD