GeneralDisorder

What did he tell you and why are you not considering it? Has he ever even done such a thing that he can talk with authority on the subject? Did I say anything about rods? No I didn't..... they are not a weak link on the Subaru engines. Really? Care to share this peice of tech with the rest of the community? Where are they comming from? Unless I'm mistaken, Cometic has been contacted about making gaskets for the EA82T but the cost is very high for the initial capital required to create the intellectual property and the die's, etc. The OEM are bolts - which cannot be used for a "performance" torque on the gaskets. They are not designed for it and will rip the threads out of the block - maybe after it's already running GD

It also nicely solves the problems with blowing head gaskets on engines for which there does not exist a gasket capable of handling those pressures - of which the EA82(T) is one. Unfortunately those who possess the skill to perform such a mod are unlikely to sell their services cheap and will probably scoff at the idea of even bothering with such a motor. Folks who can do that type of work would have a similar disposition to that engine as I do - there is nothing to gain because Subaru already provided a mass-produced engine that can happily handle 20+ psi of boost without any special work. GD

I can tell you exactly how to make power with it. You just won't like the price. 1. Forged pistons - many companies will make them for you. Check around. Probably run about $500 give or take for a set. 2. ARP head studs. Weird size - about $750 last time I checked. 3. O-ring the block. Finding someone that can do this is the challenge. Many machine shops will not want to try. After getting a rediculous quote on a Suzuki Samurai engine a friend of mine built his own tool and o-ringed the block himself. Turned out very nice but I doubt you have the neccesary skills or tools - lathe and mill and machining experience neccesary. 4. Engine managment. Proper management with EGT and cylinder head temp monitoring on both exhaust manifolds and all four cylinders is essential to prevent from cracking the weak EA82T head castings. Figure you will fail at least half a dozen times before you get it right and hit a reliable 200 HP. Just plan for that. I would set aside a minimum of $5,000-$8,000 to start. Just the management side of the equation is going to run over $1000 to do it right. So turn that around in your head for a while and see if it makes sense. For $1000 or less you can get ~180+ HP from a non-turbo high-compression EJ25. It's well documented and has none of the drawbacks, expensive custom parts, or complexity of the EA82T. Also consider that this built EA82T is going to be *lucky* to get 15 MPG - all the extra fuel needed for cooling, etc. While the EJ25 "frankenmotor" will get 25+ MPG and still run circles around your built EA82T. Just depends on where you want to put your money and your time. If you like ancient history and showing off your mad skills by building something like the EA82T (I have yet to see it done properly though I have considered doing it myself just to prove it can be done)...... go for it. But I will be here to say "told you so!" when it blows. GD

Wow! JB weld on the cam carrier - that's a new one. People really are morons aren't they? Use the Fel-Pro head gaskets (bought individually) - use NOTHING else from those clowns. They make most of the rest from gasket paper and it's not adequate at all - especially the intake/exhaust manifold gaskets and the water pump, etc. I get all the rest at the dealer. Use Loctite 518 (or permatex equivelent) on the water pump. GD

I've experienced both flywheel wear/grooving from severely worn clutches as well as shuddering from not resurfacing them - I've also experienced shuddering from an improper sufacing job...... my feeling is that if the flywheel is not worn - don't touch it. And if it is - resurfacing is an option but so is replacement. Case-by-case basis for me. Boils down to turn-around time, etc. GD

It is not a "conditioner" - that is a Subaru marketing term. It is Holts Radweld: http://www.holtsauto.com/products/group/repair-and-maintenance/cooling-repair-systems#holts-radweld Rebranded of course - but the "HOLTS" name is still embossed on the bottle . It IS a STOP LEAK product. And it does work. I've seen it work multiple times. My own '99 Forester has 243k on it. I bought the car for $1500 needing (mostly) a radiator and head gaskets. I replaced the radiator and filled with new coolant - at the time of the initial replacement I did not add the "conditioner" - I did not have any on hand and the leak from the head gaskets seemed to be mostly oil weepage. A couple thousand miles later it began leaking an INSANE amount of coolant. Had to fill it every other day to drive it and all around the car you could smell burning coolant as it ran down the exhaust. It would leave a 6" puddle just sitting for an hour after being run. I was pretty much resigned to doing the head gaskets and actually stopped at the dealer to buy all the parts - my parts guy asked if I had tried the "conditioner" in it - I thought "Really?" But he assured me that it's worth a try and upon hearing how much it was leaking sugested that I try using two bottles (this is allowed according to Subaru). It stopped the leaking immediately and COMPLETELY and it has not returned. It has not lost a single drop of coolant in about 9 months of daily driving. It still weeps oil but that's a much slower, easier to ignore problem - doesn't even leak enough to drip. Eventually I will probably do the head gaskets but that specific car is not making me any money so I would rather put it off till I can fit it into my schedule - right now it's not a concern at all. At this point I check the coolant when I change the oil and have yet to add any. The Holts Radweld is chunky - it definitely is a stop leak product. In fact - I've done a number of these phase-II head gaskets now and there is NOTHING left to "condition". The gasket is a single layer of metal and the whole reason it leaks is because the sealant on either side of the gasket has failed and quite literally "washed away" - leaving bare head surfaces and a thin strip of head gasket metal - what the hell would it be conditioning? There simple is nothing left to condition. It is DEFINITELY worth a try. Could buy you years - might not ever have to do them. My parts guy says many times the stop leak cures the problem forever and they never come back. GD

I'm with Gary on replacing only the bad struts and not both sides or all four - at least with Subaru's the rate of strut failure is very low so I lean that way. On other makes/models I often find that by the time I get in there they are all bad anyway - especially trucks, vans, etc. It also seems that shocks fail more often than struts..... at least it seems that way to me. Probably because shocks are often used on heavier vehicles. Subaru struts are actually a pretty rare failure in my experience. I've seen many still functioning at 200k or more. GD

You had to. Pretty much that simple. Heads don't come off with the intake attached - not possible on a Subaru boxer of any kind. It's also a simple repair to replace the intake gaskets that you didn't replace..... might not be that hard to fix - here those gaskets are $3 each. GD

You can't remove the heads without removing the manifold (intake AND exhaust actually) so if you didn't remove the manifold then you didn't remove the heads or the head gaskets..... so what did you put goo on? GD

The source of the leak is probably the cam-case o-ring between the head and the cam carrier. Don't fix leaks with bottles of strange fluids - bad idea. Especially on an engine already prone to hydraulic lifter problems. Not likely to be a head gasket - the EA head gaskets are not known for weeping oil. Probably cracked cam carrier o-rings. GD

The AWIC's are sweet - used on a lot of the earlier EJ stuff from JDM land. They can be found and hooked up - just make sure you know what you are getting into with one. That's a whole different animal and most people aren't equipped to retrofit one to an EA due to their higher level of complexity. An EJ would be cheaper..... just saying..... I love my EJ's GD

That is BAD. You cannot reuse the manifold gaskets. They WILL leak. That is VERY, VERY, VERY BAD! You may have shot yourself in the foot with the goo. That will prevent the HG from sealing properly. The head gaskets are of a grapite impregnated metal design (composite) which is designed to adhere to bare, clean metal. Use of any kind of sealant will comprimise that seal. Two strikes...... time to redo the whole job. Don't blame the poor Subaru or send it to the crusher - use it as a learning experience. I know you had the best intentions for the work and used the goo to insure a better job but in this case you should have done your homework first - a couple searches or a forum post before you started the job would have steered you in the right direction.... live and learn eh? GD

$750 That is definitely not right. What in the heck is he including in that quote? Only special tool I think of would be the strut spring compressor - that's not all that special either. About $50 or less from most any good auto parts store that carries a few tools. Sears probably has one too..... For the remote - have you tried a new battery? They are RF so there should be no need to clean anything. GD

Goo is bad - that could be part of the problem. The dealer gaskets are like a mineature head gasket - they are graphite impregnated metal and are a LOT different from most of the aftermarket gaskets - which are usually paper and generally don't last long - sometimes weeks. The bolt torque on these is critical as well - 12 Ft/lbs. They are designed to be installed 100% dry. No sealant is used on any Subaru gaskets. Subaru used either gaskets OR sealants - never both. If a sealant is required it is included on the gasket already. Head gaskets seal four things - coolant, oil, and cylinder gasses are kept IN while atmosphere is kept OUT. A failed head gasket can be a leak that results in the mixing of any of the four. Thus the answer to your question is: Not Always. GD

Not neccesarily - but it would help to have a hood scoop. Add a temp probe and see what the IAT is before/after the IC. You should be able to watch the temp rise and fall and see how much effect the IC is having. If there is not enough airflow the IC will saturate and pretty much stop working durring long pulls under boost. GD

Did you use manifold gaskets from the dealership? GD

The turbo oil passages are very small - cooling after the turbo will not effectively do anything as there will not be enough flow through the cooler to affect any real change - also the oil will drain back to the sump from such a large cooler and will cause a wide fluctuation in the oil level. A proper cooler is mounted between the pump and the oil filter and will circulate the full volume of the pump (after it's filtered) through the cooler. Which can be an air/oil cooler or a water/oil cooler. Water/oil is prefered as it warms the oil quicker and keeps the oil temp more even. Air/oil coolers such as that big transmission cooler can cool the oil too much and cause it to flow poorly (incorrect viscosity due to low operating temp). A front-mount is a bad choice for a small turbo such as the stock one used on the EA82T - the pipeing will be too long and this increase in volume after the turbo creates additional lag time while the turbo has to pressurize all that extra pipe and large intercooler internal cavity. Top mounts mostly avoid that by having very short piping requirements and thus tend to have better response time. It's about what you are doing with the car - if it's going to be a WOT race engine then a front-mount will be fine. For a daily driver that is going to run all through the RPM range then a front-mount can cause driveability issues. Subaru's answer for the top/front mount trade off was the AWIC style with a top mounted water/air IC and a front mounted radiator with an electric circulation pump, etc. GD

Yes - 1/8" is an insane amount of play - definitely bad and probably not even rebuildable since that has likely more than closed the air gap and caused contact with the reluctor, etc. Find a replacement distributor for sure. GD

"Thermostat got stuck while on the highway"......?!?! It doesn't work that way. How did the thermostat get closed? Unlikley. More likely it just straight blew the head gasket - pretty common with those. March down to the dealer and order ALL the coolant lines in the car. Get a 2-row radiator (hard to find now - everyone is saying they are out of stock and no longer manufactured). Hope you don't blow it. Sounds like it's on borrowed time - high mileage EA82T with blown head gaskets - sounds like a boat anchor to me. EJ swaps are so easy and well documented on the EA82 FI cars that it's a no-brainer. Why have 115 HP when you can have 135 or more easily. GD

Hhhmmm - I'm not totally following what's going on - are you saying the exhaust studs on the cylinder heads have stripped out? If so that's a common problem and is easily rectified with a heli-coil. You should drop by my place (West Linn) and I can have a look at it.... no charge unless you want me to do the heli-coil's, etc. I also might have some used exhaust stuff that's better than what you have now. It seems like you are refering to the exhaust manifold and not the muffler - perhaps a nomenclature confusion? GD

One of your front hubs stripped out - the axle is spinning in the hub. This happens largely because of improper axle nut torque, worn corn washers that will not seat, etc. Take it apart, clean the splines on the axle, replace the hub and cone washer, and reassemble - make sure the cone washer has no burrs, etc and apply a decent amount of anti-seize to it prior to installation. Torque to 150 Ft/lbs. GD

My '99 Forester has had both front axles clicking (OEM Subaru axles with good boots) for at least the last 20k miles. Whatever - I'm not replacing them till they blow . Only takes about 15 minutes to change an EJ axle anyway. You've got a lot of life left in it - you could probably just reboot/regrease it and be fine for another couple years at least. GD

The newest HG's for the EJ25D are a 4-layer MLS design - you can spot them if you look at the edge and count the number of layers. '98 will have some form of MLS gaskets from the factory - probably 3 layer. Those are better than the '96/'97 composite gaskets but not by much. If it's still got the original head gaskets - just figure on doing them premptively. The risk of bottom-end damage from overheating if they blow is too great to drive it without replacing them IMO. Also figure on a valve adjustment while you are in there - these engines are shim-over-bucket and the shims will have to be replaced to get the valve adjustment back in spec. If the timing belt wasn't done at 105k - figure on that as well and probably the water pump too since it may not have been done even of the timing belt was..... But for $2200 that's not a bad deal - I recondition these and sell them all the time and a '98 with 150k would easily fetch $4500 around here (after I'm done with the full service, etc). GD

Milkshake in the PCV system (and normal colored oil) is typically NOT head gaskets. That's usually either normal condensation mixing with the oil vapor present in the PCV or it's from bad intake manifold gaskets, etc. Typically a good cleaning of the PCV system and proper intake manifold gaskets from the dealer (aftermarket are crap) will solve that. Seriously - I have had to replace ONE head gasket on an EA81 in over 10 years of working on them - these "damn Subaru's" are pretty damn bulletproof if you ask me. GD

Looks like it could also be the intake manifold gasket(s). Agreed - not the EGR pipe. Not possible. GD