GeneralDisorder

I would imagine that it's reading the knock sensor output and not seeing the pulse from it at the appointed time of ignition - the ECU is programmed to ignore knock sensor signals that are a direct result of cylinder combustion - but what people don't realize is that the knock sensor plays a "tune" that is sort of..... electronic music for the ECU. If the ECU sees a note being played where it shouldn't then it can detect a detonation or "knock" and adjust the timing appropriately, but the correlary to this is that if the ECU *does not* see a signal when the spark plug fires or that signal is different than expected it determines there is a misfire at the cylinder it just triggered. Also - NEVER go by the marks on the belt. They can be wrong - ALWAYS use the timing marks on the cams and the belt covers. I just ignore the belt marks if they have them. Many of the belts I have bought don't even have them - which is just fine with me. GD

Heh - following instructions is for people still in the Military. I ETS'd a long time ago and I do as I please! That's why I run my own business - I don't play well with other's. Sometimes better to ask forgiveness than permission - hell the thing is broken anyway so worst that happens is it's still broken and you shrug your shoulders when the repair guys comes out and say "no clue buddy!". . The first mistake you made was persueing the conversation after the first sentance - You: "what can you tell me about that big old heater up there.... can I use it?" Landlord: "It's broken.....". You: "Ah - I see. Thanks for the warning - I'll be sure not to turn it on." That's where I end the conversation. Because any further and I'm asking permission instead of forgiveness. Commecial "garden" hose is great for temp hookups with water. When she lets you know that a repair guy will be out you just coil the hose up in the corner . GD

If you wanted to do it you could just use an EJ22T ECU, add the boost control solenoids and MAP sensor, turbo MAF, as well as the turbo injectors (pink top) etc. Then you just drop the boost a little lower than what the ECU runs it at. I've heard of them handling 5 or 6 psi for many years and although that doesn't sound like a lot - at 9.5:1 compression ratio it IS a lot. Supposedly about 200 HP or so with a ton of low-end torque due to the high compression ratio. GD

We are going to need more than that - compression test? Check that the injectors are fireing? Good spark on all cylinders? Has the engine had a valve adjustment at the required 105k interval? GD

Subaru's STi division dates back to the mid 90's. Their rally history dates all the way back to the '80s - even to the early '80s with the EA81's. GD

Think about it - that thing supplies hot water as well as heat! - open that baby up and figure yourself a way to get at the hot side of the water - plumb THAT to the pressure washer instead of the cold supply and you have yourself a steam cleaner! I had to replace the hot water heater in my house (located in my garage) and so instead of a new tank model I "upgraded" to a whole-house insta-hot system. It makes continuous 140* F hot water. When I did the plumbing I included a hose bib for my pressure washer and now I have a 140* F pressure washer. It's not quite as hot as a real steam cleaner but it makes a HUGE difference on a greasy engine bay. The hot water makes the grease and grime just melt away. I don't even use soap or degreasing chemicals anymore. Hot water is cheaper. GD

You need an auto-drain. Here's a cheap solution: http://www.harborfreight.com/automatic-compressor-drain-kit-46960.html Or you can do an auto drain with a timer (I have one similar to this): http://cgi.ebay.com/AIR-COMPRESSOR-ELECTRONIC-AUTO-CONDENSATE-TANK-DRAIN-/280535098804?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415131e5b4 This way you don't have to drain it every morning and it keeps your tank water free any time the machine is on. You definitely need some filtration, and a regulator (I don't see one in that picture), and when you start painting you will want at least a refrigerated air dryer. An air tool inline oiler isn't a bad idea on the hoses you use for air tools. Keep seperate hoses for painting. I was a compressed air and vacuum pump tech for a while so if you need advice building out your air system just let me know. GD

I agree - use the adhesive goo (butyl rubber if I'm not mistaken) - that's what Subaru uses on the Legacy's and up. Makes them a BASTARD to remove but seals real nice. This stuff (which is a continuous roll unlike the strips that Hatsub listed above): http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=butyl+rubber+glass&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&prmd=ivs&resnum=3&biw=1736&bih=775&wrapid=tlif12898383797921&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=14561228223044447659&ei=WF_hTLbvGYOWsgP3s9m3Cg&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CG8Q8wIwBQ# Which I've even used to seal "glue-in" windsheilds..... it's GOOD stuff. BTW - Butyl Rubber is used in the manufacture of chewing gum..... so you are quite literally sticking your lights on with gum. GD

Do you have spark on those cylinders? If so do you have fuel (injectors ticking)? If you have both of those run a compression test. If it's low then you probably have the belt on wrong. GD

Yeah - that's bordering on criminal. $250 for a clutch kit and about 4 to 6 hours labor. I do those all the time for $500 - and yes I'm replacing everything including the seperator plate and rear main if needed. Maybe a bit more if the clutch MC or slave or hose needs replaced.... typically not a problem but in your case it's hard to tell. Still they are ~$1000 out of line - that's freakin orbital pricing. I wonder if they just don't want the job because they aren't familair with Subaru's and are hoping you take it somewhere else. GD

Run a new water line. Wouldn't take much. Either that or rent a concrete saw and go to town! Or you could supply it with water some other way. Doesn't it just circulate water inside it's heat exchanger? I would imagine the supply is just for topping it off or filling it after draining? I have never messed with one of those so I could be totally wrong. But that seems like a right proper heater and I would make it do *something* for me GD

Curious - why don't you fix that big overhead heater up there - that looks like it could blow you right out of the shop ..... Like maybe it could get the temp up to ~70 F in less than a day and a half unlike that little propane candle you are standing over would take . Just a thought - I like fixing crap like that. Besides it looks like a monster and it looks fun to play with. I bet you could incinerate waste oil with that beastie..... GD

Any 87+ ('86 SPFI as well) EA82 FI distributor will work - check connector AND pinout as some will plug in but not work due to the pinout changing. All the optical pickup distributors are the same other than the wireing. GD

The damp air is ok because the AC compressor runs with the defrost - that removes the moisture from the air prior to it hitting the heater core. Though sticky, glycol smelling stuff on the inside of the winsheild is still a heater core problem most likely - regardless of having fogged up windows or not. :-\ GD

Maybe - remove the radiator and inspect as I noted above. Put a garden hose in one end and see how quickly it flows out the other side. If you only have a trickle then it's plugged. Where is all this corrosion? It would be evident in the coolant - it would be full of crap if there was enough in there to plug up the radiator. I've drained muddy, brown coolant from a couple Subaru's and had them run fine afterward - so it would take a LOT to plug one. I highly doubt that's the problem or you would have seen evidence of it when changing the t-stat. Consider for a moment that virtually the entire cooling system is composed of aluminium - the engine block and heads, the radaitor, and the heater core are all nearly 100% aluminium and plastic. What is there to corrode and plug stuff up? There just isn't the neccesary components for that level of contamination. Usually EJ's are very clean from a cooling system standpoint. I rarely see anything but nice green coolant and I have yet to encounter a plugged EJ radiator - cracked plastic end tanks is what I typically see. I say it's head gaskets - I've seen that behavior before and I've tried installing new radiators, thermostats, etc and it didn't help. Pulled the heads and found the problem. GD

Pull the radiator and thermostat - flush the radiator and look inside with a flashlight and see what it looks like. If it's not a clogged radiator or bad cap then it's head gaskets. An exhaust gas bubble will displace the coolant - even cold coolant - due to the increased pressure in the system. That same bubble will cause the engine to overheat and yet the fans won't come on due to a weird fluke in the way the temp probes are setup - the ECU probe doesn't see the temp change the same way as the gauge probe does so when the coolant level drops the gauge pegs and the ECU doesn't see the change and doesn't kick the fans on. *something* is displacing the coolant - and usually that's from either severe overheating, or from exhaust gasses taking the place of the coolant. Coolant expands when hot but the fact that you have cold coolant in the overflow bottle doesn't lend credance to that argument..... You are going to have to do some investigating. But it sounds like a HG problem to me - 7 miles on the interstate shouldn't overheat the engine even with a partially clogged radiator due to the massive airflow at those speeds - does the coolant look like mud? If it's clean and green then that's probably not the issue. GD

All I can say is be cautious about your spending! One of the biggest mistakes people make is not keeping their money solvent - buying things is great but I would caution against buying something you will use once or twice in the next year - you could easily rent that tool for a fraction of the cost - the return on the invesment is not there. It often happens that I have to buy a tool for a job - and if the money in the job is good then it's not an issue. Having another tool is great if the return on the invesment is there - but having the MONEY in the bank is a *more useful tool*. I suppose this insight comes with age. I know how it feels to want a tool and have the money for it burning a hole in your pocket. It's a tough call to say "No - not now. Yes I could buy it and it would be pretty and shiny - but I don't have a use for it *right now*. If a job comes into my shop that requires that tool I will find a way to get it or borrow it." Having all the tools in the world is awesome - no question there. But my customers are always very understanding when I explain that I will have to aquire something to do the job right for them and it could be a few days before I get it. Looks like a nice place though - you have a lot of potential there. GD

Yeah - if the radiator is bad it could be overheating - how does the coolant look? And how does the radiator look? I know in some parts of the country the radiators look about as good as the wheel wells by that age . GD

I highly doubt you have a cracked block - just doesn't happen with these engines. You probably just have blown head gaskets like the thousands of other EJ25D's that blow them like clockwork between 50k and 150k. Who said it has a cracked block? Get another opinion. GD

You can *try* replacing the radiator cap - that's about the only thing that would allow it to throw all the coolant into the overflow bottle if it were bad other than the head gaskets. But I hate to tell you - that's almost a sure sign of head gasket failure. You can probably borrow a bit of time by punching the guts out of the thermostat and driving it without one. Also leaving the radiator cap loose or buying a lev-r-vent cap and leaving it open..... that will vent the exhaust gasses that are pushing the coolant into the overflow bottle and allow it to be driven at least. What's happening is exhaust gasses are leaking into the cooling system from the head gaskets - that causes the system to go over it's intended operating pressure of 13 PSIG - the radiator cap opens and the exhaust gas escapes and takes a quantitiy of coolant with it. Over time that results in a loss of coolant - it's volume being replaced by exhaust gasses. There is a tipping point in the system where enough coolant has been lost that the water pump can no longer circulate coolant through the block - it just can't push it past the exhaust gas bubble - that's when the gauge spikes and you pull over - finding the overflow bottle full and with bubbles in it. After it cools it sucks all the coolant back into the system and drives normally again till the cycle repeats. This is very common with the 2.5's of simlar vintage but I've seen a few EJ22's do it as well - when the gaskets blow they seem to blow the same way as the EJ25D's but it just happens very rarely on the 22's. Both hoses should be hot when running and the thermostat open. Though I have seen situations where bad head gaskets would cause overheating quickly enough that the thermostat didn't open - resulting in an overheated engine and a cold lower hose.... sounds weird I know but I've seen it. The fact that it was driven for a week after the first overheat would seem to point to a bad radiator cap as a possible culprit..... but then again the overheating could have damaged the head gaskets as well so it's really hard to say at this point. GD

The elbow going into the throttle body has a 5/8" T fitting on it that appears to be open.... is that plugged somehow? Any leak in the intake tract would be bad for air metering..... Looks good. I like your creative use of copper pipe fittings. Home Depot FTW . GD

They can blow for any number of reasons - corrosion, over-pressure, manufacturing defect, etc. It will be pretty easy to tell what happened when you get the old core out - better than conjecture anyway. I would replace the radiator cap with one from the dealer just for good measure. Too bad you aren't closer - I only charge $40 an hour . But $65 is still much cheaper than most shops. GD

They aren't electronic so there shouldn't be any differences. GD

Yeah - dealer gaskets FTW. They have a nice wide "fire ring" and are made of stout stuff. Definitely the only exhaust gaskets you will find in my shop. GD

They are mounted on rubber isolators - perhaps your's are bad? GD