GeneralDisorder

Yes - that is typically how Subaru does it. The AC fan relay and the thermo switch are both able to complete the circuit to ground. This way if one of them fails (internal short to ground) it doesn't blow the fuse - just runs the fan continuously. GD

What's the point? The OBW is not meant for speed and performance. The gearing, suspension, and tire sizes are all wrong to start with. If you want performance, start by replacing the suspension and tires with GT style and then change the transmission to a short ratio, high final drive unit that can actually accelerate. Exhaust is pretty much a lose for the kind of money it would cost. But if you really want to, at least go for one of the Borla knock-off's from ebay - like $130 and they are identical to the Borla headers just without the brand. They probably don't fit because of the oil cooler on the EJ25's - at least that's my assumption. I don't beleive the Borla or knock-off headers are any different. You would have to lose the oil cooler and that involves changing the water pump if you are going to do it right. At least - that's what I think is the biggest holdup to useing them. I know that's the case on the Forester's..... not sure the OBW's got the oil cooler so it could be something else that's causing them not to fit. GD

Here's the unromantic truth my friend: You are 18 and you don't need that kind of power. The stock EJ22 is perfectly fine for most anything you need to do (like commuting or getting to school, etc). You would just get in serious trouble with a Frankenmotor. And if you didn't - then you didn't really need it to begin with . Wait till you are older to get tickets for going over 100 on I-205 (I might be speaking from experience :-\). Seriously - you haven't even driven one yet and you are claiming it's not powerful enough. Trust me it's considerably more powerful than an EA81. And I drive one of those daily and routinely border on driving like a maniac despite having ~80 HP. My turbo sedan is freakin loony by comparison and yes it's gotten me in trouble a number of times. Take it from someone that's driven some pretty stupid-fast machines - you are better off taking it easy on the street with a nice, sane daily and going to a track to try out some big power. Try on something your size first. Don't be the guy at the drug store buying the Magnum sized trojans and a baggie of rubber bands to keep em on with. GD

EJ22 Phase I is 135 HP. EJ25D is 165 HP (same as the stock EJ22T). EJ25D short block + EJ22E heads + Delta cams = (in other words we have no real idea but it sure is fun!). Probably about 180 HP give or take. The torque is outragous though. Somewhere between about 10.8:1 and 11.5:1 depending on the math and head gaskets you use. High compression and big displacment makes the power. Cost is dependant on what you pay for the EJ25 shorty. renob123 bought a late 90's 2.5 RS short block from a NASIOC member for $200 - had 90k on it and was pulled for an STi swap. Add in the cost of the head work (valve grind, resurface, stem seals, etc) at $160, cams for $160, head gaskets and seals for $150, and then you have to figure a t-belt kit + WP for $125.... that's about $800 plus misc. fluids, etc. Depends on what kind of deal you get on the short block really. And assuming you do all your own work of course. It's a monster though and it's the sort of thing that will smoke clutches and smash tranny gears if you aren't careful. It could easily do a number on a used first-gen 5MT if you aren't careful with the power. Strip the gear teeth right off or blow the bearings in short order. It's got gobs of torque with the Delta cams. GD

I'm not even sure *what* you have done - if you swapped the harnesses wholesale then you should have those already taken care of - so I guess my question is why isn't that stuff working? You say you swapped all the wiring over - so what didn't you swap? Or what did you swap? Hell - I can't follow your plot man. GD

Best bang for the buck is replaceing the short block with a 2.5. That's going to up the compression and displacement. Somewhere around 180 to 200 HP. It's basically a head gasket job but substituting the 2.5 short block for the 2.2. They actually don't have many problems - most are due to head gasket failure or a direct result of overheating from same. If you get a good used short block and you use the EJ25D updated MLS gaskets you can be pretty dang sure that the next failure isn't going to be the head gaskets. Otherwise - not much you can do other than replace the cams and port/polish the heads on a 2.2. You could get more torque out of it but not much more HP. The heads don't flow real well and porting doesn't help much. There's just not much room for improvement. The general rule is that NA power is expensive. You are talking about cams/porting, changing displacement or compression. More air and more fuel. Unlike turbo's where you can just increase the pressure at which the engine operates and force more fuel and air in, you have only 14.7 psi to work with at sea level on an NA engine and without changing the displacement or optimizing air flow there's not much you can do. Expect every 10 HP to cost you $500 and you should see where this goes and quick..... You can setup a turbo on it (probably cost around $2k to $3k all said and done) and boost it to about 5 psi safely. You will end up around 200 HP. But the cost is high and the daily driveability goes in the toilet as the mileage is really poor. The extra fuel required to keep it cool under boost will cost you big on MPG. My factory 2.2 turbo gets about 15 to 16 MPG because I can't keep my foot out of it. And besides that an LS is going to be an automatic - yet another strike against it in the performance department. My sugestion - love it for what it is - an economical, safe station wagon. Don't try to make the poor thing into a race car - it's not going to be what you hope and you won't like the price. All said and done you would be easily into the cost of a used WRX. What you need, if you want that body style to be fast, is to sell the LS and get a Turbo Touring Wagon ('92 to '94). That has potential. What you have does not. GD

It shouldn't if it's done with electronics grade solder and flux. If you use acid core solder or acid flux (as many people unknowingly do) it will slowely eat the metal in the wireing eventually leading to a mess where the metal becomes loose and corroded in the solder joint. That stuff is for plumbing. It has to be done right with the correct supplies. The waterproof splices are ok. Most marine supply places will have a good selection of stuff like that. I occasionally will use them. GD

Yeah - you could reappropriate fuses from the existing panel - but invariably you need ignition switched, fuse protected circuits for *something* in a modded car - lights, stereo gear, replacing burnt stock circuits, etc, etc. And it makes a nice clean place for all that "modded" stuff to live and be labeled - I use the water resistant fuse blocks and put them under the hood. I know there are other ways, but I like to have all that stuff that's not "factory" in an accesible location and preferably all in the same location. This goes to my original point of having a clean, easy to follow and troubleshoot install. As I said it's just *my* opinion on how it should be done. I also beleive in build sheets that detail the wireing, modifications, and parts sources (brand/model/year) that replacement parts can be sourced from. I'm just anal like that I guess. As for how many fuses are required - I use the exact same fuses and fuse sizing as the stock wireing. Whatever I find when I strip the harness is how it get's hooked up. I know with the EJ swap I just did there are three fuses and with my SPFI conversions there are also three. I'm sure you could tie some of them together and eliminate fuses - but that's not how I have done it. GD

Duh! My mistake . I'm having a hard time keeping things straight - I have to keep switching from EA81 to EA82 and then EJ land. Yes - just add the D/R shifter and console from the donor car and you'll be good. GD

Now you're getting it! Yes - that is correct. Sounds like you may have a wireing issue between the fan and the fuse. GD

*shouldn't* be any real vibration there. That's just the main shaft bearing carrier. Vibration would kill the bearing and quick. What vibration were you thinking would be present? Those bolts have lock washers on them - never seen one come loose so I think you should be ok with just the regular metric torque chart. The chart is not real flexible..... what I'm trying to say is that if a different torque value than that listed for the size/hardness of the fastener were required then Subaru would have used a size/hardness that is inline with the torque value they are looking for. Those charts are used by the engineers when sizing fasteners durring the design and development phase as well so they should be very close to what is actually called out. Hhhmmm - the EA82 CC system works off a chain on the pedal side IIRC - there is not a seperate throttle cable tie-in like the EA81's and EJ's. So if there's a problem to be found I should think it would be with the vacuum supply to the CC reservior - you may have inadvertantly disconnected or misrouted the supply to the big sphere on the passenger strut tower.... GD

I agree with Gary - don't concern yourself over the transmission issue. Definitely DO concern youself with the timing belt job. Insist that the water pump, front main/cam seals, and all idlers are changed along with the belt. Anything less is rediculous on a car that is supposed to go another 105k on those components. Chances are good that one of them won't make it. I've replaced many failed water pumps and cogged idlers and often it's on 60k belt cars that didn't have that stuff done at the 2nd belt change at 120k. Last EJ22 water pump I did was a total failure at 135k and the last cogged idler I did was a complete bearing lockup at 165k. When I buy cars to sell - I do a complete 60k/105k service on the engine (and any hoses, belts, etc that I am suspect of while I'm in there). I want none of these things happening to my customers and the measly $200 that the kits with all the components costs is cheap insurance for them and me. GD

To do it right you need to also swap the ECU and I think the IAC and maybe the MAF to matching components from the same year(s) you decide to use injectors from (probably 92 to 94 would be the best choice). The injectors have different flow rates and possible different driver coil's and could mess with how it runs. GD

There should be no modifications required to use the cruise control system with a Weber. If you use the stock throttle cable it should just work. Nothing about the carb itself has any bearing on the operation of the CC. Torque values: http://www.cncexpo.com/MetricBoltTorque.aspx Those are likely M8x1.25 so I would go with 150 In/lbs and call it a good day. Just for giggles - you should note that no real mechanic ever torques stuff like that. There is no reason to. You use a calibrated arm and the right sized ratchet handle. As my shop foreman used to say (ex-Pontiac dealer tech, master fabricator, and one of the guys *I* go to for help) - "Quarter turn before it breaks!" GD

It's very simple - you use the 5 speed gear selector in it's entirety - just bolt it up to the stud on the body. The front of the tray bolts to the tranny. For the 4WD selector you use the 4 speed assembly (again - in it's entirety) and add exactly 1" of rod to the middle of the selector lever that runs to the tranny. You pin it to the 5 speed using the same pin it used on the 4 speed. Thread the old 4 speed knob onto the 5 speed gear shifter and no one will be able to tell you have a 5 speed. It looks 100% stock inside and you don't need to cobble together a bunch of 5 speed console parts and make your interior look like frankenstein. Just buy Jerry's kit - all that stuff is taken care of for you and his price of $100 is beyond reasonable for what you get and how little work you will have to do. If you don't have access to a welder and fabrication skills, etc - Jerry's kit is a time and money saving opportunity that you should not pass up. Trust me - I've put more 5 speed's into EA81's than the majority of the regular poster's on this board. GD

Junk yard for the linkages - yes it can be removed with the tans in place. Dealership for new bushings, etc. They really make a difference. GD

MPFI is a 4 injector system. An '87 D/R (unless it's a turbo of some kind) would either be carbed or would have the single injector system (SPFI). If you swapped the dash harness and engine bay harnesses then the FPCU is located right above the hood release latch on the driver's side kick panel. It needs switched power, ground, tach signal, and it has a hot lead for the fuel pump as well as another one for the choke. GD

You may have to change the physical plugs but yes - you should have connectors in the same location for both. You can probably just unscrew your old switches and screw them into the new tranny and then it's plug and play. That's usually what I do with the EJ's. GD

That's a total ripoff then. This is why I hate used car dealers. . They try to get a premium price and then when you point out the flaws in this supposedly "premium" automobile they want to charge you to fix them. I would walk if they didn't do that stuff for free. Hell they should know about this stuff and do it before they try to sell it. They probably bought the thing on trade in for $1000 or less. Lame. GD

You have to use a carbed fuel pump and you need the fuel pump control unit and associated wireing, etc for the carbed pump to be properly wired in. In the SPFI car (trust me it's not MPFI), the fuel pump is controlled by the ECU which closes a relay and starts the pump durring cranking or running - since you tore out the SPFI harness you also removed the ECU's tach signal and in any case the ECU isn't going to play nice with a carb. You have to rewire the pump to run off the carbed FPCU instead. GD

I replied to your profile message. Yes - hopefully it's already been addressed but it does have low mileage so it's possible that it could still occur in the future. Not that big of a deal - when you first start to notice it address it immediately with that trans-x additive and you can probably catch it before it get's ugly. Knowing is half the battle right? They are changing all the idlers, tensioner, and water pump with that timing belt job right? I would make them..... you don't want a cogged idler failure on an interferance engine and beleive me they can and do fail. Last one I saw fail was on a '95 at 163k. That's long before your next belt change. GD

Well - you might not have the connectors for the low range indicator on your harnes. And some of the plugs for the other switches might be different. Things are almost never plug and play unless you are talking same part, same year, same model, etc. . But it should be very simple at any rate. You don't have to hookup the low range indicator lamp. It's pretty obvious if you are in low or not.... at least to most of us gear heads . I could see a total air-head female getting it into low range and then driving around and maybe noticing something was wrong buy not know what to do about it...... the indicator is pretty useless for most of us though . GD

I doubt you need to do HG's. Probably just replace all the coolant hoses (your engine looks really cooked so they are probably all rock hard) and do something about that lifter(s) . The coolant "tank" is for expansion - it being empty is a sign that there's a leak or that it was low when filled and the radiator sucked all that coolant in when it cooled. The fact that you saw steam would seem to indicate a leak. At this stage though I wouldn't suspect HG's if you aren't overheating. GD

IMO (and this is just my opinion) - to do it *right* you need to get a secondary fuse panel for the power supplies to the EJ piggyback harness. Painless wireing products (summitracing.com, jegs, etc) makes some nice fuse panels with various configurations - you should budget about $100 for that and associated wireing supplies like solder and heat shrink, etc. The rest of the tie-ins are relativley straightforward if you are swapping into an '82+ EA series. It's just a matter of knowing where to find the wire you need to tie into. Making it run is not so hard - doing a fused, correct, labeled, and mapped wiring install is harder. Most of the swaps out there are running with a fistfull of crimp connectors, no labeling, and no way for anyone but the guy that installed it to know what the hell is going on. This is a big drawback IMO - for one thing when something goes wrong (and it's more likely to happen to the dude with the fistfull of butt-connectors and wireing extensions all made from the same color wire ) it's going to be a nightmare to figure it out. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it - I'm saying get some practice at soldering, buy a label maker for $40 so you can make decent wireing tags, read up on wireing practices, and find out how other people have done this sort of thing. Personally I wouldn't want ANYONE to strip a harness for me - that's part of learning how the harness works and plays directly into the install process IMO. If you don't know how it works - you are going to be pulling your hair out when it doesn't run and you don't know why. There's a right way and a wrong way. I'm merely advocating the right way - be it you or someone else that does it - just don't do a hack job on the wiring as you will regret it later. Especially on a wheeler. GD

The TDC mark is not for the timing belts. There are three hash marks specifically for "valve timing" that are used when installing the belts. The TDC marks are for ignition timing only. Though I suspect that if you were that far off it wouldn't even run. So you probably meant that you used the center of the three valve timing marks right? GD