GeneralDisorder

I said nothing the first time you did this - but this time - NO ONE CARES. Rudimentary spelling and puctuation are acceptable around here as long as we can read it and understand it. You are adding no value to the conversion. If you have nothing useful to say - just don't reply. Got it? GD

That's a Frankenmotor - it's a fairly common performance upgrade on cars equipped with 2.2's. It should be quite a bit more powerful if properly done (increase of 40 to 60 HP), should pass smog without a problem, and yes it will most likely be an interferance engine now (2.5's are stroked compared to 2.2's in addition to their larger bore) so you want to keep up on the timing belt. It will also be a high-octane engine now - you have run premium due to the increased compression. Sounds like a good buy to me - if the work was done right. GD

Do you have a good source for just the contacts? I know Subaru does not sell them but other manufacturers like Toyota use similar starters and they sell contacts for theirs. I'm sure something is out there that will fit our Nippon starters it's just a matter of cross referenceing it and I haven't done it because I haven't run across many bad one's. Must be the cold where you are. I haven't seen a bad starter - contacts or otherwise - in years. GD

Valve clearance is very easy to do with the engine out - all you need is a 10mm wrench and a feeler gauge - and I am of the school that replacing head gaskets should ALWAYS be done with the engine out of the car. It makes everything go easier and smoother. Engine removal/installation is only a couple hours and is worth every minute of it. Borrow or rent a cherry picker and buy an engine stand for $40 (engine needs to be on a stand or in an old tire/rim to break the head bolts loose). I've done EJ head gaskets with the engine in place and it's no fun in comparison to pulling it. Pulling the engine and putting it on a stand is far and away a much more pleasant experience. It gives access to everything to do a proper reseal (rear main, etc) and makes cleaning of things like the oil pan and engine block so much simpler. I usually steam clean the engine bay while the engine is out and do things like axle boots and transmission mounts, etc. GD

Load from the alternator. The alt only makes about half it's rated amps at idle - something like 25 amps. When you turn on accesories you are asking for more power from the alt and that drags against the engine causing a drop in RPM's - same as if you were to turn on the AC compressor. Higher draw = more mechanical load on the belt. When you press the brake you are using engine vacuum via the brake booster -this affects engine speed momentarily as you are creating a metered air leak in the manifold to replenish the vacuum in the booster lost through the braking action. Basically it's a vacuum leak for a split seccond - that causes the RPM's the drop, lowering the output the alternator, and causeing the speed of the fuel pump (relative to voltage) to change. If you are noticing these things then you probably have a borderline battery and possibly a weak alternator or corroded connections, etc. Check for voltage drops, check the amperage draw off the main junction and compare to the specs of the alt at idle.... a strong battery will have a capacitor like function when you are idleing - it will fill in the neccesary amps that the alternator is having trouble with and make this problem much less noticeable. But everything has to be working well for this to happen correctly. GD

Yeah - I've done probably half a dozen relay installs to various late 80's and early 90's Subaru's - it invariably cures the problem forever and I haven't had to replace a starter yet. The stock starters are very reliable - I have cleaned contacts in them and reassembled but I've never had to actually replace one. You will read 12v to the solenoid wire in a test with a DMM, but once it tries to draw the amps needed to actually engage it then there is resistance in the ignition switch and in the harness that sucks all the punch out of the wire. GD

Flushing will likely not help. The ticking is not typically due to dirty lifters - it's due to oil pressure and lifter wear. You can try a new oil pump plus a reseal including the cam tower o-rings but if you are in that far you should just replace the lifters since rebuilt one's are about $5 each. GD

I wouldn't run it with CLR in it - just fill it up while it's still together and let it sit in there a while then drain it out. Then dissasemble and do your reseal. I think that would actually be the better way to go since then you have a chance to flush out the chems and knock loose the bigger peices once it's apart. I agree that some sort of inline filter on the inlet side of the radiator would be a good plan. Clogging up the radiator would be a set back. I would see what Fel-Pro has for head gaskets on that engine. If they have the perma-torque like they do for the EA's then I wouldn't hessitate to go with that. I've had great luck with them. Some of the other gaskets I've received for Subaru's have been just paper though at least the Fel-Pro's are thicker than the other aftermarket suppliers. But I wouldn't hessitate to use their head gaskets - just potentially not some of the other one's in their "kits". If the rest of the gaskets are still availible from dodge or mitsubishi then I would at least try to see what they are made of, etc. And I would also consider doing some "gasket replacement" in some areas - like using an RTV product on the water pump, and coating any cork in RTV to prolong it's life and improve sealing. And converting any flanged fits over to a flange sealant like loctite 515 or 518. GD

The place to ask is over on NASIOC - there's a whole thread about it. Basically it's the high compression that does it. And yes - you want to run the highest octane you can so the computer doesn't pull all your timeing (knock control is obviously a must and thankfully Subaru was kind enough to include that on the non-turbo EJ's). We took the oppotunity to install torque ground Delta cams at the same time since we had the heads completely gone through, etc. The EJ25D block has peekaboo pistons (they crest over the deck) and with the smaller combustion chambers of the 22 heads..... the comp. ratio is very likely around 11:1 or more. We did use the thicker EJ25D gaskets rather than the thinner EJ20 gaskets that some have used with the EJ253 blocks and this combination. But it runs fine and there's no obvious signs that I could see if pinging or other problems. I would have to assume that the pistons and valves would interfere with each other on this combo should the belt break .... but really that's not much of a concern since EJ belts so infrequently fail. No issues so far - I took it to 7000 a couple times and it didn't even flinch. I chirped the tires coaxing the 5 speed D/R into 3rd on accident renob123 and I put one in his Brat. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it were the 205 HP that some people claim on dyno runs of these. It's a really stupid machine at this point. In no way is it capable of handling the power..... but it's a lot of fun to try . This new engine in the Brat is nearly as big of a change as going from the EA81 to the EJ22 we put in earlier in the year. That engine ended up being a high-mileage smoke generator so we pulled it in favor of the Frankenmotor. The difference between 80 HP and 135 HP was quite noticeable and this change (I'm guessing from 135 to 180ish) was similarly amazing. GD

Sweeeet deal if you are putting 2.2 heads on it anyway GD

I would just flush it. Probably be fine. You are resealing them right? The head gaskets could have suffered damage from the rust as they are probably the usual graphite with corrugated steel typical of the construction of those days. I would be more worried about the head gaskets than the actual block. After you reseal them - maybe fill the engine up with CLR or some other rust eating, metal-safe chemical and let it sit for a bit. GD

You get used to pulling them anyway. Seems like I pull about one or two a week around here. . GD

You do not have an RX if it's not already a Turbo and a D/R 5 speed with locking center diff (if it's a push-button then it's not). Sounds like you have a plain old DL/GL non-turbo 5 speed to me. In '89 it should be a DL if it's a push-button. Though it could be a '90 and be a Loyale with a push-button. Either that or you have some strange conglomeration of parts that's not stock. Sounds weird whatever it is. Maybe someone slapped RX decals on a plain 3 door coupe? Maybe you have an XT? If you are interested in building a rally car..... LOL. You have your work cut out. What you have is a body. Nothing about that car is going to work for rally. The engine sucks and produces 90 HP - the transmission is not the one you want - the suspension is 4 lug (no you can't use Outback rims - Legacy and up are 5 lug and the only rims that will fit the 4 lug are Pugeot's from the '80s).... If you plan to rally it then you have a body and not a very stiff one at that. You will need to do a lot of reinforcing and gusseting. May as well just buy a WRX and figure out how to put your EA body on top of it's chassis. GD

No need for pics. We know exactly what it is. I've seen hundreds of them. You needn't confirm what we say either. Trust me - we know exactly what you have. Yes. You should read up on the swaps over in the retro-fitting forum, etc No - none of this is off-the-shelf or aquireable from a yard. The adaptor plates are sold by a few people or can be fabricated if you are into that sort of thing. Same with the modified flywheel. The wireing is the biggest challenge for most people - you have to go to a yard (or buy a donor car) and strip the harness out of it - then rewire your car using the fuel/ignition control system for the EJ. You use the whole EJ engine - they are MPFI, not carbed. And no the manifolds are completely incompatible. Read the swap threads in the other forum I mentioned - they deal with all this. That's a complicated question. It's actually a "2.2 with a 2.5 short block" since you use everything off the 2.2 - just not it's actual block. This gives a high compression ratio and a large performance boost. They are somewhere around 180 to 200 HP or a little more. This is a HUGE increase over your 85 HP engine. GD

I too tend to prefer the Haynes over the Chiltons. Neither of them answer my questions 75% of the time. But then I really don't need manual's for most things anymore. The internet and experience guides me pretty well. GD

So the Loyale is 2WD or push-button 4WD? GD

Cool - just make sure you install them correctly. Bearings and how they are treated are their own field of study. If it's done right these 6k series ball bearings should last 200k or more - often the life of the car. But too often people don't really know what they are doing and damage them or install them incorrectly. GD

It's a complete waste of time on that engine. If you are going to rebuild something then rebuild an EJ engine. The EA82 is a dead platform. I suppose as a learning tool it has some merit but it's basically just a frustrating, lifter ticking, timing belt breaking, head gakset blowing, low HP boat anchor IMO. If it runs fine now other than lifter ticking you likely won't find much *to* rebuild in it. The bottom end is frustratingly reliable (because it was the only part inherited from the venerable EA81) while the rest of the motor sucks donkey shlong. If you really want a neat upgrade - convert it to an EJ engine (adaptor plate, flywheel mods, and wireing) and then put in an EJ frankenmotor (2.5 block w/2.2 heads). It's a kick in the pants. GD

Wheel bearings are easy - bring it to me in West Linn and I'll change them out for cheap. $75 plus parts. GD

There were no 1.6L EA82's made. The EA82 is, by definition, a 1.8L engine. The only EA series 1.6L is the EA71 and you clearly don't have one of those being that you have a lifter ticking and you say it's an '87 GL. The only 1.6's in '87 would be on the STD hatchback models and those are likely solid lifter engines. The crank case does not need to be touched to do the lifters. If you have done an EA82 head gasket before then you have already done this job. The lifters are on the outside of the heads. You don't even have to remove the heads - only the cam towers. You should definitely replace the lifters. "Mizpah" is the place that most people get them as they are cheap. Do a google on it. Reseal everything as well. Even though it's not ticking now - it's going to come back. The only sure way to be rid of it for a good long time is to replace the lifters and seals. GD

It should have a return line - every Subaru since 1980 has one. There should be three lines comming from the tank to the engine bay - supply, return, and vent. As noted the supply and vent lines are next to each other (supply being the larger) and the return is closer to the transmission tunnel. GD

Did you discover what caused the piston breakage? Did a cylinder go lean or something? GD

It is very likely that all the starters are good and your crank circuit has a voltage drop in it somewhere. This is a common problem. The solution is to install a relay, powered by the original solenoid wire, that applies full battery voltage to the solenoid. Look for your problem to return at some point. Basically you are probably seeing it work now due to differences in the solenoid spring's, and age of the components, etc. The old starter might just be "looser" and thus is taking less amps to push out the solenoid and engage. GD

Yes - try another ignitor. They can and do fail resulting in no spark. GD

As for the suspension..... well it's really squirly on the steering when you get on the throttle. Wants to "float" and twitch all over the road. Scary. I think perhaps the rear needs to be stiffened to keep the front on the ground. The weight shift from acceleration is unloading the front end. At least that's how it feels to me. I chirped the front tires going into third gear.... on accident . GD