GeneralDisorder

Could be simply a hydraulic lifter complaining. Try changing the oil and adding a quart of ATF in place of one quart of oil. Very unlikely to be related to the water pump. The squealing is probably just one of the belts. Inspect them and replace/tighten as needed. GD

I guess I'm not seeing why with a solid lifter engine you can't just adjust the pushrod buckets to take up the .030"? I've taken .020" off of EA81 heads and not had any issues - though that was with a hydro engine. So is there not enough adjustment on them or something? .030" is not that much in the scheme of things.... I get that it changes the rocker and push-rod geometry by a bit but is it really that much that you have to change the valve lash? I guess I'm more wondering what causes them to make noise after the change - valve lash is there to compensate for expansion due to operating temp and I guess that would mostly be the pushrod getting slightly longer..... which would cause the rocker to close it's gap with the valve stem. Hhhhmmm - I can see how it could affect it but I hadn't thought that a change of only .030" would result in that much of a difference. The way the geometry works out you would want to close the gap as has been said but without doing a lot of measureing and calculating I can't say for sure how much. Don't adjust them to zero though - that's a good way to break something quick. I must say that most of the solid lifter engines tick slightly even at stock lash settings and so I would be tempted to close them up a bit tighter anyway to get them to shut up. GD

Have them put the '05+ gears in or get an '05+ tranny. The earlier WRX 5 speed's were not real strong. GD

I need a 5 speed for a '99 OBW. Now I hear there are some differences with the bell housing bolts with earlier years? I have found some good local deals on '98 OBW 5 speeds. The gear ratio will be 4.11 for all the '97+ OBW's right? Would I have any trouble with a '97 or '98 trans going into this car? The car has a lower mileage engine and I'm looking for a trans with similar mileage and a good deal of course . I haven't found the deal I'm looking for on a '99 but there are several '98's so I'm hoping I can go that route..... Thanks, GD

Absolutely! Makes doing the reseal easier having the engine out. . You should drop by sometime - I always have a bunch of projects going - you would enjoy seeing them I'm sure. I'm just down in West Linn. Right now we have a frankenmotor (EJ25D block w/EJ22E heads, delta cams, 11.3:1 compression, etc) going into an EJ swapped Brat. Going to be pretty interesting. And I'm doing a valve job on a '97 Legacy..... I have 4 EJ engines in various states of dissasembly in the garage right now Clutch and reseal is no problem. It's about 3 hours to pull the engine and put it back. Another 2 to do the clutch and reseal. Figure about 5 hours total plus parts. GD

Has to be a hatch gas tank. Rear suspension is the same. You will need a 4WD hatch fuel tank and exhaust (or custom), and without a lift the transmission tunnel will need modification to fit the 4WD tranny. Driveline is custom anyway for all 5 speed swaps but you can't use the 5 speed two-peice on the hatch's - you MUST have a single peice driveline built for them since they are shorter. Overall it's just too much work. I converted my wagon to 4WD and it just wasn't worth it. 4WD's are easy to find so unless it's something very special it's not worth the effort. GD

If everything is in *decent* shape - mostly meaning the axles are halfway decent, etc - and the tires are the same brand/size/inflation, you can use 4WD on dry pavement all day long. As an example - I have an '83 Hatch that is my daily. It has ~260k on it. The transmission has basically no thrid gear syncro but otherwise functions alright. If has newish EMPI axles in the front - OEM originals in the rear. Good tires with 33 to 35 psi in each - I check them most every day since a few leak. Since I have no third gear - I use 4th gear but in 4WD low range. When making sharp parking maneuvers or hard turns I go back to 2WD and generally I want 2nd gear for those anyway so it works out fine. The only time I have broken ANYTHING on pavement is when I've had bad/worn axles - and those will break even in 2WD. I broke a front axle in 2WD on my lifted wagon just pulling out onto a highway once - I threw it into 4WD and kept on going with 1WD to the welded rear (one axle removed). All my 4WD dry pavement breakages have been in lifted rigs and usually is a rear axle on something with huge tires and a welded diff. Don't be afraid of 4WD for pavement - not on a stock height/stock tire EA Subaru anyway. If you break an axle then very likely it was going to need replacement in the near future or was overdue anyway. If you are binding then you don't have it setup right. It should only bind in tight turns and it should chirp the tires long before you damage anything. I just remember to take it out of 4WD if I'm going to turn and it drives completely normal. GD

Supposedly the regular EA82 flywheel step is .900" while the XT6 spec is .815". Mostly the EA82 flywheel's I've measured were around .800" to .815" though so I'm not sure what's going on with that. I haven't found a clear resource for that information unfortunately. GD

Wrong forum - this forum is for EA series vehicles. Your Legacy is an EJ series and this thread has nothing to do with those. You need to post in the new generation forum for Legacy info. Also - gravedigging is not an effective way to get your question answered - this post is now a zombie thread and will attract responses to the original poster's question - even though that neither helps you, nor likely helps them either since this was from months ago. Your problem is either the coil pack or the ignition amplifier. Get a used set from the junk yard and try each. GD

Did you inspect the pump internals for damage or wear? To get rid of the lifter ticking - it's entirely possible that you will have to replace the lifters and the cam tower o-rings. Seals are not the only part of this equation. Lifters are not designed to operate for long periods with air in them. It creates a condtion where when allowed to tick they wear to an extent that simple seal replacements are not enough and the lifters themselves have to be changed in order for them to inflate properly. GD

That's a good deal for the mileage on it and being from a little old lady. That's got another 200k in it easily. Probably a good candidate for swapping over to synthetic. Looks nice too - garaged? Very nice. And I'm not one to love on the EA82's much as everyone here knows. . That would be an excelent platform for an EJ22 and 5 speed D/R. . Probably in better shape than most first gen Legacy's. GD

The clutch return spring on a HH equipped car is the HH spring. So that is perfectly normal. What are you not sure about on the TO retainer clips? They are just little spring clips - you can get a new pair at the dealer for a couple $. Not much sophistication there - don't know of any pics for that..... Make SURE you have the flywheel step checked and machined properly. GD

Pull the line loose while covering it with a rag . The pressure is not that high and it's liquid. You *might* get a few tablespoons. The hogwash about releiving fuel pressure is for CYA's in publications because people are idiots and squirt themselves in the eye. GD

It's an EA82 engine, 3AT transmission. Probably carbed. GD

Oil pump reseal is basically a timing belt job. If the belt hasn't been done recently then it might be a good idea to just do a complete belt/idler/water pump/front seal replacement and oil pump RTV/O-ring at the same time. If you want it done right and for a real cheap price - bring it to me . I'm in West Linn. I've done a LOT of EJ belts and reseals. Should be a simple thing to fix and only takes a few hours. It typically runs 3 hours labor ($35/Hr my rate) plus the timing belt/water pump/seal kit and fluids, etc. The belt kits from ebay with everthing run about $125 to $150. GD

It makes me sad that my EA81's are slowly dissapearing and being written out of the stocked parts catalogs. I can see a day very soon when I will have to retire my EA81's from daily driving because of this. The body will live on with an EJ but it's not the same. More power - yes. Faster - yes. Not simpler or more reliable though and those are values that I cannot replace with anything of a similar price. I will drive a Legacy for a daily. And I will enjoy it for what it is - well constructed, powerful, even fun to drive. But it's not the same and never will be. I can't change a water pump in 15 minutes and I still have to think about that timing belt occasionally. Can't easily tear the engine down to the short-block with it in the car.... etc. I work almost exclusively with EJ stuff now for a living. I have owned and driven plenty of EJ powered cars right up to late models with nearly no mileage on them. But what do I drive for a daily? An '83 Hatch with 260k+ on it, one cylinder with low compression, burns a quart every 1k, no 3rd gear (I use 4th low), and tires that I have to fill every other day. That says a lot I think. I can trust that car in ways that I could never trust an EJ vehicle of any vintage. GD

In order to "rebuild" an axle correctly you are basically only saving the shaft. The rest of the components are wear items - cups, races, balls, boots, etc, etc - all that stuff are wear items. I would start by calling Rockford CV. http://www.rockfordcv.com/ They have been around and been talked about here for ages. I've never called them but it would be interesting to see what a full joint/boot set would run. Personally I just buy new EMPI axles for $69 each and be done with them. Other than a few boot failures I've not had a problem with any of them yet. GD

Subaru has been using the same starters since '81 and at least up till the mid 2000's. Just find a good used one - shouldn't be hard. Also some Toyota's used starters that have similar contacts and brushes. You might look into that. GD

+1. My filters never leak, and always come off by hand. GD

That looks really nice in there! Reminds me of the XT6 alt's. I like that there is no exposed fan on the Maxima units. Glad you are pleased with it. That one is exceptionally clean and nice - must have been a recent replacement on the Maxima that donated it to us . And I'm very happy to now know the details of the fitment with the outboard AC compressor. That is very valuable info and thank you for the pictures. Good to know that the wires need extending in that situation. For the EA81's at least I haven't had to do that. But I'm thinking it's very unlikely I will ever go back to the stock alt so I may just solder on the Maxima's connector - I did send that to you right? I was pretty sure I included it. I always cut the wires well back from the alt when I pull them and send those along with them. I would get a 1/2" smaller belt and in conjuction with not being old and stretched that should insure you have enoug adjustment on the alternator to get the proper tension. Might have to roll it on to get it over the pulley, but such is the price you pay for power. GD

Exactly - you would use a steel plate and bolt it to the head with all-thread. . The mag base drill press would then be able to drill the hole perfectly perpendicular to the block surface. I suspect that he does not have access to that kind of tooling though. GD

Drill/tap charts are very misleading. Point in fact most are incomplete at best because there are about half a dozen drill sizes for any given tap depending on thread engagement percentage - which depends on factors like the depth of the threads, how loose/tight you want the fit, the type of materials and temperature expansion rates being used, and how much torque the fastening system must withstand. Changing a thread or mix/matching thread sizes and pitches on a fastener with a critical functions such as a head bolt IS WAY ABOVE YOUR PAY GRADE. . Don't do it. Likely it will be an epic fail and you will be this guy -> I understand - but just because it threads on doesn't make it right nor capable of holding 86 Ft/lbs of torque. We are talking about aluminium threads and a steel bolt. Improper fit might strip it out on the final torque, or it might hold through a dozen or a couple hundred heat/cool cycles before failure. Without careful examination on an engineering level you are asking for a very probable failure here. It will not be pretty if that bolts pulls out. Repair it right or just find another short block because if you do it wrong that's what will be happening anyway - just with more swearing and down-time. GD

Clean the mating surface and lube the seal with oil prior to installation. You could also use something like Dow Corning valve lubricant (111): http://www.amazon.com/Dow-Corning-Valve-Lubricant-Sealant/dp/B000LDLGEU That will seal the o-ring better than oil alone and is oil compatible (will not clog passages, etc). I've used that stuff on anything imaginable in the industrial world and it works great for lubricating o-rings and filter seals, etc. As for filters I generally stick with OEM but for applications or situations where OEM is not availible I will only buy WIX/NAPA/Carquest - which are all WIX products. For filters in general Mann makes excelent quality and may be the OEM for Bosch since they are both German... but I would look into it first. GD

I don't think he has posted anything about it here or anywhere else. I just know he recently did the conversion because I was on the phone with him trying to figure out the wireing change that was needed. He got it figured out but I don't know exactly which wires he changed since I wasn't there. GD

Taking your measurements into account, and the fact that EA82's are 11mm x 1.25..... My guess is that the EJ bolts are the same. In other words it's a special order Heli-Coil - no one stocks them. GD