GeneralDisorder

You don't need the vapor canistor - I don't run them on any of my cars. Chuck it into that chevy as you drive by. GD

No problem - that's what this board is for . I'm happy to hear it's fixed and all is well. It really wasn't magic or anything that I knew what was wrong - that's probably something we see asked a couple times a month around here. There are a number of members that could have correctly diagnosed the problem and part of that is your thorough description of the symptoms. GD

Replace the fuel FILTER before you replace the pump - better yet run a pressure test first. If the pump is spinning it should be giving correct pressure. They pretty much either work or they don't. ECU is not in the realm of things I would be checking. Ignitor and coil are only suspect after you have ruled out cap/rotor/plugs/wires and you know it's an ignition issue. GD

You don't need a new gasket - just reuse it. Condensation (water) is natural by-product of combustion - it would seem that perhaps your EGR system isn't fully blocked by this carbon build-up. Check the ports for carbon. And put a vacuum line on the EGR valve and suck on it to see if it opens and closes properly. The CEL is only indicating that there is no flow in the EGR system - that could mean a carbon build-up in the head, valve, or any other portion of the EGR passages. In all likelyhood, it's going to turn out that the dealer tech was correct (dealership's rarely lie about this stuff). Though I don't see why you would need to *replace* the heads - a good cleaning will remove the carbon and they can be reinstalled. Carb cleaner or an aluminium safe hot-tank will remove the carbon or at least soften it so it can be washed out. The bit about it ruining your engine is probably a bit of an exageration. EGR's aren't even used on many EJ engines. You could remove the thing and live with the code - it probably wouldn't affect the engine mechanicals ever. If it's only been a few months since the HG job - you should complain and if you don't get any satisfaction at the dealer go to Subaru directly. GD

The hoses and wires need to be pulled out of the way. Some dissasembly is always required for head removal. But frankly - it's only about an hour to pull the engine. Which is prefered when you are doing HG's, etc. Then you can do all the seals and gaskets while it's out - clutch components, etc. Just all-around an easier time. Subaru's - especially the EJ's - are very easy to work on compared to most. Try doing a timing belt on a Honda with the engine in place sometime. GD

Did you check the inner tie rods or just the ends? Sounds like it could be tie-rod failure (not the tie-rod ends - the ball joint on the rod itself). Either that or the rack is shot. They aren't hard to replace. The groaning could be the pump or the belt slightly loose or worn. The locking thing is probably unrelated. The lock mechanism is inside the ignition lock - it could be that there is some mechanical reason that it no longer wants to lock into that posistion anymore - there are slots in a sleeve on the column that the locking bar slips into - perhaps the slot is damaged and won't allow the bar to go in..... just a guess though. GD

First off - where was this fire located? Was it electrical or something else? Sounds like it might be related. The fuel pump is under the Brat - right behind the driver's door behind the cab. Unfortunately you can't just check for voltage to the pump since they only run durring cranking, running, or for a few secconds when you first key-on the ignition. Thus you will have to check for voltage to the fuel pump while having someone crank the engine over with the key. You are just looking for 12 volts at the fuel pump - there are two pins at the connector - insert the two leads from your meter into the plug and check for 12v while it's turning over. GD

Well - that's certainly..... different. Good luck fixing the old tank. There are sealer products out there that can repair small holes. GD

If you pull the 2nd O2 out of the exhaust stream with a non-foulder (or two), it will read low enough to not throw the code. Lots of folks with catless exhaust systems have used that trick. Done right, it will work without any cats. GD

It will idle - just won't have much power. The more ethenol you add the worse it will get. At 50% you are still running 50% gasoline so it's like E-50 at that point. Most of the gas stations sell E-10 anyway as regular unleaded so it's not *that* big of a difference. It just helps a lot with emissions and in conjuction with some timing retard, oil/filter/air filter change.... it's often just enough to bring them under control. Do this to a good running car with good cats..... you'll blow basically zero's across the test and the testing guy's will be amazed . DO NOT buy isopropyl alcohol - NOT the same stuff. I told a co-worker to buy denatured and he bought the isopropy by mistake..... big problems - not flamable enough I guess. GD

Replace your alternator NOW! You risk damage to components in the car as well as the battery from the bad voltage regulator in the alternator. The bridge rectifier inside the VR is toast - it's allowing AC current to flow through the electrical system. Indicator lamps in the dash are wired into common-ground circuits and individual lamps are protected by diodes. AC current defeats the diode protection and falsely illuminates the lamps. Again - STOP DRIVING it till you replace the alt. And find a new mechanic - he should have seen that first thing and a 10 second check with a DMM would have confirmed it. It's a very common symptom for alternator failure. The VERY FIRST thing you check when the charge lamp comes on is...... you guessed it - the alternator! That's first-year automotive electrical theory stuff. If the alternator is bad - NOTHING else in the electrical system can be trusted while the engine is running. You have a very troublesome engine - you NEED someone that is familar with Subaru's and specifically the EA82T if at all possible. Things like that alternator can cause you a world of problems if not addressed promptly and accurately. One wrong move on the part of an incompetent or inexperienced mechanic will land that engine in the scrap heap. More than one good mechanic on here has tried and failed to keep those engines together. Only a very few people around here know them well enough to maintain them properly and most of them have learned from very bad experiences - I know members that have burned through half a dozen engines before they learned the ins and outs of the EA82T. You can't just have joe-backyard look at that car - they are going to kill it. GD

You can fix the cat code by installing a spark plug non-fouler between the rear O2 sensor and the pipe. This will keep the code from going off and you won't have to replace the cat. But that has nothing to do with the "flutter" you are experienceing. I also would sugest OEM plug wires or NGK brand wires. Factory is excelent and I've used the NGK's for many projects without problem as have other member's here. Just put a brand new set on an EJ22 I swapped into a Brat and they are working great. Other than that - if you could post a video of what your are experiencing it might help us. GD

Stethescope time. Have to locate the source of the noise, but any noise like that is bad - usually indicates short term failure of something - timing belt tensioner/idler (were these replaced?), alternator, power steering pump, etc. Remove the accesory belts and start the engine. If the noise is now gone then you have an accesory making the noise. If it's still there - use the stethscope to find it's exact location or as close as you can and then post a picture here of that location - we will be able to help more easily if you can narrow it down. GD

You will lose some MPG, but not a ton. Probably average somewhere around 20 to 22 I would guess with something like that. That rating seems a bit low - I would expect closer to 30 freeway from a newer EJ like that. You may not want something so old, but you can't beat the 90 to 94 Legacy wagons. And actually they have more cargo space than the Forester since the Legacy platform is larger - the Forester's are built on the Impreza car platform which is quite a bit smaller than the Legacy. The older EJ22 is a super rugged engine often lasting past 300k miles and they are non-interferance so timing belt breakage won't result in damage. I have hit close to 32 MPG on the freeway with a stock '94 Legacy wagon. Outback struts and springs will bolt right on giving it a "factory" 2" lift. There are lift kit suppliers that can get it even higher. The AWD automatic's do great off-road since the TC acts like a gear reduction and you can add a switch to one of the duty solenoid circuits in the transmission and get them to lock into full 4WD for the really nasty trails. The 90 to 94 Legacy's are my personal favorite's - they are cheap, unkillable, and easy to work on. The phase II 2.5L in that 2002 Forester is known for head gasket seepage and they are interferance engines. Plus the Forester's, like the Impreza, and frankly everything that's '95 and up, have really cheap interior plastic and overall the cost-cutting that was done is not to my liking. GD

Yeah - new struts make a huge difference. It's even worse on the EA81 hatchbacks - for some reason 100% of them failed so you can't find a used set that's good unless they have already been replaced. Totally worth the money for good new one's. I scored a set of brand new ones from a friend that bought them but never installed them and then got rid of the car - got both for $40. I did use a stick for about a year prior to that though . GD

On my '84 wagon the capture nuts for the mustache bar were already there - just ran a tap into the holes and cleaned out the threads. But it depends on the body/year as to if they have them already or not. I agree - there are only a very few times this would be worth the effort. Turbo coupe's were 4WD GD

My Brat will suck air and die sometimes below 1/4 tank - such as in a hard turn, etc. If I sit and wait for the fuel to stop sloshing it will restart. Very annoying. GD

Siezed closed? Many people here don't even run EGR's, including myself sometimes..... they don't affect how it runs or the mileage. If it's stuck open - big vacuum leak. That would cause a lean condition. GD

Dentatured alcohol is (typically) 90% ethenol and 10% methenol (to make it undrinkable). Just like E-85 it dramatically reduces HC emissions and reduces all your other emissions by a significant amount. It will run, but not all that well. You won't like how it runs. Retarding the timing causes the engine to run hotter - further reducing emissions. There's lots of speculation on exactly why this works, but ultimately emperical evidence sugests it does work. Base timing for the SPFI is 20 degree's - knock it back to 10 to start with. Fixing it right is prefered, but I've worked with engines that couldn't pass due to worn internals - this works on them. And if you don't have time to fix it - it's an option. GD

Most automotive carbs are jetted - you have to go back a long way to find stuff that is fully adjustable for mixture control. GD

It's not a carb *adjustment* issue since beyond idle speed and mixture there are no adjustment's to the stock carb - they are jetted carbs so your problem is either a clog somewhere in the primary or secondary air bleed system (which would cause a rich condition), or you are experienceing misfireing resulting in unburned fuel entering the exhaust - which in combination with exhaust leaks or even just the stock AIS system will cause backfireing - sometimes severe enough to blow holes in the muffler. It's also possible that the carb could be jetted wrong if it's been replaced. Many of these carbs were setup for feeback computer control and those units are natually jetted on the rich side and the feedback computer then controls it via metereing ports and duty solenoids. Sounds like you need to clean/rebuild the carb, fix your misfireing if you have any, fix your exhaust leaks or at least disable the AIS system with a couple quarters in the head pipes. If you don't understand any of what I just said - do some searches on "AIS*", "reed valve", and the "quarter trick". That should yeild useful posts. GD

Yep - same thermostat and gasket. GD

Ask the machine shop that does your milling. It's hard to say from pictures. If the cracks mill out and it's still within the thickness spec then it's probably ok. GD

Completely different fuel pump - the rotory style FI pumps are much more forgiving with respect to sediment, etc. They will pass that stuff without as much damage (thus you don't see a filter before SPFI or EA/EJ MPFI pump's either). The diaphram style pumps on the other hand (carb pumps) can be damaged much more easily by sediment. GD

Yuck! That needs to be surfaced pronto. Don't install that without having it milled. Been overheated and it's definitely worn. Make sure the machine shop knows to machine both the disc and pp bolt surfaces and that they check that the step between the two is within spec when they are done. If those cracks don't mill out - buy a new flywheel. GD