GeneralDisorder

It would be easier to just get a manual boost controller - they are cheap and you can dial in whatever boost you want. They just install between the manifold and the wastegate. GD

Definitely replace your thermostat. Sounds like it's stuck or locked open. GD

Pulling the engine is a lot easier than dropping the transmission on these cars. The hill-holder is a seperate cable and perhaps that cable is sticking. There is a return spring on the HH valve - check to insure that is in place and all is working smoothly. GD

There are lots of applications that lip seals call for a retaining compound on the OD of the seal. I do it to insure that when I set the seal evenly in the bore it's not going to move. It's probably overkill. I haven't had one leak on me yet but I don't touch them if they aren't leaking. My experience has been that they nearly always last the life of the engine so why bother? I always replace them on EA's - those are prone to failure occasionally. I've yet to see a failed OEM seal. I've seen a few failures but one was obviously not the OEM seal and another had an off-brand clutch - couldn't determine for sure that it wasn't the OEM seal but that's what I suspect being it had a bunch of cheap aftermarket parts on it. GD

Yeah - your clutch is dragging. Check the cable as they can snap unexpectedly if you don't catch them before they fail. It does sound like you have a TO bearing on the way out as well. Probably a good time to pull the engine, resurface the flywheel and replace the disc and both bearings. There is no syncro for reverse BTW. That's why it's the only one that grinds on you. You should fix this right away to avoid syncro failure on the 1-5 gears though as the dragging clutch is VERY hard on them. GD

That would be great - thanks for the help. I'll look into these samples GD

Your's has been modified then. The wastegate should not be run directly from the manifold like that. It is possible to increase the wastegate spring pressure, yes. I had a friend that put a VF7 on his Samuri and he opened the vacuum pot and replaced the spring inside with a lower rate spring. The wastegate at that point was set to open around 1 psi. Then he added an external spring to the arm and an adjustment bolt to adjust the tension. With a little experimentation he was able to adjust it to 4 psi where he wanted it with a high-comp. motor. You could do the same - just add a spring and adjustment bolt to the wastegate arm to keep it closed till the pressure rises enough to overcome the additional spring force. It's not a difficult thing to fab up. Also - wastegate's aren't "assisted" by the pot. That is their sole source of power to overcome their closing spring's. Without the wastegate pot it will easily boost to 20 psi or higher before you start to see turbine surge. The EA82T won't make it that far though. Without that pot..... there is NO wastegate. The ECU will also cut off your fuel somewhere around 10 or 12 psi. GD

Yes - you can get new boots. But you will have to dissasemble the axle to install them. If you are SURE there is no contamination of the grease/wear to the joint or you wish to run the axle till it actually fails then rebooting can be cost effective if you do it yourself. The boot kits I buy run $12 per boot and come with grease. You do need the special clamp pliers to install the clamps and they need to be TIGHT of they can slip off. All-in-all, unless I'm really sure the axle is good and I'm really cheaping out on the job then I'll just install a new axle. They are $69 for the EMPI axles where I buy them and it's $24 for both boots plus a LOT more labor. You can do the math on that one. I've rebooted maybe half a dozen - I've replaced probably hundreds. GD

All you are doing is spacing the entire drivetrain and suspension down from the body. There's 10 mounting points in the front plus the struts, and then like 6 more in the back plus the shocks. All the blocks are pretty simple - it's the struts and steering that give people the most trouble. The steering requires some welding typically, and the struts are a little more involved as you can't simply use blocks - the camber will be messed up if you don't offset the struts as you drop them. GD

The wastegate is set for something *below* the max boost setting. This allows the computer to open the wastegate when it determines boost has reached a preset max. The VF turbo's generally have wastegate's set to open at right around 5 psi. Then the computer holds back the manifold pressure till it's preset is reached and allows the wastegate to open via a PWM solenoid. If, for any reason, the computer determines that full boost is unsafe, then it just opens the PWM solenoid at 100% and you get boost only to mechanical waste-gate pressure. GD

When you say "engine temp goes up" what do you mean? Above the normal operating range? Typically with EA82's I like to see 1/3 to 1/2 on the guage if it's working properly (by no means certain). The first thing you need to do is take some temp readings - inlet and outlet of the radiator, and make sure the surface is uniform. It should show a smooth transistion from 195 to 210 degrees at the thermostat housing to less at the water pump inlet. You might have a sticking thermostat, or you might have a clogged radiator core, etc. You have verified that the coolant is full? If you are low on coolant the heater core won't have any flow through it. GD

It's generally ball-joints but clunking sounds can be from all over the place. I've even had loose leading rod's clunk back and forth at the control arm end. You have to inspect EVERY point where the wheel is attached to the body. GD

Check that the plate is actually leaking before you replace it. The one's with the most problem's are the '95/'96 seperators that were plastic and were prone to cracking. The one's made prior to these years and after these years are not nearly as problematic. I think very often there is a tendancy to blame the seperator plate for a large oil leak that's actually from somewhere else. If you do replace it, use the RTV *sparingly*. There's no need for more than a 1/16" bead. I generally just squeeze the RTV out on my finger and then make a nice even, flat layer on all the surfaces. Just thick enough that you can't see through it. You don't need a lot - it will just get squeezed out and then you have potential for peices of RTV breaking off and clogging oil passages, etc. GD

What did you use for glue to keep the coils from touching each other? I have contemplated doing this but have never had a dire need. I do have two vehicles with no #1 fan speed at the moment though. I read that you need a special flux for nichrome wire - what was your experience? I was thinking about getting a roll of wire and making a few for myself and a few extra and then sell them to cover the cost of the materials. I'm laid off currently so I do have free time between garage work. GD

5 psi is wastegate pressure. Sounds like your boost control isn't working. It's important to find out why as the computer may have a good reason for reigning in the boost - malfunctioning knock sensor, etc. GD

Don't bother. They almost never fail unless someone has screwed with them. I just pulled an engine from a '90 Legacy with 255k - orginal clutch. The rear main looked new without evidence of any leakage. The seperator plate looked fine too. I left them be. If you do replace it, just coat the outer edge with 248 loctite (blue glue stick). Coat the lip with grease if it's not already. GD

Thanks for all the support. I'll be looking for another this weekend. The new owner of the '96 will be picking it up saturday. Hopefully the next one won't be similar. GD

It's been done for WRX swaps. The turbo transmissions are already setup for it. I don't know of anyone converting a cable clutch tranny to hydro though - that hasn't been done that I know of. I would look at the newer non-turbo's and see how they did those as the turbo hydro clutch system is quite a bit different - so much so that the transmission is physically different as well as the entire clutch assembly, flywheel, etc. If you clutch is hard then your cable is shot or improperly routed. The hydro clutches are not any different feeling than the cable's. In fact my turbo has a heavier hydro clutch than any of my EA81's. GD

Check the o-ring at the rear, passenger side cam access cover (it's actually a distributor mounting port cover but we didn't use distributor's here in the US). Those o-ring's get hard and leak. You can replace it at the same time that you do the valve cover gaskets and bolt grommets. It's just two 12mm bolts. Very simple. Those are the three most common oil leaks. GD

Your overheating was probably due to the coolant leak - which only got worse over time and recently became intollerable apparently. The leak would cause the cooling system to never reach it's proper pressure - without the pressure the coolant would boil and boiling fluids don't propagate heat worth beans. This is a good lesson to all those who immediately jump to the head gaskets when they see an engine overheat. There are a multitude of reasons that the cooling system can fail to control the temp properly. One of the most common is failing to acheive proper system pressure. A simple thing like a failed radiator cap that won't hold up to it's spec can cause some of the same symtoms as a bad head gasket. GD

No problem. Amongst my collection is an '84 GL wagon - very similar to your '82 and was also my first. I've since expanded my collection to include like 6 generations of Subaru's. Funny how that works GD

Mix half a box of baking soda into a used gallon milk jug - pour it over the battery area to neutralize any battery acid in the area. Make sure you wipe up any splashes on the paint as the acid can eat into the paint. I like to pull the battery and tray and clean everything - wire brush, compressed air, and then some semi-gloss black. That will stop the nasty acid from eating up your battery shelf. GD

Holy code soup Batman! Well I would start with the easy ones, clear the codes, and see which one's come back. 21, 22, 32, and 35 are fairly common. I just worked on a '90 with 22 and 35 codes. The original knock sensor's were flawed and they crack. Get the new one at the dealer - about $65. Evap solenoid's routinely fail. Replace it with a 33 Ohm, 5 watt resistor. Gets rid of the code. Test the coolant temp sensor - should be on the back of the manifold - passenger side. See if the resistance is within range for the temp or if it's open, etc. O2 sensor should probably just be replaced if it hasn't been done - they get old and '91 is plenty old enough. Then clear the codes and see what comes back. In my experience, once you fix most of the codes they just clear on their own. I would also check the wireing harness over on the passenger side - a bunch of the stuff you are having codes for is connected over there behind the manifold. Make sure the wire to the O2 sensor isn't rubbing on the passenger side axle and that all the connections are clean and tight. That's a butt-ton of codes even for a high-mileage '91 and I wouldn't be surprised if there were wireing issues. Oh - and the manual's still have neutral switches. It's on the transmission and the connector is right there behind the manifold like the O2 sensor, knock sensor, Evap solenoid, etc. Also - Legacy's are technically "New Gen" and belong in the Newer Generation Forum. Just a reminder for next time. There's not as much Legacy knowledge hanging out in this section of the forum. GD

It sounds like perhaps there are multiple failure's going on here. It frankly could be a lot of things. Coolant temp sensor malfunction, Idle air control valve sticking..... weak fuel pump would be down a ways on my list as I've never seen that happen in our climate but if you want to check it you'll need a pressure gauge..... the pump is located back by the fuel tank. It should run 21 psi if the regulator is working properly. When was the last time it had a new fuel filter? I doubt that's the problem but...... Where are you located? Perhaps I could drop in and take a quick look at it for you. That's a pretty tough issue to diagnose over the internet. GD

Right on. If you get back up to this area before you get it entirely fixed, drop on by and I'll give you my 10 minute opinion. I could tell a lot more if I could see it in person. GD