GeneralDisorder

The starter's haven't changed significantly since 1981. The old starter from my Brat got rebuilt and installed on a 97 Outback not long ago. There are some BS differences in the gear-reduction vs. non gear reduction. It doesn't matter - they will all interchange and work just fine. 4EAT is no different than 3AT, 5 speed, etc. There is no need to buy a new one. Replace the brushes and the solenoid contacts. If it still doesn't work, or especially if it only works intermittantly, the problem is the ignition switch and/or harness. Install a relay activated by the original solenoid wire that passes current directly from the battery to the solenoid terminal. GD

Yes, I did enjoy my work.... but really I enjoy wrenching on just about anything. Sooner or later I probably would have got bored when there wasn't anything more to learn about that industry so maybe it's a good thing. I learned a ton doing it and my resume is better for it - and I don't think any prospective employer will fault me for being laid-off for "economic reasons" durring this reccession. I have reccomendations if I want them and I wasn't the only one that got the ax..... I'm treating it as an opportunity. Been laid-off two days and already bought my first rig to fix and sell - bought a '99 Forester for $1500 that needs HG's. Got the garage cleaned up and in shape - setup my tool box from my old job and I'm ready to rock and roll. I pickup the Forester on Wednesday and I'm ordering the parts I know I need for it tommorrow. No messing around for me. Every weekday I go to work - no different than when I pulled wrenches for someone else. Unemployment will cover most of my bills but my goal is to bring in MORE than I made working for someone else. GD

150 ft/lbs is the spec for all the 36mm axle nuts. GD

Just follow my directions and you'll be fine. Get the two taps, and some all-thread and you'll be golden. The whole process takes about 15 minutes. GD

The surfaces do need to be clean and dry. No oil residue present. It's also a good idea to use something like the Loctite Primer-N - it allows the sealants to better attach to the metal surfaces and contains curing agents, etc. GD

I honestly have no idea how I do it. Mostly I just try to get *something* done every day. Between my House, Yard, Garden, 6 Subarus, 2 Fords, 1 Nissan, 1 VW, Aging parents, Girlfriend, 40 hr/week job, Bills..... I really am clueless as to how it all doesn't just fall to bits on any given day. I was laid-off on Friday :-\ so I'm sure I'll have plenty of catch-up time for everything else. GD

As part of a larger performance update to the EJ22, the hydraulic lash adjusters were dropped as they put pressure and thus performance robbing drag on the cam lobes. The solid lifters only need adjusting every 100,000 miles (thus can be done at t-belt interval) and this change along with several others netted something like a 15 HP increase with little to no loss in effeciency. GD

Yep - only 97 and newer. GD

Got it for $1500 So we had some really freakin hot weather a few weeks back - 106 at one point. Durring that the radiator burst at the upper tank seam. Ever seen that before? I'm wondering if a head gasket completely went on the poor thing. I'm going to try replacing the radiator and driving it the 15 miles back to my garage. What are my chances? Car looks nice - a few rock chips on the hood. New Toyo tires. All receipts. A/C works, CD player, recently detailed, etc. I think I'll do alright assuming I don't have to buy an engine for it . It's a nice looking ride and they have taken good care of it. Lots and LOTS of reciepts from the dealership. I think it will serve someone well. She said she thought the HG's had been done at one point - I'll have to go through the reciepts and look.... the phase II's go through them that fast? GD

Are you SURE you have fuel? Dump a little in the throttle body with the intake snorkus removed and see if it kicks over a bit. You might have a dodgy fuel pump, fuel pump relay, or? You need air, fuel, and spark. It should at least *try* to start if you have those and the timing hasn't changed. How are you determining that the belts are unbroken? Sometimes a few teeth can strip off the belts and cause the cam gear to slide on the belt - pull the outer covers if you haven't already and roll the engine over by hand inspecting the belt teeth as you go. GD

Just tap it over to 7/16x20. You can use a bolt for that one stud if you choose although it's better if you get some all-thread and make a stud for it. It's really no trouble at all. I can see how it's frustrating though if you don't have the time, money, or resources to conquer it quickly. Buy two taps in the 7/16x20 variety. Grind the tapered end off one of them to make a "bottoming tap". Tap it with the virgin tap, then the bottoming tap to get the last few threads. Cut a suitible length of all-thread, taper the cut ends to dress the threads and install. Easy as cake! GD

The write up is here: http://home.comcast.net/~trilinear/EA81_SPFI.html But you can't use any of the turbo parts for the swap. That's a completely different system and requires the MPFI EA82 heads with dual intake ports. EA81's never had heads like this. GD

With the amp connected and powered you should have 12v to the coil + side with the ignition ON. If you don't then you have a bad ground or a bad amp. GD

That is the ignition amplifier - it is used to trigger the coil from the ECU signal. They are known to occasionally fail, but it's not common. GD

Either the screw fell out of the rotor, or one of your belts snapped. If you have fuel and spark, then you have improper valve or ignition timing. GD

If the caliper is frozen on the pins it could be holding the caliper body away from the disc. Thus allowing the piston to have excessive movement till it contacts the pads or the disc. Might need to bleed the MC as well. GD

This one is an auto, so no clutch repair cost's. It's been maintained exclusively by the dealer and the current dealer quote for repairs sits at $3500 (and as we all know that's mostly labor). Tires are about 1 year old, cosmetically clean, female driver - non-smoker, etc. I don't forsee many issues - here in OR it's kosher to buy and resell a vehicle without registering it - there are multiple reassignments on the title and as long as I have the bill-of-sale I'm good to drive it for a short time. Interesting system we have here but it seems to work. That's why I'm willing to go as high as I am and hopefully make a quick sale and get out from under it. Anyway - no one replaces the head bolts I take it? GD

VF11 has the same bolt pattern as a TD04/05 and it is different than the VF7 on both sides. Yes you have to mod the up-pipe flange. GD

Have you removed the calipers in the front and made sure they are free on their pins and the pads are good? GD

The owner is saying that the dealer quoted a new radiator. I wonder if that's a CYA thing when replacing the head gaskets? I know often in the machinery I work on we quote new cooler's as it's tough to clean them and it's good insurance. I guess I'll see if/when I do the job. It's looking likely that I'm going to buy the car for around $1750. Needs the HG's, radiator and a front axle. Think I should be able to resale it for a decent profit after all that? KBB says $4250 on private party. I was thinking of flipping it for $3300 - $3500 after making the neccesary repairs. GD

Even getting a used driveline from out here on the West Coast would be pretty cheap. Break it down into it's two peices, wrap the ends in cardboard and ship it via UPS. Being there are so many EA82's left here there are also quite a few with fairly low mileage. The drivelines often last the life of the car out here so you could get a decent quality unit I'm sure. GD

Top mount intercooler and convert to a larger turbo - VF11 or TD04. Don't increase the boost much - uncork the exhaust. Should make 130 without much trouble. Watch the cooling system - probably should freshen the whole system anyway - it's a major weak point on these engines. GD

An intercooler is always advised on these engines. There are some things you can do, but a lot of them have more to do with making the engine more reliable rather than netting more power. They are 115 HP stock, and without a lot of modifications and loss of what little reliability they already have, you aren't going to push much more than about 140 HP. The absolute outside limit of the engine seems to be around 175 HP but that's with a ton of mods and isn't particularly reliable. Compare those numbers to that of the EJ family - the non-turbo EJ22 puts out 135 or 145 depending on the year, and the EJ22 Turbo is 165 bone stock - closer to 200 with a top mount IC and turbo-back exhaust. The money to make an EA82T more powerful is better spent installing an EJ engine - you will get the power you want without any mods, and you will get a high degree of reliability - even higher than the EA82T was without any mods at all. GD

That's very low. I would question both your gauge and sending unit placement. It is not unusual to see 1100* or 1200* F on turbo engines when under boost. I had my digital temp gauge on my EA81 non-turbo and it ran 500* - 600* F at idle. GD

Balancing really isn't an issue with the joints themselves. The bulk of the joint is very near the axis of rotation (they are tiny joints).... it's really just not much of an issue with Subaru drivelines. I haven't ever heard of someone needing a balancing after replacing only the joints - personally I've done probably half a dozen sets of u-joints and it's never been any issue at all. GD