GeneralDisorder

They sell just parts too, but I know what you mean. They aren't cheap. I have way too many projects myself. Setting up my garage/machine shop has taken most of my spare time lately it seems. That and fixing broken cars for friends - which I'm taking a serious look at no longer doing for the majority of them. I simply do not have the time between the lady, the best friend, work, home, garage, and everything in between. Sometimes I just wish I could go back to pleasing no one but myself. I want to divorce the world - throw my cell phone in a lake and just sit in my garage with the things I love. I think I could be happy as a hermit.... as long as harbor freight was nearby GD

All that will cost a good bit more than an EJ22 with more power out of the box. Contact RAM engineering - they will set you straight with what you need as far as internals. The head gasket/stud setup should be fine without modifications, but you will need a cam, roller rockers, and you might consider the dual port heads if you want that kind of power. They build 200 HP EA81 Turbo's for the experimental aviation community. GD

The steel for a small lift is pretty inexpensive really. If you do it yourself all you really need is the (borrowed) use of a welder for three items, a harbor freight chop saw ($50) and small drill press ($40). Plus the channel and the bolts. Easily doable for about $200 to $250 in the 4" category including buying the necessary power tools. But it also requires the skills and the knowledge, which I admit doesn't come easily. I spent thousands more, an aweful lot of years, and most of the used axles on the west coast getting that together. GD

Contact Rguyver for the details of how he built his hatch back in the day. It had an SPFI powered EA81, EA82 turbo, intercooler, NOS, and he used a second boost triggered "dumb" injector to enrich the system under boost. It ran like a madman apparently, but the SPFI doesn't like positive manifold pressure and goes all funny trying to compensate - thus the extra injector - plus you'll need to reinforce the stock intake bootie - it will blow off under positive pressure. Interesting project but I would be using MS if I tried some nutty stuff like that. And I wouldn't go much over 5 lbs on a non-turbo engine. If you are going to use the low comp. turbo pistons you should use the EA81T pistons as they are a better match for the EA81 block. EA82T versions might work as well but I have no reference for any top shape difference due to the valves being reversed.... I simply don't know for sure. EA81T pistons should work fine and yeild the same ratio. The SPFI will not like the low compression nor the positive pressure under boost so if you do both I would sugest doing MS so you can customize the tune. GD

I have the 84 to 89 version of that manual for the non-turbo's. It details the differences in the 85 through 89 EA81 wireing that the final 84 FSM's don't cover. Very handy. I will be scanning it as well as time permits. GD

When does the noise occur? Heavy load? I would be checking fuel pressure and injector spray pattern if you suspect it's pre-det. That's usually a result of lean mixtures under load. Has the fuel filter ever been replaced? GD

Yes - you can (I have) successfully run for quite some time with only two bolts on one side. Clean the mating surfaces up well with a wire wheel, or scotchbrite. Use a new OEM gasket, and chase the two remaining threads. Use some anti-seize and use new bolts. Torque them to 15 Ft/lbs. Even if it leaks it will be a very small leak and you'll get by till you can replace it and do the job right. And when you do, DO NOT use an easy out. You'll break it off - they suck. If you have access to a welder have someone weld an appropriate sized nut to what's left exposed. You may have to weld it half a dozen times and keep working it back and forth to get it out but it will work. GD

I don't think that's the fuel pump. For one your loyale has a rotary centrifugal pump that is in the rear and is much quieter than the old carb pumps. And for another they don't run for 4 seconds. It's about 1.5 seconds. Could be a faulty seat belt chime. That's all I can think of at the moment. GD

Lots of folks have done that swap actually. What he is referring to is the 5 speed's height as it relates to the height of the transmission tunnel in the EA81's - the 5 speed will contact the tunnel in a pretty serious way on the top - it's the 4WD shift linkage cover plate that is the most problem. There are several solutions, but none of them are simply "spacing". 1. Beat the tunnel (air hammers are what most use). 2. Cut and enlarge the tunnel over the offending plate by welding in a section. 3. Build a custom cross-member to lower the transmission. This also angles the engine backward a degree or two which is easily adjusted with the factory adjustable pitching stopper. Jerry (bratsrus1) makes a kit for $100 with a nicely designed custom cross-member that uses EA82 mounts (better and stronger than EA81's). 4. Lift it. GD

The power valve is rarely needed. I've never had to replace one. That's why they don't come in the normal kit. GD

You can wrap over the fiberglass cloth with silver heat tape and then the oil will just drip off. GD

Go with a k-type thermocouple process monitor. I got mine here: http://auberins.com/ Great for EGT, CHT, Coolant temp, etc. GD

Optional AC components most likely. There is an array of pressure switches, relays and such that accompany the AC system. I wouldn't worry about plugs that go nowhere. GD

Well - it's mostly the cat that gets hot and needs the heat shield to protect the pass. axle boot. If your problems are with the runner's to the heads then I would probably just toss them. They shouldn't get hot enough to cause problems with the rack boots. Many of the older EA81 y-pipes didn't have heat shields on the runners anyway. You could wrap them in fiberglass heat cloth if you are concerned. It's just as effective and arguably more so - plus it will never rattle. GD

It applies to "all vehicles" in the sense that it applies to everything made in the last ten years (all they are generally concerned with), and using the conditioner in an EA engines will not *hurt* anything. It won't help either, and is simply a waste of money. Subaru, nor anyone else for that matter, will be convincing me I need to buy some conditioner for an engine with 240k miles and 24 years under it's belt..... besides isn't it a little bit suspicious that they tell you to use only Subaru genuine coolant AND the additive ALL the time? So... why isn't the additive already in the coolant? Makes no sense - I mean obviously they are rebranding someone else's coolant, but why add stuff? There's plenty of manufacturers that use aluminum engine blocks and radiators. Sounds like a marketing driven decision, or a reactionary band-aid to cover an unsound piece of engineering. GD

I can't see the appeal of them, but then I don't see much use for anything that's FWD only. RWD or 4WD/AWD are the only way to go for me. FWD answers a question no one ever asked IMO. GD

The STi's EJ257 block is semi-closed deck. It allows them to be die-cast but gives them basically the strength of the closed deck blocks. It's a better alternative to open but still cheap to produce. Sand casting of blocks is very expensive which is why the last one's were the EJ22G blocks used in the turbo Legacy's and the 22B Impreza. GD

That's not *exactly* correct (edit - in response to the original post - the talk show host's claim is not correct - [HTi]Johnson posted while I was posting). Subaru had a problem with the phase I and phase II EJ25's. Specifically they had internal and external coolant leaks respectively. The REAL fix is to put in new head gaskets (they were redesigned several times and most people report the latest generation are fine). But due to the cost of this, and the fairly large number of vehicles affected by this potential problem, Subaru instructed the dealers to first try an additive product that is supposed to seal small leaks. If that doesn't work they are to replace the gaskets. But this ONLY applies to EJ25 phase I and II vehicles and no others. All other engines, as well as phase I/II EJ25's with the updated gaskets use plain coolant. GD

Ah - yes I was only talking about the 4WD's. Never owned or worked on a 2WD turbo. GD

Probably just needs the float adjusted. There's a sight glass on the side of the float bowl - it should be right in the middle. Could be low fuel pressure also but as they run around 2 psi it's hard to get a good reading on it without a decent gauge. Cheap gauges just aren't accurate at low pressure's like that. GD

You *sure* about that? It's quite rare. They basically always throw them out the top of the block - it's quite a mess when it happens, but I can count the number of times I've seen or heard of it on one hand. It's generally related to very poor oil pressure. GD

5 speed manual = 25 spline. 4 speed auto = 25 spline. 3 speed auto = 23 spline. 3 speed's were not used in turbo's after 87. GD

It draws moisture for one thing. The VW I recently resurrected sat for 12 years in a damp garage. It had about 1/8 to 1/4 tank of very old, very varnished gas in it. Probably started out as more like 1/2 a tank. The lighter components do evaporate, and the gas draws moisture from the air. That moisture condenses in low temps and rusts out metal tanks, etc. It will collect at the lowest point in the system. I had to open up the fuel pump and clean the rotor as it had a thin film of rust keeping it from turning. It the case of the VW it wasn't terminal. Once I got the pump turning again it fired right up (fuel injected even!) and I filled the tank with fresh gas and immediately drove it through a full tank (once I got the brakes fixed). GD

The DOJ is probably binding because it is new - the grease may not have been properly applied inside the joint. The likelihood of the joint actually being bad is very low. What you are experiencing is a new joint with very tight tolerances that is binding slightly as it turns resulting in a non-constant velocity shaft speed - much like what a u-joint would do at angles over 15 degrees or so. You have several choices - you can just take them back of course. But my opinion is that the joint components are probably sound being they are brand new and made by CNC - they are close tolerance machined parts and each and every axle has a high probablility of being identical to all the others. I would at least try inspecting the grease on one of the DOJ's. It may be poor quality, too small a quantity, or perhaps it has drained away from the joint components durring shipping. One thing I do with axles prior to installing them is work the joints by hand to check for binding and massage the boots to make sure the grease is evenly distributed. I can't say for sure how many axles I've done, but it's somewhere north of 50 and south of 100 I would guess. I have yet to experience the "bad new axle" phenomenon. I've done over a dozen GCK's when I could still get them and since then I've switched to EMPI's. In fact, besides my off-roader, I have yet to install an axle and have it fail again after. If you watch the boots and the fuel mixture they should last at least 100,000 miles. GD

Beware as some of the Subaru pipe threads are BSPT not NPT. Just because it threads in does not mean it won't leak. GD