GeneralDisorder

They can - as with any engine. But it's comparitively rare. Often it's related to some overheat in the vehicles past - mine blew a water pump and was overheated several times around 132k. So I wouldn't be terribly surprised if eventually I have to do the HG's. 8k on new OEM water pump and all front consumables. Perhaps at the next belt change (190k) I'll just do the HG's for good measure..... Well - in and of itself that statement is worthless..... what mileage did they figure the 10% to 15% at? 100k? 120k? 200k? Percentages in this case mean little without that information.... eventually one would expect every engine out there to suffer either HG failure or bottom end failure. but HG's are far, far more common than the latter. The differential rates of expansion between cylinder heads and blocks makes HG's a wear item that WILL eventually fail. Most of the wear on them occurs durring initial warm-up so their lifespan is not so much tied to mileage as it is to number of cold-starts. GD

Ah yes - what a weird car for Maryland. A bit unique due to: 1. First model EVER with SPFI. 85 2WD GL's had MPFI. 2. Every option EXCEPT 4WD?!? Silly IMO, but they made em. Very nice body though, and with a bit of swappage it could be very cool. Sad that it's an auto - probably grandma's car. The sellers are over-generous with extolling it's rareness - stuff like that gets found all the time and doubtless more will turn up in the comming years as the elderly die off. My grandmother has a 93 Buick with 40k that has been started twice a week for the last 3 years but hasn't moved from the garage more than twice in that time - she can't drive due to her eyesight. GD

Indeed - give me a shout when you are in the area. You sound like a studius fellow and that's always welcome around my place. Probably fill your head with more info than you ever wanted about your '90.... GD

Yes, FWD, 4WD Hi, and 4WD Lo. Wire up your clutch switch (used for cruise control) to the old neutral switch harness. This will be enough to fool the ECU - as long as it sees an "in-gear" signal (switch closed, signal wire grounded) it will be satisfied. The clutch switch is close, it will just be "in-gear" when the clutch is released. It doesn't seem to make much difference to the SPFI computer anyway so it's good enough. If you don't have cruise control, just find a car with it in the junk yard, and replace your clutch pedal stop bolt with the switch. GD

Should fit fine. Be a bit less than 9.5:1 or so. Have to be real careful about fueling to avoid knock. GD

Straight swap - easy as can be. Just need the D/R lever linkage, and the plastic bits for the interior. A D/R transmission from an 87+ that had fuel injection would be best as it would have the neutral switch. The computer will be looking for it, but it's not a big deal. GD

I had a horn from a tug-boat (I think) and it was obscenely loud. I lit it off in my neighborhood once.... I repeat ONCE..... yeah I'll never do that again Didn't need a lot of air, but it was the second loudest thing I've ever heard - the first was a claymore mine I lit off about 30 feet from my foxhole. Made those look like baby rattles. It was about 16" long, and about 6" wide at the (chrome) opening. Probably weighed 20 pounds. GD

You are correct - it is a "differential" in the sense that it allows the front and rear to travel at different speeds. I was refering the to fact that it's not a typical open diff or LSD diff and is not designed to allow it to "differentiate" constantly as they are. It's designed more as a limited-use LSD.... if that makes sense. GD

Yeah - that's a similar gasket to the head mating flange. Metal & Cardboard. GD

Sure - I'll check my parts stock tommorow. Also, do you want it rebuilt? I have an excelent rebuilder local to me that can do the bushings and the vacuum advance for around $50 to $75. You can also use the Nippon (2WD) distributor if you change to the ND coil as well. I personally like them better as the cap is rotated about 1/8th of a turn as compared to the Hitachi which makes the fitment with a Weber electric choke easier. They also run a slightly hotter coil than the Hitachi so they will jump a little bit larger spark gap and tend to run a bit smoother in my experience. If you go with the Nippon you can then use the Hitachi drive gear for an SPFI conversion and get the REALLY nice Hitachi FI distributor in there. They have roller pin bearings for the shafts and I've seen them with 250k+ and NO shaft play. Plus they are entirely electronic using an optical pickup that is dead reliable. See my SPFI conversion page: http://home.comcast.net/~trilinear/EA81_SPFI.html GD

I would have to side with Gary on this one. Several reasons: 1. The EJ22 is the gold standard for all EJ engines. It was the first, and so far it is still the champion for reliability. That is nearly undisputed here, and elsewhere in the Subaru community. 2. We are *only* talking about Subaru's. Dodge Neons are no more applicable than the lunar rover. What is considered "reliable" depends a lot on customer expectaions, and if you have created the expectation (as Subaru has, I would argue, with the EA series, and the EJ22) that the engine should be major-failure free for 300k+, then you can't go and produce something like the EJ25 phase 1 that rarely lasts beyond 120k on head gaskets, and has a higher failure rate of bottom ends and expect people to just accept that. 3. You can't call it a bad run of head gaskets either. First, the failures correspond directly to the introduction of the "open deck" cast blocks used in conjunction with the DOHC heads, and higher cylinder pressures - they really should have used a closed deck design as the EJ22T did - instead they gambled with the customers money. Further, Subaru redesigned the head gaskets 6 times. If that's not an admission of a "problem" then I don't know what is. A simple "bad run" or "poor assembly" would not require a redesign even once, let alone 6 times. 4. The "Design Issue" argument is further born out by the fact that the phase 2 engines continued to have head gasket problems. It took time and lots of money to R&D the problems away. Three generations later and our figers are crossed that the problems are now gone. But it is pretty obvious they existed and took effort to overcome. And to Gary - the EJ22 development was began in 1985, and debuted in 88 an 89 elsewhere in the world. We got them in 90, but they predate the EJ25 by a bit more than 6 years. The EJ25 was a simple "update" to the EJ22 design (or it was supposed to be) where the displacement was increased and the blocks cast with a less expensive method than sand casting. GD

Excellent - glad you fixed it, and good job on the troubleshooting. Don't see enough of successes with this stuff - people just don't seem to have the patience anymore. GD

They used a mesh impregnated, lead "donut" for the y-pipe to mid-pipe flange. They are about $12 or so from the dealer. Make sure that the mating surfaces are clean, straight, smooth and free of rust, and make SURE you use the spring loaded bolts that are stock for this flange. I've run straight pipe on my lifted wagon for years - no problems. GD

Glad to hear you are replacing all that stuff. I got my 94 because some used car dealership didn't replace the water pump when they did the second timing belt at 117k. Best to do as much as you can while it's accesible. And glad to hear you are getting dealership parts. The cost savings aren't worth the hassle of aftermarket. Next time call these guys: http://www.discountimportparts.com/ Their parts are almost exclusively OEM brand or better, and their prices are fantastic. I second the use of Anaerobic sealant for the oil pump. It won't harden and potentially block an oil passage. You just have to be careful about using it. I personally don't like RTV except for a very, very few applications - older engines with poorly designed cork gaskets, etc. I've never used a drop of the stuff on an EJ. GD

I've found these are handy for various vehicles - commonly mounted to the passenger side of the center console. All the Audi and VW guys use them and they mount fairly universally. And best of all - they are VERY good quality as they were OEM parts for 95-96 VW Passat's: http://audiport.com/info/cupholder.htm Here's another one that is very similar, but a bit cheaper: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=126316 http://www.ultimatecupholders.com/fischercupholder.html GD

94 Legacy GT Wagon - 2.2 - 5 speed manual. 140,500, original HG's, runs perfect. GD

When you guys need parts, post here to the board - we out here on the west coast are still hip deep in EA81's - I can get half a dozen distributors any day of the week for about $25 each at my local yards. Generally that's a trip to just ONE yard. I would estimate that at any one time there's probably in excess of several dozen availible locally to me at around $20 to $50 range, in various yards. You just have to ask. GD

Before you go buying CTS's, check the connector to it for corrosion. And check the resistance range of the sensor. If you still need one, find a used one at the junk yard. If you can't find one there, they are about $40 at rockauto.com. GD

Yep - the Subaru's like the NGK's - simple, effective, and CHEAP - about $1 each. I've never had a problem with them. GD

No tranny drop - mostly working from below but pulling the boot can help for some of them. GD

They don't always fail the same. The EA82's have a LOT of assorted cooling system deficiencies. Your past experiences are only of *some* help - remember this is a different car. GD

The Legacy was their flagship model - the Loyale was the budget model. All the things you asked for WERE availible on the Outbacks starting in 96 (except the D/R - at least not in the states). The objective with the Loyale was to NOT reduce sales of the Legacy's - so why would they do any of that? If you want all that stuff then get a late 80's wagon. GD

Sounds like you are leaking or burning coolant. #1 is to fill it up and figure out which one. If you are burning it then you might have either an intake manifold gasket leak (common) or possibly a small HG leak. If it's leaking fix the leak - check the common stuff - intake manifold gaskets, and the smaller coolant hoses running to the TB, etc. Your shifter bushings come from the dealer only. You'll want to replace all of them as it's only around $25 or so for the collection. GD

You don't remove the reluctor - you remove the drive gear and slide out the whole shaft. GD

Your clock problem is unrelated most likely. The EA82 clock's all have this problem - remove it and remelt the solder on the circuit board and it will work fine again. And poor grounds don't cause blow fuses - they cause things to NOT draw current, rather than to draw too much current. Plug in a lamp to the fuse socket and start going through the items on that fuse - when you find the short the light will dim or go out. GD