GeneralDisorder

Check for exhaust back-pressure. These models have catalytic converters in the up-pipe before the turbocharger. Suspect you may have a malfunction in the up-pipe cat. Happens pretty frequently and destroy's turbo's. GD

Are you absolutely sure it's not the cross-over to block o-ring? I have never seen one of those pipes leak. Not a single one. As mentioned they are not something that can be easily replaced either. I think you should acquire a used cross-over and new o-rings and swap it. One of my tech's and I once swapped an intake manifold gasket in about 15 minutes after a startup failure. Intake pull really doesn't take long at all. GD

It doesn't really mean anything - so many of these cars have been tuned (and badly I might add) that you can't trust they didn't go in and delete a bunch of "nuisance" codes - the ones that get deleted most commonly are the misfire codes. Does the car have any modifications? GD

Have you checked codes? 5-7 psi is wastegate pressure so it's either in limp mode or has ignition problems. Bad plugs or bad coil packs or both (likely). GD

Doesn't seem to be any issue with the factory banjo bolt crush washers for turbo and AVCS oil feed being copper against aluminium. Or the water banjo's for turbo coolant supply, etc. Or the brake banjo's on the 4 pot / 2 pot and Brembo aluminium calipers...... And we have never had one leak. Looks like a cost saving measure to me. Copper is expensive. GD

No. That's an AVCS twin-cam turbo. The ECU will not be able to run the NA engines. They haven't got the right cam sensors. Additionally - used EJ255's aren't worth having. Just rebuild his engine or buy a new one from Subaru. He needs to understand that his engine is essentially the same as an STi and needs to be treated with the same respect or it will (has) take a giant $hit on him. Best to sell it to someone that understands this. These are delicate machines making well over 100 HP per liter and require excellent maintenance and a watchful eye. GD

It's only about 2-3 hours to pull the engine. I would just yank it and bring it over to my shop. I can have that drilled and tapped for you in about 15 minutes. $25. GD

It's not ideal. Will probably seal for a while. Will it last as long as if it were flat? Almost certainly not. It's not really feasible to mess with the block surface with the engine in place. Unless you are going to pull it and tear it down... it is what it is. GD

These models only leak oil externally. All other fluids and combustion are typically not a problem. Engine doesn't have to be pulled but we do for cleanliness. 120k is nothing. We consider that low mileage. GD

Someone swapped a non-EGR engine into the car and didn't have the ability or knowledge to drill/tap the EGR port in the cylinder head. We can do this for you if you want to pull the head or engine. I'm not sure about doing it in the car - the large EGR tube on those models requires a very large drill and tap and a fairly powerful drill to operate the bit and I doubt it would fit with the engine in place. This should have been done long before installation. It may be possible to re-route the tube to another exhaust source, or on the older models the system will accept a pre-throttle intake source and the computer will be OK with it. But on one that new I'm not entirely sure a non-exhaust source will work without causing additional codes. It certainly won't be correct that way and may cause some part throttle cruise issues with fuel mixture control and timing if you give it non-exhaust (air with unburned oxygen content). We are very close to you - down on McLoughlin Blvd in Milwaukie. GD

We replace all the aluminium crush washers with copper. Wurth supplies all our hardware and we have all sizes of copper on hand in bulk. They work excellent and are cheaper. GD

I can't imagine. I literally couldn't live in an environment like that. GD

Replace oil pump with a 10mm pump. That is the wrist pin access hole. We seal them with copper washers and Loctite 545. GD

Custom lines are required. I did this over a decade ago. GD

Whiteline makes the rear bushing in a polyurethane variant for $117 or so. They might make the front but usually we don't bother doing them as they are fine on the non turbo cars. Ball joints will be accessible as well as swap bar links. Genetic replacements are fine for both. Get the Whiteline bushings from www.rallysportdirect.com These bushings are pressed in, and DO require a hydraulic press to replace. Also the new bushing has a specific orientation it needs to be installed in with the voids in the bush perpendicular to the axis of the front bush. GD

Search. It's been covered recently.

As far as I know there is no way to repair this. Everyone just runs them and crosses their fingers or looks for different heads. Parts are becoming impossible for the EA's. Can't buy an oil pump for the 82 and oil pumps are one thing that should be replaced ideally about every 150k on the EA platform. They handle unfiltered engine oil and are aluminum so they don't last forever. Unfortunately the lack of parts, both new and used, is rapidly reducing the EA chassis to a non-viable platform for everyone but the collectors with lots of parts or the ability to not really drive them. GD

The six speed is not that much heavier. I've removed and installed plenty of them. Stick with the 5 if you are doing FWD though. WRX trans is 3.90 on the front diff. GD

Intense vibrations from the inner CV's are possible. But usually not on something that new with that mileage. Also tends to only happen when they get hot. Let them cool and it stops. Also there's no way they would have lasted 80k with this joint vibration. Would have split the boots or torn themselves apart if they were binding for that long. I would say unlikely. Rear lower front control arm bushings will be BADLY torn at 165k. They are basically shot at 75k. Every one of them. Bad design. Subaru has changed it. GD

They should be a loose fit. The ones that are stuck are the problem. This usually indicates wear to the lifter buckets and may cause lifter ticking. GD

6 speed swaps are getting fairly cheap. You can use a 04/05 transmission with an R160 3.90 diff and the front driveshaft from an automatic model Impreza. You will need 05+ WRX front axles, automatic driveshaft, clutch, flywheel, and slave cylinder. Also the DCCD Pro controller if you want to adjust the front/rear differential bias. We do this swap all the time to the WRX's. It's not really any different on a non-turbo. GD

If it's not leaking its fine. There should be no play. That's a good thing. GD

Sounds like they have no clue what they are doing. It IS standard practice to leave the cam and crank seals alone. They are Viton and typically last the life of the engine. My guess is the leak either wasn't actually from the seal, or they haven't got the skill to install it properly. I doubt this was correctly diagnosed. As far as price they are taking good care of you. Thats cheap. Our local dealers are charging $2200 for replacing both HG's. I charge $2150 at my shop but include all the timing components and we use a better HG and an engine pull procedure that results in a cleaner job. GD

Oh yeah they swell and stretch like crazy. Over time even the plastic covers themselves swell and interfere with the accessory belts and pulleys. GD

My guess is someone did the HG's in the past and there is cam journal damage from oil contamination. We shall see once you get the head and can post pictures. $2200 is extremely cheap for a head replacement - the dealers here are charging that much just for a HG job and that doesn't include timing. So to do the HG and actually replace the entire cylinder head for that price seems ridiculously cheap. That head with it's camshaft, and whatever other bits they need would be upwards of $1000 by itself. At dealer rates it doesn't seem possible even. At any rate the dealer isn't doing the job correctly. They obviously aren't doing timing and chances are that engine still has the factory water pump installed. Should have all that replaced along with a new radiator, hoses, etc. Not to mention the HG on the other side. Dealers..... they drive SOOOOOOO much business to me. It's disturbing and profitable. I can't complain. GD