ballitch

i dont think the EA81 tranny would last very long behind a motor putting out 165 ft. lbs of torque. im surprised the EA82 D/R i got behind my EJ22 has lasted for 17k miles with the kind of abuse i put it through. the EJ22 seems to be the perfect motor if you want more power, and EJ18 has better mileage and a higher redline, but the EJ22 has the low-end nuts to get you out of ruts and over things on the trail. if i were you i would swap in a EA82 5 speed D/R tranny and the EJ22. ~Josh~

thank you rguyver, beat me to it. the EJ trannys ARE NOT THE SAME THING as a the EA tranny. its not, throw the gears in there and it will work. anybody can buy a jap tranny and rear diff, and BOOM you have 4.44 gears and an LSD. i want the 4.44 gears IN the EA tranny. that way i keep the D/R. ~Josh~

that is his name...but the best part of it is that he has a LSD in the front diff of the EA82 D/R tranny. ~Josh~

if you go to home depot or lowes, look for the same kinda insulation that the dynamat crap looks like, its pretty much the same thing, it has 1/2'' of some kinda insulating material, and a foil backer, comes in 4ftx about 10-15 ft. lengths or someting like that.....i think i need to do it to my legacy....might quiet those highway noises down a bit. and use some sort of spray adhesive or something to keep it in place in your doors, you dont want it moving around and bunching up at the bottom of your doors where it doesnt do anything for you. ~Josh~

^^^^^what he said ~Josh~

i would reccommend using this gasket 11044aa610, its the new design 4 layer MLS gasket for the DOHC EJ25. you can push 15 psi through that block/head combo as long as you have a decent/good tune on it. 20 psi is were it breaks. at least 10 psi for good fun/driveability/mileage. remember, you will need the EJ25 intake manifold for this combo, heads need to match intake manifold, IIRC. should be fun.... ~Josh~

im sure someone out there has done it, wether it be a dune buggy kinda ting or in an actual car.~Josh~

there are just as many 5x100 mm bolt pattern rim/tire choices out there as the 6x140mm. the only difference is better handling through a better suspension design, and the cost associated with the 5-lug conversion. beyond that, it can be dangerous if you dont have your 6 lug rims properly spaced/balanced. ~Josh~

tap/bang the drums witha hammer, its hard because the brake shoes have rusted to the drum making very difficult to get them off. the legacy struts/springs will work, but your going to have to spread the strut where it meets the knuckle, the XT6 knuckle is too wide for legacy/impreza struts. either grind down and spread or try to just spread them apart enough to get them on. if i were you, i would grab the legacy axles and knuckle, ream out the XT6 front control arm(for a bigger ball-joint), and mount legacy knuckle(with axle shaft) onto XT6 arm. you might need to swap the tranny side of the axle onto the legacy axle, pretty sure you will. but this is all if you dont want to spread the legacy struts apart for them to slide onto the XT6 knuckles. ~Josh~

listen very closely. all motor wear out, some faster than others. but like the other guy said, if you cant deal with replacing head gaskets at 50,000-60,000 mile intervals(basically non-existent on the phase II motors) then ride a damn bicycle to work. this is not a big deal, the ONLY bad years were from 1996-1998, and parts of 99' if you are beyond that range, you are fine. and as far as the interference thing goes, you can get plastic cam gears that break apart instead of slamming your valves against each other. you should not be looking on just this site if you are trully trying to find an answer. look on nasioc.com, or legacycentral.org. me personally, i can deal with replacing HG's every 3-4 years.........think about that.....3-4 YEARS people, come the FORK ON! you might not even own the car 3-4 years. dont think of this as a time-bomb waiting to blow up in your face and leave you stranded w/o a car. there are warning signs, you just have to pay attention to what your car is doing while you drive it. ~Josh~

multi-layer-steel. the part number for these gaskets directly form subaru is 11044aa610. i bought them for my phase I EJ25 block/ EJ22 head motor im about to start building. should be less than ~$93. ~Josh~

that and the cutting of the wire that tells the ECU its a manual tranny and not a auto, not a big deal. its just easier to start out with a M/T ecu and harness is all. ~Josh~

are you gonna be wheeling this thing...? if it were me, you can always add more power. if you swap the N/A EJ22 pistons into the Ej22T block you will keep the N/A CR. if you dont like that, you can always throw the EJ22T piston in and start a turbo project. Or, you could throw EJ25 heads on your EJ22T block(with N/A EJ22 pistons) and turbo that...lots of options for ya. or you could throw in the turbo motor to begin with and start there. but it may cause some handling concerns with a car that old and not meant for that much power. bigger brakes would be a must, but for that you need to convert to 5-lug..... for straight line E/T stuff it would be nice. i dont know, do what you want, im with ya anyway. ~Josh~

i would like to know this also....i doubt that most dealers would even know subaru MADE a D/R trany.....it would be nice to get new synchros and all that jazz. ~Josh~

ya with a subaru its all about finess. if you got a V-8 under the hood and 15'' of ground clearance you dont need to find any lines, you just hit the gas and steer. ~Josh~

or better yet....throw in a EJ22 block under your EJ25 heads and turbo the thing. a used 2.2 block in decent shape shouldnt be too much money, and then all you have to worry about is the turbo stuff, up/down pipes, turbo header, turbo.....etc....then you look on nasioc for thread about tapping an oil feed line from your heads to your turbo. it will take time and you car will be down for a little bit, but you can run 12-15 psi. thru it no problem and it would be fast as $hit. ~Josh~

if you come up w/ a formula for 4.44 gears in a 5 speed D/R box i will be forever grateful. it kinda sucks to be the first one to try something. ~Josh~

you need XT-6 rear stuff. rotors, brackets, calipers, backing plates. its a simple disc brake upgrade for the EA body. the front hubs need to match the spindles(a.k.a the axles). if you've gone to 25 spline front its easier. you also need impreza or legacy front struts. and the EA top strut mount holes (on the body) need to be drilled out a little bit(a little bigger size). try loking for thread/posts by me/tex/cobobaroo/subie_styles about this stuff. ~Josh~

you can use any clutch disc from the WRX, but it sounds like you need a better pressure plate. i would rather use an organic clutch disc w/ a heavy duty pressure plate than a 4 or 6 puck disc. if you wheel this beast you need finess, not power. i love my XT-6 disc w/ XT-6 pres. plate mated to EJ22 for wheelin'. ~Josh~

with the EJ257 block and SOHC EJ25 heads i would do cams(exhaust as you've mentoined) for N/A power beyond cams, header, exhaust, and tuning, theres not much left beyond suspension...but youv've got that covered too......tires you've got so.....intake..? w/stock pistons and compression your just about stuck w/ what you've got. unless you go to 12:1 CR or higher..........but as you know you need out-of-the-hole power,. SOHC is where it's at. if you get better springs and retainers for your heads to raise your redline that would help a bit.... ~Josh~

i dont think anyone makes cams for the ER27 so your stopped there. if you dont have at least a 2.5'' or 2.25'' exhaust i would start there. but with a motor that big in a brat i would think gearing is more of a problem than power. ~Josh~

unless you have a blockage in the exhaust i would point the finger at emissions. ~Josh~

with mostly highway and about 25% city, i get about 23-25 average. but i could use a tune-up on the EJ....for god's sake im using an o2 sensor from a JY....that i ganked so i wouldnt have to buy a new one. but now i think i should invest in a new o2 sensor. i have the 5MT D/R w/ the 3.90 gearing. but now im rwd for a likttle bit, i think i lost 1-2 mpg because of it. if i had the 3.70 ratio i would just drive a little faster.......but it might be good for mileage if i tried to go average 65-70........but i drive 80..... ~Josh~

i agree with legacy777, have the rear separator plate and rear main seal replaced. its only like an extra $30-$40, afterall, you are having your tranny rebuilt so $30 isnt a big deal. EDIT: make sure to get the aluminum separator plate, not the plastic one. ~Josh~

yes the motor in an interference motor, you might already have bent valves, then again you might not. but to be sure, your going to have to pull the heads and see. maybe there is another way that will tell you for sure(w/o pulling heads). if the valves are bent, you might be able to get either new heads, or new valves to replace the bent ones. might also need new valve seats and seals with the new valves. all that added up could end up costing you more than a set a good used heads. but shop around and see what you can do. ~Josh~