mnorton

Thanks for the reply. I tried hooking full manifold vacuum to the regulator and at iddle the car nearly died - not enough fuel I guess! As I reved it up it seemed to work well. I did not drive the car like this. I may try and find another vacuum port that is nearly zero at idle yet builds vacuum with additional RPM and see what that does. I'm doing this because I have a terrible pinging/knocking problem that I cannot figure out. Maybe you have some suggestions for me. Here's the skinny: 1. Only pings when the outside temperature is above 32 degrees (0 here in Canada). 2. Will do it when I come off a right hand ramp carrying good corner speed. Once the car is level, I will take my foot off the gas and then back on and pinging stops. 3. Higher octance and reduced timing helps a little but not enough. Some times it will ping even when I'm going down hill 4. Car runs a bit rough at idle. Sounds like small "backfires" if you put your ear to the muffler. New electronics did not help at all (plugs, wires, cap, button). 5. Car will sometimes erratically idle from 1000 to 1250 when coming off of fast idle during the warm up process. Eventually settles down to 900 or so. All of the basics have been covered except that I have not checked all the components in the fuel system. Thanks for any advice you can give. Matt

After reading your post I decided to put a vacuum gauge on my intake port (the one that the two inch rubber hose plugs into from the FPR) and I have 0 vacuum throughout the RPM range. I sprayed brake cleaner in there and the engine started to die which tells me that the fluid was making it all the way through. Does anybody know what the vacuum range should be for the port that the FPR plugs into? Thanks, Matt

This URL may give some insight to the changes in Subaru engines in 97. Check out the section Engine (9 items down). http://www.ravensblade-impreza.com/techdocs/pdf/pdf.html

What years are the Phase 1 engines and the Phase 2 engines? What are the major differences between the two? The reason I'm asking is because I'm about to buy an OBW but I'm wondering if I should be getting the newer style (2000 and up) vs. the older style (currently looking at a 98 and 98). Thanks, Matt

I would be very surprised if there is excessive carbon in the cyclinders. I run the old beast pretty hard and the plugs do not have any carbon deposits on them. Explain the water trick! Thanks, Matt

Thanks for the instructions on how to test. I'll try it this weekend. Matt

I know that the vacuum to the EGR is good but I do not know if it pulling EG back or if it is just plugged at the bottom. 20 degrees is spec for the newer models. Their is no vacuum advance on the newer style distributors (crank angle sensor type distributor). Thanks, Matt

Thanks for the idea but the newer models do not have a vacuum advance system or weights to control advance. Matt

I don't believe the EA82's (non-turbo) came with a knock sensor. If they did please let me know where it is located. Thanks, Matt

Thanks for the info. I'm currious to know what you find out. Matt

I have a 1991 Loyale EA82 (Canadian car) that has a terrible pinging problem that is driving me crazy! This is what happens. The problem predominately exists when the outside temperature increases. I bought the car in the winter and did not know of the problem until it reached over 15 degrees Celsius (60 Fahrenheit) the following summer. The hotter it gets, the worse it gets. The problem happens often but not consistently. The more I drive the car the better it gets. There will be times that I don’t hear anything for an hour (on the highway) and then I will slow down for an exit and when I accelerate again, the motor sound like it is coming apart. I’ll take my foot off the gas and accelerate once again and no more pinging/knocking. These are the things I have done to try and solve the problem. 1. Replaced O2 sensor 2. Replaced radiator (it was starting to overheat) 3. Replaced coolant temperature sensor (improved throttle response but not pinging) 4. Cleaned little "pick-up wires" in Airflow meter (intake track) 5. Timing is at 16 degrees BTDC. If I set it at the recommended 20 it is worse. At 16 degrees the car is noticeably sluggish. 6. Recent tune-up with NGK V-grove plugs, cap and rotor. I also purchased an Accell Super Stock coil but it basically left me on the side of the road the next day (ignition would cut in and out, would stall at idle – old coil is back in and working fine). At this point I'm totally lost! I can unplug the O2 sensor but there is no difference except throttle response goes to hell. I must run high octane fuel 91 or it is considerably worse. My Subaru guru told me that he has seen this time and time again in Loyale’s from 1990 to 1992. There seems to be a design flaw with these years. My questions for the group are: 1. Can anyone confirm the 1990-1992 problem that seems to plague EA82’s? 2. Can anyone suggest something to me that I may have not thought of? Thanks so much, Matt Lethbridge, Alberta