Mikevan10

Thanks GG. I will try to coat rotating parts with oil but the trick will be to do this without getting any trace of oil on the flange sealing surfaces... I will definitely crank the engine with igniter disconnected before starting it up. Mike

After I thoroughly clean and dry the oil pump, do I need to prime it somehow before reinstallation? Seem like it is expecting alot for this thing to pull oil up from the sump through that big passage!

The O-ring definitely did not get deformed upon removal. It is set in its unusual shape. And the witness marks on the pump surface matches that shape. The new O-ring I got from Subaru is black. Do I need to prime the oil pump before re-installation? (I am going to start a new thread on that issue. Mike

Live update! 1. Two of the oil pump backplate screws were loose! 2. The "O-ring" that was in there was not circular. It was sort of squeezed in on the sides. Ever seen that before? Is that the way they were at the factory?

Thanks Davebugs. Yeah, I meant water pump gasket. Sorry, I am in a bit of a rush and am having a run of bad luck lately. Need to make sure I don't screw up and make more bad luck! I thought Ultra Grey was the way to go but when I did my search this morning I discovered a bunch of nay-sayers. OK, I am heading to NAPA to pick up a tube. Mike V.

Sorry guys but I am about ready to install a new water pump and reseal the oil pump on my 1997 Legacy with an EJ22 engine and I am trying to figure outr the best sealants to use for the oil pump and the water pump. Oil pump has no gasket (just the O-ring) and I have a genuine Subaru oil pump gasket. I did a search here but all I found was controversy. Anaerobic vs. aerobic.... Three bond versus ultra gray versus Hylomar.... Has it ever been established what is the BEST for each of these applications???? I am ready to pouit this thing back together. Need to resolve this issue pronto! Thanks again, Mike V.

If I recall correctly, when my MAF sensor failed, I could start the car with the MAF sensor disconnected (although it would then run poorly), but it would not start with it connected. You may want to try this. Mike V.

avk, That is very kind of you to offer. Thanks! But at this point I don't think I have time to wait. I still have not gotten to the job and I plan to drive up to Maine this weeekend (about a 1,000 mile round trip) and I want to change the belt before I leave. On the other hand, if you want to get those parts out of your shop, let me know. I would not mind having them around for possible future use. Are they the original parts that were removed from a car with only 80,000 miles on it? Thanks again! Mike V.

I think OB99W's comment pretty much sums it up... But, like I said, I am not interested in the belt, only the pulleys/idlers. Regardless, as it turns out, I have some unexpected high expenses to deal with so I am going to roll the dice and leave the idlers/pulleys alone (unless of couse any are detectably faulty). I plan to only change the belt, water pump, thermostat and crank and cam seals. I have the O-ring for the oil pump too but if I do not see any leakage, I doubt I will remove it. Hope I don't strip any aluminum threads... Mike V.

Autozone offers timing belt kits (Belt plus idler pulleys and tensioner pulley) from either "Duralast" or "Gatorback". The counterman said the Gatorback is a Goodyear product. I presume that would refer to the belt only, which makes no matter to me since I already have a new belt directly from Subaru. Does anyone have any experience with either of these pulley sets? The Duralast is more expensive. Mike V.

"Glad they found the issue. Thanks for reporting back here with the solution. Too often people don't bother. " AMEN to that! Another tricky one though. Based on your observation that cyl. 4 had a drastically weaker arc than cyls 1,2 and 3 I would have been looking only at ignition realted stuff, not fuel feed. Anyone care to account for why one cyl. would (at least appear to) have a noticibly weaker zapper? Mike V.

Layale93v- Would you please expand on how you know your '99 Brighton is non-interference? Also, I agree with edrach in that I'd trade the 5 hp for the security of a non-interference engine. I really don't view my Subarus as sports cars. Mike V.

OK, I was able to work on the ’92 Legacy on Friday night. It all went back together without drama, although I am not 100% confident in my helicoil repair of the tensioner pulley threads (in the removable tensioner bracket). I thought the installation of the helicoil went ok but when I torqued the bolt, although it did torque up to the recommended value, I did not like the feel of it. In other words, instead of tightening right up and clicking the torque wrench, it had a bit of a “soft” feel as the bolt turned and the torque wrench clicked. Oh well, this car is my daily beater and never strays more than about 20 miles from home. Plus it is a non-interference engine! I installed the belt after installing ALL pulleys/sprockets/etc. No problem. I tightened the cam sprocket bolts by jamming the flywheel and letting the timing belt keep everything from turning. I really think this is ok. Thanks again for everyone’s comments. Mike V.

I should be able to spend some time this evening on this job. I checked with my friendly local Auto Zone and they do not have a cam sprocket holding tool. At this point, my plan is to wait to do the final torquing of the cam sprocket bolts until the belt is fully installed and tensioned. Then I will lock the flywheel and torque the bolts (same as I did to loosen them). Is there any evidence that this is not an acceptable approach? Also, I think I have read threads here on USMB where people have struggled getting the belt on and I think that it was suggested to leave one of the idlers off until the belt is otherwise installed and timed. Then that last idler gets installed (before pulling the pin on the tensioner adduster) Is this a good solution and which idler is the one in question? Thanks again. Mike V.

Just a quick note to express thanks to those who opened my eyes to the fact that the damage was to a removeable bracket. I don't know if I would have figured that out on my own. I removed the bracket and installed a helicoil yesterday. I'll update you once the job is done. Hard to find time to work on it. Mike V.

Thanks for the illustration avk. It is a bit hard to say anything definitive from this, but it looks like it could be that the tensioner pulley AND the tensioner aduster both bolt to this bracket. Is that what you guys are trying to tell me? Mike V

Before I start thinking there is a glimmer of hope, are you guys talikng about the single bolt that attaches the tensioner PULLEY or the two bolts that hold the "tensioner adjuster"?

That sure would be nice if the tensioner pulley bolted to some sort of removeable plate, but it did not appear that way last night and looking at the factory service manual now, I do not see any such plate.

1992 Legacy, 2.2 liter Not as dramatic as 98Sub2500Leg’s incident, but I had a pretty major crisis at the beginning of my installation/reassembly process last evening: When I went to tighten the timing belt tensioner pulley bolt, the threads in the block stripped! I had just barely snugged the bolt with my 3/8” drive ratchet, and then I put the torque wrench (set at 28 ft-lbs) on the bolt and when I went to torque it up the resistance never really increased much. Many of you know the sinking feeling this brings on, I am sure. So I guess I will try to install a heli coil. I invite comments on the following: 1. Thread appears to be M10x1.25. Will verify today. 2. I am hoping to do this without removing the engine. I would use a hand held electric drill. 3. In order to get enough clearance for the drill, I need to remove the air conditioning condenser (the engine cooling system radiator is already out). What is the procedure/danger of venting the Freon from the A/C system. Thanks for any and all comments. I am going through a period of bad luck right now. This is actually one of my smaller issues... Mike V.

Holy crap! I forgot what a lengthy process that was and how much great help I received at that time. And very funny that the thread would be resurrected just as I make an unrelated return to this board! By the way, the PO446 has never returned. I plan to do various maintenance on both my Subarus ('92 and '97) this summer so I'll probabaly be talking with you. Glad to see several familiar (and respected) names still active here! Mike V

Olnick said, "While you're that far into it, might as well replace the matching O-ring in the right front camshaft support too." I did not know there was one there. And the parts lists I have access to are not clear in that regard. Hopefully the parts man at the Subaru dealer (probably Liberty over in Jersey) will be up on this stuff. OK. Thanks again for the comments everyone. I guess I'll just have at the job. I did it before on the '97 and I've done it on a '92 I used to have and never ran into any problems so I should be able to do it again. Mike V.

Oh yeah, I guess I should mention that all of the new parts mentioned above will be Subaru OEM.

Thanks for the comments guys! Both cars are 2.2 l I do have the special tool to hold the crankshaft on the '97. I am not as concerned with getting the cam pulley bolts loose as I am tightening them back to the correct value. As far as what I intend to do, I will replace the timing belt(s), the O-ring in the right rear camshaft support, the camshaft front seals and the crank front seal. I believe I remember reading something here about an O-ring or two related to the oil pump? If there is something cheap I can do there while I am at it I will do that too. At this point, I am leaning towards replacing the water pump on the '97. The one in there probably has over 100,000 miles on it. But I am probably just going to inpect the idlers/tensioner. If I do not detect and roughness or play I do not plan to replace them. On the '92 I do not plan to replace the water pump. If it "goes" at least it is not an interference engine. And this car pretty much stays in town. The '97 is my wife's car and it wanders considerable distances from home on a regular basis. Thanks again for the comments. Mike V.

Long time no post. Hey, I know this has been beaten to death in many previous posts, but the info I need is also buried within those many timing belt posts. So PLEASE overlook my laziness. I will be replacing timing belts on a '92 Legacy and a '97 Legacy in the near future. What are the best ways to hold the cam sprockets when you loosen and retorque the sprocket to cam shaft bolts? Thanks!!

Hi group. Been a while since I posted here so I thought I'd rectify that with a dumb question: Where do I fine the "Endwrench" articles? Thanks guys. Mike V.