biggman100

Thanks guys for the info. This is exactly what i needed, so i can get the car back together and running.

"about your 99 ej25, it is probably puking coolant because when you removed the t-stat you also removed the gasket that seals the plastic pipe to the water pump." Actually i should have clarified this a little more. I didnt just remove the thermostat and gasket and then put it back together, what i did is to take a junk t-stat, take the spring and plunger out so that it didnt restrict flow, and then put it back in with the gasket. It worked with no leaks for a couple weeks, and is actually still not leaking. The leak is out of the front of the water pump, not the area around the t-stat housing.

The first Subaru i owned, about 10 years ago, had that switch, and i accidentally hit it one day, and it took me 3 days to figure out why my parking lights wouldnt go out when i turned the car off.

Any relevant information i may have forgot to mention will be greatly appreciated.

This has probably been covered before, but after searching for the last 3 days, i cant find a definite answer for a couple questions i have. I have a 99 outback wagon with a 2.5, that needs more things fixed on the engine than i want to mess with, such as water pump, timing belt, head gaskets, oil leak in the valve covers, plus i just got the car 3 weeks ago, and was told all it had was a bad thermostat, which turned out to be a split radiator, and after that was fixed i could only run it if it doesn't have a thermostat in it at all, and then today the water pump started spewing water every time i put any in, and i also don't know how many times the previous owner overheated it or how well he took care of it, so i want to just swap it for a 2.2, but i don't want to go get a 4 bolt bell housing 2.2, and find out i cant use it, plus i have rebuilt a couple 2.2's, and i am more comfortable working on those than i am the 2.5's, so my first question is does it matter if i leave out 4 of the bolts on the bell housing, so i can use the older engine? My other question is, i have read on here that 95 to 99 2.2's will swap with the 95 to 99 2.5, but every salvage yard i have talked to said that the 99 2.2 and 2.5 are one year only, so which one is correct? I have done several swaps where i put a 95 and 96 2.2's in 95 to 98 2.5 car's, but this is the first time i have messed with a 99 with the 8 bolt bell housing. And since i live in NY, the swap has to be done so that i wont have a MIL when it is all done. Sorry if this seems long, but i wanted to cover everything i could think of.

I have been told that the only engines that will swap with this are the ones from a 99 only legacy, or 99 to 01 impreza, and that none of the ej25's will work with that car. If im wrong on that, please let me know.

It doesn't. It isn't a plug or wire that is misfiring, it is misfiring directly at the coil for the #1 cylinder. There is no spark coming out of the #1 post on the coil itself, but there is on the other 3.

One other question. Where is the ignitor on this car? I have looked all over and cant seem to find one.

First im not sure if this would go in this section or not, but here goes. I bought a 99 legacy l last week dirt cheap, because it had sat in a field for about a year. It is a 2.2l car, automatic, with around 193k. After i got it home, i had to replace the IAC, and then once that was done, i found it had a constant mis-fire in cylinder #1, so i started checking things, and found both valve cover gaskets were leaking. I replaced the valve cover gaskets, as well as the tube seals, spark plugs(NGK), plug wires(Subaru OEM), and the misfire is still there. I found that the #1 cylinder is not firing at the coil at all, under any conditions. We actually drove it around at night with the #1 plug wire unhooked and the hood off, and didnt see a spark at all. My question is this, would a bad igniter cause only one cylinder to not fire, or should i only be concerned with replacing the coil? I have other issues to still fix on this car, and cant afford to throw a ton of money into buying the wrong parts, and there isnt any of these in the local yards for me to get parts from, unless the coil and igniter will work from the 2.5 cars as well. I took the covers off the timing belty today, and verified that the timing marks are right, and also verified there was no rust or dirt on the crank or cam triggers or sensors. I have also cleaned all the grounds i could find, as well as cleaned the bolts and corresponding contact points on the coil. Now i am just out of ideas for what it could be, so any help you guys could give me is greatly appreciated.

Sorry about that, i thought it had all my relevant info in my profile.

I have the metal tube, and pretty much all the parts from the old motor, but the head gaskets started to go and i kept driving it till it wouldnt run anymore, but at the time i also had two other subarus, so i didnt think breaking that one would be an issue till all of them broke in major ways around the same time.

But im also thinking of putting that bottom end in an older car, and when i can find one get the correct bottom end before march when inspection is due. The only reason i did any of this in the first place is because good '95 to '98 engines are hard to come by at any price anywhere hear me, and i needed the car driveable for at least the worst part of winter. Then around march ill see what i can find.

The only idea i have so far is swap the drivers side head for the one from an egr equipped car.

I live in New York, so the light has to be off for inspection. Im still working on options to get the light off.

I figured that out. I used the wrong mark on the crank gear, now thats all done, and it is running, but now im trying to figure out how to deal with an egr valve issue. Because the bottom end i used doesnt have the tube that connects to the left head, im getting an egr no flow code, so now im trying to figure out how to deal with that one.

Im not sure if this is where i should post this but here goes. I have a 1996 outback that had a 2.2l in it, the motor blew up so i replaced it with the shortblock from a 1994 legacy, and used the intake from the old motor. I was told i could either do that or just change all the wiring and sensors and keep the intake from the 94. I changed all the sensors from my old motor, replaced the timing belt and water pump. Now i can not get it to start. I have been through everything i can think of, rechecking the timing, checking for vacuum issues, spark, fuel, and still nothing. I dont have the old motor anymore to check, so i figured i would ask this question on here. Could the crank sprocket be different from the 94 to the 96? I dont have the old sprocket to compare the two either. The motor that blew up that was in the car was out of a 95 legacy, and i didnt have any issues with that one when i put it in three years ago, but i have also been told that there were some odd differences between the 92 to 94 and the 95 to 98 engines. Any help you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated. And if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

The valve covers are gonna be off for awhile on my playtoy anyway, as i plan to have them powdercoated, if i can find someone around here reliable to do it. While im waiting for them to come back, im gonna put the new head gaskets, thermostat and gaskets, new cam seals and new front main seal in, and then after all that is done, it will probably sit on the stand awhile while im waiting on the other parts to come back. My playtoy doesnt need a new water pump or timing belt, as they were done about a month and a half ago at subaru. Too bad the head gaskets didnt go until after i had the other work done, but that is just my luck.

Since a lot of people on here and NASIOC have said you dont really need the tools to do the head gaskets, i think what i am going to do is my playtoy first (1998 legacy) and if that turns out right, then ill do my wifes cars, and if it doesnt, then ill see about getting the tools. I just got paranoid about damaging things after reading what endwrench and a few others said about it, since i have never done a DOHC subaru (and with what the shops want to charge, even if i pulled the motor and brought it to them, im stuck doing it myself). My specialty is eagle talon motors.

The first subaru timing belt i ever did, was on a 2.2 in a 1994 legacy, and i didnt know anything about the belt having marks on it that line up with the pulleys, i just put the belt on and made sure that the marks on the pulleys were right, put it back together, and drove it for another 100k, so now i dont even bother looking at the marks on the belt anymore.

They are all DOHC, but several sites i have been to list what appear to be two different versions of the same tool, all for DOHC engines, but one version listed says it is only for Phase 1, and the other is only for Phase 2, so maybe the sites i checked just dont know what they are talking about. Thsi site is a perfect example of what i mean, they list 4 different tools, all for DOHC engines. http://www.automotive-diagnostic-tools.com/category-s/99.htm If you check the link, the first and third tools are for what they call the phase 1 engine, and the second and fourth are for what they call the phase 2 engine. I called there service dept and that was one of the first questions they asked, was which engine was it. And SPX Kent Moore lists 4 different cam locking tools, two are for what they call Phase 1, and two are for what they call Phase 2.

I am getting ready to do head gaskets on 3 different 2.5l engines, and when i went looking for the tools to lock the cam gears, everyone keeps asking me if it is phase 1 or phase 2. How can i find out for sure which engines they are? The first one is a 1998 legacy Gt wagon that was built in august 1997, the second one is a 1998 legacy that was built in september of 1998, and the last one is a 1999 legacy, that was built in june of 1999. any help you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Heres another question that goes along with this whole thing. Im doing head gaskets on all 3 cars, not just the TB, and im wondering if i really need the tools for the cams since i have to take them off anyway.

From what i have heard from others and read from different sources, if you take the belt off and the cams move, it can damage the valves, even if the pistons arent anywhere near the valves. This is a direct quote from a pdf i downloaded from endwrench: If the intake and exhaust cams are allowed to get out of time in relation to one another, intake and exhaust valves will collide in the combustion chamber area. Intake valves in four-valve heads are necessarily small, and more easily damaged than similar components on two-valve engines. A collision between valves, even when the engine is not running (during a timing belt replacement for example), can cause valve damage. When the timing marks are in the proper position for belt replacement, several of the valves are either open or partially open. Removing the timing belt now will let the camshafts turn in a sudden and uncontrolled manner as the valve spring pressure causes the partially opened valves to slam shut. As these valves close, others will try to open. What can happen next? You guessed it — valve-to-valve interference. Before you can say ‘Oops,’ you could be looking at a few slightly tweaked valves. This is why i am looking for the tools to do the job right. I dont want to replace close to 800 dollars in parts (yes thats what it cost total for the parts for one of the engines, which was seriously misused and not taken care of very well), only to damage something internally and have to replace the engine.

Im not looking for the tools so that i can take the cam gears off, i am looking for it to lock the cams so they dont turn and damage anything when i take the belt off. I have been told that these engines can be damaged by the cams turning when you take the belt off.

I was just wondering if you guys could give any info on where to find a cam locking tool for the DOHC 2.5l. I have 3 different cars i have to do head gaskets on, and would prefer to buy the tool, than to make one on my own. Any help you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated.