BluetoE

Cool. Thanks for the tips and part number

I have a dead EJ25 in my 98 OBW. The engine won't turn over. I have it in neutral and am trying to remove the torque converter bolts through the cut-out below the throttle body. I was able to remove one bolt, but because the motor is damaged it won't turn over. I have a breaker bar on the crank and one spark plug removed (they are really hard to get to). Do I need to remove the rest of the spark plugs to relieve any compression that might be left? I'm going to try to remove the rest of the spark plugs tomorrow, but the crank will NOT turn at all. Any tips to help remove the rest of the bolts? If this thread needs to be moved to the New Gen board, please do so. I thought my questions were about generic procedures (removing studs and turning a dead engine), so I posted them here.

I couldn't find exactly which bolts needed to be removed in order to "move the A/C compressor out of the way", so here is a pic of the 5 bolts that need to be removed. The 4 that secure the compressor horizontally just need to be loosened enough to free them from the mounting bracket.

I went to NAPA, Autozone, Etc. with no luck. A local muffler shop had one stud just like you described with the missing threads near one end, but they didn't have 6. They told me to try NAPA I'm going to the dealership tomorrow to pick up a new separator plate ( I ordered one before reading that the 2.5 would have a metal one I could swap out for the crappy plastic one on the 2.2 ), so I will see if they have any studs. I am still curious about a rust removal product to help me get the old studs out. Thanks for the reply, GG.

If this question belongs in a different section please let me know. I thought maybe M10 1.25 bolts and studs were more of a shop talk question than a particular model. About half of the exhaust bolts that come out of the heads on my donor motor (1995 EJ22) have come out. They are all rusty and I want to replace them. They are M10 1.25 "studs" and I called the local Subaru dealership here in Jackson, MS and they aren't showing any replacement studs on their "blow-up" of the exhaust system or the heads. I would assume these are high heat studs and bolts. I really would like to replace all 6 in case I have to take the engine or exhaust off ever again. I can probably make due with what I have, but I would prefer to change them out if at all possible. Does anyone know a part number for the studs and bolts? There are 3 of these studs still attached to the heads. I have tried getting them out with vice grips with no luck. They are very very rusty. Is there a product better than PB Blaster that I can use to clean them up if I can't find replacements? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, B ps- I havent even tried to loosen the bolts on my dead 2.5 yet. Hopefully the bolts will be in better shape and I can reuse them... maybe the studs from the 2.5 too...

Two of the bolts I removed today unscrewed themselves from the head. The salvage guys didn't shear it off after all! The rounded off bolt came off with vice grips and pb blaster... and a hacksaw Part 2 Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28996847@N04/sets/72157621825316685/ I am going to use Flikr to help me remember where things were attached to the 2.5, so I'll be updating it a lot over the next few weeks. Thanks for advising against the blow torch. -B Here is a test embedded image of the bolt that was giving me problems:

I spent yesterday evening acquiring an engine hoist, so I just hit that bolt with PB Blaster for the 6th time and let it soak. I will let you know how the vice grips do. Thanks for the advice I'm not sure how it happened exactly, but the EJ22 from the salvage yard is missing the front driver side exhaust bolt. It just isn't there. It is on the same side as the rounded off nut, so I am waiting until I can remove that exhaust manifold to get a better look at what happened. They cut the exhaust pipes off with a blow torch about 8" from where the manifold attaches on both sides. I haven't taken many pictures of the underside of the engine, but I will. I will let you know what I find out once I get that last bolt off... Thanks, B

Yeah we resealed the oil pump and replaced the thermostat. I still have a little more prep to do to the EJ22. I will have to take it off of the stand to get to the back of the engine. One exhaust bolt rounded off I'm gonna take a blow torch to it this evening to see if I can get it loose. As far as emissions go, I live in Mississippi and I don't think anyone cares around here as long as the mufflers are hooked up

I have started the process of swapping the dead EJ25 in my 98 OBW with a 95 EJ22. We finished doing cam and crank seals, water pump, and timing belt on the EJ22 yesterday. I hope to have the blown motor pulled by the weekend. Here is a link to my Flikr set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28996847@N04/sets/72157621192207565/ I'm sure I will be asking a few questions before the swap is complete. This board has a wealth of knowledge already, so I've been able to search previous posts so far. Thanks again for all of the input on my previous post...

Thanks SO much for all of the input! It's looking more and more like dropping a relatively inexpensive EJ22 in her is worth the time and money.

Will any 4EAT fit? I'm afraid mine is toast after towing it almost 100 miles on a tow dolly with the FWD fuse in place and having an almost dead battery. There is a 93 Legacy at the local Pull A Part and I was wondering if it had a 4EAT? According to Wikipedia: "Usage: 1988-1991 Subaru XT, 1990-2004 Subaru Legacy, 1992-1997 Subaru Alcyone SVX, and all Subarus 1995-Present" So does this mean the 93 Legacy AT will match up? I really don't want to give up on this car...

Well I have decided to scrap the project. I'm not going to swap engines just to test the tranny.

I was about to pull the trigger on a '95 EJ22 until I read this last post... How would I go about assessing the AT? Worst case would it have only trashed the rear end or would the front tires have been engaged? There is a '93 legacy at the local Pull-A-Part. Would any of that AT match up or are the parts Outback specific? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

I towed it approximately 80-90 miles at 60 mph. I was using a Ford F250 Super Duty truck to pull it, so there was absolutely NO resistance and NO noticable sound coming from the car going down the road. I will plan on installing the switch to toggle the FWD/4WD if that helps.

So, should I go ahead with the engine swap as planned and worry about the "work around" once I have the new engine installed? I am leaning towards the inexpensive EJ22 unless the transmission is fried...

So did I toast the tranny? If so, replacing the engine becomes a moot point

Far enough that having a tow truck pick it up would have cost me 10 times as much as a tow dolly

I put the fuse in and turned the engine "on". Hopefully it didn't hurt the transmission, but I admit I don't know how the fuse works when the battery is dead.

Hi all, I have a 98 OBW with 191k miles on it and last week, while driving at 70 mph on the interstate, the timing belt either broke or one of the tensioner pulleys gave out. The belt was replaced at 135k, so it should have been ok still, but the tensioner pulleys were not replaced when they did the belt. The engine was hemorrhaging oil after I pulled over, so I expect the worst. Assuming the motor is past the point of repair, I am here asking for some input. I purchased the car a year and a half ago for less than $2000, so I don't have a lot of money in it at this point. I adore my Subaru and have decided to replace the engine. I have a friend that put an EJ22 in his VW van a few years ago, so he is familiar with that engine and did all of the work himself. He has agreed to help with my project, so I am looking for input what the most cost-effective course of action would be for me at this point. The local Subaru dealership quoted me $2084 for a replacement EJ25. I have $300 worth of "Subaru Bucks"(they are like coupons that are redeemable at the dealership for parts and service. I think a credit card company issued them), so my out of pocket expense would be roughly $1700 for a "remanufactured" DOHC EJ25 from Subaru. This is option #1 and is a little more than I would like to spend at this point (We are expecting our 3rd child in late August and the A/C just went out at our house). Option #2 would be to find a used EJ22 engine that would match up. There are a couple within 100 miles of here for between $350-$1000. Do you guys recommend putting an EJ22 in a 98 OBW or am I just asking for a bunch of headaches trying to get everything to match up? Option #3 is to find a used JDM EJ25 on the internet. I have done a little searching around and these seem to be going for between $800-$1500. Can anyone recommend a good source that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg to ship to the deep south? I would assume these engines would come with the original head gaskets, so I would plan on upgrading the gaskets to the newer type that are less likely to fail. I am on a limited budget, so I am looking for a "most bang for my buck" scenario. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance... PS- After the motor failed, I went back to pick up the car on the side of the road and had left the hazard lights flashing. The battery ran down. I was alone with a pickup truck and a u-haul car dolley. I couldn't turn the key, press the brake pedal, and press the button to shift into neutral. Thankfully I had my iPhone so I logged into this board and was able to do a search. I found a post explaining how to remove the shifter cover and press the button in the hole with a screwdriver. This board really saved my a**! Thanks again!

I generally don't try to fix things that seem to be working ok, but I will give the sensor another go. Thanks for the tips about the tape and the wobbler.

Thanks for the welcome! There is a wealth of information here and it has already saved me tons of time and $$$! As far as the HG's are concerned, I have all of the maintenance records. The timing belt has been changed at 70k mile intervals. It will be due for another one at 210k as far as I can tell. No overheating issues at all so far and the car has been very well maintained. The knock sensor placement is about 10 or so inches below the throttle pullies (I'm not a mechanic and don't feel like looking up the exact part description ) When I go to install the new one, I put the bolt in my socket with an extension and put the sensor on the bolt. They tend to fall out of the socket on the way down to the hole where the bolt goes. Perhaps there is a magnetic socket that would hold it in place? I had just read about people purposefully moving the knock sensor to a "quieter" location on the block and was wondering how people felt about that. A friend of mine who is a Subaru guy and a member of this board told me that the engineers put it down there for a reason and I shouldn't move it to the top of the block. I was just looking for more input. The car is running great now with the sensor moved to the top.

I just purchased a 98 OBW about 3 weeks ago. The car has 173,000 miles on it and is still on the original HG's. From what I have read on the boards, is it true that only 15-20% of the 2.5L DOHC engines have the HG problems? I owe you guys so much already btw. When I purchased the car it needed a little bit of work. It had the "rear end slips while making slow turns" torque bind issue. So far I have drained the ATF twice and after the first time the problem stopped completely. I will be draining it 2 more times over the next week or so to get it as clean as possible without performing a "flush". The mechanic at the local Subaru dealership told me it would be $1700 to fix the torque bind. So far I have about $30 in the problem and it seems to be fine. Thanks a lot for all the great info about that problem! Also, when I purchased the car the CEL was on and the code was for the knock sensor. The friend of mine that I bought the car from had a stack of "SubaruBucks" in the glove box, so I cashed one in and grabbed a new knock sensor from the dealership. They had to order it and charged me $125 for the part, but with the $100 coupon it cost only $25. So far so good. Once it came in I removed the faulty sensor and went to install the new one. Let's just say the placement of that sensor is kind of a pain to get to. I read on this forum and a few others about "relocating" it to a less noisy part of the block. I installed it below the throttle body and reset the CEL. The light is off now and the timing is no longer retarded. What is the general consensus on relocating the knock sensor? If it is a huge deal I can put it back where it belongs. Thanks again for all the great information on these boards. You guys rock! I am absolutely in love with this car btw...