Tferron

What I usually do is go in through the rubber timing mark plug that is on the right rear near the bell housing. I take a brake adjustment spoon, the 45 degree bent end and I lock this into the flywheel teeth while applying some torque. Once you feel it grip, you can bust it loose. Works for torquing them to the 130 ft lbs spec also.

All we've ever had to do was first fill the radiator then fill the engine through the air bleed with a tiny funnel until it will take no more . Make sure the radiator is full also if it didn't completely fill the first time. Put the cap on and let it warm up. The problem lies in that the right side of the block won't fill properly without doing this and air will be trapped in a big way on the right side and then...overheat and potential engione damage.

You should have prefilled the engine throught the air bleed on the right top of radiator. Other wise one side of the engine stays dry and tstat can't get an enough coolant to open accurately. Opening it to bleed air doesn't usually solve unless you were able to get most of the coolant in it. One of my techs ruined a block by not prefilling it, cracked a cylinder sleeve at the top.

I should probably state that I'm a 30+ year ASE master tech and the ultimate goal is to have a motor I can get 3-4 years out of. As far as any of the engine work, to quote a line in Schindlers list, "This will not be a problem" Primarily looking for whether the blocks will interchange.

I have a 99 Forester SOHC engine I would like to tear down and use the block to build a short block to put in a 98 Outback EJ25 DOHC. As I understand it, I would have to use DOHC pistons, DOHC rods to make this work as close to the original. Also since my 98 is a Phase 1 with 4 bellhousing holes and the 99 (phase 2) has more, I just have to use the 4 as were used in the 98 originally. The reason I want to go this route is time and the fact I have a free 99 engine sitting here. I'd like to have the short block ready so I could swap my 98 heads and intake on to this motor and be done with it. Of course I'd have to get another set of DOHC rods to make this happen in a timely manner. My question to all of you people in the know is, WILL this work? Thanks in advance for your replies.