Fairtax4me

As usual, this car has thrown yet another curveball at me. Here's the new headache. The head burned out under the compression ring. You can see it in the 4th pic above also. I have no hopes for it, it is really deep, but I'm going to swing by the machine shop sometime tomorrow and ask if they think it could be milled out. Even if it could be, I would need a really thick head gasket to make up for it. I'm just planning on having to grab a used head from the junkyard. The other nuisance... These crossover pipe Orings I don't think I can even get all the dried up coolant crud out of the channels. That's pretty much where it stands right now. I did get the cam installed in the other head, and it's ready to go back on the engine.

STI struts are shorter. Forester struts might be shorter as well, I don't recall offhand. Regardless, they're no better than OB struts. Lots of people here recommend KYB GR2 struts. There are some performance aftermarket struts out there, but they are generally very $$$.

I don't have any idea. but I would be interested to know where it is as well. Mine doesn't squirt out when I'm driving though. Mine hardly sprays at all. It will only go about halfway up the window.

Ok sounds like the bulb is either burnt out or has been removed. You'll have to pull the instrument cluster out to change it. It's fairly simple. You remove the screws from the trim 2 on in the top two in the bottom, pull it out, unplug the switches, and set it of the way. Move the steering wheel as far down as it will go to get it out. The cluster is held in by I think 4 screws in the corners, remove those and pull it out, you may have to turn it some to reach your hand around back to unplug the connectors. Your car did some with an EGR on the original 2.5. Why it's blocked off on the 2.2, might be plugged up or the valve may be faulty. I'd unblock it, (get a new gasket from a dealer) and pug it back in and see what happens.

Checking the CEL bulb is easy. Does it turn on for the bulb test when you start the engine? The reason you have no CEL for the EGR might be because the car didn't come with EGR. Year, model, and transmission type will help narrow that down. Not sure what you're looking for as far as testing the MAF. You must be having some sort of running issue (hesitation, lack of power, stumbling) to suspect the MAF is faulty? MAF sensors are not a common failure, but generally if there is an issue with the MAF, it will set a code which should show up in a scan with your reader.

You're welcome! Some pics of the progress! Ready to pull the engine. The culprit. I would have to guess this was due to a poorly maintained cooling system. Block side. This is the other side, the side that was replaced a few months ago. I removed the crossover pipe and one of the bolts nearly twisted off in the block. The entire length of the bolt was rusted. I can't even tell what kind of seal is supposed to be under the crossover pipe. They're both all crusty as hell. It's an O ring? I think?

I'm sure there are a few people on this board who would sell you a crank cheap if you need one. Ask in the Classifieds section. Generally machine shops will have connections for replacement parts as well.

Any machine shop that's worth their salt will be able to tell you if the crank is worth polishing and reusing. As far as the block is concerned, as long as you didn't you didn't put the rod through it, it should be good to go with a minor bore and hone. You might even be able to pull off a simple re-ring, but if you're going to do the bottom end work you might as well make the cylinders right. Depending on the shop a bore and hone is anywhere from $150 - 300, checking, grinding and polishing the crank is around $100 at the places around here. Cost of a replacement crank varies pretty widely depending on the engine. I have no idea what an engine kit (bearings, rings, oversize pistons) would cost for one of these. Otherwise, cheaper solution is typically to just replace the engine with a used one. But then you risk having the same thing happen again not such a long time later.

It would probably cut the grease pretty well but it will leave a residue. You need something that dries without an oil film left behind. Brake cleaner works best.

Screws are tight. I tried to crack them loose with a screwdriver and couldn't, so I waited on that. Gonna put my impact driver on it after I get the other work done. I would guess the O ring is dried out and brittle/cracked. It was leaking quite a bit. Very wet underneath. It had been dripping at a regular rate out of the bellhousing onto the Y pipe. Engine was pulled out to fix the oil leak, and to make it easier to put head gaskets on. I was pretty convinced it was the rear main since they have a history of failure after replacement. Didn't want to be riding around on that and have it blow out completely.

A pair of plug wire pliers makes that a breeze. I like to turn a pair of pliers sideways to grab the boot, then use some part nearby as a fulcrum. If there's nothing to pry against I stick a ratchet extension between the pliers and the block. It provides some extra leverage for getting the stubborn ones loose, and typically uses a fair amount less elbow grease.

It's out an on the stand, and I found my oil leak! It's not the rear main! It's the wrist pin access hole cover on the back of the block. Rear main is clean and dry, the only trace of oil on it looks like the oil I wiped on it when I installed it a couple months ago. So I'd suggest adding another rear engine seal to the list of things to replace if the engine/trans is removed and there is easy access. A little $2 O-ring. Subaru PN: 806931070 Otherwise everything has gone smooth up to this point. Other than being very hot and very humid. And of course the forecast for the next week is more of the same. Some other good news. Junkyard trip today, found a white Outback hood (scoop) in good shape. Got the headlights and corner lights off the same outback. And a really nice shiny, uncracked grille from a wrecked L wagon. The car had been rolled, every panel on it was dented or scratched in some way, the grille was perfect. Just need to find a drivers fender and a bumper cover now, and paint the mirrors, and the door moulding, and re-clear the wheels, and buff and wax it, and it'll look a lot nicer.

It really doesn't matter how difficult it is to get the equipment to do this, someone who want's to use this to steal cars is going to figure out how to do it cheaper, and they won't give a ************ if it's legal. That said, IMO I don't think people are going to be using this anytime soon. If they want to steal the car there are PLENTY of other ways to do so. No amount of security or tin foil is going to prevent anyone from stealing a car. If they want it, they're going to get it. Same goes for you house, your garage, or anything else. If someone REALLY wants it, they'll find a way to get it.

Gotta love a cheap fix on a cheap car. Too bad it needs so much other work. Does it have a 2.2 or 2.5? Any idea of the head gaskets have been changed? Good Ole Fuzion tires. Our service manager at work tried to push those big time a few years back as a "quality alternative" to OE replacements. Mostly because we could make more money off of them... for about 3 months. We got so many complaints about noise, vibration, wandering; eventually had to replace nearly every set we sold.

Nice. Are we going to have to worry about drive by startings?

Just removed the TC bolts on my wagon tonight. Pulling the engine for head gaskets and to fix an oil leak in the bellhousing area. It's not that bad. It can be done with a 1/4" ratchet with a short cheater pipe on it. The handle of a floor jack usually works. I've also used a serpentine belt tool. I had to grind down the end of mine a bit but it works great, and plenty of torque on tap because of the length. Or you can use a 0 offset box end wrench if you have one. If the ATF lines are old, just replace them. They're really easy to do with the engine out of the car. Hoses are cheap. Having to swap the trans, because it burns out after one of the cooler lines blows out and pukes all the fluid out all over the road, is expensive and time consuming.

Could be the rivets eating into the pressure plate and/or flywheel. 167k is a good run for a clutch. Not unheard of, but certainly past it's prime. The disc eventually wears out just like a brake pad. I'd try to replace that pretty soon and hopefully the flywheel won't be damaged.

I dunno I never use simple green. I have read that simple green corrodes aluminum. I just buy purple power because it's usually like $3.50 for a gallon at the parts store. Sometimes they have the big 2 gallon jugs for like $6. I dilute it roughly 3:1 with water and it lasts a long time. I don't ever see simple green at the places I shop around here so I have no idea if it's any more cost effective.

Happens all the time. Hopefully that will fix it and you will no longer feel the need to cut up your dash to put in some tacky aftermarket add-on gauge. (Don't get me wrong, VDO is one of if not the best manufacturer of automotive gauges. That doesn't mean you need one stuck in the corner of your dash.)

It's much easier said than done. I don't think the rear drains can even be see from above (I may be wrong). You can see the front two in the front corners if you look from above. The rears you pretty much have to drop the headliner to get to.

Just grab one from a junkyard. Find one with a good rear bushing so you don't have to remove that big nut on the end. That one is a PITA. The rest comes apart really easy.

There are some screws in the back of the instrument cluster that I've heard can loosen up and cause issues with the speedometer mostly. Don't know that any of those would cause problems with the temp gauge, but it could be worth looking into. The sensor you replaced had one wire right? That's the one that works the gauge. Just make sure the wire connector fits snugly on the tab on the sensor. Did you check the wire where it meets the connector? Made sure it's not frayed or corroded? That wiring runs over to one of the three plugs on the bell housing on the passenger side. Those have been known to get corroded inside the connectors. Lots of times unplugging and reconnecting those will fix sensor issues.

Coolant does turn into sludge like goo when it gets old. If mixed with any other engine related fluids (oil) it makes an even better sludge. Fresh 5w30, crank it for 30 seconds (two 15 second intervals, wait about 30 seconds between) with no fuel (unplug the injectors) and no spark (unplug the igniter module) to get oil moving through the bearings before letting it fire up.

Try checking the voltage again at the ECU connector. I could tell you which pin(s) to tap into but I don't have quick access to the FSM right now.

Haaa! At least the month was the same. 3/4 oil capacity is like a whole quart low. The poor thing was starving!