Fairtax4me

My wagon didn't have that cover. The bell housing was full of pebbles and sand. Not a big deal for an automagic. A clutch might not be too happy if some of that blew up into the pressure plate.

Where's the pics!?

Sounds electrical for sure. What about battery cables? A loose ground cable can do this kinda thing.

I'd start by looking for a vacuum leak somewhere. I don't know which years have MAP sensors and which didn't. Yours may not have one. The ECU still uses a MAP value but it calculates it based on input from other sensors. This value should still be visible on a scanner, but it may depend on the scanner. BTW what year is this thing? 2.2 or 2.5?

About 30% under market value. That is a ton of crap to have to hunt up manuals and information about when it all breaks.

That' silly spring is 100% required for proper shifting. It's incredible how much difference it makes just to have that spring.

Yeah there's a bracket that bolts to the block. It fills out the area kinda between the oil pump and cylinder head. Courtesy of THIS THREAD on Legacycentral. Looks like lots of other good info there too.

Yes it can, depending on the type of failure. In some cases the sensor can fail and not set a code right away. If the sensor doesn't respond to spark knock, the ECU has no way of knowing it is happening. If the condition that is causing the knock continues (poor fuel, advanced timing, high engine temp, etc) it can crack the piston, damage the piston crown, break the ring lands, break the spark plug. Spark knock creates higher combustion chamber temps, which only worsens the problem, since high temps also cause spark knock. So theoretically, a bad knock sensor can lead to combustion conditions that can cause major engine damage. That will relieve the pressure, but there will be still fuel in the rails. The better thing would have been to remove the feed line from the filter and blow the fuel out of the rails first with air.

Did you not disconnect the battery while you had the engine out? Double check all of your vacuum and breather hoses for connection.

Yes, the burnt valve was on number 1. I'm very inclined to think this must have been a contributor to the burnt valve. Thinking back, when I went to look at it the seller started it and I remember it ran funny for a few seconds then cleared up. (cleared up as well as an engine with a burnt valve could) After repairing the valve it was fine for a few days, then I started noticing it having this trouble when starting. When I looked at the car I remember finding some nasty dark brownish-greyish crud on the bottom of the radiator cap and all around the neck in the radiator, and I just brushed it off as needing a flush. I wiped all that out later when I was putting it back together after replacing the valve. The same crud has since returned. So now I'm thinking it must be combustion byproduct deposits making their way up to the top of the radiator. I'm pretty positive this must have been leaking before the burnt valve. The coolant got low and the engine got a little hot, if not overheated, with a college student behind the wheel driving up a mountain with a cracked knock sensor.

What's your MAP / Baro pressure value during all this? Throttle sensor values?

Guessing this is a dual cam Ej25? Agreed. If the pistons hit the valves it would happen once and then wouldn't run anymore. It's probably lifters or the belt slapping.

Just patch it up with Lexan so you can see the pistons moving. BTW I think the mouse is probably pissed that you wrecked his/her kitchen.

I don't think you need a computer. There is a pin that you ground to tell the ECU whether to look for auto or manual trans. The pin changes depending on year. Someone here knows though, it has been discussed a few times. Anything before 98? I think? is going to have a cable clutch, and that is going to be the easier swap for your year, but either cable or hydraulic will work the same. Cable and hydraulic pedals are different so get the pedal to match the actuation system you want. Brake pedal (the skinny one), you should get both pedals and the brackets too as the brake pedal bracket may be different. You need a flywheel and bolts. The crankshaft bolts for the auto trans flex plate are shorter than the manual trans flywheel uses. You need the longer bolts for the flywheel. Bolts to hold the pressure plate on the flywheel. Clutch kit you know. You will need the manual trans mounting cross member. The one on the AT is entirely different. Driveshaft is a different length, you know that already.

Well, it's not the side I replaced. I never did find actual wet coolant on any of the plugs, and plug appearance didn't offer any immediate clues. So I did a leak-down test today after work. Put shop air on number 4 and the coolant in the radiator immediately pushed up and started bubbling over like a boiling kettle. Testing the other 3 cylinders got nothing more than a small whiff of oil fumes from the crankcase. Now I have to wonder just how long it has been like this, and could it have played a part in causing the burnt valve (overheating) that put it on the market for sale to begin with. I get the feeling the PO didn't know of any issues with it losing coolant. I may do an oil analysis on it to see if there is bearing wear from overheating.

I found one photo in the 95 FSM that shows that spring and that looks right.

Sounds like it would work, but good luck getting a wooden block and a hammer between the engine and frame.

Usually any type of lithium base grease will do. You need something sticky that will stay on the splines and not fling off onto the clutch disc and flywheel/pressure plate surfaces. Some people use a light coating of anti-seize. I have found a copper spray grease that I like to use because it's less messy.

I used to see this fairly often. Oil causes it. Oil from your skin or from lotion. Mix it with heat and it breaks down the vinyl on an almost molecular level. If you catch it early you can sometimes clean it with a mild degreaser and prevent further damage, but the texture of the vinyl (the top layer) is usually already lost by that point so it will just be a smooth spot on the door panel. Better than goo though.

Right. The Ej22 uses graphite layered gaskets. The gasket can only go one way because if you put it on wrong the hole for the oil feed won't line up with the port in the block. Does the "OY" look like this? Looking at the mating surface of the block, the oil feed is on your top left hand corner. Doesn't matter which side of the block you're on.

There should be a mark or lettering indicating which side goes toward the head or block. It will only go on one way. Symmetrical as it may look, the port for the oil feed galley in the block is where the copper ring on the gasket goes.

You can have an oil analysis test done to see if there is high copper content in the oil that would indicate bearing wear.

Ahh, you can cut that in half easy. Timing belt kit. Lots of folks here have used Mizumoauto for parts and have had good luck with them. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Timing-Belt-Kit-Water-Pump-Subaru-EJ18-EJ22-90-Feb-97-/220747435314?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Make%3ASubaru|Year%3A1996&hash=item3365928d32#ht_3721wt_835 Exedy clutch kit. Exedy/Daikin makes Subaru OE clutches. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270727015352&viewitem=#ht_2545wt_896 I can get you a center diff and ship it for well under $100. Or ask Nipper (he lives on LI) about where to find a good cheap junkyard to get one yourself.

The bubbles are pressure being released. Either the cooling system has a large amount of air trapped in it, it is overheating and boiling, or there is cylinder compression being pushed into the system past the head gaskets. Bleed the system first. Park it with the front end uphill and run it to operating temp with the radiator cap off. If the radiator has the bleed plug on the top right side open it as well.

Heat is the major killer of the VC. If your tires are not within 1/4" circumference of each other the VC is being worked constantly, which creates heat in the unit. If your tires don't match, buy 4 new ones and that may remedy the problem. It's not difficult to change and junkyard parts often work just fine. The VC/center differential unit is contained in a single housing. I'm not sure of other differences between years, but size-wise I'm pretty sure they are the same.