NOMAD327

Final report, got the motor running without any more drama. I finally got it all properly timed and back together and it's running with no misses and no leaks. Glad to have this job finished and thanks again for the help!

What Fairtax4me suggested is exactly what happened. Thanks much, just need a new tensioner now.

The reply Fairtax4me made in the ejected cam seal thread was absolutely what happened! Everyone else was right to question the timing being off, and that was what happened. The timing was correct initially, but the tensioner did not survive being recompressed. That's why it ran OK for maybe twenty seconds, enough time for it to slip a couple teeth at the crank sprocket. Very happy with the help I got here as usual. The notion of the tensioner failing in that way didn't occur to me, but once suggested, that explained everything. The tensioner came from the import experts and was put on 5 years 50,000 miles ago, and still looked brand new. I did squeeze it slow and vertical, probably close to an hour to get it squeezed until the pin could be inserted. It was just something I didn't do right. I would buy that tensioner again, my fault somehow. Again, thanks, these familiar little jobs can make you crazy when everthing seems to go right, and then it won't run.

I just finished up my post here under ejected cam seal. The motor ran normal this morning except very bad oil leak on drivers side cam cover. I took it apart and the lower drivers side cam seal was ejected from it's bore. There was a lot of oil over the bottom of the car, but the motor was never run out of oil. I replaced all four cam seals today and cleaned it all up. New timing belt and a fairly good job all in all. The drivers lower cam really jumped back when I undid the belt. It banged back much harder than they usually do. I was able to get it all aligned and assembled and no other problems. There was an oil change done but I forgot to partly fill the new filter before installing it. When I started the motor, it ran normal for about twenty seconds, then started to miss and stalled fairly quickly after that. It now will not start. It acts like it wants to start, but can't quite make it. I pulled the covers and the timing marks are all lined up correctly. It was turned over by hand at least five or six times before I tried to start it and the marks all lined up good. The wires to the crank and cam sensors are undisturbed and the only new pieces used were the cam seals and the timing belt. The sprockets were not interchanged. This is a 99 OBW 2.5 auto with about 190,000 miles. My only two thoughts were somehow it messed up a valve when the lower cam snapped back, or something triggered the knock sensor with the empty oil filter and the timing pulled back hard. I'll be doing a compression test tomorrow unless somebody can think of something. Thanks in advance.

I took it apart this morning and the drivers side lower seal was ejected from the bore. No obvious problems and the drain holes were open. I got it all back together and it ran normal for about twenty seconds and developed a bad miss and ran badly briefly, now it doesn't even want to start. I will start a new thread to pick up from here, thanks everybody!

I used all Subaru parts except the idlers which were from the import experts. The mechanic was independant but has been doing Subarus since the mid 80's. It may have just been dumb luck, or a slightly loose housing fit. I will know more when it's apart a bit. Thanks for the input.

99 OBW 2.5 DOHC about 190,000 miles, had the motor out 5 years & 50,000 miles ago and did all seals, idlers, belts etc. It’s been as dry as these motors ever are, uses no oil and PVC is relatively new and clean. It developed a very fast leak from driver side timing belt cover yesterday, just driving around town. Lost 2 quarts of oil in 20 to 30 miles. I can’t quite get the belt cover back enough to see for certain, but it has to have completely ejected a cam seal unless it’s something completely wild. The belt is still dry, but I will be replacing the belt and probably both camshaft seals on that side. If I open it up and there’s no obvious problems, should I do something extra to retain the replacement seal in place. As it’s only 50,000 miles since I did everything, would you replace anything other than the belt and the affected seal?

It's an elaborate thing, and very heavy duty. The price isn't cheap, but it didn't suprise me either. I just called the dealer and that's what they offered. I bought a similar piece for my ford focus in the past, it had all the same functions but was made near 100 percent out of plastic and it was near $100, so I expected this piece to be about $200. I have since recieved the piece, part number is 60320AC001, and included both the operating links and the complete assembly. Cheapest online price I saw was 180, with (probably) no tax, but shipping fee, At the dealer it was 192 with tax no shipping, but had the car back on the road in 2 days, can go on to the next problem now.

I was able to get it apart without any cutting or prying after all! I know at one in the morning it was getting to me, especially when I put my shop manual disc into my new computer and windows 7 insisted on formatting the disc instead of reading the files!! That was actually when I grabbed the pry bar, but today I was able to look at my backup service manual at work, and I saw the lower bar was bolted to the bottom of the opening as gbhrps has since said. The bolt heads were way back under some trim, but I was able to get them out pretty easy but slow with a 12 mm gearwrench slid back into the slot. I don't think you would ever get them out with any other tool. The bolt heads were close to 2" back from the edge of the opening, but I was happy to have a solution. I also had to strip the interior bare and pull the hinged lid over the spare off it's hinges and lay on the spare tire to do do the job, I just needed the extra 1/2" or so of extra low reach to get back into the slot. The bolts were a bit tight, but moved pretty easy once going. It appeared to be better to shift side to side, I did each bolt in about three steps this way, They were about 1/2" long and as I gained ground I could lift the lid slightly which gave a bit more access space. Once they were out the hatch opened right up, and the first lucky break, The lower bar was small enough to pass through the opening in the bottom of the hatch. This made it a bench job to get the two lock halves apart. Even having it out with good light and access, it took about half an hour to get the two pieces dislodged. I never found any problem with it. As I said, the pieces were clean and lubricated. Some little piece broken off inside I suspect. The latch housing is built up inside of a small steel cup of sorts. It's real tough and prying did not work. I ground off the rivet heads, but it would not spread apart. What worked was to crack away the little bits of plastic inside the latch where I could get to it. That seemed to loosen up enough I could get the crescent shaped lock rotor to spin and release the bar. The bar will be reuseable, The latch was not going to be reused even if it did come apart without too much fuss. By the way, the new latch when equipped with electric lock solenoid is $190. Also, thanks for the repair suggestions, this was an odd one and I needed the help.

I have a 99 outback wagon with trunk latch stuck. It's not the little spring having come off, it's not rust on the linkage, it's not electrical, both the external link arms are free and move normally. I've had all those things happen multiple times over the years, and I have always been able to get it open. I am familiar with all the parts that are there and how they work. I now have the interior access panel removed. This is a high mile car with very heavy hatch useage.Every piece of the latch and linkage is clean, lightly lubricated, just very normal in appearance. You cannot move the external lever. I unhooked it and it the lever now moves free. I can move the lock lever on the latch and see the external parts move OK. At some point deep in the mechanism, The latch is jammed, There is a little tab which actuates that internal linkage. I can put pretty hard pressure on it with a screwdriver tip, but it does not disengage. I have unbolted the three bolts that hold the latch assembly to the hatch, but the latch is solidly stuck to the bar below holding the latch shut. I thought I might be able to move it side to side or get a bit of a twist, but no help. I have gotten to the point where I had a very large pry bar under it while trying to pressure the linkage tab with a screwdriver. This also did nothing. I think it's going to be drilled or cut out as a last resort. Has anybody actually had to do this, and what worked?

Plugs and wires may be a good place to start, They were done about 45,000 miles ago with genuine subaru parts. The EGR moves when you blip it and the EGR ports were checked clear in the last year. The temp gauge comes up pretty quick and heater works well, but the water temp sensor for the computer could still be bad? Appreciate the insight.

I have a 99 OBW, 2.5 auto. It has 187,000 and starts good and runs normal. I’ve been getting 12 MPG or less in all around town driving. It used to get more like 17 MPG around town. This has been going on for awhile, not just a new thing with cold outside temperatures. From reading, this could be lots of things, including mass air sensor, air or water temperature sensors, or bad injectors among other things. Is there any preferred order to check into these things? Does anybody have any good troubleshooting methods?.

It seems to be speed dependant but not load dependant. I don't notice any change in tone when turning corners like i would expect with a wheel bearing.

I have a 99 OBW, 2.5 auto, about 187,000 miles. It has had a very noticeable whine while driving for some time, sounds exactly like tires with a pattern worn into them, present at all speeds and gets a bit louder at higher speeds. I just replaced all four tires and both front axles with new and the whine is still there. Lube levels are OK, but fluids have not been changed for awhile. Is this something with the rear driveshaft, it’s hard to pinpoint where the sound is coming from.

I've seen threads on other forums where a piece of 1/4" tube bent into a u shape was used to connect the two hoses that normally connect to the shut valve. The auto shutoff feature may not work correctly, but it did make the check engine light go off.

I bought a kit off ebay a while back for my 99 OBW, and it had everything, if you look there now, they still are offered, advantage is there's a good picture of it all shown. The parts included were: 42066AC150 Filler tube, 047105166 Mounting Screws (three), 42056AA011 Filler ring, 42060GA081 Rubber seal, 42084FA100 Valve assembly, and 023705000 Nuts (two). You need the valve assembly and the two nuts, but the other parts above and beyond the tube you already bought are not expensive and will make it go easier. The valve is called a shut valve on my documentation, but we often refer to it as a rollover valve here. I can tell you what the valve does. It's nothing but a bent piece of pipe in it's normal mode. It's a square box with two 1/4" metal tubes pointing down and there is a push button on the side that engages the hole in the filler neck. When you put a fuel nozzle in the filler, a metal paddle inside the filler pipe pushes against the button and this blocks flow between the two tube connections. There is no one way check valve function, the two connections flow freely in either direction except when fueling. When the button is pushed in, there is no flow path in either direction. Every picture I've seen of this arrangement always has the two hoses crossing between the car connections and the valve. I would preserve that arrangement, some people have had problems that were fixed by swapping the two hoses. There is no flow path between the two tube connections and the filler neck flange where the button connects. The button shaft is sealed to the valve body and the valve seals to the filler neck by means of a round bushing that engages the hole in the tube. There is no flat gasket at the joint.

i have a 99 outback wagon which looks like 96 up, and is mechanically very similar to 00 to 04. Many 96 to 99 in this area are starting to rust in the rear quarters behind the rear wheels. other than a little around the license plate holder, the one's in this area see pretty clean otherwise. The secret to the rear quarter panels is they rust a small hole on the inside of the fender all the way up, just outboard of the strut mounts. This allows dirt and water to enter the fender and then the external rusting starts. I welded tiny little patch panels on the inside of my rear fenders a year ago, (they were soft in those two spots, but still intact). So far so good all the way around.

I'll finish up this old thread I started. I spent some time and tried some of the recommended things and nothing obvious turned up. I ended up putting on a new front catalytic converter and that fixed it. I got a walker brand off amazon.com of all places, cheaper than rock auto for their standard brand. The old one looked fine and didn't rattle even when it was off the car, thanks for the replies up to this point.

It sounds like a pretty small leak so far. I will not use stop leak on a car normally for fear of blocking up the heater core, but when the heater core is the problem, I figure there's nothing to lose. I have had two heater core leaks seal up using B&G brand sealer which is just fine sawdust of all things. No bad side effects with it either. That is what I would try

I would inspect the fuel filler pipe first, there's been a rash of them going on the 96 to 99 wagons here lately, Sedans are not that different I would think. If you search on the P0440 code here, you will find more issues with the fuel pipe than the solenoids or the vapor canister itself. There is a plastic guard over the pipe that holds a big pile of fine dirt against the pipe and they rust out frequently. Some 98's and all 99 and newer have the shut valve mounted on the filler pipe and they also rust away. Most posts call the shut valve a rollover valve, so you can search on those names also. To really inspect the pipe, you need to jack the car a bit and remove the right rear wheel. The plastic guard prevents a good inspection and is held on by three 10MM bolts. My top one broke off due to rust, but the bottom two came out ok. I shortened my guard a bit to keep dirt from packing in place again and the two bolts were then adequate to reinstall it.

I got one for my 99 at advanced auto and had the same question come up. They had the no sensor version in stock and that was correct for my car. Quality seemed OK and it went right in.

On my 99 there have been a couple times where the spring that returns the outside handle to the normal position came off. The effect is the hatch gets locked and the electric release cannot open it. If the outside release seems stuck in the rear most position, you can return it to normal it by putting the key in the cylinder and working the key back and forth until the outside handle can be manually moved to the normal position (downward or forward depending on how you look at it). The handle will then work but will have to be moved back manually, but the hatch will be open to work on it then. If this is it, the spring is probably present and just flew off it's hooks.

I can tell you what the filler tube valve does. It's nothing but a bent piece of pipe in it's normal mode. It's a square box with two 1/4" metal tubes pointing down and there is a push button on the side that engages the hole in the filler neck. When you put a fuel nozzle in the filler, a metal paddle inside the filler pipe pushes against the button and this blocks flow between the two tube connections. There is no one way check valve function, the two connections flow freely in either direction except when fueling. When the button is in, there is no flow path in either direction. Every picture I've seen of this arrangement always has the two hoses crossing between the car connections and the valve. I would preserve that arrangement, but do not think you can hook the valve up backwards now that I see how it works. There is no flow path between the two tube connections and the filler neck flange where the button connects. The button shaft is sealed to the valve body and the valve seals to the filler neck by means of a round bushing that engages the hole in the tube. There is no flat gasket at the joint. The normal vent tube that comes out of the filler neck itself is 5/16" for the record. We have been calling this a rollover valve on and off, but that's on a bracket down in front of the tank I think. The filler neck valve is called a shut valve on my documentation. My car is a 99 Legacy Outback, but it appears the same part has been used for nearly a decade. I have a check engine light for in leakage but do not have any problems with adding fuel to the tank.

I found guidance from this and other threads and have made welded repairs to the inside of the fenders. (Thanks 91Loyale!) I paid a welder $50 a side, and well worth it in my mind. If you reach up inside the wheel opening with your fingers pointing out, the fenders liners rust through all the way up. On my 99 OBW, it was about to go, and I actually could feel my fingers push through the metal it was so close. It ended up being an opening about 1/2" top to bottom and about 4" wide up by the top of the struts but on the outer side. This would allow water and dirt to enter the fender where it would be trapped. I suspect this is the true cause of the quarter panels rusting through behind the wheel opening, which is just starting to be common on 95 to 99 models here in pennsylvania. My car had not started to rust out visually yet, I'm hoping this will prevent it from happening for a while at least.

No rattling, but I will jack it up and bang on the cats. The head gaskets were done last year and the cylinder bores looked fine, can try a compression test in the future.