climbing4life

xdeadeye1, I'm no expert. I haven't even rebuild this my first engine yet. In my case with kinda similar problems, finally, it happened to be HG which I saw it was bad after I took the heads out. But I do regret that I didn't take the car to someone who could do compression tests and leak down tests. Look on youtube. There are videos in which people show how they make their own testers and how they check an engine for leaking. Maybe find a good subaru shop. I wasn't happy with my mechanic. Read earlier in this thread. Also, I didn't like how the previous timing belt job was done. Who ever mechanic it was, they didn't replace idlers on that job! And when I took the heads to the shop, the machinist found old gouges on the heads from an earlier HG job. It looked like that the PO already had HGs replaced at some point. But the heads were not machined, and they did an awful job of cleaning the old HG material leaving multiple gouges. Yuck! So, this is my personal experience that confirmed with a number of warning on this forum and elsewhere that many subarus don't get proper attention at many auto repair shops. Either learn it your self or find a good shop. I'm going the former route. To get to the heads, I took the motor out of the car, which was relatively easy. I myself can't imagine working on the heads inside the car. Then you need to take the intake manifold out, then the timing components. I'm so glad that that I got to the timing components, so I can fix them too. I also want to reseal oil pump, front components, and the rear separator plate. I'll also reseal the steering pump which was leaking. Good like to you in your findings! I'll try to keep a log of progress here. I'm a little bit ahead of you now, but I'm working slowly (the car isn't my daily driver). There are a lot of people on this forum who are super helpful. I hope you'll find some advice and keep enjoin driving your roo!

Thank you Fairtax! The heads are in the machine shop now. The guy took a look at the block and said that I'd rather change the rings "while in there". The block isn't perfect, there is a very small dip right in the middle on both sides, but he thinks it'll do.There is a line, so he can get to my order only some time next week. He said he would check the valves first and let me know before doing any resurfacing.

I felt something fishy when I saw a little bit of oil coming out at the bottom of the cylinders under the pistons on the engine right side while the engine on the stand. Is that from bad compression rings? The left side looks ok, clean. And the compression ring fix requires to take apart the short block ? If so, I'm not gonna do it. The seals that come with the mizumo timing kit, brown color, I believe for the front end components, they are ok, right?

In the past few days, I've been to all local boneyards and found no EJ22 available right now. I'll keep looking and eventually pull a low mileage engine, but in the meantime I'd like to give this old and compromised motor a try. Mainly to learn from working on it and get some experience. I don't have very high expectations, just want to get together a running motor. If it can last for a little while, maybe six month to a year, that'd be great. It will give me time to get a good used motor, reseal, and swap. I've got another car to drive at the moment, so no rush is ok. I'll resurface heads and get headgaskets from Subaru. I've searched and found here where forum members would like to use Subaru seals and gaskets, but for the engine that is not intended to last even a couple of years (no more than 25K miles either), do you think that MizumoAuto on eBay full gasket set and timing belt set are just fair enough? Or is their quality inferior and I should stick with Subaru/Fel-Pro/Gates stuff ? Those mizumo things could really save me a buck... While searching for a EJ22, found EJ251. Somebody took trans out and left the motor. But the screws on the rear separator plate had all broken heads. There was no way for me to pull it. Maybe next time, if it is still there, I'll bring screw extractor to deal with the screws. I think that the plate is the same part as on EJ22, isn't it? Also, can I re-use the screws from the plastic one that are on my engine? Also can't find part # for NGK spark plugs that I should use ? Thanks!

ccrinc and grossgary, thanks for your input! I have not rulled out an engine replacement. An engine hoist and an engine stand from craigslist are so far the only investment in this project. And I have had a fun time doing it all by myself! I want to do what is the best deal for me in order to keep this car. I had faith in the old engine because for the first 15 000 miles of owning this car it had been great. No single hick up. Then the weird losing coolant and overheating showed up. But is was still running very smooth and had a great gas mileage. After a while of driving on freeway, when I hit traffic or go to city driving with lots of street lights and stop signs, the temp gauge jumped up from 9 o'clock to between 11 and 12. No 10 o'clock, just straigt up. I pulled over a few times and let it cool, or other times I noticed in the stop--n-go traffic if I go to highway speed, the gauge drops down to 9 o'clock just as fast as it went up. Both fans were working. But the overflow was getting full and bubles or boils in there. That was probably how the coolant was splashed out. The radiator was replaced at 186K, so not that old. I don't know how to check if it got clogged. Picknpull yards in our area charge for an engine $220 plus tax and environmental fee. I have not yeat researched how to choose an engine out of a junk yard car. Most Legacys I've seen so far had about the same as my car 200-250 K. Maybe the low mile motors get pulled out and sold before the car goes onto the lot.

Working slowly, I have taken the motor out of the car and disassembled it. Here are the things that annoyed me so much: 1. Right lower bolt that holds the engine to the transmission had the nut missing 2. Plastic covers in front of the motor are melted 3. Manual transmission, but an anti-bump cover that keeps the timing belt snug on the the crank pulley was missing 4. Idler pulleys sound like rollerskates. I looked at the PO's bill for the last timing belt service, and it said that only timing belt and waterpump had been replaced. And the belt and the pump do look newer and cleaner than all other front components! From what I've read on the forums and seen on youtube, the right HG was certainly leaking while the left one stayed more or less ok ? I've got no machinist straight edge and can't do the measurements yet. Please take a look at the pictures of the block and heads and let me know what you think. Is the engine still worth HG replacement?

grossgary, your description is exactly what I see with my car. Here is the update: Took the car to a mechanic. He said all hoses needed to be replaced and quoted $530 for parts and labor. He said that the upper radiator hose was particularly very bad. Then I asked why all the coolant was on the driver's side. He said that he didn't find any leaks from hoses on the driver's side. According to him it was ok to change all the hoses and then see if overheating stops. I asked about headgaskets. He said he could not confirm or deny that new headgaskets needed. But he said that engine is all covered in oil, so if I wanted any further job or even a test on this car, I was gonna have to take it to carwash for engine powerwash. He suggested a place for carwash. Those guys charge $200 to wash an engine! I'm out. I'm not paying two hundred bucks to wash a Subaru engine. No way. I was really hoping that the Subaru shop could be more precise with their diagnostic. I'll be doing all by myself. Taking the engine out, cleaning it, and replacing headgaskets and other gaskets. When I get stuck, I'll ask here in a new thread. Thank you guys! You are great!

Hi guys, Thank you so much for your input! I've had no time to work on the car yet, but hopefully start doing it this coming weekend. Until then the car is parked. grossgary, just wanted to clarify: B. highway drive is fine; it's stop-n-go driving that leads to overheating. I haven't overheated the engine yet. When the gauge goes up, I'll pull over and let it cool. 1. yes, stil wet 2. yes, the radiator gets low on coolant, but I maintain the proper level by adding coolant daily. I also remove excessive coolant from the overflow container and pour it back into radiator. 3. the overflow container gets full while driving, but when it cools off, sometimes it looses the overflow, and sometimes it stays full. And I've just gotten a DMV paper to go to smog. If it is headgasket, can any one recommend a really good shop in San Francisco Bay Area ? Now I can't find out exactly why the previous owner bypassed the heater core. However, I think it's logical that for driving in the Bay Area heater isn't as important as in Midwest or the like. Maybe he just didn't want to invest into the proper repair job? I remember that he said that he overheated the car once due to a crack in the radiator. Then he replaced the radiator and had the timing belt done. I have the repair bill, it was at 186K. He said that he had had no problems with all drivetrain until he sold me the car at 202K. I had not had any issues until like 217K...

Thank you guys! Eventually, I'm gonna have to address the heater core issue. Not having heat in the cabin's been a pain in the rear, even in sunny Cal! I've looked at the hoses. The one that bypasses heater core is a special U-shaped one and looks pretty good and stays dry. Two hoses that go to the water pump, one large one, and the other smaller one were all wet and had drips of coolant on them. I'll seek for an access to pressure tester. Those two hoses looked pretty bad, although I saw no cracks in them. But if it's most likely hoses, I think I'll try to replace them with new ones anyways. What/where other hoses I should look at? (I found no other hoses that were wet.) What is a good place to source good new hoses? Subaru dealer, Napa store, Ebay ?

Yeah, I suspected the fans, too. I still don't know if they work the way they suppose to... Both fans are working. But both AC and heater are not. (The previous owner said he had disconnected the heater core.) One fan turns on quite regularly (the one that is on driver's side). When the gauge jumped up, I popped the hood and saw both fans were on. How can I check the temp switch ?

I've had problems with my EJ22 5MT Legacy for a while. It's ok on the freeway, but when I hit stop-n-go traffic, the temp gauges jumps up. I haven't overheated yet. I pulled over a few times to let it cool. But if traffic starts to move, and I go back to normal driving, then the gauge goes back to the middle. I've just done a 300-mile trip. Everything was great, there was no traffic. But when I got off the freeway on my way back, in the very last half-mile, I've got one street light and four stop signs, the gauge jumped up again just when I arrived home. Everything is wet on the driver's side, but I can't see any coolant leak. Also, the coolant is pushed into the overflow tank. When engine cools off, sometimes the coolant gets sucked back from overflow, but sometimes the tank stays almost full. I've added almost like a couple of gallons of coolant recently. Like 12 to 20 oz every morning. Does it sound familiar? I hope it's not headgasket... There's 219K on the odometer, the engine runs smooth, oil is clean and level ok.

There is a ton of information in off road section if you want bigger struts. Here is my first hand: After researching a lot, I went with 06 Forester strut assemblies for my 97 Legacy L. It was mainly because all four assemblies were in a great condition and dirt cheap from a wrecked donor car at a local boneyard. I also got trailing arm brackets from a 96-99 Outback. It's not enough for the right geometry, and I also now need top spacers for the rear, adjustable rear lateral links, and rear camber bolts. It's another $350! I like the new ride height, though! If you want possibly the best strut assemblies ever, you can get them from get-primitive.com as KYB GR-2 struts, King Springs, and Group N Top Mounts. It won't be cheap as every component is expensive.

Factory speakers rated 30W max. I'd run up to 15W clean power through them. How much power do you need anyways? I was once considering getting mid-range woofers from parts-express.com, but really wasn't sure what to get as they don't give technical details needed for choosing a quality speaker for high-end sound system. If you shop at partsconnexion.com then you'd be better off looking for components to build your own high quality crossovers. I just want to stress one more time to others who read this thread that original subaru speakers and tweeters are of decent quality, and there're other components that need attention first. Here is the plan if you don't intend to play it very loud (I personally think that 15W RMS per channel is more than enough): 1. cut off lows at 200Hz 2. use an amplified subwoofer for low frequencies 3. make sure that wiring is for true four channels. run your own wires if needed 4. build high quality first order crossovers with 5000Hz point and compensation circuits for front speakers

You can use a flashlight and look through the grilles. Factory speakers look like this. With your amplifiers you would probably benefit from new speakers. I was really surprised that the original speakers were not junk. In most cars they are, and new speakers is the easiest way to upgrade the sound even when keeping the factory head unit.

They are 6.5" in both front and rear. I have heard that not all 6.5" aftermarket models would fit. In my 97' Legacy L, I replaced rear speakers with Polk db651. They would fit the front as well. crutchfield.com is a good resource to find fitments for your car. Installation was easy. Both front and rear door panels are easy to remove. I practiced at a boneyard first, though. When removing plastic door handles, pay extra attention because a small plastic piece with a hole for the screw breaks very easily. My car stereo is Pioneer also. After installing new speakers I couldn't hear any difference. New 2-way Polk speakers look great and rich comparing to original ones. Original speakers are very generic: paper cones, small magnets, made in Mexico. I guess that 1. The original speakers were not so bad even after 17 years 2. Speakers are not the weakest link in my car stereo system. Really, I could hear any improvement in sound even when I sat in the back.

Thanks NorthCoast and monstaru! I'm just done with the lift. This is my first thing so please bare with me. I have not yet bought Godspeed adjustable trailing arms, so I finished my todays project with trailing arm brackets that I pulled off a 99 Legacy Outback. I've spent long time lying under the car and looking at the components. So I thought that monstaru, please correct me: if I was using a longer strut, then I'd need to drop the trailing arm bracket a certaing distance down to correct geometery. Ideally, I'd use a block between trailing arm bracket and body. (I didn't, so I used a bigger bracket to compensate for the longer strut.) I want to do it right (a succesfull system for Subaru)...

Hey guys, I've just signed up. I'm lifting a 1997 Legacy with 06 Forester strut assemblies. I'm just about to order adjustable trailing arms from Godspeed (first link in post #1). I can order etiher 6pcs set with lateral links or just 2 trailing arms. I can see that I do need longer trailing arms to correct geometry. Do I need the godspeed lateral links or is the stock fine? They don't list Legacys in compatible vehicle list, and I'm wondering whether lateral links help or are a waste of money for a Legacy. Thanks!