montana tom

Hi terry; here is the name & number of the japanese importer that I use , it's in coeur d' alene Idaho. 800-552-1595. I have installed over 2 dozen of these (not all subi) had one motor self destruct and they replaced it instantly no questions asked. Give them a call I think they have outlets everywhere. They are called "Foreign Engines" japanese specialists . They do ship anywhere. A wrecked low mile car is always a good choice if you can find one. Keep looking one will turn up!

Wow, an 012 dropping a valve ! Other than my EA 71 race engine, I have never seen a subi drop a valve (i'm sure it has happened , just not much) Break a belt and bend them happens all the time ,BUT this is a big time factory screwup ! After its been fixed you should be fine. Maybe this was a monday morning hangover induced engine build .

Hey michael; I never used timesert, always helicoil, but i'm old school, you know, can't teach an old dog a new trick ... unless he wants (HAS ) to ! The coolant trick could help the next guy that isn't familiar. Good Luck

If its rusted thru then have it replaced , if the metal is sound then have somebody remove it and either braze or wire feed weld it. JB weld could work in the short term but you need a better fix , if you want to trust your car. The real question would be how did a hole get in this pipe ? If its rusted is it from the inside ? like water and no antifreeze ? or from outside like road salt making its way up there ? Or did you bang it somehow ? Fix the cause and the problem won't return !

Scat; Surprised you tried this without taking the 2 motor mount nuts off ! You already have the exhaust down and out of the way . One 14mm nut on each side for the motor mounts and one 14mm bolt & nut on the pitch stopper. raise it up and you will have a much easier time of it. Like 1982 said let the bolts ride in the head as you remove or replace makes life a little easier !

30K on a 2008 wow low milage. One thing to check would be the support link on the top of the motor , could have come loose, could have a bad bushing (but i haven't seen that ) Such low miles for anything to go bad. This could be a tough one to diagnose remotely. Kinda need to jack it up and crawl around while the noise is happening. One thing ,have your front axles been changed ? possibly with aftermarket parts ? I have always used aftermarket axles BUT ... on this forum i am reading of people with problems using them. Good Luck let us know what gets discovered.

The dealer does stock this bolt and replacing it with new is definitely the way to go! However it will still be stuck even after cutting , usually in the rubber bushings on the links. No good way i've found to remove it but twisting , heating (carefully) swearing loudly, bloody knuckles it is a piss poor set up that they changed on the 2000 up obw but not on the impreza ??? WHY !!!!!

Michael; Yes straight is important !!! lol This happens to aluminum motors. Take your time , use locktite red on your helicoil. Nicholi mentioned proper filling of the system. Here's how , After rad is installed and all the connections except the upper hose are attached and tight. Connect upper hose to engine (with clamp on ) pour your anti freeze directly into the upper hose keep going untill water is staying in the upper hose, quickly swing it over and attach to radiator. Now fill the radiator, there is an air bleeder valve on the pas side top of radiator. I don't use it ... as you get water to show up at the rad cap gently squeeze the upper hose burping the air out . Once its full put the cap on and start motor and turn on the heater inside. Once you get heat in the cab and do your test drive to check things out . Park the car let it cool off then double check your radiator level and overflow level. Your Done... A new subi mechanic is born!

Michael: Bummer ! bolt size is 10 x 1.25 Can't believe that you haven't removed the radiator, makes everything easier, and there is nothing to it. Unplug the two fans, Should be able to leave them bolted to the rad. remove the overflow tank if you haven't already, if is an automatic then disconnect the rubber lines to the tranny. Upper / lower radiator hose then 2 bolts on top should do it . I have only used helicoil before, always worked good for me , but there may be newer better stuff out there that I haven't tried yet. In hindsight maybe... 30" 1/2" drive BREAKER BAR was a little big... lol oh well ...drill it , tap it and carry on.

I have never had any luck with those bubble levels ... I just park level facing a blank wall and put them where I think they should be. The next time you drive in the fog you will know if you got them correct.

OMG ! Thank you... My 01 OBW limited has had passenger side wind noise since the day I got it . Driving my wife crazy , I never would have thought of pushing out to make that darn window seal !!! Took all of 2 minutes ! FIXED ! this forum is so cool ! Now if I could magically get the roof body seam to seal itself without pulling the headliner...

Hey Rock; 120 # on a turbo motor is not that bad... especially with 220,000 , how does it run ? Sell the ej 22 and use the $ to max out the turbo.

It happens to those hubs when they get old. I have bought several cars over the years that were stripped just like that . They were a great find ... buy them dirt cheap throw on a hub and away you go. Is it caused by a loose nut ? I don't think so, to much spline contact. I think they get old and crystalize and one day under load "POP" sound familiar?

Lol; Ok If.. fluid was added by mistake and it does happen, even to a certified mechanic or a teenager at a quick lube. You need to change that oil again very soon!! Was your radiator yucky also ? If so it needs flushing, repeatedly. If no oil in radiator ,that's a good sign. If you check your oil every time you can and it stays clean..and your car is not overheating... maybe it will be ok... Change that oil again SOON

Terry ; Are other people adding fluids to your car ? The water reservoir is near the oil fill but... 1/2 mile 3 days a week... exercise ? bicycle ? shoe leather ? lol sorry couldn't help myself. SOMEBODY ?... could have added a wrong fluid. No clear easy way to check gaskets , but as bad as yours was, if it is the gaskets you will know quickly. Be warned every time you start it, if there is coolant in the oil you WILL be damaging your bearings.

Scooner is correct on both points ! A brat with a 2.2 5 speed dual range would be more fun than almost anything ... And a EA 81 will drop in and give you a little more power. Old subi's need to be wrapped up to perform well , that means 3000 rpm and up, all the time if you want it to get out of its own way. I ran an EA 71 on a high bank dirt track and was holding my own against the 4cly ford motors that had every part / trick known to man to use and my little 1600 4wd could kick their butts on the corners, sadly on the straights they did it to me... I did get a 2.2 with a 2wd auto trans put in the car (custom intake to run a holley carb and a dist from a (get this a FORD) But alas they sold and then closed our track... So Sad , best fun I had in years but a great big black hole to pour money into also. Scooner; the 2.2 did sit in a 1980 hatchback just fine problems came with the tranny and building axles with doj,s from tranny year and cv,s from older year. Dont know about rear driveline as I only had a 2wd tranny to play with.

If you are hoping for head gaskets only, then before you even start it again drain out the milk shake oil and change the filter, add as cheap an oil as you can buy and still try not to run it any more than you have to. Make sure the mechanic uses subaru head gaskets only. I still think that if you check, somewhere nearby (Chicago?) there will be a company importing used take out Japanese engines , around here they are called (foreign engines ) Good used 30,000 mile take out motors.

If the oil looked that bad I would not drive very far either! If your lucky you haven't ruined the bearings yet but... You might have a mechanic look into the Japanese takeout engines ,or a good junk yard motor to have installed. Power steering rack dripping is nothing to worry about.

Headgaskets... fix them (or have them fixed) and carry on. If you love your car its worth it.

Hey Fish; Was the in-laws car an impreza? Was the bolt oh 6-8" long ? What year is your outback ? Is it a legacy outback .. or impreza outback ?

3' breaker is plenty, remove rubber plug on flywheel (top pas side of engine) insert large screw driver or pry bar, wedge flywheel and pop crank bolt free. Same method makes sure you get it tight when replacing. Locktite is not necessary if you get the bolt tight to begin with. Three marks to keep aligned , the crank is easy ,one cam is under tension and one is not. When installing the belt start at the crank keeping tight go around tensioner and drivers side cam , keeping tight continue around to other cam , here is where I will allow the cam to be off time (towards the fender) a small amount as it will roll towards the crank as you finaly get the belt to slip on , its not hard but its also not easy... be calm it will fit. Do not worry about the lines on the belt do not try to line them up. Once you have the belt on and all your timing marks are good then you pull the pin on your tensioner allowing it to move... now put your ballenser(pulley) on and slowly rotate the engine clockwise around two times until all three timing marks are aligned. I should mention that the passenger side cam has no real mark to align with just straight up with a case seam directly above it is all you get on that side. If after turning over the motor ANY of the timing marks are not dead on then you do it all over... (can be frustrating ) Don't get excited just take your time and you will get it right. Afterwards you will never be afraid to open up the front again because you will be an expert. Very important is getting the ballenser bolt good and tight or the pulley will come loose and do terrible things to your crankshaft and radiator. I should mention that if you have to repeat this instalation then you will have to compress your tensioner and re install the pin , do this in a vise and do it slowly little turns and it will easily compress and you can place the pin thru all three holes and then remove from vise , your ready to try again . DO NOT FORCE THE TENSIONER,

Hot wire your parking brake light,(down under the lever) or just apply the lever one click. When the parking brake light goes on the daytime running lights go off.

You don't mention antifreeze, so i'll assume that we are talking water. Rotted floorboard or a punctured but covered floorboard if it gets wet while driving , windshield seal or body seam if it happens sitting still in the rain . Running a hose works if you can expose enough to see where it enters. Sounds like a big leak so with help you should be able to track it down.

By the way, If you do change your lower hoses, when you have them all hooked up and tight..... Remove the upper radiator hose and pour your antifreeze directly into the engine ,by way of the upper hose. After you get the engine filled THEN hook the upper hose back on the radiator and pour the rest of your coolant in the radiator cap. If you don't do this you won't get enough water behind the thermostat to open and YOUR ENGINE WILL OVERHEAT !!! A sure way to need head gaskets.

climbing; Yup subi,napa, any parts house will have it all. Try changing your rad cap... they can go bad.If that doesn't help then your water pump is another possibility, one you don't want. Usually a water pump leak shows up at the crack of the timing cover but it runs everywhere. Buy a can of brake clean... spray everything that looks wet , clean and dry it, then run your motor. If your lucky you will spot the new leak without going anyplace... if your not then drive it and keep looking. Worry about your heater core later its not the problem . If you don't find & fix the leak ...sooner or later you are going to overheat the motor and you will need head gaskets.