lstevens76

Tires are expensive? Someone needs to tell Discount Tire and Craigslist that. The 14" set of Toyo Eclipse w/ rims on my Subaru were basically brand new and $100 for the whOle set on CL. The set of tires on my Durango (16") were only $480 w/ replacement certificates at Discount........

Personally I wouldn't change it as I've had ABS help before, even though I don't like it. But if I were going to do it I would go pull parts off a '96 Legacy w/out ABS at the local pick-a-part and swap it that way. You may even need to change the ECU since that function is controlled through it.

That sounds like bad electrical components in the ignition switch. Basically it's recognizing the key is there, but nit recognizing your turning the key.

That's not normal for an auto. Mine doesn't hunt for gears. It can sometimes be a little slow to react when I put my foot in, but when it does it grabs tight and solid.

Ok, so I'm trying to clean my block which is driving me nuts. I don't want to put a nasty dirty block back in the car. So far I've used foamy and the normal engine degreaser + pressure washer at a car wash (maybe I didn't let it soak long enough?). with both of these I sprayed it, let it soak for 2 to 5 minutes, then hosed it down. Then repeated till all cans were empty. I've now torn the block down further and tried Purple Power and an Orange cleaner I had. Here is where I'm at. I've worked at it some with a steel scrub bad (not steel wool but I will pick some of that up). Ideas?

If I saw that I would either pick up a good short block (used) or start a lower end rebuild. lol Here's the driver's side: This also gives me an easy way to look at them. lol The lighting in my garage kind of sucks.

When doing head gaskets did you mill the block? I.E. Sand it down a little to get a good clean, flat, mating surface? Aside from that it sounds like you are prepared for whatever you end up getting into. For the era you will be looking at the Impreza and Legacy both had a wagon and both had an Outback option starting in '95. I would head over to cars101.com and read up on the various models available for the years you are interested in and get some more information on what each car has for engines, transmissions, etc... Prior to '97 you could buy a Subaru as an FWD only. This is something to remember, especially if you want an AWD version. The Subaru engines are a Flat H concept, not an inline 4. This means each subaru engine has 2 heads (even though it's a four cylinder) and it lays flat so the heads point at the side of the car, not upright or angled like an inline or v engine.

So, I had that alignment dowel that wouldn't come out and without a tap set there was no way I was getting it out. Since the new ones won't be here until Monday and Craftsman can't replace my spring compressor until the end of next week I decided to take the heads down to Import Engine Supply. Import is cleaning and milling the heads, installing my valve stem seals and cam seals. I'm supposed to have them back on Monday.

Ok, first thing to realize is a head gasket on these is not like that Cavalier. To do it right outside of a shop you will need to pull the engine, and a lot of shops will pull the engine to do HG simply because it's easier and more accessible. Do you have a place to park the car without the engine for a period of 2 weeks? If your working then the time to do a good head gasket job can take up to two weeks. Did you mill the head on the cavalier or have a machine shop mill it? Was it checked for flat with a mechanics straight edge? I'm asking because these steps are extremely important. Now, the EJ22 is not "Bullet Proof", it just better handles abuse. I know from experience as I'm doing head gaskets on an EJ22 right now. The machine shop doing the head work has seen this before, and there are various forum posts about it happening. It just isn't common. Any sub-$1,000 vehicle your going to get into problems, and I can almost guarantee it won't be just the problems you "SEE". Once you start driving it your most likely going to find more. 1.) Timing Belt, Water Pump, and Idlers - expect to have to do these. They aren't very difficult based on your experience. 2.) Struts - if it's over 170k expect to do these as well. Even when buying a good car from a dealer you could end up with bad struts because many people simply ignore it. 3.) Oil Seperator Plate probably needs resealed, maybe replaced if it's plastic (it's on the back of the engine). 4.) When you do the timing belt expect to do the front camshaft seals and oil pump seal. Other things to note are the automatic transmissions are known to fail w/ no reverse. You would want to check for severe delayed engagement, etc.... I don't know how good your hearing is, but you will also want to listen for differential noise when driving it. Many people don't even know what this noise is when they here it an ignore it. I'll give you 4 examples of "sub $1,000" cars I've purchased. First - 2001 Dodge Durango w/ a Bad Computer. The owner wrote down on the bill of sale that he guaranteed the engine and transmission to be good, but he didn't mention or even know (I asked after I got it running) that the rear pinion bearing was going bad. It also had bad shocks all the way round, bad front ball joints (all 4), and bad outer tie rod ends along with a bad rear hvac assembly. Second - 1996 Dodge Dakota business owned - turned out to have a bad connector on the coil, but also had bad shocks all the way around again, bad pitman arms, bad motor/transmission mounts, plus it still has an intermittent miss that hasn't been traced down, and the AC doesn't work (although the owner is a family member who lives up in the mountains so he doesn't care) and had bad tires. Third - 1990 Subaru Legacy - Bad TB idler bearing, driver's side window regulator/slider both bad, bad rear struts, bad power mirror switch, clutch was worn and close to needing replaced, bad front bumper cover and bad accident repair - The front clip had been replaced from another car and had been done badly. It didn't look right, nor could it made to look right, the upper radiator support (also where the hood latches) was not straight, etc... It did have good tires though. Fourth - 1996 Subaru Impreza OBS - Bad Head Gaskets, Leaking Cam Seals, Leaking Separator plate, no TB Covers, bad idlers, bad power steering pump, bad tires (and wheels were severely beat up), broken antenna, beat up body (Driver's side fender/door will have to be replaced), broken interior trim, etc... What I'm trying to say is to realize what you are getting yourself into with a Sub-$1k car. It's not going to be any walk in the park and you need to be prepared for anything and everything, regardless of how it may "sound" or "appear" to run when you look at it. And hopefully you enjoy this stuff, because if you don't I wouldn't recommend it.

It's probably tHe o-ring that is on the bottom of the reservoir

Ok, I've been into engines before and these pistons/cylinder walls look ok to me but I always like a second opinion. So, if a few people could look over these pictures and give me a second opinion I would appreciate it. And yes there are a lot of pictures, yes there's a nice carbon buildup. This is passenger side only. I'll take pictures of the drivers side later.

I used the studs/bolts holding the engine to the transmission to put mine on the same style of stand (it's sitting on it now). I didn't use/need bushings or spacers.

It depends, do you have the 2.2L or the 2.5L? The outback, IIRC, came with the 2.5L while the legacy was still available with the 2.2l.

There is absolutely no reason to root a phone to install or do anything the torque app is capable of.

Just an FYI, a strut doesn't have to leak to have failed. And that was probably $50/hr to do the rears so that's a good deal. Seems it's a 3.2hr job, but that is only if your changing the springs. I would suspect a full assembly could be done in under 2 hours, both sides.

Yeah, I did mine on my '96 recently and it was right there w/ three screws all the way to the right up behind the glove box (had to remove the glove box).

Well that alignment dowel (aka straight pin) that decided to stay in the head instead of the block just put me out until Monday. I have 4 new ones on the way, now to get all the old ones out. I also have a new T for the PCV I'm picking up (that plastic brittle POS broke) and I'm replacing the passenger side PCV hose.

Well, book time is an hour and I suspect they are $80 an hour which means they are charging $179 for the injector + tax (unless you don't have sales tax or that was extra). I hope that is an OEM replacement otherwise that is one expensive injector. Rockauto has them from $40 to $126. An OEM seems to only be around $140 from the dealer (can't confirm for you car though, but that's the average).

Always start with the obvious. The struts are bad and that can cause all kinds of noises. Creaks, pops, etc... from stuff shifting differently that is meant to. It can also damage other suspension components and put additional wear on them. It's a 12MM, 17MM, and 19MM sockets to do it yourself, IIRC. Then a spring compressor rental (most parts stores you pay then get a full refund when you return it). Rockauto.com has your rear struts KYB Excel-G for $68.00 each strut then $48.00 for each strut mount and they have FCS (haven't heard of them mysefl) completely assemblies with new springs and mounts for $127.00. Automd.com can show you the labor hours for it, but I suspect it's between 1 and 2 hours.

Holy cow, just watched that first video finally. I know everyone was saying the noise wasn't struts, but did anyone pay attention to the bounce? I would put money both those rear struts are bad and based on a later video I would suspect strut mounts as well.

Passenger side Head is off and I can see the break on Cylinder 4. It is a bit nasty from my car wash pressure wash, but you can obviously see the break on the block picture...........

Ok, NVM. Use better lighting, less dirt. lol the notches do line up. I just couldn't see the notch on the crankshaft, just the arrow.

Ok, so ready to pull the belt and realized unlike the Legacy none of these marks line up correctly. Can someone give me some advice here? Pictures were taken with the engine in the same position at all times.

A little research and reading goes a long way. This is an endwrench article that is available from links in the endwrench sticky thread. "Legacy And Impreza Engines With No Injection Pulse #1 Cylinder Built into the fuel injection control unit is logic that will shut off the #1 injector if the computer believes that it can no longer control the Idle Air Control Valve. Remember this design characteristic if you are trying to diagnose a “hard” code for the Idle Air Control Valve or a dead miss in the number one cylinder due to no injection at idle. A problem in the Idle Air Control Valve circuit may be responsible. (Component testing shows that it most likely is not the valve itself.) Also, if the computer is deprived of its “back up power supply,” some computers will generate a false code for the Idle Air Control Valve and kill the injector End Wrench 14 End Wrench The for cylinder #1. The pin location of this power supply can be found in the Control Unit Module I/0 Signal pages of the appropriate Service Manual." http://www.northursalia.com/techdocs/pdf/engine/emissions.pdf

Now that I doubt considering per Subaru it seems 2007-2010 used the same system: http://www.subaru.com.au/satellite-navigation-mapping-updates Now when I go to whereis and select "Liberty" and "2007" (forget the mcintosh or kenwood) it shows revision 21 available.