sublute

Yes, I am. The t-belt only had 40k on it , but I'm still replacing it.... 600 grit is pretty fine??? and I hope the WD-40 keeps any grit in suspension. I also will vacuum and use compressed air for final clean-out. Sound good? I just realized tonight I forgot to order the t-belt, so I'll call 1stSubaru tomorrow and have them add the t-belt to the idler shipment. I hope to put the heads on tomorrow if I feel comfortable with the surfaces ( see previous questions). thanks,

Hello, Ok, I'm letting the oil pump alone. I got the parts in the mail to continue, but they sent me the wrong T-belt idler. They sent the tensioner. I guess I'll just use the new one they sent as the old one is a little noisy, too. Better safe than sorry(+$70)? Next question- I have been cleaning the engine block surfaces to receive the heads/gaskets. The heads have been machined. The surfaces of the engine block has some patterns from the old gaskets and most of it comes off with 600 grit W/D lubed with WD40, but the pattern is still visible faintly and there are surface imperfections that seem origional to the surface. How clean is OK? And what imperfections are permissable? I'm concerned that if I get them sparkling, they will be not be flat. I can post photo's thanks

I don't know if anybody is still paying attention to this thread, but I'll ask my next question anyway and see... The backing plate on the oil pump is on solidly. I can't budge the screws and assume that they were thread locked. Is there any reason to take this plate off? I will be getting the parts in the mail tomorrow so I'll be starting to assemble the engine tomorrow. I have the "official" manual which includes all the torque specs for the parts.

After I took the gasket off the head, I could see the slight carbon tracing from the cylinder to the coolant passage on cylinder #1. I put my ground straight edge on it and it looked pretty good. I'll see what the machinist has to say. I put my order into 1stSubaruParts which came to $400!!! I decided to replace the lower idlers which were noisy, so I guess that really tipped the scale... I guess it's not bad since I had the car given to me. They did say I didn't need the O-rings for the cross over pipe.

1stSubaruParts told me that I needed the O-rings for the coolant crossover pipe. Is this just a prudent change while it is easily accessible? I'm going to replace the lower t-belt idler and the geared one, too. Yikes, they are expensive! I guess they are a pain to replace the bearings...? I remember this question being thrown about for the EA82.

I would like your opinions. From my reading about head gaskets and seeing some photos on this board, it looks like the leak was on cyl 1?? Let me know what you think. thanks

Yup, it took ~3+ ft' pipe on my 1/2" rachet handle to get the head bolts off... I've gotta read the different threads about the next steps...

Hello, Well, I "rented" (buy it then take it back and they refund) a 1/2" torque wrench from AutoZone, but they didn't have a 1/2" drive 14mm 12 pt. socket. Sears has it, so I'm off for a field trip with my daughter. I want to get the heads off tonight so I can take it them to the machine shop tomorrow. There is a great little program called Convert for PC that is very good. It converts torque. It was freeware, but the version I have is 7? years old. Does all I need....

Hello, Last night I got the cams and lifters out. They are all labeled with a sharpie. I only have a 3/8" drive 12 pt. socket and the head bolts need a little more umph to undo them. I was on my way to breaking the ratchet handle... I'll get a 1/2" drive 12 pt. socket today. I only have a 3/8" drive clicking torque wrench. I assume I will need a 1/2" drive torque wrench to install the heads? I have the thread on proper sequence for torquing the head bolts. Tomorrow it will be off to the machine shop for the heads and later this afternoon I'll figure the total damage for parts...

OK, I've got it. The hash on the reluctor aligns with the hash on the sensor case and then the double hash marks on the camshaft sprockets align... I got confused with all the marks. It has nothing to do with the arrow on the front of the crankshaft sprocket. Duh...

I aligned the crankshaft sprocket arrow to this hashmark and this corresponds also to the 0 mark on the timing belt cover (back) and crankshaft pulley. I checked this after I took the pulley and back cover off. In other words, the arrow on the sprocket aligned with the hash mark on the reluctor casing.

Hello, Ok, with the #1 @ TDC (I checked it with a compression guage as I rotated the crankshaft) the arrows on all the camshaft gears all point 12 o'clock and the crank shaft gear marking is properly indexed with the mark on the case. The single mark and the double hash marks do not line up as my Haynes manual or the PDF on T-belt replacement by "the End Wrench" I will include photos of the position. The engine was running smoothly and fine before this work, except it had overheated and been diagnosed with a bad HG.... The T-belt had be replaced 40K miles ago. Again, it is a 96 OBW EJ25 with hydraulic lifters. Did they use a different alignment for the cam sprockets? If the positions were wrong, would the engine have enough valve opening to operate as smoothly as it did? I'm scratching my head... I had to rotate the photos to the right to get the size right... I just made them clearer so hopefully you can see the marks other than the arrows.

Hello, Thanks for the detailed information about the TC. I think the zip ties sound like a good idea. I will revisit this post when I'm ready to install the engine. The spring clamps sound like a great idea to hold the T-belt in place! I took the T-belt off this morning and it all went smoothly. I do have a question about the idlers. There is no play in any of them, but some of the bearings have more "noise" when I hold them in my hand and give them a spin. They spin freely. One or two have been replaced in the previous T-belt replacement and I assume they are the quieter ones. Should I replace the more noisy ones? I guess it is a judgement of bearing life... Later tonight I will take the heads off. Should I have the valve seals replaced at the machine shop? Will/should they let me know if I need valve guides. Will this be part of the function of the pressure test and inspection. The engine has 165K miles on it and seems to be well taken care of. thanks,

Hello, The torque converter surface where the flex plate bolts on to the transmission to engine mating surface measurement is .25" which is less than the specs for the '99 OBW 2.5 . Can I assume that the seating was not disturbed during engine removal? Because this has hydraulic lifters (96 ej25), I don't have to mess around with shims and measuring valve clearance? I just have to clean the lifters and prime them and store them in oil then put them back in? They were quiet while engine was running before I started all this... I'm a little confused about valve to valve interference mentioned in "the End Wrench" article about changing the T-belt on an EJ25. Folks here say to just let the cam shafts do their thing when taking off the T-belt, but this article says this will mess up valves. Who is right? I just want to make sure I don't damage the valves when I take the T-belt off. Thanks again for everybodys help.

Yes, I got it out without the converter coming with it. There was just a thin plate with a backing ring where the 8? bolts to the shaft were. I was amazed at how thin the plate is! Again, I'm used to seeing a big flywheel on manual transmissions of my earlier Subarus. I should be concerned about the torque converter coming apart? I'll have to take a closer look at it. Because it didn't come off, does that mean I will have no alignment problems with putting it back together? I have to read a little more about it... What is the blue mark for? (see attached photo)

OK, I've got the engine out and on a stand. I got that drivers side lower nut with a short pipe extension on my 3/8" ratchet handle and a little grunt. Tomorrow I'll start on taking it apart. I'm going to clean it up a bit to get any oil and grit that I couldn't get with the power washer before I started. The plastic oil separator seemed to be leaking and seems to be the oil leak mentioned in service tickets. They were suspecting the rear seal. The screws were loose. I'll do the aluminum replacement. The rear seal is OK, but I should probably replace it while I have the engine out. I'm sure I will have more questions about the heads, cams and such as I dig deeper. Yes, the doj's seem to have rotational play. In other words they have play off axis to the shaft.

OK, I've got the torque converter bolts out and am stuck on the drivers side lower transmission/engine nut! It's really in a tight spot with transmission fluid hoses, steering shaft/joint, drive shaft, etc... I can get a wrench on it from above, but with no room to move and a u-joint and extension from below, but I can't seem to budge it with this. I feel the extensions torquing but the nut doesn't move... It's time for a lunch break... I'll go back for a fresh start in a little bit. I found the threads on positioning the torque converter. Thanks for the tip. I will read and be careful when I'm on the other side of this project. The drive shaft ends seem to have a bit of play. In other words the DOJ to transmission join seems to have a bit of play. In my experience with drive shafts on 79,84,92, etc Subaru's, I don't think I've seen this much play. Should I be concerned? I don't have any record of the shafts being replaced or worked on since 90k miles to the current 160k. Should I be concerned about this wearing the splined shaft on the trannie? thanks again, and again....

Hello, I'm new to automatic transmissions. You have to rotate the engine to remove the four torque converter bolts? I just printed out a PDF of the torque converter from a thread and it lists a tightening torque spec for an un-numbered nut hanging in space kinda in front of the torque converter clutch... 41 Nm's. Ahead of myself, but just thinking about putting it back together... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1445&d=1094095460 I also notice few lock washers while taking everything apart. I assume thread locking compound is needed for re-assembly. Are there any suggestions for the best type? or does it vary for application? Thanks

OK, I'm almost ready to pull the engine. I only have to remove the torque converter bolts, exhaust bolts (they are soaking with penetrating spray), engine mount bolts, and bolts to the trannie. I haven't taken the intake manifold off yet. Is it best to do this before yanking the engine? I have a bit removed from it, but not everything. The spark plug wire boots on the plug end were a pain to get off. I was thinking it might be easier to assemble all this before putting the engine back in... thanks for any suggestions, David

Hello, I'm finally starting on the 96 Legacy OBW 2.5l head gasket project. I have a few questions and will probably have more as I progress. 1. Do you really have to take the coolant plugs out to drain all the coolant from the engine block? I'm inclined to skip this? 2. Does the 1996 2.5l have hydrolic lifters? I read here that it is. I just want to double check. 3. On reading one PDF on changing the timing belt on a 2.5 DOHC engine, they use several special tools to keep the cam pulleys in position. Are they neccesary? In what sequence should I move the cam shafts to be sure not to damage valves? 4. I have the Haynes manual which OK...but not super. Is it worth down loading the "official manual" from an online source? I think it is around $19. I'm working up a parts list for 1st Subaru and also have some expert help from my daughter... thanks for any help, David

Your suggestion is well taken. Doing the work will cost more than a salvage engine, but I'll know what's going on with it in the future. I would welcome better mileage from a 2.2 engine. I swapped the engine on the Loyale, but at the time I didn't have another car to get around in and I needed to be up and running. I had repair records on the parts car and it all looked good. It still had some minor issues, but it is reliable after a year. The lifters are a little noisy until 5 min after running. I'm doing the 5W30 and MMO treatment. It has helped. I've got the engine lift, stand, a friends garage, tools... That reminds me- Question- is there a work around for the valve adjusting tool for the EJ25 or do I have to shell out for this? WOW, a 360! That beats me. I started out with a 71 FF1 station wagon in 1976. I saw the writing on the wall about small station wagons. 31 years later and the 96 OBW is a really BIG compared to that FF1... thanks to the SUV???? sublute

I am going to do the HG job on this engine although I saw a Legacy L wagon on the street today with big time body damage. Somebody opened the door and was clipped by a car... I seriously thought about knocking on a door to see if they would sell it for the engine. I still might do it tomorrow. I feel uncomfortable without a parts car to rummage from... I had 2 for the 92 Loyale 4wd sw... It's late and brain hurts from too much reading about this. Be back tomorrow. sublute

OK, I've been looking at the photo's of the heads and blocks and understand better that oil getting into the coolant is not so common. I'm hoping to find a parts list for doing this job... and a detailed procedure listing... Can you just move the AC coimpressor out of the way and keep the system charged when you remove the engine? My Haynes manual (got it today) says to remove the compressor completely. I continue to read with a hope to learn... thanks sublute

Thanks so much for all your help. I will now go through all the threads and info I can find about doing a HG job. I also have to get a Haynes or similar manual to aid in this. I just talked to a friend about the use of his garage for a few days. I have to find a good machine shop in the area. Any suggestions about places with good OEM part prices? Again, I bet I'll find some good answers in threads about changing HG's. sublute

The overheating happened in FLA and the owner had the radiator replaced. They drove back to MD with no apparent problem. ~A month later and it over heated after about a mile on the way out of town. I think the coolant must have gotten low and they didn't know it. They took it to the shop and they diagnosed oil in the coolant--HG Can this happen from overfilling the oil?