whynot162

Thank you so much yet again... you are a bunch of life savers. I had never done that coolant test before. was kind of cool to see it leaking and finding it was not the gasket! Thanks

after 10 minutes it has dropped to about 17lbs, and no water showing any where.

I did not resurface the heads everything actually looked really good as far as I could tell. They checked flat with a flat edge. I will have to get the stuff to do a coolant pressure test. I assume that is what you are talking about. can it be done with the car cold? I cleaned the holes and lubed the threads, used new bolts, and did not have any creaking when tightening it up. compression is good, no bubbles in the overflow tank, and the exhaust does not have a sweet smell. I filled the engine coolant through the upper hose, so I was pretty sure it was full. now I am even questioning that. This is my first subaru, but I have done other head gaskets without problems. will a coolant tester form the auto parts loan program work on this car? or one from Harbor freight?

Long story short, I bought a 99 legacy wagon with a blown head gasket for my daughter. Replaced the HG and repaired the rest of the car. She drove the car for about 3 weeks, then it lost coolant, no heater and overheated. so we put coolant in it and drove it the last 20 miles home. Went to start working on it today and it is full of coolant. Also the compression checked out at 140 to 150 on all cylinders. I am going to go out and put it all back together and start it up and see what happens. I thought it was coming out of the tail pipe when I followed her home that day, but only for a little while. What could be the possible issues? I do not see any coolant under the car either. thanks Doug

so I am looking for a 1999-2004 engine from any subaru, with a 2.2. While I look, I think I will go and get the 2.5 out of the wrecked car in it. I have 2 of these cars, so I will look for an engine, and get ready to change the first one over after the first of the year, or when I have more issues. And I will look for any procedures on this. So the cheap, because I have it, and then the long term is to take both cars to a 2.2? and then the cars should be good for many more years. or decide on something newer. (love no car payments) For some reason I like the look of the 99 better than the newer ones.

I guess I am just scared of the conversion. I hear everyone say how easy it is. but the last time I did a swap that was easy, it was full of the oh, we forgot to tell you problems, and you should have got a engine from a newer than.. car... So being fairly new to these cars, I have a very limited knowledge of what is compatible.. So I think right now, I am better off pulling the engine (2.5) from the wrecked car, moving the timing kit and water pump over to it, and put it in the car without doing much else and seeing if I can get by with that for now. And learn about the swap and what I need so I can do that next, finding all of the things I need so it will work, and I will know what I am getting into.. Neither of the cars are worth a $2500 repair, they are 1999 cars. But it sounds like just doing this again, even with resurfacing the heads will lead to quick failure? I have never heard of filling the pits in the fire ring with filler, nor would I know how to do it. I did not see any pits in the block near the cylinders, but that does not mean that I know what I was looking for. I can swap these and figure out how to fix the one I take out, or prep to go to the 2.2. but I think the car could use more power even with the 2.5.

I did use new bolts and tapped all the threads. I lubed the bolts as well on assembly.I did not go into the pistons etc. Do I guess it is all about not having the heads machined. Now just have to decide what option is the best to get this back on the road, as a reliable daily driver.I did follow the torque sequence on removal as well as install If it has been overheated to the point of warping the heads, will machining them fix them? or are they toast, and need to be replaced? that would mean putting in the other engine. which I am leaning to. But they both have just over 200K on them. .

after putting coolant into the car again, It is also pushing it slowly into the overflow tank. I do not know if the car was overheated before I got it. I assume now that it was, and now I know it has been. Today. Can I pull the engine and transmission together? is there a way to do that and just swap both from one car to another? Is there any test to do to the engine in the wrecked car to be sure it is ok? The pully on one of the cams is broken off, But I think I may have broken that prying the front of the car away from the engine. It has not ran since the wreck

So I got a 99 outback wagon, it had bad head gaskets, blowing water out of the radiator. so I got the car, pulled the engine, did the head gaskets and timing belt set etc. I did not take the heads in, I checked them with a machine straight edge, and feeler gauge. Assembled and it ran for 4 months. Now it is blowing water out of the exhaust so what do I do now? I do have a car with the front crashed, that I hope the engine is good in it. I can either pull and try and fix this engine again, what did I miss? I can just transplant the engine from the wrecked car, I can pull from the wrecked car and do the headgaskets and move the timing set to the other engine, But what did I miss on the 1st time I did this, and will I make the same mistake again? I used felpro gaskets I would prefer not to change to a 2.2 engine. This car is being driven by my daughter who just graduated college. Thanks Doug

ok, thanks. I will try again...

The latch pops on it's own. I put just the part off of the hood in there, and it popped it right out. But not with it on the hood. Maybe alignment? i have not pulled it off of the car like in the link. I will do that. And maybe see if I can get some advice when i pick it up from the frame shop

I can not get the grill into the car, do I have to remove the headlights to get it in between them, or is something else wrong? Simple question I thought I would ask before removing them for nothing.

I have greased it and adjusted it as much as I can with no success. Guess I will have to pull up on it as well. Took the car in for an alignment today and the subframe is bent. sent it to a frame shop. to see what the damage is....

When you pull on the hood release, what makes the hood pop up. If I pull the release, then hold it, I can pull up on the hood, undo the safety catch and open the hood. but I can not get open by myself, because it does not pop up when released. Thanks 99 outback wagon

ok, thanks. I lined up the marks on the belt and it matched the pulleys when they were lined up on the timing marks. so all is well and I will continue on and maybe get this back together next week. Thanks

So I have replaced the head gaskets, and put a new timing kit on the car. I followed the directions and the lines on the new belt. Turned it some and back like it said. all seemed well. I then rotated the belt all of the way around 2X to see if there were any issues. None I could tell. but the timing marks on the belt no longer line up. That looks like it would be normal? in all the info I can find, noe one mentions this. Just checking before going forward. Thanks This is a 99 outback wagon, 2.5L

Thanks, strange that they would be so much the same, yet so different. year to year.

here is a photo of the issue. I got another set, and it was the same. So I used the one i needed. but thy are they different? is that normal and my car has had one side changed, or is there a problem with the gasket set? I ask, because I have to do this again on another car as it is starting to leak a little. Thanks

it is felpro. The covers from memory were the same the gaskets are not. I put the otherside together last week, now trying to figure out how to get the correct gasket and get this finished.

I am changing the head gaskets on my car. I am to the valve cover gaskets. The first one went on no issues, the 2nd, drivers side, does not seem to be shaped correctly. The gasket has one corner that is not squared but the cover is, if that makes sense. Thanks It is a 99 with a ej25. So what gives. someone put a different valve cover on it? or is the kit wrong.

Thanks, I think i will go with the 80 reese bars that say they will clamp to the original rack rails. you have convinced me to do it right. and not just rig it together.

I have some old 1" galvanized pipe. can I just lay it on the side rails and zip tie it to the factory rails? and make sure the tie down goes around both of them Found one at the jy ut needed keys to get it off, so I could not get it. is there an easy way to remove the key lock?

the canoe is too wide. If I put it all of the way to the right roof rack rail, it sits on the roof, with the left rail just inside the canoe. I hauled the canoe home upright, just like it would be in the water and it did ok. but I can not transport it that way normally. The used rack.. would that fasten to the factory, or completely replace it? not sure what to look for when I go to the yard

I bought a canoe, It is too wide for the factory roof rack. How is the easiest way to extend the rack, something that will hold up on the freeway. it is a 16.6 foot Coleman canoe. I will buy something if that is the best, I was thinking of just tying pipe to the existing rails and having the straps go around both the extra pipe and the factory rail. Sorry if this is not the correct place for this. Thanks

Thanks, it is a legacy outback wagon. So it sounds like I am limited to 96-99 with the 2.5. I will start looking and see what I can find