JohnCT

Update: Had the heads rebuilt and installed them on the new Subaru short block and put it together Sunday. Very little power. Struggles in fact. It even has trouble building revs in neutral. I pulled the front of the engine off to reconfirm I have the timing right, and it's on the mark. Since it had no compression in number 4, my next though was a stuffed cat from unburned fuel, so I unbolted the front pipe from the heads and the power returned. I then bolted the front pipe back and unbolted the intermediate pipe that holds the back cat, and it seems to have power. I have a new intermediate pipe coming in this afternoon, so I'll try that first. I have a bad feeling it might need both pipes/cats. A locally sourced front pipe/cat is going to cost $400, but I see there are some on ebay for less than $200. I've used aftermarket cats before with no problems but never owned a Subaru so my daughter in laws is the first in the family. Anyone use an aftermarket front pipe/converter? John

No turbo. John

I've decided not to replace the pistons.. I talked to a guy who used to work at Subaru and now does rebuilds for most independent garages in the area and knows his stuff - he told me to get a new short block, so that's what I did. $2000 for a brand new short block isn't too bad. He said I might get away with just pistons and rings if the bore wasn't damaged, but he always does a clean up hone when he does pistons. I brought the heads to the machine shop and the guy told me that there was signs of detonation and by inspecting the pits on the valve, correctly identified the cylinder that had the piston failure (although I wonder if the distress wasn't the piece of piston banging around). He told me that even though it calls for 87, use 91 octane in the 2.5L Subaru to prevent this type of ringland failure. He also said valve guides are known to walk out so he machines in a retaining clip. This engine does feature a knock sensor, and I'm going to change it. I don't know if the car had a discernible spark knock or not (I'll question my DIL more thoroughly), but I'll make sure she uses high octane gasoline. In any case, there were no lean codes in the PCM. I'll post a follow up when I get the engine together and installed. John

Less than 100K on the clock. Talking to some buddies of mine in the industry, they told me that if I buy a used engine, don't install it without doing head gaskets and timing belt/pump/tensioner regardless of how few miles are on it. If that's the case, then spending over 2K for a used engine that requires another 1K for parts and head machining doesn't make much sense, which is why I'm thinking about putting in new pistons, rings, and of course the head gaskets and timing stuff. Just wondering if anyone here has done it. John

Hi, daughter in law's 09 Legacy with the 2.5 and a sudden bad skip at 98K miles. Timing marks right on, very low compression in #4. I pulled the engine out and removed the heads expecting to find a blown gasket or sucked valve, but found #4 piston broken at the top edge at the ring bore like the ring was trying to break out. I've never repaired a Subaru engine, but did find a video on youtube (where else) that shows the pistons can be removed without touching the rods. Seems there's an access port which allows the removal of the wrist pins and pop the pistons off the rods directly. Anyone done this? I guess I should replace all four pistons and rings but is there a reason this happened? Is there an upgrade? Any tips or pitfalls to avoid when pulling the pistons out? Any help appreciated. John

Thanks guys. Trolling the Craigs now looking for something without a CVT. Regarding the manual; I love driving them. I learned on a 66 Ford Econoline three on the tree. I can drive a manual if I'm in a coma. I know this is off topic a bit, but the thing that scares new stick drivers the most is the hill start (on cars with no hill holder feature). I taught my wife and she picked up driving a stick in less than an hour. Here's what I teach: when on a hill, keep your foot on the brake and let the clutch up a bit until you feel the clutch *just* begin to grab. You can now remove your foot from the brake and the car will not roll back. Put your foot on the gas pedal, add a bit of gas and then let the clutch up to move up the hill with zero back rolling. Before they try it, I demonstrate it. I bring them to a hill and stop. I just let the clutch up until it grabs and take my foot off the brake. The new driver sees the car just hang there like an automatic and that no panic move from the brake to the gas is necessary. Yes, it takes a bit of practice as anything else does (easier with the radio and cabin fan off to hear the engine drop in rpm), but when new drivers see that the car won't roll backwards at all, they gain much more confidence and won't over-rev, over clutch, slip clutch, or stall. You do want to explain that they mustn't sit on a hill with the clutch partially engaged and no foot on the brake for more than a second or so. Back on topic, a guy I know has a 2007 Impreza auto (no CVT) that he just finished doing body work on (fatality!!) but it has a clean title and 74K miles. If it were a Legacy, I'd probably jump on it but its a bit small and light for my preference. John

We put an alternator in my son's 04, and two in my 05.. I don't know how strong I am, but I did indeed cry... If anyone here has one and needs to change one out, get a Bosch. In the 01 - 04, Bosch alternators are brand new. In the 05 and up, Bosch only offers a remanned. BUT, the Bosch is the only company that will install a brand new regulator and rectifier pack whether it needs it or not in all Ford and GM applications. Everyone else including Motorcraft only replace the electrical parts if they're bad at the time of rebuild, which means they can fail months later. If it was a half hour job, it would only be an inconvenience. In the V6 Tribute/Escape, it's an 8 hour job. John

Crap. If it was for me, I'd take the stick. I learned on a manual and can drive one in a coma. Unfortunately, my son never has. I'll relay your excellent info to him, perhaps he'd be willing to learn. Regarding the transmissions; all Subarus autos are CVT? I remember Ford had a CVT in the early 2000s that was troublesome and parts are made of unobtainium. Low mileage Ford cars and SUVs with bad CVTs are being scrapped out for no support. If he does buy a Subaru and the CVT dies, is this a reasonable thing cost wise or is it crazy expensive? Thanks for the advice!! John

Hey all. My son is looking for a late model car to replace his Mazda Tribute which just blew the engine this week. Because we're in the snowy NE, he's looking for another AWD, and several people have recommended a Subaru as a good used car. I know only two things about Subarus in general; they have had head gasket issues in the past, and they can have drivetrain failures if a new tire is mixed with older tires. I don't know if that info is now outdated or still holds true. So my question is what years (without buying new) and/or models are safe from those issues. He's just out of college and this will be his first loan. He'll need at least 5 years out of a used car. Any insight greatly appreciated. Edit: he's not particular when it comes to a sedan, wagon, or SUV... just wants something reliable. John