SuBrat84

take it apart.. clean it again? put it all back together.. make sure you tighten all the hose clamps and the lines are all secure...

"Mechanics" generally wont do anything other than "stock" work. When my 98 Legacy threw a rod (under warranty) I was asking the Dealer about swapping the transmission out for a 5-speed while they were in there and they said, and I quote, "That is impossible. We cannot do something like that."

I had heard lots of good reviews of CCR here on the board before I ever dealt with them. That is why I chose to deal with them, twice. Both times I had bad experiences with them. I have been to their shop and met several of their employees and the owner. They are very nice, friendly people. I just think they need to be doing a better job and have higher quality standards. It is very unfortunate that both the engines I bought from them were EJ25 phase I and both had issues. I know it's the worst engine Subaru ever built.. that's not an excuse though. For that kind of money it should be right, the first time. I really wish that my dealings with them had went smoothly. It caused us both a lot of stress and I really would have liked to have had them as an option to do business with in the future. Best of luck to anyone in their dealings with them. I, for one, would like to hear some good (recent) reviews about them!

Well, you know opinions are like a holes. Everyone has one.. and more often than not they stink. I agree, to a point, that the OIL you use doesn't matter THAT much if you are changing it every 3,000 miles like you should. I have SEEN from personnel experience that Pennzoil makes sludge. In EVERY CASE it makes sludge. Castrol / Valvoline / Mobil 1 stays the cleanest between oil changes IN EVERY CASE. I totally disagree that the filter doesn't matter. There is such a wide range in the production quality of the filter housing and filtration media. I have seen the media in Fram/Service Champ/Cheap filters collapse thus not allowing the oil to flow/filter properly under the required pressure after only a couple of thousand miles. I have seen service champ filters that were put together so poorly that when they heated up they ruptured from the pressure and DESTROYED the engine because the ignorant driver just kept on driving. I have seen filters cut in half to see the guts of them. A good quality filter is a MUST. If you drive less than 1000 miles between oil changes, use whatever junk you want. If you want drive 3-5k miles between oil changes and you want your car to last and act like new after 100,000 miles.. use quality products and keep up on your maintenance.

I, for one, will never buy another engine from CCR. Yes, they back up their warranty. Yes, they pay for the labor (up to ~$55/hr or so.) I think they do a crap job rebuilding engines. I think they get engines out of junk yards and "refurbish" them. The first engine I got from them was for a customer of mine And it had the wrong crank and cam pulleys on it.. So, I had to swap out the pulleys and re-time the engine (At their cost, thankfully.) The second (and last) engine I got from them was for my '97 outback. I installed it and it was knocking REALLY bad. They came and got my car so they could fix the problem in their shop. Against my opinion of flat towing an automatic they assured me it is not a problem if you remove the rear drive shaft and they proceeded to flat-tow my car several hundred miles to their shop to "fix" the engine. (Apparently one of their techs put the wrong bearings in it?) They then flat-tow it several hundred miles back to me.. at which point they said "You also have a bad transmission, we had to push the car out of our shop." - "And why didn't you call me and tell me this before my car left your shop?" Needless to say, they sent me a junk yard transmission. I wasn't there to install it so a local shop did it. It also did not work. They sent me another junk yard transmission. I was there to install it and did. It also did not work. I got fed up and put the car on a car hauler trailer and towed it 1,000 miles 'home' to Tucson where I had the Tucson Stealership install a remanufactured transmission which CCR did pay for half of, even though it was 100% their fault and I already gave them several chances to make it right before going to the dealer. (This curse of a car took 3 SOA transmissions to get it right!) At this point I've lost my faith in Subaru all together. So, I put about 500 miles on it, now that it's FINALLY "fixed." Then, it starts overheating. By this time CCR isn't taking or returning calls from my number. So, I have to call them from friends/families phones. They tell me I have to have a shop, that they choose, diagnose the car before they will do anything. They choose a MUSCLE CAR shop here in Tucson because it had good reviews online. Yup, bad head gasket. They send new gaskets and pay the shop to rebuild their (2nd) rebuild. The shop puts on the wrong plugs (copper,) plug wires, oil filter (fram,) and thermostat. (Wrong being not Genuine Subaru.) This shop didn't even hook up the PCV system to the back of the air box and told me "It's okay.. that stuff can vent to the atmosphere." Also, they adjusted the throttle cable tight so it was idling at ~1500rpm. After fixing their mistakes the car SEEMS to be doing OKAY for now (right around 20k now.) I still can't figure out why the engine has a very high pitched whistle above 3700rpms.. (No, it's NOT the exhaust. I can hear it with the header pipes OFF.) Really, I've given up.. I will drive this car until I can afford to trade it in.. or until it breaks and I will burn it to the ground. I think for ~$3,000 they should actually rebuild the engine and replace any parts that can wear out with the CORRECT NEW parts. I do wish everyone the best of luck in their dealings with CCR. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THEM. The ONLY good thing about them is they do honor their warranty. I think buying an engine from them actually cost them money! For the $5,000 I have in to this engine/transmission I sure wish I would have bought a newer/better car. You can get a way better Subaru for $7,000 than a 97 outback. I try to stay positive about it... it's hard.

Carquest premium oil filters are very well built. They use WIX for their oil/air filters. They are just labeled for carquest. They even have an anti back flow valve so the oil doesn't drain out of the filter while the car sits.. (usually not a problem on most subarus where the oil filter is vertical. Nice on the ones where the filter is horizontal.) Carquest will usually have two options for most of their filters.. "red" and "premium." Red is usually a couple of dollars cheaper... still better than most.. but premium is the better. Fram is junk. "Service Champ" (a lot of oil change places use them cuz they are super cheap) is junk. Anything with the name "Pennzoil" on it is junk. I don't have any experience with Purolator.. but, they are supposed to be good. (I worked in a Texaco Express Lube for almost a year.. I Saw about 150 cars a week.. This information is my "professional" opinion.) I always go with the Genuine Subaru parts now. Honestly, it seems like any time anything "after market" goes on one of my Subarus it gets ***************y about it. Subarus have too much personality.

I can tell from the video that is oil being burned. Is that noise just something vibration? Bad cat? Does it even have a cat? Cats will hide oil getting burned for quite a while until they 1. fail or 2. build up so much oil it's burning off the cat now too. But, the way it really started pouring out when you revved it says to me it's not build-up in the cat (if there is even one.) I have seen cars smoke like that from intake manifold cleaners.. but it wasn't that bluish like yours. Have you checked the PCV system? I was always told when cars burn oil like that it's bad rings... But, I don't know with Subarus. Sorry I can't help more than that. Keep us posted to what you find out.

Seriously? Weird.. memory dislexia i guess.

Looking from front of car: ----Firewall----- Air 3|4 Washer Fluid Box 1|2 Battery ----Radiator---- (Fixed, my bad.)

All four of my plug wires did that. 3 of them I was able to get out with a 13mm deep socket and a 4" extension. It was not easy. The #2 one would not come out with the socket.. I was able to grab it with a needle nose pliers... Good luck. Edit: A "Small" pair of needle nose pliers might be your best bet.. I didn't have a small pair and was just working with what I had.

Make / Model / Etc? I'm used to seeing 4 there.. usually black/green/red/green ... But, I do believe I have seen a couple with just three. It seems like there isn't even another spade there to put a link in? Is there a loose wire floating around down there?

Plugs, Wires, Fuel Filter, PCV Valve.. car ran great for about 35 miles.. problem came back.. car died. Car wouldn't start at all. Couldn't hear the fuel pump.. pulled it out.. put power to it.. it turns.. put it back.. car drove home 5 miles just fine.. Think it's a fuel delivery issue at this point.. Bad/clogged impeller in the pump.. something electrical? Maybe something to do with the fuel level sensors? Does your gas gauge work? Mine is erratic but mostly doesn't.

test your fusible links?

That's not the female plug on the bottom right corner of your white circle??

Grab a bar soap.. hold it on the belts while the engine is running to get some of the dry soap on the belts.. if the problem goes away you need new belts..

Can you test your fuel pressure? I was having a similar problem in an ER27 and it ended up being the fuel pick-up in the tank was clogged up with rusty bits... It would rev GREAT in neutral but any time I tried to drive it, it would dog out real bad.

Is there a vacuum line or electrical line hooked up to it? or both? It kind of looks like a vacuum diaphragm to me... Have you checked the condition of your serpentine belts? Tension? Cracking in the ribs? What's the mileage on your car? Have you had your timing belt / tensioners / pulleys / water pump done lately?

I had a similar problem with my XT6. I pulled the tank and drained it.. took it down to the local you spray it car wash and washed it out real good from every angle i could stick the nozzle in it.. Dumped it out as best I could.. let it dry out in the Arizona heat and let it roll. Haven't had a problem since.

Larry - I may take you up on that. New development: The problem came back. It died. It would not start. Codes for misfire 1&3. I could not hear the fuel pump turning. I took the pump out of the tank and turned it on. I could hear it turning. But, it sounded weak. I put it back in. Primed the fuel. It started first try and drove home ~5 miles with the AC on with no problems except it seemed to lack a little power (Maybe because I erased the codes?) Yes, I tried priming the fuel several times before I pulled the pump.. I couldn't get the fuel system to depressurize either.. it had a LOT of pressure when I pulled the line off the pump.. even after cranking the car for a minute with the pump unplugged. Maybe the injectors were stuck shut and depressurizing the system allowed them to open back up? Is it possible that A dying fuel pump would cause 1&3 misfire.. and be dying for the last 20k miles? Maybe it just had something clogged in the impeller? Fuel Pressure Regulator? Fuel Relay? FML? Thoughts, Suggestions, Tip, Tricks, Has anything like this happened to you? I'm at such a loss here... If I won the powerball tomorrow I guarantee I would set this car on fire after pumping it full of ammo from assault rifles.

thanks

Genuine Subaru - Plugs, Wires, Fuel Filter, "Air Control" (PCV) Valve - Installed. Car started - with the AC On - Seems fine. Drove about 20-30 miles today without a problem. I still want to re-torque the knock sensor as soon as I can find out what the torque value is. Peanut Butter Jelly Time! :banana::banana::banana:

need the torque value for the knock sensor. 97 OBW 2.5 DOHC. Thanks.

The Xt6 front end is more like the 1st gen legacy's and impreza's while the rear end is more like the ea82's. Speaking from a suspension point of view. My XT6 has rear struts from an ea82 wagon and front struts from a gen1 impreza (with a little bit of widening the strut to knuckle mount.)

Mine (89) is 32mm in the front.. and it LOOKS like 36mm in the back.. but I can't put the socket on there because the retainer pins are in the way and I didn't feel like taking them out.

Yeah, whenever I have my coolant system empty I get the garden hose on low pressure and just make sure everything looks like it is flowing well.. sometimes I get some funk out of some of the older vehicles! It's not a great "flow test" for the radiator.. but it's still good to know the coolant CAN move through there.