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Happy Labor Day! Edit: Fixed with a new Crankshaft Sprocket - see pics of damaged one below. What I'm working on this time: -2005 Outback, Automatic, base 2.5i model with EJ253, 180K - This is the MAF-based, non i-AVLS version. This is the newest Subaru I've worked on. -I bought it 2 weeks ago with a broken timing belt tensioner -the mounting bolt sheared off and very likely damaged pistons and/or valves. Shop had removed the timing covers and found the broken bolt. Owner said -'$pend no more' - and put it on CL. So, I never drove it or heard it run. -Replacement engine is a 2004 EJ251 (VIN confirmed from block stamping) - unknown miles and condition. Long-block only. - Both are EGR; '05 heads stamped Z25; '04 stamped L25. -Moved both Cam sprockets / Gears, Crank Sprocket, Intake Manifold, knock sensor, engine mounts, etc. to the EJ251 (did NOT move the cam or crank sensor - per online Subaru parts they are the same p/n). Installed a brand new T-Belt (Evergreen?? belt) - with Aisin Water Pump and GMB pulleys and tensioner (ebait Mizumo kit). Everything bolted up w/out issue. Brand new battery. New NGK plugs. Fresh oil and filter, and coolant. -The only 'surprise' to me was the newer style Crank Sprocket. I had to double-check online what alignment mark to use. But I'm 99% sure I got it and the Cams aligned correctly. I've done ~10 T-Belts on EJ-series SOHC and DOHC versions w/out a problem. - Used this for reference: - First Start: Starts up but runs really rough and smokes out exhaust. Did not hear any engine knock. I let it run about 30 seconds. Cruise light is flashing. turn if off and checking with OBD2 scanner Shows No Codes. Try it a 2nd time and same issue and no codes. - What would you Gurus check first? If I did mess up the Tbelt install, wouldn't I get a Cam, Crank or Misfire code? Thanks for any Responses!

SOLVED Body: '98 OBW Current motor: EJ251 block, EJ25D heads (rings are letting oil be consumed, and there are sounds of the beginnings of rod-knock) Newer motor: Reman EJ253/251 block, EJ25D heads. Hey folks. I bought a reman block form subaru. EJ253/251 block for a 2003 forester. Mating it with EJ25D heads to replace my current hybrid (EJ251 and EJ25D heads). Everything is just about ready to go except the PCV system. The newer block has what appears to be a threaded-in bung to accepted a threaded PCV. Being that the intake I'm using is for the heads, it already has a PCV. Has anyone put a newer block into an older system and routed the PCV system successfully? The old-style is just a pipe that comes out of the block, with the vinyl tubes coming off of it. They don't fit over the new interface. I'll try and get photos soon. Looking at pictures for the newer PCV, it doesn't look as if its outer diameter is the same inner diameter of the older crankcase hose that would be going up to the PCV on the intake. a Thoughts and advice much appreciated. Greg

I finally pulled the short block (SOA478H600R1) that I purchased a couple months ago out of the box and put onto a stand. Changed out the 7mm oil pump for a 9mm that I had (I don't think I'll need a 10mm as I'm a conservative driver, and this is just for a DD project). Looking at the pistons, they're labeled as 255 SH. Is this going to be a problem mounting with DOHC heads? When I was talking with a subaru parts tech over the phone I had specified that I wanted an EJ251 or EJ253 short block for '03-'05, and they had given me the part number. I had then talked with a different Parts Tech, and they confirmed that that part number was for what I had specified. Are the pistons the same? I thought the 255s were used with the AVL systems, and can't work with pre-AVLS. . Should I be looking for new pistons now? The current motor in my car is an EJ from a 2001 Impreza, with DOHC heads. I wanted to recreate the build as it is generally a nice and powerful (enough) motor. Also, I bought a brand new subaru water pump because I thought the stock one that came on the block was supposed to be forward facing.... What showed up is identical to the spare I bought. They are identical, right? Thanks all, Greg

Hi all, I'll most likely be purchasing a forester (2006-2008) or OBW (2005-2009) soon from an auto-auction. 5-speed much preferred. Plan is to spend about $500-$750 for something with decent interior, okay exterior, and something under 150k miles. Right now, I'm assuming that anything I get will have leaking Headgasket(s), and will have been run low on oil. Some of the auction sites have videos of the motors running, and they often have rod-knock. I need a dependable vehicle for the next 5 years, and I'm also pretty broke being in grad school. I can only afford something in the $5k-6k range, and everything I find is hyper-mileage and/or : leaking HGs, bad power steering pumps, leaking rocker covers, etc. AND people don't want less than they're asking. Just looked at an '06 Baja with 180k on it... guy said it was mint. They wanted $7k for 4 miss-matched bald tires, air-filled ps pump, leaking HG, leaking rear main, +1 quart overfilled oil, and a sticker over the check engine light that said (and I'm not joking) "Prayer helps". I don't want to be doing a lot of time-consuming general maintenance while I travel to/from my clinical observations, so I'm considering purchasing a JDM-imported engine, a remanufactured engine, or an oem subaru shortblock... Questions: If I purchase a JDM import, do I put new gaskets in right away before putting in the car? They're supposed to have 50-60k miles on them... Should valves be looked at? Costs about $2500 There's a store on ebay selling a remanufactured long block for $3400, and a 3-year unlimited mile warranty. They have 100% feedback as well. Is that a decent price? (https://www.ebay.com/itm/Reman-06-10-Subaru-2-5-SOHC-with-Active-Valve-Lift-System-Long-Block-Engine/392273889947?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908131621%26meid%3D1be2c92c13164e4abb215bcaf145c0f3%26pid%3D100678%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D9%26mehot%3Dnone%26sd%3D254707892452%26itm%3D392273889947%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057&_trksid=p2380057.c100678.m3607&_trkparms=pageci%3Aded9a85d-f60f-11ea-bc4a-74dbd180c969|parentrq%3A8991b27f1740ada5af08721ffffff85c|iid%3A1) Subaru Genuine shortblock for about $2000 shipped to my front door. 12-month unlimited warranty, and doesn't need to be installed by a subaru shop. This is for the stock EJ253 block. Should I get a different block? EJ257? I'm not looking for anything but a leak-free, dependable engine/drivetrain. What headgaskets should I use to replace the SOHC paper-like-gaskets? 04-06 STI MLS headgaskets? I have a low-mile 5mt to go with the car. Even if the body is messed up a bit, as long as the drivetrain is solid, that's what i really care about. Any thoughts or suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks guys. Greg

Hello all, My 2002 Outback has developed a very strange misfire recently, and while it probably inst a Subaru specific issue (I don't think at least), I wanted to ask y'all for help since y'all haven't done me wrong yet. The misfire started last week, it wasn't too bad at first, but got progressively worse and worse up to the point where it was feeling down on power, and stuttering to the point where it would almost stall out when moving away from a light. There was and still is no check engine light, it stuttered like crazy moving off from a standstill, it backfired like crazy, and it developed a small tapping noise that sounds like either an injector, something else top end, or even a small exhaust leak when I was moving/accelerating. I started running through the procedures of figuring out what the issue was, and I had narrowed it down to bad gasoline since I had filled up from a station that ran its tanks dry and had their pumps sitting for a few days. I threw a can of Sea Foam into the tank later in the week in the hopes that it would help fix any weirdness in the fuel. It did help, so over this past weekend I refilled from about half a tank and drove 300 miles round trip to my hometown and back to run out the tank and squeeze out any junk in there. While I was in town I pulled the spark plugs on the passenger side as well as the injectors. They were acceptably clean upon visual inspection, so that sealed the deal for me that it was a fuel issue (I didnt get a chance to flow test the injectors since I didn't really have the time/money to see if they were up to snuff however.) I also checked the plug wires and there were no breaks in them, they haven't been shorting on anything, and the contacts looked clean. When I returned back to town I refilled from very nearly empty, and drove it around town a bit. It was a night and day improvement, it didn't stutter anywhere nearly as bad, (the coupled of times it did stutter it was quickly killed off by adding more gas when moving away from a light), and even the tapping noise had either gone away or had quieted down to the point that I couldn't hear it. So, I thought everything was fine and dandy, I went ahead and poured another can of Sea Foam into the tank to stabilize any bad fuel left in the system, and called it a day. However this morning when I got in to drive to class, the stutter and tap had returned in force. What was interesting about this round is that it subsided quite a bit once the motor got some heat in it, and the noise was either very quiet or non existent. There still isn't a check engine light either. I'm pretty thoroughly stumped by this. I'm good with a wrench, but I cant diagnose to save my life so any help will be greatly appreciated. Just a little background on the car to make things easier (hopefully), it has 177k miles on it, it has had head gaskets done in the last 20k miles, O2 sensors replaced in the last 5k miles, and I just put a new catalytic converter on it less than 1K miles ago. It's also had the fuel filter replaced at some point, although I have no idea when. This thing has seen a pretty hard life, so honestly anything on this thing breaking wouldnt surprise me at this point. Thank you all in advance, -A

Simple question: If the EJ head bolts are in good condition, haven’t been over heated etc, how many times can they be reused before new ones should be sourced and used? Engine in question is an EJ251 at the moment. Cheers Bennie

Hi, I am driving a 2004 Legacy with the EJ251. I've been having trouble diagnosing the P303 3rd cyl misfire. I tried changing the wires, plugs, and ignition coil. It went away for four days and then it came back. I've noticed that it would sometimes turn off during cooler days and it would stay off for like two days before coming back on again. On hot days it would take longer to start and it would come back on. I've also noticed that when the fuel tank is near empty it turns off and then comes back on when I fill up. My only conclusion now is possibly the fuel injector. I am planning on replacing it and see what happens. Any advice and information is greatly appreciated. Thank You Goat

Hello All, I finally am getting around to telling the story of my daily, and laying out my plans for what I want to do with it in the future once daily duty is over. I am currently the proud owner of a 2002 Subaru (obviously) Legacy Outback Wagon Rocky Mountain Special Edition (I don't know what "Rocky Mountain Special Edition" is either don't worry). It has the base EJ251, and while it's a factory 5-speed car, it now has the 5-speed from a Bugeye WRX added by a long past owner. I'm not entirely sure what the rear diff is, one would assume it is WRX as well, but I have yet to check. As far as other mods go it's pretty tame for now, it has a polyurethane transmission mount that was put in when the original unit wore out, and my stepfather for what ever reason put on an exhaust from a Blobeye STi that has a sloppily welded cannon suck on the end and a dying catalytic converter. Everything else that has been done has been general maintenance, my stepfather did the head gaskets, timing belts and water pump when we first got it, I did the O2 sensors last year, and some more thorough suspension work the year before that (replaced both ball joints, and a new passenger side control arm and bushes). Everything else is fairly stock, stock wheels with Subaru recommended BFG's, stock interior with a new head unit, a body with some rust in the rockers and passenger side rear quarter, and its fair share of dents and scratches from daily driver duty for the last 15 years or so. This car was my family's gateway into the world of Subaru, my parents bought this car 5-6 years ago from a transmission shop for $1.5k, put a new clutch in it and tires on it. At the time they were going through bankruptcy, and needed something to drive while my stepfather was going back to work. It served as a daily for my stepfather for 4 years until they got back on their feet, and were able to trade up to something newer. He got himself a widebody Meaneye WRX hatch, and my mother got herself a later model Outback 3.6R. Rather than letting this car be wholesaled by a dealer, they kept it around and sent me off with it to college, which is what it has been doing for the last 2-3 years. It's currently sitting at 174k and change miles, and I absolutely have no intention of getting rid of it. My plans for it right now consist of making it the best daily it can be until I'm finished with school in another 2-3 year's time. Once I have the job and the time to do it, I very much intend to modify it. I'm leaning towards a rallycross/WRC offroader build with either a frankenengine, or just going the more expensive route and building an EJ257 from the ground up. Either way I will be bolting a 6 speeder to it, and uprating the suspension for high speed use and offroad duty. Expect more posts on this thread with updates, and posts from me asking questions as I'm still somewhat new to the intricacies of these cars. The last car I dailyed (and still have) was a '92 GMC so I have a ways to go and lots to learn before Im a Subaru pro. I hope y'all enjoyed my ramblings and this story. I look forward to posting more and reading more about these cars. -Ayy

Hello all, Even though I have my fair share of experience as a mechanic (been working on and around cars since I was 8), sometimes you need help with the basics. I am the owner of a 2002 Legacy Outback wagon with the base EJ251, and I cannot for the life of me get an accurate reading on the dipstick when I check the oil. I'm still somewhat new to this community and new to the nitty gritty details of these cars, so sometimes even with the basics I need to ask for advice. The problem I am having is that I can get anything from no oil at all when hot/warm, to the front of the stick (the side with the L and F stamped on it) registering no oil at all and the back side registering overfull, and once in every 10 tries or so it will actually register something meaningful. Ive tried waiting anywhere from 15 mins to 2 hrs to get as much oil drained back into the sump as possible as these engines don't really have the help of gravity to get the oil back to the sump like a V or inline engine would, and Im officially out of ideas on how to do something as basic as checking the oil on this thing. Just a little bit of background to help with things, it does not leak or burn oil (the head gaskets were done a few years ago shortly after my stepfather purchased the car, and there is no smoke, smell, or indication that it is burning an abnormal amount of oil.) Also according to records and testimony from previous owners the oil was always changed regularly, and has been as long as it has been in the possession of me and my family. I've had this problem during the five or so years my stepfather had this car, and the two years that I have had it. Are there any suggestions anyone can offer up on checking the oil in EJ's? I appreciate any advice or help I can get!

Hello fellow forum members! So I'm looking for an honest opinion on this. Last year I pulled a used EJ251 out of a 2003 Outback that was in a self-service (Pick-n-Pull) auto yard. I've been wanting to experience a full engine tear down and rebuild, so I pulled this motor specifically because I wanted the simplicity of the SOHC setup. I also wanted a MAP equipped motor. I have ambitions of using this motor for...something...at some point (famous last words ) but what I'm more thinking about now is this: is the block even worth using? The block itself is in good shape, there is even still evidence of factory crosshatch in the cylinders. But being an EJ251, the cylinder supports are the "least desirable", just thin little bits of metal at the ends (see picture). Now, I don't really have ambitions to turbo charge this motor, but I would like to tinker with it in N/A form (I'm a mechanical engineer by profession, it's often in my nature to tinker in the most challenging route possible). If the consensus is that this block just isn't worth messing with, that's fine, I will turn it into a coffee table or something, but in that case, what block should I be hunting? I really don't want to shell out for an STI shortblock, in fact whatever block I end up with I want to transfer over my good parts, like my SOHC heads. Something else to think about is that this EJ251 block uses the oddball 131.6mm CC connecting rods, whereas later EJH25's used the more common 130.5mm CC connecting rods. Would it be worth trying to find one of those blocks? I would suspect my heads would still fit. I am looking for constructive responses please.

So, I got this car about 6 months ago. It did great through the winter. However I have been hearing something weird from the engine compartment so I took a video. Please let me know what you think. I have a 2000 Legacy L wagon 2.5L. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2Dsq7UX66c Thanks!

I have a few questions regarding my 2002 Impreza 2.5RS. It's having some starting issues. Sometimes it will start immediately, some times it will hesitate on starting, and other times it will just crank without actually starting. Every time it does not start, it sounds like a rifle has been shot. Here's whats been done recently: I've changed wires, both cylinder head cover gaskets (including the 4 spark plug boot gaskets), the timing has been checked (no belt/pump needed), and I've changed the crankshaft sensor. Earlier the car started like normal, but when shut off and I tried to start it again, it misfired and didn't start. Today, I went to the shop that the car is sitting in now, and we checked the compression for the pistons. Here's what we got: Cylinder 1: 60 PSI Cylinder 2: 135 PSI Cylinder 3: 30 PSI Cylinder 4: 120 PSI My mechanic seems to think that it is the camshaft, and that makes sense, since it is just the 2 passenger cylinders. However, he is not sure, and I want this done as quickly as possible. So my main questions are: Has anyone experienced this before? Are there any ideas that someone has? Is any other information needed? Thank you for taking your time reading this and for any feedback.

Hello people. Long time no see So... I bite the bullet once again and bought another soobie with a known problem. This time a '01 Legacy L with 180K miles on it and leaking *everything* (according to the inspection the previous owner had a month or so ago). The P.O. mentioned the car overheated once, and the shop he went to charged him $300+ to replace a hose close to the back of the intake manifold but told him the left head gasket is leaking coolant, there's oil leaking, power steering, etc. Anyway... I'll be replacing the head gaskets and I have read a few threads about the components I can expect to be replacing, with the list varying from just head gaskets to a long list including seals and whatnot. Question #1: Since I plan on work on the engine outside the car, and the heads will be out anyway, I was wondering if it makes sense to buy one of the kits including valve seals. I'm guessing at 180K those may be close to the end of their useful life, but I may be wrong. Replacing valve seals implies replacing the valves themselves as well, right? Is there any other service that I should do/have done on the heads while they are out? How much can I expect to pay a shop for checking the heads and replacing the valve seals? Question #2: Beside the head gaskets I'll be replacing the timing belt-related stuff, including water pump. I installed a kit from ebay (Mizumo) on the EJ22 I put on the outback, but since the EJ251 is interference I don't want to take unnecessary risks. I'm considering buying the Gates timing belt components from Rockauto, but I don't know if there's a significant advantage in getting an Aisin water pump (WPF-002, probably from Amazon) vs just getting the one coming with the kit from Gates. Do you people have any preference, or are they all the same? Question #3: If it's not broken don't fix it. Except for... ? Maybe cleaning the EGR? What else? Thank you in advance!

The EJ251 engine in my 2002 Forester weighs 119 kg (262 Lbs). I had trouble finding this info online, so I thought that I would post it here. I had taken the engine out to replace the clutch, and before resting the engine on the floor, I weighed it on my bathroom scales. Not exactly 100% scientific, but close enough. The weight is for a bare engine: - No oil; - No coolant; - No A/C pump; - No Alternator; - No Power-steering pump. But includes: - Flywheel and clutch; - Timing-belt, all idlers and covers; - Main drive-pulley; - Rocker-covers and spark-plugs in place; - Engine-mounts attached; - Intake & Exhaust manifolds attached.

Hello, I'm a new comer in USMB. Always like subaru, bought a used 04 Outback (Blue color ) with 121K and love this car! It had a slight oil and coolant leaking when I got it. After I did the coolant flush with "all maker/all models" orange coolant without any "conditioner" ( have no idea of the head gasket thing back then, did the flush because a stupid coupon...), coolant is leaking faster. Now I can hear the dripping when car stops. It lost about 1 gal coolant in 3 months, but the oil level was only down down a little bit between oil changes. Now it has 128K and I'm going on a road trip so I need to replace timing belt to make it safer. I did have the T-belt checked before it was in a good shape although it's original. First I planed to replace both T-belt and head gasket (HG) at the same time to save the labor cost, but I decide to only do the T-belt and use the famous subaru cooling system conditioner to mitigate the leakage, after 3 day's research online. Really thanks everyone who post on HG leaking, especially grossgary and GeneralDisorder Here's my reasons: 1. many examples (15+) has been found that prove the little conditioner works pretty well and car should be good for 50K+ miles. And almost everyone who tried conditioner found it worked although the total number is only a few. a. GeneralDisorder tried this on his severe leaking 99 forester ( I guess EJ253?), the dripping stoped almost immediately and last for 20K+ miles (by now?). Also he said "My parts guy says many times the stop leak cures the problem forever and they (customers who had HG leakage) never come back." I think most customers found HG problem was fixed, though some might sell the car. b. grossgary talked about his friend's 03 (outback?) went from "solid oil leak" to "leaking really good oil" in 70K~80K miles, which was quite a lot mileages. But I don't know if HG is finally blown or not when he stopped using car. c. lots other cases can be found by searching on this board or through the internet, I just can't named them all. d. Very interesting and useful reviews about the conditioner on amazon: <http://www.amazon.com/Subaru-Cooling-System-Conditioner-SOA635071/product-reviews/B008HQHS7M/ref=cm_cr_pr_top_link_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=byRankDescending> 7 worked, 4 didn't specify the effect. also all worked cases are from newer reviews, so I guess they got this information online maybe this board. Great Jobs:) 2. coolant won't go to combustion chamber or mix with oil for these engines (EJ25 Phase II). Because of newer design of phase II, leakage was found to be external and most likely to stay with external leakage. Although allwheeldriveauto claimed this external leakage can become internal if not replacing HG after major leakage, I have only found one suspected case that overheated after 15K miles of coolant leaking, but no reason for overheat was stated. No one actually posted internal leakage after external leakage (I might see somebody said a direct internal leakage developed, but not sure), after going though some posts here, all posts in HG failure log on <http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/88-head-gasket-issues/18583-hg-failure-log-no-discussion-log-only-20.html>, and most post on <http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-head-gasket-problems-explained/>. 3. Even if coolant goes to combustion chamber, sign can be seen from bubbles in coolant overflow bottle; or even if coolant mixed with oil, sign can be seen from milky color thing on oil dipstick ( maybe and oil in coolant overflow bottle?). Even if all signs are missed, replace HG after first overheating seems won't cause more issue. If overheat is missed, then no next.... 4. This seems to be better in the long run. I expect my subie could run more than 350K miles, even not with me at last. I wish it could last for 8k+ miles with the conditioner, then replace both HG and TB, definitely using a MLS HG, which should be good for at least 150K according to allwheeldriveauto. But does anyone see a failure on the MLS HG? just curious...(I know the OEM ones are prone to fail a second time as the first one) 5. For the short run, spend much less money now. Local independent Subaru Shop quoted ~1500 for HG and TB replacement at the same time. If do them separately, TB (and gears) ~530, HG ~1270, so total is ~ 1800. As a college student, I feel nearly $1K saving is a lot. Even if it turns out HG need to be done very soon as well (which is very unlike to happen), I only need to pay 300 more. The disadvantages and concerns: 1. Replacing HG seems to be better for the mid-term run. If I only drive it for less than 8K miles, it is better for me to do HG now, but not the best way for the car. 2. The risk is higher for long road trip. Replacing HG gives more peace in mind than checking oil and coolant at each stop in a long road trip. I love road trips so this is a big concern for me. But checking fluid levels frequently also provides quite a peace in mind. 3. If the condition doesn't work and problem become severely bad within 10K miles. then I need to have the HG replaced, spend 300 more. But I believe possibility for this to happen is <2%. 4. This is just for me, my mechanic is a honest, knowable, and fair Subaru specialist. It may be a little struggle to find a good Subaru mechanic if I move away after graduation (probably will). But I need to find a good mechanic in the new area anyway. Well, to sum up, from the information and analysis I got, if just using conditioner, topping off fluids, and keeping an eye on temperature after leakage being found, I think there's 97% probability for engine to last 20K miles, 80% to last 50K miles, 60% to last 80K miles, 40% to last 100K miles (frankly, just guessing) before problem goes really worse, like annoyance by topping off every 300 miles, or internal leakage, etc. I have already dropped my car for replacing TB (&gears), coolant flush, and adding conditioner. I would like to test this method and post updates later, to see the result. Thanks for your reading, looking forwards to replies, answers, corrections, comments, etc. apologize if any misleading due to my poor english as a non-native speaker. And most important, Happy Holidays! Fisky