New Subaru owner, head gasket and ticking woes

[tgrandahl]

Sputters and dies sounds like that about 1" about foot long stiff hose that's a bit hidden.

 

Forgive me - I don't do many Foresters. On a Legacy IIR it's on the passenger side.

 

Goes basically from under the airbox over towards the passenger side strut tower. That's all I can remember - but it's happened enough times to me that I know it sounds like a possibility for you.

 

Use your hands to check - not just your eyes. It can be close and look good, but not connected.

 

Happy hunting.

 

Thanks for the tip.

 

I actually ran into that hose earlier today, it runs from the idle air control solenoid valve on the manifold to the intake pipe just after the MAF on the passenger side. Unfortunately I haven't noticed much of a difference after I connected it. Still sputters and dies :-(

[tgrandahl]

Thanks for the tip.

 

I actually ran into that hose earlier today, it runs from the idle air control solenoid valve on the manifold to the intake pipe just after the MAF on the passenger side. Unfortunately I haven't noticed much of a difference after I connected it. Still sputters and dies :-(

 

Actually this could have indeed been a part of my solution.

 

I Think i also had a kink in my fuel line between the filter and the manifold. When I inserted a inline fuel pressure gauge the car started right up and has been running fine!

 

I have been driving the car for about a hundred miles now and everything feels solid. The car runs and drives great, and i have to say the transmission shifts really will for an Auto with 146,000 Mi on it.

 

The whole rebuild went really well i think. I spend $200 to get the both heads planed checked and cleaned by a reputable machine shop. A dry leak down test after this was down to about 5% every cylinder (im assuming blowby) and I couldn't hear anything through the valves.

 

The engine rebuild seal kit cost me $220, and i did not use all the seals in it however I suppose it cant hurt having them around.

 

I made a seal driver for the cam oil seals out of a 1" pvc end cap from lowes. had to turn down the id on a lathe fist put besides that worked great.

 

I did notice that my fuel pressure when running is only around 25psi vs the 36psi that the STI manual specs out for the fuel pump. When the ignition is first turned the pressure will kick up to 36 for about a second and then drop and remain at 25. The car runs fine so im assuming this is normal.

 

I also noticed the fuel gauge takes a looooog time to change when you fill the tank. Normal?

 

And on a slightly sad end note I hit a huge rut on a dirt road last night and think i cracked my oil pan. Im trying to see if I can take it off without lifting the engine. If not I may try to tig or JB weld it on the car if the crack is not that bad. Need to investigate more first.