1996 EJ25D HLA bleed information

[thefoos]

Hi,

 

I'm looking for info on how to bleed down the hydraulic lash adjusters for a 1996 outback motor.

 

The trouble I'm having is that I'm reassembling the motor, and the lifters are holding the cam up out of the cam bore, so I can't install the cam caps.

 

I've searched and searched on this topic. There isn't anything in the factory manuals I have because the only year these particular lifters were used was in 1996, in the USDM anyway. And it was only on the 2.5L twin cam motor in the outback...

[Fairtax4me]

You have to install the cams so the lobes are facing out away from the lifters, place the bearing caps on the cam in their proper positions and tighten the screws a half turn at a time until the caps are fully seated.

This site has the FSM for 97 which had the same engine. http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/subaru_manual_scans/

Look in the Engine section, Engine DOHC, Service Procedure Camshaft.

[thefoos]

Thanks for the link, but the 1996 lifters are different. They are HLA's, the only year that came with them. The 97+ came with shimmed solid buckets. The newer motors come with solid shimless buckets.

 

Older ej18/22's come with hla's, but in the rocker assembly.

 

1996 is the only ej25 that came with hla's, and they look like smaller diameter solid buckets.

 

Any guidance I can get to make them collapse so I can reassemble the head would be helpful...

[GeneralDisorder]

You don't have to - just install the cam and let it open the valves - they will bleed down once you start cranking it.

 

GD

[thefoos]

You don't have to - just install the cam and let it open the valves - they will bleed down once you start cranking it.

 

GD

 

Really? I suppose my concern stems from that I can't turn the cam by hand when I do that...

[johnceggleston]

there is a good thread describing ''cleaning'' the hlas with pics i think.

 

some thing like removing them and soaking them in some solvent or very thin lubricant and working them by hand until the dirty oil stops coming out. and then doing it again in 10w-30. i don't really know, can't remember.

 

but not being able to turn the cam by hand does not sound right. you didn't reverse some thing did you.

[GeneralDisorder]

Really? I suppose my concern stems from that I can't turn the cam by hand when I do that...

 

It's not real easy to turn the cam by hand anyway. You are going to have to overcome valve spring pressure no matter what to turn the cam. It won't hurt anything.

 

Was a valve job done on this thing? Why didn't they cut the stems when they faced the valves and cut the seats? That's standard practice. It should have been setup so that it was basically the same as it was when it went together.

 

GD

[thefoos]

no valve job. I'm just doing a headgasket job and in the process of reassembly. I can turn the cam by hand now with the cam sprocket on. The valves are cracked open when the cam caps are tightened down (tried it out on the bench, obviously you can see it when the heads are on the motor).

 

I didn't mix anything up, and everything was perfectly good before disassembly. I kept the caps with the cams, sorted the lifters on a piece of cardboard that was labeled so I would install them back where the came from (when I started, I assumed they were solid lifters like what I'm used to seeing in a WRX motor).

 

Can someone please confirm that the valves should be cracked open upon initial assembly? Do the hla's bleed down after a few rotations? All 4 cams installed this way...

[thefoos]

Just in case someone else runs into this "issue"...

 

I let the motor sit fully assembled for 24 hours and the hla's bled down on there own. I don't believe these have a check valve in them, nor do you need to refill them like you do with the rocker style hla's that you find on the phase 1 ej18 and ej22.

 

When you reassemble the motor, its perfectly normal to have all of the valves cracked open 1/8" to 1/4". The hla's, specific to the 1996 outback USDM EJ25D motor (might have been used in other markets, but this is the only motor and only year these were used in the USDM) will need to be given time to bleed down before you attempt to start the motor. I suggest leaving the intake manifold off so you can visually verify they have bled down...