removing torque converter

[whippet]

My son's wife was driving their 96 outback (2.5 auto) and she pulled into their driveway. She then went into the house to get something. When she came back out to start the car it would not turn over. When checking it out it will turn only a few degrees each direction before hitting something solid. I checked the timing belt and it looked as if it was ok. (seeing that i couldn't turn the engine had to estimate where the timing marks were. Took off the timing belt and released all four cams so no valves are down. Engine still will not turn over. Suspect that a rod or piston broke. problem is that I can pull the engine with the torque converter attached but how do I get it off after pulling the engine since I can't turn the engine to get to the torque converter bolts? Anyone else have any ideas what could be wrong with the engine besides broken rod or piston? Just feaky that she said the car was running fine when pulling into the driveway. She only works a few miles from where they live and she just came home from work to get something.

[nipper]

Hrmmmm

 

Check the condition of the oil.

 

Is there a "thunk" when you try to move the engine by hand, or can you feela thunk?

 

It is odd to have no warning signs, but I have seen quite a few mechanical misdeads due to inattention or the ol "Oh its been making that noise for months, since it did not get worse I did not think it was important"

 

Or that hollow knock in the engine that seems to come and go (I myself got bit in the arse by that one).

 

Look up Torque Converter here you may find out how to do it. Someone will chime in. The TQ is bolted to the flex plate, but basically just sits on the nose/input shaft of the transmission. You see lots of engines with the TC still connetced to them in junkyards. I just don't know off hand if this would be better done on the car or on the floor. I would think on the car as more leverage.

Edited December 7, 2010 by nipper

[whippet]

The oil looked fine. I had been driving this car a month or so ago and it was running good. I was commuting 60 miles a day with it. I comes to an halt when turning engine over by hand. The problem with trying to take the tc off before pulling the engine is that I can't get to the bolts because I can't turn the engine over. I guess that I have to pull the tc with it but that can be messy

[nipper]

The oil looked fine. I had been driving this car a month or so ago and it was running good. I was commuting 60 miles a day with it. I comes to an halt when turning engine over by hand. The problem with trying to take the tc off before pulling the engine is that I can't get to the bolts because I can't turn the engine over. I guess that I have to pull the tc with it but that can be messy

 

 

No matter what pulling an engine can be messey, and this is a worse case scenario.

 

Is the engine totally frozen or does it turn then a thunk (hollow feeling)? Is it a hard thunk or a soft thunk.

Edited December 8, 2010 by nipper

[johnceggleston]

if you are sure the engine is toast, you may try to ''bust'' the engine bell housing where the bolts are to gain access.

 

if not, you can carefully pull the engine with the torque converter attached. just slide it forward a few inches until you can reach the spring clip that holds the shaft on the back side onto the TC.

 

this is a little difficult because the shaft / trans will be at an angle, and you may need to change the elevation as you pull it forward to make it happen.

 

once the TC is disconnected from the shaft, (hang on to the shaft by the way, both of them, you don't want it sliding back into the trans if you can help it.) you can have your way with it. the simplest, if not the easiest may be to get a left handed drill bit the correct size and drill out the bolts from the trans side. or if you have a dremel that may work some way.

[whippet]

I got the engine out without to much of the oil dripping onto the floor. Now the tc is still attached to the flexplate and the engine is not turning over. It turns a few degrees and has a hard thunk in both directions. I pulled the spark plugs and looked through the hole and all I could see was the top of the pistons which didn't look broken, it must be a rod which means new engine.

[idosubaru]

the bearings are locked up probably, not that unheard of with EJ25's. i've pulled one with TC attached and gotten the TC off.

 

if you want to keep the heads, like for parts then it's just another step to remove all the bolts holding the block halves together.

 

chisel and hammer the seam and the block halves will split apart about an inch or so. there's a bolt and/or nut behind the torque converter you can't get to but that won't keep the block halves from separating enough to get the engine to turn. once the block halves are a part, work the crank back and forth and it'll free up enough to turn. once you do that then it'll turn and you can remove the TC. it's not too bad of a job really, much easier than the pulling the engine part, but i keep the heads for later use so i'm already partially disassembling the thing.

 

*** the block will be ruined this way as the boss for the bolt/nut behind the torque converter will crack/break as you're separating the block halves. so you don't want to do that if you're rebuilding, but few folks do that and the block isn't worth much more than scrap since blown EJ25's are easy to find.

Edited December 8, 2010 by grossgary

[94Loyale]

Not on the subject of your motor. But since you did remove the tc with the motor. I highly recommend changing the input shaft seal before putting everything back together. Otherwise you will probably regret it. They usually don't seal right after you pull everything out.

[whippet]

Thanks for the tips. I didn't think of changing the seal on the tranny So I'll do that before putting another engine in. Thanks again.

[nipper]

Thanks for the tips. I didn't think of changing the seal on the tranny So I'll do that before putting another engine in. Thanks again.

 

 

And dont forget the ever popular seperation plate.

[Qman]

Did you happen to verify if the starter had failed before doing all this work?

[whippet]

Yeah I took the starter out before I pulled the engine. Haven't had a chance to work on it since. Last night had my granddaughter's first birthday so I was at my son's late. Going to take the oil pan off tonight to see if I can see anything.

[whippet]

Found why the engine won't turn over, broken piston and bent rod.