2003 Outback Acquisition Advice Needed

[AdventureSubaru]

Swapping the EZ30 is the exact same process as any of the EJ cars. It's basically an EJ25 with an added row of cylinders. I was surprised and pleased at how easy it was when I did the 06. Same caution with the 4EAT transmission. Make sure the torque converter is fully seated or it kills the trans.

 

But same swap, just a little tighter fit in the engine bay.

[BluetoE]

Yeah, a direct EZ30 swap seems pretty straightforward.  I'm more interested in the HG job and how many steps/pitfalls are involved.

 

ETA:  Found some pics on the outback forum https://www.flickr.com/photos/karlgustav/sets/72157626862885404/

Edited March 15, 2015 by BluetoE

[danielv323]

Just bought an 03' LLBean with 130K mi. for $2500. I think it was a steal. If you can get one for a grand jump on it. I had to change Serpentine belt, idler pulley and tensioner. Then the front crankshaft seal. Cheap and easy. Having a poblem with the purge valve right now. Still a $40 fix. Best of luck.

[BluetoE]

Yeah, but how much would you pay for one that has a blown head gasket but is otherwise perfect?

 

I'll let y'all in on the deal I made.  I traded my priest friend a good laptop I had and about 4 hours of my time (I'm an IT consultant) for the car.  I literally have $0 invested in it except for the diagnostic stuff and fluids I've put in it since last week.  I'm thinking a $1500 donor motor with 100k-ish miles and me doing the swap would be the best course of action.  I REALLY don't want to tackle that HG job.

[hzimmerman1111]

Kind of old thread but I will post anyway.  Can replace HG in place but difficult. Must undo engine mounts - from underneath but just two nuts. Raise 2 inches, Don't forget to loosen the top engine brace. then slide to each side to give additional 3/4 inch clearance. Necessary to clear head bolts.  Consider 6 Star gasket replacement, although others recommend just coating the OE style gaskets. There is a lot to take off to get to the HG and a determined amateur can do it.  Mark all of your stuff as you take it off! Amateurs will spend both days of the weekend on this. Beware of the Haynes manual torque settings - one is marked 132 but that is INCH POUNDS not foot pounds - big difference.  You will shear the head bolt before you get to 132 foot pounds for sure. I delayed my work on 01 Suby Outback for 3 years by using chemical fix "Steel Seal".  Yes it did work and others I tried did not!  This Spring I finally got to the actual HG task when chemical fix failed.  Got valve kit and did heads also -hand lapping in the values and all seals replaced. H2O pump and all new top end gaskets, sprockets, tensioner.  Rings change-out needs the engine out of the car and I will do that next time.  Have 287 K now on car and not sure when I will get to those rings - one day.

[BluetoE]

Kind of old thread but I will post anyway.  Can replace HG in place but difficult. Must undo engine mounts - from underneath but just two nuts. Raise 2 inches, Don't forget to loosen the top engine brace. then slide to each side to give additional 3/4 inch clearance. Necessary to clear head bolts.  Consider 6 Star gasket replacement, although others recommend just coating the OE style gaskets. There is a lot to take off to get to the HG and a determined amateur can do it.  Mark all of your stuff as you take it off! Amateurs will spend both days of the weekend on this. Beware of the Haynes manual torque settings - one is marked 132 but that is INCH POUNDS not foot pounds - big difference.  You will shear the head bolt before you get to 132 foot pounds for sure. I delayed my work on 01 Suby Outback for 3 years by using chemical fix "Steel Seal".  Yes it did work and others I tried did not!  This Spring I finally got to the actual HG task when chemical fix failed.  Got valve kit and did heads also -hand lapping in the values and all seals replaced. H2O pump and all new top end gaskets, sprockets, tensioner.  Rings change-out needs the engine out of the car and I will do that next time.  Have 287 K now on car and not sure when I will get to those rings - one day.

 

Hmmmm.  Well here's an update on where I'm at.  I've put almost 3k miles on the 03 since I got it and I've topped off the coolant a couple of times a week and it hasn't run hot.  Summer is just around the corner so I'm going to keep an eye on it.  I certainly don't want to get stranded.  I'm only driving it around town and not letting it idle with the A/C on for any length of time.  I figure I'm just getting my money's worth out of this engine before the swap ($0 ).

 

I figure if/when it starts using more coolant, I'll try one of the chemical sealants just to see what happens maybe.  I've pretty much ruled out doing the HGs myself unless something crazy happens.  I've got an engine fund set aside and there's one available locally for not a lot of money, so that just seems like the easiest way to go.  

 

Thanks for the tips on doing the HGs in the car, but that sounds like even more of a pain in the rear end than doing it on the stand.  I guess that would save having to disconnect the tranny and risking reseating the torque converter, but with this one running hot before I got it I probably just want to replace it with one that has less mileage.  Who knows?  I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

 

New question:  The rear end squeaks terribly.  On both sides.  I haven't jacked it up yet to even try to diagnose the issue, but is there a common problem with the 03 rear ends that causes loud squeaking?  My 98 is quiet as a mouse.  I can hit a speed bump at 40 mph and it doesn't even flinch.  This one squeaks at 10 mph on flat pavement.  It's weird.  Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.  Also the rear end seems to bounce around a little when I hit bumps.  Like if I go over train tracks or uneven pavement it doesn't seem to want to track straight.  It sucks because the suspension on my 98 is so perfect...

Edited May 13, 2015 by BluetoE

[lstevens76]

Use Blue Devil (full product) now, not later.  Later will be too late and it will not work.  Basically the bigger the leak, the less likely a sealant works.  The longer you drive it with the leak being present the bigger the leak will get.

 

If you use it now, and stop using coolant, you could get 6 months to 3 years or more out of that engine before having to swap it (or you could only get a day, sealants are no guarantee).

 

It sounds like the struts are bad on the back, possibly strut mounts as well.  

[AdventureSubaru]

Blue devil is not a bad idea to keep the current motor going for a while. It's a band aid. Never fixes it for terribly long, but does buy you time to scout for another motor. Since the EZ does not have head gasket issues commonly, it would be a good candidate to put a good used one in. You could take your time and do the head gaskets on the existing motor as a backup, sell it or just sell it as a builder/parts to someone else to recoup some of the $$$ spent on the used one.

 

Screeching/squeaking sounds like brake pads. Easy and cheap. I got them off rock auto for About $6-$8 a set on closeout. Bouncing is probably worn out struts. Worth looking at bushings as well. Rock Auto and Ebay are best for cheap prices on struts. Or good used stuff. Any 2000-04 Outback will swap in. Baja too.