raleigh800 Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 The engine forum looks pretty dead so I am starting here with my question. I bought a 1996 Legacy Outback Wagon last year with 250,000 miles on it. It ran great. I changed all the fluids in the car, replaced all the brakes, new front axle, new ball joints, tie rod ends and boots on the rack and pinion, new plugs and filters. Doing the timing belt was on the list. The previous owner thought it was done but couldn't remember. So I've been driving it daily and planning when to do the belt. Well the belt broke last week a mile from home. So I am going to get a kit with the idlers, belt, water pump and cam seals. The motor has a small oil leak somewhere so I am in the process of pulling it out now, just need to make room in the garage for the engine stand. Here's the questions: what else should I look at doing? new valve cover gaskets? head gaskets? rear main Seals? valve job? valve seals? resurface heads? I've rebuilt several Chevy 350's and a couple ford 302's back in the late 90's but never a subaru. I don't plan on a full rebuild but since the motors out.... By the way it was get 21mpg with general at grabbers, 215/65r16's with A 5MT in town and close to 25mpg on long interstate trips. I thought that was good mileage compared to my truck at 12mpg. Thanks in advance for any info and suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Don't do head gaskets or rear main unless you are sure they are leaking. Valve cover gaskets are not a bad idea but these motors can swap heads without touching the valve cover gaskets. These are simple and very durable motors. Unless it is showing fault, there's not much to do. I'd prepare for the usual oil leak places - cam and crank seals on the front. And if hasn't been done yet, the oil seperator plate on the back of the motor is notorious for leaking oil down onto the exhaust. There is a dealer upgrade stainless steel one that replaces the old plastic ones. Water pump is a good idea. A reseal on the oil pump is also recommended by some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocei77 Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Get the belt kit, but just install the belt and start. Will tell you if you've bent valves. If not, remove then add the idlers etc. Leave the rear main alone. 99.5 times out of a 100 it's the oil separator plate. Also do the o ring on the drivers side piston pin access plate. O. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raleigh800 Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 Are the Gates kits off e bay a good kit? I also see MizumoAuto. Amazon carries Evergreen Performance kits that come with a water pump brand of Aisin? Looking for something that will last awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lstevens76 Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 It's a 1996 2.2 which is non-interference unless someone swapped in a newer 2.2. He shouldn't have concerns about bent valves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 It's a 1996 2.2 which is non-interference unless someone swapped in a newer 2.2. this was my question. if it is an ej22 it is non-interference. if it is the ej25 it is interference. only the manual trans outback had the ej22 engine in 96. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Aisin water pumps are OE brand. They're good stuff and usually come with the OE style rubber and metal gasket. Agree you should pop the belt on first and make sure there are no bent valves. If the 2.2 has the single exhaust ports on the heads there's a good chance it's an interference engine. If its dual port it should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Aisin water pumps are OE brand. They're good stuff and usually come with the OE style rubber and metal gasket. Agree you should pop the belt on first and make sure there are no bent valves. If the 2.2 has the single exhaust ports on the heads there's a good chance it's an interference engine. If its dual port it should be fine. 96 2.2 should be the combo of single port but non interference unless my info is off. To the prior question - yes, Gates brand kits are well recommended. They are usually a little cheaper on amazon than ebay so worth checking out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Yeah but you never know if the engine has been swapped in the past or if it got a the 97 engine design in late 96. There always the possibility that interference could happen on the 96 2.2 because of that weird cross-over in 96-97. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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