99 Legacy Outback EJ25, main bearing out.

[ratch]

So, little on the car. it has 250k miles on it. was in a fender bender with a previous owner so it had repair on the front passenger. Has good suspension and tight alignment.

 

early spring the car broke down 80 miles away. went and got it 2 days later. When i left the station that night it started making a whirring noise and then stopped. when, i tried to turn it over it would not fire and made noises. it sat for a bit until in July i asked my little brother(has rebuilt multiple motors and i trust his judgement) He's positive the front main bearing is out. 

 

my decision at this moment comes down to this. Unless the crank got damaged when the bearing went out I'm thinking i'm just going to keep this motor and put work into it. if the crank is bad and it killed the block i'll look into a reliable source for a good motor i can put a gasket kit into and probably timing and water/oil pumps. now this motor maybe a swap to the EJ22 if i find a good option. 

 

question; the timing parts on on my EJ25 are fairly new, would the rollers bolt to a EJ22? same on the water pump, is it compatible with a EJ22. just looking at options for saving a Little $$. I work part time at a grocery store and CHild support takes half my check right now. so i only have $60~ a week right now.

[ocei77]

if a bearing went out, it has scored the crank. If you want to delve into it, you can get a reman crank and  bearings for about $250 plus your core(northernautoparts.com), or have your crank machined and get new bearings to match. Sometimes you can find a part out on craigslist at a good price.

The idlers, tensioner  and water pump will swap over. You need a 99-01 EJ22 for the harness to match.

 

O.

[idosubaru]

You need a 99-01 EJ22 for the harness to match.

This is incorrect.  A 1999 OBW EJ25 is compatible with 1995-1998 EJ22's. 

[AdventureSubaru]

Sounds like the block is done. You can often sell the 2.5 heads for about what you can buy a good used ej22 for. Timing rollers and tensioner and bracket will all swaposts to an ej22. As mentioned the 95 to 98 ej22s are best suited. 95 with automatic is direct bolt in. 96 to 98 with matching y pipe. Cheapest and most reliable option is the ej22. Look up my full remove and install thread for step by step I'd you haven't done it before

[ocei77]

This is incorrect.  A 1999 OBW EJ25 is compatible with 1995-1998 EJ22's. 

Thanks for the correction.

 

O.

[idosubaru]

Thanks for the correction.

 

O.

it brings up a good and confusing point about 1999's for this guy looking for options.

 

1999 legacy and outback EJ25's are not the same as 1999 Forester and Impreza EJ25's nor are they compatible with 1999 EJ22's. 

 

But I think 1999 legacy/outback short blocks have a different main bearing configuration? 

 

anyway - 1999 outback long blocks are compatiable with 1995-1998 EJ22's as stated (but 1999 foresters and impreza's and 1999 EJ22's are not).  99 is a weird year. 

[Fairtax4me]

Main bearing failure is rare in almost any engine. would be more likely to have damaged rod bearings than a bad main bearing. None of those will typically make a whirring noise if they go bad.

 

What caused it to break down, and what did you fix/replace to get it running again?

Does the engine still turn over?

Have you removed the timing cover to check the timing belt and idlers/tensioner?

[ratch]

Main bearing failure is rare in almost any engine. would be more likely to have damaged rod bearings than a bad main bearing. None of those will typically make a whirring noise if they go bad.

 

What caused it to break down, and what did you fix/replace to get it running again?

Does the engine still turn over?

Have you removed the timing cover to check the timing belt and idlers/tensioner?

 

I have checked the timing. it's good. last year the timing jumped and i fixed it after much research an YT. when it broke down the first time it had jumped time because this is my first Manual vehicle and i stalled it taking off from a stop sign. It does roll over. makes some noise when it does, similar to the whirring noise. How can i verify whether it's the main bearing or not?

 

edit: TBH the engine needs an overhaul. 250k miles and its got an oil leak on the front. looks like its front seal or the oil pump/gasket. however i would rather do a ej22 swap instead of rebuilding the 2.5 that's in it. 

Edited October 30, 2016 by ratch

[DaveT]

To find the whirring noise, get a 3' length of tubing, 3/8 or 1/2". Hold one end near an ear, the other near various suspect moving parts. Do similar with a big screw driver or similar tool. Be careful not to touch any moving parts. Whirring noises typically come from ball bearings that are getting ready to fail.