baserunner86 Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 My 1995 Subaru Legacy L Wagon (EJ22) was having overheating problems, caused by a headgasket leak (I assumed), so i purchased the gasket kit and my brother and I set to work replacing everything. After everything was back together though, the car would not start. At first we did not even have spark, but then my brother realised he had the cam pulleys on the wrong sides. After fixing that and checking the timing marks on each, the car had spark but still would not start. It would turn over, quickly, but would not so much as cough for us. We double checked everythnig we could think of and thought maybe it flooded. So we let it sit for 2 hours, but when we went to try again, it still would not start, but this time we had what sounded like a small backfire through the intake, enough to make the air filter case bounce and could see a small amount of blue smoke coming from somewhere, could not tell exactly where. Any ideas what we are missing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 (edited) Double check your timing marks. Don't use the arrow on the face of the crank sprocket. Timing notch is on the back. Keyway in the crank should be at 6 o clock when the crank is lined up correctly. Pic courtesy of Johnceggleston Edited January 24, 2017 by Fairtax4me 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbhrps Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 baserunner86, You have things one or two teeth off on the belt, or another issue. There are loads of YouTube videos on subie timing belt changes (make sure you get the correct ones for your engine generation) that show everything step by step, especially those cam and sproket alignment marks and the tensioner release procedure. Watch several of them, or find a pictorial step by step on this or other subie forums, and then go back to square one on your job and double check everything. Be sure to crank that engine by hand from the crank pulley with a breaker bar through 4 revolutions, to ensure you don't have pistons striking valves .... before you reach for the ignition switch! Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Pin Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 gbhrps, Isn't that a 95 which is a non-interference motor? Hard to strike pistons with valves if it is a 95. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 95' is non-interference. Pull a plug if flooding is suspected, and see if it's wet. If it is, that's how you know it's flooded. I use a small torch to dry plugs if they ever get wet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baserunner86 Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 Okay, so after a few failed attempts, timing is on and the car started. But now 2 new issues arose. First, lots of white smoke out the exhaust, that is not dissipating with time from stuff burning off, which makes me think water/coolant into the exhaust, someone please tell me that is not a cracked head. Second, the oil is getting foaming, looking like water getting into the oil as well, not sure where that would be happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Your head gasket set didn't seal properly. What brand of gasket kit did you use? Did you have the heads checked for flatness? Did you follow the torque sequence for torquing the head bolts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baserunner86 Posted January 30, 2017 Author Share Posted January 30, 2017 the gaskets were from evergreen performance parts, and we cleaned the heads up well, didnt have them checked, but they looked to be in okay condition, far from the worst i have worked on. But I also dont see how that would get water into the exhaust, unless the exhaust gasket also happened to not seal, which is unlikely. And yes, we followed a recommended 2 stage torque sequence for it. No visible leaks to the outside, dropped oil pan and comfirmed it is coolant in the oil, had about an inch of it floating on top of the oil in the pan after resting a few hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 (edited) Getting heads checked for warpage is a must any time head gasket failure occurs and it's been overheated. If it were me, I'd get another set of known GOOD heads and have them checked by an engine shop for trueness. Would probably want new head gaskets as well. That will hopefully get it up and running quickly. Also, once all of that is squared away and it's running, not leaking or overheating, it'll take some time to burn off all the contaminants on stuff like the O2 sensors, plugs, etc. so it might run rough for 30-50 miles. Be SURE there is no air in the coolant as that can cause overheating as well. You'll also need FRESH oil. Edited January 30, 2017 by Bushwick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baserunner86 Posted January 30, 2017 Author Share Posted January 30, 2017 Considering the cheapest heads around are $200+/side, and then gaskets, fluids and any other misc parts needed, and the fact that the car is only valued at about $1,200 in good condition, I think it might just be time to say goodbye to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Felpro head gaskits, there is a thread here on how to service the heads yourself for 2.2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Evergreen gaskets are junk. They were doomed before they even came out of the package. Get some Fel-pro head gaskets for it. The other gaskets you should be able to re-use. Just pull it apart, clean everything really well and put it back together with the Fel-pros. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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