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Loose internal oil pump bolts - common?


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I'm halfway through my timing belt job, letting it sit while ordering parts. I ordered the oil pump O-ring, only a buck, but do I really need to do this? The pump is glued on, looks like a pain, and the O-ring is very unlikely to fail. The guy at 1stSubaru mentioned the oil pump bolt issue, which I'm familiar with as a BMW owner. I did a search and found little on this forum about oil pump bolts, one mention of checking them while replacing the O-ring. Is it perhaps a problem Subaru fixed before my engine was produced? Any hints on getting this pump loose if I need to? Haynes simply says "Remove the mounting bolts and the oil pump". I have plenty of tools and a dry garage, just not much time to get to it.

 

Scott

Holland, MI

'99 Legacy Brighton 2.2l - manual everything - 87k

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Didn't see the oil pump plate screws loose on either of my 92 2.2 or 97 2.5 engines when I replaced the O rings. I replaced them "since I was there"....well, the 2.5 needed a new front crankshaft seal that was bleeding like a stuck pig:dead: ok stuck bananna so since I was there went ahead with the new O ring and seal.

 

Remove the bolts, and you might have to lightly...lightly now is the key word here.....tap around the oil pump with a rubber mallet. It should come off fairly easy. Clean the mating surfaces really well, I like a piece of the red scotchbright and carb cleaner to clean things....lightly....., tap the new seal in the pump housing, stick a little oil or grease on the new O ring, stick that pup in the engine block, use an anaerobic sealent as the Haynes manual outlines and carefully place the housing onto the crank and watch that front seal---you don't want the spring that is a part of the seal to "pop out" of its groove as you are sliding it up and onto the crank.

 

Take your time, rest assured you been there done that!

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The aforementioned issue of the backing plate screws is what I think the real issue is here. If those are loose, you will lose oil pressure.

 

I just resealed my oil pump on my Legacy last weekend, and those screws were so tight I couldn't get them loose. I almost started to strip out one of the screws and then I just decided to leave it alone.

 

Agree 100% with watching the front seal when you reinstall the pump!! I pushed my pump all the way on, and as soon as I did that, the spring in the seal poked out and stuck to the keyway on the crank! I cursed loudly (as I usually do :lol: ), and hurried as fast as I could to reinstall the spring back in the seal... Realize that the RTV sealant on the pump was slowly drying this whole time!!! :eek: I got it though, and reinstalled the pump more carefully. Everything seems to be fine so far.

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The backing plate screws should be check on EVERY Legacy oil pump. Subaru claims it is only a problem on the 2.5L, but I have seen many loose on 2.2's also. I always remove them and reinstall with red locktite.

 

As you are looking at the oil pump from the front of the car, there is a spot on top left, and on right side about the middle of the pump houseing that you can get a screw driver or pry bar behind to get the pump off.

 

I always install the pump first then install new crank seal. This way you don't have to worry about ruining your new seal.

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  • 7 years later...

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