msmithmmx Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 My brother dropped of his 2000 OBW 136K this AM at my house. Dealer said he has a busted HG and is also leaking oil from the where the engine meets the transmission. They also said his trans is bad and his cats are on the way out. NOW, I put that all aside and will diagnose each problem. 1) They said its not the oil separator plate and that it is bone dry!! Is there anyway to verify this without pulling the trans or the engine? How could they say this? There is just no way to see it. That is why I will need to verify everything they have said. This is the first 2000 I have ever worked on. One thing I noticed is this 2.5 only has 2 cams... I have only worked on 95 to 99. Any recomendations to troubleshoot bad cats? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Wow slow down. If you take a car to shop with one complaint, and they find 4 others, its time to find a nother shop. Lets take this one at a time. Was the car overheating? Are there bubbles in the coolant. Oil Leaks - Wash the engine and drive the car for a week, then look. I bet the cam and main seals (and maybe the oil pump seal) is leaking. this is not unusual at this age. They should have been done with the timing belt. The rear main seal rarely goes bad, thats why its a safe assumption on the plate, but if the front seals are leaking bad enough, it can look like the rear is leaking. Cats - if you do not have a CEL, the cats are fine (lets assume). If you do have a CEL you start off by replacing the front O2 sensor. You can get a false bad cat code if the o2 sensors are bad. The front sensor needs to be OE. Hit the cats with your hand. If they dont rattle, they are probably ok. Trnasmissions rarely go bad on subarus, but 2000's do have a delay issue when shifting from r to d. I think someone said an additive fixes this (someone wiil chime in). Read the codes. I doubt the cats are bad. A lot of dealers and shops. come to this very wrong conclusion. Forget everything the dealer said, and start all over. Sounds more like the dealer just did not want to work on the car. I am assuming the car has been taken care of and not abused. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmithmmx Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 10 minutes of troubleshooting and I have found one large point of oil leakage. The driverside rocker cover is leaking BAD. Its tight in there but it can be replaced. Any tips in getting to it? I will replace that and move on. I It has a check engine light but I can't find my reader.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOthis Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I just did the Valve Cover Gaskets on my 96 yesterday.....it is an ej22 but it wasnt nearly as hard as poeple have made it sound....i did take out the battery though.......good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I agree whole heartedly with Nipper, slow way down and don't let the dealer overwhelm you and your brother with multiple diagnosis. What reason did your brother give in taking his car to the dealer in the first place? What firm evidence is there that the car has a HG problem? I am the guy that posted recently about the problem with the 99 and 00 Legy model with the AT problem of slow shifting when stopped from D to R, and conversely from R to D. I added a bottle of Lucas Trany Fix to my car. It helped a lot to solve the problem. It cut in half the delay time in getting the trany to change directions. I would also suggest changing the trany fluid and its external filter. This however, is a project to fix a relative minor problem. My guess is that the AT shifts well to all gears once moving. The inconvenience of slow shifting from D to R, and vice versa is not a sign that the transmisson is going bad. I would question the value of the dealer tell you other wise, if that was what was said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I am the guy that posted recently about the problem with the 99 and 00 Legy model with the AT problem of slow shifting when stopped from D to R, and conversely from R to D. I added a bottle of Lucas Trany Fix to my car. It helped a lot to solve the problem. Thats the one I won't recomend it since i have never done it, but would rather have someone who has vouch for it nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmithmmx Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 It went to the dealer because it felt like the engine was missing. They replaced the coil pack to fix (400 bucks). While it was there they read the codes and it had a low reading from cat1 and a knock sensor code. Thats when the pile on started. I am calling the dealer about the HG, my guess is they did the recall (add coolant conditioner) and now want do the HG while they are replacing the rocker cover gasket. Thats where I came in and stopped the madness. I see how this could be painfull for some when your facing 2G's in repair. I gave my brother my 97 black OBW while I attack each issue. Question!!! There are 3 good dripping points from the bottom of the engine Question!!! Will a 98-99 forester Cats fit a 00 OBW. I am thinking yes. Also could the headgasket seal drip oil and still not have any type of overheating problems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsince77 Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 This really doesn't matter at this point, but I replaced the coil pack on my 97 OBW with an IDENTICAL one from NAPA for just over $100. Must have cost $300 for the dealer to R&R 4 bolts. Sounds like a bad dealership. Your brother is lucky to have you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 It went to the dealer because it felt like the engine was missing. They replaced the coil pack to fix (400 bucks). While it was there they read the codes and it had a low reading from cat1 and a knock sensor code. Thats when the pile on started. I am calling the dealer about the HG, my guess is they did the recall (add coolant conditioner) and now want do the HG while they are replacing the rocker cover gasket. Thats where I came in and stopped the madness. I see how this could be painfull for some when your facing 2G's in repair. I gave my brother my 97 black OBW while I attack each issue. Question!!! There are 3 good dripping points from the bottom of the engine Question!!! Will a 98-99 forester Cats fit a 00 OBW. I am thinking yes. Also could the headgasket seal drip oil and still not have any type of overheating problems? YOU DO NOT NEED A CAT! i will beat that into you using a VW fan belt if i have too You are not listening to us at all. The dealer sounds like a bad place to deal with. If your not overheating or leaking, lest skip the headgasket for now and take things one step at a time. Go to a subaru supplier on line, and order the front O2 sensor and install it. Untill you do that, you can not tell anything else. A bad knock sensor can make the car run poorly You can replace both things yourself failry easily. now listen to us on this, we are trying to save you a ton of money nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmithmmx Posted January 28, 2008 Author Share Posted January 28, 2008 I hear ya, the knock sensor is done 78 bucks at NAPA. I am NOT doing the cats. The next thing is the driver side rocker cover gasket. Then I move onto the front O2 Sensor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I hear ya, the knock sensor is done 78 bucks at NAPA. I am NOT doing the cats. The next thing is the driver side rocker cover gasket. Then I move onto the front O2 Sensor. :banana: :banana: oh mr i have a picture of everything (you know who you are), show him the pic of the valve cover parts he needs to get nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmithmmx Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 Rocker cover gasket swapped along with an OEM front O2 Sensor. We shall see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 2000 Outback valve cover gaskets: TYpically just get the kit also need spark plug tube seals: and valve cover bolt hole washers; these are for a 2.2L the 2.5L are very similar but have a gold colored metal center 2.2L knock sensor with crack: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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