Jump to content
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

Recommended Posts

So am I screwed? I had the valves set at .009 and .012. I started it and it runs good but sounds like an old Mercedes diesel. I thought it was valves being loose, but if they're to tight, would that make it sound like that and did it probably damage something

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mine had a bad tensioner ... the noise came and went but was very loud and obnoxious when happening. Very diesel sounding.  When / if  you change it ... Buy only subaru or Japanese made parts.  I recently did a maintenance change of timing belt / tensioner and all rollers on a 2006 obw. bought reputable parts (i thought) american made and what i got was an american name on china parts...  the roller on the tensioner went apx 50 miles before self destructing and bending every valve in the motor !  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The o my problem with tensioner thought is this is a hybrid kind of motor I threw together from parts in my shop. The block is actually a 99 2.5 out of an outback and the heads are phase 2 2.2 out of a 99 legacy. It has the 2 bolt tensioner and rollers from the 2.5 block. Can I and should I change the tensioner to a 1 bolt style. Or stick with what I have and get a new 2 bolt tensioner

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Damn, I never thought about that. It looks like the gaskets for a 99 2.5 outback will work and are thicker. Good and bad. Good it will probably fix the diesel sound I hear. Bad, I get to do head gaskets again.

 

Before I do, does this make sense about the sound and is in the probable fix.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I asked because the bore is a different diameter on the 2.2 head gaskets, and it's possible the piston could make contact with the fire ring of the gasket if the wrong gasket is used.

Another reason for making sure to use the correct gasket is that the 96-98 Dohc engine pistons crest above the deck of the block, and requires a thicker head gasket to keep the pistons from making contact with the head. 99 shouldn't be like that, but if that engine has the two piece style tensioner it's possible that's a 96-97 engine that was swapped into a 99 car.

 

You can verify the engine year by checking the VIN stamp on the lower right corner of the bell housing.

 

Make sure the tensioner isnt flopping around when it's running. If it's an auto trans make sure the torque converter to flex plate bolts are tight. Other than that, probably gonna have to pull the heads off again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Everything looked good, so I picked picked up the 99 head gaskets today. They are thicker than the 2000 gaskets, so I am pulling the motor in the morning and going to try and do the head gaskets and have it running again by hopefully 2 or 3 tomorrow.

 

I will update with the outcome when I get done.

 

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...