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I finished my 98 Forester (132K) head gaskets today. My thanks to Skip, Bearbalu, 99OBW and the others who blazed the trail and provided so much information that it was possible for a neophyte like me to do the job. Thanks also to those who answered my questions here.

 

The only complaint I have is nobody warned me about the car alarm screeching in an enclosed shop when the positive terminal was connected. Fortunately, we had a defibrillator on hand. Afterwards I saw the yellow sticker under the hood and felt a little sheepish.

 

No leaks and the car runs great. The only big mistake I made was to put the valve covers on before torqueing the cam sprockets so I couldn't use the flats on the cams. Didn't want to take the covers back off (that left lower rear bolt is a stinker), so I figured I would hand tighten the sprockets and once the belt was on I could use the 5thgear-foot on the brake trick to hold the cams while I torqued. Bad idea. One sprocket jumped a tooth and I got flustered and had to go back to square one.

 

This car is new to us, and I'm really impressed. It runs like a top, it feels really solid (tank-like) and is quite peppy. Very pleasant to drive, especially on snow. Close your eyes and you'd never know this car has 132k miles on it. It's tight. My veterinarian puts a couple hundred thousand miles on his Subarus every few years (large-animal practice, lots of driving) and recently traded his OB for a new Forester. He drove the new Forester for the first time and said, except for not smelling like cow manure, he couldn't see much difference between the car with 200K and the new one. Compared to our 97 Passat VR6 (125k), which always has something wrong with it and has at least a dozen features which are really annoying, the Forester is a dream. Hello, Subaru. Goodbye, Volkswagen.

 

It was a fun and interesting job for me. Something different. I might even do it again someday!

 

Tom Murphy

Earlville, NY

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snip...the Forester is a dream. Hello, Subaru. Goodbye, Volkswagen.

 

It was a fun and interesting job for me. Something different. I might even do it again someday!

 

Tom Murphy

Earlville, NY

Funny, I was a Volkswagen loyalist and I mean LOYAL. Nobody dare say anything bad about a VW or I would set them straight! I was unhappy with our Jetta after a string of Bugs, Rabbits, GTIs, diesel Jetta and pickup and Golfs.

 

I got a 96 OBW with a 2.2 and 5 speed. My wife is still driving it and you LOTR fans, it's name is "My Precious"! I have had 3 Legacy wagons, 90, 91, and 93. It would take a signed note from God to get me back in VWs!

 

The salesman told me he had many VW people switch to Subarus. Maybe we have that sideways piston thing in our blood?

 

Greg

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Tom-I had the relevant sections of the FSM from here: http://techinfo.subaru.com/html/index.jspThese were almost as valuable as the stuff I found here and at Skip's page. I wasn't organized enough to download the entire manual and rename all the files, so, when I need it again, it will cost me.

 

Greg-I don't know if it's that sideways piston or what, but that Forester engine sits there and purrs. No shakes or wobbles. It is far smoother than the V6 in my '03 S10, and smoother even than that VR6 in the Passat, or Pissat as I've seen it spelled.

 

Tom

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Congratulations on a job well done!!! I am a little surprised to hear you would do it in the car again, I plan on pulling the engine next time. I think the amount of time for the job should be about the same and the oil separator plate, rear main, and oil pan can be fixed if need be with the engine removed. I guess if I didn't have access to an engine lift that might make the decision for me.

 

A little OT but interesting:

 

Pulloff and I are currently embarking on a slightly different avenue to fixing the Phase I 2.5. He decided that one set of head gaskets was enough, so yesterday he dropped off the '95 2.2 that is going in his 99obw.

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I certainly hope not to have to ever do head gaskets on this car again!

If the rear main seal wasn't leaking and one has an automatic tranny or a recently replaced clutch, I wonder if it is less work to do it with engine in the car. Must be a back breaker though!

 

Any advice you would offer to folks doing it with engine in the car?

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That is funny about theotherskip. I hope the newer VWs are better built than mine.

 

Tom

My brother drives an '03 Jetta TDI. He's got 23,000 miles on it, and has had the brake booster and transmission replaced under warrantee.

 

I owned a '78 Rabbit Diesel and a '86 Golf, no major problems until high mileage (175K plus), but a lot of little things. I'd rather have one big expense (e.g. headgaskets) than be nickle-and-dimed throughout the life of the car.

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My advice for leaving it in the car? Get a set of racheting wrenches for those hard to reach valve cover bolts and cam cap bolts where there is no room for a ratchet and socket. Torque the cam sprockets before putting on the valve covers. It is a bit of a back-breaker, but I think I could cut my time in half the second time around. I hope I never have to do it again on this car, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy an OB or Forester knowing it might need to be done, taking that into account on the price.

 

Ron-I agree. My passat just never lets up. I get one thing fixed and something else needs attention. I'll take the HG job.

 

99OBW-Are there issues with the new NYS inspection requirements with replacing an engine like that? It doesn't alter the OBDII in some way so that you end up stuck with a car that won't pass inspection?

 

Tom

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Not that I know of. I haven't had one of the OBDII inspections yet. Both vehicles are almost due.

 

We are using the EJ25 ECU, so I imagine the only possible consequences could be slightly rich open-loop operation and slightly lean long-term fuel trim. That really depends on the relative flow rates of the injectors though. I don't know that the ECU can ID the engine, so I hope that the OBDII inspection equipment won't be able to ID it either. My understanding is that they are just looking for DTCs based on the generic OBDII parameters, so if the MIL is out Jake should be golden. He purchased a '95 EJ22 with EGR, the only EJ22 that I know of that should be plug-n-play with no subsequent DTCs.

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