12 replies to this topic

[99ImprezaOSport]

Today as I was coming off an exit ramp at about 45mph I heard a "pop" sound and saw something that looked like a black bushing through my rearview mirror.

When I heard the noise, instinctly, I hit the clutch and got over to the side of the road. After a quick check nothing seemed out of ordinary and I tried to crank over the engine. I heard the engine kicking over but it wouldn't start. I did not continue since I figured something "serious" might be wrong.

On further investigation I noticed one of the timing belt cover plugs was missing. And with my magnet catch all I found some plastic/metal shavings and some graphite? bearings. Due to the lack of light I needed to stop investigating but to keep worrying and pacing.

I figure that I've blown one of the belt idlers or tensioner. I have not had the time to take the cover off to see whether the belt broke but figure if one of them blew the belt probably got chewed up.

Either way, I have a 1999 Impreza Outback Sport which was manufactured in 7/98 so:

Is in my engine the interference Phase 2 EJ22?
In all likelyhood is the engine trashed or atleast valves bent?
Has anyone broke a timing belt and not had internal damage with the EJ22 Phase 2?

Worse case scenerio... Anyone have a good used engine, maybe like new WRX STi I could easily swap out =]

[lmdew]

Yes Interference
Yes most likely bent valves, but it would not hurt to check it a little further and see what the cause was.

The Ebay Kits belts and pulleys are good. The only way to tell how much damage there is would be to put it back together and do a compression - leak down check or pull it apart.

How many miles on the car?

[99ImprezaOSport]

endwrench.com Spring 2005 states:

"Unlike most other Asian engines, Subaru 1.8L and 2.2L engines are freewheeling — no bent valves if the belt should break."

Is there a glimmer of hope?

[nipper]

endwrench.com Spring 2005 states:

"Unlike most other Asian engines, Subaru 1.8L and 2.2L engines are freewheeling — no bent valves if the belt should break."

Is there a glimmer of hope?

Yes there is a glimmer of hope, well more then a glimmer.

Replace the TB, tensioner, idler, waterpump, cam seals, main seal and re-seal the waterpump. You will be good to go untill you break the next belt.

nipper

[grossgary]

endwrench.com Spring 2005 states:

"Unlike most other Asian engines, Subaru 1.8L and 2.2L engines are freewheeling — no bent valves if the belt should break."

Is there a glimmer of hope?

no, your 1999 is an interference engine. regardless of that note EJ22's up to 1996 are free wheeling (non interference). 1997+ they are interference.

but that doesn't confirm you broke a belt, best to have a look. shavings usually means the belt or cover was rubbed. i mean it sounds like you busted the belt. how about telling us mileage and maintenance history, that might clue us in on whether this is probable or not too.

that quote is fishy, Subaru hasn't made EJ18 engines since 1996 so I don't know why they refer to it in 2005, although all Ej18's are non-interference.

you're in chevy chase, i guess that means maryland?

[nipper]

no, your 1999 is an interference engine.

but that doesn't confirm you broke a belt, best to have a look. shavings usually means the belt or cover was rubbed. i mean it sounds like you busted the belt. how about telling us mileage and maintenance history, that might clue us in on whether this is probable or not too.

that quote is fishy, Subaru hasn't made EJ18 engines since 1996 so I don't know why they refer to it in 2005, although all Ej18's are non-interference.

you're in chevy chase, i guess that means maryland?

That quote is directly from endwrench, as i just checked myself. Remember there is more then one way to be an interfernce engine, in this case they mean the valves are not going to hit eachother.

nipper

[99ImprezaOSport]

187k miles on the car, I do not know if it was ever replaced. This is my first Subaru and upon reading more and more there are some things I would do differently.

I was a vDub GTI A1 fan for years but really enjoy the 4WD. Nothing like punching it on a slick or loose surface and powering through =]

[99ImprezaOSport]

I got this from an endwrench article, "T-Belt Time All About OHC Timing Belts"

http://endwrench.com...BeltEWWin05.pdf

[grossgary]

at 180,000 miles you should be on your 2nd or 3rd timing belt by now.

i'm on dialup so i can't read that article right now, but 97+ is well known to be interference so i'm not sure what the deal is.

if you can do the work yourself, just throw a timing belt on it and see what kind of running or compression you get. they're not terribly hard to do.

[porcupine73]

Right on, '99 2.2L is interference piston to valve. That other endwrench quote about the 2.2L's not being interference is misleading. That particular quote about the 2.2L not being intereference is in a Subaru engine publication as well, but I believe it was published before 1997, and it was true until model year '97. There is a good article on endwrench about H4 and H6 engines, and it tells by year what the changes were.

a couple excerpts 2.2 Liter Phase 1 Engine Enhancements
The 2.2 liter Phase 1 engine has been enhanced, starting with 1997 model year ... Compression ratio has been increased to 9.7 to 1 by reshaping the crown of the piston. This eliminates the clearance that was available etween the piston at TDC and a fully opened valve.

[Gloyale]

More than likely, since you shut down right away, you are fine. You can hope.

Hang a belt on it, and then see how it runs. That is the easiest way to find out if there was further damage. You need the new belt anyway, unless you are swapping to a different engine.

Worst case then you are out $50 bucks for diagnosis. A local subie shop may even be willing to give you an old belt to try for testing.

2.2 is a tough motor. This is certainly not the end of it if it was otherwise running well. Even if it does need a valve or two.

[99ImprezaOSport]

OK replaced the norm, idler, tensioner, main seal, water pump, etc... Seems the number two? Driver side front cylinder is not holding compression. So valve job.

How long can I drive on 3 cylinders? or should I not even try it?

So should I do both heads or just the problem side?

Do I need to take the engine out? or should I be able to do this with the engine in?

I already have a ACT replacement clutch SB2-HDSS and Xact Flywheel so if the engine needs to come out, no better time than now to do the clutch work.

[grossgary]

Yeah if you need the clutch anyway, pull the engine that's much easier.

But this valve can be repaired without pulling the engine. Pull it out and have a valve job done, they'll test and replace any valves needed.

You can probably drive awhile like that. But I suppose there's a chance of some problems doing that, I would probably avoid it. Pieces of valve in the cylinder (maybe the valves can crack on the edges) will ruin your cylinders.

Or if it's bent bad enough could it damage the head? Probably not as I think the seal would get hosed first but even still could that result in excessive fuel consumption?