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This happened to me just the other day! Was it one of the bolts that secure the front bearing cap that you later put the cam seal in? That's the one I broke. I wound up drilling it and using an easy-out (screw extractor) to get the broken part out. Take your time, use a punch or small nail and a hammer with light tapping to put a punch mark in the center of the screw and then start out with a very small drill bit. Follow that up with a slighty larger bit. I did it this way and then tried the extractor and it came right out. This was with the head still on the engine, and the engine on a pallet. Wound up ordering 8 new bolts to replace them all. The larger ones that hold the center and rear camshaft caps had no problem getting to the 14.5 ft. lbs torque, but the front ones I settled on about 10 or 11. Sounds like you've got a lot of trash in the threads. If you had the heads machined, I would suggest at least hosing them down with a can of carb cleaner and then follow that with WD-40 and the straw to blast out all the oil passages to the cam bearings. You can't use enough compressed air to clean the heads after the machine shop does their thing. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52424

Agree on the speed sensor. Happened to my 97 a couple months ago. If you have a thin 17mm open end wrench and can remove the air box plumbing to the throttle body, then you can unscrew the speed sensor and put the new one in. Takes about 10 minutes, if you are talking to somebody while you're doing it! Anyway, for my 97 Legacy Outback wagon with the 2.5 and a 5 speed manual transmission required this one.

I'll take a look at the "high velocity" water pump that I removed from my engine for signs of cavitation, but I don't think I'll find any. According to Pops, it should appear as pits or pock marks. He's seen them back in '44-'46 as a Lt. Commander on a floating dry dock off of Tinian. Said they were 1/2" to 1" diameter and about the same amount deep......in the propeller blades of submarines. That calls for a replacement propeller. Anybody know why? (ok--thats trivia!) Late last night I was once again looking over the head gasket tutorial by "theotherskip" and I noticed both in the pictures and the parts list that he used the cast impeller "007" version of the water pump in his repair of the 2.5 engine. I signed his guest book as yet another with the failed head gasket syndrome and read through a few of the horror stories there. Motivational it aint! It would really be interesting if, with significant data, it could be shown that the "high velocity" water pump was the root of all (ok, some) evil in the 2.5 engine.

Naaahhhh, it couldn't be. Not an initial "bubble maker" to create the dreaded failed head gasket "bubble maker"........or could it?? http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3102/is_4_123/ai_n6036765

I was reading the book "On the Line at Subaru-Isuzu: The Japanese Model and the American Worker" and learned an interesting fact of which I will tell to the best of my memory.... The assembly of water pumps is done by new trainees to see if they are able to complete work at a high standard of quality. I'm sure there is more to it, but what I said is a fact! I've fallen, and I CAN'T GET UP!! Dude, are you serious??

Well, I went to my local dealer this morning and water pump PN 21111AA007 should be correct; it is the one that is made in Japan and appears to be a factory Subaru part. The mail order one should be correct also being PN 21111AA110; it is made in USA according to the box. Differences: the obvious is the impeller. One is cast aluminum (the Japanese one) and the other is stamped steel (the US version). Other differences are the US model has a slightly wider (by about 2mm) drive pulley---not the diameter of the pulley but rather the surface that the timing belt runs upon, and the US model has a cast heater connection versus the press fit of the Japanese one. Typically, I've use the Japanese type in the past on my 92 Legacy wagon with the EJ22 engine. Strange enough, the one that I just removed from my 97 2.5 Outback wagon that I am going to replace was the type with the steel impeller. So either the factory fitted the steel impeller version, or it was changed prior to 38k miles when I bought it in the fall of 01. So of course I run it past my 86 year old Dad, the civil structural PE. His take is the one with the steel impeller would be the more efficient of the two pumps and recommends using that one. He's also got a good story with regard to reusing head bolts, but thats for another thread! Here is a picture of the lineup. Comments from users and vendors on this issue more than welcome! Whats more interesting is the casting of "YMA" on the US water pump. A google of "YMA water pump" suggests Yamaha Motors of Australia......so my Outback really does have a part of the Outback??

Received a "new" water pump from Subaru dealer. It is in a Subaru box with a Subaru part number sticker, but not in a plastic bag. What strikes me is that it has a gold colored metal crummy looking impeller and NOT the cast impeller I have always seen. Along with the impeller, there are several black magic marker marks where it looks like somebody did a Quality Control check or the sorts on the pump. The last "new" one I bought was sealed in a bag inside the Subaru box and had the cast impeller. If it wasn't such a critical and major component to replace I wouldn't worry about it. Has anybody else seen this variation on the "new" water pumps from Subaru? Oh---97 Legacy Outback 2.5

162k on my 92 Legacy AWD wagon when it was driven non stop for 33 hours 45 minutes from Jackson MS to Dillon MT in temperatures from about 70 in MS to single digits at night in MT several weeks ago!

Well, after spending about $800 in parts to do the head gaskets, water pump, clutch etc. on my 97 Legacy Outback, my vendor was cool enough to send me the head gasket removal/repair section of the factory Subaru manual, and as far as replacing the head bolts themselves, there was absolutely no mention of that, only that you should apply a bit of motor oil to the threads and the head bolt washers. I should think that if this were a critical issue, Subaru would have mentioned it with a "Warning" or the such. The head bolts themselves are pretty heavy duty. The bolts that I WOULD replace are the ones that hold the camshaft bearing caps at the front of the engine, being the aluminum caps that hold the cam seals. This after I sheared the bolt attempting to reach 14.5 ft. lbs. of torque which is the factory number---there is no torque value that I could find in the Haynes manual. Anyway, there will be 8 of those for the 4 cam engine. The one other thing I wish I had done in torqueing the heads was to use an engine stand. Reason being that in the process of loosening the bolts 180 degrees, then another 180 degrees, the new head gasket and cylinder head is completely loose from the block. Hence I think that had I put the engine in an engine stand with the cylinder head upright, there would be less of a chance of the gasket moving during that part of the procedure due to the weight of the head itself.

Well, the Haynes manual I could not find the torque specs for the camshaft bearing cap bolts for the Phase 1 2.5. However, the factory info is 14.5 ft. lbs which should be just about 174 in. lbs........which is where the #1 exhaust bearing cap on the top bolt decided to call it a day. Just at the point I'm about to stop and back it off, things broke loose. As in all the way loose. I put the torque wrench down and sat there for a minute. To my PLEASENT surprise, removing the bolt revealed the bolt had failed and not the aluminum head. That I can deal with! But I'm not so sure about this Harbor Freight Inch Pound 1/4 inch drive torque wrench........that I compared and verified with my 1/2" drive torque wrench at 14.5 ft. lbs before I started. So either chock one up for Subaru designing the bolt to fail before the threads in the aluminum head or I got lucky. (I'll take either.)

I sent my pristine little 92 Legacy wagon up there to my nephew several weeks ago. Neph might need a hand with his new (to him) Subie!

I just got some springs and struts off a 97 outback and installed them....... 'nuff said. I bet you got a strut with a dead spot in it. My 97 Outback rode like a log wagon with all the front end clunking noise. Installed new OEM struts and it's almost like a Lincoln Town Car now. Well, ok, a Grand Marquiseter.

As Robert D. Raiford of the "John Boy and Billy Big Show" out of the Carolinas would say: "A mans intelligence is inversely proportional to the amount of noise his machine makes. Loud pipes SUCK!"

The Dude said: "DON"T even think about changing your plugs without access to a torque wrench." The Dude also said: "I didn't say YOU peeed on the rug, I said WU peed on the rug!" (MAN I love that movie!) I'll second the advice of using a piece of rubber hose--not as in a garden hose, but as in something like vacuum line or fuel line, probably 5/16 diameter about 8" long would be good. Put the tip of the plug in the end of the hose then add just a light coat of anti-seaze on the spark plug threads. Now guide the plug and the hose towards the engine and when you think you're there, start rotating the hose. You'll feel it get a little bit harder to turn once it starts to thread in correctly. If it gets in a bind, back it out! Ahhhh, but before you remove the plug and after you have removed the plug wire, use another piece of 5/16 hose about 2.5 feet long (you DID buy 3' of the stuff, didn't you?) and fit it down in the cavity of the cylinder head where the plug goes, stick the other end to your mouth and blow blow blow! This will get any sand and grit out of the deep hole where the plug is giving you a bit of insurance in avoiding a cross threading with the new plug. Cross threading a cylinder head with a spark plug is TROUBLE and VERY expensive to fix!! As for the torque wrench suggestion, that is probably a good one, if you can get a torque wrench in that tight spot as the 97 Legacy Outback do have! But if you do use a torque wrench, make SURE you know the difference between Ft. lbs. (foot pounds) and In. lbs (Inch pounds). Personally, if it were me attempting to torque them with a torque wrench, I'd start with the wrench set to the correct setting, and then see how it feels (pressure wise) against the inside of your hand while you torque a benign bolt (the 12mm across the flats bolt that holds the upper radiator brackets to the car come to mind) before you over do it! Good Luck! And last but not least, most all of the spark plug sockets you can buy will be a tight fit in the cylinder head. If the socket has a sticker on the side of it make sure you remove it. On the 2.5 engine, don't be surprised if you pull out the socket extension and the socket is still in the head. This is where you need a pair of hemostats. Stick the 'stats in the hole, then inside the socket, spread them open and retrieve socket. (But try it on your neigbors Pontiac first!)

......And when you grab the plug wire at the plug end by the boot, don't pull on the wire itself (you already knew that!) but grabbing it by the "wings" on the boot and pull out and DOWN. If you pull up, you'll never get it loose! When you install the new wires use a bit of dilectric grease on the connectors....slide the end that fits the coil pack on, then pinch the boot and lift up to "burp" the boot and it will snug up to the coil pack.

The "ridges" were definitely high enough to catch a fingernail, and the grooves as well. The grooves are in the case and the ridges were on the head I believe around the outside perimeter of the cylinders. Here is a photo I took when I removed them---I should have taken a few shots after I cleaned them up----but today I took them to the machine shop and they surfaced both of them 0.004" (four thousandths) each. They have an absolute mirror finish to them, I'll see if I can get a picture of them to this thread in the next day. Anyway, here is where I think the gasket failed, below the front passenger side (I'snt that #1? I don't have my manual handy and it sure isn't the same as the air cooled VWs and Porsches!). <img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/Huffmeister/IMG_0680.jpg" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"> And the offending gasket! <img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/Huffmeister/IMG_0682.jpg" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket">

My 92 Legacy wagon had the "mouse trap" seat belts, the drivers side quit working and I wound up with a greasy shirt when the cable finally fell out of overhead pillar. Replaced the mechanism with one from a salvage yard, and if I remember correctly, the owners manual mentioned a way of manually retracting the seat belt by using a hex tool from the tool kit----ok, I remember now---it was an allen key type of deal found on the underside of the center console lid, and where the belts meet the floor is where you "crank" it back until you can have the dealer check it out for you for safety's sake.

Replacing the head gaskets on my 97 Outback 2.5, and after cleaning the heads and their mating surfaces on the case, I can feel a ridge in the head and a matching "valley" on the case. I should be getting the gaskets and other parts in the mail in the next couple of days, and I'm contemplating having the heads resurfaced. I checked with a machine shop a friends Honda/Acura repair shop suggested and they say they can do it no problem at $25 each. I'd rather leave the valves in the head, they said it wouldn't be a problem as long as they are below the head surface. So I'm trying to decide about the machine work. Not so sure the gasket wouldn't seat better with the "ridges" as they are, or to go ahead and have the machine work done. Realizing this is going to "bump up" the compression, and I wonder what the deck height is from the factory? I've got the factory numbers for the maximum amount to be surfaced as 0.012" if I remember correctly. Also, I'm the second owner of the car, I bought it at 38k without a history. I'm noticing on one head, on the inside surface (towards the center of the engine) near the exhaust port there is a stamped "W", and the top of the head at the intake has some stamped numbers that are not the same as the funky Subaru font like on the top of the case. The other head doesn't have the "W" or anything stamped in that spot, and no other numbers at the intake other than the funky Subaru font. Could this have been a replacement/remanufactured head? I tried the "search" function for "resurfacing heads" etc. and didn't find a whole lot. So, to machine or not to machine? Any takers? Thanks!

MY 92 Legacy wagon at 160k never had any issues with lifter noise, I used valvoline 10-30 and Purolator oil filters. I do know that the Miata crowd swears by the OEM oil filter or the lifters will definitely tick, and even at that come 4-5k miles they will tick big time when cold or upon start up after they have been driven. That's when I know to change the oil in my Miata! (And it's getting kind of ticked off right now chasing down Subaru parts etc. while my 97 Outback engine is on the garage floor in pieces!) So perhaps your oil filter is an issue?

First thing I'd try is the cruise control. Does it work? Or does it start to work and then shut off as if you turned it off by using the brakes. Next thing is to watch both the trip odometer and the regular odometer. Check the mileage against the mileposts on the interstate. When your cruise finally doesn't work, your speedometer finally quits, and you can drive 180 miles while your odometer says you've gone 3.4 miles----I'll bet you it is the Speed Sensor on the transmission that is going out. Happened to my 97 Legacy Outback about a month or so ago. Others will comment it is perhaps the speedometer head that is going bad.

I just pulled the 2.5 from my outback the other night. I used the aforementioned lifting eye on the flywheel end of the engine where the 3 wiring connectors are, and as for the front of the engine---if you try and remove the A/C compressor from its bracket, you will be faced with the 2 lower bolts that are horizontal and perpindicular to the engine, and you are going to have a hard time getting a socket on the 14mm (across the flats) bolts due to the top of the engine/cylinder head on the drivers side. So I just removed the bolts that hold the A/C bracket to the engine, and when you lift this up, there will be a threaded hole in the top of the engine that nothing was connected to, but you can use one of the 14mm bolts from the bracket and a couple of heavy washers to secure the chain at that spot. Oh, and the last thing I removed before attempting to lift the engine was the fuel lines. Then once it started to lift out, I flipped the A/C compressor over upside down and placed it where the battery/washer fluid area is. Once I got the engine out, I put a piece of board across the bottom of the engine bay and then flipped the compressor back over and layed it on that. The kink in the hoses was pretty brutal over in the battery area! Here you go, note "shiney" washer on bolt atop front of engine. I removed the engine with the intake manifold still installed, and shot this photo after removal. <img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/Huffmeister/IMG_0659.jpg" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket">

Oh, I agree 110% especially on the interference engine such as the 2.5 that a new timing belt is the ONLY way to fly! However, my curiousity is along the lines of suppose someone installed a new timing belt to the point of applying the tensioner. Then they found out they were "off the mark" with regard to lining up the correct crank and cam marks. On the Fiats, you either got it right the first time or tried again with a NEW belt. So, my fellow Subies, whats your take?

Here's my 97 with 91k miles. If it bubbles coolant in the expansion tank, run don't walk unless it is VERY inexpensive! <img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/Huffmeister/IMG_0662.jpg" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket">

I replaced the timing belt on my 97 2.5 Legacy Outback wagon when I had to replace the front crank seal due to leaks at 74k miles. Fast forward to now with 91k miles and I'm going in again to replace the head gaskets. Having owned several Fiats in the past, the cardinal rule with them was once you tensioned the timing belt, in no way were you to use it again should you have to remove the tension. Those were 30k or 60k intervals in replacing the belts. So I ask you guys, sure, on an interference engine such as the 2.5 it would probably be silly not to use a new belt to replace one that only has 17k miles on it, but maybe for say a 2.2 engine, would you re-use it??

I removed the 2.5 from my 97 legacy outback just last night to repair the dreaded head gaskets. Came out fairly easy with the intake manifold intact on the engine. Removed intake once I had it on the floor. Hardest part of that---by far---was trying to figure out the #^%#%$^ connector to the water temp sender on the cross pipe. Here's a tip---use a screwdriver and push perpindicular to the connector, and it will rock and unlatch. In fact I think the hardest thing about working on my Subaru is trying to figure out how to disconnect the wiring at the connections.