djkib

RRuge, I just did this myself, although my car is a little different - 1991 Legacy 2.2. From what I have read, the 2.2 and 2.5 are very similar... I took 3 days this past weekend to complete the job, having never worked on a Subaru before (all my engine experience is on Fords and Volvos). Armed with only information found on this board, we (my 22 year old son and I) pulled the motor, removed the heads, installed new head gaskets, and re-installed the motor, while missing 1 connection on the re-install (the water line between the block and the intake manifold). We had a situation where we were blowing all the coolant out through the overflow bottle, and based on what we read here, chose to do the head gaskets. We took a chance and did not have the heads magnafluxed, since our timeline was very short. In our case it worked out - it was only a head gasket. We used a handful of metric shallow sockets, a 14mm deep socket, 14mm flex head socket, 22mm socket (1/2 drive), 17mm socket (1/2 drive), some antisieze (on the trans/engine dowels on re-assembly), black RTV (for the oil pan) and new gaskets, o-rings, etc. We used a 20-100 ft-lb torque wrench and a 50-150 torque wrench (for the crank pulley). The engine stand REALLY helped us, if you can get one - I borrowed one from a friend (you will need a couple of 6" 10mm x 1.25 bolts for this). As with all jobs, I used this one to augment my tool set - I bought a 3/8 drive air ratchet... I also replaced the timing belt and tensioner pulley (mine had a little too much play), accessory drive belts, plugs, wires, rear main seal, front main seal, oil pump gasket (there was none - just black RTV when we tore it down), and water pump and gasket while we were in there. The worst part was getting the crank pulley off. I finally ended up getting a 3-jaw puller on it to get it off... This Board ROCKS :headbang:! When we ran into trouble or had a question (torque settings, etc.) we had an answer from the gazillions of posts already here. I would not hesitate to do this again, based on what I learned, and what this board contains... Hope this helps, Keith Kibler

I know that this may not be relevant, but, I had a dodge caravan (honest - its the wife's car) where the flexplate was not cracked, but improperly torqued. As the car transitioned from driving the transmission to being a "brake" on the transmission, the bolt holes elongated - the flexplate would actually rotate around the crank and cause a tapping sound similar to what I heard on the clip - somtimes... HTH, Keith

Merry Christmas / Happy ________________ (fill in the blank with your favorite holiday!)!!! the folks on this board have just saved me $100 on my starter! I replaced the contacts in the solenoid for a total of $10.99 --- $7.58 for the contacts and plunger, 3.41 for a can of brake cleaner. Thanks to all who have posted on this topic. Just for reference, here is the link I found most useful... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2447&page=1&pp=10&highlight=secret%2A+start%2A The document attached to this thread was "picture" perfect! Thanks to all! Peace, Keith Kibler

Hey guys/gals! I'm new to the Subaru world... My SAINT of a neighbor GAVE me a 1990 Legacy wagon... Now I'm tryin to keep it running! I look forward to finding all the answers to my questions here... Peace, Keith