hankosolder2

I once did a head replacement / HG job on a Honda and had the same problem with smelling coolant & white smoke from the exhaust. It was just residual coolant in the exhaust system and went away...the car was fine for 4+ years after that. You could get lucky, or not so much. I say drive it, keep a careful watch on the temp gauge and coolant level and see what happens. Wit all due respect, I disagree with Nipper's PCV valve suggestion; how is a PCV valve going to cause white smoke and coolant odors? It could cause blue smoke, oil leaks or oil consumption- but the pcv valve has nothing to do with the cooling system. Nathan

I'm going to be the dissenting voice here; unless you do mild off roading, live in an area with exceptionally heavy snowfall, etc. the standard Legacy is a superior driving vehicle to the Outback. The jacked up suspension on the Outback is a real handicap to good handling in my opinion. (I say this as the owner of an Outback; I bought it b/c it had a horked engine and was cheap... but a GT wagon or "plain" Legacy wagon is much more of a 'driver's car.' ) I understand that many have the opposite preference and add even more than standard lift to the Outback...I just don't want you to think that there's not going to be a handling penalty. It's all down to how you use the car and what your priorities are. Nathan

Just make sure that those hundreds of head gaskets weren't installed on ten cars! Nathan

Ah, I really restated your point. Looks like we posted almost simultaneously. Sorry!

To restate porcupines point- "continuity" is generally considered to be a LOW resistance. A resistance in the 500Kohm to 1m ohm range (relatively high) would not be called continuity! The resistance value of the sensor should be in that range (assuming your multimeter is working correctly) if it is not, the sensor is OPEN and needs to be replaced. Nathan

One thing with the EGR experiment; the experiment itself will set a CEL! The computer monitors EGR flow (by looking for a change in manifold vaccum when the EGR valve is open) and will set an EGR flow code. Nathan

I'm glad to know it's common and not something freaky with my car. I'll probably take a bit more metal off if it doesn't fix itself. Nathan

Greetings, gang! I was doing a rear brake job on the '98 OBW and after installing the rotor on the driver's side, there was significant drag once the wheel was bolted up. I pulled the pads (no dice) and then backed the parking brake shoes way off (no dice.) I then noticed that there were evidence marks of rubbing on one area of the brake backing plate (about 1/2" long at the bottom.) There was a corresponding shiny ring around the lip of the old rotor/drum. The backing plate is pretty beefy, so I didn't think I could bend it away. I lightly ground the contact area back which helped considerably. There's still a trace of rubbing around corners, but I'm sure that will fix itself in time. The things I suspect are that a.) the backing plate was bent in some previous misadventure or b.) the wheel bearing is somehow sloppy or collapsing. c.) the hub is somehow out of tolerance. I think I can rule out the new disc being the cause as there was some rubbing with the old disc too (as proven by the marks.) There doesn't seem to be any unusual play in the wheel bearing, and if it was loose I would expect it to rub at the top, so I'm guessing it's just a slightly tweaked backing plate. Has anyone seen this issue and am I on the right track? Nathan

I know that some of the newer ATs "learn" your driving style and shift accordingly. (I don't know if Subaru does this- just conjecture) Perhaps your loaner was driven by someone previously with a different driving style and you didn't drive it long enough for it to re-learn how to shift with your throttle inputs. I'm strictly a 5MT person myself, but MT Subarus tend to be geared kind of short for quiet high speed highway cruising. We use the '98 Ouback as our "town car" and have an Accord (also MT) for road trips. It's running at under 3000 RPM at 80 mph- no need for ear plugs! Are the new Imps geared any taller than the older Subarus? I thought that as ATs go, the 1st gen Legacy my wife used to own was pretty responsive...it would do a part throttle downshift and would unlock the torque converter on the highway as well. I didn't feel the need to constantly do manual overrides like I do with many ATs. Nathan

No difference. I've done a 2.2 into a manual '98 outback with no issues. The donor '95 2.2 should be from an automatic (long story-- only the 95 automatics had EGR, which you need to prevent setting the check engine light on a later model 2.5) The 2.5 flywheel will bolt right on to the 2.2 crankshaft. Nathan

I thought the 2.2 and 2.5 cam & crank sensors were interchangable? Certianly, they are not failure-proof just because he happens to have a ej25. I don't think your two theories are mutually exclusive- he could have a bad cam sensor, or he could have a valve issue. I do wonder if it's possible for a bad cam sensor to glitch out long enough to set a misfire code, but not long enough to set a bad cam sensor code. Nathan

a vacuum gauge sounds like a good idea to check for valve issues. The intake manifold isn't as hard as it looks to remove. I think you could swap the FI wiring harness yourself, but I'm not convinced it's the problem. Really, the FI harness doesn't flex on deceleration at all...the other section of the harness between the connectors on the passenger side of the engine and the firewall would really be the only section which shifts as the engine moves on its mounts on decel. You could easily flex the wires and connectors by hand while it's running and if they were that bad, I'd guess you'd set a CEL at idle. Your best bet might be to buy an OBD II scan gauge (or take it to a mech with one.)...I think some can capture real time data at the precise moment a CEL is set. You could then possibly find out which parameter is out of whack in the moment. I admire your persistence on this one! Nathan

Another thought re: replacing rotors. The front brakes do around 80% of the braking...so cutting corners is more acceptable for the rear brakes than the front. Nathan

Gary, Why don't you pressure bleed the system? You can build your own rig if need be using an old cap to a master cylinder, a bottle, some hoses, a source of compressed air (which could even be a tire.) Works great. Nathan

I disagree. The "early 90s 2.2" engine should bolt in, and it should also have a two port exhaust setup. If you got a complete engine wiring harness harness/intake manifold / throttle body/injectors etc. from a '95 legacy, it would bolt up to the earlier engine OK and connect to the 2.5 chassis harness fine and run with the 2.5 ecu. The only problem will be lack of EGR which will set a CEL. Having said that, a complete '95 2.2 engine assy would be the easiest way to do it and shouldn't be THAT expensive. Nathan

I understood that the blinking CEL was to warn about any condition which can damage the catalytic converter- like a misfire or excessive richness for an extended period. Here's what I'm thinking... coasting after accell while in gear is a high vaccum condition (as you noted.) If you have worn valve guides/seals, oil could be sucked into the combustion chamber, causing a temporary miss. (but you have a fresh CCR engine, right?) Oil could also be drawn in through the PCV system. (Did you reuse your old engine's PCV valve?) High vacuum could also accentuate a problem with a leaking injector- did you ever swap them? (The difference between the fuel pressure and the manifold vaccuum determines the injectors flow...hence the need for a vacuum sensistive fuel pressure regulator.) I know that you consider it improbable that two injectors could fail simultaneously (true) but consider that they may have been exposed to the same contaminants in the fuel. Oh, also you could have a trace vacuum leak at the O-rings sealing the injectors to the manifold. I have another crazy idea. I think your car has a small filter mounted in the vacuum line to the MAP sensor. When it gets restricted, it delays the MAP sensor's reaction to changes in vacuum, which can throw an EGR code (Computer verifies EGR flow by monitoring the change in manifold vacuum when the EGR valve opens...or so I hear.) Perhaps a slow reponse from the map sensor could also briefly effect the mixture during an accell/decell transition. Tolerance differences in the injectors, design of the manifold, ignition system etc. could make cylinders 3&4 more prone to misfire if the mixture is off slightly. (I'm clutching at straws here...it's just a theory.) Good luck, Nathan

Rather than spending time and or $$$ tearing down the engine, why not measure the oil pressure with a gauge? If the backing plate on the oil pump is loose, it's got to make some measurable difference in the oil pressure. If oil pressure is to spec, look elsewhere for your problem. Lifter noise is not that big a deal in and of itself. The car should run more or less fine even with a badly sticking lifter or two, and it should keep running a long time. If the noise is bad enough for the knock sensor to be picking it up, it must be pretty bad indeed. You could replace the faulty knock sensor and relocate it to a different area on the engine (or trans) further away from the noisy lifters/rod/or whatever. It must be bolted to something metal for its ground. (relocating it will reduce the functionality of the knock sensor, but it will keep the engine computer happy.) Subaru also had a TSB for reducing the sensitivity of the knock sensor using a pair of resistors...it doesn't apply to this car, but it would probably work. Nathan

I could be talking smack here, but I seem to recall someone saying that the position of the shift linkage was different on FWD vs AWD 5MT cars. (I've never even seen a FWD subaru, so that's just hearsay.) If you do go the AWD + welded diff route, I would be interested to hear if there is a difference. Nathan

I don't know the specifics of the Subaru engine management software, but Hondas used to incorporate a full fuel cut when coasting in gear untill the engine RPM dropped to 2500 rpm or below. The best strategy would be to learn the fuel cut rpm threshold, by observing injector pulse width on a scan gauge (or looking the decel fuel cut RPM up). Coast in gear until you reach the threshold, then shift to neutral or declutch. (You'll be able to coast further without add'l engine braking, and the injectors will be on below the RPM threshold anyway.) Nathan

Does it make funny noises in all gears but one? How does the gear lube look? I have seen two manual transmissions sieze in "direct drive" mode. (these cars were not subarus.) Barring an external linkage issue, I think you're best off looking for a J/Y replacement trans. Using a AWD trans in a FWD application will require locking up the viscous coupling, IMHO. You're best off finding a FWD trans. Nathan

As lost in the 202 said, it's a non interference engine, so slipped valve timing shouldn't cause internal damage. Assuming the '90 EJ 22 is similar to the later EJ22 engines, there's a spot on the camshaft and cam sprocket which looks like there should be a woodruff key in it, but there actually isn't supposed to be one in there. There's a shallow pin which comes out of the cam sprocket to locate it to the flange on the front of the camshaft. Perhaps it dropped a valve, a valve guide or something got into the combustion chamber and was interfering with the valve opening. It sounds like one cylinder failed (say a dropped valve) then as you continued to drive, the broken part jammed one of the other valves in that cylinder and caused the cam to snap, disabling the other cylinder on that bank. Nathan

Gary, I don't know if this is a consideration for you, but I'm pretty sure that the LATCH system is only rated up to a certain weight (of the child.) I'm not sure if the limitation is the anchors themselves or the seat...I do know our child seat is rated for a much higher weight when fastened with a seatbelt versus LATCH. (This also implies that the seatbelt method might be stronger in general.) It might not be worth the effort to fabricate LATCH style anchors for an older vehicle for the relatively short time period you might be able to use them for. If memory serves, our child exceeded the max LATCH weight at one year old.... Nathan

I assume when you say "crank seals and front main seal" you meant cam seals and front main seal? You can use a seal puller (there are two styles I've seen-- a crooked hook type and a sort of T shaped device.) The cheap way is to pierce the seal with an icepick or similar tool and lever it out, taking great care not to scratch the cam/crank shafts. Also, the cam seals are mounted in aluminum holders (3X 10mm bolts IIRC) with O-rings behind them. Change those O rings too...if you pull the entire cam seal holder off, I think you can knock the seal out from behind. It's been a while, so I might be wrong on that. I remember tapping on the seal holders quite a bit to loosen them. I generally have not futzed with oil pumps, but it's advised to check the tightness of the screws on the backing plate. I've never done it. I think Permatex Ultra Grey (as a sub for Titebond, I think) used somewhat sparingly is the suggested sealant for most oil applications in the subie. Nathan

You don't need to tear down the front of the engine to do a valve clearance adjustment. At most (starting with a fully assembled engine) you'll need to remove the outboard front timing belt covers (3X 10mm bolts on each side cover) so you can see the camshaft positions (and the valve covers.) It will be easier to do out of the car. Also, if the valve clearances check OK (or slightly loose) it's a sign that the valves are probably in good health. A tight clearance is indicative of valve/valve seat wear. A leak down test is considered more accurate than a compression test. Seeing as the engine is out of a car, I don't see how you can easily spin the engine on the starter motor to do a compression test! So a leakdown test might be your best bet. I think the testers can be kind of expensive though...rent one?? It's also probably possible to make one. Sorry about the single income/single mom mixup! I was reading quickly. Nathan

I hope it isn't bad form to answer a question addressed at Gary. A compression test is performed by screwing a compression tester into the sparkplug holes (all other s. plugs are removed,) disabling the fuel supply (pull a fuse or all the injector connectors.) Crank the engine with the accellerator to the floor for several revolutions and record the number on the gauge. Check a haynes manual for specs, but all the numbers should be within a 10-15% spread of each other...IIRC. Leakdown test: manually position the crankshaft of the engine so that cylinder 1 (for example) is at TDC. Attach a leakdown tester (pressure gauge + air compressor) to the sparkplug hole. I believe you read out a percentage reading on the gauge and it should be less than a certain %. (I've never done this, not owning one.) Repeat with each cylinder at TDC. Valve clearance on a late EJ22 involves removing the valve covers, measuring the clearance with a feeler gauge and turning screw adjustera until the clearance is in spec. You will have to rotate the engine untill the cam lobes are in the right position for this adjustment. See a shop manual for the precise details and specs. I hope I don't offend by saying this but, I'm a little surprised that someone contemplating engine and trans swaps is unfamiliar with these relatively simple procedures. Gotta know how to walk before you can run, you know? I'm sure you can follow a shop manual and get this car into good shape...nice that you're helping a single mom out. Nathan