blitz

It did this from new? It started suddenly 12 days ago? What? C'mon, give out the info that leads to a diagnosis by it's very nature. Explain "what happened" and when "it" happened. History. Chronicle the development of the problem. Spill it, don't be mysterious. Give some info to work with man.

Too late, LOL. I just finished putting the entire car back together. All I gotta do is try to pour the old coolant back in through a coffee filter and I'll be able tp start it up. I didn't do any grinding, but rather used an extremely fine emery paper to lightly take the sharp ridges off the scratches. Actually I'm kinda hoping the seal misses the scratches as it is, but I just wanted to prevent nicking the seal on the sharp spots while installing it. If it leaks, I'm gonna Xtremely pissed.

Thanks Frag! One more question: Anti-sieze or threadlocker upon re-installation of the cam gear bolts, or just dry? Also, Matty, To clarify: I messed up the first seal removal on my own using the drill BEFORE you mentioned it, not because of it. I think the "drill & screw" method is a good one, but it requires a straight-in shot with the drill in order to work properly. Everyone: I sincerely appreciate the help. I'm having a hard time believing that I used to be an ASE-certified mechanic (28 yrs. ago), but with age, comes this peculiar type of befuddlement and feeble mindedness.

Thanks everyone. I got the remaining two seals out by using a sturdy little screwdriver of the exact proportions to carefully "cold-chisel" the seal's frame completely through at one side (effectively turning it into a split washer), pushed down the imbedded screwdriver and voila! The seal popped out. I just hope the first one I messed up with the drill doesn't leak. Next question: Does the oil pump have to be removed to replace the O-ring? (I haven't the slightest idea where the O-ring is located). The factory manual is REALLY lousy. The diagrams appear to be about as dis-jointed as if they'd been drawn by someone who'd been on a week-long absynthe binge, just prior to severing their own ear.

Thanks Matty. Ironically, just before posting this question I decided that drilling some holes would be a great thing, then proceeded to have the drill bit walk across the face of the seal, straight over to the rubber and plunge in, putting some horrific scratches on the cam surface. The problem is that a standard hand drill won't fit the allotted work space in order to get a straight-shot at the seal face.. A right-angle drill motor would work. So now I'm trying to cool my fuming while polishing the scratches gingerly with crocus cloth. I may have F*-ed it up. Did you dig between the aluminum and the seal (outside), or between the cam and the seal (inside)?

I searched, but not much luck. Could someone refresh me on the easiest way to remove the cam/ crank seals? Just dig 'em out?

You don't appreciate the influence those stickers give you. The best time to "support" your state troopers IS when they're pullling you over.

I just noticed the original post date. Glad everything's alright.

Commuter, calculate the number of days that the car faithfully took you to work and back without bearing failure, then realize it failed the next day after it was serviced. The statistical implication is that: 1. Something was eroding the bearing prior to failure. 2. Some unknown anomaly as a result of the service finally failed it. Really it was not one or the other, but both.

Thanks Cookie. Yeah, I already have the high-temp stuff on-hand, that's why I asked.

Is the high-temp (O2 sensor stuff) good for this?

Cookie, I haven't seen any evidence that the slap can be eliminated through oil selection (despite an overwhelming intuition that suggests otherwise ). At best the slap can be mitigated somewhat. Myself, I've just accepted it as part of the 2.5's characteristics. Mobil 1 15W-50 is great oil for any starting temp over 40*f, run the heck out of it. 17.4 cst @ 100*C isn't thick oil. 20+cst is thick by my definition.

It might actually be a good thing to draw a little solvent through the ported port on account of the actual port opening tending to be rather small and prone to clogging.

Thanks for the info everyone. This morning I broke-loose & unscrewed the crank bolt, then SLIPPED THE CRANK PULLEY OFF BY HAND! I've had the hardest time doing some of the simplest maintenance chores on my Subarus (removing fuel line from filter, etc.), so the one procedure I've been dreading goes smooothly. Thank god for small miracles. If the rest of the job goes this well I may end up enjoying working on my cars like I used to.

The label on the package of ice cream doesn't say anything about making you fat, etc. There are those who would advise against adding ketone solvents to the crankcase (yours truly). I'd use Seafoam to clean the PCV valve, but I'd remove it from the engine, etc. Ask yourself: what would the average car owner do?, then: what would the smart Subaru owner do?

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20239 Long thread ...700-something posts. Obviously the AWD is a factor, but I started comparing other AWD vehicles of similar weight and displacement and found that Subaru was still behind. I figured it had something to do with the unique engine ...did a rabid search on my day off and comfirmed my suspicions.

Gnuman, LOL! (no it's not "reservoir tip" ) Long story short, it's a vacuum tube. (a.k.a. "Tubeman"). It was drawn by an artist friend of mine at my request and it's done in the style of the Creem magazine "Boy Howdy" mascot. There's actually a companion "distressed-looking" tubeman (furrowed brow and sweat-beads). Both were part of a small advertisment I ran in Guitar player Magazine almost 20 years ago for a kit to "Bulletproof your Marshall Amp". I learned a lesson in real-life politics on account of Marshall being by far the largest advertiser in Guitar Player during that period.

I actually did (what I thought was ) a brilliant diatribe on this a while back. To wit (summary): The biggest problem with the boxer configuration stuffed into a passenger car is the overall width. To keep it in check, Subaru works toward the bottom-end of the acceptable bore/stroke ratio AND the bottom-end of the acceptable rod/stroke ratio. My analysis was that THIS was the major culprit in the Subaru fuel-thirstyness phenomemon. I also opined that this dimensional uniqueness allowed Subaru's to benefit from slightly thicker (not necessarily thick) oil ...reason being: lower piston speed and higher piston side-loads.

Frag, ported vacuum and manifold vacuum are the same, except ported vacuum doesn't come in until just off-idle (do to the location of the port just slightly ahead of the throttle blade). The old distributor vacuum advance mechanisms were activated by ported vacuum. I'm not sure what it's used for on a modern vehicle, apparently something tho. The "higher vacuum the more the engine is revved" you speak of is actually "venturi" vacuum. Only found on a carburetor though (no venturis on an EFI/TB).

Definitely change the oil. Seafoam breaks down the buffers, and afterward the oil goes downhill fairly fast. You don't want run that oil for too long. It's best to do the top-end clean when coming up to an oil change so you won't have to waste a crankcase full of good oil.

Another possibilty is the timing belt tensioner "cold-noise". I thought this problem was worked out by the '03 MY, but I'm not 100% sure.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY ALL! Hey, what's the correct Loctite product for keeping the the crank-pulley bolt from walking out? I'm assuming it's the blue (#242) removable stuff unless someone tells me otherwise. The green (#290) and red (#271) both require heat to remove, don't want that, do I?

Y'know, the general reticence of insurance companies in coming to grips with the ruthlessness of airbag deployment and the costs associated with the aftermath of their deployment is hardly surprizing: THE EXISTANCE OF AIRBAGS IN PASSENGER VEHICLES IS THIER OWN HANDIWORK. Thanks to them we now have "safety devices" that are capable of killing or injuring. If I were you, I'd sue their pants off for attempted murder. I hate the insurance industry. Evil.

LOL . If your air-temp sensor is the type mounted in the front of the airbox, it's a snap to pull it out and measure it's resistance at various temperatures. Unfortunately I don't have any specs. In my experience, during the summer months (80 - 90*F), 3k worth of resistance in that circuit is enough to induce spark knock in my 2.5 using 87 octane. The knock sensor doesn't influence timing in any way other than to tell the ECU to apply temporary "corrective bulk retard" in the event of spark knock. The single centrally-mounted sensor doesn't work well on the boxer and it never will. It's a flawed application by nature of it's design. It's either too sensitve for certain specific engines, or not sensitive enough for others. Then as a lot of the 2.5's develop piston slap over time, the sensor picks that noise up and interprets it as knock. Subaru has a knack for hardware but they have a difficult time with software.

Like Al_Smokemcrack said, you control the throttle with one hand and meter a LIGHT stream of water into the throttle body vaccum line with the other. DON'T STICK THE HOSE IN THE WATER, rather suction it off the top like slurping hot soup from a spoon. If you give the engine a big gulp of water, you stand a chance of bending a rod. The engine needs to be fully hot (fans cycle at least once). Afterwards, drive the vehicle moderately hard to chase all the moisture completely out of the tailpipe. To expand further on the cautions regarding this proceedure: Don't stall or hydrolock the engine. Also be careful not to bang your head on the hood or inadvertently get your finger in the accessory belt. Lastly, when driving the water out of the tailpipe afterwards, be careful not to crash the car. If you play sports, can apply spray paint competently, or play at least one musical instrument, you can master the water-blast technique.