Tech1967

Never had a problem, but then the correct tool is hanging on the wall. Lol.

Running unpresurised will accelerate the demise of the engine. If the HG job is done with care, the hose in the reservoir is cut back at an angle and the rad cap is cleaned with every oil change (6000km or 4000 miles) you won't have reoccuring failures. I am a Subaru tech that now does head gaskets for people that don't normally maintain their car with me or are passing through. I have 2 OBW that I picked up cheap and am toying with using a pressurised reservoir so the rad cap is never affected by crud on the seals and return valve.

I have seen a pump already on it's way get louder after the belt is reinstalled tighter. You might loosen it some to get it quieter for now but that's not a repair for the problem just a reduction of the symptom.

Any exhaust leak before or close to the o2s is gonna make a code. Don't fix anything till your exhaust is done.

Check your bill. I only replace whats neccesary unless you're close to your belt replacement interval, usually some idlers and maybe a tensioner. Policy is different depending on shop I imagine.

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=70305 Check this too.

The key is still in there and damaged right? Possibly the crank too? With some very carefull work you may be able to save yourself. Snap-On sells a pencil die grinder, basically an air powered Dremel tool. The bits for it fit in a dremel so you might be able too clean up the key and crank with it to get pulley off. You can get a new key but the crank is a bit more expensive so keep it off the crank unless absolutely neccesary. This is finicky work and one oops could blow the job so be steady and be ready to walk away to try later.

Or piston slap, it's part of Subarus hoops that we jump through to see if we can replace your pistons for you. The kind and location of the noise will tell what it is. Buy an automotive stethescope and check this link. http://remanufactured.com/Engine_Noise_Diagnosis_101.htm Interesting note, you may also notice a drop in the noise level from a tensioner when you kill a cylinder. I'm obviously too curious to make the best time I could as a flat rate tech when I start playing around like that but it was the first question I had when doing the piston slap diagnoses as directed by the bulletin.

You checked the other cam pulley on that side real good for hairline cracks?

And if that fails find your ground points and clean them up. This should be followed with some praying.

Stop leak will only help external leaks. I've only found 1 company that claims to seal combustion chamber leaks and I'd have to see it to belive.

There are a few solutions for this. 1. The factory shield packing. 2. Exhaust header wrap. 3. Cut them off tin snips less than $20 at your local hardware store. With the header wrap there are two methods. 1. Cut strips from the wrap and install instead of the factory stuff. You do have to buy a kit and will probably use 4-5' of it tops. It's in shop supplies and I don't see reordering soon, you get that much. 2. Get the rest of the kit (stainless ties, high temp silicone spray for weather proofing) and wrap the manifold as you would any header. Cut some half inch pieces off the roll to insulate the rest of the mounting points. Gaskets will be obvious. Bolts, springs and nuts at the flex joint behind the cats are often junk. I'm not fond of the factory shield packing as even new it disintegrates with vibration ie tapping the shields back into shape if neccesary after crimping. A die grinder with a cutting disk and hammer and chisel are usually needed to disassemble, along with a bunch of nuts, bolts washers to remount the shields. I manage with a sharpened screwdriver, small channel locks and mini ball pein hammer for the tinsmithing on the manifold shields. Allow1 1/2-4 hours depending on interuptions and skill level. If this isn't specific enough let me know. Now can someone help me with making warranty time on these bloody headgaskets without throwing good prep and assembly out the window?

I think you guys need to look at one of these engines in pieces again. It's a boxer and the crank does not splash in the pan. If you were to have too much oil and it causes a problem it would have to be really full or the oil would have to slosh up below the pistons on one side under cornering loads. At the proper level the oil is half the pan depth or just over. To garantee this happening would require 6-8 liters of oil in the pan. obviously more oil would require less cornering load. When it looks like it needs .5-.75 liter on the stick .2-.3 liters is what it takes to get it to the correct level. Half a liter will take it up to somewhere between the notch and the first twist of the dipstick. This still leaves some concern over someone draining the tranny and leaving twice as much oil in the pan. "That can't be right, I drained the oil!":confused:

They've been working on stuff like that but not cc t-stat. The information I got was computer controlled valves in various areas and one or more variable speed electric pumps like the extra one on the Subaru turbos.

Just put a length of vacuum line from one washer pump to the other. A regular screwdriver carefully applied will pop off the hoses. Bent nose needle nose, long is best, will get the electrical connectors off. Again be carefull. Two bolts and the tank slips right out. You might as well have some drill bits and a 6mm x 1 tap around cause you'll need it sooner or later. You really don't need any more room to get at the plugs. I use a socket with no insert to loosen and tighten, and the boot from an old plug wire on an extension to get them in and out. The benefit of the old boot is that as long as you get a few turns with that there is no way you can crossthread. I would say the torque wrench isn't essential but when in doubt it is intelligent.

They make self contained HIDs now that mount like the KC Daylighters.

4" extension + 1" extension + socket should do it. Be glad you don't have to figure out how to get the coil on plug setup out of a hot turbo (misfire diagnoses).

Looked at my block again today. The passenger side is even worst but the thermal inequality would appear to be front and back which would explain why that side will show oil at the front corner too. Had an interesting conversation with my machine shop about my heads. I left everything to their descretion and they planed the head because of the grooves the sealing rings cut. Told me Toyota guys were JB welding the grooves in the block during assembly for the same issue. I'm splitting the block and taking that to be machined too. It just barely made spec for flatness. Hope to hell it goes back together without too much trouble.

You've had plenty of time to consult your library, any facts on this?

Ah. I think this one may be an 8. Didn't even look though, just laughed and teased on the way by.

That's funny. The guy in the next building has been trying to get a Land Rover and an Olds Aurora to seal for a few months. I'll pass that on to him. Maybe we've just passed beyond the conditions that the t-stat design is effective in. Hell maybe the whole cooling system needs some tweaking. I don't think that makes the whole engine design a write off though. When you have one apart take a look at the coolant flow path around the cylinders. Intake above the block heater, approx 5/8" hole at 7:30 to bore two as you look at it on the stand. Exhaust side of the jacket separated from the intake by the siamesed cyls and where the bores meet the rest of the block front and rear, forcing the coolant flow from bottom to top through the head. Exits through approx 5/8" vertical hole to the transfer pipe at about 10:30 to bore four. Looks like the bottom right corner where the first oil and coolant appear is last in line for pressure and off to the side from a direct line between coolant in and coolant out. There is a distinct difference between the amount of deposits to the rear of the exit and the rest of the jacket. Deposits that aparently impede the transfer of heat from cylinder to coolant (I think it's in one of my propane books). It's like an avalanche of little problems pushed over the edge by one too many displacement increases. If I could afford a test mule I'd consider popping 6 or 8 cheap single wire sensors in the block, an extra coolant pipe in the bottom rear corners of the block with a valve or orifice pipe, and flog 'er with a multimeter and a chart if I had to.

What about localized hotspots causing a layer of insulating vapor between the cylinder and the coolant. This was one of those 5min discussions at school years ago. I was interested but havent found anything on it since. Would not lack of pressure in the system make this possible or worse if already there? If so this would contribute to uneven expansion. This will tie in to what I've learned about the cooling system when I can figure out how to get my pictures to work. Seems like a good spot for an engineer to pipe up too.

Anyone else notice the "coolant conditioner" goops up the rad cap and prevents it from sealing?

There should be a solenoid at the shifter. It's a metal pin inside an electromagnet. If it's not there then sorry, I just haven't had many Soobs that old through the shop. Anyway remove center console for access. Find the interlock solenoid, easiest way is probably to keep hitting the brake with the car on till you see or hear it move since it still works somewhat. Pull it out, pull pin out, clean and lube (something thin),reassemble. My experience stops here cause the ones I did were pretty new. It would be a good time to get out the multimeter and make sure you've got full power and good ground before you put the console back in. Probably a good idea to check the pin for wear too before wasting time trying to get it to work.

Well then if it happens right after the axles are done and the weight/construction is the difference then it's a matter of bucking up for the Soob parts to eliminate an annoyance. It would seem that it's not a real mechanical problem unless it has the potential to do damage over time.