carfreak85

@jono, would you be willing to pick up, say, four LH door handle interior trim pieces in tan for me and ship them to the US? I'd be more than happy to compensate you for your time and effort.

It’s kind of crazy to think how long I’ve been in the Subaru game and yet I’ve never replaced a 2.5 head gasket! I only want to deal with this repair once, hence this thread: I was under my wife’s 1999 Forester for an oil change over the weekend and noticed the bottom of the driver’s side of the engine was COVERED with engine oil. I had long suspected that it was the cam seal leaking, but the volume of oil and the area it covered has been slowly growing over the last few oil changes. A little research revealed that the EJ253 in this Forester likes to pop its head gasket and then leaks oil externally, which correlates with what I’m seeing. We lose about 1-2 quarts of oil between changes (I top it up often) but the engine doesn’t appear to burn any oil (no smoke out the tailpipe, hot or cold). The head gaskets were originally replaced at 78k miles (w/ P/N 11044AA633 head gaskets) and the engine now has about 205k miles on it now. We’re past due for a timing belt as well, so here is the list of parts that we’ve got so far: Timing Belt Parts: Timing belt Tensioner/idlers Crank pulley bolt Water pump & gasket Thermostat & gasket Cam seals F/R Crank seals A/C idler pulley Oil pump reseal/O-ring kit I’ve been doing a bunch of research on what else I should touch “while I’m in there.” In past posts @GeneralDisorder has suggested changing out the piston rings, installing knurled pistons and upgrading to a 10 mm oil pump. I will have the heads milled (if still in spec) but what else should I consider? Valvetrain work? Is there anything I can do to help oil drain back to keep the pistons from getting clogged? Head Gasket Parts: 770 head gaskets Exhaust manifold gaskets Intake manifold gaskets Valve cover gaskets Valve seals (int. & exh.) (I’ve read that the SOHC engines have a tendency to drop exhaust valve guides and that these should be knurled to keep them from dropping?) Sparkplug tube seals Valve cover bolt grommets Misc. Parts: Spark plugs Spark plug wires 10mm oil pump PCV valve Knock Sensor (original is cracked) Battery cables/tie down/j-bolts (battery terminals/tie down are fuzzy and have read this is a potential cause of driver’s side gasket failures) So, flame suit on, please let me know what you think of my parts list! Are there obvious omissions? Are there parts I could swap in for little expense that will help power/longevity (such as uprated camshafts, pistons, etc.?) Note, this isn’t a performance build, so I’m not thinking about forged, high-compression pistons or anything, but if there is an OEM piston that I could swap in that would provide a slight performance advantage, I would be interested in something like that, or Delta Cams, etc. How far away from a Frakenmotor would I be? Would an STI oil pan be something to install?

Just so I've got this straight: 11044AA633<11044AA642<11044AA770, with 770 being the go-to for all HG replacements?

Ugh, its the driver's side....

Gotta love America!

Yes to all of this. Sound fluid dynamic principals at play here. I have yet to do this on my RX-RA, but I did notice a difference in cooling by reinstalling the factory skid plate. The splash guards on the sides of the engine bay help as well (just look at the size of the undertray on any modern car). Another step you could take would be to fill the gaps between the radiator and the sheet metal it attaches to with foam. This will keep the airflow from going around the radiator instead of through it.

I'll start off by saying that wheel adapters are a Band-Aid type fix, they will increase your scrub radius, put more stress on your wheel bearings and if not well designed/machined can cause balance issues at speed. That said, any local machine shop can whip these up, given a decent set of measurements to work with.

Gah, I suppose I'll have to spring for a couple pairs of these (No pun intended...).

Don't pour anything except coolant, water or "water wetter" type additives. "Stop Leak" type products should be called Stop Flow instead...

We subscribe to the "run it hard" break-in theory. That doesn't mean WOT pulls from the first start up, but we did this method on our last rebuild and it has proven to not use a drop of oil in the last 50k+ miles: Fill brand new engine with either break-in-specific oil or cheap 30w dino oil. Start, idle and check for leaks, drips, new engine type stuff. (optional, stop engine, change oil & filter, cheap dino 30w or break-in specific) Take car for a drive along a route with as much change in elevation as possible, varying throttle positions and engine speed. There is no need for WOT or redline shifting, but DO NOT baby the engine. If its turbocharged, try to stay out of boost, but get as close as you can to 0 in/hg and psi as possible. If N/A, half to 3/4 throttle is acceptable. When you have the opportunity to engine brake from medium high rpm, take it! Use engine braking as much as you can during your break-in test drive. (optional, stop engine, change oil & filter, cheap dino 30w or oil of your choice) Drive normally varying engine speed and throttle position (avoid WOT and high gear, high throttle situations) for the next 1,000-3,000 miles. Change oil & filter. Now you're good to go!

CZNY, that tool looks great! DaveT, thank you!

Hey DaveT, I sent your drawing to a friend to have him cut it for me and he asked what the thickness of the back wall would be, since it's not on the drawing. Thanks!

Failing your local hardware store, I'd be looking at McMaster-Carr, Grainger, etc.

So you were able to bolt in an EA81 crossemember onto your EA82, but that the new part doesn't support anything? That would be pretty cool, a low buck chassis stiffener!

Pics of the damage? This can probably still be saved...

That would certainly hinder oil drain back to the pan, which is an issue in all Subaru engines.

Good looking out! I was told that the vehicle's check engine lamp was wired into the engine harness, so should light when there is a code. I have not seen it illuminate, but I've not asked the ECU if it has any stored codes. Something to do tonight, I guess. Good looking out on the cam sensor harness, I may just go throw some shielding on that harness spur, just for piece of mind. The wiring on the car was done by SuberDave and is actually pretty solid for being one of the first EJ-swaps in North America.

We don't recommend our customers use anything to clean/protect the dashboard except for mild soap and water. I work for an OEM.

Did you ever find a Superpro application for the XT6 front inner control arm bushing?

Pretty certain I don't have boost creep, I haven't noticed it creeping up during a pull, at either pressure. I should double check that again after I gap the plugs. Stock NGKs are platinum, heat range 6. I went with NGK iridium, heat range 7.

Sort of off topic, but since we're on the subject: I just completed the EJ205 coil pack conversion on the EJ20G, but they might be STI coils in which case the boots are too short. It's also been suggested by SuberDave and others that I re-gap my plugs down to a maximum of 0.030 in. Stock boost is 14 psi on the V1 WRX Type RA ECU, I have the electronic boost controller's low boost setting dialed in to 10 psi and the high boost set at 14 psi. The engine cuts out at both boost levels. Sounds like I'll be making a trip down to you once I get an ESL board!

I've got a RobTune'd ECU that I'm sitting on while I work through a high load/high rpm cutout issue, but I've been eyeing the ESL board. Who tunes your ESLs? I worry about buying a "standalone" that nobody has worked with before and having to pay for someone to teach themselves on my car...

Fixed it for you... (Currently running an electronic BCS on my V1 WRX swapped RX without issue, but at or below stock boost, for the time being.)

760123220, iirc.

Only with the brown interiors. The blue covers have the opposite problem, only the LH part number is still active...