davebugs

Bob, My friend with the most need - we found a car on friday. An 01 GT Limited w/138k for 2k that had the HG's done already on recall. One usual rust spot, some easily corrected electrical issues (WHY do folks use aftermarket plug wires on a 2.5?) and associated problems (cat effeciency). So I'm still in the market but no urgency and if buying one that needs fixed (like I buy most of them) significantly cheaper that what you're looking to get. FYI I usually fix them up to 180k or so, and typically pay between scrap and 1k. That's for Outbacks. Foresters are worth less - just like Impreza's. Good luck with the sale.

I've bene thinking the 4 TC bolts as well. Impact gun. No doubt about it.

Socket on the crank bolt and breaker bar stops the crank from turning. Or a harmonic balancer tool. Wondered what I had missed at getting those bolts out. Thanks for getting back.

You ever done this? How do you get it to fit in there? Or do you have the impact up by the PS pump with a loing extension? Because I've considered it but couldn't get it to "fit" with my tools.

I've done this with a few 99 Forester auto's with no known issues.

If you round them it's gonna get more difficult. Was it setting outside uncovered? You wanna try getting them from the bottom?

Testing the coolant will tell. But I don't know if they'd still realize the problem. What I meant was that on most cars when HG's go they either burn white (coolant into the combustion chamber) or can be diagnosed by a compression check. Most compression checks are done with the engine cold - especially on aluminum engines. Odds are real good your car will pass this test as well. So as stated, no "classic" HG issues like most cars. Subaru's are different when it comes to HG's - what else can we say? Good luck.

On the VW's I just bend the "relese tab" on the door out of the way. Because I don't care if it's locked. Never investigated this on a Subaru because I've never needed to. May be worth considering looking into.

In my opinion it's not rust that's the issue. These bolts are "flat headed" and tighten quickly when the bolt is almost the whole way in they become "suddenly tight". Also any lube there in the long run I would think would be bad. A trick I use to make reassembly easier (make sure you read here about making sure the TC in completely seated before engine install) is this. I take a paint stick and draw a line from each of the 4 TC bolt holes towards the center of the TC. This way when I'm trying to find the first bolt hole it's easier to spin the engine to get the first bolt aligned because you can see the line through the flex plate. Makes that first bolt a much quicker process.

I forget 12mm? 6 point. Some have an offset box end wrench that works. I use a Snap-on or Gearwrench "rotohead" ratchet with a cheater bar. Just watch you don't hit yourself in the head when they break loose. I've seen folks lift the engine a bit and take them out the bottom after removing that annoying plate. But I always do the top method.

You're gonna get yourself in a jamb. But your dad's friend is probably wrong. You'll just have to tie up time and money until they come around. Unfortunate. Subaru HG's are weird. No white smoke, pass a compression check. Unless this guy actually knows Subaru's he's just clueless/ignorant, with all due respect. Until the "grownups" figure it out you're screwed. But they are gonna be like little kids. You apparently gotta let them figure it out on their own. You'll just be the one paying the price. And you had the answer and the fix all along... And you should never say "I told you so" to your elders because they mean well.

Sounding like HG's. Classic really. Only other thought is that it wasn't burped properly. I have a friend looking for one of these Foresters (and an extra 2.2 and 2.5 laying around). So if you wanna sell it PM me for an email to send pics to. Also what are the miles? The HG's seem to go 110-180k. Know any history - or look to see if HG's were replaced?

We were discussing knock sensor replacement tools within the last week. SOmeone said snap-on has a 12mm magnetic socket. Sounds like the perfect tool. ALways a little frustrating to get that bold in there. Remove airbox, pay attention to the orientation of the wire. Install bolt before plugging into harness.

When you get it figured out please post your solution. If I get a car with any performance issues and NOT OEM plug wires I replace them first. And throw in new NGK BKR6E-11 (or whatever the 2 dollar green writing plugs are). If sluggish when driving and no reason to suspect bad fuel, filter, pump, etc it's almost always been the knock sensor for me.

In light reading of the thread I'd guess knock sensor also. Consider it a wear item over 100k. Personally I get OEM but I do believe others have has luck with generics. IIR like 100 bucks. I've seen many bad without CEL.

It's actually pretty easy. I have no idea where sanders is though. Please update with a city/state folks like me may recognize. A 95 2.2 is preferred, and 2.2 up to 99 can be used but 06-99 will require a different Ypipe (from the donor car) called a "single port Y-pipe". There may be some vacuum line work dealing withthe EVAP system and there won't be a bracked on the intake for the PS lines - no big deal. No computer swap necessary. Lots here have done it and I've done somewhere between several and many. But do some reading. Lots of good folks here. But most of us prefer to answer specific questions AFTER the OP has taken some time to educate themselves. But really not a big deal. Sounds much worse than it is.

Be year specific please. Not a big deal for most 96-99 2.5's. But that's hard to understand until you've done one. Seriousely. It's pretty darn straight forward. But we need to know what year the 2.5 car is and what you're thinking of for a replacement. Mostly about the EGR and EVAP system.

Search here for "head gasket failure" and "head gasket repair". You've got lots of company. Welcome, and do some reading. Many useful folks and procedures here. Always best to take some initiative and do some investigation yourself. Probably my favorite writeup you can find by seatching for "skipnospam". Good luck.

I've thought about trying to use electrical tape to hold the bolt in the eye. It is often frustrating. I use the connector end to help maneuver the eye of the knock sensor. Often I stick a magnet to the side of my 3/8 wobble extension and that's just barely enough to help with the bolt. FYI Gearwrench does make extensions with a magnet at the end. Just an awkward place. Atleast it's easy to see what is happenning, just hard to reach. Still haven't found the best consistent approach. Always involves a magnetic pick-up tool and swearing - and a sore back.

There is lots of good info here about doing the job. The "skipnospam" link is one of my favorites and probably the best available now that endwrench is gone. Now threads about folks that'll show up and do the job for 200 bucks - those are rare - and should be. Cause it ain't gonna end pretty. Threads and writeups on how to do it properly are all around if you search. If I were still traveling to Woodstock VA with regularity I'd offer a hand. Although this accident has me pretty busted up at the moment. Do it right. OEM gaskets, have heads checked, I always pull the engine, crnak/cam seals, WP, idlers TB and acessory belts, spark plugs, reseal baffle plate, etc. Lots of folks start out cheap. And if they don't realize what that actually is gonna cost them - well - atleast it's entertainment for the rest of us. Find someone here or the instructions here and do it yourself. Please search a bit on your own. As you see there are lots of folks here to assist you along. But it goes better if you've done some of the investigation yourself. Good luck. Hey - I posted in a thread I said I was done posting in! Sorry. But atleast the outlook is looking better.

As pointed out the compressor shouldn't still be on when you are reinstalling the strut/spring assy. Sometimes spinning it to get the top 3 bolts (from memory) to lign up can take a little effort. Struts/springs make me uneasy too. I actually thought about getting one of the nice wall mount units but they went for like 500 bucks at the acutions I went to last year. I'm a hobbyst not a professional. Often if during "normal business hours" I take them to a shop and pay them a few bucks to swap put the struts in the assy for me. Respect for struts is healthy - for me atleast.

200 is a fair price for a timing belt/idler crank/cam seals WP job alone in my opinion done correctly. Don't know you or this guy. But I wouldn't go for it. I won't post anymore in this thread. But especially if you take the cheap route I hope you'll update us a few times over the next several thousand miles.

I don't believe copper spray is warranted or a good idea on a Subaru. I've used it a lot on VW 1.8 and 2.0's but never on a Suby. Personally I don't think you can do near as well of a quality job with the engine in the car. Well, you probably can if you wanna make a point of it. But really it's not time well spent in my book. It's a lot harder to prep the block and see what it looks like for instance. Then you know the baffle plate is gonna need resealed (even though yours may be aluminum). I'd guess this kinda fella won't use OEM gaskets either. I'd pass myself. I'm thinking you may be out more than 200 bucks by the time you fix it again. YMMV

What year OBW? I don't recall any specific problems doing rears on 95-99 Outbacks with my cheap old strut compressors. Nothing some "finesse" couldn't overcome.

Paper towels and rags mostly. Some goodwills you can buy a garbage bag of rags for 5-10 bucks usually mostly towels and t-sirts. I have been known to buy their used "flannel" sheets to detail cars with. Also sometimes I can get pretty used up rags cheap from one of the uniform places cheap but they are on their last legs.