The Dude

Hi Ivan. I have seem many pictures where a failed Subaru head gasket looks like it has been eaten away by acid. Maybe it's bad coolant or electrolysis, who knows?. Anyway, I would like to know more about your use of avionic form-a-gasket. Do you coat both sides of the gasket? Just a thin coat, or what? Do you coat the the inside of the passageways on the gasket? Do you have any fear that a piece of the avionic form-a-gasket might beak off and plug a oil passage? Thank you. I hope that things are going well for you in Canada. Maybe you have worked on Ladas, too?

I got all genuine Suabru parts-three idlers, timing belt, tensioner, water pump, and two drive belts for about $470. My view is that genuine Subaru parts are probably the highest quality, and more importantly, the most reliable. It's about $3,500 to have a dealer repair your engine if something in the engine timing path breaks. It all depends on the present value of your car, and if you are willing to accept a possible element of additional risk to save some money. There aren't any statistics you can study to definitely say if OEM parts are more reliable than aftermarket parts. Genuine Subaru parts fail, and aftermarket parts fail, too. I had 105,00 miles on my Forester, and I went with my gut. My gut said go with genuine Subaru. But I can not say that someone who has gone with aftermarket parts has not made a good decision, as well.

Once again, this a just a guess. But, to me, it does sound like a very minor amount of dieseling, maybe one or two ignitions. There may be a small amount of residual unburned gas in one or two of the cylinders after start up, just enough to support a small combustion after the egine is turned off. When cars had carburators, some engines would diesel for minutes after the ignition was switched off. It was something to see, and the poorly burned gasoline gave off a very peculiar odor.

Sounds like a type of "pre-ignition" or "dieseling". The poorly burned gas will give off an unusual, and distinctive, odor. I think that this was a lot more common when cars had carburetors. I AM TAKING A GUESS AT THIS PROBLEM BASED ON THE DESCRIPTION. I have never read about a Subaru suffereing from dieseling. Anyway, if it is dieseling , make certain that you have the proper spark plugs installed. Carbon desposits in the cyclinders can also cause dieseling.

You can't touch the collective experience of the posters on this board. I got excellent advise. A new set of spark plug wires instantly cured my "missing" problems. Thanks to everyone who posted a suggestion!! Note: Since NGK spark plugs play well with Subaru engines, I decided to try a set of NGK Premium (Blue) Spark Plug Wires. They were relatively inexpensive and easy to get off Amazon. Physically, they are identical to the Subaru factory wires. So far, they seem to be working great. How will they hold up? Only time will tell.

My normally smooth-as-silk 2006 Forester Auto N/A with 115,000 miles on the clock has started intermittently misfiring. It will sometimes run on the highway for 30 minutes without a noticable miss. Sometimes it will misfire four or five times while I wait for a stoplight in neutral. The misfires tend to be more frequent on acceleration. I would almost say bad gas, but Seafoam and dry gas have not helped. The spark plugs were changed at 100,000 miles, nothing else has been replaced. No CEL. Any suggestions would be very welcome. Will I get a scan code if the CEL hasn't lit? One other thing. I replaced the timing belt at 105,000 miles. I also replaced the water pump, all the idlers, and the tensioner. It was very tight, and a struggle to get the new T-belt on. When I removed the pin from the new tensioner I did not see any immediate movement. I figured with all new components there was no slack to take up. Is this normal? Thanks.

It's most likely an INTERMITTENT harness/connector problem, the very worst kind! Intermittent harness "opens" can be very difficult to find. My question: Is the air bag intermittently losing the ability to fire, or is it just a "reporting" problem? If you're actually intermittently losing the ability to fire, that is a much more serious situation. What matter which, a blinking air bag light is likely to affect the resale/trade-in vaue of this car. With a good set of electical schematics and a DVM, you might be able to track it down. There are very important safety precations to take before working on airbag circuits.

The "oil warning light" on the Subaru engine works on oil pressure, not oil volume. Your engine can loose a huge amount of oil before oil pressure starts to fall. On top of that, the Subaru engine oil pressure sensor will only set off the oil warning light when the oil pressure has fallen to just a handfull of psi. The amount of oil pressure changes dramatically with engine rpm. There is no cheap and easy solution to this problem. If you are checking your oil level weekly, you are doing your part. Sometimes bad things just happen. Some experts recommend checking the oil level at every fill up. If you had a sudden oil loss even checking the oil level at every fill up would not have helped.

The chances are very good that is merely the power steering drive belt squealing. BUT I WOULD MAKE CERTAIN. A timing belt belt failure almost always causes very expensive damage to the valves. Open the hood and listen. Is the noise coming from the drive belt? Check the drive belt, is it tight enough? Check the service manual for the tightening procedure, too tight is as bad as too loose.

I don't know the usual life for oxygen sensors on Subarus, but they have typically lasted 90,000-120,000 miles on my other cars. I replaced the upstream oxygen sensor when I replaced the timing belt on my 2006 Forester. With the timing belt off, and the radiator out, the oxygen sensor was just sitting there fully exposed. It looked like I could practically unscrew it with my fingers. The oygen sensor looked like a real PITA to remove when the engine was fully assembled. So, I replaced the sensor at 105,000 miles. I plan on selling the car at 200,000 miles hopefully it will last to then.

If your valves have been bent, they probably haven't been fixed. Because replacing the valves on a Subaru engine that has lost time is usually around $3,500 not $1,000. I recently replaced the timing belt on my 2.5L SOHC myself, alone and for the first time, and there were plenty of "pucker" moments involved. I think that I would want an experienced person next to me the first time I replaced the belt on a DOHC. Replacing the timing belt on the SOHC unassisted was plenty for a first timer. Replacing the timing belt on DOHC unassisited would be considerably out of my comfort range.

Sorry about your engine. But thanks for the followup! Followup helps everyone on this board.

2006 Forester NA AT 115,000 miles. First cold day of the winter here. Started the car and it sounded like a box of rocks. It's the altenator bearings. What's the best way to go for parts? Any reliable aftemarket parts, or should I go with genuine Subaru? Thanks.

THe FWD fuse ONLY works on the automatic transmission!!! You can install the fuse if you want, but it won't do a thing.

I can't find a scrap value for it. But the Subaru crankshaft is a big honkin' piece of 4130 CroMo steel. That's fairly expensive, aircraft quality steel.

I owned a 1999 Forester, and I am almost certain that your post is incorrect. All MY 1998 Foresters had the DOHC engine. All MY 1999 Foresters had the SOHC engine. I had an early 1999 Forester and it had the SOHC engine. There usually is some confusion on this point because while the Forester got the SOHC in 1999, the other Subaru models didn't get the SOHC until 2000. If the OP has a 1999 Forester with the original engine, it is a SOHC. An internal head gasket failure can happen at any time, to any engine. Yes, even to the 2.2L.

NOT MINE, BUT A GREAT HINT!! Put the timing marks on the belt over the timing marks on the camshaft pullies and clip them with a bull dog clip. Makes it an easy "one man" job. Then install the timing belt with the passenger side lower pulley removed. I losened the bolt holding the toothed cog a bit. The toothed cog could then be "tilted" on the bolt a bit. Once the toothed cog is tilted it's easy to slip the belt on. You only have to back the bolt out until the cog will tilt. Most the bolt remains threaded into the block. You don't want to strip the threads in the block.

I would totally agree. But you know, "one side is good enough for me" is offical Subaru warranty policy. Under warranty, Subaru usually only authorizes head gasket replacement for the side that failed.

In my view a 2099 Forester could be smart move. You would be avoiding what I consider to be the unproven FB25 engine and the unproven CV transmission. The new engine and transmission may very well prove to be excellent assemblies, but I prefer to wait for the real life experiences of others.

I don't drive off road, but I've used a Fumoto on my Foresters for the last 12 years. Here's the thing about the "simple" drain plug, it has a torque value. That means that according to Subaru the drain plug should be tightened with a torque wrench. Well, I think most people tighten the drain plug by hand without a torque wrench. So, too loose and if the plug falls out you can lose the engine. Too tight, and you can strip the threads in the oil pan. Every year plenty of people lose engines due to drain plugs failing out. Heck, I 've known a few personally. Often some "technican" at a quickie oil change place didn't tighten the oil drain plug securely. And I've known a few people who have stripped their drain pans. The real beauty of the Fumoto drain valve is that you only have to tighten it one time for the entire lifetime of your car. The added convenience and speed are just gravy. Plus, you don't have to mess around with "crush" washers. It's not a big deal either way, but I think it's worth a few dollars to make your life a little easier.

2006 Forester AT, NA (non-turbo) w/ 110,000 miles. I turned the key in the ignition and I heard the starter motor whirling away and the motor turning, but the car doesn't start. I originallly thought the starter was bad, but the motor is turning. It looks like I have a day of troubleshooting ahead of me tomorrow, if the rain holds off.

My post was very clear when read in context. Perhaps you are unfamiliar with Subaru engines in general. The SUBJECT was FORESTER ENGINES. The 1998 Forester had the 2.5L DOHC engine. The 1999 Forester had the 2.5L SOHC engine. My point was that both engines are interference engines and that a timing component failure in either engine would almost certainly involve valve damage. The ej22 engine was NEVER a factory installed engine in a Forester. Please fully read a post before making an extraneous response that only detracts from the thread. BTW, it's "Het" or "nyeht" if you were attempting to write "no'' in Russian. Just so you know.

1. 99 Foresters have SOHC engines. If it isn't a SOHC engine, then it isn't a 99. 2. Both SOHC and DOHC engines are interference type. That means you'll almost certainly be replacing valves on this engine if you've had a timing belt related failure. 3. Even the most experienced mechanics on this board seem to reject doing "bottom end" work on these engines. Most would go with an engine swap of some kind. So, first be certain whether you're dealing with a thrown rod or just bent valves. Bent valves, you can probaly handle. Thrown rod, you're looking at a replacement engine. BTW, I owned a 99 Forester. I loved the body styling on that car.

Another question: is your car an automatic and how was it towed ? Hopefully, it was towed on a flatbed tow truck.

My 99 Forester had the orignal altenator, starter, ac, ps pump, fuel pump, fuel injectors, engine (no repairs), AT (no repairs) and steering rack when I sold it at 200,000 miles. Man, I loved that car. I probably sold it 1000,000 miles too soon.