svxpert

<<This morning I am going to go put my fans and overflow can back on and run the car up to temp with the cap off, topping it up every so often and then when I am sure there's no way in hell it will take more coolant I will test drive it.>> thats the problem i see all the time on here and at the shop. your not going to get all the air out of the coolant system by just filling through the radiator. here is what you do: start with a cold engine, take the top radiator hose off the radiator, leaving the other end connected to the engine. take rad cap off fill coolant slowly through rad hose into engine block when the coolant starts coming out of the hose, the engine is full, put the hose back on the radiator now you can fill the radiator up, fill slowly while car is running when it gets to the top, watch bubbles come out. cap off radiator only when coolant starts coming out. let the car run for a while until themostat opens ( you can place your hand on the upper rad hose and feel coolant pass through, thats when you know the thermostat opens up fill overflow to proper level take the car out for a spin and see if it overheats again if this doesnt work for you, you might have blown your headgasket

<<Ok, I'll take it for a drive tomorrow to see if it all worked out or not.>> before you take it out for a spin and overheat it for the 4th time, tell us how exactly you are bleeding the air out of the coolant system? 80% of the reason why people blow there head gasket is improper bleeding of the coolant system, which in turn, overheats the engine, and that will break down the headgasket. you won't believe how man "come backs" i get at my shop from people either messing with something that they shouldn't be or a shop that has no clue. subaru engines are very tempermental when it comes to overheating. be careful!

there is a good chance it could be front wheel drive and/or a wagon.

are you turning the crankshaft while you try to get them together?

<<Is there a way to test the coolant for exhaust on site. Ya know like a water test kit colors and such>> not for what your looking for. the coolant/headgasket leak in the 2000MY and up leak externally, not internally. drive the car hard, look under the hood and under engine.

There's a remote door opener on a '03 Forrester? does it open the rear door?

when using hand tools, crank it as tight as you can. its not going to strip, have you ever seen the threads on them bolts! i personally don't use locktite.

<<I was talking with a guy at the Subaru dept at the Auto Show and he told me that the only semi closed deck on the market for now is in the STi. It is hard for me to believe since turboed 2.2 legacies got semi closed deck in the early 90's. Why would Subaru go back in deck strenght for forced induction engines and use open decks? So... about the turboed 2.5 and 2.0 found in regular WRX, are they open or semi closed?>> first mistake is talking to a person at an auto show. there usually not the best trained with the technical aspects of the older cars. on to your questions: the 2.2T block in the 91-94 turbo legacy was a closed deck block as was the EJ20G which was non usa spec made in the 1990's. every EJ25 and (EJ22 2001)up to the 2004 was open deck. the STI uses a semi closed 2.5 as well as the 2006 up WRX and 2005 or 2006 turbo Forester and Legacy. its alot more expensive to build a closed deck block these days and technology has improved since 1991.

do you let your car warm up in the cold morning or do you just start it up and go?

<<Between '90 and '99 there were only 5 different blocks, if you don't count late Loyales: EJ22 EJ22 turbo EJ18 EJ25 DOHC center thrust EJ25 SOHC rear thrust>> how about the EF12 and the EG33?

<<Anyone every have a problem with an LSD clicking on heavy acceleration in the cold? i seem to be having this problem... nothing major, just have to let the diffs warm up a little more i guess. Anyone know a fix?>> i think it would be the driveshaft not the diff.

<<I'm sure it says right on the valve covers,prolly the eaiest way to tell.>> yeah, i doubt it says anything on the valve covers. you have to look at the head. if there is a spot for 2 cam pulleys on one head its a DOHC, if there is only one its a SOHC.

leaking pic 1: rear separator plate. engine or tranny has to come out for this. engine is easier to pull if your doing other things. pic 2 and 3: valve covers and gromets. do when engine is out.

<<No, aftermarket>> how exactly did it fail the other two times? i always use genuine subaru parts when it comes to engine parts. doubt you had 3 bad pumps though.

<<My question is this: is there anything that could be wrong that could cause the water pumps to be chewed up?>> are you using a genuine subaru water pump?

subaru's have non- servicable/replaceable u joints. when they go bad, you have to get a new driveshaft. - Unless you take it to a specific shop that works on driveshafts. they can cut off the bad u joint and replace it with a servicable one.

<<Well, I KNOW it's not a pressure plate bolt- I very carefully installed and torqued them.>> is it a 10mm bolt?

<<This entire thing is somewhat disappointing considering I spent upwards of 5K!>> what exactly did you spend $5000 on?

don't know if theres a cap to take off, and i don't know what you'll see when you do see the timing belt other than if its starting to shred. tb intervals for that car are 60,000 miles. now i believe you can buy a 100,000 belt.

this should also be a +1 for NOT removing the radiator when doing the timing belt. Your just doing extra work and risk overheating your engine.

<<All went well but now it overheats?>> let me take a wild guess... you took the radiator out to do the timing belt?

my shop is located at exit 3 of the nj turnpike. pm me your # and i'll call you tonight if you want. thanks

<<OK, got a few quotes, from just the timing-belt, $395, to TB + 4 cam, main and oil-pump seals, $600. Obviously, replacing all seals while in there is the best option, but how can one be certain that the shop wont just replace the leaking seal/s and charge for all of them? To discourage this should I ask for a warranty of non-leakage, and if so, for how long? I don't want to have to go through this again in another 10K. Thanks.>> bring it to my subaru shop in jersey and I'll do it for $500 and give you all the parts I have replaced. i use only genuine subaru parts here.

<<it'll run really crappy.>> only if the timing is off

yeah, your vehicle didn't come from the factory with any LSD. just use 80/90 weight gear lube like gary ^ said.