abog

Grossgary is right, these racks hardly ever fail. If one is leaking, usually the boots are torn and the rack has been contaminated with dirt. This scores the rack shaft and it would need to be replaced along with seals and boots. If it were mine I would find a good used one and call it good. Have seen a large number of rebuilt units that failed very quickly, not very high quality.

Definitely signs of head gasket issues. welcome to the world of the 2.5 Subaru, but when the gaskets are replaced you will have a great vehicle, enjoy.

If it were leaning out from fuel starvation, or if it were running rich and just clearing out, wouldn't there be some other symptoms? hesitation, bucking, possible CEL, O2 codes? Anyone?

From what I can see it doesn't look like a problem. Anyone?

Ok, lets say that did happen, how bad is it? Any pics? :-\

There should be one small o'ring on the pressure port. The rest of the pump is sealed with sealant.

Lot of vibration if the brace is not on.

From the pic, the pits look like they are high enough that the rings at tdc would still be under them. If this is the case they probably wont hurt anything. Check it and see.

Looks like normal wear to me, how many miles on the engine?

+1 snowman, try to keep the block and head gasket surfaces as mirror like as possible. Avoid anything that will scratch the surface. Always put Head gaskets on dry, and torque in proper sequence and steps. Make sure that you thoroughly clean the head bolts.

+1 Nipper, when these engines sit for long periods it is not abnormal for the rings to get stuck. Especially if it was a high carbon engine to start with. I have had success with marvel mystery oil , or atf. I just add a quart to the oil and run the engine at idle, or slightly above for an hour or so. Drain and refill with fresh oil and filter. It may or may not improve your engine, but it is inexpensive to try. I am sure that some other members will have some different methods also.

If i remember correctly, the readings that you are getting for 02 are baseline or fail safe readings.

+1 Fel Pro gaskets

Ya know the interesting thing is that on my 04 Crown Vic, I went to Wal Mart and purchased the Cheap Anco blades for like 6.00. These blades have been on the car for over a year and work fine. My 03 Superduty has the same blades, no problem. These blades worked for about a month on my outback. I wonder if there is something about the curve of the window? Hmmmmmmm. strange.

I was thinking that way after seeing the melted plastic, my thought is a ej22t. but not right now, the ea has more miles in it

Finally had some time, so started tearing into the engine. Started to get nervous when I saw how hot the engine has been ( melted inner timing belt covers ). Have seen this before and it is usually a bad thing. Removed the right head first, number 3 cylinder was dead on compression test. Head is junk, has been hot enough that the valve seat fell out and jammed the valve open. Much to my surprise the cylinders look great, no scoring, or any damage at all. I think I have lucked out. Will remove the left head tomorrow but dont think there will be any damage, leak down and compression on that side were ok.

All US market EA81T Hardtops were 3 speed automatics, I believe that all the turbo wagons and brats were automatic as well. Subaru did not have any way of "special" ordering cars , they all came from japan the same way. Different distributors installed some options , but they were mainly comfort and appearance items.

The EJ18 would be a little underpowered in a legacy, but would probably work fine.

That is why before tearing into any engine, you should do a compression and leak down test. These tests are a pretty good indication of the condition of the cylinders. It is very common to see ej series engines with much higher milage, but no two are the same. Oil usage in higher mileage engines is not abnormal. Rings will help if leak down and inspection shows cylinder wear, but almost always the cylinders will be worn and have unacceptable taper. When you get to this point the condition of the crank, wrist pins and bearings must be factored in. Unfortunately the cost of a rebuild very often is not economically a sound decision, so people opt to replace. There are a lot of used engines around for these cars and that is what most people will do for replacement. While many are good units, many are not. Typically any used part is always a gamble and has to considered as such. The end of this is, if you are going to do head work, you are essentially just doing half of the job and the results will not be perfect. If you have a good running higher mileage engine that looks ok on tests, replace the gaskets and it will usually give you many more miles of reliable service. All of this is my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own.

Great job, took the long road on ya, but well worth it.

+1 Genuine Subaru orings, only way to go.

Thats a hood ornament for sure.

Welcome fellow Vermonter, I worked at Kinney Subaru in Rutland for years. Now living in Nevada. I have found that the aftermarket clutch kits work fine. Just avoid the really cheap ones, they have to cut corners somewhere. I just installed one from Kragens in a 97 OBW, cost 187.00. When comparing the original parts, they were identical. Clutch works great, just like butter.

Thats the problem, they are all going to china, price over quality. Chinese rubber, vely, vely bad.

Hopefully the CVT will be reliable. They really missed the mark with the ECVT. They worked really well when they were right, unfortunately not for very long, very fragile. I think a lot of manufacturers are going to be having fuel issues of some kind.