98sub2500leg

To verify: this is an EJ25 DOHC, I removed the front 7 bolts around the housing. All the bolts I can see are out. It is still as tight as if the bolts were still on there.

I have the bolts out, has a thick gasket. I tapped it with a plastic hammer and block of wood on outside edge, the gasket seal won't break and I don't want to break the housing.

Got both heads off, sent them in for pressure check, cleaning & machining. The HG failed on both sides, but keep in mind I was told nearly 6 yrs ago I needed new HG's (that was at 60k miles, now have 108k miles). The head had only a minute warp on the ends. Now I know I have a good set of heads. I plan on picking up the gaskets, engine seals, TB,ect............

Ok, good news, I bought the Irwin bolt extractor kit and was able to remove the frozen bolt. The LT -head is off. Definite HG gasket failure, hard to believe how well the engine ran while it under this condition for over 5 years. Now onto the other head then into the machine shop.

Sounds like a simple solution. That's more than likely what will end up happening. With the gummed up bolt recessed and in a cavity, it is hard to get to. The bolt is a also a washerhead type so it has a large diameter on the flat surface that would need to be broken before the head would be able to be removed. The web of most standard drill bits are usually 82 degrees.. Once the web gets beyond the inside surface of the head, that can easily damage the mating block.

Well, I will have to wait until tomorrow to get the extractor. My feeling has been along the lines of what your explaining with the coolant corroding the head bolt threads and freezing it. however the bolt did a few CCW snaps before the head stripped so I did have a start on it. I also marked the position on the bolt and on the head with a sharpie before I started, it has moved a bit so there is some hope there. With my experience with bolt heads once the original head of the bolt is compromised, it gets softer. I can't see that an extractor would be able to get enough torque to remove it, but I may get lucky. I trial fit a Dremel in the tight recessed cavity using a conical carbide burr bit. Unfortunately a cutoff wheel is not an option here. If worse comes to worse I can grind it out with the burr bit, remove the head, then flat grind the face of the remaining stud. If you get the center punch in the dead center of the ground stud and pilot the hole and then step up the drill several times until you have a very thin wall remaining of the stud, then with a good drilled out center. The trick is doing it without compromising the existing threads. I then re-tap the hole using plenty of tap fluid and the remaining pieces of the stud breaks apart without enlargement of the hole. I have done this many times before with about 90% success. It is almost a fine art to getting it done right and I don't like to do it unless it is the last option.

Well, I will have to wait until tomorrow to get the extractor. My feeling has been along the lines of what your explaining with the coolant corroding the head bolt threads and freezing it. however the bolt did a few CCW snaps before the head stripped so I did have a start on it. I also marked the position on the bolt and on the head with a sharpie before I started, it has moved a bit so there is some hope there. With my experience with bolt heads once the original head of the bolt is compromised, it gets softer. I can't see that an extractor would be able to get enough torque to remove it, but I may get lucky.

I have worked with a tap burner, which electrically errodes the broken end of the tap. EDM sounds similar, however, do you believe it would work in such a tight cavity? Does it have some type of pin type electrode that can enter a cavity where the head bolt is? Thanks, this gives a glimmer of hope.

The pipe wrench won't work as the bolt is inside the head, it is one of the head bolts. If your facing the left head, it is the recessed upper right bolt. I am not sure if there is any welder with that precise enough skills to weld the nut on without damaging aluminum head with excessive heat.

Thanks, This bolt may have thread corrosion due to the head gasket failure as another came loose with reasonable force easily. If worse comes to worse, I may be able to have someone weld on an extension to the bolt head, but worried about warpage from excessive heat. The grind solution is my absolute last-last resort. I have done that many times before in the past on broken taps, machine bolts, ect... always with success. This is in a uniquely bad spot, it will definitely be a challenge to get to if that scenario arises. I wonder if a plasma torch can disintegrate it without damaging the head???

Thanks, I already called them. The picture in the link shows a 6 point. I feel I am fighting a loosing battle. Irwin also sells a similar bolt extractor set to Craftsman. It was a Craftsman socket that originally stripped the 12pt bolt head. The design seems to be the same. It is definitely worth a shot, some internet posts show success while others had no luck. The ones that had no success say the head of the bolt was pretty rounded, not the case here, but again the 12 point scenario doesn't help matters.

Engine: Sub Outback EJ25 phase 1 DOHC. Condition: Engine is out of car on stand, valve cvrs removed. Need as many true responses as possible from anyone who has had this exact application with real world experience only please. The 14mm 12 pt short socket stripped the end of the head bolt (not the threads, but the end of the bolt). Drilling it out is the last option. Irwin makes a bolt extractor socket, but not sure if it will work. I did finally find a 12 pt 14mm long impact socket which easily loosened one of the other bolts. Not sure why this bolt was so frozen. Also due to how frozen it is I am doubtful the bolt extractor mentioned above can grab it and still remove it. Drilling the bolt is the very last option for me here, and not a good one at that. The bolt is the left head upper right bolt when standing in front of the head), recessed approx. 3" deep.

Sorry if I didn't explain better, this is a Outback 2.5L DOHC phase 1 interference engine. I actually already have it all taken apart with the engine on the stand, my current dilemma is removing the head bolts. Everything has been been removed from the engine, I am trying to get the head bolts off. Davebugs summation is pretty accurate. So far I have used a 3/8" drive breaker bar with 30" cheater bar, impact (250ft lbs), 1/2 drive ratchet with 30" cheater. The only thing I got so far is the ends of the star head on the bolt are getting stripped from the socket slipping. I only had bolts this stubborn once before separating a v8 from a c4 tranny, but that was 28 years ago.

Man alive those are on there. With that much torque, wonder why Subaru used a 12pt instead of a 6 point. The darn points are getting worn, the socket keeps coming off the end of the bolt. I may be in trouble here.

Advice and experience much appreciated, thanks. Are those torque to yield type bolts? One local auto parts mechanic said they are, the guy at the dealer said they are not.

I am trying to remove the head bolts. I have a 3/8" drive breaker with 2' 3/4" blk pipe cheater with a 14mm 12 pt socket. Using a lot of torque to remove, feels like the bolts are frozen. Don't want to snap them. Any idea's for help would be appreciated.

I counted and verified all the belt tooth positions, and made extra paint marks on the belt, cover and sprocket pulleys. Then loosened all the pulley bolts and cam sprocket bolts, with the belt still installed, no problem. I removed the lower belt idler and when the tension came off the LT-in and LT-EX cam sprocket pulleys, they sprung back so apparently I should have used the cam lock tool after all. The LT-In & LT EX cam sprockets came right off with no effort, but the RT-IN & RT EX cam sprockets are frozen in place on the shaft. Has anyone had any luck removing frozen cam sprocket pulleys such as these without a pulley puller? With the cam sprockets all back in position, it seems that it only takes a slight shock or vibration for the (loaded) sprockets to move again. Is it safe to unbolt the cam bolts and remove them in this position?

I counted and verified all the belt tooth positions, and made extra paint marks on the belt, cover and sprocket pulleys. Then loosened all the pulley bolts and cam sprocket bolts, with the belt still installed, no problem. I removed the lower belt idler and when the tension came off the LT-in and LT-EX cam sprocket pulleys, they sprung back so apparently I should have used the cam lock tool after all. The LT-In & LT EX cam sprockets came right off with no effort, but the RT-IN & RT EX cam sprockets are frozen in place on the shaft. Has anyone had any luck removing frozen cam sprocket pulleys such as these without a pulley puller? With the cam sprockets all back in position, it seems that it only takes a slight shock or vibration for the (loaded) sprockets to move again. Is it safe to unbolt the cam bolts and remove them in this position?

Yes, I checked it again and it is absolutely worthless to test it this way. The harder you physically crank it, the bigger number you get on the gauge, sometimes takes 2 full cranks to register. I knew I should have checked it before tearing it down. The engine runs so well that I let it slide. Mistake on my part.

True, definitely not the real deal, the numbers would never stack up to the specs. but it does hold compression at a low level, which should give indication for leaks and cylinder-cylinder comparison.

I may borrow a gauge to recheck. I bought the car new 11 years ago. I have 108km on the engine. I kept it up pretty well the whole time and before I took it apart even with the intermittent overheating problem from the HG's, the engine still ran as well as when I bought it. I know I should have done the compression test while it was still running. I realize the hand crank wouldn't give full compression, but it still should give a relative indication from cylinder-cylinder. It is possible there is coolant in that one cylinder. The plugs all looked the same so no indication there. I was hoping not to have to do a full overhaul. Hopefully the head is not cracked, but I should find that out soon.

98 Sub 2.5L dohc;Manual trans. With all plugs out and hand turning the crank, 3 cylinders measure 58-62psi, the last one measures 75. Measured with a Sunpro (cheap generic) compression tester. Compression seems to measure low, but the engine runs good otherwise. Have the engine out, TB ready to remove, the hds come off for HG replacement. Not sure if I need a full overhaul while it is out or I just have a crappy tester. The tester is about 12-14 years old, but kept in the orig box. Not sure why 1 Cylinder measures higher than the other 3. The HG is bad I know(oil in coolant), which is why the engine is out. If the HG is bad in 1 small spot, which is what I suspect, then I would think I would measure low on 1 cylinder and higher on the 3.

One more comment here, I am the orig owner and the engine after 11 years and 108k miles seems to run as good as when I bought it. I am questioning this from what I read in the Endwrench article which states if the cams or timing belt is off a bit, the car will still run, but may not be optimized for proper burn. The fuel effic. will not be optimized and that is really what I am concerned with, to make sure it is dead nuts accurate.

Well, that is why I posted to being with. The Endwrench artile on the 2.5's show state some of the marks can be off in relation to the ref mark on the cover due to production stamping, however the article also emphasises that the you need to be accurate and there is no such thing as close. I believe after reading DaveB's post that I will find that if I try to fine tune or re-align the double marks, that they won't work. In relation to the center-center positioning of each tooth on the belt, I am taking about a few degrees off on the positioning of the double mark alignment of cams. Sounds like that can be normal.

Still wondering about the sprocket bolt removal though. Seems that if you apply torque for removal and slip, you can end up with a big problem. I havn't read anything in any thread anywhere where anyone uses that sprocket hold down tool.