theotherskip

it doesn't seem like the signs of the head gasket failure of the phase 2 engine. make sure that it has been properly purged of air, and that there are no leaks elsewhere (heater core, etc). if the head gasket has blown, it will make bubbles in the expansion tank all by itself...

when do you get bubbles? is there an oil residue near the top of the tank? any more info?

i got in a fender bender a few months back... it only rubbed the corner of my front bumper, not damaging it, but rubbed away all the paint. turns out it had been touched up once before, and all of that paint layer is now peeling. estimates for repair of the existing bumper (stripping, prep & painting to match) were between $425-450, with the car in the shop for about 3 days... they would guarantee the paint would not peel (damage not included)...

i think the general consensus has been to stick with subaru. they have the most incentive to get it fixed, so they have been putting the most resources to finding a head gasket that works. the part number for the current revision is: 11044AA610

the head bolts are a 12-pt 14mm socket. get a 1/2" drive. i broke a 3/8" extension when i was trying to remove the bolts. i had to run back out to buy a 1/2" socket...

there is a tsb (#01-143-960) from 1996 that addresses recommended sealants and adheasives. for the transmissions: Application: transmission pan mating surface (4EAT without a paper gasket) Recommendation: Threebond 1217B Equivalents: 3M T-3 Silicone (black) #08670 or Loctite/Permatex Ultra-Grey #599 I used the ultra grey for my oil pan when i resealed it, and have been very pleased with the results. it was available at pep boys. they do make some mention of a gasket, but they may have eliminated it in favor of a liquid gasket...

wagonsonly: thanks for the concern, but i am 99% sure (it's raining and i don't want to get the book out of the car right now) that the interval is 105k miles. i did change mine when i did the head gaskets at 70k, though...

the car has a belt, not chain. probably coming from the water pump. have it looked at soon, as if the pump siezes, it will break the belt, which will destroy the engine...

i remember that there was enough clearance between the cam and the head to get the wrench fully onto the cam without it touching the head. i don't really remember mine putting up much of a fight... i think i just used a 3/8" breaker bar to break the bolt free...

been a couple of months, but as i recall, everything was standard thread (no reverse thread). i don't remember the cam bolts being too difficult to remove, though my neighbor had a 20" adjustable wrench, and he was holding the cam while i broke the bolts free. you could try putting a block of wood against the heads and then letting the wrench on the cam rest against that. how hard were you trying? the other thing you may try is to tap/hit the bolts on the head with a hammer to help them break any corrosion that may have formed.

either demand proof (try to have them locate other dealers who have worked on the car), or have them change the timing belt again. but the belt change interval for the 2.5L motor is 105k miles, so it may not need to be done for a while, and probably hasn't been done if you are looking in the 60k mile range. as for telling if it has the newer head gaskets, you have to look where the heads meet the block. the newer gaskets will stick out a little more. it would probably be best to have a technician point it out to you on a car with the old ones and a car with the new ones. also check the gas guage for good operation. they are notorious for going bad. have the dealer change the sending units as part of the sale if you notice any weird fluctiations or the needle not reading full.

i'll give another vote for cvaxles.com. very nice people, good rebuild. i ordered one for a maxima, it cost $65 shipped, took 3 days (fl-pa), and return shipping cost $7. lifetime warranty on the rebuild. very pleased...

question 1: the driver's side cam's can possibly rotate when you remove the belt, as it has valves open when all of the timing marks are lined up. mine was balanced on the lobes of the cam, so i rotated each to it's safe landing area (it is outlined in both the haynes and the factory service manual), basically turning the top one ccw and the bottom on cw. rotate them the reverse when installing the belt. question 2: if you remove the valve covers, there is a hex portion ground onto the camshaft. you can put a large adjustable wrench onto the flat portions to hold the cam while you break the bolt free: question 3: you can remove the valve covers without even removing any of the timing belt covers, etc. doing so will help you with question 2. question 4: there is a mark on the crank sprocket to let you know where the crank is in cycle. be sure to orient it in the same way as when you removed the belt. it should be pointing up. also be sure you are using the right mark. on the center face of the sprocket, there is a triangle. that points down as i recall (its not the timing mark). the timing mark is on the back lip, below the lobes for the crank position sensor. i wrote a site with a lot of info about changing the head gasket. you can view it here . it also has details on how to compress the tensioner if you don't have access to a vice, and some other tips collected from this board and others.

i put over 1000 miles on my car between when it first overheated and when i replaced the head gaskets. the leak was still small when i replaced it. i just made sure that the coolant was topped off and i wasn't beating it. with mine, it seemed that the leak would only open up after a 20-30 minute run at fairly high speed. local driving would not make bubbles come through the expansion tank. i did notice that it would not siphon coolant back into the block, because it wasn't generating a vaccum if it was parked hot. so anytime i took off the radiator cap (which i replaced when i did the t-stat before changing the head gaskets), the radiator would be low. i'm with 99obw. i think it's the head gasket. be careful not to keep overheating it, or you will be needing more extensive head work...

which motor, 2.2 or 2.5? if it is a 2.5, it definately sounds like a head gasket. a thermostat will usually only have trouble either opening or closing, not while you have been running for a while, but it can't hurt to try a $15 part first. another thing you can try is to run it on the highway for a good 30 minutes, then take the cap off the expansion tank (not the radiator!). if you see bubbles, that is a pretty strong indication you have a blown head gasket. when mine went, it was a small leak that would only open up after extended driving. i caught it early and changed it before the overheating could warp the heads. i wrote a site with a lot of info about the head gasket problem. you can view it here .

i agree with 99obw's advice. at 70k on my 97, the water pump seemed to be in good condition, but i replaced it anyway (i had ordered it ahead), especially knowing that i wasn't planning to be in that area for another 100k miles. i did find a bad idler pulley, so it is real important to have them checked...

did you let it break in with dyno oil? engines need to fully break in before switching to synthetic.

if you want a quality rebuilt: ccr engines or else you can take your chances from a junkyard.

the torque spec for the crank bolt in the factory service manual is 130 ft-lbs (177 N-m)

if it is a manual, you can put it in 5th and have somebody step on the brakes to break the bolt loose. if it is automatic, you can search the archives. many people have posted solutions for how to stop the crank from turning while removing the bolt.

they probably didn't pull the motor either time if they were just replacing the clutch. but they probably did disconnect the battery both times. they are supposed to record you radio presets before disconnecting the battery, and reprogram it before giving it back to you, and set the clock. as for the computer, just drive the car like you normally do. it will learn all by it self.

put it on the lift again, only this time with the engine running. have someone rev then engine until it starts to rattle. you will then be able to find exactly which piece(s) is(are) rattling.

i tried fixing it by banging around with the car off, and got no results. i finally jacked the car, had a friend rev the engine while i pressed on the different heat shields while wearing thick gloves. i found the one that was rattling (the one before the cat), then let it all cool. i removed the heat shield, bent the clamps so that they would grab the pipe tighter (they were loose when i started), and the noise is now gone...

sorry to hear of all your troubles. i wrote a site all about changing the head gasket and clutch. you can view it here . it's hard to predict if you will have any big problems in the coming years, but it seems that you currently have most of the problems that you can possibly have. its not too hard to do the work, but it does take a while. even with a bad back, there isn't much heavy lifting involved, so you could consider doing it yourself if interested...

i had no trouble getting a can of the gm top engine cleaner from a gm dealership. i never did get a chance to use it yet. in the service manual, it seems to show the cleaner as a spay can, but what the dealership sold me was just a bottle.... i cleaned out my throttle body and that seemed to solve most of the hesitation/throttle problems i was having...