Allpar Mod

I agree that it's worth taking a bit of time to see if the valves did any gouging to the cylinder wall before they stopped moving. If they did, you'll need to smooth and polish the cylinder wall before you reassemble the heads. As to the piston, from the picture, it almost looks like the damage is superficial and the top of the piston head could be polished out. Cannot say for sure with pictures being 2D, but it appears to be a possibility. If you have another piston head available, it would be possibly less work to swap them, but that's up to you.

If you read my post completely, I haven't bought anything yet, so I can still save however much. I'm physically unable to do the repair at this time so I'm on a fact finding mission before I buy, entire point of my thread.

Dave, no A&G nearby or even a short drive. I'm not anywhere near the Kiski Valley. Already checked AZ, showed Monroe and they're much higher than the KYBs from Rock including shipping. And I know that one needs a compressor. I have one and am aware of the dangers, thanks. I am going to consider replacing the rear springs because that end of the car is riding the worst. I'm going to take my time and search prices around. I cannot install them now because I'm recovering from heart surgery and am a few weeks away from being able to do this kind of work again. The weather is not helping, also.

The rear struts on my '99 OBW are pretty much needing replaced. I wanted an opinion on this price I found at Rock Auto. Everyone seems to favor KYB replacements, so this price is for both rears, the GR-2 model: $158.12 including shipping.

If I were looking for a really cheap car to get from A to B, and lived in the deep south or California, I'd maybe consider the Hyundai or something in a similar vein. Being a fellow Pennsylvanian, and you living in a more mountainous part of the state than I, you may regret your decision. I hope not, but we'll see.

This is a tire that I bought last year to improve bad weather traction on my '99 OBW. Size pictured, 205-65R15. Still in use, picture taken today. It is the Pacemark Snowtrakker. I bought them at Sam's Club and they only go for about $65/each ($270 + tax & mounting/balancing for 4. Yes, you should get 4). These tires got me through our major snowfalls of last year where Western Pennsylvania was literally paralyzed. I never was late for work one day. These are like putting on a light truck/SUV aggressive tread tire on a Soob. They work equally well on the interstates as in the city or rural roads. I drive all of them. Pros: Low cost, excellent traction on snow & ice, good rain traction, wear, several sizes available at same price, balance well Cons: Road noise, no guarantee on wear, Sam's will not install if they aren't specified by manufacturer tire size (still can get cash & carry), lose a couple mpg (still get over 22 with these tires). I'm tight right now being on disability for heart surgery and the wife's Jeep needed new tires badly. I put a set of these on and she loves them in the snow. Bottom line, recommend highly. They will wear down if used for a long time on dry roads like over the summer, but not as badly as you would think they would.

Sorry to hear about the tribulations you went through. I have the same year OBW. First, I have to agree with the statement that you waited too long to have the original work done. Having it done last minute gave them an excuse, albeit not a good one, to say that it's your fault they rushed the job. Don't buy that. If they couldn't do it properly in the time frame you gave them, they never should have agreed to start on it. Unfortunately, I have to say that a complete close look at the engine is in order to verify that the engine needs replacement, and by someone that is good with Subaru engines. Odds are that the guys are right, it's time to look for another motor. With the beating due to malfunctions that your engine sustained on the trip, I'd say that most any engine would be hard pressed to survive relatively intact. The EJ25 is just a more susceptable engine to meltdown than some others. I don't know how strong your consumer protection laws and agencies are in Cali, but I suspect you might have to go that route in the end. Ours are very strong here, but they seem to vary state to state. I hope you have good documentation from the other shops that serviced the car during the trip. Best of luck.

This is a way too common brake problem with our Soobs. Rooster's suggestion about using anti seize after you get it apart is a very good one. It is a much superior lubricant and protectant than just using grease for this particular application. Make sure that after you get the seized parts out, you clean the keyway as well as possible before putting the new sliders in. Otherwise, you are just going to have to service them again way too soon. If you have a Dremel, they work pretty well for this with either a wire wheel attachment or grinding stone. Spray brake fluid through after you clean up the corrosion prior to reassembly.

Optima basically makes one battery that adapts to many vehicles.

That's a good tech article, but it looks like it only addresses up to 1997. Is there another similar article that addreses inclusive of 1999?

I would back up a bit and put a gauge on the system to see if it has lost charge or not. It could be a wiring issue as the vehicle has had extensive engine work done on it. There's always a possibility that something wire wise broke or isn't connected properly to keep the system from activating on command. If the pressure gauge shows low or no charge, then I'd go with the o-rings and such. Basics, fellas, basics.

It's a real shame that something with the McIntosh name is junk. I'm in to vintage audio and McIntosh home audio units from back in the day command big bucks and are considered the Rolls Royce of audio components.

Being around cars as long as I have been, I've heard this philosophy before many times. There likely is some merit to this from what I've seen. Still and all, when there is some issue looming, you have to look at doing something. In my case here, the delayed shifting issue is fixed and overall is working quite well. The good thing was that there was no overall shift issue or operation problem, just the delayed shift which has been commented on a lot in other threads. One mistake I made after I bought the OBW last year was to add the Trans X without doing a full fluid swap because I liked the appearance of the fluid. I was told here then that I should have better swapped the fluid and the advice was correct. Sometimes you have to take a chance on a neglected component. The end result is not always bad. One example is after my father in law passed in 2001, we had his '89 New Yorker with only 28,000 miles on it. I started using it to go back and forth to work. I noticed that it shifted terribly and after looking at the dipstick, the fluid was nearly black. I went to Jiffy Lube and had a flush done with a new filter. The car immediately started shifting like new again. The car is still around in the family and shifts just fine.

These days, elapsed mileage is relative to the overall condition of the vehicle. For example, I have '97 Jeep Cherokee with 235,000 that the motor started going south. The rust isn't bad and the car is in very good condition overall. I picked up a used motor with 80,000 miles on it for $450 from a running junker. It will be transplanted and I'm keeping the car. It sounds like you are in a similar position with your Soob. Take the guy's advice here and pin down the exact problem with your car. If it's the transmission for sure, replace it and go on enjoying your Soob. Aside from the cost savings fixing your car rather than replacing it, you know what you have and what's right and wrong with it. It's not difficult to figure out the pros of fixing it compared to the cons of the same. Often, keeping the devil you know is better than the devil you don't.

I decided it was time to change the tranny fluid on my '99 OBW as the delayed shifting thing started rearing it's head again. If you haven't done one, or are hesitant to do it, do it. It's one of the simplest swaps you will ever do. First, on this particular tranny, you do get the lion's share of the fluid just by draining it with the drain plug and removing the filter. What is a good idea to help this is to jack up the car with the driver's side slightly tilted down as the drain plug is on the driver's side. This helps promote a more complete draining of the old contents. I'm used to this NOT happening short of having the transmission flushed by machine. The less of the old, contaminated fluid that remains, the better it is. Having a drain plug is not that common among automatic transmissions, front or rear drive. Normally, the pan has to be dropped and requires replacement of the pan gasket. Here's a cost savings right off the bat. The spin on filter is another great innovation. The only gripe I have is the cost. Pep Boys charges $25 for a Purolator! I have no clue why something configured like a $3 oil filter is so damn expensive. For under $60, including a bottle of Trans X, you can add life to your automatic tranny. It shifts correctly now and I can swear that it shifts under motion a bit smoother also. It also took me under 30 minutes to complete the whole change and used just a socket set for the drain plug and a big pair of channel locks to remove the old filter. I put a lot of miles on my cars and a bit of prevention goes a long way. For you guys that do primarily city driving, this is even more essential. Heat, which is worse with stop & go driving, kills a tranny faster than anything.

Intermittant sounds like it either is bad terminal(s) at the battery or a short internally with the battery. If the battery is relatively old (4 years or more), I'd replace it along with both terminals. This should rectify your problems.

I have to agree with the guys...definately a heater core. The "symptoms" you state are classic ones for a leaking core. I also have to agree that repeated inhalation of ethylene glycol fumes won't be doing your lungs or organs any favors. I have to urge caution with just using a stop leak compound for a heater core. I know, some of you guys have done this and it worked. Maybe so, but from what I've seen and experienced, if a heater core has so deteriorated that it starts leaking, it's time to replace it, not prolong the inevitable. Obviously, it's your car and money, but that's my educated opinion.

O-ring are pretty much o-rings, but I'm sure this type of application requires a specific size. There just isn't circumference of the ring to take into consideration, but the thickness of the ring for any specific application. I'd not tempt fate and get the correct one from Subaru.

As to your question about $1200 being too much for a used EJ25, that's what they go for in good shape here at the few import yards that we have. One big yard (Wagner's) almost never has any in stock because they're gone as soon as he gets any Soobs in. He regularly gets $1200 for allegedly good 25s. He gets $800+ for cores! So, whether you or I believe that $1200 is a fair price, that's what they seem to be getting on the market for them.

CRC makes a contact cleaner which is available at Radio Shack, Wal Mart in the automotive, and other outlets. It's in a short red can. Make sure it is the fast drying type that leaves no residue. There are electrical contact cleaners that are formulated differently like for electric motor armatures and to degrease. These will destroy plastics. Never buy these types for small electronic applications. I've seen what they can do. If you're buying contact cleaner at a supplier like Graingers, which some of us can do, it's easy to get the wrong type of spray.

Great facts, John. Many people underestimate how the problems that batteries can, and do, cause can vary from the simple to the unexpected. There is always a balance being held in the charging system of any car and the battery's condition has a big role to play in maintaining the balance. That's why it's so important to... 1) Buy a good quality battery, period. I'm of the mindset, by experience to some degree, that when you cheap out, you pay for it twice. 2) Maintain it. That includes the posts and terminals and cables along with any associated wires in the circuit. 3) Replace it when it shows signs of going bad. As to "good quality batteries", another reason for keeping vigilent of them is even an expensive battery can go bad. I recently had a two year old Optima battery I had in my truck go bad. I couldn't figure out why I had issues with it going dead. I don't drive the truck every day, sometimes for a week or so between drives. I had checked the charging system, grounds, relays, etc. Turned out that it had a defect. Good thing Optima red tops have a three year free replacement guarantee.

The bottom line is that most good, and all name brand, oils have to meet a minimum specification for production and sale so all will work well. Synthetics are very good oils and I've heard the same thing about exacerbating leaks, though I haven't experienced it as I use it exclusively on my F-150 as it tows a 5,500 lb. trailer. One big advantage of synthetics is the ability to extend oil change intervals. Maybe if the stuff wasn't so damn expensive, more would use it. I'm a big advocate of Lucas Oil Stabilizer. I do believe it one of the very few additives that actually does something good. I got sold on it when I had an '88 Corolla work beater and it was burning oil. The Lucas not only slowed consumption in a big way, it improved performance and upped the gas mileage a tick. I can feel a difference in my '99 OBW. Everybody seems to have a preference in filters. Some seem to be real down on Fram. I've used them for many years and no problems.

You are right about Wagners. Rt 19, Harmony (Zelienople). 800-472-2830 Also All Foreign, under the 62nd St bridge off of Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh. 412-782-5580

For some reason, sometimes a long extension on a breaker bar will break a bolt or three better than an impact gun. I use a Husky Professional air gun that puts out 500 lbs torque max tightening and nearly 300 loosening. There's been a few times that it wouldn't break a bolt but a breaker bar would. The stubborn ones undercar often seem to benefit from heating them. If you don't have oxy, or cannot afford it, MAPP gas works nearly as well.

I have to agree with John. If the battery is new and charged, then it most likely is bad contacts in the circuit from the battery to the starter. Start from the battery terminals, clean them well, and go down the wires to the starter itself and make sure of condition. One warning for the inexperienced. Make sure that the battery is disconnected before attacking any of the other wiring. You might be in for a "shocking" experience if not.