Starkapopolis

Dang it all, now you've got me thinking about renting an engine hoist..

Thanks, that's very helpful. I'd love to do this job myself, learn more about my car and save tons of money but there's just no time at the moment. Brian

Thanks, Cougar. I'll ask the mechanic to check the timing belt and the cam. If that's not it, then I think I'll be looking at a new engine. I checked the link you sent. They do ship to residential which is nice, but the cost is quite a bit higher: $1400 total cost vs. $900 from my source. My mechanic had a question that maybe you folks can answer: do engines coming in from Japan have the same emissions set up or does that have to be tinkered with to make work in a US car. He cited previous problems with a Nissan using an imported engine. Thanks.

So the head didn't work - like that's going to stop me from throwing money down this endless pit - muhahahaha.. I found some ej25 dohc engines on ebay for pretty cheap. all of them say they are used and imported from Japan with around 40k miles and come with a 6 month, unlimited mileage warranty. their feedback ratings are excellent and the shipping price isn't too bad. anyone have concerns over using one of those engines? I'm not against the 2.2 idea, but I'm not doing this myself and am afraid my mechanic might not be up for a conversion if sensors and wires have to be tinkered with. I'll have a look at the instructions on the website and see how much is involved in case I decide to do the conversion. Thanks for any thoughts.

New update - same old news. I found a complete right head on ebay. bought it for $45! Was really happy with the way it was turning out. My mechanic finally gathered all the seals to put it in and he couldn't get enough compression. I think he said it was reading 90 pounds. Normal is around 130 - 150 right? He doesn't know if there's a hairline crack in the new used head or if something else is wrong with it, but his thinking is he's done trying to make that engine work. His suggestion is to either dump the car or replace the engine. btw - mechanic had a machine shop first look at the new head and verify it looked good. I had someone else eyeball it too. Nothing visible was seen. Also, the mechanic said they checked compression on both sides and made sure fuel was getting to both. It was. I know I won't get anything for it if I sell as is. Just redid whole A/C system AND brakes. Would rather fix if I can for under $1500. I know engines can be upwards of $2k but have seen a few online for 4-800. What's shipping like on one of those (2.5L DOHC automatic for 97 legacy). Thanks, Brian

So that jy had a right head but it was bare of all its innards. If I get that, then I'll have to find the other parts (cams, shims, seals, etc) and have them machined to match, right? It sounds easiest to just find a used head that is complete. So far, I've found two cars that are parting out and both have a bad right head. What's up with the right always going south?! Still looking and taking the bus.http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/images/icons/icon13.gif

I've got a lead on a head from a jy in CO. Am looking into whether the part will be a match or not. Thanks for the tip! Hoping for the best, Brian

So the junked car, if I bought it, turns out to be a '98 Legacy L sedan, so the bumper wouldn't work on my obw. Any guesses if the right head from a 2.5L auto from that car will fit into my 2.5L dohc auto '97 obw?

A week after I saw my little red wagon towed 20 miles away and I don't have much new info. The mechanic did clear up that I don't just need a cam, but a complete head for the right side. As was mentioned above, this sounds like it will have a better chance of success if the whole head is replaced rather than matching and mixing my parts with salvage. It seems like it would be a hard sell to get someone to pull a perfectly good head off a working engine and sell it to me (unless their engine had something else wrong with it). In answer to the earlier question, I think it is a phase 1 ('97). I'll check the marketplace again but what's ballpark on a working head for the EJ25? If it's close to $500 then I might as well buy this junked '98 and use the new tires off it, the bumper to replace the one my wife crunched in a parking lot 3 weeks ago, as well as the head = all for $1000. thoughts? meanwhile I catch the city bus at 5:45 am to get a ride at 6:15 to get to work at 7 and come home by 5. Wheels would be nice.

Thanks for all the tips, guys. I would have loved to do the job myself, but can't make the time right now. Today I had it towed 20 miles from the first mechanic who couldn't fix it to a husband / moonlight mechanic of a co-worker. He looked at it tonight and mostly agreed with the first mechanic's diagnosis. He said that things looked good, the timing belt didn't break. The cogs on the timing belt gear were not stripped. My rods weren't bent, and the oil had been fine. However, the right cam is spinning inside housing and needs to be replaced. He said this job should take around 8-10 hours to do and his original labor estimate was $30 / hr. On the phone tonight he said the job would be $400-500 labor. The math doesn't add up, given his first figures. Does anyone have a different timeframe for this job? Also, I will look around the message board marketplace for a camshaft but I need to know a few things: are the right and left side different (I think they are). What other years legacy will fit mine? I've got a 97 Legacy Outback 2.5L automatic. I have a contact who will sell me a non-running '98 outback with a bad crankshaft for $1000, and it comes with new tires. I could pull the camshaft out of the scrapped car and take the tires, and donate the rest, or sell the remaining parts. Do you know if the 98 and 97 are the same engine? If anyone has a lead on a working camshaft that is already out of the engine, let me know. Thanks again, Brian

Thanks for the tips and insight. Scott, of your suggestion for tools, time, beer, and manual, I only have the last, but that hasn't stopped me before. I like the idea of learning about the heads by taking them apart - especially if it is trashed anyway. Also, I agree a second opinion is a good idea. This mechanic is good at general diagnosis but nothing lets me believe he's knowledgeable about subarus nor interior engine parts. Rather than have the car towed all over town for second and third opinions, I'll try and convince the mrs. to bring it home and let me tinker. Will let you know what happens. brian

During work, got a call last week from mrs. frantic. On her way to drop off kids, our 97 legacy outback wagon (2.5L auto) made a loud noise "like a belt coming off and then a breaking sound". Car has 125k mi. Has been a dream for 3 years. Not a single problem. After loud sound, car wouldn't move/ wouldn't turn over / no power steering / etc. Car was towed to a mechanic and he told me, "the car lost oiling or a bearing, or a camshaft. There's a real loud noise coming from the right side. You either need a new engine or find someone who can replace the right side cylinder heads." He also described it as a copper bushing that got outta place and blocked oil from going somewhere important. Does this sound like anything you all have heard of and does it sound like something worth having fixed or is it a sign of an engine replacement? The mechanic said he can get it to start but it won't drive. If I tried, he said it would seize up again. I just had the whole brake system redone and the A/C so I don't want to dump the car, but to have a garage put in a new used engine would be around $3k. Even if that fixes it, the car isn't worth much more than that, so I'd be better to find a cheap engine and have a driveway mechanic do the swap for me. Any ideas on the problem or a solution are appreciated. Limping in a 91 legacy until later, brian

Coming back from our innaugural road trip in our new 98 forester on sun, heard the passenger rear tire start to rub and make lots of noise. finished the trip and confirmed it was the wheel bearing. A shop quoted me $500 to have it machined. Being the primary family car and not having much time to research I went for it. Picked it up today and they said it would be $600! I asked why and they said taxes and "stuff." I looked at the bill. They charged me $210 labor to remove and replace the bearing in the car at their shop. I asked them if it really took 3.5 hours to do that and the guy looked kinda puzzled, then said, yeah. The shop where they farmed out the machining of the bearing was paid their one hour work. After whining that $100 bucks on top of the estimate seemed high, they punched some buttons on the computer and asked, 'how does $534 sound?" (not as good as $345, lol.) hoping that's the only bearing i have to deal with on this car but if not, I'm gonna try other means to fix.

Thank you for your opinion and the test drive tips. I'll search the post now like I shoulda done first! Brian

I just posted the same question at the same time, so I guess this IS a common problem with these engines. Now the question is: if the heads have already blown and been fixed, will they blow again?