darsdoug

Bumped the timing up a couple teeth at the distributor and it starts right up now but refuses to idle. It just falls off at anything under 2K RPM. Timing must still be off. At least I'm making progress. It never gave me this much trouble during the summer of 2013 when I replaced the HG's the last time. IIRC I never had a fire in the air filter housing or removed the distributor from the cylinder head back then.

Anyone got a good pic of the intake manifold wiring harness so I can make sure I have everything where it needs to be? I knew I should have tagged everything before I started removing stuff. There's a solenoid on the front of the throttle body I somehow had plugged into the wrong pigtail. I imagine the color coded wires should match on both the female and male connectors before hooking them together eh? Pretty sure I'm just overlooking something simple? At least I can still remember how to tie my shoe's. ha ha.

Well I finally got it to start and run today. Assuming I had it 180 degree's off I pulled the distributor and removed the passenger side valve cover so I could make sure the cam lobes on #1 cylinder were not opening either valve. My way of confirming #1 piston was on it's compression stroke while ensuring the zero on the flywheel was lined up with the pointer. I then put the distributor back in with the rotor pointing at #1 on the cap. About the same time I realized I had the wrong electric connector plugged into the front of the throttle body. Today it will barely idle at wide open throttle. I'm assuming the fire damaged the MAF ? Where is MilesFox when you need him? ughh.

I am stuck. It still won't start. Fuel pressure good at 30 lbs going into the SPFI throttle body. Good spark at the plugs confirmed. Tiny hole on passenger side cam pulley was up and driver side cam pulley hole was down with pointer at middle hash mark on flywheel. I turned crank around clockwise 360 degree's until I saw the 0 degree mark on the flywheel and installed the distributor with the rotor pointing at #1 on the cap but still won't start. It won't do nothing. Plugs keep getting gas fouled. What am I missing? 88 subaru wagon SPFI ea82. I just did the HG's on a identical 88 wagon up north and it fired right up and runs fine. Sheesh!

Got it all buttoned up and tried to start it but didn't have any luck. I then gave it a shot of starting fluid and cranked it over. oops! Big mistake! The engine backfired and set the air filter element on fire! I didn't even realize it until I saw smoke coming from the air filter housing. During a controlled panic I managed to unclip the housing and yank out the smoldering filter element. I put my tools away.

Alright got the new HG's in today. Milled the heads with 220 on glass and WD-40. Cleaned the threads and bolt heads and lightly oiled them before the torque sequence. I went 20-40-60 ft. lbs. Yes I got the cheap aftermarket HG's on Ebay and I really don't feel like dealing with a re-torque. Should be interesting to see how it holds up? No silicone copper spray this time around.

You were right. Here it is after three years. That's what can happen when you use a fuel injector seal instead of the proper cam tower O ring.

I noticed when I pulled the heads that the head bolts cracked loose fairly easy. Did the HG's shrink over the years? or did I screw up by not giving them a re-torque?

Update: Question: Why did I buy this ea82 DR wagon back? Answer: Because it's fun in the snow! It's been over three years since I sold this subaru but now the passenger-side head gasket has failed. Upon examination I see that combustion gases have been getting into a single coolant passage directly adjacent to a slight dent in the HG's compression ring. The air bubbles coming up out of the radiator while at idle were an obvious indicator of head gasket failure. The fuel injector seals I'd mistakenly used as cam tower "O" rings are indeed toast. Gloyale's description of what would happen to them was perfect. The cam lobes and cam bearings appear good though. Does anyone know who sell's 220 grit wet or dry sandpaper that come's in square yard's?

I am pleased with how well the MAF sensor I got from Ebay has fixed my car. It must feel right at home with the cheap knock sensor and coil I bought there.

I just ordered a MAF sensor for my 96 Legacy LS wagon auto. 2.2 Is part # 22680AA160F the same as part # 22680AA160 ? What does the "F" designation mean? The one I ordered doesn't have the "F" at the end of the part number like the one in my wagon. Are they vehicle specific? e.g. auto vs. manual?

The intake valves being stuck open on 1 and 3 seems possible but unlikely. You can remove the valve cover on that bank then crank it over while observing the valves to determine that. Perhaps the head gasket is blown out between those two cylinders?

Just got word from oldsubfreak that his local machine shop determined the crank seal mating suface of the bellhousing was out of round due to the flywheel rubbing against the bellhousing and generating enough heat to warp it.

Possible a 1600 seal won't fit in a 1400 bellhousing? I don't know for sure?....I'm just a duck.

Is there any truth in whether or not the ECU can tell the difference between summer and winter blends of gas? Does it need to re-learn that also?

Got another fuel pump assembly laying around that you can drop in the tank?

Good grief. It was just the spark plug wires. Ha!

Ran great on the way to the store this morning but when I came out and started it the stumble was back . Turned on the AC and it made it worse. I wonder what I'm missing here? No CEL coming on. Seems like it acts up on every other driving cycle or something? Weird.

I did as you suggested but it still had the same problem. I put another coil on and it did the trick. Problem solved. Thanks anyhow.

I've been having a little stumbling usually at idle while sitting at a stoplight. The engine doesn't die but feels close to it. I pulled the codes and got the knock sensor number. I replaced the old cracked knock sensor with a new one from Ebay and it has improved overall performance but it's still stumbling at idle. It's not throwing a check engine light even after putting at least fifty miles on it. MAF sensor you think?

Went for a 150 mile drive yesterday (car running great) and did some shopping at the Arlington Pic-N-Pull. Found another cam pulley and some other parts I needed from same build year wagon. Nice yard, nice people, and the sun was out. What more can a guy ask for?

FWD light went off and the torque bind has returned again. Yep, something wonky somewhere?

Trust me. I've been aware of that.

Yep. I never could get it to go into front wheel drive using the fuse trick. I tried more than once with a couple different fuses but never had any luck. I left the fuse in back in 2013, but just recently it decided to start working. No shudder in tight turns anymore. I never did get around to replacing the duty-C. The only work I've done on the car ever since is changing the oil, air filter and antifreeze.

So I've been driving my 96 Legacy LS wagon for over three years with torque bind but now it seems to be gone? I'd left the FWD fuse in it's receptacle all this time and now very unexpectedly the FWD light has come on and there is no more torque bind. I would like to thank whoever or whatever helped me with that? I am totally beside myself.