jamesm113

Finished resurfacing the heads tonight (did 220 grit->320->600 on a 12"x10"x1/2" piece of glass) and pulled 2 pistons. I stripped the Cyl #4 screw pretty good and broke a screw extractor trying to pull it out. There's some side to side play (ie towards the front/back of the engine) on the connecting rods, but it's smooth going up/down, and there's no play going in/out. Hope that's a good sign, but would love input from others on that. My only experience with rod bearings is when my dirt bike's rod bearing seized. It was definitely not smooth I purchased a junkyard bottom end, but the rod bearing on it was super notchy, so not wanting to take any chances, I sent it back, and bought a new OEM crank. The new one was buttery smooth. I also managed to drop a wrist pin. I put it a ziploc baggie, and it fell right through the ziploc and straight on the floor - about 2 feet.. I didn't spot any scratches, but I'll look more closely. Does that mean I'm buying a new wrist pin now too? Pics attached - finished block, wrist pin on removal, and piston (rings & skirt). EDIT. Got all 4 pistons out. Stupid screw. I even have a Reed Prince screwdriver, but it was useless. I really need a JIS or reed prince impact drill bit... All the pistons and connecting rods are all in similiar condition (wear on the coating, no in/out play, smooth up/down movement, some front/back play)

Thanks GD. Checked the block tonight with a straight edge tonight, looked like both sides were warped the short way between .001" and .002". Any recommendations there? Put the block on top of glass and sand?

Copy that. Standard size rings have been ordered. Any advice on making sure the connecting rods don't damage the cylinders when rotating the crank? It seems like the rod could scratch the cylinder pretty easily without the piston. Do you normally have to shave off any material on the piston rings after checking the clearance in the cylinder? Should I leave the oil pan off for this job?

Also, I just noticed one of the exhaust valve guides is in the wrong position on the cracked head EDIT - add second photo from exhaust port.

How difficult of a job is it to change the rings? Reviewing the FSM, it says I need some speciality tools that I don't have. I see the 4 access ports, but don't see much on the forums on how to do the job...

Searching car-part, it only interchanges 06-07 outbacks and legacys, which matches the subaru part #11063AB27A (casting V25). Looking at eBay listings for imprezas/foresters, if the donor impreza/forester is an 06-07 (subaru part #11063AB310), the casting number is V25. If the donor impreza/forester is an 08-09 or later, the casting number is T25, which matches the 08-09 outback/legacy casting heads. Looking at RockAuto, "Famous Brand" 2713JL/2713GR and "Crankshaft supply" SU2505 / SU2506 list pretty much all EJ253-equipped models between 2006 and 2011 (Foz 06-10, Impreza 06-11, leg/outbac 06-09). They list V25, T25 and E25S. So I'm about 90% sure an 06-07 impreza/forester head would be a match, just would love to know why subaru has two different part numbers between the legacy/outback and impreza/forester. Looking at the Subaru parts diagrams (06 outback, and 07 impreza), there are a few extra parts on the 06 Outback - the straight pin on the camshaft cap end, and the two plugs on each of the head. Exhaust manifold gaskets, intake manifold gaskets are the same. So are the cam seals and plugs. Sprockets are different, but cam sensor and its holder are the same.

Oil pan removed. Everything looks normal to my untrained eye, no metallic flakes. Screen looked clean. I noticed some varnish on the pickup tube assembly, and a little bit of gunk right below the oil pan. Inside the oil pan was very clean too. Saw no shavings, etc. Nothing at the bottom oil filter canister. No metal, shavings, etc - just oil. I'm really hoping this is a good sign that bottom end failure is not imminent. Looking a step ahead, anyone know about interchangeability between the subaru heads? Obviously I need an AVLS head (ie. 2006 and newer heads only). I have a good lead on a set of heads from an 07 impreza. I know the cams aren't a match, nor is the head itself, but I'm thinking the head body would be good. EDIT: No shavings between the pleats of the filter element either.

I used tin snips around the base of the filter and a flat screwdriver to pry it apart

Oil filter open. Looks normal to my untrained eye. EDIT: I also cut a slice of the paper element out with some dikes and ran a strong magnet along both sides of the paper filter. It didn't pick up any metal shavings, nor did I spot any.

What exactly should I be looking for when pulling the oil pan and cutting open the oil filter? I don't have a straight edge (arrives in the mail tomorrow) yet, but using a level or a ruler, it looks like the cracked head is just above the warpage limit. A .03mm (.001") feeler gauge drags slightly in between the cylinders. A .04mm (.0015") feeler gauge does not fit. For what it's worth, the cylinder cross-hatching looks good, none of the timing covers look melted, and the knock sensor does not look melted.

The other head was checked by the machine shop. Pitted exhaust valves, but no cracks. I pulled the knock sensor and timing covers - both looked normal to me. No melted knock sensor or wavy timing cover.

Good idea, I'll check that. I've only owned the car for 5 thousand miles or so. I've hit as high as 228F according to my OBDII gauge, which is about 3/4 of the way up, before I had a chance to pull over. Never in the red under my watch. The car would only overheat going up long grades. Never overheated in traffic/on flat land. Exhaust valves were pitted pretty badly. Car ran fine otherwise when I pulled the heads. Was thinking it would just be a head gasket job. Was leaking oil externally. Any tips on cylinder head compatibility?

It failed the pressure test. Exhaust valves are bad too...

Have an 06 outback 2.5i (non-turbo), with a cracked driver side cylinder head. One cylinder has 2 cracks between the spark plug hole and both intake valve seats, the other cylinder has 1 crack between the spark plug hole and an intake valve seat. Looking to get a replacement cylinder head, but would like to know what fits. Subaru parts say it fits a handful of 06-07 outback/legacy models only (no forrester, impreza, etc). I know 05 won't work, because 06 has the AVLS rockers, and assemblies that need to bolt into the head. I've also seen some warnings with the exhaust manifold. I have the 3 stud exhaust manifold, but there are some variations out there with 4 studs According to this post, only the casting and cams changed for 08-09 outbacks/legacys, so those should fit fine. Looking at part numbers (drivers side head): 11063AB27A - 06-07 Outback / Legacy - "V25" head 11063AB43A - 08-09 Outback / Legacy - "T25" head 11063AB310 - 06-07 Impreza / Forester ?? 11063AB430 - 08-11 Impreza / 08-10 Forester ??

Unrelated, but they should not all be 31psi. Check the sticker on the front door. Mine are 32 front/30 rear. The AWD is expecting a pressure difference

It will only go off if the issue has been resolved. Looks like you fixed it

Ok, underneath the steering drivers side dash, there are two green connectors. Connect them, and turn the IGN to On. You will hear every solenoid, relay in the car turning on and off. Check the following solenoids by feeling them with your finger. If you can feel a click, they (and the wiring to them) are most likely good. Purge control solenoid (under intake manifold, passenger side) Vent solenoid (right by the charcoal canister) Pressure control solenoid (front passenger corner of fuel tank)

edrach, have you tested the purge and vent solenoids using the green connector under the dash? Can you pull a vacuum on the system with a hand vacuum pump?

So a P0442 code typically means there is a small (under 0.04") leak in your EVAP system. A little bit of background: Your EVAP system works to contain all fuel vapors and preventing them from going into the atmosphere. The charcoal canister stores fuel vapors for the engine to be burned off later in the engine. There are 3 hoses connected to the canister: 1. PURGE - Leads to a purge solenoid near the throttle body (mine was under the intake manifold). This solenoid is connected to the throttle body, and when open, draws a vacuum on the whole system, sucking fuel vapors out of the canister for clean burning 2. VENT - this allows clean air to enter the system, which is needed to displace gas that you burn. There is also a solenoid controlling this hose, called the vent solenoid. 3. CHARGE - this line connects to the top of the gas tank and is where the fuel vapors come from When you are driving under a certain set of conditions (don't remember the exact specs, but it's something like 15-85% fuel, under 3000 RPM, steady speed under 75, higher than 45, and the car has been warm for over 8 minutes), the ECM starts a EVAP self test - it opens the PURGE solenoid, which starts pulling a vacuum on the system, and closes the VENT solenoid, which seals of the system. It then monitors the fuel tank pressure sensor to see if: A. there is a drop in pressure B. the drop in pressure is held If either of those conditions fail on two consecutive drive cycles, you will get CEL and the associated code. If your canister is clogged, this could potentially prevent a vacuum from being pulled on the fuel tank. However, I would think this would cause a P0440 (.04" and over), rather than a P0442 since a plugged canister would prevent a lot of vacuum from being formed, rather than just a little. Did your dealer say they found no leaks? Or they need to replace the canister before knowing if there's a leak or not? Either way, leaving it out in the sun should dry out the liquid fuel

These are the videos I took earlier: like I said, very slight

Have them special order it... http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/Tools-Garage-and-Equipment/Block-Tester/_/N-25dh You'll need both the fluid and the block tester. Both you return for a full refund when you are done

Go to autozone and loan one of their block testers.

What if it's more of a slight twitch?? So slight it doesn't show up on a video I took of it

You can try leaving it out in the sun

balancer = crank pulley? when is a slight vibration not considered normal?