walczyk

I'm lapping heads and block for two ej25s right now. Its the best method, but most people don't have access to a lapping plate.

If you bought it at 105k then they might have replaced everything already. The timing belt, drive belts, tensioner, and a lot of other things (maybe the water pump thermostat if its dirty) gets replaced by subaru after 105k miles, its supposed to anyway. I would find out with car facts or something else, before you end up doing unnecessary maintenance. good luck

I'm nearly done cleaning off the last cylinder head before I take them to get machined, so I'm nowhere near readjustment, but after putting it all back together, how long should I wait before readjusting? 5k, 10k?

Did you replace the tensioner? They are expensive, I'm not sure if they come with a kit, but they're supposed to be replaced every 105k i think..

Wow yeah, that looks worse than if you didn't resurface at all. It looks like someone messed up real bad and didn't notice or didn't want to take the blame. They might be ruined if the gouges are very deep. The grinding limit for the head surface is 0.012" and the warping limit is 0.002". I am reading this out of the service manual for a 2000 legacy GT (its an EJ252 I think, I still have no idea what the differences between the 251 are). The standard height of the head is 3.839", so if you end up measuring anything less than 3.827" after grinding then subaru recommends you scrap the head. Its a judgment call, but you better raise hell at the place that did that abortion of a resurfacing job.

So I'm wondering the same thing.. I'm not actually in front of the engine now to look at the engine code or vin, but what would I do with those to figure out if its an EJ252 or EJ251? Its a 2000 Legacy GT wagon, and what I read EJ252 was only made for yeah 2000 year. There were plenty of external leaks throughout its life but the gaskets lasted 200k miles before they blew and the coolant got into the oil. I'm curious what physical differences there are between the 251/252/253. If I ever have three in front of me I'll make a detailed write up for everyone.

Basically you lost your initial investment.

I agree with the OP that the engine swap advice is handed out reflexively, even before anyone knows what 2.5 engine they are actually talking about. I still don't agree with the argument that finding and purchasing an EJ22 engine is easier than replacing head gaskets. I agree with that the early EJ25 engine is a fickle beast, but the problems have been pretty much completely mitigated by re-designing the water jacket (in older models too much of the HG surface gets hit with coolant and the water pressure strains the HG among other things). I'm rebuilding my EJ25 because it has 200k and they need new rod bearings eventually, but I think the reliability issues rest mainly on your skill and attention to detail when replacing the head gaskets. I have to admit that this is speculation, and I'll let everyone know if I spring an oil leak anytime soon. Basicalllly, I think its worth mentioning an EJ22 swap but its not worth arguing for it. There are enough people replacing EJ25 HGs without problems to make it worthwhile to fix one yourself. (Again I've never touched a EJ25D)

I wouldn't worry about that at all. I recently changed the ATF on my 92 volvo 940 after buying it last year and putting on 30k miles, and it honestly looked like motor oil. I had trouble finding the right tranny oil strainer (its an odd transmission i guess), and with the oil pan removed I got nearly 7 quarts out by letting it drip for a couple of days. I'll change it again in 10k miles instead of 30k and check the strainer for metal chips again, but I think both of us have nothing to worry about.

lol i want to a pic of the overflow bottle

Hey guys, thanks for all the help. I am going to keep the crankshaft, my father might actually unbend it with a press. We are going to keep the main bearings because the uneven wear of the originals will keep the shaft balanced, also non-standard sized bearings may bind the shaft. What do you guys typically do in this situation? I definitely overthought this build, but its also the first subaru, not to mention first aluminum, engine either of us have ever worked on so its understandable no?

did you remove the piston pins?

Thanks for the input, but with a new crankshaft I am pretty confident this engine will go for another 300k miles (unless new oem rod bearings are still spotty)

So I've seen all the different kinds of Three Bond that Subaru recommends for various assemblies in the car, I've noted 1215,1217,1280,1102,1141(which doesn 't seem to exist), 1324 and that might be all of them? I know its sort of way too expensive for a home project (although if the results are better who knows). Does anyone have any extensive knowledge or experience with Three Bond?

You'll really twist the crankshaft in the process and mess with the bearings. Its really not a good idea. Also you'll need about nine hands when it all separates and falls down. I already made a big gouge on the cylinder block mating surface am going to have to fix that with a stone. I am thinking of lapping the heads and blocks instead of using 600 and 1200grit. What does everyone think about that?

Hi everyone, this is a cool forum and such an old one at that. Bought a 2000 Legacy GT wagon with 170k miles last year before learning about the head gasket issue :/. The bright side is I love this car even with its engine troubles. I just started rebuilding the engine after my sister overheated it badly a few times and then a front axle fell apart. Now I've been oohing and aahing over the smart design of the engine. I've been a B23/B230 volvo nut for years, and I still would rather work on a B230 than any other engine for its simplicity. Even though I wouldn't call EJ engines necessarily simple, I think they're great to work on (apart from having to be v. careful with the aluminum and dissimilar metals). I'm definitely going to try to find one of those sexy 305hp engines and tranny from a wreck (I already think that will be impossible to come by) and swap it into my wagon. I've fixed the couple dime sized rust spots so hopefully I will have this body for a longgg time. What first Subarus have some of you purchased? And are there any other volvo guys out there?

Are we allowed to post pics from the subie service manual?

I noticed I made a mistake by opening the same link twice. I noticed the torque specs are as I thought (34.7 ft lbs), which is surprising because they were soo much more difficult to break free than the head bolts. Sorry about the mistake, back to cleaning this engine...

I've just recently split a EJ252 and the bend in the crankshaft is measuring around 0.0017in. The limit in the subaru service manual is 0.0014in, does that mean I should shell out $400 to buy an OEM crankshaft off ebay? Will any 1999+ OEM 79mm stroke EJ25* crankshaft pop right into my block? This little project is getting pricy very quickly :-\. btw has anyone tried putting an oil cooler on an EJ252? I'm planning to install one as soon as the engine isn't in 100 pieces. Thanks again guys edit: I see an OEM crankshaft for $300 on subaruonlineparts, the prices are better here, but still $$

Ah, and they still don't mention torquing specs! Weird!

Is the torquing specs on those 12mm 12-point bolts a well kept secret? Even the guide doesn't mention it. Disassembly guide without an assembly guide leaves you in a sticky situation

Ha ha, thanks. I'll keep looking, I plan to use hylomar and use this car for another 200k

Okay, I was reading out of the subaru official manual. It doesn't seem right. Do most people not take apart the cylinder block?

The block seemed to hang close to the oil pump for some reason, a little corrosion on the pins I believe but it came apart all safe and sound. Do you remember how you torqued those 10mm bolts? 35 ftlbs seems way too small to me. edit: the rod bearings were worn down to the copper. If anyone has a 2.5 taken out for head gaskets with 180k+ miles i urge them to take the time to replace the rod bearings. If I hadn't taken this block apart at 200k I would have spun a bearing in 40-50k miles. Thankfully I didn't!

they are torx plus, not torx! no one seems to mention that..