ccrinc

I'd find a different mechanic. I'm also betting on it being run low on oil and seizing the engine. Any decent "Subaru specialist" should not have to repeatedly start and stop an engine to tell whether it's bad tensioners/idler or a rod knock. I've seen way too many mechanics/shops do this just to low ball the customer on buying a valuable car, then do a cheapo repair and turn around, selling the car for an inflated price. No wonder our industry gets a bad rap! From one woman to another: do the 2.2 swap, preferably a '95 2.2. You'll get the reliability you need at a better price than rebuilding that problematic 2.5 engine. When you get it smogged, don't tell them anything about it. The two engines look nearly identical from the top unless they check the stamping on the block and the number of cams. From what I've been told, as long as it has an obviously Subaru engine in it and looks stock, that's as far as they know to go on it. Emily

3.0 (EZ30) engine is an exceptionally solid engine with timing chains instead of belts. As long as they get absolutely faithful oil changes and the cooling system is well maintained, they run for a very long time. In the time period you're considering, the only vehicles with the EZ30 are the Tribeca and the Outback LL Bean. Since the engine oil is what lubricates the timing chain tensioners and idlers (they're internal instead of external), you probably will want to try to verify the service records of any vehicle you consider with that engine. There is a double metal timing cover instead of plastic on these. 104 (IIRC) bolts which hold it on: they must be taken off and put back on in a very specific sequence. Gas mileage isn't as good as an EJ25 SOHC of course, but damn, they are one smoooooth running engine with good power. Otherwise, the cars that have the EZ30 are no different from the EJ25s except in trim levels. Emily

Ha! I'm a grandma and I have richly deserved so many speeding tickets I didn't get.

If it's not an actual '96, rotating the engine backward will cause that. And can cause internal damage as well.

What Matt said.

Ouch.

I wish we had equipment like that in our shop! On the other hand, REbuilding an engine is not like building a brand new engine. All kinds of measurements must be made to assure that the tolerances closely match what comes out of the factory. Factory-new, everything is pre-measured and pre-set to be perfect. After being run, abused, overheated, etc., getting back to those tolerances (or as close as can be) is a one by one process, not assembly line. Every head, every block, every valve, crank, connecting rod, etc. all has to be measured and machined to get back to as close to perfect as possible. Fairtax: the torqueing is done with the case partly open, before it's sealed. It's touchy and it's close.

The new style of rods is to achieve more "throw" in some of the newer engines without making the engine larger or increasing the bore. More "throw" = more horsepower. The crank is also different. These are a b*%#h to build because the pistons and wrist pins are inaccessible until AFTER the block is split. Therefore, the pistons must be attached to the rods before closing the block as well. Here's a link to the article from which those rod pics came. http://www.caranddriver.com/news/subaru-fb-series-engine-subaru-flat-four-engines

5W20 is much better for the car. My FSM says that's what they come out of the factory with, as do several of my contacts at dealerships across the country.

My money is on the injector. It's not uncommon for the o-rings to deteriorate on them. In normal conditions, it wouldn't be normal, but could very well be deficient under load. ps: If you want that engine to last, don't "beat up" on it. Be uber careful about oil changes and coolant too. It's a turbo, yes. But it's not a freaking race car.

1) Replace your PCV valve. It's a very common failure and results in oil use as bad as 1 qt. in 300 miles. 2) The oil journals in the rod and main bearings of these engines are very narrow. Even more so than the previous "generation" of these cars. Are either of these cars turbos? Not all Imprezas are, so I'm wondering. (?)

Sometimes the simplest answer is the right answer. Sorry, man.

If I offend you, I apologize in advance, but... If you want a turbocharged Subaru, get a turbocharged Subaru outright. There are Legacys, Bajas, Outbacks and Foresters with stock turbo engines. Doing a "swap" of a turbo engine into a car that is not a turbo from the factory requires almost endless tinkering, a nightmare of wiring and electrical issues, changes of crossmembers, exhausts, additional "plumbing" for the turbocharger and cooling systems, etc. None of the 6 cylinder engines are turbocharged nor are they meant to be. They are also all very high compression (avg. 10.5 to 1) which means that even minimal (and I do mean MINIMAL) boost will destroy them...quickly. That said, the only one which will let you retrofit turbo pistons into it is the EG33 out of the SVX. It already uses turbo rings and bearings. But, again, it is a high compression engine with variable valve timing and unless you are an expert, this is not a good idea. Subarus are not ricer cars. They are built to be safe, reliable and go damn near anywhere. If you want a race car, head over to NASIOC and see what those mad scientists have to say. [/end rant]

Yes, you need to swap the engine wiring harness. The ECU is expecting the signals from it. Basically, the wiring that came with that ECU needs to stay with that ECU.

How hard did it get rear ended? Hard enough to push the drivetrain out of whack? (OK, that doesn't sound very professional, but I've only had one cup of coffee so far. )

OK, I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I don't see any way that the 2.2 is going to work for you. Nobody (AFAIK) has ever done that swap successfully. (Maybe Gary knows something I don't.) There are just too many electronic differences. Plus, I don't believe there is any difference in the crank/cam sprockets on the '99-03 EJ22 engines which are the real Phase II EJ22s. (If my memory is faulty, then the following info is the same for them.) That issue began with the '99 EJ25 SOHC in the Forester. The cam/crank sprockets come in two sets which always match up. They are either 6/7 or 24/2. The numbers refer to the number of reluctors on the sprockets. 6 on the crank and 7 on the cam OR 2 on the cam and 24 on the crank. These present themselves thus: Cam sprockets: raised bars on the back of the sprocket. There will either be 2 or 7. Crank sprockets: "teeth" which sit flush with the block (not the surface the belt rides on). There will either be 6 irregularly shaped or 24 smaller, even "teeth". So, if you manage to find an EJ25 with the manual oil pump and bracket, whichever set of sprockets it has, grab the other set as well (I'm assuming junkyard here) so you can swap them if necessary.

On an EJ25 SOHC engine, 2 things MUST match the original engine or it will not start. The crank sprocket must match the original engine. The left cam sprocket must match also. In addition, whether it has EGR, single or dual port heads. Otherwise, what Adventure said. Just because "it's been done" doesn't mean it was done right. To answer Steve56, the '01 Legacy (if you can either match or swap the crank and cam sprockets) should work just fine with no other modification or dickering. The fun part is figuring out which set up was in the car originally. Even for SOA, using a VIN to get this info is only right about 50% of the time. ps: if you get an engine from an automatic, make sure to add the timing belt guard on the oil pump. You may have to switch out the oil pump to be able to do this. How much, if anything, do you have of the original engine? Emily

Very likely a leaky power steering reservoir. Check the level of the fluid.

Fairtax is right. We bought a Bridgeport mill so we can mill all our heads and blocks. With so much aluminum in one engine, warpage is very common. If the co. that did the head gaskets didn't at least mill the heads, you were set up to fail from the start.

Research material for you: www.cars101.com

Ebay for the breather cover. Otherwise, they're pretty much a dealer-only item. And the newer style sucks. If you can find an aluminum one, those are the best. Anything rubber on a car (hoses, belts, etc.) are all going to be prone to failure. But the radiator hoses seem to take the brunt of the damage. The good thing is that you can wait until you get the engine back in and see if anything's leaking and then replace. Otherwise, if cracking/weather wear is obvious, replace it.

If a junkyard engine has 195-200 compression, I'd seriously question the integrity of the facility because those figures are bullshit. The figures I gave you are for broken in, good (used) engines. Upper and lower radiator hoses (depending on the condition of your current ones) is a good idea. NAPA is fine for those. From what you've said, I assume this is an automatic trans? If so, you'll want to do the front diff fluid at the same time. Multi-grade, not 90W gear oil in there. Cam seals and o-rings Front and rear main seals Replace rear breather cover with metal if it has a plastic one. That should pretty much do. it.

As a Subaru engine rebuilder, I can tell you to forget the "E" on the engine model. It really means nothing. Most of the letter designations were never used by Subaru and are only internet engendered references. You need to look for a Legacy or Impreza Outback or Outback Sport from '96 to '99. As long as it's an EJ22, the engines are the same (except that in '97, they changed the pistons so that the engine became interferential). You need the single port exhaust and, if your car has it, the EGR port on the back of the left head. Otherwise, there are no differences. There were a very few plain jane Outbacks with manual transmissions in '95-96 which also had this engine, but they were fairly rare. Frankly, the Legacy model is going to be the easiest to find. The actual Phase II did not come around until 1999 in the Forester and the Impreza only. Stay away from that year and you should be good. Good compression for that engine runs in the 165 psi range, but can be as low as 135 or as high as 180 and still be decent. Emily

A dirty or bad seal on the injector for that cylinder will also cause a misfire. Burnt valve on that cylinder, too. There are multiple reasons.

Subarus are actually less prone to scoring than many people think. I've seen blocks which have been over heated and run low on oil that cleaned up fine with just a light flex honing. It's when ringlands crack, or rings seize or small pieces of metal get into the cylinders that the worst scoring happens. That said, you really won't know until you get it apart (if you go that way), clean it and take a good look. We have to recycle way too many blocks due to being consistently run low on oil than a once or twice type of occurence.