WAWalker

No, the way you have it in the picture is correct. The timing mark on the crank sprocket is on the reluctor on the back side of the sprocket.

The OE platinum plugs have always been "double platinum". The '05 and newer cars take a different platinum plug than did the '96-'99. '96-'99 OE NGK# PFR5B-11. Cost from my supplier is $9.07. Cost from local dealer is $10 something. Cost from local parts houses is $20 something. '05 and new OE NGK# FR5AP-11. Cost from my supplier is $6.51. Haven't prieced them anywere eles. Regular copper core OE NGK# DKR6E-11. Cost me $1.54. More from local parts house. Problem I have with buying parts online is that the price is good till the shipping is added. Early on I did business with a huge well know wholesaler or import parts, but they would not pay shipping till I could spend something like $2000 a month. It was cheaper to buy OE parts for the dealer than aftermarket parts from them. My currant supplier said they would pay shipping if I spent $300 a month, now they get up to $6000 a month from me. Pays to help the little guys out:)

Not in the real world............NGK platinum plugs are NOT good for 100k in a Subaru engine. Yes, the car may still run with 100k on the plugs, but the platinum tip will MOST likely be gone and the gape will be huge. NOT good for ignition wires and coil packs.

I have not payed a lot of attention to the manufacture dates. So I guess I am refureing to MY2003. I can't find the campaine letter, but I remember it saying that they changed something in manufacturing or assembly mid 2002 to fix the leaks. I don't remember any mention of an actual month in 2002. Yes, mid 2002 would would be when MY2003 cars are being built. I have heard of external coolant leaks on MY2004 cars. Can't say that I have seen it though. Now as far as the head gasket goes. I was told that they updated the gasket....................................but.........................Of all the original gaskets that I have replaced with OE replacment gaskets over the last few years, I can NOT tell any differance.

Gary, What do you pay for NGK spark plugs at a parts store? Regular and Platinum? The parts stores here want more than dealership list price for NGK plugs.

I don't want to add to your paranoia, but........................... Yes, head gaskets on 2000 and newer 2.5L Subarus engines do seep/leak oil. And the external coolant leak was not "taken care of" in mid 2002. I have seen a number of '03's with external coolant leaks. You can add the cooling system "conditioner" for any external coolant leak at the head gaskets. Will it help? Don't know. Will it hurt? Don't know. Subaru recommends it's use in all of their engines now (since June of '03). There is nothing you can do for the oil leaks at the head gasket. If it is not a major leak at this point..............Take your car to a shop you trust for oil changes so they can monitor the leak for you, and let you know if it is getting worse. If you plan to keep this car, start saving for the work that will need to be done at some point in time.

Yes, the '05's have platinum spark plugs. The replacment interval for platinum plugs in Subarus HAD always been 60k miles. If you run them for 100k miles you are asking for trouble. The replacment interval for pltinum plugs in the '05 and newer Subarus is NOW 30k miles according to SOA. So, if the 30k mile service is being done by the book, the spark plugs should have been replaced (with platinum). If you asked for a 30k mile service then you asked for platinum plugs. The old ones probably would look OK. If the dealer is required to save and return the old parts they may very well put them back in the box that the new parts came from.

Only problem is....................that tool has been updated..............and the proper tool is ~$200+. Are you doing this with the engine in the car?

Yep, 2.2 & 2.5 went solid lifters in 1997.

On an OBD I car most of those could be false codes. Try clearing the codes and see what happens. If you have a hard failure then the memory won't clear. I've seen the cam, crank, and starter switch code on many of these cars after a crank but no start.

2.2L or 2.5L?

Make sure they adjust the valve clearance on the other head too. Don't wait till it starts misfire on the other bank, get it right now. Any time the heads are removed and installed the valve clearance needs to be checked and more often than not will need adjustment.

6 X 1.25.

That is why the CEL flashes when the ECU detects a "Class A" misfire. It is to get your attention before the cat is damaged. It is raw fuel being dumped into the cat and igniting that makes it glow. Me thinks you have a rich condition.

No doubt! And being assembled in an Isuzu plante.

This part of your statement leads me to believe that this is not a syncro problem. Does the transmission shift OK whithout "grinding the gears"? If the noise is occuring on deceleration, after the gear change has been made, and you are useing "engine braking" to further slow the car.....................Then I would suggest. 1) Loose exhaust heat sheilds. 2) Front crossmember for the rear differentail making contact with the mounting plates on the body. 3) Ice and/or dirt between about mentioned crossmember and mounting plates. 4) I'll put this next to last, although I don't see bad MT mounts. 4.5) Broken transmission mount. 5) Internal transmission wear. Never hurts to change the fluid though:)

I would recommend starting with the basics.................Spark plugs, air and fuel filters should be replaced as preventative maintenance based on milage. When was the engine last tuned up? Plugs, air and fuel filters? If more than 30k miles you should replace these items anyway. Once you know that these basic items are good, if you still have the problem you can move on with diagnoises of other possible casues.

True.

No. The timing mark you should be using is at ~ 9:00 in that picture. It is the mark on the reluctor (with orange paint) on the back side of the crank sproket that you need to be using.

Subaru quit the oiled paper element for the OB's in.............'04 I believe. I do like the oiled one's they used though. Work great and the price is right.

Porcupine, Don't confuse him, he's working on a '91 legacy, which would be a 2.2l.

The AWD of a 5 speed is totally mechanical. No TCU in a MT car. The ECU and TCU in AT cars are to seperate units, but they do comunicate with each other. And the "AWD computer" is a funtion of the TCU.

We just went through this in another post, were after HG work the car wouldn't start. Compression was good, turned out the cams in one head were switched around. That car was a '96 OB. And yes, it is easier to pull the valve cover than to mess around trying to determine this in other ways. Other than maybe a vacuum gage. Not positive, but I remember talking to another shop here in town that had and '97-'99 OB that the cams were switched around in, and that it ran, but bent valves. I'm leaning twoard tight valves on the new head here.

Back to the basics. Your car was running fine when it was driven into the shop for head gasket work..............................Now immediatly after the work was performed it has a misfire.......................... First, check the work that was done! Everything that should be checked first has been mentioned................Cam timing, and valve clearance. You had a OEM remaned cylinder head installed. I've never bought a remaned 2.5 head from Subaru, but I am fairly certain that they do not come with lifters and cams. Soooo..........was the valve lash properly adjusted? Were the cams properly installed? Was the timing belt properly installed? I would hope that in replacing two heads, that at least once, they would have gotten the intake cam on the intake side and exhaust on the exhaust side, and the timing belt installed properly. But this is easy to inspect while checking valve clearance. I can't stress this point enough. Make certain that all the mechanical work was done properly before trying to condemn the ignition and fuel delivery systems. These systems were working fine before the mechanical work was performed.

Is this '97 outback with a 2.2 in fact a '97 Outback, or could it be an Impreza Outback Wagon, or maybe a Legacy? '97 Outbacks did not come with 2.2L engines. If it has a 2.2 then it would have had to been swaped in. If it had a 2.2L engine swaped in then that would be a great buy, and plug and play for your car. If it is an original '97 Outback with original engine then it has the same engine as your car. That would also be plug and play assuming the engine is good. I'm going to quite being a smart a** now. As far as I know the only plug and play option you have for a 2.2L is a 1995 2.2 from an automatice transmission car. There is a ton of info on this site about 2.5 to 2.2 swaps.