idosubaru

the earlier 2.5's had the most issues - i believe 97ish - 99ish. they upgraded head gaskets...maybe more than once. i would not expect issues on newer models. i was just looking up swapping a 2.2 liter in place of a 2.5 earlier using the SEARCH function above and saw information about head gasket changes and what years. that brought about a ton of information regarding the 2.5 headgaskets. if you want more info, try using the search button.

97 was the first year for the 2.2 interference motor.

for the 2.5 to 2.2 liter swap i need a dual port 2.2 that was only available in 1995 right? is there anyway to look at the motor in the car to tell if it's dual port? does the exhaust manifold give it away? any pictures available? there's a couple available locally but i'm not sure what year or dual/single port. can a single port 2.2l swapin place of a 2.5 if i do some welding of the exhaust?

if you are certain the fluid is new, no need to change it unless you suspect it is the wrong kind. but it is cheap and never hurts to try. shouldn't the trans be under warranty? when i seperated my shoulder i asked a local shop and they said they'd install a trans that i supplied for $150 or $200 with a new filter installed. i ended up doing it myself anyway since i bought an engine lift it was easier. i'd look to have that other trans installed for cheaper than $300. while you're doing this, make sure your ATF coolant lines are free and not clogged. wondering why you lost one trans then another so quickly, sounds suspicious. best to install an aftermarket trans cooler for 30 bucks to gaurantee new/clear lines but you're not keeping so you probably don't want to do that.

get another oppinion. it is possible to leak just oil with no other problems through a head gasket. if you look at a headgasket and see it has a port for oil supply it can degrade there and leak. not very common and i would not expect that to happen unless it's an old engine and being a 2.5 liter the head gasket would likely fail by loosing coolant, not oil. but it is possible, more so on certain vehicles than others depending on engine layout, to leak oil at the head gasket. headgaskets may have a rubber o-ring inlayed in the material for the oil ports, that is where they will leak oil. but i agree, they need to have it checked again or clarify from the dealer what exactly the problem is. maybe they are fixing a cam oil leak and wanting to fix the headgaskets at the same time since these 2.5's do have that issue? i doubt it, but i've had that happen with people that don't know anything about cars. they come to me and dont' relay exactly what was said by the mechanic. i don't trust people until i have a reason to, so my first suspicion is the dealer, but that's not always the case. on subaru's it's a good idea to clean the bottom of the motor or watch from underneath while it idles to verify where the oil is coming from. the flat layout of hte motor makes oil leaks trickle down towards the heads before finally dripping to the ground. this makes non-headgasket leaks look like headgaskets leaks, and the problem gets harder to diagnose the dirtier the underside of the motor gets.

that's definitely how you want to do it. i've towed about half a dozen XT6's that way, very simple. load it on the dolly, then unbolt the driveshaft. unbolt the driveshaft where it bolts to the rear differential and then ziptie or securely tie the driveshaft out of the way. if you unbolt the end opposite of the rear diff it will turn since the wheels will be driving the rear diff. which would still work, but be harder to keep it secure, easier if it's just not moving at all. although the bolts furthest away from the rear diff tend to be easier to get off (less rust typically), so if you can't get them move towards the trans. drove my dolly to work today to pick up a legacy on the way home, i'll be doing the same thing since it's AWD.

i wouldn't put any ATF in the engine if it sits sideways like the EA82's and ER27's. i'm not familiar with those older motors but anything added to a horizontally opposed motor will just sit in the bottom and not distribute very well anyway. if you do add, don't add much. a teaspoon/tablespoon full would be about right. change the oil first. then get a drill or air compresser attached to the oil pump and run it for awhile without starting the engine, this will flow oil through the system. i've used sockets on oil pumps and also timing belts driven by a drill to turn the oil pump. if you don't want to do that, just disconnect the fuel pump and use the starter to turn the motor for awhile. don't run the starter more than 15-20 seconds at a time. i'd do that a few times to circulate oil. bottom line, is get fresh oil through the motor before trying to start it. pull a fuel line under the car. probably desirable to pull a fuel line closest to the tank and drain. pull the intake hose and make sure nothing built a nest in there that'll get sucked in the engine. don't let it idle and walk away - keep an eye on the temp gauge in case it starts running hot.

like just mentioned, in some cases removal is the only way to tell a bad ujoint. i would bet you do have a bad ujoint in this case.

okay i adjusted mine and all is well. the nut had come loose. there was only one nut holding it in place, no lock nut to hold it so it had backed off the clutch. there was another nut there, just not tightened down to hold it in place. i adjusted it and used the other to lock it in place and all is good...for now!!!

yes the ignitor could be your problem and that is it under the coil. pretty common among older roos, should be easy enough to source.

one day i'll start a thread you don't reply too...... you said "low overlap should pump up fuel economy". so if the turbo cams are indeed lower overlap those would be better to use on an NA setup for best gas mileage (highway driving).

found lots of thoughts in searches that's why i was trying to find something definitive.

different length runners like you said. from what i've read on polishing you don't necessarily touch the intake side as the induced turbulence through the fuel injection manifold helps mix the fuel. i don't know much, i've only done it once myself.

need more info for a good answer. how far are you towing it? you didn't say if it's FWD or AWD. if it's FWD then there shouldn't be any issues. if it's AWD then just remove the rear driveshaft (easy) and you can tow with a dolly.

what are the stock specs for compression? a good way to test compression is to remove all the spark plugs, remove the intake, prop the throttle body open and no fuel pressure and a good cranking starter/battery and all this on a warm motor. if you don't, your compression readings will read a little lower than stock. i find propping the throttle open, testing when warm and removing all the spark plugs will make a noticeable difference in compression readings. but i'm not familiar with the 2.5. also - verify the compression tester is accurate before toasting the motor.

hard to say. typical issue with timing belt install is that it's not done properly. the cams have to be lined up perfectly. which isn't hard, but tyipcally it's done wrong the first time you do it...the cams are one notch off or more. or if the distributor was removed at all that thing is EASY to get lined up incorrectly. but it shouldn't be making a sound like the car doesn when trying to start after it's already running. important question: it never made this noise before the timing belt broke?

1stsubaruparts.com. funny thing is it lists different parts....or at least different pricing for the XT and XT Turbo. but it doesn't show actual part numbers. BUT - this is where it gets funny, all EA82's (turbo, non-turbo) have the same cam EXCEPT the XT NON TURBO? this is assuming that the pricing indicates the same cam, which makes sense. the XT Non Turbo has a different priced cam than all the rest???? according to the pricing: A $143 cam for all EA82T's, all EA82 coupes, SPFI's, sedans, and wagons. BUT - the XT nonturbo has a different cam for $276. All EA82 cams are indentical with the exception of the nonturbo XT? figure that one out?

anyone know for sure? or how to find out?

been working the past couple days, today is my last. i have the next 4 days off i'll look at it.

i find it unlikely that will make a difference. if it's that easy then it's worth a try. go do it and post back here what you find out. there are lots of posts (wishing it was higher) on here about MPG, so i think that's a typical thing people wonder about. you could use the search button and search for MPG or gas mileage or something and find out alot from other posts about the same topic. the consensus i see on these posts is to drive conservatively, light on the gas pedal and not over 65 for best gas mileage. having the car in top shape helps as well - ignition components and tire pressure particularly. i picked up a 97 OBS this year and it doesn't get as good as i suspected either. like i've mentioned over and over in my other posts, my 15 year old subaru XT6 with 6 cylinders, AWD and 200,000 miles (as well as my other 5 XT6's) gets better mileage than my OBS and is much less picky about highway speed.

i agree with previous post - likely an electrical problem, but if you have others that makes it harder to diagnose. first place i would look is your alternator and battery connections. a bad connection can cause your car to intermittently die just as you explained here. connections must be good, clean, and tight. don't know that this applies to you at all, but 90's honda's have a common issue with the fuel pump relay that does the same thing. car is typically hard to start though, that's the main sign, but it can also cut out while driving due to a bad relay causing the pump to shut off.

another possibility is that some crank pulleys are really two piece pulleys. there is a metal inner and outer parts seperated by a very very thing piece of rubber (these are called harmonic balancers). this piece of rubber can seperate over time and the pulley can become off balance as you said, particularly if someone at some point in time used something to pry the crank off. that could also cause the apparent wobble. if you look really close you should be able to tell if the pulley isn't seated rigth (the situations explained above) or the pulley inner and outer parts are out of alignment as i just described. pretty sure 2.2 motors have this same kind of pulley. really annoying to me. i like reliability and swapping in a solid pulley is the solution in my book as there is no noticeable vibration with a solid pulley. i have heard of people inserting self tapping screws into the rubber and also welding the pulley together to prevent it from failing (coming apart at that rubber ring), i wouldn't do either of those i think it should be replaced. but welding it would certainly be a permanent fix if done properly.

yeah those timing tensioner bolts are a dime a dozen in terms of matching threads. i'd even look around the rest of the car looking for something close if you don't have one. it's even worth it to go to Lowes or Home Depot or any hardware store to get the exact length/size/thread you need. stick something down the hole to "measure" the depth, don't forget to include the depth of the tensioner and maybe one lock washer. take this length (a straw perhaps would work, cut to length) to the store and get the exact size bolt you need. if you have a long bolt you can cut it to length as well with a hacksaw, electric saw, whatever. but you'll likely need a die to cut the end back in shape. you shouldn't have a problem, like i said i bet i've done this 10 times on soobs and it's almost always worked. i think the only time i didn't get it to work was when a chunk of the block (a very large chunk) came out with the pulley bolt.

well i just thought that i can't swap back to the EA82 TB because i would have to machine the spyder intake to work with the XT6 so it'd be too big of an opening for the original. dang it.

okay, who's ready to disable the search function now?? i'm putting together an EA82 that i want for good gas mileage...yeah that's right, that's how lame i am. would installing an XT6 throttle body on my EA82 offer any highway, long distance gas mileage increases? i have a few extra XT6 motors so i figured why not ask? i guess it wouldn't be that hard to test and if it didn't help gas mileage i can swap back to the EA82. maybe i'll be the test mule for this.