idosubaru

Way more labor than timing belt, that's the easy part - valve covers, cam towers, all your rockers fall to the ground and tons of cleaning and careful sealant placement and install to reseal it, then reverse everything for reassembly.

Is that the original paint? Crazy sharp. that thing has to spend some of its life on the east side of the island? The snorkeling and lava flows were fantastic bIf we go back maybe I’ll see a brat too!

Clean it off and start with a clean surface to diagnose leak. There’s nothing on the top of the engine that typically leaks engine oil. I had one years ago that I think leaked from an engine case bolt but I doubt that’s the case here. So it needs cleaned to narrow down the source.

Dealer charged me a flat $65 or $85 to program any number of transponders and keys at the same time a year or two ago. I think that included cutting new keys as well. Hand them 2 or 10 and it’s the same cost. Make sure you have *all* the keys and FOBs to give them to the dealer at the same time. Man I hate these things. Had it done a year or two ago and just this week mine and my extra two transponders aren’t working even with new batteries and one or two are OEM.

+1 a few things we're still unsure of: correct timing marks used to verify timing across D/S, P/S, and crank (dot verses arrow on the crank and veify both sprockets). gauge/test accuracy? what leakage value did you get without rotating the engine? in some ways this is simple - if none of that matters to you and you're confident in the leak down tests indicating head failure then install another set of heads or rebuild the existing ones.

the low oil pressure reading is likely no big deal - they do that all the time and it's even been mentioned by Subaru/in the owners manual years/decades ago. it's "normal". whether it's the gauges are lazy, inaccurate, or there's plenty of volume even with no pressure, i'm not sure but when warm at idle they frequently show low on the dash gauge. If you're concerned read it with a real gauge to have an idea what's happening. 1. one shaft seal, one mickey mouse gasket, and one oring. those three things need replaced. FSM also calls for a dab of RTV at the 12 and 6 oclock positions where the case halves meet. 2. if resealing the pump doesn't fix it then you need to install a new oil pump. unfortunately they're not available new any more from Subaru. This has fixed every HLA tapping EA/ER engine i've encountered and others have the same experience as well, this is the next step. There is a spring in the oil pump and one under each valve cover - I've always wondered if those can need cleaned, replaced, or shimmed, but i've never done it or have heard anyone talk about it in a quarter century....

That's assuming they always make marks when bent, which I don't think is always the case.

You need to tell us what year and model the vehicle is and what year and model the donor engine/trans is. By “swap” do you mean you installed an H6 in an H4 vehicle or different H6? And is the new trans identical to the old - H4, H6, VDC, VTD.....?

Maybe they’re bent enough to leak but not show visually. I haven't seen many but seems to me these usually bend most, or all, the valves.

he simply means replace rings if youve gone this far anyway. bent valves. Pressure test the heads or fill exhaust/intake ports with something noncorrosive and watch the leaks. Bent valves doesn’t sound surprising given accident impact, broken belt covers, damaged camshaft sprocket, damaged water pump...and all of those being on the same side with bent valve symptoms. Jumped timing from impact?

Yes as already stated here you can remove the driveshaft. 99 and earlier are two piece, it’s only 2000+ that are one piece and more of a pain to cap the rear output shaft. It’s nearly pointless to do so. You can also remove the rear diff and axles. Knock the outer cups of the axles off to install in the rear hubs. I’ve done all that before as well. With an MT center diff that has torque bind you can also remove the rear driveshaft and it’ll function as FWD. or remove the front axles for RWD. As to doing it to a properly working MT I don’t know that wouldn’t make any sense.

Oh yeah if it’s two piece that would be the easy way, as you said leave the front half in place for fluid containment. 2000+ are one piece so I guess 99 and earlier are two piece and 2000+ are one.

Sure you can do that. There's no need to remove the driveshaft. If you do remove it you'll have to find a way to cap the rear output otherwise all your ATF dumps out on the ground. Keep in mind (your, shops, or other drivers) if the fuse blows or that circuit is otherwise compromised, it won't drive or it'll be ugly if it does move. I would install a switch for the FWD fuse so you can select FWD or "locked" 4WD for grass, mud, snow, etc. it's nice to have that traction sometimes even if you don't go off road or in the snow. be sure to rotate your tires frequently if you see the tires wearing faster. i've noticed i wear tires much faster on the front driven tire when running a SUbaru in FWD for extended periods. but i'm in the mountains and frequently stopped on a steep grade while turning so the tires are very prone to slipping.

1. Check timing belt alignment and that you used the proper marks. People use the wrong crank mark frequently. 2. Did you replace the correct crank sprocket? There are two style crank sprockets that can be installed in 2000 EJ engines. If you installed the other kind it wouldn’t start due to trigger mark variation. 3. Trans - change the quarter million mile fluid first and check for a damaged/dented trans pan. Install the FWD fuse just to see if that changes how it drives.

are you sure? But it’s doubtful, most don’t look at the manual. if it were true then it would happen more to vehicles with confusing manuals and not to others. I don’t think that distinction is happening.

+1 it’s not the head - power steering or solenoid as said.

find the name of that garage and ask them. I've done it a bunch of times. Do some digging and asking and calling. Outside of compelling feedback - I would just plan on doing it myself, relying on a few people, information transfer, data entry, parts suppliers, installers...i would want to lay my eyes on the components at least. timing belts are too easy and cheap to bother worrying about on a new to me nice vehicle that i want to own reliably for another 100,000 miles.

Aisin kit for these

It can’t have a 2.2. It has an 06-09 EJ25. Timing belt and pulleys are the critical info. track down who did the install and find out more that way. Carfax, ask closest dealers, look for info in glove box, rear trunk storage or stickers in car or in engine bay.

1. if the CTS (engine coolant temperature sensor) is bad - clearly you should replace it. the title says "CTS light" so i assume that means Check Engine light, with a CTS code. But then you never actually talk in detail about what that means in the thread? this is where you're loosing traction - scattered information with little clarity and focus. *** keep in mind there are two coolant temp "sensors" - one is the sensor for the ECU and the other is a sensors/sender for the gauge. if the check engine/CTS code is on - then you need to replace the one on the intake manifold for the engine. the one on the radiator is for the temp gauge. 2. I would not drive or run the car until the overheating, or possile overheating, issue is resolved. That engine will self destruct quickly if you're running it with boiling coolant. They are not forgiving, turbo's generally are not. *Is the radiator temp sender properly hooked up and installed in that retrofitted non-EA82 radiator? a. make sure the system is filled with coolant and not leaking. b. get the temp gauge working so you know what's happening. it's only the sensor (on the radiator), some wires, and the dash gauge, there's nothing to it. c. then you can tell if it's actually overheating 3. in general those oil pressure gauges, senders, and seals in the pump are lazy and often read "zero" when in reality they're not near catastrophic. given the neglected state of the car/current information i wouldn't bet on it being "just fine", but normally it wouldn't be a huge deal and i'd probably be addressing this last if the oil is full and there aren't any massive leaks or turbo issues. otherwise i'd be replacing the oil pump seals soon because it's easy and doesn't take long. and it likely needs timing belts/pulleys to be reliable anyway.

good job tracking this down and thanks for the feedback. i don't think it's likely - but curiously wonder what's the pro's would say to whether or not a long term misfire (caused by the ECU) could instigate, precipitate, or exacerbate headgasket failure?

Easy - not everyone is the same. Not all areas are the same. 1. Cost. By now these are decades old and could be beat and in some areas rusted up and not worth even a few hundred premium for repairs some people. 2. If your EJ25 is roasted due to a headgasket you can’t blame or fault someone who wants what is possibly a more forgiving engine. I’ve instalked EJ18s in legacy’s and yeah they struggle up mountains with a few adults. Big deal just smash the accelerator it’s an EJ18 and the ones Ive installed go a quarter million easy miles without hiccups. Brainless easy cheap engine for practical people. They’re freaking awesome engines for people who just want A-B reliable cheap drivers with the rare downtown. Performance people or car fiends sure they won’t like it. But that’s not the entire world or even the majority like maybe it is on a car forum.

yes. do it.

Yeah it's annoying. Follow the instructions on cars101.com 100 times and eventually it'll work. Pay close attention and do exactly what it says. I've found some of the instructions even slightly ambiguous...but i haven't looked at an 02 in awhile so i don't know if that's one of them.

The Right Stuff is highly touted as well, though i'm unsure if that's a good fit for that area, though i wouldn't think it would be a problem.