idosubaru

i missed that in my first read that it has gotten worse recently...mine is like the overflow tank is lower twice a year or something like that, that's it and we drive that car a good bit - 20,000 miles/year. i've never had a lot of loss over short miles. not sure if it's already mentioned but some IAC's have a coolant passage through them - does yours? Subaru EJ and EZ headgasket issues aren't always constant, the EJ25D it's actually normal for symptoms to come and go randomly, they can have weeks and months between symptoms. There's two examples of Subaru headgaskets that can have long stints of time between symptoms.

only works on externally leaking headgaskets and it's designed for newer gaskets which are very different. internal leaks have no mircale in a bottle. what is your EA doing?

I need to actually keep records like you're doing. My 02 H6 is doing this as well, Iit seems I'm topping the overflow tank off every few months. No overheating, rad never low in 241,000 miles, so time will tell. If it's any consolation I think mine has been doing it for a year now and hasn't gotten worse. But coolant doesn't just randomly disappear so I've been wondering where it's going. Pressurizing the overflow tank would push air out from the hose/tank area and lid? That's where Ej25's like to puke hot air and coolant when they're overheating, LOL. EJ's don't have the shared coolant/intake passages that can leak like EA/ER engines did, so it wouldn't leak internally like that.

A complete list would be convoluted and largely ineffective - The EJ22 changes every single year from 1994-1999....delineating all those differences and then deciphering if they're the same, interchangeable, or interchangeable with some effort/swap/custom/change/variance/CEL or not...etc and then EJ18, EJ25, Phase I, Phase II, EGR, non-EGR, MT/AT....too many variables. Sometimes answering one specific question takes forever - with 4 different options and approaches based on direct swap/interchangeable with some extra parts/work/consideration, interchangeable with a CEL, interchangeable if you also change something else, willingness to do a work around to make it viable - multiply that by all the other years, changes, variables and you've got a veritable book on your hands...and then no one would want to read it. They'd just do a search or ask in a thread rather than sift through pages of information for what they want. that would mean writing a long book for free that would rarely get read...i'll let someone else do that!

Phase I and Phase II EJ22 timing belts are different. Timing pulleys are all interchangeable - there's an old style tensioner up until about 1997 then a new style tensinoer starts. They are different but interchangeable if you swap the brackets behidn them that they bolt to. The old style is way more reliable and nice to run in the past, but most are ancient by now. You can do an ebay search on water pumps - and see they all interchange from like 1990-2004 or something.

Good luck being a patient, hope you've got good people and resources there too. Good job getting it done. "wiring overhaul" - i assume that means spark plug wires? In a sense you can wait for those if there's a compelling reason for you - they'll eventually give you a check engine light when they're performance is out of range and they won't leave you stranded.

If the best gaskets you can get are used and the heads are resurfaced the success rates are really high, you can expect to never replace them again. That said, they can fail a second time, the DOHC EJ25's (96-99 legacy and outback and 98 RS and forester) are probably the worst, but it's rare and unlikely to happen to someone around one or just a few head gasket jobs.

yep - same bottle i've used for years. 96's definitely don't have them, Subaru's didn't have them until 2000+. It's odd - I've seen them seize up quick before, within months due to bushings swelling. I'm not sure what the difference is, maybe different lubes mixing exacerbates the issue or something or how much of the old stuff is cleaned off or not....never noticed why there's such a variance.

Thanks kids. Dremel cut it out. First time I think I've ever used the dremel tool, I was impressed. Cut a notch through the nut and banged it out with a chisel. My torch flame is huge because I don't have it set up right and know nothing about torches, i don't trust myself with that big flame under a car with oil, plastic, and rubber and gas lines. I need to learn how to use a torch and just get that thing set up right. Vice grips won't work, no room to get one up in there and I used a 3 foot pipe to get the other exhaust nuts out - I don't see getting that kind of leverage on vice grips in a tight space. If there's room I'd grab the monkey wrench/plumbers wrench, they grab so hard they trash the metal they bite into.

Nut splitters don't work on a tribeca EZ30 exhaust stud nut. Goes on off center, not enough clearance between the nut and exhaust, and then just walks itself right off as it's tigthened. Welding a nut on top got one off, but not the other. Tried welding it until all was cherry red, still no dice. It's all mangled now - welded on multiple times, cut with an angle grinder...but not enough room to completely get a grinder up there.

+1 get the free ones. the folks i've seen mention the ebay ones say they're great - sectioned off well and ALLDATA bootlegs. one i bought for my boat was a scanned copy of the original factory

wrecks are the perfect donors - you know the car/engine was in running condition at least before the thing that sent it to the yard. when i'm looking for an engine I want a wrecked car. of course you don't want a front impact that cracks the timing gear or upper oil pan of H6's, oil filter bung, etc...other than that obvious stuff i've never seen damage. the EJ block - the mechanicals are the easy part and you'll get really good at it because you'll probably have to do it more than once - what are you doing for fuel control if you did build a turbo? FI on an EJ25 sounds like a headgasket cheering squad.

nice job tracking down the codes. clear the codes and see if one or both come back immediately or which one comes back first is separate.

it runs fine? average gas mileage? does it run identical even after the sensor change? i have seen failed knock sensors without the typical crack at the base.

I'm sure you know this, but your 96 doesn't have the rubber bushings on the pins so those won't lock up. And if you have them on another car - just throw them away, they're pointless, I consider that a routine part of 2000+ brake jobs. LOL But even the 2000+ rubber bushing issue aside - the Sil Glyde has been much better for me. For a few years I was confused finding stuck pins (no rubber bushings) or pins lacking grease that I knew I had greased within a couple years or even a year. At first I figured I made mistakes...but after awhile I was fairly sure it wasn't me. It's not like it was every time, but a few instances. I got in the habit of checking the slide pins every time I had tires off. Sil Glyde - I go back in and it's fresh like I just greased it and hopefully I can wean myself of checking the dumb things every time I swap snow tires. I'm not sure what the difference is or where the permatex stuff goes - and it's not like it always did it - but I'm glad to have more consistency.

HA HA HA! +1 EJ's represent a big leap in design and technology. EJ18's and EJ22's are excellent engines.

Check continuity from ECU pinout to knock sensor connector - that should be easy to find via wiring harness diagram. Or engine connector. Pin access via three connectors: ECU - Passengers Side Main Engine Connector - Knock Sensor Different dedicated wiring and areas - doubtful the ABS is related.

The permatex green standard stuff is low grade. It doesn't last as long and can swell the newer generation 2000+ bushing pins. I've gone back in for other jobs before and pulled recently greased pins to check them before and the permatex stuff has been degraded much quicker than factory stuff. I don't use it any more. Sil Glyde is excellent. Notably lasts longer: http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/american-grease-stick-co.-sil-glyde-silicone-brake-lubricant-tube-4-oz-bk-4/12024852-p?cm_mmc=PLA-_-Google-_-GPLA-_-12024852&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=12024852&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw=&iv_=__iv_p_1_a_214327102_g_12425515822_w_kwd-73681271422_h_9009441_ii__d_c_v__n_g_x_pla_y_6201684_f_online_o_12024852_z_US_i_en_j_73681271422_s__vi__&gclid=CKXxoPi9nMgCFcERHwodwzMH9A#utm_source=pla&utm_medium=google&utm_campaign=gpla&utm_content=12024852 I'm sure there's others, I'm not a brand fanboy by any stretch - that stuff works great and is readily available, there's no need for me to look into anything else. Just get a quality silicone based lubricant and I presume you should be good to go. This isn't rocket science, you just need an appropriate grease that doesn't swell seals and lasts.

Phase II EJ22 are only found in: 1999-2001 Impreza 1999 Legacy If it's not those - you don't need to ask. "Will a 1998..."....No. You also need a single port exhaust manifold for those as well. JDM suppliers have 2.0 stuff too that can work. Yes any 00-05 block will work. For that matter nearly any EJ block from 1990-2009 I think can work if you make appropriate decisions. I've used 1996-1999 DOHC blocks in your car but the pistons stick out and need to use thick headgaskets to compensate for valve interference. www.car-part.com

+1 at $3.99 you can check valve train, injectors, pulleys, timing covers with this: http://www.harborfreight.com/mechanics-stethoscope-69913.html

Take note - that head is so easy to remove, you can't get an easier headgasket to replace. The headbolts are external and it's easily done in the vehicle without pulling the engine. Pull head resurface install with Subaru headgasket.

i mean properly diagnosing that it's low first would be ideal.

don't let A/C scare you, it's easy. it probably just has a leak. replace any orings on the compressor (they routinely dry out, get brittle and leak i presume due to engine heat/vibrations), schrader valves, and any other easy to access orings. then charge it. convert it to the new stuff. no need to vacuum the system or anything. easy peasy.

not additives but thoughts..... change the oil frequently. HLA's don't like getting dirty. on older generation subarus the oil pump is often related to HLA noise - replacing the oil pump, even though it has no known issues - solves the problem most of the time. with that in mind, i wonder if the loose backing plate screws (on I think ever EJ oil pump I've ever seen) would contribute to it.

depends what you mean by "preferred" - they're all basically the same with minor differences. 1990-1994 are OBDI 1995-1998 are OBDII 1996 and earlier are non-interference 1999+ are Phase II's, I'd avoid those. EGR doesn't matter, you can just remove the EGR and block it off.