idosubaru

everything you need to know is in the first reply i posted in this thread. i suggested a 95 automatic EJ22 because of the situation - away from home and traveling. you do have other options. this posting looks almost exactly like some of my writing, but nonethess yes you can use these EJ22's: yes it's accurate with these notes: 1. 95 automatics always have EGR and dual port exhaust so they are the easiest swap. 2. you can use an EJ22 without EGR with a simple vacuum hose swappage. very easy, there's a thread on this forum about it. ; 3. 96+ have single port exhaust and many places wont' sell the exhaust...so that's why i didn't recommend it for your situation. *** because you're confusing yourself by asking people that ***have never even tried it before*** LOL. don't listen to people with zero experience, that's not a good way to get the most accurate information. you will not get any more Subaru specific experience than on this forum, i will walk and talk circles around any Subaru technician or junk yard guy. I do swaps and interchange parts they can't even dream of doing - they have no idea what interchanges because they only swap what a computer tells them to swap. you have a choice here: A. listen to people that have done this gobs of times and know what they're talking about (me, Miles, etc). B. listen to someone that's never even attempted it before and regurgitates what's on a computer screen I suggest going with option A. *** When I buy an engine i tell THEM what i want, i don't ask. don't ask them for swap information, they don't know crap. they sell engines...from all sorts of years, makes, models, and just regurgitate what a computer tells them. all the stuff about wiring and computers is just apocalpytic talk from someone reading a computer screen - they have no clue. if you pick the right EJ22 it's a bolt in and plug and play affair, it's exactly like installing another EJ25. 3. re-read the quoted portion that you copied/pasted from somewhere else i wrote - that tells you exactly what you need to know. 4. re-read my first reply to this thread - i listed engines available right now. you have no work to do - i already did it for you. EJ25 and EJ25D is the same thing for this discussion. EJ25D is the EJ25 variation used in your vehicle. yes - DOHC engine. Google or search Subaru forums for EJ25 headgasket - there are threats of lawsuits, entire websites and forums dedicated to the EJ25 headgasket issue. if someone doesn't know about it then you can pretty much ignore everything else they say because they don't know anything about Subarus if they don't know that. no way i'd want a used EJ25D and their headgasket debacles - again don't listen to me or anyone else do a subaru forum or google search and you'll see how prevalent it is. the EJ25D is the most ominious of all the EJ25's as well, making it even less desirable. the EJ22 is one of the best engines Subaru has ever made, very robust and they run forever. replace seals and timing belts and you're golden. the rear separator is the one item that must be done with the engine out of the vehicle, so i'd say that's the only required item to replace right now. EJ22 timing belts and seals are really easy to do in the car so not a big deal. i'd rather do it when the motor is out but it's not a big deal and can be done in an hour or two once the engine is in the car. but shops charge $40o - $700 for timing belt jobs so it can be pricey too - nice to wrap it up now if possible and you're paying someone else to do the labor.

reboot at all costs. aftermarkets suck really bad. just google or search any subaru forum, there's gobs and gobs of aftermarket axle issues. the reason it seems ambiguous and you'll see mixed reviews is that folks that only do an axle here or there don't have any problems - of course not, we're not saying every single axle is bad out of the box. read from people that have done dozens of axles and they all say the same thing - aftermarket axles have a high percentage of failure - not only out of the box but a year or two down the road too. Numbchux (user here) says he's never seen an aftermarket make it 2 years...probably an exaggeration on a wider scale, but it's a real issue. also Subaru boots last a few years, aftermarket boots often only last a couple. Subaru boot = cheaper and better end product. and replacing the boot, while messy, isn't terrible hard at all as long as you got the right tool for crimping/installing the bands.

no - get a 1995 EJ22 from an automatic - legacy or impreza, doesn't matter. the engines are much cheaper, more reliable. 15 miles from Newark, 718-497-3900 has two from legacy's for $250 but doesn't say auto or manual a bunch more listed on car-part.com only a few miles from Newark for $375 and $400 all day long. call and find one that's from an automatic. 888-855-7278 65 miles away with one from an Impreza for $300 and it's an automatic. save a few hundred dollars and more reliable and not an interference engine...way better in every regard. you want to replace the timing belt and pulleys (and tensioner on the EJ25). i'd also replace the cam seals, cam orings (if equipped), crank seal, and rear separator plate with the metal variety while the engine is out. 1995 EJ22 timing belt kit: http://www.amazon.com/Gates-TCK254-Timing-Belt-Component/dp/B000C2ULA0/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1390860179&sr=8-11&keywords=Subaru+timing+kit EJ25 timing belt kit: http://www.amazon.com/Gates-TCK304-Timing-Belt-Component/dp/B002R8HMAY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390860179&sr=8-1&keywords=Subaru+timing+kit technically a manual transmission will work you just have to move a vacuum line to get rid of the check engine light since those don't have EGR. **** a used EJ25D is a headgasket risk.

not sure, but it's nothing more than that big bearing and a seal or two...or maybe even the bearing alone, it may simply be a Subaru OEM bearing. it's in a detached garage not heading out there now.

those "through bolts" repairs are common around here, i see it all the time on Subarus. i've had anti-seize slathered parts be very difficult to separate before after only a couple years, 99% sure once was a ball joint...only a time or two but i recall being surprised and wondering if there was something better or what i missed that time.

that's what i thought, and i have a rear wheel bearing "kit" and it looks to just have one bearing like you have pictured.

dave - i'm lost on black pipe stuff and 3/4 1/2 inch, and chrome coating and gold bolts...put the beer down and check the URL - are you posting about your bike, furnace, or....lol interesting...no taps. auto parts stores around here usually have them... i pulled the ball joint on my XT6 to do a wheel bearing a week or two ago - it was amazing! remove bolt, pop out the ball joint. every brake job and bolt has been a breeze. well worth having it shipped from CA.

yes - thread side. i always reuse the bolts, i assume the Subaru bolts are probably higher quality than aftermarket stuff and the aftermarkets have different sized bolt heads. removing the strut bolt is much easier way to do the axle so many of us don't use that ball joint method. or at least here in the rust belt. some ball joints can not even come out with tools, torches, or soaking. it's only 1 out of 20 or 30 that are that bad but for people doing a lot of them - the ball joints need broken, chiseled, and then the remaining bits drilled out little pieces at a time, or the last few shell pieces ground out, when they're that bad. in rust prone areas you are best to avoid ball joints at all cost, of all the easy jobs they are by far the riskiest. this is why dave is posting this thread - for those out west/south this wouldn't need posted. pop it out and replace. in the rust belt there's a small chance it could turn into a debacle.

swapped batteries and alternators with no change. ended up being the crank pulley separated. it wasn't visibly separated and the alternator appeared to be turning fine at idle. while revving the engine it didn't look like the belt increased speed, but it was so hard to tell i would have believed it if it was fine. so i drew a line across the face and after a few seconds i stopped the engine and the line separated. and i drew a line across the replacement pulley for the future! while working on it/replacing it - after running the engine a bit the pulley was very warm. i suppose the slipping created heat and after a bit of driving it would warm up enough to expand or stick the rubber back in place and that's why it would run fine after driving for a bit - it may have quit slipping at all or as much. thanks for the help guys!

battery tested 12.3 volts out of the vehicle, thoroughly confused now. weird it would test 11.3 volts while running in the car and 12.3 volts when i removed it (engine only ran for a minute or two). put the battery on a charger but i'm thinking it's the alternator

what confuses me is if it was the battery - the alternator should take over as soon as the car is started and car should run normal immediately, not after 5 minutes. for example, when you jump start a dead battery the alternator takes over and the car runs fine immediately after start up. but it runs fine at over 12+ volts after 5 minutes which means it should be charging the battery and it should act normal at the next start up....but it never does. i'll put the battery on a charger and see what it does.

Why does my 88 XT6 have 11.3 V at start up (@ alternator and battery) but return to normal after 5 minutes? At start up lights are dim, voltage low, turning on accessories makes everything dimmer and slow (wipers). After 5 minutes it's back to normal and everything is fine and I can turn on everything with no issue. plastic connector at the alternator looks new, i usually replace them and probably did at some point. alternator? voltage regulator? battery?

I think it's 46.2 for EJ25D 50 for Phase II EJ25 (and some turbo EJ25 heads) 1996 EJ25 FSM shows bore and stroke and compression ratio: 99.5 x 79, 9.5 I'm unsure of headgasket thickness, the 610 EJ25 headgasket is 1.52mm thick, but is that a revised thickness or same as the originals? When back-calculated using 1.52mm headgasket the head volume is 46.2 If you back-calculate using .58 mm headgasket thickness (like Phase II EJ25's) - then that gets you in the 53cc head volume, but i doubt the original EJ25D headgaskets were thin - were they?

bolts right up and fits right in, that's the easy part. turbo exhaust won't clear the non-turbo crossmember, either install a turbo cross member, cut/notch the non-turbo cross member for clearance to "match" a turbo crossmember, or custom make the exhaust to go around it. crossmember work is much simpler and better long term so you don't have wonky exhaust parts to swap out if needed. wiring is big issue. you need a complete engine and body side wiring harness for the new engine. you can pay someone a few hundred to splice/set up a harness for you (post a thread on here or search for the couple of people that do it and send them a message) or get the FSM's and pour over all the wiring diagrams and the wiring harness itself.

+1. sounds like a terrible financial decision. depending on your back up plan (when you don't have any money) or future plans, others around you, work, driving needs (how important is it really to have a car?)..etc - it could be a really bad decision or not a big deal.

woah! nice catch indeed. best to replace all the pulleys/tensioner as well as the belt can get heated up and delaminate like that due to bearings getting overheated or seizing and the belt sliding over them.

any check engine light? i would expect a poor knock sensor to cause the poor performance. an oil analysis might help shed light on things. companies do UOA all the time and should be well versed at helping you analyze the results - type of material, how much, damage, how long it's been happening, what may have been the cause, etc. copy, point taken that it was performing poorly from the start. the work they did shouldn't cause any issues regarding the bottom end but obviously it's fairly invasive so a lot of things can happen. vaccuum leaks, valves out of adjustment (it would have to be really bad) or timing could cause poor performance. i'm uncertain of oil supply routing but if the oil supply lines were clogged that could starve the engine of oil and compromise rod bearings - but i wouldn't expect poor performance outside of catastrophic damage. there was a case, someone posted pictures on a subaru forum a year or three ago, of a mechanic leaving a rag inside the engine if you can believe that. or over-zealous RTV/sealant that clogs and oil port, that has happened before too. but i wouldn't expect performance issues due to that. and i'm not sure how oil supply is routed - if the rods get oil from the crank/oil pump and not from the heads then it would be a stretch to say the rod bearings were starved by anything that happened during head replacement. keep in mind - they would still be suspicious of someone that swears up and down that it was performing poorly the whole time before it blew up and you just didn't come back and ask. they couldn't say it because it would make most customers angry but they would be thinking "it must have not been performing that bad, you didn't say anything about it before after a huge repair bill you certainly would have felt undeserving of poor service if it was......until you needed $3,000 worth of work then all of a sudden it was really bad the entire time you were driving it." this is going to be a hard one to figure out and basically up in the air for you two to resolve, you have a leg to stand on and so do they, but in a court of law i see little proof yet.

dealers don't do proper timing belt maintenance unfortunately and they charge a massive premium for their low grade service in this regard. if i or a quality independent would have done it, you'd never have had this issue. replace all 3 timing pulleys, the tensioner, and the belt with every timing belt change. the tensioner should be replaced as well, the new style is not that reliable and yours has seen multiple compressions/installs now. i'd also replace the belt, it may have been compromised by the jumping of teeth and it's 40% done (40,000 miles on a 100,000 mile belt). if the dealer charges $500 to replace a timing belt (i know a dealer in maryland that charges $699) - then you're 40%, or $200 into that. might as well spend the $59 on a new belt now and new pulleys and be done until 210,000 miles. Gates kits are used by many who do lots of Subaru work and only cost $125 for everything: http://www.amazon.com/Gates-TCK328-Timing-Belt-Kit/dp/B0033DM4UA

inner joint or outer joint that failed? best axles are rebooted Subaru OEM axles (inner green cup). aftermarkets suck and i've seen new ones explode within 50 feet of installation, they're very low percentage.

uberoo knows his stuff, he could build it!!! i'll say it this way: get outback bits in it and then add a 2" or 3" lift kit. SJR and Highguys makes lift kits for older models...the fronts will work on yours, uncertain about the rear.

ah crack! i can't think of a good way to limp it home in a manual due to the VLSD center diff. only hope i can think of would be if you can take a peak and see if the circlip or something simple came apart and could put it back together. artificially "seize" your front caliper so it holds that brake tighter and sends power to the other side...LOL

great, thanks and keep at it.

Subaru gaskets go on dry, definitely. far more robust than flimsy aftermarket cardboard. they are never sealed, there's no need to. if you're seeing conflicting info feel free to post a link to it - or see if it's a different engine.

emergency help with some rather technical twist - and you don't tell us if it's an auto/manual? silly rabbit! can you work on it or you have no place/tools? would be worth pulling the boot and seeing if it's a simple repair at all if you have an automatic it would be much easier: unplug the transmission wiring harness and it'll drive in 3rd gear and "locked" 4WD. that will give you power to the rear for sure and should get you home. it would be fine to drive it like that for 15 miles....but the offending axle should be removed so it doesn't cut loose - you really don't want a shaft slinging around at high RPM's, bad things will happen. so go 5 mph if you do drive it. lol if it's a manual trans you don't want to be revving up that center differential and it's not a good idea. +1 for automatics being more robust in emergency situations!

nice hit, who did the hole repair? too late but Ram Engines had decades of EA experience, testing, fabrication, and design for aircraft applications, i visited their facility once. i'm a little confused as the website changed and their location went from OH to SC if this is the same place: http://www.ramengines.com/page15.php