idosubaru

You should be fine. Those SOHC EJ25's are easy to do. You can easily knock a timing belt only out in 30 minutes to an hour. I know someone that did assemble and EJ25 which had no interference upon assembly and yet did once it was running and under load. But his was for different reasons (mixing and matching blocks/heads) and actually ran and you could hear it. I'm not versed enough to know why an engine would turn over by hand but then have issues when running...heating/expanding maybe?

Line her back up and you'll be good to go hopefully. I'm sure you are now...but make certain you're using the right marks. Interference/bent valves is only a possibility on EJ25's or 97 and later EJ22's. Earlier EJ22's and all EJ18's are non-interference so no worries.

what he said - it's the resistor pack that's failed and if your original car was also a manual transmission the cruise swaps over just fine. if your original car was an automatic then you'll need to source a cruise control computer for a manual trans for the new legacy as they are specific to manual or auto's.

PCV direction - not sure but oil often gets into the intake on some vehicles so i would assume it's engine crankcase venting back into the intake - since any positive engine crankcase pressure is already metered air anyway...just a guess. how many miles since the headgaskets and what engine an EJ25D, 251....something else? can you call the mechanic and ask him the most likely place a towel would have been? he might have a routine. Have you pulled the valve covers yet, I would look there. this would be my main concern: do you have any oil from this engine or the remnants of the oil filter? they might be able to test that. 100,000 reliability is going to be determined by engine wear that happened due to oil starvation, not the towel particles itself..which got stopped by the pick up tube and oil filter and if the towel is a concern then that damage is already done. of course, it would be nice to know where the towel came from....

wow that is crazy. can't imagine that being anything other than a towel left somewhere. that pick up tube is where the oil pump pulls oil from the oil pan as i'm sure you know. i'm thinking pull the oil pump and run solvent and compressed air down through the passage between the oil pump and pan to back flush anything in that hole. then you might consider running solvent/compressed air through the pump, disassemble the pump, or just get another one. then consider running solvent/compressed air from the oil filter area to the oil pump. not sure if the picture looks worse than what was happening but that sump screen looks terribly restricted. concern is oil starvation. which there's no way to measure or test, just have to clean up, reassemble and hope for the best. if you still have the oil from the pan or filter you might be able to have it tested to see how much/if any bearing material is present. maybe the more experienced rebuilder/analysis folks will chime in on whether that's feasible or other options.

http://www.cars101.com is a Subaru's specific sight with gobs of information about stuff like this. It will answer your question. All (or most - like hoods, doors, fenders) 99 and earlier impreza body parts interchange. If there are differences it might depend what you mean by "First generation Impreza hatch body sport"...since the sport version wasn't part of the first line of impreza's or hatches. The first year of the Impreza OBS with the hood scoop and body cladding was like 1997...maybe a few 1996's? 1997-1999.

yes but it's worse than that, need to pull the cam tower, all the rocker arms will drop off, clean up mating surfaces, reseal it with tube sealant, etc after the valve covers even. it's a huge job, way bigger than a timing belt/oil pump reseal job. *but*, and here's where the confusion is, there are two "cam orings" in your parts list that are completely different orings but both related to the cams. "Cam cap orings" (or cam support orings) and "Cam tower orings". Cam cap orings go behind the cam sprocket/cam seal and are easy to replace and routinely done with a timing belt job: Cam tower orings are between the head and the cam and require quite a bit of disassembly as mentioned earlier, they should be metal reinforced, if not don't use them: I have been able to solve oil supply related (not HLA related) TOD with this simple procedure %100 of the time. I've never had this not work. 1. Reseal the oil pump 2. Replace the oil pump (sometimes I skip number 1 if i don't want to waste time) So I would start there and ignore the cam tower orings for the moment. That being said - it *appears* that Subaru used to install plain old orings on the cam towers. Speculation is that 1987 and earlier EA82's may have plain rubber orings prone to issues and aiding in TOD. Around 1987 or 1988 they may have moved to the reinforced orings which are all I have ever seen - but I've worked almost exclusively on XT's/XT6's and 1988 and up vehicles. If you have an 88+ EA82 then I would expect the oil pump to take care of it. If you have a pre-88 or one that someone previously installed a regular oring on during prior work...then maybe you have a rubber oring causing issues. Either way i'd start with timing belt/oil pump.

I know this thread is old, just adding to it. XT6's definitely all have the metal orings. One XT6 engine many years ago had rubber only orings and I got it knowing it had been apart. Was surprised since they are well known on many Subaru boards and accustomed to old school Subaru's. I asked and he said he wasn't thinking or something ambiguous like that, a mistake. If there's one or a very few cases of a rubber oring in a later model like a Loyale I would anticipate it was replaced at one point or the motor swapped. actually it looks common for even Subaru folks to simply install regular orings....LOL (which I don't recommend): http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=109463 The difference between a metal reinforced oring and an old brittle rubber oring isn't huge, I can see not noticing. The old metal reinforced orings can be "sucked in" or deformed like a rubber oring as well, maybe just the rubber part is deformed but it's deformed nonetheless. For those two reasons, it seems easy to loose the distinction between the different orings over time, particularly for folks that have seen differing amounts of both styles.

don't skip too many, i've only gone a few hundred thousand miles in like 20 Subaru's without ever changing one, but I'm really lucky and one oil change away from disaster. LOL. not recommending that though, one should be prudent and not skimp on proper maintenance.

That's a good option, probably what I would do. Getting it back up in there is more cumbersome when gravity it against you depending on tools/equipment/environment. Those jokers are awkward in that tiny space. Engine lift with chain strung down to it through the engine bay helps control the awkward weight as they've mentioned already. Get car high off the ground in order that: A: room to get the transmission out, there's far less clearance once you start trying to get it out of the trans tunnel. B: more room if you're using some kind of dolly or jack to move it. harbor freight sells those little dollies for like $8, those things are great. You can generally fabricate something - strapping the transmission with ratchet straps onto boards...etc to control it somewhat. i haven't tried out the trans jacks or adapters yet. any tool rental places that might have one?

Well, yours is leaking, so of course one would replace that. But in general, never. I've owned like 20 Subaru's hundreds of thousands of miles and never replaced one and worked on far more. If one ever starts to leak I'll replace it.

audio pick up is such that I can't distinguish the pinion bearing from the wheel bearing. not timing chain noise, you'd surely know that?

thanks for sharing, fascinating stuff from an experimental point of view. otherwise what a mess to wade through. guess you don't have full coverage insurance? i've heard of sabotage being covered by insurance...but not sure if "pre-existing sabotage" would be covered, how nuts. Most places say "sugar doesn't dissolve in gas", it's all over the internet. But this has nothing to do with technical academic approaches to solutions. A motorized vehicle *probably* moves in which case particulate matter will suspend.

The reseal kits are only a few dollars, so those are a great fit and it's easy to do. If your current calipers are fine then you can entertain just replacing the piston dust boots and caliper slide pin boots as well. You can do the piston dust boots without any disassembly of the calipers, piston or bleeding. Without any rust concerns like the northeast I'd think that's a fine option. a 1997 Legacy wagon EJ22 single piston caliper I rebuilt had dust boots that weren't retained by any clips or anything, that's the only Subaru's i've seen like that, they usually have a circlip that holds the boot in place.

Wish the time allowed, I'd take you up on it. I have friends from Inwood, saw them both last night!

oh good. a 97 EJ22 you'll need the exhaust header, are you getting that too or need to find one? auto/manual doesn't matter. in 1995 you can tell which ones have EGR or not by whether it's auto or manual...but later years don't have that distinction so it doesn't tell you anything. auto/manual EJ22's are all identical, same engine...you can even swap the ECU's, that doesn't even matter!

right that website. look for legacy and impreza engines - they both had 2.2's during the years you need and they are identical engines even if junk yards don't know it or don't think they work. same exact engine. they only know what the computer tells them and don't want an angry customer, they've never swapped a subaru engine before. keep in mind you need the exhaust manifold for anything 1996 or later...just keep an eye on the engine list i typed up earlier - it's all there what you need to know.

he's not worried about the check engine light, we covered all that (and the need for exhaust headers for 96+) on page one.

wow. apparently you can heat it up with a torch to clean it up or free up the sticking valves and then smell it to identify it.

1995's: $200 Martinsville, IN 1-800-369-8549 $300 West Belfry, KY 877-273-1134 1996: (you will need exhaust header) $300 Mt. Sterling, KY 1-800-633-2441 $295 Fairmount, IN 1-765-948-3659

my friend was driving to and back from Padukah KY today...should have thrown an engine on his truck for you. LOL

I guess you've checked http://www.car-parts.com (look up legacy, impreza EJ22's...heck even EJ18's work, I got one in mine, if price is that much of a driving factor). posted in the parts wanted forum here? I've bought EJ engines for $150-$300 before and they come with a 6 month warranty and they're usually tested - out of wrecked cars and known to be good. The highest priced $300 one I just bought two months ago was for a friends OBW with blown engine and I bought one with lower miles so it was more expensive, there were some $200 options out there. That is an EJ22 without EGR. I also believe, but have some uncertainty, that's a a 90-94 as John said as well. Need a 95-98 EJ22 intake manifold for it to work. I've heard of folks swapping the intake manifold wiring harness...so if he can give you the intake in the picture - you could possibly swap your EJ25 wiring harness onto the intake manifold. you said he doesn't have the manifold for this engine - but it's clearly in the picture? Be careful when the person is unclear about a cheap engine. There has been uncertainty about whether it's an EJ22 or EJ25...then unsure about what year it is - we still don't know....he can't tell you? Last year a friend was in the exact same situation, 97 or 98 OBW even....guy was vague on this used engine...i looked at it and it had some melted timing covers and suggested I wouldn't do it or at the minimum do a leak down test. He bought and I helped him install it anyway and engine had blown headgaskets and now has rod knock. I would closely inspect the oil for any oil/coolant mixing/glitter...or even brand new fresh oil (indicating it was changed to cover up)...or melted timing belt covers, or heavy black deposits under the valve covers. I would consider it a worst case scenario, but you can bolt the EJ25 heads onto the block - the opposite swap (EJ22 heads onto EJ25 block) is done all the time, very common, so it's physically possible. Fairly certain there is valve clearance (more of an issue with larger heads on a smaller block - non-issue when you go the other way). Very few people, I've only ever hear of one have swapped EJ25 heads onto a smaller block. you'd loose compression and end up with higher maintenance heads and nearly non-adjustable valves.

nice! i love that Viva something mexican restaurant across from the hardware store, been there tons of times!

welcome! visited maine two years ago, look forward to returning some day. those are two of my most favorite Subaru's. there's an XT6 specific forum as well http://www.subaruxt.com, join us there for XT specific stuff.

Hopefully someone a little more versed in this steps in as this sounds fairly abnormal for any Subaru particularly this low mileage. I wonder if one of the fuel injectors may be leaking too much fuel into the cylinders. Is it ever hard to start? Fuel injectors aren't hard at all to replace so don't let it scare you. It is very rare for them to fail so even a low mileage used one is a reasonable fit particularly for one this new. Sometimes new prices are a bit absurd for parts that rarely fail. They can also be cleaned/tested/rebuilt by RC Engineering or Witchhunter But again hopefully someone can offer some specific testing/symptoms/suggestions to narrow it down for sure.