idosubaru

right on, i see it now with the two crank rotations per cam rotation. thanks.

wow nug, get that thing out of there. come on you can do it!

do you have a mechanics stethoscope to maybe try and narrow down the noise location? maybe it's just a pulley, timing tensioner, or something that got worse with the heat. if you're positive the headgaskets are bad a compression test doesn't sound worth your time. i've seen DOHC's with bad head gaskets pass compression tests - that and their propensity to not mix coolant/oil has befuddled mechanics not familiar with EJ25's. but, doesn't matter as you already know they're bad. compression test won't say anything about bearings. i think you could pay attention to your oil. any metal in it would indicate bearing issue somewhere. not sure if you can filter it, cut your filter open, or put a magnet on the drain plug - maybe someone more familiar with that can pipe up. i've seen metal in oil but i've never looked for one in question, i already knew each time. i've never heard cams make a noise, i've only seen them seized/galled, etc. the head surface will be fine, a resurface will be in order but they aren't typically all that terrible when mic'ed. you'll have to drive it some i guess to see if there was any damage to the bearings. your first post seems to suggest that. the subaru's with rod knock i've had have always gotten worse quickly, not sure if that's the norm or not though?

doesn't sound too good on multiple levels. you only *need* a block if you can find an EJ25 to bolt your heads to - bent valves or something. if you think your cams weren't oil starved. EJ22 swap?

i've wondered this before too - why two sensors? the cam and crank are fixed in relation to each other via a fixed timing belt so why not use one sensor? i can sort of fabricate an explanation in my mind....

the way you worded the post most of us thought you meant you were going to the other way - replacing the old style with new.

anything 1995 or earlier will be non-interference. 1996 is supposed to be non-interference but a guy on one of the forums, i think subaruoutback.org swears his EJ22 broke and bent valves. not sure what to make of that but interference is supposed to start in 1997 for EJ22's.

a new, never turned rotor, was too thin? did they mic it or look at it? sounds like you trust them so probably doesn't matter. i'm not sure if rotors can be bought that are "unturnable", like too thin to ever turn, i wasn't aware of that if it's the case. they shouldn't have thrown away the original rotors, the OEM were probably higher quality metal than the aftermarkets.

you can probably find it on subaru's opposed forces website on the exploded engine diagrams. google came up with: http://www.flat4online.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?pName=gobstopper-rcm-tensioner-bracket-for-timing-belt-kit-rcm892-subaru-impreza-92-96-uk-turbo-sti-wrx-type-ra&cName=impreza-v1-v2-92-96-gobstopper-parts

it's just the metal thing that the bolts screw into. if you look just above the horizontal tensioner there are two bolts - it's the thing those two bolts screw into. it just bolts to the block and comes off, then you install the other bracket behind the other tensioner.

couple ways to fix this like JCE said - all viable. i would remove all the old rubber hoses and metal line and replace with rubber. like he said - it's made for ATF and will last 10-20 years, probably well beyond all sorts of other things on the car. rubber has no chance of rusting and you'll be replacing the metal clamps which also tend to have leaks at those areas. with the metal line you have 4 connections rather than 2 with just one rubber hose. less points of failure and no line to rust. win-win situation to just replace it all with one rubber hose.

why can't they turn the rotor rather than replace? it's easier to replace the rotors than have them turned. it also verifies a good brake job, they have no way of knowing how you drive the car, how well the previous job was done..etc - so it's easier and they make more money and have fewer complaints if they replace the rotors. there's very little incentive for a shop "not" to replace rotors. but it's often overkill. the first time you had them replaced they probably didn't need it or they should have been turned instead of replaced. i rarely replace rear rotors. 2002 OBW has 180k, got it with 125k and have never replaced rear rotors. 1996 LSi has 180k, got it with 120k and had the rears turned once. ive put 125,000 on an XT6 before without ever turning the rear rotors. that's normal, not rare. the slides need cleaned and regreased - this step is often skipped and protects pads/rotors.

i've snapped the ABS bolts before and just drilled a smaller hole right into the remaining bolt and used a tap for a tiny bolt. nothing structural about it and - it's going to rust right into place again anyway! the heat from drilling may act similarly to a torch. heat expands the bolt and can break some of the corrosion seized surfaces free. probably best to drill, let cool down, then remove.

if you're still thinking about enngine swaps: 99 EJ22 won't work, phase II with tons of differennces. 96-98 EJ22 you''d also need a ypipe as the exahust ports are different, but the ypipe does bolt right up to the car so it's easy if you just get the pipe. if yours is an automatic - then you'll need to make sure any engine you get has an EGR valve. in 95 only the automatics have EGR and manuals do not. after that it's more random - some do and some don't with no rhyme or reason - at least in my area there's no rhyme/reason. for a 95 manual it won't have EGR. it'll run fine if you put a nonEGR into an EGR or the other way around but you'll have a check engine light you can't get rid of (so far i've swapped intake manifold, wiring, and ECU and somehow still have the check engine light for it)? noone else has figured it out either. 90-94 is different than 95 but you should be able to bolt your 95 intake manifold to it...with some tips from others more familiar with those early models.

definitely repair, this is not a big deal. out of round is completely meaningless for a thread repair kit for a variety of factors - one being you drill the hole first - that's going to get rid of the out of round, even if it didn't a little bit won't prevent the thread repair kits from working at all - done it a ton of times. you'll want to remove the radiator and probably the a/c condensor too in front of the rad for room, particullary if it's your first time working with a helicoil. get the thinnest right angle drill you can get. tools stores rent them or you can get a right angle adapter for your drill. i place my drill bits in a secure fixture then wail on them as hard as i can with a huge hammer - VERY fast swing is what you want - it'll shear the drill bit in half making it shorter to use in confined areas. where goggles and have nothing valuable close at hand - the broken part will fly across the garage.

i have one, but it's the only one i have sitting next to an engine ready to go so i doubt it's worth it to sell it due to the future headache you are now living, but you can make an offer. i'm driving through columbus very early tuesday morning.

talked to a guy years ago about his ER27 (6 cylinder XT6) into a 914 swap, some issues he had, etc. he sold it awhile ago: http://www.etischer.com/914xt6.html http://www.etischer.com/914xt.html

wow, what a mess. the electrical connector is not a stand alone piece is it? so the dealer won't have it? i'm sure you'll figure it all out, at this point it's just an electrical connector compared to everything else you've done. she better not sell this darn thing! 100,000 more miles here you come! i was under the impression they were Subaru:

that's what i thought, was looking for someone to confirm what i thought, that those numbers don't look surprising. go sleep tight 1-3-2-4

the 2.5 and 2.2 doesn't matter, they are swapped all the time. the problem is the changes that happened in 1999 making this swap unpalatable for most. it requires some digging into and working out/around some issues, it's not a simple swap. EJ22's (even EJ25's) easily see really high miles, if the engine is in decent shape and properly addressed now (resealed, complete timing belt kit with pulleys and tensioner, and water pump), i would be more worried about 15 year old transmissions, starters, alternators, tensioner pulley bearings, clutches, etc than an EJ22 with 180k. but of course there's no way to know it's past history and condition positively...but that goes for most engines.

are the CTS readings supposed to be identical to the tstat temp though? i wasn't expecting all the coolant and engine to be the exact same temp as the tstat temp.

i'm not familiar with what you should see, with the tstat opening at 180 degrees though none of those numbers make me jump? what do you expect or should you see?

the 96 should have the old style tensioner but i've heard the new style tensioners (97-ish?) tick loudly before when they fail. maybe someone can verify the years. if you watch them, they also move in unison with the tick, but the timing covers need to be off to see that.

they interchange just fine and are the same *door*. but there are wiring differences. i forget exactly but i think in 1996 you had to use the toggle of the door lock, at the handle to lock/unlock the doors, and the 96 doesn't have a button. later models also had an electrical button in the panel. some models also have foot lights down really low in the bottom rear corner that the 96 doesn't have. but again those are trim/electrical differences - they still interchange and swap and interior bits swap too. going from a later model onto a 96 won't matter - you'll loose options you never had!! if you installed 96 door onto a 98 you wouldn't have the wiring for those extra lights/switch - so you'd loose those or have to swap the entire wire harness in the door. i've done these 96/non-96 swaps before and while i might have some specifics off, that's pretty accurate.

things like slight option differences - heated side view mirrors, addition of a door lock switch, and the bottom foot area light on some. then of course the interior trim and exterior paint/cladding/decals may differ slightly. but it will bolt up and plug in and work just fine. swap the interior bits off the old door to match.