idosubaru

that sounds like it. it's a black cylinder (roughly the diameter of a quarter) and it's wrapped in a light foam cover so to speak i think (or maybe it used to be ). have no idea what/why that thing is there.

the torque sequence is all over the board and internet. you follow the *headgasket manufacturers recommendation* whether to retorque or not. if they say to follow the manufacturers torque procedures then you retorque them for the EA82. don't seal the cam towers the first time you assemble, save yourself the hassle. you'll be warming it up then tearing it down again. no point in sealing it and cleaning it all over again, just seal it at the final assembly. the fel pro permatorques are worth the price just to save this step.

looks like 2001 was when the foresters all got 3 three-point rear seat belts. here's a guy with a 2000 that has a rear center lap belt: http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f77/2000-forester-seat-belts-middle-rear-seat-81384/ is it really that date specific? i've always wondered about changes like this...do they really happen on January 1st so to speak? and on every single model....L and S models the same day?

having pulled 02 OB glove boxes before i think the only, or best option, is to work from the outside and unlatch it where the handle used to be. what is left? is it still *locked*? no hope at reassembling enough for one last opening? you could *possibly* try and pop out the bottom part that it rotates on and maybe that would give you some play to work with. but they're seated awkwardly in my opinion and seemed like a very strange way to do it - i couldn't imagine trying to pry them out from the outside but they aren't bolted or rigidly fastened so it may be an option. as a last resort i would try that, but plan on replacing the glove box door when it's all said and done. with the latches all hosed, it's probably getting replaced anyway, so just have at it and cut it out? a used glove box isn't worth jack and easily found in great condition, so just get a good used one. (might want to get two for the future!) a locksmith should be able to rekey it for you if you need to match a certain key? i don't even recall my OBW glove box having a lock? if you're carrying excessive weight i might suggest never using it and moving everything, but the heavy gun, to the center console or elsewhere.

one missing lug is not going to affect the vehicle at all, you could drive it indefinitely like that and never replace it. they don't engineer stuff to fail that easily....well, maybe american cars do. not saying i recommend it, just saying it's fine until you get around to it. many cars use 4 lugs, very common, even older subaru's - all EA81 and EA82's had 4 lugs. yes...smaller...and less power vehicles, but they're no where near their limits. i have experience running on fewer than 5 lug studs as well. in charlotte, NC (500 miles from home) i had 4 out of 5 shear off at like 2 in the morning - leaving me only one on the front. finished my couple hundred miles of highway travel with 3 (turns out the brake caliper bracket bolts are the same thread as the lug studs). i used one from each side caliper bracket, giving me two extras, for a total of 3 up front. it was fine. again - not saying i recommend it but it's not like they're designed on the verge of failure. if they were you'd see lots more failures as vehicles age, wear, get wrecked, off roaded, etc. but as it is, failures are extremely rare and seem more random than from heavy use even.

airbag codes on Subarus go out once the issue is resolved, no reset needed. i've repaired a wrecked 97 Impreza OBS and that is the case on that vehicle. simple solution is to read the air bag code. i've done it on a 97 impreza and while i can't recall how from memory, it was easy and quick. probably grounding the right pin so it'll flash the code (like the ABS if you've ever done that). you don't know if the light was ever on before? car ever wrecked? good luck and feel free to PM me if i miss the follow up's here Ed, i've repaired a few wrecked/air bag blown Subarus. just don't ask me how to unclip those crazy honkin air bag connectors! those things are terrible.

the blocks are interchangeable. i just did Phase II EJ25 heads on a Phase I EJ25D block. on mine i needed to use the thicker 610 (last 3 digits of the Subaru part number) headgasket to verify clearance as that combination brings things closer together and my heads were slightly below thickness spec. that will be you only issue, if any at all.

EJ's can easily have ignition issues, make sure it's not the wires. though i would expect it to throw a code, i've seen them not throw a code with bad wires too. if this was a lot of water then you need to pull all the plugs, dry out the wells and wires and reseat them. if it's enough water it'll happen just as you describe and not go away until they're pulled and dried out. i would do this first before anything else if you did hit significant water. you probably have a manual (?) but auto's have a small round filter in-line with a vacuum hose on the passengers side. i believe it's EGR related, but don't hold me to it. i'm not sure why it did this but i had a 97 OBS that was nearly undrivable at times, would come and go, and i couldn't figure it out for a long time. wouldn't down shift, gutless, and barely could power itself up a steep grade. replaced that little fiilter ($7 at Subaru) and it ran perfect.

they aren't "prone" to it - but it does happen too. lack of fluid changes probably doesn't help. doesn't sound like you have a problem, just don't replace them. better off replacing the fluid probably than calipers that are working fine. subaru brakes are all over the place. you can *sometimes* swap calipers that traditionally come with different size rotors as the bracket creates the spacing. but then sometimes you can't do that either, it's a real debacle to keep all the size differences straight...and then various calipers, brackets, slides verses bolts, etc.

wow, 6". it's been awhile but that center most skinny shaft, i'm wondering if that is somehow engaged in the torque converter and coming out with it...i can't recall if that shaft slides easily out or can catch? when you install the torque converter to it's first "stopping point", it's still a few inches away...and it has a lot of side to side play, it'll "hang down" quite low if you don't hold it's weight. i wonder if yours does or doesn't do that? or if it's even out far enough to do that? i assume you see the two tubes connected by that circlip thing if it's coming out 6 inches? do you have another trans to compare too? i'm leaving for vacay in 8 hours so i probably can't reply though. definitely let us know how it turns out, this is quizzical.

how did you pressure test? could it only be leaking under load or heat? EJ25's are notorious for passing all classical headgasket failure tests when they first start to leak. they'll pass compression, leak down and even exhaust contaminant tests sometimes. not unheard of to have a mechanic stuck on one of those motors when they first start failing. granted, not an EJ25....... well i'm on vacay in a few hours so i guess i won't be able to follow along, hope i come back to a good ending.

what he said. much more work to install the turbo engine and exhaust and you end up with one of the worst subaru motors you can get right now. they were reliable 20 years ago, now we all avoid them. enjoy that loyale for what it is!

helicoil/timesert is the easy fix if there's enough material, which i would think there is, and you have or make room. the ghetto fix would be to tap it out to a larger thread size, use a larger bolt with flat head, and make your own crush washer/seal/oring for the bolt head. clearance may be tough, which one is it and do you have room? at which point cam carrier replacement may start looking mighty attractive. passengers side is the easier of the two if that's what you do.

how bizarre. how far does it come out before it stops? did the trans work properly before being removed, what's the history of this trans? i guess one of the inner shafts is pulling out with it and somehow snagging...trying to picture how that would happen?

replacing both is best for you. there's no way, without actually looking at it ourselves....and even that's not 100% certain, to know. we don't have any diagnostic information or symptoms at all - we're really really good, but we don't do magic. by asking us for advice you're asking us for *more* information and advice than the mechanic gave you...and we didn't get to look at it, drive it, inspect it, read the actual codes, etc like he did. you're wanting more specific information but we have nothing to go on. at the very least we'd need to know for sure what code it gave, what the symptoms were, and if the FWD fuse worked. and even then our recommendation may look the same. like GD said - there's a ton of write ups here - if you want to possibly save money, and possibly get a better job done too - print those out and give those to your mechanic. he can do this in a few hours, it's not that bad and with those online guides/pictures it should be straight forward for him.

they don't know without looking what's going on. it would be very strange for both to fail at the same time...though a failing Duty C won't do favors to the clutch pack. but anyway, more than likely they're just going to replace it all to have a happy customer. if they only replace one and then you're needing pay $500 next year to replace the other many folks would be on a rampage, so it's easier to just do it all while you're in there. many of us even recommend or personally do that - replace it all while we're in there so it doesn't have to come apart again for the life of the vehicle. but it certainly isn't necessary if you do a proper inspection and testing. the grooves will probably need to be filed down back to smooth from the binding, doubt they'll get into that though. they get paid per job at dealers, not hours ,so doing a thorough job like that is unlikely. it would have been best for you to post here before taking it to the dealer, there's a very simple thing you could have done and we could have told you if it was the duty C or clutch plates very easily. we would have told you to insert a fuse into the FWD slot - this forces the trans to run in FWD. if it does run fine in FWD - then the Duty C is good and the clutches are the issue. if it won't go into FWD then the Duty C is bad and the clutches may be able to be retained. that's indeed the test they did, in addition to scanning the code. with a code flashing then it seems probable the Duty C is bad. sometimes just changing the fluid multiple times will eliminate the torque bind that you're experiencing, i and others have done it a bunch of times. but with a code flashing that probably wont' work. you can source the parts online at about a %20 reduction in price from online Subaru vendors and have another mechanic do the work. there's nothing that special about this job that any other mechanic can't do it. there's some very detailed threads on here that explain how to do it and a couple things to look for - you could skim that and provide details to a mechanic for good measure, like looking for the grooves. you could also post on here for someone that may have a good used rear housing that has everythign in it - clutch plates and Duty C solenoid and save money that way. i've done that before, sold the complete rear extension housings with clutches and Duty C to someone in your position. i don't have any right now though.

getting a used DOHC EJ25 is something i try to avoid at all costs. i don't care how many miles it has, it's very rare to know the complete history of 10+ year old engines that are prone to overheating. JCE has a great suggestion - the SOHC EJ25's would be a much better donor short block. if a belt breaks the valves get bent so it needs head job, etc and the engine/block should be much cheaper. CA - broke cam gear: 1-831-722-5050, berkely CA bad headgasket 1-510-525-5132, these guys have just a 2000 short block for $350 in berkley: 1-510-525-5132 and these guys have two with no price listed: 1-619-426-1166 car-parts.com is where i got those from, you can search for the lowest priced engines (Which tend to be cores or have issues - like broken timing belts/bent valves), or just the short block. i've swapped short blocks before like that, the blocks are identical in terms of bolting heads to them. i actually went the other way, DOHC block with SOHC heads. either way, they're the same. GD (a board member here - General Disorder) knows a shop in Portland Oregon that rebuilds EJ25 bottom ends for $600. I would think that's a great option for you. They do a lot of them so they know what they're doing and GD knows his junk so I'd go with them if he says it's a good deal (which I believe he has).

great price, jump on it. use it or sell it to someone here that will.

totally dependent on buyer. this is a very small market item. if you can wait a long time (or get lucky) and advertise it, it'll sell much more to the right person. if someone wants to positively sell it in a week...or even a month...it's not worth much, couple hundred. i'd give up to $300 for it i think if i needed one....maybe a little more if i had a great car candidate. timing belts are to be changed every 60,000 miles or 5/6 years probably - so it's probably 10 or 15 years past due on the timing belt. new ebay kits though are only $60-$80 for complete timing pulley kits.

copy that Rpm. did you tighten the oil pump backing plate screws? sometimes bearings can create a ticking sound too, less common than other bearing signs but not unheard of - like the serpentine belt pulley bearings or possibly alt/power steering/a/c bearings. have a stethoscope or are you positive it's engine related? piston slap seems likely, it's very common. subaru has updated pistons to correct it i believe. most people aren't going to go through that effort/expense though since it's benign mechanically. indeed MMO is cheap, good stuff, and worth a shot.

tick until warm up is classic piston slap description, have you looked into that at all? piston slap is quiet common on EJ25's and EJ's in general. timing tensioners can tick when they fail too. if you watch one that does this (covers removed), it's moving alot (in ways that it shouldn't). you wouldn't think they could be confused with piston slap or knocking until you've heard it the first time. otherwise, i've heard ticking EJ's too and not sure what causes it.

doubtful that caused any major issues. agree with rooster - you need some basic diagnosis done first before we start guessing. has the engine ever run right since the swap was done: "no" - then it's probably something with the swap isn't right, something not plugged in, vaccum leak, etc "yes" - then start with basic diagnosis. does it have spark at each cylinder. fuel at the engine after the fuel filter?

yes, it's done all the time, not a big deal at all.

awesome, sounds like you got it narrowed down. if it drives the way you like i'd just go OEM or i probably wouldn't even hesitate to use aftermarket something on these as well. the online subaru prices are about 20% cheaper than local dealers. thepartsbin and rockauto often have stellar pricing if aftermarket is acceptable. KYB rear struts for 02 OBW were $51 each when i got them, they usually have some sale or coupon going on.

weird. coolant can enter the combustion chamber, which you seem to be confident is what's happening, via intake manifold gaskets and headgaskets. if it was the cylinder wall/sleeve that seems very unlikely and for it to happen to 3 cylinders seems almost impossible. mis-diagnosed so far, engine was beat to snot previously, or the headgaskets aren't holding?