idosubaru

LMAO !!!!- I was thinking about user error, employee error, 3rd party circumstantial error......but that takes too long to write so I just said: Subaru ones don't last forever, but used ones have the same or less failure rate than new aftermarket. The aftermarket supply is so bad (all of them) that *aftermarket is no better than a used Subaru alternator*. My anecdotal experience is that the fried computers/controllers/fusible links I've seen have always been an aftermarket alternator that does it. Subaru's more often loose a bearing, or have inadequate charge rather than over charging. used Subaru is as reliable as aftermarket(maybe better), less likely to blow !()%* up....and they're cheaper. There's literally no reason to buy an aftermarket one, even if Subaru used ones have a small failure rate. Subaru dealer for $80 (1996 legacy atlterantor - though you didn't say what vehicle you have) or used for $25-$45. Used might sound better after you've already dumped cash on the aftermarket but used is inexpensive and a great option as they said: Print this out or memorize it: Electronic parts like alternator/starter/fuel pump and axles are ***by a long shot*** the worst parts you can buy from an aftermarket parts store *for a Subaru*. Many other aftermarket parts have plenty of useful scenarios in Subarus. Don't rule your local parts stores out totally, they offer a good service and support the local relationships and economy which is a good thing for both of you.

The harmonic balancer failed. Draw a line across the face of the crank pulley with chalk or grease pen or paint. After driving it for a bit check the line. If the line is “broken”, or discontinuous, replace the harmonic balancer (crank pulley) but wait!!!! We can’t assume the diagnosis is spot on or complete so it wouldn’t be surprising if this is something else yet... Unfortunately this type of symptom is to rife with issues to assume that the alternator is good even given that you had it tested. 1. is it an aftermarket alternator? subaru dealers sell alternators for $80 for that car. Go there if you end up needing one reasonable cost and aftermarket is trash - all of them 2. Can you put a multimeter on the alt post and tell us its output voltage while idling? a loose belt can cause low alt rpm and lessen charging as well but you’d hear noises or have additional symptoms you havent described.

He’s speaking from data driven, very specific experience, and has researched failure modes rather than asinine regurgitation most people resort too. You can search his past comments on them on this forum. They are very informative if you really want to know. “Garbage” is relative. I’ll over simplify. Any average daily driver Subaru will make 200k+ on ANY filter and ANY oil that’s changed often and incurs no major issues. Brand and minor weight variance doesn’t matter. your experience with 3 Subarus is a prime example. Correlation doesn’t mean causation. I’ve maintained dozens of Subarus past 200k and they’ll do fine on the cheapest filter off the shelf. So that’s all anecdotal. Given that you seem on top of maintenance and incur no extreme use or issues you would have made 200k on those cars with any filter in the store.people do it all the time It’s the norm. I help people with Subarus and most people do not ever read a car forum or care what brand filter they get. That’s a lot of people - they routinely make 200k without blinking. Since that’s true, Subaru filters offer no advantage for that nominal use and you can easily make 200k running them. So does everyone buying the cheapest filter on the shelf. The assumption that Subaru filters are better in this regard doesn’t hold water. What happens when oil changes are extended or a vehicle sees above average use (towing, racing, aggressive driving, 400,000 miles, performance, aggressive off-roading, etc), or when complications arise (oil loss, headgaskets, missed or extended oil change intervals, overheating, cylinder misfires, knock sensor failures...etc), can lead to excessive heat and systems degradation in the engine...chiefly oil overheating, localized overheating within the engine, and debris contamination. This is when differences in oil and filter matter the most. Not during nominal daily driver use and oil conditions. Most conversations conflate all those things and ignore those contexts and everyone is right and every is wrong all at the same time. That’s why oil conversations and discussions and opinions are nearly worthless. Which filters offer better protection under those extenuating circumstances is when the actual data driven differences between them matters. And Subaru filters do not win the day there. They will “work” on the most basic level. No one is suggesting they cause issues. But compared to other filters and the outlier circumstances where filters would become an issue...Subarus aren’t a prime choice.

First post reported reman injectors installed. did the 301 symptoms stay exactly the same before and after the injector swap? I find 2005-2009s rough idle sometimes after battery swaps, low batteries, etc. compression will test fine. Test them all identically with full battery charge and all other things equal (don’t test one with plugs all out and another with the rest all in, throttle body, etc) and see what variance you get - it’ll be a few percent different between cylinders or identical. Almost no way you will have a dead cylinder unless that engine saw some weird things in the past. You can swap plugs wires and injectors to test

Always assume carburetor until you’re sure it’s not. It’s always the carb

Is it consuming oil? Replace PCV with Subaru OEM. It won’t help but it’s easy and cheap and routine maintenance anyway. check fuel pressure. Shouldn’t impact one cylinder, but #1 is furthest from incoming fuel line.... I had a misfire on a 2003 Forester that wasn’t fixed with plugs/wires/coil. I had an extra intake manifold and swapped the entire thing and that took care of it. No idea what it could have been. Vacuum leak/hose, throttle body, coolant temp sensor (though I can’t think how that could impact one cylinder... Ideally you find a way to test. Yes it’s my understanding (which isn’t very good on this point) that coil issues usually result in multiple cylinder misfires...but I’m unsure. I’ve never seen it happen.

Normal. I rarely pull apart blocks and trans, and the FSM is out for anything headgaskets or worse.

People have squeezed a lot more power out of them. Forced induction. For more power most people start with a more capable platform. What you’ve suggested has been done. I’ve dabbled in minor attempts. not worth it. Gobs of work for tiny returns. These aren’t V8s or forced induction. Delta makes cams for Subarus, call them up.

Best to enjoy it for what it is than make it something it will never be. If you just like to tinker and novelty (we’ve all been there), do whatever you want. None of it will make a performance difference except going harder on the gas pedal maybe. But also, since nothing will improve - none of the options are better or worse than any other so if you want a short throw shifter or shiny muffler or trunk wing or aftermarket filter, turbo scoop have at it. Liking a car helps keep people in them and maintain them longer so it’s not a total practical waste. How do you think some of us still drive 1980s Subarus!!!? Lol.

I don’t know which are worse than others but non OEM, Fel Pro or Cometic gaskets are the ones seen failing regularly within a year. I wouldn’t use anything but OEM headgaskets. Top off the fluids and the thing will keep driving until you can get Subaru. Someone might get me to bend on timing components, I would basically refuse to install any gasket I didn’t just mentioned.

Same here. It wasn’t what I was expecting.

It's been a few years since I pulled EJ25 block bolts so I'm not working from any memory here.

This suggests the washers and bolts may differ - there might be two washers on the forward most bolts, but it says "1 PC" for EJ25 - 1 per side = 2 per block? https://parts.boardmansubaru.com/showAssembly.aspx?ukey_product=71867255&ukey_assembly=6463996

Howdy, I work in Morgantown, but there are quiet a few of those...lol Just to make sure - you realize that if the belt breaks those engines usually bend lots of valves and you're into major engine work? That's one reason this is important. I've bought Subarus (very cheap) with that engine with "new" timing components that were broken and had bent valves. So these recommendations aren't just archaic, old school, uncle bob, I heard it from my neighbor stories. I'd install new Subaru belt, timing belt idlers, tensioner, water pump. Done. If you want to be cost effective - install a new Subaru belt and cogged pulley ($100 for both). Those are the most common failure items by light years. Check the tensioner while it's apart, if the hydraulic seal is wet (leaking), replace it. You can avoid the water pump - if you're doing this work yourself they're not hard to do at all, they don't fail often, and they just leak. It's not going to strand you, it'll give a warning when you notice drips/smoke/low coolant, not a big deal if you pay attention. I'd leave the original water pump before I'd install an aftermarket one. If you do go with a lower cost option - particularly if you're using aftermarket parts - consider checking the components after 2 years or 50,000 miles. I wouldn't expect 100k from them, but then again, if they do fail they seemingly fail at random mileages, not just early.

Indeed! Good point. Hence "in theory", I wasn't totally discounting the idea, but am hesitant on causation. Though, can't be too many other options, so i was considering what physical realities are in play.

Air is a compressible fluid. I never said “assembly would be affected”. When holding a finger over an orifice of a rigid object containing increasingly pressurized air, the PSIs gets noticeable quickly. I meant that I would expect to notice it more commonly or in other circumstances if threads were air sealed - which I don’t think they are. Thread engagement is a mechanical concept distinct from any “sealant”. If you found sealant then that changes the system. You never mentioned sealant in the first thread. It’s an EJ25.... giving up one last burst of head gasket exhaust gases meant for the combustion chamber....lol

I always redo timing gear even if it has a new Subaru belt. I’m not leaving idlers, tensioner, or water pump on a newer Subaru. It seems more common now for cars to have accident history’s. I’m guessing people are less DIY (call insurance rather than buy a used fender), distracted cell phone mishaps, large global population shift to urban areas (up until last year anyway), greed (how can I get insurance to pay for this), and of course reporting is probably more consistent, etc. But I did make that all up. I haven’t read or seen anything documenting that’s true. just a wild guess on little observation. If it has an accident reprinted I can then find out what damage was incurred, where to look (or call) and inspect that repair myself.

You’re doing it way too slowly and quietly if you’re hearing a fraction of a teaspoon of air escaping! Lol

If threads were air tight it seems some would get notably hard to tighten in the process of tightening...I’m thinking this isn’t what’s happening. There are engine assembly bolts (not Subaru) that require sealant when they pass through certain areas as well - because the threads aren’t sealed. In theory threads aren’t engaged fully - one load bearing face of the bolt thread is seated against the facing load bearing edge of the receiving threads. It is not 3 dimensionally tight between the valleys and peaks. This presumably leaves a permanent spiraling air gap all the way up the shaft. Not sure what then happens at the bolt head surface but given most metal to metal areas get orings or gaskets I’m assuming it’s not air tight. Thats “theory” - in practice, an infinite number of interacting variables, some variation of possibilities would present themselves. So if you’re hearing this, no matter the cause, I guess it is right in the beginning when the head leaves the surface, the “potentially” sealed part and before the volume of the bolt hood shaft increases during removal.

Original Subaru gaskets are all that engine needs. In addition to being properly repaired of course. Resurface and follow the FSM.

Carfax is an excellent tool. primary value is *not* maintenance records, but rather - wrecks, police reports, fraudulent activities, stolen, damage, etc. It doesn’t catch all of those, but far higher percent than maintenance records. And many times those situations have legal or financial requirements to be reported. Maintenance records have zero requirements, or even benefit, (it would mean more work and cost to a shop who wants to start reporting), to be recorded. So it’s obvious why records would be less consistent and they shouldn’t be an expectation If it tells you maintenance then you get a lucky bonus, that’s all. I never expect maintenance notes but am delighted if they show up. for maintenance records: 1. Call any shop listed on maintenance records that are available and ask if they have more information. Just because 4 repairs are listed from DooDads garage - doesnt mean they listed every procedure they did on the car or that those listed were complete. 2. Search for stickers under hood, look in owners manual or spare trunk area, for any indication where it was taken and call and ask. 3. And here’s a good one for cars with no records - Find the areas it was previously registered on car fax. Google all the Subaru dealers or independents in those cities. Call all the ones within 40 miles (I’m making up a number, depends on area, etc - you get the point). I’ve had Subaru dealers print me pages of maintenance lists (unexpectedly kind). carfax is a good tool but don’t expect it to do too much.

could probably call a dealer in England for free with an app and ask them yourself. Giles has extensive experience digging into EA82 turbo's in england, might know a good dealer to call.

valve cover gaskets are basically 10 year maintenance items - totally normal to need to replace those on an older vehicle. exhaust parts are available brand new aftermarket. is it just 1 foot sections rusting at flanges and hanger tacks welds or is the entire thing trash, just one section of pipe or the whole thing, how are the rates at the muffler shop, how are they going to repair it? if you're just going to be patching it once a year for $100 you might be better served getting new. a shop i send people to will cut out a rusty flange and weld in pipe for $35-$75. great price. but on some exhausts it's not worth it and replacing the entire section makes more sense.

what he said dealer

Does that help their views? I assume they’ll edit or turn comments off and still get the click/view. Not interested in helping this asinine spam licker.