idosubaru

swapped the belt tensioner and alternator and appears the noise went away. the chirping decscription is exactly what this one was doing.

you won't have the bellhousing bolt difference in a 99 and 2005. shouldn't be piston damage as there's no valve to piston interference.

right remove the timing belts, then valve covers, cam carrier, then heads. you probably don't have to remove the cam sprocket but i always do since there's a seal and oring under there that's silly not to replace while it's all apart anyway. no special tools needed to do headgaskets, just typical socket sets and stuff. timing alignment is easy when you reassembled. cam sprockets have a guide pin and can only be installed one way. once the sprockets are installed timing belt installation is easy, lots of info on here about that. do yourself a huge favor and use Fel Pro permatroque headgasktes so you don't have to retorque them, that's a huge pain. on subaruxt.com we have the Subaru XT service manuals available for free download. Section 3 is the engine section where the headgasket stuff is. that's EA82 so would be the same for you.

the bearings are locked up probably, not that unheard of with EJ25's. i've pulled one with TC attached and gotten the TC off. if you want to keep the heads, like for parts then it's just another step to remove all the bolts holding the block halves together. chisel and hammer the seam and the block halves will split apart about an inch or so. there's a bolt and/or nut behind the torque converter you can't get to but that won't keep the block halves from separating enough to get the engine to turn. once the block halves are a part, work the crank back and forth and it'll free up enough to turn. once you do that then it'll turn and you can remove the TC. it's not too bad of a job really, much easier than the pulling the engine part, but i keep the heads for later use so i'm already partially disassembling the thing. *** the block will be ruined this way as the boss for the bolt/nut behind the torque converter will crack/break as you're separating the block halves. so you don't want to do that if you're rebuilding, but few folks do that and the block isn't worth much more than scrap since blown EJ25's are easy to find.

what he said about the PVC coupler. for the crank seal i drive it in while the oil pump is off the car. you're not *supposed* to do it that way but i've always done it that way with no issues. i've used sockets before but i forget what size and engines/seals it works for.

if it's that inconsistent, only when cold, then you're right it's probably something minor that's not going to show with a basic inspection. have the axles or boots ever been replaced? sounds like it's an aftermarket axle or was rebooted too late at some point.

make sure you're getting a good bleed for sure. did you check for leaks? the caliper pistons can leak but the fluid gets retained behind the dust boot around the piston. that's the rubber boot surrounding the top of the piston as it sits in the caliper. under that boot can be wet and leaking and it won't come out on a very slow leak when it first starts. i guess you don't have any rust at all in the PNW do you? if there's any rust in the back then the brake lines running across the top of the crossmember tend to leak first if there's anywhere to leak due to rust. subaru MC's and PB's rarely have issues so proceed cautiously. every time i've guessed those i've been wrong so far!

thing is the ozone works every time. it's interesting how it works...something about ionizing the actual molecules...and being a gas it gets into and reacts with everything, that's why it works %100 of the time even on stuff considered impossible by any other method. next time you need it - try it, they're great. one confusing point is that "studies" say things like "There's no conclusive evidence that it works within the limits suggested by the EPA" - or something like that. but these machines crank out...and here's the part you need to be careful about...LETHAL amounts of it. it's extremely dangerous but so is gas if you drink it! you don't mess around or take chances, but the people and research that say it doesn't work don't test the toxic levels necessary to accomplish this. i run a power cord, have everything ready, hit the button, close the door and leave it overnight then let it air out. i'm not sure "how long it takes", i've always just left it overnight as i'm renting it and don't want to risk not getting it all. it's used extensively by folks in the fire restoration business, car business, mold and mildew restorations, etc and i'm surprised fewer folks are aware of it.

you're right, there's little difference really, i changed my wording. i'm just miffed how hard this one i have is to sell...i can move legacy's to the first test driver usually. ah, wish i would have known that. an ozone generator would have done it, they're amazing. they actually neutralize organic odors and it's a gas so it gets in every passage, nook, and space. smoke, animal, mold, mildew. local tool/equipment rental places carry them and you can order them online and mail them back. clean it out, let it run overnight in a vehicles interior and then run the HVAC for a while too. make sure you get the foot carpet pads and underneath of them exposed.

yep what he said - if you have a check engine light then start there. the VDC on/off button was added in 2002 so the car must be shutting it off itself for some reason.

$500-$750 if it's in really nice shape. if it was overheated for a year and is an auto trans then it's possible the ATF has been overheated too. not sure how hot the ATF gets if the engine and coolant is overheating but it's piped through the rad. if that's pushing dangerous ATF temps then i'd be more cautious. lean towards a legacy. they offer little over a legacy. they're less desirable in my area, no one wants them making them harder to resell. not that you plan on reselling it but still. foresters are nice though, so nothing wrong with finding a good deal on one.

orings are easy - i got enormous amounts of those. i've got two huge packs of those. interested in the schrader valves. are there many different sizes or just a few? got my tools loaded, i'm just going to remove one in the parking lot and see.

Looking to replace orings and schrader valves to seal up EJ stuff. Anyone have the valve sizing info or tips? I did back in maryland but that place had bins of parts, don't think these places in WV have quite that kind of selection last I checked.

i'd consider 250,000 miles high mileage. it's market value is significantly diminished and would be considered high mileage but it's service value could be rather lengthy so keep driving it. it's worth another timing belt job, that's for sure, particularly if you can do the work yourself. get the ebay kits with new pulleys and keep going. your year/model yes is more reliable in some terms. if the headgaskets ever started leaking you could probably drive another 50,000 miles on them - so that won't keep you from 300,000 probably unless you're unlucky. i'd do a coolant drain and refill with Subaru's required coolant additive for this motor for good measure. or at least add a bottle of the required conditioner, that's probably what i'd do if the coolant seemed in good condition.

nice hit, aftermarket axles are junk, so keep your good axles as long as possible. wayne, doesn't post very often, offers some tips on refreshing/rebuilding your axles with the axles you already have. he explains it here: http://subaruxt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8956&hilit=axle+wayne with his write up here: http://www.scifaith.com/clickers/ though i'm not sure i fully understand what he's doing because it seems like you get the same thing, but i'm just seeing it wrong. right, cheap zip ties definitely won't hold that.

odometer or gas mileage? there's so many variable that any feedback you get will mean almost nothing about your vehicle. i had a 55,000 mile Legacy GT that locked up the bottom end this summer. then others with gobs of miles. which would you like to hear about? if you're interested in gas mileage then is yours auto/manual and what kind of driving?

thanks rooster, i forgot to mention I put the stethoscope on that pulley as well and got nothing. it seems closer to the top and likely the p/s or alt - but with the engine noise and my weak hearing it very well could be one of the three. so thanks for complicating this! i guess the easy thing to do would be to swap that pulley first then alternator second. both of those are really easy. *** are SOHC and DOHC alt's interchangeable? p/s pump isn't hard just annoying with the fluid and all.

SOHC EJ25. Got a light chirping noise - like bearing-ish from either the alternator or power steering pump. Fluid in the pump appears fine and with a mechanics stethoscope I really can't tell. I place the probe on the front and back where the shaft would be and don't hear anything confirming from either one. No symptoms, steering and revving the engine don't add or change anything. Anything else I can try?

nice hit on finding it at rockauto. a search of that number here or on google brings up confirmation that it's the right number. here's a USMB link to one for sale: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5334&highlight=15010AA036

all the following are used by folks on here and have good discounted internet pricing: subarugenuineparts.com 1stsubaruparts.com auburn subaru liberty subaru there's no answer to "best price" really because each has different methods of charging for shipping and that could vary based on your location and what parts you're buying. price shop if you're that price conscious. if not, then just pick one and roll with it.

rust is so annoying. you probably know this but just in case, if it's really tight, just turn it like one turn then go check your email, have a break, change the oil, etc. then turn it another 180 or 360 degrees. give it time to cool between turns. if it's really tight and you keep cranking it, it just generates heat, making it expand, and weakening the metal. a turn - cool down - a turn - cool down, will save a lot of rusted bolts. annoying, but it helps immensely. if you ever have a hard to remove bolt you can feel the threads afterwards and some i've seen were too hot to touch they were so hot just from unthreading. i've never heard of cambered bolts in the rear, that's interesting.

other than cleaning they also test before and after flow rates, spray patterns, and if they leak or not. if you're trying to track down a specific problem and running issues or want another 200,000 miles out of this car you might want to use them, if it's just preventative maintenance kind of stuff then do it yourself.

on this motor i'd suggest to keep things simple. it's best to aim for reliability on this motor as they have too many issues with eating head gaskets, heads, and blocks, if you push them. plugs, wires, cap, rotor, complete timing belt kit off ebay, reseal the oil pump, and new water pump. subaru thermostat (the aftermarkets are visually toy-like in comparison) and PCV valve. do those things and also seal up any wet seals while the timing belt is off (crank, cam seal, and cam cap orings) for reliability. any hint of overheating needs to be fixed IMMEDIATELY on this engine. these things eat head gaskets and heads for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. and the radiator, radiator hoses, coolant cross over hoses, turbo hoses, intake manifold gaskets (with coolant passages through them), head gaskets, heater core hoses, throttle body hoses, turbo hoses.....they're all (or most of the) a quarter of a century old, that's a lot of age on hoses and gaskets. lots of room to leak and cause cooling issues which this motor is famous for.

that's a great way to end up with a decent subaru for cheap. don't look at it like winning the lottery, it's more like seeing a rainbow, blown EJ25's are easy to find. the early motors are not direct swaps for the EJ25, the wiring is all wrong since it's OBDI instead of OBDII. but that's easy to work around - pretty sure you just get a 1995-1998 EJ22 intake manifold with EGR and bolt it right on top of the older gen EJ22 (91-94) and then it'll be plug and play into the EJ25 vehicle.

no man....i never could find the freaking thing. i still haven't removed the glove box since someone mentioned that needs to come out though. maybe that's holding me up, i hope so because i wasn't getting anywhere and it was annoying. funny thing - my locks have worked perfectly since scrounging around back there so that's reduced my desire to wrestle with it.