Gnuman

I'm with the rest of them, if you are not overheating, or loosing coolant, then do not go dumping money into it yet. If the HG's start to give you trouble, then is the time to swap them out. That is unless you are doing your own work and like taking your engine apart for fun. . .

Here ya go =>

Perhaps it simply is lonely for the open road, and wants to keep driving?

OK, I will agree with you that the original EJ25 is probably the worst engine Subaru ever made 9meaning it is only 3x better than any other engine,versus Subaru's regular 10X better), but the later models of the EJ25 are a lot better than this. If you do find yourself backed into a corner due to the limited availability of the EJ22 engine, go for an '03 or later, as that was the year they (supposedly) finally fixed the headgasket problem. The original problem (internal headgasket failure between the combustion chanber and the cooling jacket) was "corrected" with a new headgasket design (much better than the original one) which may solve the problem entirely, barring mechanical failure (broken parts). the 99-03 EJ25 SOHC has a a smaller problem with the headgasket leaking to the outside world, which Subaru "solved" with an additive (stop leak) that they believe in enough to extend the warranty to 100K miles if you add it. That is a fairly strong vote of confidance in my book. Engine issues aside, the Outback generally gets more goodies, as it has the name recognition, and therefore higher "value". If you are driving it yourself, and deep snow is not an issue, I would get the Legacy, as you will get it a bit cheaper, and it handles a good bit better. I was test driving an Outback that I was fixing (bought it to repair and resell) and came up on some of the corners that I regularly drive in my 92 Leg. The '92 has bad shocks 9worn) and the Outback had really good shocks (tested them after this), the outback dipped to the point I thought it was gonna roll, where the 92 Leg just sailed through the corners almost like they were not even there. . . Will it go 250K miles? I say yes on any of them. Great gas milage? Go for the Legacy (less drag, taller gears) Handling? Legacy there, by a good measure. Manual or Auto? Manual. Much better performance, and better reliability. My vote is for a early Legacy wagon (98 or before) so you get the EJ22. 96 or earlier is best, as those are non interference engines, and more reliable. with a manual transmission

Having done it several times, the tranny is the easier way to go (by far) unless you are doing other work on the engine (like headgaskets or somesuch).

Not on a '91 EJ22. Those have Hydraulic Lash Adjusters, and do not need valve adjustments. If the valves are tapping that bad, check that the oil is of the correct viscosity (10W30 is good for winter, 10W40 for summer), and at at the correct level. If this does not fix it, and you have no oil leaks, it may be that one or more of the HLAs are sticking. clean them out with Carb Cleaner, and you should be good to go. Otherwise, you could just go ahead and replace all of them to be sure, but that is usually an unnessary expense. The engine that I opened up with a bad valve tap had one that was bad (O-ring gone) and a couple of sticking ones. I cleaned them all up (Immerse in a cup of carb cleaner, use a small drift punch to open the check valve, and work the lash adjuster several times, to get the cleaner all through it , then do the same in clean oil to "pre-fill" it, and replace it in the rocker arm. Do one at a time, and inspect each one for proper sealing of the check valve, and condition of the O-ring.) the engine will run very poorly for a few minutes until the oil pressure releases the check valve, and the HLA finds it's correct height. then all is well. Do not use a wire brush on these, and do not pull them out with pliers. If they stick, spray a bit of the carb cleaner on them to loosten up the gumming that is making them stick in the first place. you may pop them out gently with a small flat bladed screwdriver, if you are very carefull not to distort the metal you are prying under.

Beezer, the car in question is an automatic (I can put the quotes from the original poster that tell us this, if you want), but your comment that Torque Bind "will not be an issue" with a manual is just false. Yes the Automatics have much more of an issue with the bind, but it is not limited to them entirely. I do agree that including engine|trans|model|year info would help us to diagnose common problems, however. JrFreak, The light on the dash that you are seeing is to indicate that the transmission is in FWD mode, so that you know that you are only driving two wheels at this time. the 75w90NS gear oil is for the differentials, and is not what you want to use in your transmission. You need the ATF recomended for your transmission (Dextron/Mercron III, if I remember correctly), and you can all but do the flush yourself. Change the tranny fluid, drive a few days, then change it again, being sure to do tight circles in a parking lot (in both directions) after each change. If this does not work, then you have more of a problem, and you will need to have the transmission serviced/rebuilt.

Mine has a bit of rust, just enough to make it stick just a bit every now and then. . I blasted it with penetrating oil, then put a few drops of regular lightweight machine oil where ie pivots, and all is well now.

Well, they are not in the car door. . . Unless that pic is just to show off the nice wagon you have (in which case, this should have been posted in the wagons only thread. . .). How about a few more hints?

Skanky, your experiences are a great segway into my comment that with HG repairs, your experince will vary according to the competance of the shop doing the work. Any shop that takes 6 tries to fix a headgasket (and still not fix it all the way) is a shop that I would stay far away from with my car. From your description, I would guess that they either nicked the valve cover gaskets, used old baked ones, or did not install the new ones correctly. That is most likely where the oil is coming from. . .

Update: I'm not going with the swap. The struts do not work (and that is one of the most important things to me), and there are two issues with the wheels/tires. The first issue is that I would be going from a tire that I can get (in good quality) for $60 or so. The new tire size would require twice that for the same quality. No go. Second, I test drove those wheels, and on my chasis/suspension they "stick" in hard turning (stop to stop), meaning I have to pull them off of the stops instead of just letting the steering recenter on it's own. I do a bit of tight clearance driving, and this is a deal-killer for me. The main advantage with trhis setup would have been the brake upgrade that it would have made possable, and the sexier wheel set. What I would have gotten out of the deal does not offset the added costs. . . so I'm back on my older alloys, and looking for new rubber to put on them. . .

Heh, like a fungus? (sorry, couldn't resist)

Richierich, you owe me a new keyboard. . . I wanna steal that quote.

Hmmm, the OB sits 3" higher that the Leg. You gained 2". Does that mean I would loose 1"? I may have to go with the OB W struts that are also in the shop. Don't want to, though, as I have driven OBWs. they are like boats compared to my Leg. When I hit a curve fast, they dip like they want to roll over. They never do, mind, but the one I would be grabbing the struts from did. . . I can't afford to loose any height as the hitch already hits on steep driveways and such. Perhaps if I used my old springs? Perhaps the GT struts and the OBW springs (for height)?

They thread in the same way as the left side. I recomend using the flats on the camshaft (under the cam cover) that are there for the purpose of giving you something to hold while you torque down the cam sprocket bolts. Use a 25mm (1") open end wrench to hold it.

Well, for one they use a larger bulb, which dissapates heat better and does not burn out as fast.

The struts I'm considering are from an '01 Legacy GT sedan 5MT (anyone need any of the other parts? Engine is taken already, most body parts are toast, but the interior is untouched, except for the deployed airbags. . .) to replace the totally gone struts on my '92 wagon. the GT weighs 200Lbs more than the wagon, so I know they are strong enough. I'm just wondering what this will do to the ride height and handling (I suspect that GT struts should give a good showing). I'm also considering swapping on the 16" wheels at the same time. This may be a bit tight, though, as that would be going from a 14" tire to a 16". . . Will post pics if I do the swap and it works well. I was wondering if any of you have any input on any of these mods. My usage is "mostly on road" " 'Spirited' driving" and a bit of towing. I do hit dirt from time to time, and would like a setup that will handle this usage when needed. . . I do not want to loose any ride height (would rather gain an inch or two, particularly in back), or handling ( This car holds the road like it is bolted to it).

Most likely, he is trying to reduce his wheel weight. The weight of the wheel factors into how much power is needed to turn it.

Glad you got that sorted out Vic. Now that you have both halves of your engine, you should get about twice the milage as with only half. . .

At about 100 miles after clearing the codes, we get P1507 as a code. THis translates to "Idle Air Control underspeed error" or somesuch. Autozone pulled the codes (actually, they lent me the tool so I could), and looked up the resulting code (which came close to what was displayed on the screen). I suspect a dirty IAC valve, and perhaps VSS2. Now I do not loose the Cruise control when I get the CEL, so I suspect this is an intermitant problem if it actually is the VSS. I cleared the codes this AM, and got a CEL within 30 miles. . . Perhaps it is getting worse. . .but I did not loose power like I did the earlier times. . . I'm also having an issue with the hydraulic clutch system. The clutch slave does not seem to hold the preload well (and I end up having to push the pedal almost to the floor to get any clutch action at all)

Oil pump seal and o-ring, tighten up the screws in the back of the oil pump, the pullys are actually metal, with sealed berrings. Get the CA spec belt as it has a longer interval between changes (better belt). Cam seals are optional. If you are replacing the WP, get a new thermostat and gasket to go with. YOu can push the tensioner in enough to put a pin into it (2mm) before taking it out so you do not have to reset it. I would reinforce the pin with a C clamp to be sure.

I think that really says it all right there. Emily is my first Subie (a Legacy wagon), and I fell in love with teh car the second I opened the hood (I'm a bit of a gearhead, and the layout of the engine is wonderful), then I looked underneath (and fell in love all over again). . . Then I drove it, hard. . . Now I'm never going back. You will get my Subaru away from me when you pry my cold dead fingers from the wheel. How many other cars will ever have have loyalty like that?

These valves are adjusted using shims that are replaced if they are found to be out of tolerance. This is a major hassle as when you loosten the cam berrings, you change the clearance (it shouldn't, I know, but it does). For that reason, you need a special tool to push down on the valve caps in order to remove the shim for measurement. Then you measure the old shim with a micrometer, and order a new shim by taking the measured clearance, the thickness of the shim, and the difference you need to bring it into adjustment into account. This is a major PITA, and perhaps a lot of the reason they went to SOHC in the second gen of the engine, which are much easier to adjust the valves on. The '96 DOHC had Hydraulic adjusters, but I do not know if they fit. If they do, it may be worth getting 16 of them and retrofitting. This is only worth it if you plan on keeping the engine for several hundred more miles. . .

There are no sensors on the valve covers of the 2.5L DOHC. There is a breather on top of each cover, and the cam angle sensor is on the cam seal housing on the front of the left intake cam. This is not on the camshaft cover itself, but may liik like it. That is the only sensor I can think of anywhere close to the cam covers.

OK, update time. New exaust valve in #3, new head gaskets, new valve cover seals, timing belt, crank and cam seals (if you are going to take the damn engine apart, why go halfway?) and a new clutch later, the engine runs great. . for about 100 miles. After that time, the ECU kills #3 and #4 (guessing, the engine goes back to the stuttering condition that it had, and has no power). This is definitely pointing to the ECU killing the firing, as when I pull fuse #14 ("unit backup" which feeds the memory in the ECU) the car runs fine. I had been running for a while with a CEL thrown, and thought that was it. it was not. that CEL was the temp sensor (silly me for forgetting to plug it in ). Fixed that and cleared the codes (temp sensor, and IAC). Ran great for 100 miles, then CEL comes on, and no power (coupled with the rough idle, and a stuttering sound from the exaust). I can get sounds from the exaust both under normal ops, and with the CEL thrown. I'll be grabbing the codes tomorrow, and will post them. My question is this: is there any condition that would cause the ECU to cut power to #3 and #4? The car is not overheating at all (my first guess, because the temp sensors were unplugged), and the timing is good (or it would not run well at all. . .). Plugs are all new, the coilpack is good, the wires are good, and the ignitor is good. ECU is new, and I'll bet the old one does the exact same thing as the new one. The IAC code I got was "Idle control, aux inputs" which I took to mean the IAC valve. Any lights out there?