Log1call

Cars always shake about when they are run up on axle stands. The axles are at the wrong angles and the tyres or axles if they are out of balance even slightly really shake things up. I'd jack the wheels and put a piece of wood right up against the wheel and then turn the tyre while I watched the gap between the wood and the tyre. If the gap alters by more than two mils then you have a problem. Other than that, I'd get that axle with the torn boot attended to because that could be the trouble. Once the boot lets the grease out they wear and, even if they don't have much wear, let the bits move around and get out of alignment.

Have you had it on a obd scanner? It should/could have recorded the engine operating conditions at the moment that code was set. That should help pin-point whether it was too rich at the time, if the evap systems were malfunctioning etc.

Good link. Can we get that stickied or added to the FAQ data base somehow?

"If I turn the drivers cam to close the valves, won't it be pointing at 6:00?" Hmmm, I'm not sure, I'd have to go pull one apart to check. The general idea though is to use simple observation of the cams, and a knowledge of the ignition timing, to figure which cam should be where next etc... and ensure the timing is correct. I have had to use similar methods before and it works generally. If you put a screwdriver between the cam and rocker you might be able to lift the valves a little and check how far they can move before hitting the heads?

If the heads get shaved too much they start to give trouble with over-compression and knocking causing trouble so I'd doubt it is that. The cam timing wouldn't get changed because of a block or head shave either.

Bheinen, in what way are they designed to pull to one side? I have been a mechanic for thirty something years and have read lots of workshop and body repair manuals and have never read anything to suggest cars are designed or adjusted to pull to one side. What do you base your statement on? Me being a mechanic and reading a lot does not of course ensure that there isn't something I could have overlooked, so all my opinions are simply that, unprovable opinion. If you know cars are designed to pull to one side though, it must be because you have encountered some evidence it is so.. And should be easy to prove.. Care to share with me what or where you read?

Not using fuel additives? Engine sealers are all cat/O2 approved? Exhaust is getting hot enough? That code is fairly specific and not prone to being something else if it's by itself. It compares the before and after readings and expects the second O2 sensors readings to range more slowly from above mid point to below mid point of their range. It is not comparing how far but how fast they range, so it's fairly fool-proof. i'd suspect something is polluting your cat.

Like using the wrong marks perhaps? I agree, it should be simple. If there had been a bent valve the first time then it should have been cured with new heads, unless the new ones were bent already, or have been bent in the mean time. As I read the initial post he set the crank before the second cam was in position. That could have bent a valve even if it hadn't been bent running with the belt out of alignment. You'd hope though, that the new heads would have been turned a little more cautiously.

From the manual... Valve train noise (clacking sound). Operate the engine for approximately one (1) hour before diagnosing HLAs as the problem. b. If the rocker shaft relief valves are plugged, the rocker shaft oil pressure will increase during low engine temperature operation This could result in the HLAs being forced part way out of the rocker arm sockets. A clacking sound may be produced which is similar to collapsed HLAs. Engine misfire may also occur during this condition. If the relief valves will not hold pressure, the HLAs may collapse, again producing a clacking sound.

Turn the crank till it's a bit off tdc. Turn one cam till both front valves are shut. Turn the other head till both front valves are shut. Look to see which marks are nearly lined up and move the cams to those marks. Turn the crank to tdc.

If they still have friction material on them then it won't be causing the squeal. It's probably rust where the shoes rub against the pistons or backing plate or, there is dust in there causing the noise. It's not recommended to blow the dust out anymore(hint) so you could wash them out and then go for a drive to dry them out. I'd also look for where they touch the backplate and smear a TINY SMEAR of grease on that spot while I was in there.

"I could line up the passenger cam at 12:00," because the crank was down a bit, "but I couldn't get the crank and driver's side cam to line up" because the crank being turned made it hit the second head's valve, which prevented the second cam being turned. Changing heads didn't prevent the same thing happening again unfortunatly.

You need to turn the crank off tdc, then position the cams, then put the crank at tdc.

How do you fellahs figure that cars are meant to pull to one side? There is nothing in their construction or set-up that would cause that. The cars are designed and built symetricaly,(well with regards all we are discussing anyway), and I have never seen a set of alignment figures yet that says to set one side differently to the other. So what is it in their design that is responsible for this "safety faeture"?

Gloyale. Yes I have worked on these motors and yes the valves can be a little inconvenient to get out. That is no reason not to do them though. Cleanliness, along with being through, is absolutely critical to getting perfect results every time.

The axle pulls up against the inner bearings inner race and the disk/hub pulls up against the outer bearings inner race. The nut holds the two inner bearing races tightly together which applies the correct amount of preload to the bearings. It is important to tighten the axle nut while the wheel is still up in the air though, otherwise there is a possibility that the bearing inner races may not align correctly. I always rotate the wheel as I tighten the nut and then loosen, rotate and tighten again to ensure everything is aligned and square, then I tighten the nut fully once the car is on the ground. With new bearings in good housings there should be no play at the wheel from the bearings.

Read up on toe in, toe in on turns, caster, camber, king-pin inclination and wheel offset and then adjust your alignment after carefull analysis and by trial and error till the settings are all in balance and your tyres don't wear! Simple.

Once you have the heads off, it is false economy not to lap the valves. They need to come out anyway to ensure the heaads are clean when you put them back on. You can not ensure they are spotless if the valves are still in there. If the valves don't really need a lapping in... then it only takes a minute each valve to clean them up with the paste. If though, when you start to lap them in, you find a pit or warped valve, then it is just as well you are doing it, even though it is going to take several minutes for each valve. It is the difference between being thorough and not, between a good job and a poor one. Once you have lapped and polished the valves you can fit the new valve guide seals and it is all good for the next hundred thousand miles.

To tell if it's wheel bearing. or an axle noise. go for a drive and swerve moderatly hard from left to right. If it's a wheel bearing the noise will get noticably louder when the caar's weight leans on the outside wheel, then it will go quieter as the weight comes off it again as the swerve goes the other way. If it's a diff or axle noise the noise will probably not get louder with the swerving but is likely to change with a change of throttle.

250 grit is fine. I have been using it for years and it gives a much smoother finish that the grinding stones do. Any finer and you will be there all day getting nowhere if there are pits to remove.

It sounds like a leaking valve to me, leaking or not timed properly, or too tight,eg no clearance. Hydraulic lifters perhaps? If they are miss-timed I'd expect the performance to be down right through the rev range.. Dull and flat with more noise than go. With a leaking valve, there can be enought leakage at low revs to have a significantt effect on compression and running, but at higher revs the small leak doesn't have as much effect on the overall compression because there isn't time for much air to leak out... so the performance becomes as it should be at revs. A vacuum gauge should confirm a mechanical fault like a leaking valve.

I don't think gutting the cats will get rid of the code. It shouldn't. The ecu is expecting to see a slower rate of swing out of the rear sensor than the front sensor. If the cats aren't working, or have been gutted, the swing rate is going to be the same front and rear, which is what the ecu is reporting at the moment. I'd be trying to find out what is causing the cats to be polluted, then I'd be trying to burn them clean before replacing them. They can recover f the conditions are returned to normal and they haven't been polluted too badly, or by some specific compounds. I don't suppose your mechanics could have used an engine sealing compound that wasn't cat/O2 friendly?

The sprockets, I would imagine, are like the older ones and offset so the left and right sides line up... the L/R cylinders are offset front and rear remember? So one set will be concave and the other convex, well not actually, but sort of, if you get what I mean. Have you used the correct mark on the crank alignment though? A compression test will probably not show anything. For a blown head-gaskey to effect the running you would have to have other symptoms, like water loss, pressurised radiator etc. A "Teekay" or comparable hydro-carbon test of the cooling system wil show a slightly blown head-gasket though so you could get one of those tests done. Are you sure the injector wires are connected properly, and to the right place. Did you lap the valves when you did the heads? Perhaps the leaking gaskets had caused leaky valves but you hadn't noticed before doing the heads. Describe this bad idling to us, perhaps someone will click what it is with a better discription. Start it cold and take note of every symptom and state till it warms up. Can you connect a laptop to it and record some data? Ignition timing, revs, throttle position, injector pulse width, ISC valve duty cycle? Can you connect a vacuum gauge and do some tests with that?

Use a bit of ten mill thick glass the size of a wet and dry sheet. Get some one-fifty grit to start and have the glass and paper on top and move then diagonaly as well as left to right and up and down. Use plenty of crc or kerosene for lube and washing. You are more likely to find corrosion pits are your problem on a subaru's short heads. If they are warped at all get a clean surface all over and then carry on till any pits are gone. Two-fifty grit will be plenty fine enough to finish off with. The finished surface is meant to be slightly marked/dull, not a mirror finish(which will take hours to acheive and is not desirable anyway). I always run the glass and paper over heads before deciding whether they need to go to the shop for a grind. The shops like it that their grinding stone doesn't get fouled and often I don't need to have them ground anyway. Softness of the heads is more likely to be an issue if the heads have been real hot. You might like to ask someone how good heads should sound or behave when you tap them. There is a lot of sales propaganda about about having to grind heads everytime but it is bull************. If the heads are flat, and don't have corrosion pits, then they are fine.

Ha, don't tell anyone I said this but... Perhaps you can push the wires just right and it will stay good. A little wooden wedge jammed in somewhere? Just kidding. Managing to reproduce the fault is the most important step in a diagnosis really. With out that, you can never be sure you have cured the problem. It sounds like you have found your problem(almost). Now to find the cure.