bearbalu

Had to do a head gasket - I replaced my belt after 87K. The old belt looked in great shape - I suspect same for others. So 105K is probably safe conservative number offered by Subaru...of course you never know who the unlucky person will be!

For EJ25, Subaru Service Manual says 11.6 ft-lb. Haynes says 12-13 ft-lb - doesn't call out different numbers for EJ22 or EJ25.

I think 95s have a non-interfererence 2.2L engine as against a 2.5L interference engine introduced in 96 (double check your engine model). So you will be stranded, no damage to engine. Leak is probably from cam/crank seal or oil pump.

Is there an oil leak burning against hot exhaust or the engine burning oil(blue-grey smoke out the tail pipe) . If it is oil leak, head gasket replacement workmanship - seals or oil pump or valve cover gaskets. If engine is burning oil, too bad - can be piston rings or valve guides/seals. Did they do a valve job when head gaskets were replaced ? - could be a problem there....A bad PCV valve I believe can cause the problem too, creating too much oil pressure Is there a Check Engine Light? I read somewhere on the forum that bad ignition coil can cause hesitation problems at low rpm. Do some search and check the coil for correct resistance.

I certainly hope not to have to ever do head gaskets on this car again! If the rear main seal wasn't leaking and one has an automatic tranny or a recently replaced clutch, I wonder if it is less work to do it with engine in the car. Must be a back breaker though! Any advice you would offer to folks doing it with engine in the car?

Glad things worked out!! Did you do it with the engine in the car or you took it out? Kind of funny, but theotherskip traded his Subaru Outback for VW Jetta Wagon!

You can just take the fan and reservoir off without touching the coolant in radiator, thus not requiring an re-burping. You don't have to remove the upper radiator hose to remove the fans - I just did it two days ago. It is possible that he did not put the fan connectors back in properly, leading to overheat from non-operational fan. Did you check if fans work? It is also possible that he might have taken the radiator off for more room to work. To take radiator off, you definitely need to drain the coolant and remove radiator hoses, requiring a refill and burping the system. Did he replace the waterpump? That would definitely requiring draining the coolant as well. Timing mark off by one teeth should not cause a blown head gasket - not that I can think of. Finally, it is not impossible that the two events are not connected. Seems like a sloppy mechanic if marks were off - so it is quite possible they are connected.

Nope I haven't tried removing one plug at a time. You mean try to find a cylinder with no compression or very low compression? Won't very low compression also trigger a CEL? If a cylinder has reasonable compression (even 40 to 50 percent of other cylinders), I would assume that removing the plug wire will change the nature of shake. I am thinking about doing it on cylinder 2 and 4...it's hard to get that tube into spark plug hole with engine in the car!

How does one identify engine mount problems? The engine mounts that fit on cross member are tight - I torqued them to spec. It is hard to see if anything is wrong with engine weight on them - visually they look fine. Is there a way of identifying mount problems short of lifting the weight off the mounts - which would mean I would have to raise the engine.

The car is running great with no CEL. Plug wires are tight. Engine shake is the only problem, feel it at idle. As I said Idle rpms are fine too... Could the shake still be attributed to a problem in ignition or fuel system? Wouldn't a problem in those trigger CEL?

Coolant might have still come off the overflow tank due to overheat without the cap coming off - there is a overflow hole in the overflow tank. Radiator caps never come off. Based on your symptoms in low speed, it could be the fan as well. Does it happen on highway speeds? See http://www.troubleshooters.com/tpromag/200210/200210.htm For basic troubleshooting.

For some initial troubleshooting see: http://www.troubleshooters.com/tpromag/200210/200210.htm For proper thermostat operation, you will have to check lower hose instead of upper hose as mentioned in this article, since thermostat is mounted on lower hose.

For some initial troubleshooting see: http://www.troubleshooters.com/tpromag/200210/200210.htm For proper thermostat operation, you will have to check lower hose instead of upper hose as mentioned in this article, since thermostat is mounted on lower hose.

With heads on. Nor sure about other cars, but on DOHC EJ25, you cannot adjust valve clearance with heads off - one has to bolt heads onto short block, put in valve lifters and valve shims and then put the camshaft...

How can I tell if engine or transmission mount could be the reason for engine shake ? I can only see engine mounts (the one sitting on front cross member) visually, can't see anything else without first raising the engine... Could loose transmission mount cause engine shake? How would I check that?

If the problem is only when tank is full, it might have something to do with evaportative system (for vapors). If you fill the tank only till 1/2 mark everytime, does the problem not happen? If you haven't tried it, try it as well...

Replace and pray that problem would go away is not a good strategy. Will lead to continued symptoms. If cylinder 4 misfire try these simple things: 1. Swap 2 and 4 spark plugs and see if problem moves to 2. 2. Make sure plug wires are in securely. Swap 2 and 4 plug wires and see if problem moves to 2 3. Ensure injectors are working by using a screw driver and listening for clicking sound. Add fuel injector cleaner, just in case injectors are clogged 4. Use an digital meter to ensure right resistances on plug wires/injectors/ignition coil 5. If valves might be sticking, add a solvent for that.

I already reshimed the valves when I took out the heads to do HG. I might try compression test on other cylinders as you suggested.

To ensure that timing belt hadn't skipped a teeth, I took out the left and right timing covers (center cover is blocked by crank pulley). The timing belt seems still fine - The marks on cam sprockets are still as I left them when I first installed it. 105.5 teeth count between left and right cams which is spec for my EJ25 DOHC - Since I can't measure from cranksprocket, this is the next best thing. Spark plug wires - I did the experiment in dark garage - no arcs visible even when I spray with water/lysol!

Keep us informed as to what fixes the problem. I have same problem - will let you know if anything fixes the problem! http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=28998

Check for vacuum leaks on intake system (such as intake manifold gasket). Use a hose and listening against ears for hissing sound...Might be a stuck open EGR valve. Locate it and push with thumb to see if the diaphram can be pushed in... See. http://hostingprod.com/@aa1car.com/library/vacleak.htm

They system can be drained directly at Thermostat housing by putting a big aluminum trey and undoing thermostat bolts. Draining the radiator first might prevent a few splashes...When thermostat comes out, it drains most of the engine block too.

Did you put lots of PB Blaster for a few hrs? If not try it...

Subaru Service Manual with radiator fan diagnostics - it is exhaustive with 15 pages in it. You can subscribe for 3 days for 20 bucks and it would be worth it for future repairs. Alternately, send me a private message with your e-mail and I will e-mail you this particular diagnostics. I think it might be other way round - your low speed fan works, not the high speed. At highway speed, no fan - radiator is cooling of external wind. When you stop, only low speed comes on, bumping up your temp.

I did have a CEL scare after HG replacement. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=27635 I did measure compression on 1 and 2 and it seemed to around 200psi after 6-7 cranks. I didn't do 3 and 4 since they are harder to reach with engine in the car. Spark plug wire resistance measures up okay too. The plugs seem okay. I checked the injectors too and they were fine. Somehow the CEL problem went away mysteriously. Any other ideas? Could it be mechanical - I redid the pitching stopper but didn't make a difference. Engine mounts seem okay too...