nipper

Lets stop beating up subaru on this. Every Mfg from this period on have at least one engine with a HG issue. With subaru they only use really two or three engines, with the 2.5 built to the very edge of what the engine can do. Some mfg told customers to go screw. Chrysler comes to mind as well as Range Rover (their engines would overheat so bad the cylinder liners would shift). Others came up to bat, and others as they realized how big the issue was came around. 136,000 miles and a failed headgasket is not necassarily something that can be blamed on subaru. The older any car gets the more the chances are of a blown HG. Engine ping and coolant contamination for instance are part of the equation. One of the causes of this was new emissions stds and a hp/mpg war that followed. It takes time to fully test a car for 100K, some use 140K. Test protocol, depending upon the level of failure, requires starting the test all over again. Some just dyno test the engine for X hours, which is not real world driving. The issue was industry wide. The three layer HG was a new design to deal with higher combustion pressures and temps required for HP output and emissions. The materials were not quite up to the job, so they had to be constantly tweaked. Add in an open deck or semi open deck design it just adds to the issues. You make it sound like every HG fails in every subaru, it doesnt. In fact an internal failure for this year is rare. Usually it is an external leak. Without knowing how the previous owner took care of the car, subaru can not be blamed for this one. nipper

It is basically chicken soup for soobys, it couldnt hurt.

Coolant jacket getting pressurized = combustion gasses pressurzing cooling system = bad headgasket

Scangauge. Plugs into the OBD2-Canbus port.

Usually you tell them apart by the color they are painted

Thats where I would go too. nipper

2nd fan only comes on with AC. WHy not start with the simple and replace the radiator cap first?

My mistake but you are better equipped then most to do it. ANother thing to check on a really cooked engine is the cylinder liners. If they have shifted game over, engine is scrap.

If you are going to replace the HG, and since you are a pro, I would say either go for it or rebuild. Usually the issue with a sooby bottom end isnt the mains but the connecting rods. Crunch the numbers see what works better. HYou can always tear down the engine then decide.

I've heard mixed reviews. You have the advantage of having the engine delivered to a shop and the tools to easily deal with it. I always questioned the logistics of returning one if it is bad.

Lets try an experiment. Shift the car yourself. If it is heavy traffic leave it in 2nd or 1st. There are only three sources to overheat a tranny. 1- a clogged or failed Transmission heat exchanger in the radiator (best scenario) 2- slipping clutches 3- trailer towing. I am guessing a failed transmission heat exchanger. Do you have an external tranny filter on this car (I think you do). Change the filter to start. Next would be to replace the heat exchanger with a large sized cooler. Cheap ones work just as well as expensive ones. I would bypass the failed heat exchanger all together. If that solves the problem, before winter you need to get an oil thermostat. They are not cheap but shop around you can get one for 60.00 ish. I would invest in a tranny fluid temp gauge. Tranny fluid should never exceede 100 degrees over ambiant temp. Lets hope that is the issue. The tranny shop should have diagnosed the bad heat exchanger. They are evil places, especially if it starts with an A nipper

My concern is always blow-by but i on ocassion get some pushback on that one. My rule still stands at 180K replace engine at 160K go over engine with a fine tooth comb and move on from there I do like the 2.2 idea

Well you answered your own question, replaced engine. I worked for a well known auto parts mfg. An Aftermarket (AM) suppliers has literally 1000's of HG to keep track of. The original part the 1st used may be fine for years. On the other hand, they hit one where the OE may have to tweak it 4,5,6,7 times. OE may have an entire engineering and testing department dedicated to solving a issue which is costing them much bucks on warranty claims. AM has maybe 3-7 engineers and maybe 10-20 techs making sure parts interchange. They can do some testing. They can even do some life testing, but they do not do real engine testing or dyno testing for non-performance parts. When OE comes out with part XXXX.0 and then comes out with everything in between to finally XXXX.7 all dealers will be told to send the old desgn back (for something that has failed) or to scrap it. It may take AM years or multiple complaints to readress a part, unless they have high volume part with inside information. Most AM parts are sold to cars that have miles or age on them. If a second HG fails, rarely does the AM here about it. Also remember that OE and AM are in competition with each other, so OE is not quick to share info or design changes with AM. Ocasionally you will get lucky where an AM supplies OE, b ut even then contractually they have to supply OE first.

non subaru HG's BAD. I love felpro but for HG i always go back to OE no matter the make. The answer really is what kind of condition the car is in and how long do you want to keep it. If it is great and another few years or more, I would go with a used engine. If the car is in poor condition I would go the cheap route.

Why do you need an entire knuckle? Or what are you calling a knuckle. Subarus are giant lego sets. There are very few parts that are not interchangable between powertrains. I would say they are all the same. I use http://opposedforces.com/parts/ as a source for cross checking part numbers.

AWD tanks have a hump in them to allow the drivesahft to operate. The dual sender tanks also have a siphon type pump that transfers fuel from one side of the tank to the other. The Senders are in series. The total resistance is split between the two of them. A 2wd tank does not have this dirveshaft issue so only one sender. The fuel level gauge really does not care what is hooked up in the rear of the car, otherwise people would be specifying (as you pointed it out) a 2wd or awd dash. nipper PS we all know sooby gas gauges are more for decoration anyway

hehehehehe

A grasshopper... 1- It is the lifetime of the 1st part, not the lifetime of the car. 2- Why do the same job over many times when you can do it just once and get it right the first time. 3- They never fail in your driveway the 2nd time. i went through 4 alt in one year because they were poorly rebuilt (including autozone). Rebuilt in aftermarket means replacing the part that is bad not, not replacing all the replacable parts. OE rebuilds replace all the parts that can wear out. Subaru had it for 79.00 on sale, not going to say how much the others cost.

Personally I would always source stuff from subaru first (as they can sometimes be cheaper). I have gotten burned on aftermarket parts and roos. I agree battery is cooked too. Inspect the battery cables for any sign of overheating. nipper

It is very simple. Look at a haynes manual, but it is very straight forward. Use line wrenches for the brake lines. No need to mess with the ABS and it is all startight forward to bleed.

Master cylinder is bad. Pressure is bypassing the seals so your pedal sinks. Fix it asap.

I am assuming we are talking 2.5's as I have a diff opinion on 2.2's. No matter what you do, after an overheat an oil change is very important. Before you really dig into taking anything apart, remove the radiator and flush it immediatly. If you leze it exposed to air, with antifreeze, a smattering of oil and goo from combustion, it will all turn to glue and clog the radiator. Just give it a good rinse.

There is a reason that you need a mgic black box when you rent a trailer. Cars with 2 bulb systems need some electrical wizardry to convert them to a 1 bulb dual filamint system. You are back feeding voltage someplace in the system, possibly to the taillights causing a short. It could be your backfeeding to other places. Put them back to the way they were as this, as simple as it sounded at the time, is more complicated then you give it credit for.

A Well maintained engine will have the original cross hatching. It means it had regular oil changes, never overheated, and no mechanical damage. Opposed engines are good at lasting since the opposed forces all cancle eachother out. The rings however 200K is 200K on thin peices of metal going through a little bit of hell everytime there is a boom. On a subaru I wouldnt be afraid of a 100K engine.

A vacume gauge would help too.