nipper

There have been two very common reasons for repeat HG failures of subarus. One is use of non-subaru HG's. the other is not refinishing the heads (or milling if you will). I would never do a customers car without sending it to a machine shop for cleaning up the surface at the very least. Thats water under the bridge now, what is done is done. Vacume gauges are really cheap, if you dont have a good compression gauge rent one. As long as it screws into the spark plug hole i'm happy with it. If the numbers are very high the timing is off. Do a dry/wet compression test. Do the vacume test first, as that may just answer our questions. good luck nipper

Open an account at photobucket *free) and post there, as i am having a hard time seeing them too. nipper

Again we are back to needing a vacume gauge. Not lapping the valves is a mistake. Not having the surface finish of the heads refreshed is a mistake. Maybe it is the HG, and not directly the HG fault. http://www.aa1car.com/library/ic697.htm nipper

I'm not convinced you have a HG issue at all, period. If you did you would have over heating at speed, gurgling, loss of coolant the whole schtick. We need more diagnositcs first, and maybe some fresh eyes to look at it. nipper

Not trying to get rid of the codes, trying to restore performance (for now). Clearing out a clogged cat will do that. nipper

Got a vacume gauge handy?

Exhaust hanger? Does it happen at low speeds, higher speeds or all speeds? nipper

Normally I would not agree, but since it is already broken, you cant make it worse (especially since they are getting replaced). nipper

Go out to your car and turn the key normally. Do you hear things click if your not listening for them? It just becomes background noise, so you pay no attention to it. Now go out there and listen for everything that clicks (you may or may not hear them, but there is the main relay, a few others, maybe the fuel pump whiring, maybe not). If the failure is one in 100, or even one in 50, you wont hear the click all the time. I caught it only once out of many anoying failures, and even then it did not register as the starter, it just registered as one of the relays doing their things. nipper

Except it is random when it happens, so it is hard or impossible to do. nipper

No new bolts. Use an online supplier like 1stsubaru.com . Compression test will tell us also if the TB is wrong. nipper

I had one that would click once and never make a sound after that. If you werent listening for the click you didnt notice it. nipper

You are assuming they were ever replaced. Rebuilds are very shoddy sometimes, as the replace only what they find what doesnt work. Sometimes they just clean them up and resell them. nipper

And i now have a new desktop wallpaper. :banana:

I am not going to condem the HG without a compression test of some kind. I like felpro gaskets, I have used them to rebuild engines, but subaru HG should only come from subaru. Aftermarket may not have the lateste version of the HG, or may never even be close. I still say most likely your TB is off.

What he said. Many have been fooled thinking everything is on the mark just to find out its not on the 7th look. nipper

try http://www.lovehorsepower.com/ go to the subaru pages, then the timing belt page

Any vacume line that you can trace back to the intake manifold is good. nipper

Next to the lunar lander base nipper

This is for a 1995 http://www.lovehorsepower.com/SubaruDocs/TimingWaterPump.htm but the pics are great. I think the cam timing is page 2 or 3 also www.endwrench.com in the archives under engine. nipper

yes depending upon which way its off a tooth. Modern computer controls can try to correct for many things, and sometimes manages to do it well, like smooth running at highwya speed but poor running at idle. Also just check the obvious, like a disconnected vac line at the air intake box. nipper

Lets do this. Hit the cats with your hands when they are cold, do they rattle? Spend 19.00 on a engine vacume gauge. tell us exactly what it says and what it is doing. It is an under utilized tool that can tell you so much. http://www.classictruckshop.com/clubs/earlyburbs/projects/vac/uum.htm Where did the O2 snesors come from? How do you know the cats are good?

What he said. It really is a lost art, but on a simple engine like this I say go for it. nipper

Plugs are fine, they come pre gapped. 2 and 4 are on the same side of the engine. Car ran fine before the job. Car runs crummy after #1 cause, timing belt is off a tooth. nipper

Are the cats clogged? Clogged cats can make any car a gutless wonder. What condition is the end of the spark plugs wires in? If the cats are failed your going to have a 420 untill the cats are replaced.