Deeron

I live on a remote island in Alaska where we have only one guy who machines cylinder heads and he said he can't do Subaru heads because they are too soft. So I assure you, there is no one here who can do it. I thought oem gaskets were not recommended for Subarus because they fail regularly? I'm pretty sure the failure is on the driver side. It started by leaking coolant and onto the exhaust manifold there. Now it's burning coolant.

I replaced the head gaskets in my 1999 2.2 Legacy less than 30k miles ago and I've already got another blown gasket. I used the Napa Felpro head gasket kit on the original repair. This was my first time replacing a head gasket, so I could have made some sort of mistake, but I think I was pretty careful and deliberate with everything. I love the car and have put a lot of other work in it to keep it in tip top shape (or so I thought). My question is: is it worth fixing or will I just keep blowing head gaskets because something is warped or terminally wrong with the engine and/or heads? There are no machine shops in my area that can resurface Subaru heads, but I did have them checked before I re-installed them and the machinist said they were fine. I had also checked the engine block and it wasn't warped. Any advice is appreciated.

OK, I got it. The airbox wasn't properly mated on the bottom. I took it off, properly reassembled it, and now the car runs. Unfortunately, my poor acceleration problem persists. Maybe I'll start a new thread on this because I'm stumped. I've replaced just about every related sensor (MAF, O2, TPS, Knock) and I still get terrible accelaration between 2000-2500 rpm. I'm pretty much out of options, now.

I've been slowly replacing parts on '99 Legacy to deal with poor acceleration and bad mileage. The TPS was the final piece to the puzzle, so I replaced it. At the same time I traced a few wires from my autostart (Sidewinder 3500) in order to troubleshoot a keyless entry problem, but I never got to the bottom of that issue. Now the car starts right up, runs for a few seconds, then sputters and dies. If I give it gas during the moment that it's running it doesn't rev up but just seems to sputter even more. I can also hear a strange buzzing sound from behind the engine when I depress the accelerator with the key in the run position. I've checked all of the PCV hoses, so that's not it. I put the old TPS back in and it exhibits the same symptoms Any ideas? What could that buzzing sound be?

OK, I'll abandon that idea. What is the last model year that I can put the '90 motor into?

I've got a 2005 outback with a bad engine and a 1990 legacy with a rusted out body. Can I turn the two cars into one by taking the engine from the '90 and putting it in the '05? The '05 is a turbo and the '90 isn't, if that makes a difference.

I'm fixing some corroded wiring in my 1990 legacy and I'm having trouble finding the extra wide female spade connectors that connect to the main fuse and relay box. These connectors are used to power the ignition switch (among other things) and are common wiring components in Subarus. My local stores only carry .250" connectors, but these are noticeably wider than that.

My local junkyard doesn't have any compatible MAF sensors for my 1999 legacy, so I was thinking about just ordering an aftermarket sensor. There is a huge range in prices in these parts. Does anyone recommend a particular brand as a good value?

Yes, it's the 2.2 and you're correct, it's the speedometer and the odometer that aren't working. Yes the CEL does work and it actually came again yesterday with a p0325 code, even though that knock sensor is brand new and definitely oriented correctly. Lucky, I didn't change the knock sensor during the head gasket job, but it did end up being cracked and threw a faulty knock sensor code 500 miles after the HG replacement so I put a new one in. Now, the new knock sensor is giving a faulty code which has me worried that it's the knock sensor circuit. Also, I reset the CEL yesterday, took the car on a 2 mile drive, and yes, the engine had more power. So, the CEL reset does lead to improvement.

The car ran fine before the head gasket change and it definitely got more normal fuel efficiency. It also ran fine after the head gasket change until I put about 500 miles on it which is when the problem started. A little update. I had the car idling in the driveway while I wrote the original post and when I came back the CEL was on - code P0325, even though I just installed a new denso knock sensor. I decided to test the voltage to the knock sensor and it read 3.18V which is below the expected 5V reading. Could this low voltage be the issue?

I've seen a few similar threads and have followed the advice on them without much improvement. My legacy (about 150,000 miles), with a brand new head gaskets and timing belts was running sluggishly with very bad fuel economy. I discovered a leak in the lowest point of the filler neck and replaced it without much change in efficiency. I have since put in a new knock sensor and front O2 sensor, which maybe made some small improvements, but the car is still sluggish and getting like 13 mpg (though I can't be sure because the tach/odometer work intermittently. The engine sounds fine with no misfires, vibrations or erratic idling and no CEL. I've sprayed the engine compartment thoroughly with carb cleaner and found no vacuum leak. Could the catalytic converter be bad and would that cause such terrible fuel economy? Is there any definitive way of testing a cat? If the timing belt were off one cog wouldn't that trigger a CEL? I'm certain it was right when I put it on, though. I don't want to throw expensive parts like an MAF sensor or catalytic converter at it without being certain that they are the problem. Any ideas?

When I first put the engine back in the CEL came on so I had it scanned and it indicated a bad knock sensor. I reset the light and it never came back on, so I assumed that the knock sensor was fine, after all. After it started getting poor efficiency again I had the codes read and I was told that nothing came up. Should I try reading the codes again after replacing the filler neck? I was thinking of just changing the knock sensor and 02 sensor, though the knock sensor looks like a bit of a pain to get to with the intake manifold on.

I recently replaced the head gaskets in 1999 Legacy and the motor ran fine for about a month before my fuel economy suddenly went down to about 13 mpg (I'm not sure if it's related but the decline in fuel efficiency went down after a friend drove the car into a ditch, though he claims the bottom of the car never touched the ground). The engine seems to run pretty smooth, and when idling in the garage there is no gas smell, but after getting out of the car following a long drive I often smell gas fumes. I discovered that the fuel filler pipe is rusted and spills gas when filled, but I'm not clear on how that could have such a drastic effect on fuel efficiency. Is there a vacuum connection to the that pipe that would affect engine performance if the pipe is broken?

Thank you. I took it to a nearby mechanic to run the codes.

I just completed my first ever head gasket replacement on a '99 Legacy and of course the check engine light is on. I've searched extensively under the dash for the black connectors to read the CEL codes, but I haven't found. The green test connectors are there, but no black single pole connectors. I've used the flashing CEL to diagnose problems on my 90 legacy, and would like to do the same to find out what I may have done wrong on the '99. Are these connectors not available on the '99 or what am I missing?

The torque converter cam out partially with the engine. With the torque converter out a small amount of ATF is flowing from the transmission. This stops when the torque converter is back in. Is this normal or does it indicate a blown seal. Could it be that the transmission is overfull of oil?

Oh, ok. I thought that without the timing belt holding the cam in place then the force for the springs will turn the cam until everything is closed. I'll try turning it now.

Thanks, GD. What would cause all of the exhaust valves on that cylinder head to seat improperly? With the cylinder head removed I can see the gap between all 4 valves and their seats, so they're off by quite a bit. Would a bad head gasket cause this somehow?

I'm doing a head gasket replacement for the first time on my 99 Legacy and I neglected to align the timing mark on the harmonic balancer before removing the pulleys. After removing the heads I noticed that none of the exhaust valves were seated on one of the heads. Could my mistake have resulted in bent valves or could something else have caused all 4 valves to seat poorly?

Shoot, it turns out the guy got the car fixed and it wasn't even a transmission - the mechanic just pried on something under the car with a crow bar and now it works fine. I guess I'm back on the prowl for a decent replacement body.

Thanks so much for the advice. I like the idea of running the hose off the EGR valve now that I've been warned about drilling into the coolant jacket. I'll search for that write up on how to do it (or if anyone knows where it is then please direct me to it).

Nope, not a typo. I want to swap engines because his is an EJ25 and mine is an EJ22, which I prefer. I also forgot to mention that his car has an automatic transmission and mine is a manual, but I'm assuming that it's not a big deal to convert, right? Fairtax, I believe I can get an intake manifold pretty easily, though I'm not sure about a wiring harness and EGR. I'm assuming that it's not just a plug-and-go re-wiring job, then? Or is it pretty straightforward?

So, I've got a 1990 legacy with an EJ22 motor that I think is in decent shape, but the car body has rusted away over the years. A friend of mine blew out his transmission on a '99 outback today and wants to get rid of it, so I'm wondering if there are any specific difficulties in swapping my engine into his car. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks folks!

Lucky T, how would I tell what sort of lifters it had? Could I tell by looking under the valve covers? As far as the pressure tester goes, the local parts store doesn't loan any tools. I live on an island in Alaska, so there's not really an alternative choice. Also, there's only two options for buying gas here, I have no idea which one may have provided the bad fuel. Things are pretty limited here. I might head out to the junkyard, though and see if I can find some injectors. Do you know if all EJ22 injectors are compatible? Are they compatible between the EJ22 and EJ25? I got around to checking to the timing belt this weekend and it appeared nearly new. I didn't look at the entire thing, however, just the sections under the side inspection plates, but it looked pretty darned new. I also took a closer look at the filler neck, which is pretty rusty but with no obvious holes. I did, however notice that there is a bent metal tube coming down from the top of the filler neck. This tube is very rusty and not connected to anything, and I was wondering if there should be a hose connected to this tube? Where does the EVAP canister connect to the gas tank? Could it be at this tube? Mikaleda mentioned that a rusty filler neck could cause vacuum leaks and misfires, so perhaps this is my issue? Thanks for all the help, folks!

Lucky T, do you have any recommendations for a source of new injectors? They are $150 a piece with the seal kits at the local parts store, so swapping all 4 would be pretty costly. I agree that the hassle involved in sending them off probably isn't worth it, especially considering that it'll take my daily driver out of commission. You're definitely right: I need to just take a look at the timing belt. That'll be the next thing. I don't have a garage so I have to choose my tinkering days wisely or else I'll end up turning wrenches in the rain and mud. Also, good call on the second fuel filter change. I added an entire bottle of Seafoam fuel additive so hopefully that helps clean out the tank. Perhaps driving over all the local potholes will bounce the car around enough to suck all of the crap out of the fuel tank. I'm thinking that there might also be a blockage in a fuel line that is causing these problems. Would a fuel pressure test reveal that? Mikaleda, good to know! I'll see if they carry startron locally. How about Seafoam? When I bought the fuel additive the parts guy told me that they'd been getting a lot of complaints about dirty gas lately, so I'd better find a good additive to use regularly. There were about 15 options, so I just chose the one that that I recognized. Thanks for all the help, guys!