pginter96

Another theory: My car did (and does) the same thing with both motors, first the EJ25D and now the EJ22E. New motor had new ignition everything but coil. Apparently the ECM runs the motors super rich (until high RPM- emergency accel sort of thing) just to help the motor. No motor likes the cold run normally, and being hard on them is worse. Not saying its bad to drive them cold, but thermal expansion combined with metal parts winging around inside a big metal part isnt really great for any of those metal parts involved.

I FOUND OUT! Had the head tech at the Subaru dealer look it over and I talked with him about it. He said back in the day when these motors were more common and in warranty, they used to have many come in. He said its a combination of wrist pin noise and piston slap from the extreemly short skirted pistons. I have 6K miles on that motor since the swap, and he seems confident I can get many more.

The original engine was an EJ25D The routing diagram is there, however the different manifold, purge system, and vacuum hose port locations on the EJ22E are whats causing me some grief. Ill upload some pictures when I get back from work this evening.

recently have been experiencing a stutter/hesitation at low speed accel. Quit on me twice one day but restarted and I made it home. Car didn't run the next morning. Starts fine, idles at 1500 for half a second then bogs down and stalls. No codes. Also before the stutter issue, I replaced the air filter with a Subaru OEM filter I got from the dealer. It was an oil-saturated type, I've always run dry filters before. I suspected oil had fouled the MAF sensor, cleaning it didn't help so I ordered a new one. With the new one in, I still have yet same issue. I would suspect a coil or vacuum leak, but it runs fine with the MAF sensor unplugged (stalls under load). Has anyone had issues with aftermarket sensors? EDIT: disregard this question: Make sure you connect the tube to the IAC... Whatever default it went in to after the MAF was unplugged stumped me for a second

I recently did an EJ22 swap in my car last december. When I did, I didnt route the vacuum lines to the psss correctly (so no cruise control) and didnt even bother to hook up the canister. The engine I used came out of a 98 impreza, so the canister for that is located at the rear of the car, whereas my legacy is right up front in the engine bay. I dont worry about it, drive with the cel on but with inspection coming up I need monitors to run, and they cant with the cel (and no evap/purge obviously). Codes I have: P1143 (something that deals with psss) P0441 (purge system incorrect flow) Car isnt currently running due to a faulty MAF sensor (dont use oil saturated-type air filters, even if they are OEM Subaru!) Was wondering if anyone has diagrams and/or experience that could help me figure out how to route the psss and purge/canister. Thanks!

A final update to this series and possibly many others, mainly the EJ25D I pulled out in the swap I had the intentions of rebuilding it to replace the knocking EJ22. As I began the reassembly process of the EJ25, I just pulled the heads off and put them in sealed containers, and left the project for a later time. After going through the heads, cleaning them and adjusting lash myself, I am genuinely surprised it took me this long to notice this, but I went to go put it all together and made an unfortunate discovery... Not only was the engine suffering from head gasket failure, but ringland failure simultaneously. At 85,000 miles. The upper oil ring had spun against the flange designed to stop it from doing just that, forced outward, and had just began to destroy the cylinder wall and beginning to crack the piston ring area. If I hadn't pulled the engine when I did, I would have had some form of catastrophic failure relatively quickly. Its good money after bad at this point, and its just not worth it to put this much time and effort into keeping this car in top shape. I love it, but she cant run forever.

Thanks, although (silly me) I should have mentioned before, this is for an EJ25D

just bought a (pretty pricey) Gates timing belt kit, water pump included. After putting the water pump on, I noticed that the tensioner is the later, post-97 one piece design. My engine is a 97 and has the two piece tensioner. Since I can't return the kit, could I just get the correct tensioner and use the belt, or is the belt different?

Couldn't swapping the shims cause them to wear excessively? Again, similar to flat tappet lifters?

Just a few quick things, -1997 -Shim over bucket are these hydraulic, or are the HLAs a different valvetrain style? Measured excessive valve clearance on both an intake (.009 in) and exhaust (.010) on the same cylinder. How do I adjust valve clearance? Do I have to get a shim kit, and where could I find one? Also, is there anything I should know about break-in for this motor? are shim-on-bucket motors similar to flat tappet cam motors in break-in procedure? Thanks all!

"For you, my friend, I make special deal!" No, but he was sketchy. All 'stealerships' are sketchy (despite both new pads -and- rotors). Went inside to warm up and hear another guy describing a Pontiac Bonneville SSEI "Turbo." Hey, forced induction is forced induction, right? In hindsight, this guy was probably selling independant of the dealer because he knew it needed lots of work and didnt want to have to put any kind of warrenty on it. So... That rear crossmember, eh? *looks under 97* welp... I used to work with someone who lost their 00 outback 2.5 because the pumkin fell out and there was nothing left to weld it to.

Interesting, but it sounds like it would vaporize my torque converter before it would even have a chance to roast clutch packs and differentials... Not to mention that an EJ25-22 swap is about as easy as changing shirts, theres a LOT of computer related things that would need to happen for that. And correct me if Im wrong, but doesnt the EZ36 use the 5EAT? Ive done research on 6 cylinder swaps, mainly EG33s, and it seems like theres a lack of space in the BG/BK/BD body.

Decided not to get it. Looking it over in hindsight, it has too many things wrong with it to not scare me away. Im not afraid of work, I did an EJ22 swap after all, but I am afraid of spending money. Parts for the H6 are hard to find and expensive when you find them. With changes in my college and work schedule, I dont exactly have the time for a project right now anyways. The car is at least 45 minutes away, so I don't expect to have another visit up there. But since diagnosis is both fun and educational, here goes: The owner- Employee of used car dealer, flips cars on the side. This is one of them and he knows nothing about subarus (had it advertised as a V6). He got this one only by hearsay, he heard the 4 cylinders had issues and the 6 cylinder was a good motor. Theres some truth there, but its everything connected to the engine thats the problem... He said he drove the car for a week without issue when he first got it. Said the vibration was not there. Every fault I pointed out, he replied with "could that just be from sitting?" Again, some truth there, but... The mechanic at the shop was a good guy, younger, knew his stuff. We talked about my car for a bit, he said his mom had a 'super rare' 96 legacy sedan with every option except the leather interior. The no start- Owner said he had it sitting on the lot for about a month and a half. Said it never had an issue starting it. He said he moved it several times. I believe that could be the issue, running a motor for 30 seconds at a time, then shutting it off has a tendancy to foul out spark plugs (More so on the H6? I hear of it more on them) especially in the cold weather. The coolant thing- Like I said, it barely warmed up the inside of the car after running for 15 minutes at idle. The second I touched the gas, nice warm air came out of the vents. The needle sat steadily at about 3/4 of the way up the dial, which is warmer than normal. Didnt fluctuate or jump at all. I would like to say thermostat and/or low coolant, but (Ive been down this long road of denial before!) when I looked in the reservoir there were bubbles. Not sure if this was from head gasket failure or just having the coolant level at the very bottom of the reservoir, level with the overflow hose. The vibration- I doubt it would be axle shafts, they looked fairly new, and it also had brand new rear suspension bushings. Could be a diff, but the fact that it had no torque bind and didnt change on corners/swerving leads me to believe its a driveshaft. Hell, could even be a tire, but I doubt it. The 'Rust-Free'- turned out to be very well concealed bondo and proper application of the correct shade of burgundy metallic paint. The cancer has started to spread, you can tell by running your fingers under the fender. Other things (and the little, OCD things)- -Looks like some trans work had been done. Any grease/oil/dirt had been wiped away from the trans and bellhousing. Exhaust had also recently been removed, had new flange bolts (on the topic of exhaust, it had the strangest looking muffler Ive ever seen. It had a pipe come out of the side, through a resonator, and back into the muffler.) -Seepage around trans cooler lines, and many many miles worth of oil leak residue on the crossmember. -Ran like a dream, sounds kinda like a porsche. -It smelled weird -handled surprisingly well, Ive always thought these outbacks look bloated and giant compared to mine but driving it felt surprisingly small. -needs a serpentine belt, and some pulley had a pretty good growl to it -half of the heating grid on the back window was scratched off (dog or something, knowing subaru outbacks...) -pulled right So if anyone in the Buffalo/Tonawanda NY area is interested in a project H6, Ive done the research for you! The ads still on craigslist as of now...

Well I drove the car today. That was intersting... First of all, it was 8 degrees out. Car didnt start, popped a fuel line out, there was some air in it, put it back on and she fired right up (price just went down!) Car didnt heat up after running 10 minutes. Second I started driving it the heat got nice and warm, then cold again at idle. Upon further inspection, there was no coolant in the reservoir. (Price just went down some more!) Rear wiper doesnt work, wearing too many layers to tell if the heated seats do. Pretty scary vibration from the rear at speed, and a clunk at low speed coming from the rear as well. Looks like a newer U joint at the driveshaft/rear end. Pulled off the highway in a parking lot to check for torque bind, none, but got out and it smelled like axle grease and there was some on the exhaust only below the u joint. Again, he was asking $2900. Is it worth beating him up on the price and fixing it or should I walk away?

Thanks for the input, everyone. I will be checking the car out tomorrow. Not expecting perfection, but I have always been curious about them and you don't see too many. This is the view I kinda share. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of buying an engine without seeing it run (without the intention of putting it in my car) and ran it anyways. It hasn't exactly been a constant stream of problems, but at the same time I have no idea of how much life is left in it, it knocks pretty bad. Too bad, its a peppy little engine (if a little gutless on the hills) but it does have a few... issues. Ive done a little research on the EZ30D, and it looks like the 01 was a "phase 1" with pretty simple operation, along the lines of my current rig. the only issue will be getting to everything...

Looking for a replacement for the "Action Wagon." 01 Outback H6-3.0 LL Bean edition with 209K and NO body rust (here in new york thats a big deal.) for $2900. As Im losing motivation to keep fixing my old 97 OBW, Ive been looking at something newer-ish (to me). I just know very little about the EZ30 engines. How are they reliability-wise? and how would that reliability be for someone with a 97 Legacy EJ25D that blew head gaskets, so he swapped in a EJ22E with a knock? Good/Bad experiences? Oh, and do these eat transmissions like EG33s? Thanks!

well the leak is fixed and all is supposedly well, but the knock didn't go away! Better get the 2.5 back together. And my exhaust just got a new, pretty bad leak on the test drive. One thing after another... I love this car, but I think it may be time to say goodbye and look at something newer. I'm running out of motivation to keep fixing this car every weekend

Well I got the new oil pump on yesterday... And it leaks! 99.99999% sure thats its not my fault, it appeared to be leaking from the brass plug at the bottom, as opposed to the actual housing itself (about a drip every second or two at idle). took that brass plug off, and there was a mark around it where it was making contact with the pump housing, and there was a gap in it as if it werent sealing all the way. Hopefully a crush washer and some RTV will do the trick. Ill start it up later today when the RTV is cured and then we'll see if its just a cheap crappy part or if Im too stupid to seal it correctly

I can (secondhand) confirm that. My buddy runs 205 WRX rims on his 95 legacy, and said that you can run up to 225s until you rub the rear struts. Raised outback suspension might help a little with rubbing while steering, compared to just a normal lego. Again, its a 99% sure, not positive until I do something myself.

I saw one of those in a salvage yard last year, I had NO IDEA how rare those were at the time. Came home and a week or so later I saw a post about it and kicked myself in the face. Car got crushed by the time I went back. *cries inside* These are the same story with the tonnau cover things and window rain guards, The only way to find them is to scan eBay and craigslist every day, three times a day, and check the pick-a-parts. Theyre rare because they were options that very few pople chose, and the ones that chose them, the second (third/fourth/fifth/whatever) owners of the car may not have, and either thrown them out or buried them deep in the garage or shed, never to see daylight again. Its incredible to find one thats lasted 15 years or so. Ive just resorted to a milk crate strapped to the D-hooks in The back of my OBW.

I did the idler pulleys, tensioner, and water pump with the belt. All looked ok from what I could tell, nothing abnormal. Same with last night, I had all idlers and the tensioner off (to be able to remove the oil pump) and nothing looked wrong with the idlers. Tensioner was actually pretty loose, which Ive heard about, but I have the washer and o-ring on the back of it so... On second thought about the tensioner, I may not have torqued it correctly the first time. I thought the engine was a 97, its actually a 98 (the tensioner, of all things, gives that away) so I torqued it to 20-something ft-lbs instead of 32 ft-lbs.

I finally found the post you said this in! Just dropping a quick tip. I got a new set of single port UEL headers after my EJ22 swap, and used OEM gaskets. The gasket you are talking about is different OEM compared to the sort of perforated steel aftermarket ones. I wish I took a picture before I put it in to show, but its a few layers of steel with a sort of ring that lines both pipes on the inside at the junction. That made all the difference, and I havent had a problem with it. Either that or the EJ25 headers were junk (likely) or the EJ22 doesnt have enough @ss to blow the gasket (also likely) So if you havent found one that works, that may be worth a try. Subaru dealer, manifold to cat gasket for 97 legacy 2.2 is what I asked for. I think it was about $6.

I remember reading somewhere that the Impreza/Crosstrek has demensions nearly identical to second gen legacies/outbacks respectively. Interior space, wheelbase, ride hieght, etc. Its funny to see that "compact" isnt so compact anymore. Its a shame, due to the fact that my father put his Avalon in a ditch last week, hes been looking at Subarus but since he already has a 5.7L Sequoia SUV, getting a bus of an outback or a minivan sized fozzy would be rather redundant.

Took these over the summer, this was probably the first sixth gen I saw in the wild. Compared to my second gen the thing's a bus! And a hawkeye just for kicks

Is this normal wear for only 150 miles? Just finished swapping this engine, replacing a profusely leaking oil pump and noticed this. Don't know much about the health of this motor. Is this normal?