sid_vicious

Ah, I see. I had always just lined up all the tick marks before removing the belt and not worried about the cylinder 1 TDC step. I didn't realize that you bring cylinder 1 to TDC and then rotate the engine again to line up the marks. I rotated the crank to line up the tick mark on the back of the crank sprocket and that brought the cam sprockets' tick marks into alignment as well. I was thinking the marks needed to be in alignment at TDC, but now I realize that's impossible because there would be interference between valves and piston. Duh. I'll have to keep hunting for the solution to my idle problem, which does not appear to be a timing issue. Thanks for all the help.

I've definitely not used the arrows instead of the tick marks. I should have mentioned that. I've replaced timing belts on Subarus a few times without issue, but never replaced timing sprockets or crank pulleys with ones from another car.

Hi, I've got a problem lining up my timing belt that I hope some experts here might be able to help with. My car's a 2000 Outback, 2.5 SOHC, with 184,000 miles on it. I bought it for next to nothing because the previous owner ran it out of oil and seized the engine. I had an engine from a 1999 Impreza RS that I installed. The engines are both EJ25 SOHC, but I used the intake manifold, crank pulley, crank sprocket and cam sprockets from the car's original engine. That detail will become important when I explain the problem with the belt. I lined the crank sprocket mark up with the mark on the oil pump, and then lined the cam sprocket marks up with their respective marks on the passenger-side head and driver-side timing cover. Using these sprockets allowed me to get the timing belt installed and the car started and running, but it idled like there was a timing problem. I did NOT use a compression gauge to set the engine at TDC on cylinder 1 at that point. Just today I brought cylinder 1 to TDC (cylinder 1 in compression stroke and notch in crank pulley at zero mark on timing cover) and removed the timing cover. I was surprised to see that the marks on the crank sprocket and cam sprockets were nowhere near the marks they should be lined up with. They're all counterclockwise of their marks by quite a bit. This has me confused, especially since the crank sprocket is keyed and cannot be rotated to meet the mark in the oil pump when cylinder 1 is at TDC. Is there a different spot for the mark on the two different crank sprockets? Or do different crank pulleys have the notches in different spots? Should I keep the crank sprocket where it is and line the cam sprockets up to the proper position and install the belt? Naturally, I no longer have the RS engine's original crank sprocket to compare to the one I now have installed. Thanks a lot, Andrew

After doing a compression test, I guess my idle and misfire problem is not from valve/piston ring/head gasket problems. I went back to look at all vacuum hose connections and again found no problems. Here's something I found to be strange: I removed the vacuum hose leading from the intake manifold to the purge solenoid valve and the engine smoothed out. Of course, there was hissing from the manifold port and the idle went high, but the engine seemed to run a lot better. I drove it around the block a couple times with the hose unplugged and it drives much better. Is there some way the engine's not getting enough air and this opening is letting enough in to make the engine run better? The air filter is new, and the idle air control valve is also pretty new.

I just finished testing compression. I had the engine at operating temperature when I did the test. The first compression stroke was about 100psi on all four cylinders. A few more strokes brought pressure up to about 195-200 on all cylinders. Is it normal for that first stroke to be low? It acted the same on all four cylinders, so it didn't seem like a problem to me.

I did not adjust any valves when I replaced the valve cover gaskets. I suppose I should have checked them before I put the engine in. At least the 1/3 cylinder side is easy to get at, so I can have a look at the clearances in the next few days. I'll round up a compression gauge, since I should have one anyway, and see what I come up with there as well.

Hi, I've got a 2000 Outback that I bought with a seized engine. I replaced it with another engine that had about 90,000 miles on it. It runs, but idles rough and bogs down a bit on acceleration. I only recently got a CEL for misfires in cylinders 1 and 3, after driving it for a few months. It has new plugs and wires, ignition coil, valve cover gaskets and spark plug tube seals. I replaced the timing belt, but checked timing multiple times to be sure it's not off. I even tried timing it intentionally a tooth off from the marks on the cylinder 1/3 side to be sure there wasn't some weird reason that would fix it. I've also checked all vacuum connections and found no leaks. I don't have a compression tester, but I did just hook up a vacuum gauge and found an interesting reading. At idle, I get a solid 20 inHg. No fluctuation at all. If I manually increase the engine speed it begins to fluctuate between 15-25 constantly. I don't have any overheating, coolant loss or bubbles in the coolant tank to suggest a blown head gasket, but does the fluctuating needle indicate a potential valve problem? I read as much as I could about interpreting vacuum readings, but I couldn't seem to find anything about my situation, where the reading is steady at idle but then fluctuates widely with increased RPM. Thanks a lot.

It definitely occurred to me that there might not be any point to checking the pedal operation without fluid in the system, but I wanted to make sure there wasn't some mechanical reason for the pedal's sticking problem. I'll fill it up and bleed it. Thanks for the quick replies!

Hi, I've got a 2000 Outback that was having some issues with the clutch pedal sticking in the down position. I found a service bulletin about this problem, which recommended replacing the slave cylinder and hose. I've just finished installing the cylinder and hose and have yet to fill the system with fluid. I decided to check out the operation of the pedal without any fluid in the system and thought it was strange. If you start pushing the pedal downward by hand, it reaches a point where it wants to snap down to the floor on its own. I then have to pull it back up, and it reaches a point where it snaps back up on its own. Is that normal? I don't see anything about the mechanics of the pedal that looks broken or out of place, and the motion of the pedal feels smooth. It just seemed odd. Thanks, Andrew

Sweet. Thanks for the responses.

Yeah, I'm thinking I might temporarily leave them out of two of the most accessible spots so that I can install them easiest when I find them. Since they used to have as few as 4 bolts in previous years I should be okay with 6 for a while instead of the full 8.

Hi, I'm just about done with swapping a 1999 EJ25 (Phase II SOHC) into a 2000 Outback. The engines are exactly the same, except that one engine was a MAF air system and the other a MAP system. I've got that straightened out, and now I have a strange question. I'm very diligent about keeping the nuts, bolts and other hardware organized, but I seem to be missing two of the bolts that mate the engine to the transaxle. Both engines have the same 8-hole bolt pattern, which matches the transaxle, so now I'm beginning to think that two were missing from the car when I bought it, which maybe I somehow failed to notice in teardown mode removing the engine. The two studs at the bottom of the engine are present, and it's two of the long bolts that I'm missing. Is there any reason that two of the bolt holes would have been unused, and does anyone have a part number for replacements? I'll first check with a salvage yard but I fear that I might have to order new bolts from the dealer because of their unusual thread pitch for their diameter (10x1.25 if I remember correctly). Thanks a lot!

Thanks for the replies. The physical attributes of the connector are the same, so the harness plugs right in. I also eventually found a multiple p/n listing for the sensor that lists alternate part numbers as the two I mentioned above. It looks like they're both the same, so I guess I'll start with running the newer one, as it's already installed in the crossover pipe that's on the newer engine. I'll know where to look if something's not working right.

Hi, I bought a really cheap 2000 Outback whose owner had seized the engine by running it while unaware that it was leaking all of its oil. The engine I have to put in it is from a 1999 Impreza 2.5RS. Both cars have Phase II EJ25 SOHC engines. I'm using the Outback's intake manifold, throttle body and engine wiring harness because the Outback is a MAP intake system while the donor car was a MAF system. It looks like cam and crank sensors are the same part when I search for each car's sensors on subarupartsforyou.com. The coolant temperature sensor on the crossover pipe, however, turns up different part numbers for each car: 1999 Impreza 2.5RS: 22630AA161 2000 Legacy Outback: 22630AA11A Do I need to swap the original sensor onto the replacement engine? It's easy enough to do, but the newer engine has about 100,000 fewer miles on it, so I figure I should use as many of its parts as I can. Thanks!

I'm the second owner and can't speak for its behavior when it was new, but I too have owned other Outbacks from earlier years and never in a million years would have imagined that what it's doing is not the result of something being wrong. It really catches me off guard sometimes. I haven't heard any serious wheel bearing noises, but maybe the occasional hint of a protest from the passenger-side rear bearing. I'll jack it up and see if there's play there. I'll wait to file a complaint until I know for sure there isn't something worn out. If everything checks out fine with the suspension, a complaint is definitely warranted. It would be astounding for a car in proper working order to act like that.

2005 Outback Wagon, 98,000 miles. When I go over even small bumps in the road, the rear end of the car wanders. It isn't an up-down bouncing, but more like the whole back end of the car is shifting side-to-side. It seems that if the struts were shot, the springs would be bouncing undamped, right? I don't see any bushings that are broken either. I guess I'm not really sure what to be looking for, but the only thing I have found is that when I grab the sway bar and pull it back and forth there is a lot of motion in the end links. Is that normal? The tires are full. The loose feeling from the back of the car feels like what would happen if the sidewalls were flexing a lot, but I've checked the pressure and it's right on. Any ideas? The car been used for some towing if that helps at all. Thanks, Andrew

SUCCESS! I got the remnants of the rubber boot out last night and got the plug replaced. I vacuumed out the spark plug hole as well as I could before fully removing the plug, but I could still see some very small bits left inside that were stuck in the film of WD-40 I had sprayed in to hopefully swell the rubber. I carefully installed the plug, hoping to avoid knocking the bits down into the cylinder. I don't have a compressor, but I'll try to find one to use so I can blow them out. There were no strange sounds or running problems when I ran the engine, so I'm guessing I got away without any bits in the engine's internals. I tried so many different tools and methods that it's hard to say what worked best.

I just bought a nice long set of needle nose pliers, which should be suitable for fishing around for the rubber boot, and/or breaking off the top of the spark plug. I figure I'll start by jacking up the engine with the mounts loose after work tonight. Hopefully that will give me enough access to not require pulling the engine. It's only got 67k miles on it, and although there's nothing wrong with preventive maintenance, it shouldn't need any seals yet. Do I need to do anything about the connection between engine & transmission (auto) when jacking up the engine? I remember a pitch stopper on the one and only engine I've pulled from a Subaru which, as I remember it, would prevent the transaxle from lifting up with the engine (?)

You definitely called the broken boot. That's the problem for sure, and a different animal than the lost spark plug liner. I had to get somewhere after a while of fighting with the broken boot, so I tried popping the connector back on the plug and it ran fine with no misfires. Then when I went to have another go at it that night, the metal connector inside the boot came out when I pulled it off. Figures. So here's a question. If I give up and decide to take it to a shop, can I get a new set of plug wires, save the one that I need for after the broken rubber is out, and cut the end off one of the other old ones so it fits well enough for me to drive it to the shop? I know the wires are numbered, but is that just so you don't mix up connecting a cylinder to the wrong spot on the coil? I'll have a go with some pliers when I find a set, and maybe try loosening the motor mounts and jacking up the engine. Pulling it is also sounding more attractive at this point. Hey thanks for all the suggestions. I know I made things confusing by not being sure if it was a broken boot or a plug liner, but thanks for bearing with me.

Ah hell, maybe I'll get a set of long needle nose pliers and give that a shot.

I think I've confused the issue, since I originally thought it was the rubber part of the spark plug socket. It's actually the broken-off end of the wire boot, which is uber stuck on the spark plug. I keep coming back to just trying to ram a plug socket with no rubber liner down on top of it, hopefully squishing the rubber down enough to grab the plug. No workie. It's seriously bonded to the plug. I got a good hold on it with the bent head of a bicycle spoke at one point, but it would NOT budge. I clamped a vise grip on the spoke and yanked really hard, rocking the car but not getting any movement. Then I said lots of swear words.

I haven't tried jacking up the engine to get a better angle at it, but I've tried using just about everything I can think of that's even remotely barb-like to try getting a grip on that bugger. I got a few small chunks out today, but no real significant progress. I've thought about burning it out, but there appears to be some sort of seal at the very opening of the spark plug well that I'd hate to damage. Has anyone ever tried melting one of these out? The torch option sounds like escalation to a place I'm not sure I should be going. I guess my only option is to have the f'n thing towed to a shop where I can pay one billion dollars to have it removed. I guess whoever last replaced the plugs has never heard of a little thing called dielectric grease. That sucks.

I looked at the plug wire, and its boot is in bad shape...because I must have ripped part of it off when pulling the wire off the plug. This leads me to believe it's going to be even more difficult than it would be if the problem were just the rubber from a spark plug socket. There are two reasons for this: 1. The spark plug wire boot is bigger in diameter than the liner from a plug socket, to the point where it pretty much completely fills up the inside of the tube. This makes it impossible to use a 5/8 spark plug socket with no liner. I tried sacrificing a plug socket, but it just hits the rubber left in there before grabbing the spark plug. 2. That thing is really stuck on the plug, which is why it broke in the first place. I can't seem to dig it out. I don't have a deep 5/8 socket that's NOT a spark plug socket, and I noticed that the actual 5/8 hex fitting on a plug socket doesn't go very deep, so maybe I'll try a deep socket that has its 5/8 hex fitting running way down into the socket.l

Ha! The spoke method is exactly what I've been trying. I'm a bicycle mechanic by trade, so I have access to plenty of spokes. I'll keep trying with the spoke I suppose.l

Sure enough, there's a freakin' rubber boot from a spark plug socket in there. I've tried getting an awl in there to hook on it and drag it out, but I'm worried about scratching the inside of the spark plug well. Is there any danger in doing that? So far I've had no luck but that's about the only way I can think of to extract it. Any other methods? Thanks for the replies.