jonathan909

Hey, guys... arising from the dead (of winter) here and trying to catch up. I got much less done in the time of cold+snow than expected. I'm trying to revive my girls' '01 Forester (EJ251). It ate the #1 rod bearing last summer and took out the crank. I just got ahold of what I'm guessing is an EJ253 or 255 - that's based on the guy it came from apparently having been into '08 or thereabouts Imprezas. If someone could explain how to tell the difference (or if it matters) I'd be appreciative. The goal is to either swap the crank from this new motor into mine (will it fit?), or just use this short block instead of my old one (after splitting the block and inspecting the bearings, of course). The new one has "bottom end knock" written on it, but I don't feel any slop or clunk while playing the crank. Regardless, I'm not about to just bolt it up and pray. Guidance? Thanks as always.

I'm trying to create an account in order to get at the files, but it's choking because I haven't filled in the "vehicle registration" field (because I have no idea what that means in Oz). What can I enter to make it happy? [edit] Oh, just a plate number. Can you give me an example that'll pass? [edit again] No worries, mate. Snarfed one from google images...

Thanks - I'll give it a look. What I'm hoping to find is a match in the colour codes - ECU connector and wires - with what we have.

First we're trying to go with the pieces we have; quite aware that a manifold swap may be in order if challenges are encountered. As far as "easy enough", if that were the case I wouldn't be asking. This was referred to me because the usual searches weren't turning up the right drawings.

For a JDM 2001 2.0 believed to have been in a Legacy? Situation is that a friend who does Subaru engine transplants into VW vans is in the middle of one, and actually having the correct drawing would significantly aid in merging the wiring harnesses.

Thanks - I didn't know why it was there on the MTs. (Obviously) the guide shouldn't (and didn't) touch the belt - I can pull some lulus, but not one that stupid. I suspect that the tensioner was getting sloppy and beginning to let the belt flap (hence the rubbing and wear), so I replaced it. Car happy again now. On the gaskets, I don't recall a specific warning, but I knew better and decided to experiment anyway, so I don't have a problem with taking my lumps.

Addendum to this thread: The other experiment I performed as part of the rebuild was with that little timing belt (guard? guide?) that's mounted just over the crank sprocket. Well, it's there in the EJ22s, but I've never seen one in an EJ25 - but the mounts are there in the castings for it. So I stuck one in. Another bad idea. When I opened the timing cover to begin the HG replacement, it was full of black rubber dust ground off the back side of the belt. That crap was also deposited on the idler rollers, and the idlers are discoloured, just like you'd expect with a piece of metal that had been severely overheated (though that's obviously not what happened here). I've ordered a new belt and won't be trying that trick again.

Would it be foolish to ask whether you have all that unpleasant spring-loaded hardware in place?

Thanks for the link. I think this is a better version of the manual I have, but it still - annoyingly - doesn't include a schematic of that bit of plumbing. I mean, the diagrams on 8-10 are swell for showing you where the pieces are, but do nothing to show how they're connected together. Can someone help break down this error? My primary concern is that the purge solenoid isn't the leaky part, as that's what's going to directly affect manifold vacuum. I'm not going to get terribly worked up if the reported leak is on the other side of that valve - that is, in the tank, filler neck, cannister, etc., because that's just going to result in slightly higher evaporative emissions and not impair performance. Of course, without a schematic showing - in detail - how the tank, cannister, etc., are plumbed together, it's hard to confirm that suspicion.

By coincidence, I'm getting this on both the '01 Forester and '01 H6 OBW. I can find lots on it in the OBW docs, but there isn't a diagram of the plumbing (only the wiring) in the Forester manual, from what I can see. Can anyone direct me to it? [edit] To clarify, I'm not looking for a manual. I'm looking for a specific diagram - the evaporative emissions plumbing schematic. Doesn't appear to be in the TSM.

Yes, but that's the security module - I'm interested in the keyless entry. That suggests it's somewhere around the stereo, though. And this one has the McIntosh stereo - dunno whether that affects the placement of any of the various modules.

Exactly - that's what the drawing looks like. But I'll bet I get in there and there's no sign of it because it's actually somewhere in the center console.

Um, yeah, thanks... I know that. I have it. I'm looking at the drawing, which is why I said: -> The wiring harness drawings can be a little hard to interpret - it looks like the connector (B176) is way over on the passenger side I was hoping for a real-world clarification from someone who's actually been under the dash.

The wiring harness drawings can be a little hard to interpret - it looks like the connector (B176) is way over on the passenger side, but there really isn't any room there, with heater/AC blower, air bag, etc. Maybe up under the center console, but where in relation to the stereo? Can anyone tell me where this thing is before I tear apart the dash?

Interesting. I'm not anxious enough to understand this to cut up a perfectly good muffler, but I"m curious how it works. Is it just a clever fluid dynamics thing, or is there something in there like a flapper valve that diverts to the bypass at higher flow rates?

I'm finally getting to work on this pair of '01 H6 OBWs, both acquired over the last year. Today I got under one to bolt up the junkyard trailer hitch I snagged last weekend, and noticed this weird growth on the muffler - a pair of tubes welded to the body of the muffler go in/out of this little bulbous thing. Never seen one before. What is it?

I'd like to see that too - a thread for keeping track of what's good and what's junk. For example, I've been really happy following GD's recommendations on non-OEM timing components, assembly lubes, etc., and it'd be helpful to everyone not to have to hunt through hundreds of threads and thousands of postings to find that info.

As much as I love the EJ22 (when mated with a 5MT), it just wouldn't have the power to drive this thing with a 4EAT. The 2.5/auto combo is underpowered enough for what I do, which is why I'm moving up to EZ30s.

Sorry? How come? Did you manufacture these gaskets? If so, I'm going to have to put out a hit on you. Otherwise, you don't have anything to be sorry for. Sure, this is annoying. But I knew going in that MLM is the right choice, that this was an experiment, and that you don't experiment unless you're okay with a negative result. So I won't do it again, but I'm not losing sleep over it either.

When I rebuilt my '99 OBW's EJ25D last winter I bought the Enginetech kit from Rock. Convenience, you know, all the pieces in one box at a good price. First thing that was wrong was the ring sizes, but that was my fault - I didn't know that they varied, so I had to buy the right set, as it was too late to return the wrong ones. Then I found that the head bolts, um, could have been straighter... but they worked. And I was fully aware that the head gaskets were cheapies, and not MLM, but figured what the hell, it's the first time I'm rebuilding one of these things from the ground up, so it's all an experiment anyway. The experiment turned out well, it seemed. Ran flawlessly for the better part of a year, including an impromptu 5000-mile round trip to New York in November after I wasted two months trying to find someone to tow a sailboat from Long Island to Montana. Yesterday my wife got home and reported that the heater was sporadically blowing cold. Sure enough, bubbles in the coolant tank. I'll be ordering up a proper set of MLMs today, but could really have done without the hassle, esp. since it's still pretty cold here. Grrr.

Sure, that limitation sometimes exists. Also, lots of sellers (ebay, in particular) won't ship to Canadia at all, and for the ones that will the shipping cost is usually prohibitively expensive. So for all of those cases, I have a friend who lives just a few miles north of the Montana border (Milk River) and has a mail drop just on the US side. It's not always the right answer (particularly if I'm really in a hurry for something), but it usually works. So for most cases I'm covered.

Bzzzzt! I'm sorry, you will not be going on to the bonus round! But we have some lovely prizes for you take home! Buffy, show him what he gets... We've been through ths conversation previously - I think it came up last spring in the context of timing components. I haven't yet found any canuck sources outside of the dealers, and the difference between local dealer pricing and US discount sellers - even after exchange and shipping are factored in - isn't counted in percentage, but in factors. In this case, I'll be surprised if, after shopping around, I can't find these hoses at half what I'd pay here, if not less.

Thanks. Conversely, if there are any to be avoided due to bad experiences, they'd be nice to hear about as well. Overheating: Yes, that's my greatest concern about this thing. Don't need to do the head gaskets and then suffer an immediate bottom-end failure, as happened with my first ('99 OBW EJ25D). Also (and this is slightly OT), is it possible to pull the heads on this thing without lifting the engine? I've done it with both that '99 OBW and this past fall with my girls' '01 Forester (EJ25S). It wasn't the most pleasant thing I've ever done, but it can be done. I suspect that with the EZ30D it's simply impossible.

Can you recommend any in particular? That's the plan, as I don't know if or how badly this thing was overheated. Will probably strain the oil when drained too.

Wotta glutton for punishment. I (still) don't (quite) have the H6 '01 OBW we bought last summer on the road, and already I'm buying another one. This time the body is in better shape, but it's a bit of a kit car since the PO embarked on a HG replacement but abandoned the attempt once he realized his facilities (i.e. back yard, no hoist, winter) weren't up to the job. So for the moment I'm just reassembling it so I can properly evaluate it rather than/prior to tearing it down. This should have the added advantage of being able to move it around under its own steam, highly preferable to trying to push/pull it in the snow... But what I'm discovering is that the EZ30 cooks a lot more hoses than do the EJ22/25. I have crunchy fragments of PCV, blow-by, and air assist hoses (four in total, I think) that need to be replaced, and the local dealer is quoting $127 CAD for them - way outa line for me. Where will I find reasonably-priced replacements?