wrsub101

First off, thanks to previous posters. You helped me straighten out my son's 2000 outback. It would start and would not run, and the problem was the swollen O-ring on the fuel pump. I had to buy 5 of them, so to pass it forward, if anyone needs one free, just let me know on this forum. Next (2 years later) came the overheating and brown stuff in the coolant. The oil also looked like it had water in it. This happened periodically although the car ran pretty good when it wasn't overheating. None of the usual stuff worked, like changing fluid, replacing the thernostat. A CO2 test on the coolant was positive, plus the coolant looked like it had burnt exhaust stuff in it, so I decided to replace the head gaskets. BTW the compression was good, and seemed to hold OK. But I wish I had done a pressure test on the cooling system to see if it held pressure. More on that latter. This all seemed typical of a head gasket failure. Getting the heads out was tough (doing in the driveway and it got cold here), but its a SOHC so they came out. The engine mount bolt on passenger side got mangled, so I had to get them out without raising the engine on that side. Much to my surprise, the heads and gaskets didn't look too bad. Even more surprising, they were Six Star MLS gaskets, so someone had been there before. Got the heads surfaced and pressure checked for cracks and they are OK. Honestly, I'm not sure where the exhaust gas in the coolant came from.... Here's my plan: Reassemble the whole thing being very careful to torque it down right. Will use new head bolts because I now know these have been torqued down twice already, and don't want another failure. Will inspect the oil pump and likely replace the water pump. My question: Any other way for exhaust gasses to get into the coolant? I can't think of any Thanks for any ideas.

Thanks all for your help. It was the metal cap/oring. When I pulled the pump, the cap was cracked at one of the tangs and the o-ring was protruding. the ring looked like it was swollen to a larger size, and didn't fit well into the cap. Found a used but broken assembly with an intact cap at a junkyard for $22 and a new pack of viton o-rings at Amazon for $10 and I was all set. It runs perfectly now. I attached a picture. You guys are great... you saved me hundreds of dollars, plus it was fun going to the junkyard and getting this fixed. I didn't know this could still be done!

Thanks for the responses. Nope, nothing was done on it the last time I turned it off. It was running great. It even runs great when fluid is shot into the throttle opening. The accelerator petal seems to work the throttle plate/valve fine. Now that I think about it, maybe I don't understand fuel injectors that well.... they must need fuel pressure to work, unlike carburetors, which use the venturi effect. So maybe just moving gas in the line isn't enough, there has to be pressure. I'll try and find a used pump, or maybe a fuel pressure gauge that isn't too expensive.

Hi all, I'm new to the forum. I have a 2000 Outback wagon that I was keeping a year for my son (out of the Country) that I would start every couple of weeks. It ran well, until I parked in front of the house for a couple of weeks, then it wouldn't start. The gas cap wasn't messed with, so I don't think anyone put anything in the tank. It cranked OK, and the engine would catch for a few beats (like a second or two), then just stop. If I tried to start it again right away, it would crank but nothing fired unless I waited a minute. This annoyed me so much I put it up for the winter, and this spring nothing had changed. The battery was toast, so I replaced it and it cranks fine, engine catches a few beats, then stops. Here's what I checked so far- the pump comes on when the ignition is turned on. When cranked, It pumps fuel out of the fuel line post filter, so I don't think its the pump or filter. I pulled a plug, and it seems dry, even after being cranked for a while. I cranked it with the plug out, and there is no mist coming from the spark plug hole. The plug is clean, and it sparks fine when cranked. If I spray starter fluid into the throttle opening, it starts great, and will run as long as I give a shot every few seconds. So this sounds like a fuel problem. I'm thinking it might be the fuel pressure valve, but one of the two screws is in a really bad spot, and it looks like I'll have to take the whole rail off just to get the pressure regulator valve off. I could be the fuel pump, but as I said, its pumping gas when cranked. Could something be shutting the fuel pump off when the engine starts to fire up??? Can the pump work enough to move some gas into a cup, but not build up enough pressure to feed the injectors? (I'm from the days when fuel pumps worked on a lever riding on a cam on the crankshaft- that should date me) I'd replace the fuel pump, but that's a hundred bucks or more, and a lot more if replace the whole assembly- and I'm not even sure that's it. Perhaps after the first few cylinders fire the injectors stop opening up? Do they have fuses? Could that mean an ECM problem? I have an Actron scanner- no trouble codes. I don't know what the rest of the freeze frames mean. As I said, its been a while. I tried to siphon the old gas out of tank, but it sounds like cars have valves now to prevent that, I guess I missed that development. Any ideas? Thanks