tomson1355

There aren't any rear cam seals. There are halfmoon inserts where the rear cam seals would be. They certainly would be capable of leaking, but I'd be surprised.

You want the crank sprocket so the mark is at 12 o'clock. You can rotate the engine with the crank bolt once you have the TB exposed. In this position the two left side cams are opening valves. In this position, if they move when you take the belt off, they won't damage any internals. When replacing the belt, those two cams need to be rotated in the correct direction, again so as not to cause any interference inside.

Setright. Aptly named.

See the thread "Another air in the coolant post..." Setright explains the cause and effect perfectly. One thing I don't understand is why a sniffer won't pick up the gases sometimes. There is plenty of them there!

The HG problem can look like a radiator problem because air gets into the system making it look like there isn't flow through the radiator. I'm willing to bet that a frequent series of replacements is thermostat, cap, radiator, water pump and then head gaskets. I just bought a 97 Legacy that had all the cooling parts replaced (nice new radiator!) and leaking head gaskets. I'm sure the previous owners just gave up after replacing all those parts and still having it overheat. If you have bubbles coming up through the coolant in the reservoir, or the coolant level in the reservoir rises and doesn't fall when it cools, or your temp guage is erratic, I would be concerned about the head gaskets. Keep us posted.

Is that your seatbelt light blinking?

There are no hydraulic lifters in the Phase I DOHC 2.5. The lifters, if you can call them lifters, are solid. At least in the two engines I've been inside. Don't know what they did with the Phase II.

Thanks, FJ. No towing. I was experiencing transmission slip when it was warm, but I think I've decided that it was caused by air in the cooling system from seeping HGs. I don't think the transmission was getting cooled properly. My theory anyway. But I think I'll install a cooler in hopes of never having to do tranny repair. I'd like to put synthetic ATF in, as I run AMSOIL in all our vehicles with good results. But the transmission takes 10 qts so I don't know if I'll spring for it. Thanks again. Tom

An aftermarket tranny cooler gets recommended here on a regular basis. I'd like to keep the 4EAT on my 97 Legacy GT w/ 175000m functioning for another 175k. Will a tranny cooler help? I see light, medium and heavy duty coolers at a parts site. Anybody wanna recommend one? And is installation straightforward for someone who is competent but not exactly a real mechanic? Thanks for your help. Tom

Jeff, I'm not familiar with the timing on the SOHC, having done only the DOHC, but doesn't one of those tooth counts (the belt or the book) make the marks on the sprockets line up incorrectly? Aren't the sprockets supposed to be in a particular position, and wouldn't a difference of three teeth make it look obviously wrong? Tom

You don't need a special tool to simply check the valve clearances. All you need is the feeler guage. The special tool is for shim removal and replacement, but others have done it with a small screwdriver. With the engine in the car you could replace the shims by removing the cams. Tom

I'm sure I can find one in a junkyard, but I really can't believe the dealer when he says it's not available. I'd love to walk into the parts dept with a part number for it. Yeah, a new radiator. Sheesh. Tom

Do you have a part number by any chance?

Stop me if you've heard this one. My bleeder screw broke. I called my local dealer to see if they had one in stock. The parts man couldn't find it on the computer and even faxed me the diagram and , sure enough, it wasn't there. He called Subaru and they said I had to buy a new radiator. Ha ha. Fortunately the local auto parts store had a generic plastic radiator drain valve with 10 X 1.25 thread and with a little filing I was able to make that fit. I plan on picking one up in a junkyard when I get a chance. But I was wondering if anyone else had run into this before. Is there really no parts number for this screw? BTW, I discovered it was broken when I went to do a flush and fill and I could see a little antifreeze sitting in the slots of the screw. I turned the screw and only the top part came out. I had to easy-out the threaded part. Lucky it didn't leak worse than it did. Tom

Hi Greg, I don't believe there is an outside and an inside. The two gaskets are identical, but the gasket surfaces are mirror images. Therefore, you'll have one facing one way and one facing the other, relative to the gasket surfaces. I don't think you could have them each have the same side out, for instance, even if you wanted to. Tom

Arne, A is the uppermiddle bolt. B is lowermiddle. C is upperfront and D is lower front. Eis upper rear and F is lower rear. The first four steps are in alphabetical sequence. 1.Tighten all bolts to 22 ft-lbs. 2. Tighten all bolts to 51 ft-lbs. 3 Back off all bolts by 180 degrees. 4.Back off all bolts by 180 degrees again. 5.Tighten bolts A and B to 25 Ft lbs. 6.Tighten bolts c,d,e and f to 11 ft-lbs. 7.Tighten all bolts by 80 to 90 degrees, alphabetically. 8. Repeat step 7. Hope this helps. Tom

Check Carefully the color and level of the coolant in the coolant reservoir. If the coolant has any blackness to it or the level is high in the reservoir, suspect head gasket problems. Another sign is air bubbles coming up through the reservoir after the car is turned off. These HG problems can be kind of under the radar, as combustion gasses slowly accumulate in the coolant. The car may overheat only rarely. Barring bad HGs, these are terrific cars. There is a real feeling of safety putting a family member in a Subaru out here in snow country. Tom

I would add to shimonmor's excellent list of reasons the following: Taxes- Fica, Medicare, Unemployment, Workman's Compensation. These things are huge and must not only be paid, but also be administered, meaning someone has to be paid to get it all done. I sometimes wonder why anyone would go into business at all, given the crap that has to be dealt with. Tom

Maybe one of you with more experience can explain to me something about interference engines, particularly the 2.5 DOHC which is the only one I am familiar with. I can see damage occuring if the belt was mistimed and valves were being opened when the pistons were banging into them. But if a belt or tensioner broke, it seems like all valves would immediately close (the cams don't like to stay on the tops of the lobes), there would be nothing driving the cams so the valves couldn't open, and no interference would take place. I'm perfectly happy to learn that I'm not thinking about this the right way if anybody wants to straighten me out. Tom

If I remember correctly (it was only a couple weeks ago) I used a 3/4 drive socket. I think you would have to experiment to see which size and profile would fit best.

Del, I have reservations about spending 5K on a car with 195K miles. Granted, the HGs have been done , and the car could go another 195K, but it seems high by at least a couple thousand. 195K is a lot of miles and the car should be discounted more heavily. Even if you don't buy on Ebay, it's a great place to do market research. Tom Murphy Earlville, NY

Don't know nuthin' about your engine, but does the level of coolant in the reservoir rise from day to day? If so, then air is entering the cooling system and displacing the coolant to the reservoir. If not, then the air must be left over after the coolant is filled. Absolutely no leaks anywhere? No overheating? Tom

The black gooey slimy stuff in your coolant reservoir indicates you have blown head gaskets. After you turn your car off, watch for little bubbles coming up through the coolant in the reservoir, another indicator. Lastly, watch the level of fluid in your reservoir. If it gets a little higher every day (hey! where did all that coolant come from?), that also says head gaskets. As the reservoir gets fuller, the cooling system gets less full, and the guage reads higher. Eventually the coolant will splurt out of the reservoir and make a mess in your engine compartment. Let us know what you find. Tom Murphy Earlville, NY

My advice for leaving it in the car? Get a set of racheting wrenches for those hard to reach valve cover bolts and cam cap bolts where there is no room for a ratchet and socket. Torque the cam sprockets before putting on the valve covers. It is a bit of a back-breaker, but I think I could cut my time in half the second time around. I hope I never have to do it again on this car, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy an OB or Forester knowing it might need to be done, taking that into account on the price. Ron-I agree. My passat just never lets up. I get one thing fixed and something else needs attention. I'll take the HG job. 99OBW-Are there issues with the new NYS inspection requirements with replacing an engine like that? It doesn't alter the OBDII in some way so that you end up stuck with a car that won't pass inspection? Tom

I left the engine in. I'd do it again that way, unless it needed clutch work. That is funny about theotherskip. I hope the newer VWs are better built than mine. Tom