lmdew

Sad to say, I have not gotten to the Pan, nor did I replace the valve stem seals. I know I could do both with the engine in the car but might just be easier to pull it. It will go to the sideline for a month or so, got 6 other ones that I'm working on and lots of travel for work. Thanks for the feedback! Larry

Gunk Engine Cleaner helped, as I ran the engine with it in the oil I could hear the change. The oil consumption is down but still high, a quart of more every tank, 300 miles. I can get the engine to smoke out the tail pipe if I rev the engine numerous times quickly Idle to 4000 RPM and back. Steady RPM it's no smoke. Review of items done and the engine: 154K 2.5 SHOC 2000 - Had bent intake valve, so I surfaced the head, glass plate and replaced and lapped all the valves. Engine runs great. - New Subaru PCV - All hosed clean and connected properly - Seafoam in the gas and Oil - MMO in the oil - Leak down check, see numbers above - Gunk Engine cleaner, seemed to help but did no solve the problem - No external leaks - Runs Great Pretty much down to stuck Oil control rings, engine pull. Thoughts?

Yes, they can be tough. Slip joint pliers behind the Tee Handle on the boot and the Lever it straight out. There is a special Spark Plug Wire Puller but this works most of the time. For the Mis-fire grab the CEL code first. Use only NGK copper core plugs, the cheap ones and NGK or Subaru Wires. Anything else and your asking for trouble.

Auto Trans as it's a Limited? Might have a sticking brake switch.

I just changed one and it worked fine. I pin punched it and then tighten it until I felt resistance - tight, it was about 1 3/4 teeth. It was just a nice way to confirm the count. Count as you turn it back in and take it to tight and then back it up to the marks.

2003 2.5 Impreza SOHC had been using approx. a 1qt every 200 miles. - New Subaru PCV help some but did not cure the usage - All Hoses hooked up correctly - Only 3% leak down - No External leaks - Seafoam no change - MMO no change - Last attempt ran the Gunk Engine cleaner at idle for about 30 minutes (way longer the specified on the instructions) as it worked I could hear the engine change. So far so good, 200 miles and no oil usage, no smoke. Only 154K on the motor with new HG due to the bent valves of the timing going for the PO. I usually would not use the Internal "Cleaners" but I was down to pulling the engine apart so nothing to loose.

So after half a year, how's the motor doing?

It's still possible the timing moved even if the belt looks good. Need to check the crank, and both cam timing marks.

Rebuild 1500 - 2500 Swap in a 95-98 2.2 used motor 400-500 You pick. I love the swaps.

Could be, whoever did the work, did a crappy job (Brakes Plus) was mentioned by the PO. Why anyone would even go there is beyond me and to have engine work done at a brake shop just makes no sense. Just some of the things I notices when I removed the engine: - Missing Intake bolt - Wrong hardware on the engine lower mount studs - Lower Starter nut missing - Rear Power Steering mount bolt missing - Everything way over torqued I'd like to say you get what you pay for but they paid way to much for this "Crap".

Aft Intake Cam and bearing galled. Oil passage was clear as far as I could see but I didn't spend a lot of time as it's toast.

If my memory is correct the N-SW drops the voltage the ECU is sending, 5vdc drops to 0 vdc when the switch is made. This tells the ECU when you are in gear and when you are Not in gear. The ECU needs to see this switching or it will throw the code. It expects to see the shift action. Just disconnecting it will not solve the problem. I learned this after a Auto to manual swap in a 96 Legacy and it kept doing the same thing you indicated.

Could just be where the jack is placed. How the car rides is a much better indication of the health of the strut then how they extend when you jack the car. How's the clearance between the fenders and tires when the car is on the ground? Have you looked at the sway bar, bushings and links?

Mostly, but the 96-99 DOHC 2.5 engines have internal head gasket leaks that blow all the coolant out. Easy to check, look in the overflow bottle, any oil gunk stuff indicates the HG are leaking. Ask if they were done. Most people never know they are overheating their engine until it stops working or the steam is coming out from under the hood. If it go to long, the bottom end is most likely junk and you either need to replace the engine or do a complete rebuild. 2.2 can be swapped in.

If you're going to a self serve yard, pull the trans from a car that was hit hard. At least you know it was going down the road. I have a 2000 Outback Trans less front diff if you want parts off of it. The trans was rebuilt but the pinon went out on the front diff about 4 years after the rebuild.

Drive Shaft Repair Option, just had a fellow here in Colorado Springs with vibration and here was his solution. It turns out that it was the 1st u-joint coming out of the transmission. It was super sloppy and quickly self destructing. When I took the driveshaft off I noticed that the front u-joint had been repaired before. I ended up taking the driveshaft to a place called driveline south of downtown. They machined all three yolks to allow removable c-clips (the OEM driveshafts from Subaru are "non-repairable") and I had them replace all three u-joints with greasable ones and balance it. No more clunk and its running fine. Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction.

Yes it will bolt up ans should work just fine as long as the front and rear diff's are the same gear ratio. Yes, the looks are pretty standard for a used trans What is wrong with your trans? The AWD not working is most likely the rear clutch pack or C-Duty not working. The bad part is unknown condition of the trans and no way to really figure it out unless you install it or rebuild it. $100 is not bad but a Trans change is a full day of work and not easy at that. Them suckers are heavy. Good used from a yard may be a better bet.

Thanks for the info. This weekend the engine will come out and I'll drop in a 2.2 and then when I have more time I'll tear it down to see the extent of the damage. I now have 3 DOHC engines for parts so may be able to get 1 or 2 out of the 3.

I picked up a 98 Legacy Outback 5sp with 229K on it. The PO had spent over $1400 on engine work. I didn't get all the details. Anyway, 12 months and 1 week later (week past the 12 month period) it just stopped on him. No more money going into the car so he sold it. When I opened it up the intake cam on the driver side had exploded. Nothing left of it. All of the other cams and cranks seem good. It was very low on oil so I'm think oil starved. Anyway, with all the cams closed the crank does turn over fine and it seems like there is good compression and its even on all 4 cylinders. What are the odds, the cam just froze up and took out the gear and if I swapped out the head it might be OK. Long shot I know but I thought I'd ask those with much more engine experience than I. Thanks Larry Just talked with the PO and he said the engine was rebuilt in 2010. No oil light on, He had heard some noise but it went away when hot. He was in the parking lot, started the car and it just stopped. Oil starved Cam, I'd think.

Yep, clogged drain tubes. Try to suck as much stuff out as you can and the blow low pressure air through. If you use air first you may blow the drain tube off the fitting and then you will have to drop the headliner to put it back on.

Well, you got most common items covered. Clock Spring? Any problems with blinkers, horn, airbag? Those are all part of the clock spring wiring.

Great THANKS. Got to get the wires in the right spot.

Anyone have the wiring pin out for the front O2 sensor for a 2003 SOHC 2.5 Legacy Outback. Red Y/R White Yellow That is the wires I have looking at the front of the plug but all of the wires were pulled out when I go the car. Thanks

Ask if the Head Gaskets have been done and check them for external coolant and oil leaks. They start small and just grow over time. You may have to have a shop do this as it's hard to see. The bottom plastic air dam may be on and then you can't see them at all. Worth doing or having done.

Search Torque Bind and you will find many post with good pictures.