Qman

If you have leakage from the top of the head you should verify that it is not coming from the intake gaskets. They leak a lot.

Definitely what he said. An impact driver with a large phillips bit. Whack 'em once and they come right out. At this point drill and extraction is probably your only option. If you have left-handed drill bits you may get lucky enough to heat and grab a flute and remove it without having to drill it all the way out. You may still be able to use an impact driver. If you have a dremel you might try grinding a slot into the head. The using a flat tip on the impact driver it may come out still. Worth a shot.

Is your shop able to do a leak down test? It is far more definitive than a compression test. You will know if it is a valve, ring or head gasket issue rather than guessing and spending more money on diagnostic time.

Not sure, I have always associated the single port with interference on the early EJ22's.

I am pretty certain that the 97 and later heads were single port exhaust. That is when they went interference. '96 and earlier were non-interference. I believe they changed the head design slightly which resulted in the interference design. Which included going from dual to single port. Edit** Just checked another source and it calls for the same manifold gasket for 95-97 Legacy at 1st Subaru parts. They do show the same front pipe for the 96-01 Impreza though. I will have to do a bit more checking to verify this. Not sure why they would use two different heads in the same year on two different models.

And in case anyone wants to know why the caps get loose... the gasket compresses. Get a new gasket and all is well again. Creative though!

Pics of the towbar and attach points would be beneficial otherwise everyone is guessing!

Not designed to come apart that way. Pull the pistons, seperate the block and remove the crank and rods.

A pair of long nosed needle nosed pliers to remove the pin clips. Then a slide hammer to remove the wrist pins. I have heard of others using different things to get them out but the slider is the correct tool from Kent tools.

It is a wear item, imo, though.

This is probably the best interpretation I have seen to date. Well stated!

Why must we speculate when a problem doesn't follow what you said previously? They happened both ways. Some were internal and most were external. The thing everyone needs to understand is that after repair they are fine and will be for a while. These motors have better power. The mileage can be as good or better than a 2.2. More room and comfort. Seems like a no-brainer to me. But, for all of those people who keep taking them out and discarding them... I will take them off your hands for free as they obviously have no value.

Yep, left-overs in the exhaust. Happened to me the first one i did. The longer it ran the better it got.

It'll make a good parts car. 3.7/1 final drive is a step backwards. You can sell the trans, body kit, interior and other tid bits to finance a 5sp D/R with a 3.9 final drive. You can do a diff swap to get the LSD in a 3.9 rear diff.

You should be able to get a heli-coil in there without too much trouble.

Head gasket or cracked head. It leaks out of there when the gasket is going out or the head is cracked. I have seen it one other time.

Has been done countless times with a manual trans. The automatic involves a whole new set of problems. Using a 4EAT from a Legacy as mentioned above is the answer.

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=24388

Plan it through PM. Set a date far enough in advance for people to adjust their schedules. Those that make it can and those that can't don't!

Then you do it... Here is the title for your post... Subaru meet, Spokane area, (insert date here)

Get r dun!

Or... You guys could do this on your own and meet the folks from your area. Not bustin' on ya just giving a suggestion.

It was nice seeing everyone! We had a good time. Thanks for the set up "Z".

LOL, try an age appropriate one!! He is pretty good at most skill games. I did manage to get one from him today!

Unfortunately, without seeing the rig we are more clueless than you on this one. Pics maybe?