MR_Loyale

This has been the human condition since the wheel was invented. One got a new wheel and the other wanted to swipe it.

Definitely not a hater. I love the Corvette, just wish it was made by some company other than Chevy. Yours is magnificent. Fantastic job.

My Loyale did the same thing. It was a head gasket where the oil leaked but it never got hot. Do this: 1) Get a UV Dye Kit for detecting engine oil leaks. 2) Wash and degrease your engine. 3) Add UV dye. 4) Drive spiritedly for about 100 miles or so. 5) Crawl under the vehicle (night is bet for easy contrast) shine UV light to see the leaks. Check out this thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/146305-oil-leaks-smoke-uv-dye-oh-my/

An air impact wrench should get that bolt off.

The car may be totally worth it, but my gut say $6K for a car that has 172,000 miles is a bit too much. Before buying I would get it inspected by a professional mechanic. If you are totally clueless with a wrench and do not plan ever to do work yourself, you should pass because the potential for things to go wrong can easily eat up a few grand if the work is paid for by a shop.

I have to get one of those!!!

Before you replace the compressor, did you do the test as 175Eya mentioned above? I would hate to see you throw a compressor at it only to have wasted your money. Also, a Haynes manual is great for getting the A/C going again. I also have a 93 Loyale (FWD, 5MT) and I got my AC going after 6 years where the "professional" shop fix had failed. Haynes also has a great section on troubleshooting the AC. Best $15 you will spend. Oh and I think the compressor (at least mine) is made by Hitachi. Again, Haynes also covers the different types you may have.

Got the flywheel back from the machine shop.

I am looking online for the input shaft bearing and all I can find is one for the TM75F. My transmission is the TM70F. I found this one at O'Reilly's for the TM75F but I am not sure if they are the same part or a different one: http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/BCA0/305.oap?year=1993&make=Subaru&model=Loyale&vi=1270156 Does anyone have the Subaru part number for the input shaft bearing on the TM70F 5spd manual (FWD)?

I have the car up on ramps is I don't think ground clearance would be an issue.

Started cleaning the engine bay.

Yes yes. That is exactly what I was thinking - unbolt the trans cross member and come in at a steep angle. "Fly" it all in. Damn that would make a great tutorial video wouldn't it?

At the end of my project, both the transmission and the engine must go back into the vehicle. I am thinking about bolting them up while they are out of the car and installing them as a unit. The main advantages are no wiggle jiggle to align the input shaft and assured proper alignment of the trans with the engine. Has anyone ever done this before with a Loyale? Is there enough room to do this?

What year and model etc? It may be keyed like a radiator cap. Try gently pushing down on the dipstick handle and rotating one way or the other and the try to pull it out. On my transmission (TM70F Loyale 5MT FWD) it has sort of a spring clip built into the dipstick and you have to yank really hard.

I have my Loyale transmission (TM70F) completely out of the car and it is nicely clean. And it wasn't removed simply to clean it up. I wanted it out and clean because I have the engine out and if you are going to potentially screw things up, well I believe one should try to be thorough about it, right? Besides my hourly rate for messing things up is much less than a professional mechanic would charge so really I am saving money. Seriously though, I question the integrity of the input shaft seal because upon removal of the engine, I noticed the transmission half of the bell housing was all greasy. In fact it had become so greasy that a black greasy fluid was seeping through the joint there where the transmission case meets the engine bell housing. I imaging it was being thrown off by the input shaft or the clutch release bearing. Despite the excellent writeup by GLoyale on front seal replacement, if not absolutely necessary I would rather not crack open the transmission. I have nightmares of lifting open one half of the case and springs and retainers exploding out all over the ground never to be located and thus rendering the transmission suitable only for recycling, a conversational floor lamp or a homemade spit roaster for a side of beef. And while I love a good barbecue just as much as the next fellow, I still need this transmission to haul my carcass from the West Coast to the East and back again. What I need is a proof positive method to test the input shaft seal while the transmission is out of the car. The gear oil is still in the transmission. The nearest "test" I have come up with is to stand the transmission vertically and spin the input shaft by hand. Of course I plugged the dip stick tube so that the oil would not run out. No oil came out if the input shaft. It passes my dumb test but that is probably not saying much. Does this test seem reasonable or is there another clever way someone can tell me? Any transmission specialists out there?

Cleaned up my little TM70F:

Thanks. JJ421 was over here when I took the heads off and we wondered what was up with that. The other side has no shiny spots on the pistons. Glad I am not doing all this block scrubbing for nothing. LOL.

In the photo below, both pistons are shiny on the bottom. Is this the proof positive that the EA82 HG has failed?

Looks like that could have been the case. Do you have any suggestions on a solvent to use to clean up the insides of the cam tower?

All that didn't stop this: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/146783-very-loud-ticking-solved-probably/?do=findComment&comment=1232369 While it may be impossible or very difficult to not have squeeze out, cleaning it up before you slap on the covers is quite possible.

Ok, so tonight I was cleaning my passenger cam tower beginning with removal of the bottom bead of sealant from the channel in preparation for later reassembly. I want this to be as clean as possible so as to ensure a proper seal upon reassembly, which at this rate is probably two weeks away at least. First off let me state this is the first time this cam tower has been off the vehicle. I know because it has had only a single owner since new and I am that owner. So the photos and forensic evidence you are about to see can be attributed to none other than the Subaru engine plant where the engine was assembled (Oizumi Factory, Ohta City Gunma Prefecture- presumably). I have seen at least one poster here on USMB troubleshoot his ticking HLA's to a bit of sealant caught in the oiling channel of the cam support. I cannot remember the name, I just recall coming across the post and found it interesting. While cleaning my passenger cam tower I found this: In the image above the sealant from the factory bead squeezed out when the cam tower was bolted down. It never dislodged in my case, but only due to good luck as you can see, it was just flapping there. And in another spot, I found where the assembler lifted the bead dispenser and slopped some into the cam tower: The zoom box in the left is the recovered sealant from the inset area. Again, only dumb luck this did not dislodge. This is just what I found when I disassembled and examined of my passenger cam tower. Other than occasional morning tick, mine never had severe ticking and I do not attribute my ticking to this as I have not found any sealant clogging the oil passages. But I believe that could very well account for some cases where sealant debris has been found clogging oil passages. It also shows that we need to be very careful on putting these back together with the sealant to not repeat this mistake.

This also nicely cuddles a manual transmission as well.

Awesome job.

And let me add that is the only transmission to get nicely wrapped in a blanket and get a personal tour of Puget Sound, heading East over the Kingston/Edmonds ferry and back West again via the Bremerton ferry. That transmission has perhaps had more ferry rides than many of the members here.