So I finally got some free time and money to swap the engine out of my 2001 legacy that has the "i'll overheat every once in a while" head gasket problem. The donor engine is a 75,+++ mile 2001 forester motor. Soooooo today at noon I start pulling the engine. I swap the intake, replace the clutch, clean up the engine bay etc. At five I go to start it and rrrrrrrr lurch rrrrrr lurch. WTF. Sounds like an ignition problem so I pull the timing cover to check to see if the marks line up....everything looks good. Hmmmmm. So then i remember that there are two types of timing setups. I pull the covers on my original engine and wham-o the dark side of the moon. The crank gear with a million timing marks. So tomorrow i will be swapping the gears out. All this before I can tell if this junkyard engine is any good. I learned a new trick: You can take the A/c condenser loose and move it to the side so the an impact will fit in the engine bay so you can get the cams loose. Oh well, always something.

so you're saying the only issue is the sprockets needed to be swapped out? you can tell by looking at them, that's cool, what exactly do you look for?

 

guess it's too late but that is not the typical failure mode of this engine model. you're sure it was a headgasket?

 

that's the older EJ25's, the first Phase DOHC models that overheat like you're referring too.

 

overheats of the newer Phase II SOHC like you describe would more likely be attributed to something else - like air in the coolant, thermostat, etc.

 

also - Subaru had a 100,000 mile extended head gasket warranty for 00-02 EJ25's - guess you're beyond that warranty?

Yeah the difference is VERY noticeable, I'll post pics.

The engine i took out was burning the antifreeze. Every week or so the coolant level would drop then the engine would overheat. I never saw any leaking so that's how i ascertained the internal leak/burn.

OK heres a link to the pics. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=66521&l=5b48c08a6b&id=100000515483785

1. You can see the notches the crank sensor reads.

the cam sensor is different too: only two marks instead of 7 or however many there are(no pic)

2. notice the four studs.

so there it is.

-switched gears

-put new timing belt on. It's a different belt. I have the part number if anyone needs it

-new water pump. The dealer listed two different water pumps-- the difference is the impellers: one has the fan style the other the circular disk style. Looked up on GMB's site they list the same part number for both engines.

-switched crank and cam sensors. I dont know if these are different but i switched them just in case.

Edited December 11, 200916 yr by logic23