Looking @ a car that spent the 1st half of its life in PA; 2nd half in the Northwest. An under the hood shot has the telltale signs of the rust belt, w/many of the nuts/bolts showing evidence of rust.

 

Where does the rust cause issues if I want to swap in another engine?

 

BTW, this EJ25D has 'low compression' per the owner, not HG failure.

 

Thanks,

TD

There is nothing there that looks like a problem at all. If you think you may have a frozen fastener (not likely from what I see in the pic) use some PB Blaster, etc on them a couple days before beginning the swap. Also power impact tools can break free a fastener that would possibly snap off with hand tools. You are not likely to have any trouble at all!

 

I usually reassemble "problem" fasteners with never seize lubricant unless they should have loctite.

I don't have power tools, so I'll just have to go heavy on the PB. I may take a closer look tonite.

 

Thank-you for the info.

You probably won't have any trouble using hand tools at all. I did mine with mostly hand tools and it had more corrosion on the fasteners than that one! Don't be afraid of that one at all. It is such an easy swap and you'll have a great car. As for the "low Compression" If you buy it right you might find that the timing belt jumped slightly and it may be an easy fix.

I hate working on rusted bolts.... and I've been apalled at what I've found on NE vehicles less than 10 years old... I like the 35 year old new mexico ones better.

 

For an engine swap though, the exhaust bolts are the only think likely to be that badly rusted... I'd be alot more concerned about doing suspension or brake work, but engine swap, probably not that bad

The hardest part may be seperating the engine/ transmision but it will come apart, sticks on the dowel pins. I didn't even use an engine lift, just floor jacks, and a neighbor to help me lift the engine out and set the replacement in. Not the best practice but what I had to do. used a plywood sheild between the a/c condenser and engine to prevent damage to the condenser.

Yeah ,the exhaust manifold stud / nuts will be the biggest problem. nuts were rust welded to the studs so the studs came out -- no big deal there, pretend they are bolts and put them back in in my case.

I'd be alot more concerned about doing suspension or brake work, but engine swap, probably not that bad

 

Yeah...that's what I was thinking/hoping, too. The car is driveable, so I'll check the brakes, and such....

 

However....If I'm going to resell it, whatever's underneath may be an issue w/a potential buyer if they have it inspected......Hmmmm.

I'm going to hijack my own thread....

 

I've done 2 of these swaps/replacements, but both were Automatics ---I've also done 3 other Auto tranny swaps on '90-93 Legacys.

 

This is a 5-speed.

 

With my trusty (?) Haynes manual what 'gotchas' do I want to watch out for? Special tools?

 

Thanks

Make sure clutch disc is centered, of course or it will not go back together easily or at all. Otherwise no real difference in the swap procedure, at least that I can call to mind. I have the same Haynes manual and it is pretty good, for a non factory manual.

 

If you have pulled / swapped before with automatic should be no problem with this.

That looks like every other subaru here in PA. Put a socket over the exhaust nuts and bang it with a hammer a few times to break the rust before you try to loosen the nuts. You'll have to pry the engine and trans apart. Start with a gasket scraper, hammmer it in between, then go to a screwdriver, then a prybar.

 

The bodies here all rust out where the rear bumper meets the quarter panel.

 

I deal with this stuff all day, it's not so bad.

 

For my personal cars, I buy them from southern states and get them shipped to avoid rust. My 95 Impreza I just bought came from florida, my last wrx was from southern MD.

if the car still runs. then spray bp blaster on the exhaust studs then bring itup to temps.

Also, as the car is still warm, loosen the exhaust nuts (natural torch of the engine heat) they come loose much easier when they are warm.

i have worked on nothing BUT rusty cars. for the exhaust studs, just get new ones upon reassembly. you will get better torque that way and not risk stripping the threads trying to torque up the pipe.

 

usually the threads on most bolts will be clean even if the hex is rusty.

 

the bolys you would really have to worry about are longer ones that go through captive nuts, and the excess threads are exposed and cause the whole thing to jam up when the bolt is turned halfway out. use PB and just go back and forth to clear off the threads.

 

usually with rusty cars its the small fender and body bolts that are most likely to break. I dont have too much of a bad time with the larger suspension bolts underneath on moderately rusty cars.

 

if the exhaust stud nuts are so rusty they want to slip, you can try hammering on a 13mm socket as a last resort. avoid re-using the old ones if you can.

 

i would say the most difficult bolts on a rusty soob will be the pinch bolt for the ball joint. Sometimes the ehad will break off and then you are resorted to drills and taps or sourcing another knuckle. its the sort of thing if the ball joint is not bad, leave it alone!

 

also, with the car being rusty, its a good idea to flush out all the brake lines to keep them from rusting inside out, and remove all the calipers nd lubricate all the slide pins as good measure.

 

the bellhousing hardware should come free easily. usually once you break the torque, they just spin out by hand, unless the threads are dirty with oil and dust

 

its a good idea to use anti-seize on any hardware that comes off again for future maintenance.