Is the grunge on the back side of this motor indicative of possible headgasket seepage?

 

this is the drivers side rear of the EJ22 I plan on putting into the Forester...is yellowish/white & crusty/flaky looking...

 

 

passenger side in same area just looks oily/dirty...

 

i doubt it.  often when an engine is pulled,  coolant dribbles everywhere and could follow that seam.

 

could be dirt, animal or mud dauber nest debris....who knows.  what's it's history, how long and where was it stored?

 

EJ22's don't have headgasket issues so if the HG's are bad it would have needed to be previously overheated or otherwise abused.  if it was a known good engine out of a previously running vehicle or wreck it's probably fine.  if it's a craigslist special then i'd be more suspicious.

 

the early EJ22 headgaskets are unbelievaably easy to do - the headbolts are all external, don't even need to remove the valve covers to do them.  unbolt head, resurface (yourself via instructions here) and reinstall.  really easy.

Edited June 23, 201312 yr by grossgary

The left side just looks like dirt. If it was leaking coolant, the source is probably the heater hose above it, or the oring for the crossover pipe.

Right side isn't too bad but the o ring under that cam cap is known to leak.

Replace the oring under the wrist pin access cover too while you have it out. It's the diamond shaped cover left of the rear main seal.

ok, thanks for the reassurance guys. I know the EJ22 is not prone to HG issues, but it does happen - occasionally...

 

We bought the car as a parts car, engine supposedly ran (cant remember really) but the transmission had problems, body - welll...it had hit something/been hit in the front, and they just slapped some other body panels on it without actually fixing things under them. it sat out in our yard for about 4, going on 5 years now...

If it makes you feel any better most 2.2 HG failures I've seen are the more traditional white smoke like most engines.

 

Not SUbaru's perversion of HG issues.

The left side just looks like dirt. If it was leaking coolant, the source is probably the heater hose above it, or the oring for the crossover pipe.

Right side isn't too bad but the o ring under that cam cap is known to leak.

Replace the oring under the wrist pin access cover too while you have it out. It's the diamond shaped cover left of the rear main seal.

 

yup, already planned on replacing the O-rings in those places, and even tho the seperator plate doesnt look bad, I am going to do a reseal on that as well, just because it is accessable right now. cam covers will get new gaskets and grommets as well. Oil pan will be coming off, getting cleaned up, rust converter and a fresh coat of paint.

 

 

davebugs - not really sure that makes me feel "better", per se - LOL - but, because of the pattern/distribution of the crustiness I am inclined to believe the logic that the heater hose above was probably the source of the leak