99 legacy outback automatic, 2.5L  infamous EJ25 125,000mi dual overhead cams.

 

History of the problem.....

1.  3yrs ago on a trip over the rockies my son's soob suddenly overheated. he kept driving it trying to reach the

    next town.  engine quit running a couple of times before reaching civilization.  (blown headgasket). we

    flatbedded it to Billings and pulled the engine. We had only 4 days to fix it before he had to drive it back..

    we put in new head gaskets from dealer. pretty sure we replaced pulleys and timing belt at the same time.

    started it up, ran fine, got him back to boise.

 

2. Ran fine for about 3 years/3000 miles.    car given to me.

 

3. Grandsoninlaw experienced overheat (pegged out hot). remakably near the same little town in the rockies.

    continued driving the car till the engine quit. Rather than call me, they towed it home. 40miles at highway

    speeds, all wheels on ground. automatic tranny.

 

4. car would crank fine but not start. head gaskets again.

 

5. pulled the engine and the heads.  needed to do this job on the cheap because I doubt it still has a tranny.

    got felpro trimetal head gaskets and another new belt. pulleys and tensioner all seemed fine. did NOT deck

    the heads. out .002 in a couple spots and .003 in a couple of spots. figured if i got it running and found

    that the tranny was ok,  I wouldn't mind pulling the engine again and giving it a first class head repair if needed..

 

6. car will start but idles terrible and won't go above 600rpm.  pulled timing cover and notches on cams/crank

   all seemed lined up. bought yet another belt, this one a dayco with lines (which of course didn't resemble

   the ones i've seen online. did the tooth count thing and lined up the cam double notchs and crank marks

   again.   yes, i pulled the tensioner pin as i did before.

 

i plan to check the belt again in the morning. car, though in great shape, is not worth the price of a new engine

 and probably tranny.      any suggestions appreciated before i sell it for practically nothing.  thanks guys!

Edited August 22, 201411 yr by too old for this

Doubtful that's a timing issue. Did you forget a paper towel or rag in the intake manifold?

 

The DOHC heads have a tendancy to burn valves. Do a compression test if you have a guage.

 

These also don't like to be overheated, especially multiple times. Rod bearing damage is likely.

in all honesty, i wouldnt even mess with that engine anymore.

 

if the body is in that good of shape, go to car-part.com, find a used low miles motor (and possibly tranny) for a few hundred and swap it out.

Thanks for the input Fairtax4me and Heartless.  good point, I did get all the rags out. when i looked the heads over i didn't see any visable

damage to the valves. i've heard about the rod bearing/overheat problem and that concerns me greatly too. seems like even with low

compression, the engine would go above 600 rpm. i did'nt forget to reconnect the throttle linkage.

 i've begun to come to the same conclusion about it not being a timing issue, but a little curious about what makes you feel that way too.

it acts like it's only hitting on about two. plug wires are where they belong and all 4 are getting spark.

 

heartless, i'm beginning to feel the same way. will check that site and begin seeing if i have any options on another engine. i'm afraid to try

swapping to an ej22 even if there were any to be had. do you know what year they resolved the headgasket problem on the

ej25.....if ever?

Thanks again guys.

Hey Heartless,    I love your motto. it describes me too.

Mistress of all trades, Master of none.

Know a little bit about a lot of things, and a whole lot about nothing.

 

but at age 70, i've come the the conclusion that the other way around is the way to get rich.

Tranny is likely fine.

 

Flat towing is ok......on a dolly with 2 wheels up is not.

 

Get a new engine.  If it's been driven hot to the point of quiting, the block is toasted......so are the heads for sure.

 

Get a 95 2.2 litre from an automatic car..........Drop in plug n' play.........no other modification needed.  other 2.2s will work but require little things changed like intake wiring or EGR or exhaust header......but a 95, 2.2 from an automatic transmission legacy will DIRECTLY bolt in.

Tranny is likely fine.

 

Flat towing is ok......on a dolly with 2 wheels up is not.

 

Get a new engine.  If it's been driven hot to the point of quiting, the block is toasted......so are the heads for sure.

 

Get a 95 2.2 litre from an automatic car..........Drop in plug n' play.........no other modification needed.  other 2.2s will work but require little things changed like intake wiring or EGR or exhaust header......but a 95, 2.2 from an automatic transmission legacy will DIRECTLY bolt in.

thank you thank you! great advice on tranny.