I'm told my 97 outback with 297K has a burned exuast valve.  I plan to try and drive until it 300k or until problem gets bad, and then get rid of the car.   But what should I do with then?   

 

If the body and trans are good either do a valve job or replace the heads and with luck drive it for another 100k.

Craigslist is your friend. 

install another head, new headgasket, timing kit, and drive it another few years.

 

you can also bolt EJ22 heads, intake manifold to it - plug and play and maybe cheaper/easier to find.

297K is pretty good. You probably got your moneys worth out of it. If the body is solid, and it's still a presentable vehicle, it may be worth fixing if you can do it your self, otherwise a partout and scrap will bring some money.

  I'm leaning towards craigslist.  The body is good shape.  I'd like to see someone fix it, but i could probably sell it for parts.  It does have  King springs, Almost new geolanders, and new'ish Subaru front axles.

The repair bill would be was way more than I'm willing to put in the car.  And as far as fixing it myself, my time is a premium to me right now.  If i did want to fixed it, I think I'd be ahead to work some overtime and then pay someone else to do it.

Put an EJ22 in it.

Sell it to me

Sell it to me

 

Ha ha.  How much?  It probably wouldn't be that hard to talk me out of trying to hit 300k,

Ha ha.  How much?  It probably wouldn't be that hard to talk me out of trying to hit 300k,

 

Got a few pictures, what rims / tires 15 or 16" ?

Got a few pictures, what rims / tires 15 or 16" ?

No good pictures, could take some tomorrow if you wanted. The one below is from a time we got stuck on a highway for 5 hours, good thing we had left over backpacking meals.  The car has  15" wheels.  .  Its a pretty much stock looking outback. , A touch taller than stock from the king springs, 1.5"s i believe.  Not much to say about it....its  a "limited"

 

http://s7.photobucket.com/user/mkeating/media/IMG_0298.jpg.html

 

Edited June 5, 201510 yr by sario

put some marvel mystery oil thru the brake booster line. When it does, it cleans up a burned valve and makes it seat for a while. I had a 1965 rambler that had burned valves and it made it drivable.. You could also put some 2 stroke oil in the gas but that's hard on the catalytic converters

put some marvel mystery oil thru the brake booster line. When it does, it cleans up a burned valve and makes it seat for a while. I had a 1965 rambler that had burned valves and it made it drivable.. You could also put some 2 stroke oil in the gas but that's hard on the catalytic converters

 

Thanks for the tip.  It's actually running pretty well right now.   It only seems rough occasionally, like when i drive up a steep hill with the engine cold.

   I did some googling, and it looks like people online recommend dumping 4-12 ounce in, letting it sit for a few minutes and then starting the engine.  do you see any problem with that?

yup you could do that. Let the engine die on the mystery oil. Let it sit, and then fire it up after a few mins. It will start hard keep in mind. Its one of the original uses of marvel mystery oil. And MMO is one of the oldest additives

I'm told my 97 outback with 297K has a burned exuast valve ... what should I do with then?  

 

If that were my Car, and it has a Rust Free Body and Good parts, I would do the Valve Job.

 

That engine is probably at the Half of its Life... is a Subaru.

 

Kind Regards.

Sounds ignition related to me. When was the last time it got plugs and wires?

 

Burnt valves don't come and go. If its a minor burn it will misfire constantly at idle and will clear up at higher RPMs. A full out burn will cause a constant misfire on that cylinder.

... Burnt valves don't come and go ... A full out burn will cause a constant misfire on that cylinder.

 

Exactly what I thought, but I took for granted what he wrote:

 

... my 97 outback with 297K has a burned exuast valve...

 

Maybe the engine's issues has been misdiagnosed.

 

I kindly suggest, to the original poster, to get a second diagnosis on his Subie.

 

Kind Regards.

Pretty sure its not an ignition issue. The spark plugs, wires, and coil were all replaced. Then when I still had the problem I swapped the same stuff from a friends car. Then the injector was swapped with cyl 4. Then that injector was cleaned.

 

A leak down test showed the exuast valve leaking. What else could cause that? I'd love to keep the car if It can be economicly repaired.

... I'd love to keep the car if It can be economicly repaired.

 

You can let a Shop around your area to do a Valve Job on your Subie's engine, but is always better to choose a shop that has Knowledge / Reputation of knowing Subarus; I don't know the prices in USA, but in my Country, a valve Job + Head Gaskets change, takes a Day and the price is pretty Cheap.

 

Such job should be Enough to keep your subie running good for more years to come; unless your engine needs Timing Belts or other items; in such case, it is worth to change everything at once.

 

Kind Regards.

Your location says "PNW" so your somewhere in the pacific northwest.  I'm guessing Oregon or Washington (I'm in Idaho).

 

Per Automd.com doing both  head gaskets on that car is a 13.7 hour job.  

 

Your going to need a gasket set (full set) and a valve job done.  

 

The valve job shouldn't be more than $300 for both heads + parts if the valves aren't damaged.  This would include new valve stem seals installed at the same time and camshaft seals (since your going to have a machine shop have it apart anyways).

 

You find a mechanic @ $50/hr (yes there are good ones out there at that rate) and your looking at $685 or less for labor (a good mechanic is usually no higher than book time, and they charge less if they can do it faster).

 

All total, doing it right and resealing the entire engine should be able to be done for around $1,300 I would suspect but you never said what you were quoted.

 

Here's the thing.  You sell it and get say $1,000.  You put that down on a new to you used car and start making even $100/month payments on a 4 or 5 year loan.................

 

Yep, you got a newer car and now you have $4,800+ in a loan on the car.

 

Spend $1,300 and drive the car for 3 more years for less than that $100/month car payment.

Did the mechanic check valve lash clearance on that cylinder?

If the clreance is at or close to 0, it needs adjustment. You may be at a point where an adjustment will save the valve.

Did the mechanic check valve lash clearance on that cylinder?

If the clreance is at or close to 0, it needs adjustment. You may be at a point where an adjustment will save the valve.

maybe I should double check, but the shop seemed to think adjustment of the valve lash wouldn't solVe the problem.

Duplicate

Edited June 6, 201510 yr by sario

Duplicate post

Edited June 6, 201510 yr by sario

Duplicate post

Edited June 6, 201510 yr by sario