1992 EJ22 - 312k miles

Just had this engine out last winter 2016/17. Needed clutch so I did a full timing and reseal - less headgaskets. When I sealed the oil pump to block I am sure the o ring stayed in place and I used “the right stuff” as a gasket maker. Very thin coating and I’ve done it before. Did not leak a drop for most of a year.

Now as of this winter:

Spews oil when full. Oil is at least partially coming from the oil pump area. Probably all from there and blowing back giving appearance of other leaks. Oil pan looks perfect. Heads look fine looking along the seams as best as I could see.

Crank pulley ( harmonic balancer ) was new Old Stock just a year or so back. Looking at it I’d say it is still fine and is just showing the wobble that the crank end has caused.

 

Time and weather have been tough since this occurred. So getting to verify without removing covers etc hasn’t happened. Just getting warm here now.

 

I’ve seen folks mention that the crank end can get soft and flex at 300k or so. True ? Because I’m thinking this is what’s happening.

 

Meanwhile like my brother asked , the crank itself seems fine , no inner noises from low end etc.

 

This car has been with me for 11 years now and I’ve put nearly 200k on it for $1500. Had 119k , now at 312k. It’s become a friend. Lol

 

Thanks for any help.

 Wobble is likely in the pulley, not the crank.  I can't see the crank snout "softening" espescially since it has nearly zero force on it's end compared to the massive forces at the rod journals.   Might want to check that it hasn't moved on the keyway.

 

Gotta pull it to reseal the oil pump too.  Did you use the correct reinforced O-ring from subaru for the oil pump?

Yeah , I think they are blue , correct?

 

Hardened crank shouldn’t do that , I agree. Just that I know I saw it mentioned. Only force I could see would be if I massively cranked the accessory belts. Even still , doesn’t really seem possible.

 

I definitely buy at the dealer for all seals and most parts.

 

Just drive the car 100 miles today. Other than that lovely oil on exhaust smell the car is still plenty fine enough of a commuter/beater.

 

I’ll make time this weekend and find out what happened.

Side note.

Took my a/c tensioner pulley assy off to change out the bearing and found those three mounting bolts were 13mm heads and obvious hardware store shiny metal. That made me think “wtf did I do last winter”?

But I think that was my brother. Car was at his place during clutch job.

Pulley.

 

Oil leaks like that suck, in your face everywhere and messy and noooow where did it come from?

 

You don’t drive backwards to work right?!

If its up front then pump seems likely - maybe just clean off all around the pump first and see if you can identify a leak and ignore the rest of the mess for now.

Lol , thanks

I've seen more than one 2.2 with the #3 thrust that had excessive thrust play. Definitely check.

 

GD

I've seen more than one 2.2 with the #3 thrust that had excessive thrust play. Definitely check.

 

GD

 

Yeah especially on Manual trans models since the thrust journal takes the force of the clutch throwout bearing push against the PP.  at 317k that's seen alot of pushes.

Thanks guys. That’s plenty enough confirmation.

With my limited space and time to work I’m likely swapping out this 2.2 rather than tweak around an engine I know I sealed the dook out of just 16 months ago.

It was a loose crank bolt apparently , which caused the key to flex badly. 

Breaking the old engine down and that crank bolt of nasty bad not wanting to come out. I want to salvage that oil pump as it was new not so long ago. 

Brute force and ignorance will soon prevail. 

But that didn’t cause the rather severe oil leak it had. Really not yet seeing where it was spewing from. 

 

If the vibration from the wobble was bad enough, it might have ruined a crank seal, which would allow it to puke everywhere.

 

Yeah that was my thought but the timing area is dry. 

That crank bolt now is super hard to get out so I gave up. There sits a low mile oil pump behind it that would be great to have down the line.

Maybe I’ll take one more shot before the scrap yard. 

 

Edited September 21, 20214 yr by moosens
Media trim

Heat? If you have a MAPP gas tank it'd probably get it hot enough, otherwise dremel the face of the bolt head off, then try heat to help with prying. If there's room, a big ol' pulley puller might help. My rear rims (steel) were so STUCK on the hubs that a a shop with a 5 pound sledge was actually destroying the strut tower remnants vs. getting the rim off (if finally came off). For other rim, used a pulley puller to grab 2 rim holes and centered it on the center axle spline divot. Probably pre-loaded it about 30 found pounds. Put MAPP gas on the actual rim while the puller was pre-loaded, and after about 3 minutes, the rim "popped" off (disclaimer** If anyone ever tries that on their rim, be VERY careful. The force of rim coming off is similar to setting a bead and in theory could break a finger or worse. Don't pre-load the rim to where it's flexing it. LEAVE a few lugs on the threads to keep the rim from falling off. The puller might get tossed when the rim pops off the hub.)

 

If you can get the bolt head off, and get a puller on it, and apply heat, it'll probably come off. A cutting torch would probably work.

 

Other idea is if you can get a cut-off disc in the area, might be able to "split" the cog pulley on one side. If you can do that and get a wedge in there, I suspect it'll slip off.

Edited June 11, 20187 yr by Bushwick

Ya know , I should have gotten my Sawzall out and cut the head like you mentioned , but I drew the line and just scrapped the block with oil pan , oil pump , and crank pulley still in great shape. 

Life goes on.