Shifter59 Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Anyone ever change the plugs on the 2.5 motor for 97 outbacks? Is this just a pain in the rump roast always or what? any advice appreciated...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Its a pain in the rump roast...so buy really good plugs and give the car a nice tuneup so you wont have to do it for a long long long time nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortlid Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Put Planuim NGK or Denso in there. Then you will not have to do it for another 60k+. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwatt Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Anyone ever change the plugs on the 2.5 motor for 97 outbacks? Is this just a pain in the rump roast always or what? any advice appreciated...... Yes, it's a pain in the rump roast. But actually very easy to do IF you set aside enough time and you're in the right mental state. Buy a six-pack of Heineken the night before you do this. All kidding aside, the job is easy enough if you move things out of the way, and you take your time and don't force stuff. I can't over-emphasize that. Don't force stuff. Resist the temptation to forcefully "jerk" plug wires loose, etc. And obviously, all of this should be done only with the engine cool, never hot. You must remove the windshield washer tank and the fuel filter bracket from the left strut tower. (to prevent tearing up your arm when you reach down towards the spark plugs because the bracket sticks out and WILL hurt). Note carefully how the fuel filter bracket is assembled before you take it off. You must remove the "air box" or at least the air filter cover and snorkle from the right side of the engine compartment. Once these things are removed and out of the way, it's much easier to grasp and twist the plug wire boots loose from the spark plugs. Be sure to use the little "finger pulls" that are molded into the plug wire boots to grasp them. Forcing the plug wire boots off of the plug by "ripping" them off will only damage the plug wire, resulting in engine misfiring. Since Subaru has been so generous in providing about one inch of space between the rocker covers and the vehicle frame, you have to gently wiggle the plug wire boot out from between the frame and the engine, then move each plug wire up and out of the way. If the plug wires are the originals, you may want to consider replacing them while you're replacing the spark plugs. By the way, Subaru offers "Subaru of America" replacement plug wires as a complete set, as well as the original-equipment plug wires, but the OE wires are sold singly. The advantage to the OE wires is they fit exactly and they're even the same silly red color. Removing the spark plugs from the cylinder heads is pretty straight-forward after all the other stuff is off--just use a 3/8 drive ratchet and a deep well spark plug socket (I think it's a 5/8 spark plug socket but someone else chime in here if I'm wrong...) It's getting your hands down into the engine compartment between the cylinder heads and the frame rails that's the real challenge. By the way, on reassembly, be sure to apply anti-seize compound to the spark plug threads and silicon spark plug boot release to the inside of each plug wire boot. Each plug wire boot must be gently wiggled back between the frame rail and the cylinder head, guided into the cylinder head and onto the spark plug. You'll be able to tell that each boot is secured to each spark plug because there will be a distinct "click" when the boot completely engages onto the plug. If you don't here that "click", you may end up with a misfire because the boot won't be completely attached to the plug. Oh, yeh.....about removing that windshield washer tank----have a couple of small rubber "vacuum caps" handy to plug off the hose connector on each washer pump after the hoses are pulled loose, or you'll end up loosing all of your washer fluid on the garage floor. I learned the hard way. Also, resist the temptation to force the electrical connectors loose from the washer pumps. If you study them carefully, you'll see that they have a little release tab that needs to be gently pried so the connector comes loose from each washer pump. Oh, but wait, there's more.....if you find that the old spark plugs and plug wire boots are soaked with engine oil, you'll need to replace the inner and outer rocker cover gaskets......but that's a whole different story. If you get all of this done while maintaining your composure AND the engine runs perfectly afterwards, then reward yourself with the Heinekens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babyfacefitz Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 I just learned how hard it is to do the spark plug change on the DOHC 2.5 engine. Since the room is so small, I had to grind down the ball catch thing in my extension. There was not enough room to put in the 16 mm socket and the extension at the same time. It was much easier to get out with the "catch ball" ground out, since they would then easily seperate. I broke one of the plugs, (#4) before I modified my extension. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setright Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 YEah, what MWATT says. Good advice. Especially the thing about mental state. Don't rush it the first time, the learning curve can be steep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shifter59 Posted October 21, 2005 Author Share Posted October 21, 2005 thanks for the help bro! i really need to wait till i'm rested up and free alllllllll day, i've studied it a bit, but god what a pain, someone told me the mechanic book time on this is something like 2.5 hours, haha Yes, it's a pain in the rump roast. But actually very easy to do IF you set aside enough time and you're in the right mental state. Buy a six-pack of Heineken the night before you do this. All kidding aside, the job is easy enough if you move things out of the way, and you take your time and don't force stuff. I can't over-emphasize that. Don't force stuff. Resist the temptation to forcefully "jerk" plug wires loose, etc. And obviously, all of this should be done only with the engine cool, never hot. You must remove the windshield washer tank and the fuel filter bracket from the left strut tower. (to prevent tearing up your arm when you reach down towards the spark plugs because the bracket sticks out and WILL hurt). Note carefully how the fuel filter bracket is assembled before you take it off. You must remove the "air box" or at least the air filter cover and snorkle from the right side of the engine compartment. Once these things are removed and out of the way, it's much easier to grasp and twist the plug wire boots loose from the spark plugs. Be sure to use the little "finger pulls" that are molded into the plug wire boots to grasp them. Forcing the plug wire boots off of the plug by "ripping" them off will only damage the plug wire, resulting in engine misfiring. Since Subaru has been so generous in providing about one inch of space between the rocker covers and the vehicle frame, you have to gently wiggle the plug wire boot out from between the frame and the engine, then move each plug wire up and out of the way. If the plug wires are the originals, you may want to consider replacing them while you're replacing the spark plugs. By the way, Subaru offers "Subaru of America" replacement plug wires as a complete set, as well as the original-equipment plug wires, but the OE wires are sold singly. The advantage to the OE wires is they fit exactly and they're even the same silly red color. Removing the spark plugs from the cylinder heads is pretty straight-forward after all the other stuff is off--just use a 3/8 drive ratchet and a deep well spark plug socket (I think it's a 5/8 spark plug socket but someone else chime in here if I'm wrong...) It's getting your hands down into the engine compartment between the cylinder heads and the frame rails that's the real challenge. By the way, on reassembly, be sure to apply anti-seize compound to the spark plug threads and silicon spark plug boot release to the inside of each plug wire boot. Each plug wire boot must be gently wiggled back between the frame rail and the cylinder head, guided into the cylinder head and onto the spark plug. You'll be able to tell that each boot is secured to each spark plug because there will be a distinct "click" when the boot completely engages onto the plug. If you don't here that "click", you may end up with a misfire because the boot won't be completely attached to the plug. Oh, yeh.....about removing that windshield washer tank----have a couple of small rubber "vacuum caps" handy to plug off the hose connector on each washer pump after the hoses are pulled loose, or you'll end up loosing all of your washer fluid on the garage floor. I learned the hard way. Also, resist the temptation to force the electrical connectors loose from the washer pumps. If you study them carefully, you'll see that they have a little release tab that needs to be gently pried so the connector comes loose from each washer pump. Oh, but wait, there's more.....if you find that the old spark plugs and plug wire boots are soaked with engine oil, you'll need to replace the inner and outer rocker cover gaskets......but that's a whole different story. If you get all of this done while maintaining your composure AND the engine runs perfectly afterwards, then reward yourself with the Heinekens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOMAD327 Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 I'll paste in an old response I left from a couple of years ago! Once you remove the windshield washer bottle and battery (can probably just slide it forward on it’s tray a bit) on the left and the air inlet tube and mass air sensor and air cleaner box on the passenger side, access is fair doing a 2.5 in an outback. I would do the front plug first on each side, as they are slightly easier to do. What makes it the most hard is that the plugs are really far down inside the wells in the heads. The rear plugs on each side are harder because the frame rails are closer in the back. My problem was that an extension was needed, but there isn’t room to get one in with the socket attached. You have to slide the socket into the hole first, then slide in and assemble the extension, and finally attach the ratchet to the end of the extension. I immediately removed the sponge rubber plug protector from my socket, the reason being it will be extremely difficult to get the socket off the end of the plug and out of the hole if the rubber is gripping the spark plug. I didn’t want it on for plug removal either, because there is a lot of trial and error with your socket set as to what gives just the right length for getting the socket stack down into the hole. As I recall, what worked best for me was to use a plug socket in the rear, and then use a ratchet with a standard socket on it to turn the hex on top of the plug socket instead of using an extension. On the front plugs, a 3” extension worked pretty well with the regular spark plug socket and a ratchet. There was at least one plug which worked slightly better with a standard deepwell socket instead of the spark plug socket, but that was not a critical must have item! I would recommend having a small hand mirror on a stick or a ladies compact to be able to glance down into the well to see what’s happening. I’ve done a few of these cars, and on each one, at one time or another, the spark plug socket became slightly jammed on some aluminum protrusions of the head that were down deep in the well. The impression is that the threads are pulling rather than the socket is cocked and dragging. If you experience this, Use the mirror to reconnoiter. If in doubt, reverse direction, and the condition should go away if it’s not the threads. This usually happens when it’s just starting to go real good to scare the heck out of you. Going back in with new spark plugs, make sure you check the gap first, then lube the threads with an anti-seize compound. Make sure there is a washer on the plug or you will wonder later on if it was in fact there. The big trick to installation, is to have a piece of rubber hose that’s about three or four inches long and a snug fit on the top of the spark plug. Stick it down over the top of the plug and use it to guide the plug into place. Twirl the hose between your fingers and you can probably get the new plug in half to three quarters of the way which is time not spent with a socket wrench. It’s also much easier to angle the plug and feel it start correctly with the hose. Putting all the stuff back on, make sure the three quarter inch hose that connects to the bottom of the intake tract after the air flow sensor is reconnected, The car will not run without the hose connected, and sometimes it slips off unseen during disassembly, and you don’t even realize it needs reconnected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMattyD Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 Just one more reason to love the 2.2. The spark plugs are easy to get to, I think. matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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