May 17, 200718 yr Thought I had a headgasket issue, but when I got to the intake manifold gaskets they were shredded... so I replaced them, and we'll see. In the meantime, here is what I learned along the way... >Use OEM intake gaskets... I just did those last summer, and they were completely toast. I expect the ones I replaced last year were probably the originals. Yes, this is all over the forum if you read about it, but I didn't check here for that job, as it was obvious what needed to be done. >You do NOT need to unbolt the oil pickup to remove the oil pan. If you undo the pitch bar and the engine mounts, and jack the engine up just a couple of inches, and TURN the pan 180° it will slip out easily. >It IS possible to get the driver's side cam cover off with just a regular box end wrench - ratcheting style would be VERY nice, but not neccesary. >It's easy enough to make a special tool for the camshaft pulleys. I took a piece of 1/8"x3/4" flat bar and drilled two holes in it. The holes were spaced the same as two adjacent holes on the cam pulley. This was very useful for holding the pulley while torquing the bolts, and also for tensioning the belts. >It's not a big deal to pull the rad, and it makes working on the front end a whole lot more pleasant! Hope something here is helpful to someone...
May 17, 200718 yr Not to hijack but I have a question about similar work. I too know how much space you gain upfront by removing the rad. I did it a month ago on the wifeys car. But can you also remove the a/c condenser in front of it to make even more room w/o any special a/c controls to worry about? I dont know enough about a/c.
May 17, 200718 yr If you disconnect the lines to the condenser, you're in trouble. If you can move it out of the way without unhooking, you're OK.
May 17, 200718 yr Not to hijack but I have a question about similar work. I too know how much space you gain upfront by removing the rad. I did it a month ago on the wifeys car. But can you also remove the a/c condenser in front of it to make even more room w/o any special a/c controls to worry about? I dont know enough about a/c. You'd have to unhook the lines and that would release the refrigerant inside. The whole system would need refilled after. Plus not collecting the gases is uh...bad..MMMKaay.
May 17, 200718 yr Besides, the AC evaporator is on the front of the radiator crossmember, so you really only gain minimal additional access. I will add that having the intake, etc all removed makes for an EXCELLENT opportunity to deep-clean the engine and engine bay.. 20+ years of oil leaks MAY be part of "what makes a subaru, a subaru;" but I had to get rid of it all
May 18, 200718 yr depends on what you are dealing with.. I strated TRYING to use a carb or brake cleaner type, quick drying degreaser, but rapidly switched to parts cleaning fluid (mineral spirits, diesel oil.. i am not sure) just to scale off the bulk of the sand, dirt, oil, etc crap that had built up. I covered all openings and then hit it with heavy duty alkaline degreaser, and rinsed it off.. after that, it was beautiful.
May 18, 200718 yr Author Been wondering: where in BC are you? 1 hour SW of you apparently... Rossland.
May 18, 200718 yr SWEET! Finally a local member!!!!! Come to Nelson for a meetup? Or, I might be heading out to Trail in the near future. (Next week, maybe) I'm self-employed, so fairly flexible schedule.
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