Good luck with the rebuild.

 

Thanks, I wish I could figure out why the images don’t post

 

Good luck. Canr think of a better way to bond with a father in law!

 

Honestly, I couldn’t have done it without him. He’s a great guy

 

Good luck!
The images are now visible 👍

Sent from my SM-J700F using Tapatalk

 

Hey thanks man. Yeah I decided to take the engine apart after all.


But it's weird, I still don't see any of the images..

 

Posted some pics on the OP, some are flipped I apologize

Next steps: Take out starter motor, exhaust pipes, separate torque converter, jack under tranny, take out the 8 bolts attaching engine to tranny and engine comes out

 

Don't forget to disconnect the O2 sensors from the exhaust.

Sent from my SM-J700F using Tapatalk

 

@bobk25 Yes of course, thanks

 

While I'm at it and while everything is out, I plan on:

Cleaning everything real good with degreaser
cleaning the Throttle Body
flush/clean the Fuel Injectors
replace both torn CV Axle boots by the gear box
and car's got some rust where the battery was resting, it appears broken battery acid poured on the fender.. need to clean that area real good with a wheel grinder and weld a piece of sheet metal there..

Waiting for some goodies next week
To be continued..

 

Update..

Finally took the engine out yesterday. Wow, for someone that’s never done this kind of job before it’s quite a lot of work, but it’s done!
I wish the Subaru manual indicated or mentioned something about transmission lines held on the bottm left(driver side) of the engine. Anyone attempting this job must be very careful and remember those lines, almost ended up pulling them. Also, there’a a nut and a bolt right above the the left axle, which need to be removed to desengage the engine from the tranny, VERY VERY difficult to remove as there’s barely any space there.. almost considered removing the left axle to take them out.. but it worked. I ended up placing a wrench on the nut and hitting it with a pipe from above, not even a swivel sicket would help, but they both came out thank God.

 

 

I hope you are able to do regular updates of your project! Thanks for sharing.

 

Will do, planning on taking lots of pics og the build. I’m sure I’m going to have some questions as well

 

Engine is out!

Almost pulled out the transmission lines underneath the left side of the motor.. Even though we followed the manual step by step, it was no where mentioned to remove the two little 8mm bolts holding the tranny lines and since I was doing this for the first time I had no idea. It was almost dark when we pulled the motor, but we noticed it was tilting when lifting it.. needless to say, brought the engine down again and disconnected the lines.. we got real lucky..

Some more pics..

This right here was imo the toughest part of this whole engine removal
Crazy tough time removing the bolt and bottom nut here, barely any space at all to work down there between the cross member frame, the left axle and the steering column, not even a swivel socket would help, almost stripped the nut trying.. Thank God it loosened up.. it was even mentioned on YouTube video sometimes people having to remove the left axle to take out that bottom nut, it was that difficult. If you are attempting this job, since the bottom nut is mounted behind the transmission housing, imo the best way to get it lose is to have a buddy help you holding the nut with a wrench from under the car and hitting the wrench from up top with a pipe(can't be too big a pipe either as it won't fit in there either), we used the jack pipe to hit the wrench and it worked perfectly

Bag'm and tag'm

The Culprit.. what appears to be a Left HG leak

possible rear main seal leak? unsure it was in part from the left HG

left side and rear of transmission pan covered in oil as well, maybe due to HG leak, will fix this as well

Former owner battery acid leak Only area on the car with rust.. need to clean with grinder very well and weld a piece of sheet metal

 

Good catch on the tranny Lines! I've pulled the engine 3 times now and forgot the last time, thank goodness I have a donor car for replacing the bent ones, I think they did finally move them to the frame rail in 2003. good luck with the rebuild, watch youtube video on how to split the block. it'll help.
I Like the bag idea for the bolts, I use plastic cups
You may want to visit Company23 and get a crank pully tool. very handy to have.

 

Yeah man, those transmission lines hanging down there was a big scare, but now I know..
Company 23 tools arriving soon, the right tools fot the job. Before I started all this, I watched quite a fewYouTube videos, they help tremendously, a lot of people have done a great job at filming their progress with these engines and that helps A LOT. Can’t wait to take those heads appart and see what’s up..

I need to see where I can get a TorkPlus TP40 tool, been to a few places and no one has it.. maybe the Subaru dealer?

 

Progress!!

Sent from my SM-J700F using Tapatalk

 

Engine soundsded a bit like a diesel before, hopefully not, but I’m suspecting some rod knock/piston slap I think it’s the term..
Anyways I’m planning on doing a complete engine overhaul replacing all seals, gaskets, o-rings, gromets, etc

 

If I could get the opinion of some of you engine gurus.. back when the engine was in the car, it had a subtle/mild piston slapping or rod nock sound to it, it was very subtle, but it was there. As I stated before, best way I could describe is it sounded a bit a like a diesel motor.

Now, could this be related to piston rings failure or a valve or rocker arm out of spec?

I'm honestly preparing myself for a full engine tear down since I really don't want to go through the process of removing the engine once again; however if that could be avoided or if it's not necessary I guess I could just do the HG repair and avoid having to do everything else related to taking the whole engine apart. What do you guys suggest?

 

Engine rebuild

Subi,

I spent about 8 months last year rebuilding my 2.5litre EJ engine. The long time taken was caused by searching and asking for information and making or buying tools as I went along. There are a few items I will mention.

1. You are very lucky that you didn't damage the torque converter. The converter pinion nose can stick to the crank or flex plate and pull out the centre shaft from the converter/gearbox side. There is a factory tool that fits in through the starter motor hole that hooks over the ring gear to hold the converter from moving forward away from the bell housing. I made one from some angle iron plus my tool also fits between two ring gear teeth to lock the converter when you tighten the four M8 bolts to the flex pate.
2. Behind the flex plate is a large kidney shaped aluminium plate (some were plastic) held by countersunk bolts. The plates can split around the screw holes and leak. There is an upgraded steel plate with flat head screws. They are inexpensive. You should fit the new plate.
3. There is 20mm depth behind the rear main seal. Use a #8 gauge self-tapping screw and impact puller to get it out. The 20mm clearance means you won't damage anything.
4. All the seals were difficult to get out.
5. All the bolts undo with a bang!
6. I used the genuine Subaru head gasket. It has been upgraded twice, I think. After searching info about the multi-layer gaskets I came to the conclusion that nobody can definitely say one is better than the other. Also, some of the MLS gaskets are thicker.
7. Like you I looked at YouTube. I have come to the conclusion that all the US videos about how to tighten the head bolts are wrong. They overtighten the two centre bolts. I read a number of factory manuals of different years and they were all the same but different than the videos. Use the factory manuals as reference.
8. You need the crank holder tool and the tool for holding the plastic timing gear. It has a 60mm hex on the front.
9 I didn’t machine the heads. They are short and I could not detect any warpage with a straight edge. Cleaning them and removing the old fibre gasket materials is a pain. Allow about two days. I used a Scothchbrite and carb cleaner. Don’t use any power or air tools.
10. I replaced the wire gauze buckets in the fuel injectors and cleaned them using a pulsing device from eBay.
11. The manual transmission cars have a guide over the toothed timing belt crankshaft gear. They are not fitted to the auto gearbox cars. I fitted one as they are cheap and the mounting holes for two M6 bolts are there.
12. Instead of using the engine lifting chain holes as in your photos, I made two brackets so the engine is lifted at the centre-line and it sits horizontal when on the engine lifter. It makes it much easier to refit the engine. I did it by myself but if your father is with you he could rotate the engine while you push.
13. While the starter motor is out, buy a new brush pack in its carrier. These are easily replaced with a few screws.
14. I replaced the alternator with an 110amp model from a wrx, liberty or later car.
15. Fit platinum spark plugs that only need to be replaced every 100,000km.
16. Put some silicon grease on all the electrical plugs and spark plug tubes. This makes it much easier to remove them at some time later.

 

OP, start with the thread I linked to, read it through a couple times, then ask us specific questions.

Rod knock and piston slap are two VERY different things. Rod knock can usually be heard any time the engine is running, cold or hot. This is caused by permanent damage to the connecting rod bearings and is a death sentence for any engine. When you drain the oil look for metal flakes.

Piston slap is not life threatening and really is only noticeable when the engine is cold, quieting down as the engine warms up and the pistons expand.

Comments below in red.

Subi,
2. Behind the flex plate is a large kidney shaped aluminium plate (some were plastic) held by countersunk bolts. The plates can split around the screw holes and leak. There is an upgraded steel plate with flat head screws. They are inexpensive. You should fit the new plate. Your plate appears to be the v2.0 cast aluminum and didn't look like it was leaking. You may not need to replace this. Mine was plastic and was weeping after 208k miles.
3. There is 20mm depth behind the rear main seal. Use a #8 gauge self-tapping screw and impact puller to get it out. The 20mm clearance means you won't damage anything.
4. All the seals were difficult to get out. I second this. If the rear main seal and cam seals are not leaking I have been recommended to NOT replace them. See my thread on USMB.
5. All the bolts undo with a bang!
6. I used the genuine Subaru head gasket. It has been upgraded twice, I think. After searching info about the multi-layer gaskets I came to the conclusion that nobody can definitely say one is better than the other. Also, some of the MLS gaskets are thicker. There is a preferred gasket, it is MLS and the part number ends in 642, IIRC. 770 gaskets are also permissible
7. Like you I looked at YouTube. I have come to the conclusion that all the US videos about how to tighten the head bolts are wrong. They overtighten the two centre bolts. I read a number of factory manuals of different years and they were all the same but different than the videos. Use the factory manuals as reference. Clean the threads in the block thoroughly by slotting a spare head bolt along the length and running it in and out. Then lube the threads with assembly lube by running a lubed bolt in and out of each thread three times. When tightening the bolts there should be ZERO creaking. If you feel the bolt creaking, STOP. Remove the bolt, chase and re-lube the threads before attempting to re-torque.
8. You need the crank holder tool and the tool for holding the plastic timing gear. It has a 60mm hex on the front.
9 I didn’t machine the heads. They are short and I could not detect any warpage with a straight edge. Cleaning them and removing the old fibre gasket materials is a pain. Allow about two days. I used a Scothchbrite and carb cleaner. Don’t use any power or air tools.I did resurface my heads and you should too. They will all be warped and if not resurfaced properly, you will have a HG failure in short time. A machine shop can do it quickly, or you can lap the heads at home like I did on a large, thick glass or granite plate. You MUST resurface the head if you want the repair to last. There is no point in doing this repair without resurfacing the heads. In comparison, there isn't a lot of prep work that you can do to the block surface. Clean the gasket residue with scotchbrite pads and brake cleaner.
10. I replaced the wire gauze buckets in the fuel injectors and cleaned them using a pulsing device from eBay.
11. The manual transmission cars have a guide over the toothed timing belt crankshaft gear. They are not fitted to the auto gearbox cars. I fitted one as they are cheap and the mounting holes for two M6 bolts are there. Only needed to keep the timing belt from jumping when the engine stalls.
12. Instead of using the engine lifting chain holes as in your photos, I made two brackets so the engine is lifted at the centre-line and it sits horizontal when on the engine lifter. It makes it much easier to refit the engine. I did it by myself but if your father is with you he could rotate the engine while you push.
13. While the starter motor is out, buy a new brush pack in its carrier. These are easily replaced with a few screws.
14. I replaced the alternator with an 110amp model from a wrx, liberty or later car.
15. Fit platinum spark plugs that only need to be replaced every 100,000km.
16. Put some silicon grease on all the electrical plugs and spark plug tubes. This makes it much easier to remove them at some time later.

Other things to consider:

Inspect your battery ground, if it's corroded it may accelerate electrolysis of the head/block on the driver's side. I added a large ground strap on that side of the engine.

Our engine mounts were getting a little tired from being soaked in oil.

I replaced the alternator idler pulley while doing this repair.

Replace the entire PCV hose assembly, there are I think three molded rubber hoses and a plastic tee. Mine were almost completely blocked up with coked oil. This REALLY helped quiet down the piston slap on cold startups.

Clean the battery terminals and cable clamps well.

If you have a 9mm oil pump, replace it with a 10 mm pump.

 

Thanks for all the input, I appreciate you guys taking the time to write all these details..

1. Flex plate is the aluminum one V2.

2. I did notice there seems to be an oil leak right below the rear main seal as indicated by pic above

3. Honestly, I'd be scared to use a self tapping screw there or around any seal seating area

4. I've noticed on videos people have a hard time pulling out the seals. I was planning on using the Lisle seal puller or some type of brass pick I'd make in order to avoid scratching the steel seating area..

6. Already ordered Six-Star MLS(3 layer steel) HGs, like the Fel-Pro ones, they seem to be the best at avoiding future HG issues

7. Will clean all bolts real good as well as threaded holes in block, an air compressor would be a big help here

9. I do plan on machining/rectifying the heads, especially since this car was overheating before, hoping they are not warped. Called a few places locally and on a good reputable machine shop, the service charge goes from $75 each head using the old style machining vs $100 for some new technology called "diamond cut", person I spoke to says it leaves the head surface with a glass like finish. Seemed a bit expensive for each head, but I'm definitely not leaving that crucial step out

I'll check and clean the battery terminals and upgrade the ground. Also planning on doing a thorough degrease of the whole engine bay and the motor, gotta put the Intake Manny back on it first to avoid having chemicals falling inside the motor

Still got to inspect the engine support mounts, will determine if they need replacement now that engine is out

Glad to know the info about the PCV hose assy, will check it as soon as I get a chance

What's the big deal with a 9mm vs 10mm oil pump, were there problems circulating oil with the 9mm one?
how do I know which one I have?

 

Thanks for all the input, I appreciate you guys taking the time to write all these details..

1. Flex plate is the aluminum one V2. If it's not weeping, you'll be ok.

2. I did notice there seems to be an oil leak right below the rear main seal as indicated by pic above

3. Honestly, I'd be scared to use a self tapping screw there or around any seal seating area

4. I've noticed on videos people have a hard time pulling out the seals. I was planning on using the Lisle seal puller or some type of brass pick I'd make in order to avoid scratching the steel seating area.. This is the tool I used. It is a pain in the butt. You need to be VERY conscious of the angles and torque you are exerting, or the tool will slip and damage the seal. While that's not a problem in and of itself, once you've damaged the entire circumference of the seal, it gets a lot harder to pull, ask me how I know! :laugh: Tired the screw, but chickened out when it didn't work, eventually replaced all four seals, but it almost got farmed out I was getting so frustrated. I was later advised to only touch them if they leak. They are Vinton seals, so will last a good long time.

6. Already ordered Six-Star MLS(3 layer steel) HGs, like the Fel-Pro ones, they seem to be the best at avoiding future HG issues

7. Will clean all bolts real good as well as threaded holes in block, an air compressor would be a big help here Clean them, but don't grind or damage the anti-stick coating they have. Clean them of oil/grease/dirt and replace any that have rust on them (then slot a rusty one to chase the block's threads). Be careful to put the correct bolts back in the correct holes too.

9. I do plan on machining/rectifying the heads, especially since this car was overheating before, hoping they are not warped. Called a few places locally and on a good reputable machine shop, the service charge goes from $75 each head using the old style machining vs $100 for some new technology called "diamond cut", person I spoke to says it leaves the head surface with a glass like finish. Seemed a bit expensive for each head, but I'm definitely not leaving that crucial step out No need for a "diamond" finish, they just need to be flat. They are "warped" right now, I can promise you, but because Subaru heads are so small, they tend not to warp enough to leak like a warped BMW or Jeep head might.

I'll check and clean the battery terminals and upgrade the ground. Also planning on doing a thorough degrease of the whole engine bay and the motor, gotta put the Intake Manny back on it first to avoid having chemicals falling inside the motor

Still got to inspect the engine support mounts, will determine if they need replacement now that engine is out

Glad to know the info about the PCV hose assy, will check it as soon as I get a chance

What's the big deal with a 9mm vs 10mm oil pump, were there problems circulating oil with the 9mm one?
how do I know which one I have?

There will be a little number cast in two spots on the pump. If you look from the top of the engine standing in front there should be a number on the top surface of the pump on the left hand side. 9 for 9 mm, 10 for 10 mm, etc.

The 7 and 9 aren't big enough. They were attempts at raising fuel economy. I AM a Subaru engine builder and I would get a 10mm for a non turbo application. The 11mm is for the dual AVCS STI turbo engine and the 12mm is only used in Japan on twin turbo models IRRC. 11mm is overkill and unnecessary for an NA application as you don't have dual AVCS and a turbo consuming oil volume. They all put out the same pressure.

 

Couple of Company 23 tools came in today, TB components are off the engine. I was surprised that the crank bolt was barely torqued down whatsoever, it was much easier to remove it applying almost no force in comparison to the cam sprockets. This work can be a breeze when working with the right tools.

Two of the pulleys(probably from a Gates kit) are Chinese, were installed by previous owner. I don't mind using Chinese parts for other things on the car, but when it comes to TB/engine components is a different matter; I plan to immediately replace those pulleys, don't want them no where near my engine.

I also noticed the Tensioner was made in Canada, not Japan.

Chinese idlers to be replaced

Next step: The Heads..

 

Following. I will be delving into my spare 2.5 very soon.

 

(1) In regard to seal removal, I purchased a Taiwanese thin jaw puller for oil seals (also can be seen on YouTube). It struggled on the front crank seal and broke on the first cam seal. I then purchased the Lisle tool and it was only just capable of removing one of the cam seals and I used an impact puller with screw on the second cam seal. I couldn't budge the rear main seal with the Lisle tool. Using a self-tapping screw and impact puller (large piece of metal on a rod and pull backwards for a hammer blow) is one normal method. This is why I gave you the heads up of a #8 screw and 20mm clearance. I used a #10 screw and was ultra careful until the seal eventually came out then I measured the clearance behind the seal so everyone would know. I had to drill about 8 holes in the seal as the #10 screw still pulled out because the seal was in so tight.
(2) Be careful with non-genuine parts. I purchased an ebay timing belt kit that said it was Gates. It turned out to be a Gates belt and the rest packed by the supplier. One of the tensioner pulleys had a single row bearing in it whereas the genuine Subaru pulley uses a double-row bearing. You can find this elsewhere on the net as at least one other person found this (that was in the US and I am in Australia). When I raised the bearing issue with the supplier they just said they sell dozens of kits each month and I am the first person to complain. I found the problem too late as I purchased most of the parts needed well before I started the engine repair. I ended up writing the kit off and buying another genuine kit at two or three times the price.
(3) I came across another problem with non-genuine head bolts. I purchased a non-genuine kit but branded with a well known name. As I was just about to slide a new non-genuine bolt into my rebuilt engine, COMPETLEY BY CHANCE, I noticed a difference with the old genuine bolt. The captive washer under the head of the genuine bolt has a chamfer around the inner edge to cater for the slight radius under the bolt head (as they are forged). This allows the flat surface under the bolt head to sit flat on the captive washer. There was no chamfer around the washer hole on the non-genuine bolt. When I pushed up the washer under the head there was light shining through and I could slide a feeler gauge through the gap. I thought I was on to something here and called the manufacturer's agent here in Australia. I was flabbergasted when the Agent said they knew about the washer problem but as they had bought in 2500 sets they had to sell them off first. This alone could add to the head gasket issue - what of the other 2499 persons? It would seem that this company with a recognised name & history buy from one of several bolt manufacturers and put them in their well named box. The Agent said to make a claim from where I purchased the bolts and they would authorise a refund without any return - there was no argument, it was their suggestion first. After that time waster, I purchased a genuine set at double the price.

 

Thanks for the heads up PeterfromOz. I will be extra careful when removing those seals

2. I am planning on getting rid of those two idlers I marked off as they are clearly made in China. I only want Subaru brand engine components. When I was doing my research I came across this video, anyone attempting a TB change MUST watch it and be aware of what's going on.. It sucks there are companies out there like Gates that are literally scamming people into buying a TB kit for which parts are labeled as "Made in Japan"

GATES Subaru Timing Kits: BUYER BEWARE!
https://youtu.be/7qYmNXOhn_o

3. Will be on the lookout for the head bolts once I'm there, thanks!

 

Ok guys, I just noticed something that might be of importance..

I looked down the intake ports with a flashlight and to my surprise Cylinder #2 intake valves are semi open about 5mm. Both L & R cam sprockets as well as the crank shaft sprocket are positioned on their corresponding timing marks exactly as where I left them when I removed the timing components this afternoon.

Aren't all the valves supposed to be closed if al the sprockets' timing marks are positioned correctly? Or is it normal for the intake valves to be open for one of the pistons? Just wondering if that could be related to the "mild diesel" sound the engine was making before?

Piston#1 Intake valves closed

Piston#2 Intake valves opened/dropping??

Piston #3 Intake valves closed

Piston#4 Intake valves closed

 

No. The open valves are ok. You will find when you reassemble the engine one of the sprockets might want to rotate against the valve spring load and you will either have to try to balance it against its own friction or lock it in some way. Some spring paper clips holding the belt to the sprocket with the belt load balance on the crank sprocket is what I think I used.

Those sort of banana shaped tools for the twin cam engines only fit into the allen bolts on the cam to lock the two cams together against each other's valve spring load to stop them spinning into their own neutral point.

If your valves were 5mm open it would not be dieseling but running rough on three cylinders.

Also, be careful trying to spin the sprockets around as the engine is an 'ínterference' design meaning the valves will hit the piston. If you get the cam just over where top dead centre is , it can drive the sprocket around like a rat trap and hit the valve on the piston.

I did all the work on my 2004 build Forester two years ago when I bought it after reading about all the Subaru problems. If I didn't do it then I would have probably left it until I really had a problem. It had 107,000km then, about 65,000 miles. It is my first automatic car (we bought it off a friend so had no choice of gearbox type). I have been fixing cars for more than 50 years and my car has lots of unfamiliar noises. I wind the windows down to listen at start up or when driving through a tunnel. My car has a very slight noise that could be mistaken for piston slap or similar but I have put it down to pump noise in the auto gearbox or something like that. In my opinion the engine hasn't travelled enough distance to wear out plus the cylinder bores were excellent. I note I have some tappet noise at start on a cold engine but it goes away quickly. Remember, the engines are alloy and they use thin oil which doesn't help to damp out noise.

Also, when you reassemble the engine, fit the dip stick tube then. I left it out thinking It would be in the way but the cam sensors and other bits are in the way after they are fitted. It was a little bit of unneeded extra work to remove these bits to fit the oil tube with the engine in the car.

 

My answers will be in blue. Thanks again

No. The open valves are ok. You will find when you reassemble the engine one of the sprockets might want to rotate against the valve spring load and you will either have to try to balance it against its own friction or lock it in some way. Some spring paper clips holding the belt to the sprocket with the belt load balance on the crank sprocket is what I think I used.

Phew.. Thank God, I got concerned there for a moment.. What's a good way/reference to know this though? Is there a reason for this particular Pitson#2 valves be opened? I thought all intake valves would be closed by having all sprockets in their timing marks? I guess what I'm trying to say is: Why piston#2 and not 1 , 3 or 4?

Those sort of banana shaped tools for the twin cam engines only fit into the allen bolts on the cam to lock the two cams together against each other's valve spring load to stop them spinning into their own neutral point.

If your valves were 5mm open it would not be dieseling but running rough on three cylinders.

Running rough? Does that mean there's/could be issues with Piston #2 rings?

Also, be careful trying to spin the sprockets around as the engine is an 'ínterference' design meaning the valves will hit the piston. If you get the cam just over where top dead centre is , it can drive the sprocket around like a rat trap and hit the valve on the piston.

I have an idea of what you mean, I just wished I understood it better.. What's a good guideline for knowing not when to turn the crank in order not avoid having the valves being bent or hitting the pistons? Is aligning the sprockets on their timing marks not enough? How does one know what's safe?

I did all the work on my 2004 build Forester two years ago when I bought it after reading about all the Subaru problems. If I didn't do it then I would have probably left it until I really had a problem. It had 107,000km then, about 65,000 miles. It is my first automatic car (we bought it off a friend so had no choice of gearbox type). I have been fixing cars for more than 50 years and my car has lots of unfamiliar noises. I wind the windows down to listen at start up or when driving through a tunnel. My car has a very slight noise that could be mistaken for piston slap or similar but I have put it down to pump noise in the auto gearbox or something like that. In my opinion the engine hasn't travelled enough distance to wear out plus the cylinder bores were excellent. I note I have some tappet noise at start on a cold engine but it goes away quickly. Remember, the engines are alloy and they use thin oil which doesn't help to damp out noise.

I'm glad to have you on my thread mate, I will sure use your experience when reassembling the motor back together

Also, when you reassemble the engine, fit the dip stick tube then. I left it out thinking It would be in the way but the cam sensors and other bits are in the way after they are fitted. It was a little bit of unneeded extra work to remove these bits to fit the oil tube with the engine in the car.

Will try to remember this step then..

 

Couldn't do much today on the engine.. still looking for a Torx Bit TP-40 as mentioned in the manual. Only place they have it is Amazon, none of the local stores had it and those that did, only sell the whole set. I only need the one TP-40 3/8 socket so.. will have to wait till it arrives from Amazon.

I'll try to clean the motor real well tomorrow and work on installing the lamp I need above the work bench

 

An interference engine means that if a piston is on top dead centre and you rotate the camshaft, the valves will hit the piston. This is why you need to replace the timing belt at regular intervals otherwise it can lead to some spectacular engine fails. Some engines are non-interference. I think it is about reducing emissions and reducing the engine size a few millimetres.

You don't need the Torx 40 plus socket unless you want to remove the cam shafts. The head is split in two pieces. They hold the camshaft in place. Don't split the head unless the cams need replacing or regrinding which is unlikely. (Torx plus sockets are on ebay.) The plus torx has thicker splines than the standard torx. As far as I know on our normally aspirated engines, only the head pieces use torx plus although I think one of the WRX models used torx on the flywheel.

In regard to running on three-cylinders, what it means is that the engine most likely can start but will have no power, normally only enough to move the car. Your car has low miles on it and unless someone ran it without oil or something you won't need piston rings in fact if you look closely you most likely will still see a few hone marks (as my car).

I think what subaru has done by getting you to align all the sprocket marks up before removing the heads is to put all four pistons in the position that they can be lowest into the block. When you release the tension on the cam belt at least one of the cam lobe sets will be over-centre and this will try to turn the cam around until that load is zeroed or balanced against the other cylinder valve springs.

In regard to all the other advice given here about oiling the head bolts, you will note on some of the videos that the engine is inverted to let the excess oil flow out of the holes. If you have searched the internet as much as I did you will come across a thread or threads where some people couldn't tighten the bolts because the hole was full of oil (hydraulic lock).

As I said earlier, I didn't machine the heads because as far as I could see, they were flat. However, what I did do was to re-cut the valve seats and regrind the the valves. The seats and valve faces had 'galling' on them which I think is due to the unleaded fuel now used. I would not have done this on any of my older cars. (Galling means they microscopically weld together and rip off their own surface leaving micropits which you can see with a magnifying glass.)

Also, a problem that seems to occur in the US but not in Oz is that the valve guides loosen and move up and/or down where the head of the valve meets on its upward travel. This is caused by carbon build up on the stem of the valve hitting the valve guide. Check that they are all in the same position. Look it up on the net. Our lowest octane here is 91. Ethanol mix is 94. Next jump is 95 & 98. I use 98 most of the time and 95 in some country locations that don't stock 98. The manual says the engine can run on 90 but at 10.5 standard compression I use 98.

 

Hello again Peter!

An interference engine means that if a piston is on top dead centre and you rotate the camshaft, the valves will hit the piston. This is why you need to replace the timing belt at regular intervals otherwise it can lead to some spectacular engine fails. Some engines are non-interference. I think it is about reducing emissions and reducing the engine size a few millimetres.

Thanks for the explanation, this is very important info, good to know. Will touch on this subject again when reassembling the engine just to make sure I don't mess up anything

You don't need the Torx 40 plus socket unless you want to remove the cam shafts. The head is split in two pieces. They hold the camshaft in place. Don't split the head unless the cams need replacing or regrinding which is unlikely. (Torx plus sockets are on ebay.) The plus torx has thicker splines than the standard torx. As far as I know on our normally aspirated engines, only the head pieces use torx plus although I think one of the WRX models used torx on the flywheel.

Yes I've seen that the head is split in two and the cap is held by those bolts that use the TP-40 bit, this is a pic of the tool mentioned in the manual. This whole motor tear down thing started because the engine was originally overheating. In an effort to resolve the problem, the previous owner changed the Radiator cap, Water Pump, Thermostat and did a Timing Belt change using the Gates kit; however, the overheating issue remained. He honestly suggested he was pretty sure the problem would not go away because of a likely HG leak. Evidently, that's what it seemed and I started preparing for it. But, since the engine has 114K miles on it already and since it's out of the car already, I said to my self, why not change as well every single seal, grommet, gasket, o-ring, piston rings, etc and leave it brand new for another 100K+ miles. Though I've heard of members here having above 300K miles on theirs.. I'd really like to keep this car for a long time, which is the reason why I wanted to do a full motor tear down. However, several people including yourself seem to be suggesting to just change the HGs.. but in order to correct the piston slap, won't I have to open the block in order to measure everything in there? I'm honestly not afraid of doing so, I'm mechanically inclined and will take my time on following the manual step by step.. I'm just concerned if I'd ever need a specialty tool not easily obtainable.. What do you think??


In regard to running on three-cylinders, what it means is that the engine most likely can start but will have no power, normally only enough to move the car. Your car has low miles on it and unless someone ran it without oil or something you won't need piston rings in fact if you look closely you most likely will still see a few hone marks (as my car).

This was honestly not the case with my engine, never really felt the car running rough or struggling before, although I didn't really push the engine due to the overheating issue

I think what subaru has done by getting you to align all the sprocket marks up before removing the heads is to put all four pistons in the position that they can be lowest into the block. When you release the tension on the cam belt at least one of the cam lobe sets will be over-centre and this will try to turn the cam around until that load is zeroed or balanced against the other cylinder valve springs.

In regard to all the other advice given here about oiling the head bolts, you will note on some of the videos that the engine is inverted to let the excess oil flow out of the holes. If you have searched the internet as much as I did you will come across a thread or threads where some people couldn't tighten the bolts because the hole was full of oil (hydraulic lock).

Yes, I had seen the bolts being oiled lightly before installing them back on the engine and also saw the guy doing it, tilting the engine to drain the oil out the holes.. the whole purpose is to avoid creaking correct? I'd like to know your opinion later on the torque when installing them. In the video I saw was by a Subaru mechanic, he recommended bypassing the stretching sequence(first three steps) in the manual since they had already been stretched when mounted before, only doing this with new bolts.. We'll get there later..

As I said earlier, I didn't machine the heads because as far as I could see, they were flat. However, what I did do was to re-cut the valve seats and regrind the the valves. The seats and valve faces had 'galling' on them which I think is due to the unleaded fuel now used. I would not have done this on any of my older cars. (Galling means they microscopically weld together and rip off their own surface leaving micropits which you can see with a magnifying glass.)

I'd like to machine the head though, just to be sure there is really good flat finish there.. will look into getting a machinist straight edge to measure them with the feeler gauge

Also, a problem that seems to occur in the US but not in Oz is that the valve guides loosen and move up and/or down where the head of the valve meets on its upward travel. This is caused by carbon build up on the stem of the valve hitting the valve guide. Check that they are all in the same position. Look it up on the net. Our lowest octane here is 91. Ethanol mix is 94. Next jump is 95 & 98. I use 98 most of the time and 95 in some country locations that don't stock 98. The manual says the engine can run on 90 but at 10.5 standard compression I use 98.