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L.Michael
08-16-2012, 12:10 PM
I'm from Saskatoon Saskatchewan. Here I like to stay busy with any sort and form of mechanics. A simple job of replacing the ball joint of my dodge stratus this week, turned into a lot more than I thought it should have had to of been! But, thats how it goes sometimes..

I've always wanted a Subie to work on the engine; to understand the inner workings of her.
Grew up on a farm, so I've always been into machines. Done a few complete rebuilds, one was SBC 350, bored it 30thou over. That was fun!

I finally got my first Subaru! A '97 Legacy Outback, 2.5L auto. At a glance, she needed a bath and an interior scrubbing! Dog hair everywhere, and just filthy..

This was her on purchase day..
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2012/08/4e71d212-1.jpg

She had apparently quit while the owner was driving. It wasn't going to be pretty, I was certain of that! The question was, what was the problem, and can it be fixed!?

L.Michael
08-16-2012, 12:59 PM
So once I had the time to initiate the diagnosis, it began with a snap! I must say you just know when you are at the start of something beautiful.. Pieces came off so easily, no shredding the hands to take anything off. I did learn of a few things to do first next time, however.

I hear people say how the engine has to come out of the bay to take it apart.. I had to disagree. I simply raised the motor after removing the mount nuts, and the valve covers came right off! However, I managed to strip one cam bearing bolt head, dont ask me how I managed that, but for the life of me, I couldn't get it off..

So to determine how I should process my future attempts of getting the final bearing bolt off, I took off the right bank cylinder head instead. ( I was very careful not to strip any heads this time! ) And when the head came off, I got my answer as to how to process the bolt issue on the other bank! Take a look at what I have discovered..

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2012/08/4dadc5ab-1.jpg

Thats some rusty cylinder walls! the rings, pistons, bearings, and gawd, probably the crank was going to need to be replaced. Let alone sleeving the block. I'm sure you can guess How I managed to remove the cam on the other side now.. :smt027

If you guessed a crescent wrench until that bearing shattered, then you're right! And here's whats more disturbing than the other side..

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2012/08/4a957af1-1.jpg

As I await for my new engine to come, the dismantled heart of the car sits and waits to go too!
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2012/08/061d1d37-1.jpg

chuckthefuk
08-16-2012, 02:42 PM
Welcome to SLi !

Nice to see more Canadians joining the forum.

The passenger side head is fairly easy to take off but the driver side head is a PITA since the amount of accessories make it time consuming. Which you seem to not care about and pushed everything to the side.

The other reason why people usually take out the entire engine is to gain access to the rear portion of the motor to change the Rear Main Seal and the Oil Seperator Plate (Plate of doom) originally these plates are plastic but the revision is now metal with new revised nuts. Also changing the front cam and crank seals is annoying with the motor still in but who cares since you don't :-D

Grab a copy of your (FSM) factory service manual from "literature section" on sli or click on my signature. This should help you out with torque specs and procedures.

From the east-central :-D
-Chuck

mike-tracy
08-18-2012, 12:07 AM
Welcome and nice work so far! You can actually get the dohc heads off without lifting the engine up at all. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself at the JY. Unbelievable PIA though. Why do you think the engine rusted like that on a "running" block? Kind of hard to believe.

Saskatoon Saskatchewan, eh? Reminds me of this clip from "Grown Ups" :grin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKUDRW9EA2c

Dead91silvia
08-18-2012, 12:22 AM
Welcome!

As for what Chuck said, Pull the motor! You will thank us later when you start doing the head bolt TQ sequence. It's a PITA! And these motors like to piss oil out the rear anyway. It's super easy and takes less time and is less frustrating when you put the motor back together. It only has 4 bellhousing bolts/nuts also.

If it was me, I would go pick up a motor with a blown headgasket. Save you a lot of time and money. But if you want to do a full rebuild, go for it. Splitting the case is... interesting..

Anyway, good luck!

L.Michael
08-20-2012, 03:11 PM
HaHa.. Grown Ups. Yeah, that was funny indeed! "Where is Saskatchatoon anyways?"

I'm going to continue posting my progress in the Member's Rides I section.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=25484

Please continue to post, as all comments are welcomed! :)