Rain's 97 L Wagon

[Rain37]

Hi there, I joined this forum quite a while back when my family originally bought this proud little thing off my neighbors for $1,000.

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She at the time had 220,000 miles on here, a few dings here and there, valve cover gasket leak and a clutch that was on the edge of being completely shot. But over all, not bad for a 1997. My parents originally bought the car for my younger brother to drive. So I just mainly played with it here and there, not much at the time (didn't really have any education on working on cars). I around the time had hopes of selling my S10 and buying a Subaru Legacy wagon like ours, but that didn't quite work out.
So it continued to be driven for the next several years by my brother, and eventually got parked once my parents bought a newer Mercedes to my younger brother. So the Subaru continued to sit for the next two year, falling into disrepair.
Now comes the story of where I come in, since I graduated high school, I worked several years as security, enlisted in the Army, messed by back up and got discharged, and worked for an armored ATM courier service for a year. Upon leaving that job (because they were cheating me out of my check each week), I decided I should probably go to school and do something better with my life than Security and armored courier. So I decided to go to Lincoln Tech for Automotive Repair and Business.
I started in February of last year and I needed something to drive for the winter that was better than a lowered S10 (since I would be so far away from home). SO I decided to take the Subaru up with me. And to cut this already long story short, I ended up selling the S10 and just let me keep the Subaru (can't beat free).
One weekend when I was home, I went out to the junk yard with my brother to find a replacement door for the Subaru (my borhter got side swiped a few years ago in it), we did indeed find a replacement door, but even better yet, at the same time we found a full set of BBS wheels with newer tires on them hidden in the back of a van (probably stashed by someone so they could get them later). We noticed it was sitting next to the same Legacy we pulled the door off of, so you know I had to try them, and I was very excited when I found out they fit!!! I ended up paying $127 for the door and all four wheels and tires! Thank you Pull APart!

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A close up on the wheel and the door, that is the only area that got touched in the wreck other than the door. Thankfully it still shuts, and seals all the way, maybe some day I'll look into having a body shop fix that for me.
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Now, fast forward 9 months, I am in one of my two shop classes and in this one I needed to get a total of 40 flat rate shop hours before the end of this class. No big deal, that's 4 weeks to get that done. So, I got to looking at the Subaru and the many things it needed in the years of neglect and got started on fixing things. I started off with the valve cover gaskets since they were leaking at an alarming rate and decided to replace plugs and wires while I was at it. Next was followed by replacing all four rotors, they were warped and cracked. I am glad the thing could still stop. After that I replaced the rear struts and replaced the bracket for the rear license plate lights. Replaced the muffler with a DC Sports muffler but decided to keep the cats for now. With all of that and several other smaller things out of the way, I still had about 15 hours that I needed. So I decided to get on to replacing the completely shot clutch.

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Disassemble process.
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Got the transmission out and cleaned the bell housing out (found out the rear main seal had been shot for a very long time) and the new throwout bearing in.
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New rear main seal, flywheel, pilot bearing, clutch disk, and pressure plate are all in, aligned, and torqued to spec in the correct sequence.
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Got her all back together and took her on the first test drive. I was very happy with the work my friend and I did.
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A little bit later one of my friends was talking about how he wanted a set of BBS wheels like mine on his subaru, and I was talking about how I wanted something like his WRX wheels since the BBS wheels where a little too wide for my Legacy. We test fit our wheels on the others cars and and it ended up working perfectly for everyone. He got the style and fitment he wanted and I got the WRX wheels I have been wanting and fitment I needed.
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Man, I was so happy with the trade, I love these wheels.
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At this point, I had more than enough hours for my class, so now we had time to bugger around a little bit. First we tinted the rear tail lights. We used VHT and sprayed very carefully in light coats and kept testing the lights to make sure we didn't hinder the brightness of the brake lights.
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Next my friend had an HID kit from a car that he just sold that he gave to me, so all I had to do was buy the bulbs.
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And to top off a great 4 weeks of working hard and getting this Subaru back up and running well, I found a nice hood off of a Legacy Outback at a junk yard.
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And that brings us to now. Pretty much the same appearance(until spring when I can paint my wheels). I have been having a hesitation issue on acceleration, but it seems to be at random under different loads. So thanks to the schools scanner I rulled out the MAF, the MAP, and the TPS. We checked fuel and ruled the out as well. Now we have it narrowed down to spark. The plugs and wires are fine because I replaced them a few months ago, so I looked up the specs on the coil pack and tested it. Found that it's resistance was waaay over spec. So I bought a new one. And the issue had seemed to stopped until a few days ago, it's back. Test the new coil pack again, still fine. So I get on ALLDATA and look up the TSB's and found that many people had a similar issue and the fix ended up being the ICM. So I went into NAPA and ordered a new OE replacement. It should be here in the next few days.

I'll try to get more pictures and maybe a video or two soon.
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[98legwag]

Looks like a good start so far.

[Rain37]

Well, I have a bit of an update. Two days ago, I heading south from Indianapolis and noticed about 30 min into the trip I had a clashing CEL (Catalyst Damaging missfire). So I decided to ignore it until the upcoming rest stop (about 10 miles away). Maybe two miles later I started hear what shounded like exhaust from under hood, no I have my turn signal on to merge so I can pull over and that is when the RPM's started quickly dropping (even with my foot still on the throttle). So I decided to push the clutch in to take the load off the engine and that is when it died. When I finally coasted to the sholder, I stopp and got out of the car. It was over heating (But not maxed out on the guage, and the exhaust manifold was smoking BIG TIME (it was rainning). So I waited for the car to cool down and tried to crank it over. Cranks Won't Start. Shit, okay, time to start checking the major three, Fuel, Spark, and Air. Fuel pressure checked out, she was still getting fuel, same story with Air and Spark. But I did notice it almost started when I had the plug wire out to test spark. So I put the plug wire back in and tried to start it in clear flood mode (Foot to floor), she wanted to start, would occasionally get combustion, but not enough to start. Stumped, angry that I missed a very important doctor's appointment, and annoyed that at my current complex, I cant work on my car. So I had it towed to a dealership so they could diagnose it (with my fingers crossed that it didn't jump time (I didn't know at the time the EJ22 is a non interfearence engine)). Got a call back from them yesterday, they check the belt and said it needs to be replaced but did not jump time. They disconnected the manifold to see if it was a clogged cat and she fired right up, but she ran rough (burnt the plugs when the cat clogged up but was still running for the short bit). Happy that I know the motor is fine, we decided next week we are going to tow the subaru from Greenwood Indiana (where the dealership is) to my parent's house (Down near Louisville, Ky) so I can start working on the exhaust and replace the timing belt in their barn. I decided to tow it because of how extremely worn the timing belt is.
Keep your fingers crossed, it'll be another week before I can work on her. Still not sure if I am just going to gut the cat or put high flow cats on.

[Alphius]

Just so you know, the '97 and up EJ22 is interference. '96 and down are non-interference. Yours is interference, so it's good the belt didn't break but you should replace it, all the idlers and the waterpump as soon as you can.

Good start on the car! It's great to see someone learning and being successful at car repair. Looks like you pick it up quick.

[Rain37]

Just so you know, the '97 and up EJ22 is interference. '96 and down are non-interference. Yours is interference, so it's good the belt didn't break but you should replace it, all the idlers and the waterpump as soon as you can.

Good start on the car! It's great to see someone learning and being successful at car repair. Looks like you pick it up quick.

Oh, okay, thank you for that information. The person that I heard that from didn't specify the years, so that will make it even more important for me to be carefully when driving it on the trailer to take it home.
Yeah, I was planning on replacing the idlers and water pump while I am at it. According to all the records I have on this car, none of those have ever been replaced. So it would behoove me to replace all of those while I am at it, especially if I keep with my plans of moving to Colorado Springs after I graduate (2 months left!). I'll probably do a coolant flush while I am at it. After reading up on ALDATA and some Subaru shop manuals, I am not as worried about the timing belt now as I am about what I am going to do about the exhaust. As of this current moment, I am not sure what my budget will be after I get it towed home and replace the timing belt, components, and water pump. I would love to replace the cats with OE cats, but I am afraid I might have to just gut the cats. I want to avoid that if I can, with the muffler I have, the car would be way to loud. Plus, I don't know if Colorado does emission inspections.
Thanks, I am really trying my hardest to learn what they teach us here and apply it when I am working on my car.
I am really anxious for next weekend, on Wednesday my father is coming up to tow the car home on a flatbed trailer. I would really love to have my car back.

[Rain37]

Just a mini update, my father picked my Legacy up from the shop last night (stayed at my grandparents overnight) and will be taking it home for me today. Really looking forward to getting the belt and component kit on, and fixing the exhaust this weekend so I can drive it again.


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[WPEC]

I love scoba hood & rims in color matched.
keep progress going fella

[Rain37]

Thank man, I cant wait to get to my parents house tomorrow and get her fixed.
At some point I would like to get an Outback front bumper for my wagon and repaint the whole front end at some point down the road. I would also love to get a set of lowering coils lower the wagon a few inches, but until that comes, I'll just keep fixing her up.

[Hinyo]

Just a mini update, my father picked my Legacy up from the shop last night (stayed at my grandparents overnight) and will be taking it home for me today. Really looking forward to getting the belt and component kit on, and fixing the exhaust this weekend so I can drive it again.


https://sl-i.net/FORUM/

and here we see the subaru in its natural habitat. Cant tell you how many times mines been down but man do i love her when shes up. Just pulling your leg. Keep up the good work man and keep use posted

[Rain37]

and here we see the subaru in its natural habitat. Cant tell you how many times mines been down but man do i love her when shes up. Just pulling your leg. Keep up the good work man and keep use posted

Hahaha, it's alight, I can take a joke. I am a little use to my cars breaking down. It's just a thing cars are going to do.

Well, I'll put up some pictures later, but I'll just give everyone the run down of how Saturday went.
We got the timing belt and all the idlers replaced fairly easily. I made sure all the timing marks lined up and the belt marks lined up. I triple check with a true edge to make sure. Afterwards, I gutted both cats and bolted them both back in. Then with the original problem corrected I wanted to start her up before I thew radiator and timing belt cover back on, I wanted to do a quick start, 15 second run, and shut off to make sure the timing was correct. So I had my brother start it up so I could listen under the hood to make sure it wasn't running a tooth off. Well, my brother claimed the RPM would instantly climb to 3000 rpm on the tach, despite I didn't hear it rev passed idle, and it is drive by cable and nothing moved the throttle plate. My major concern is the *clack clack clack* sound coming out of the right cyl head. So we shut it off, turned the engine over to make sure all the marks line up, and they are all exactly where they are supposed to be. So I try cranking it over, it started for a few seconds, and died. My fear is that the for some reason there is a valve smacking one of the pistons, my brother thinks it's just piston slap. Either way, neither is good for the engine. I checked the oil to compare it to what it was when it originally broke down before I towed it to the Subaru dealer, and this time instead of being slightly used brown-ish, it was dark gray, fearing the worst, I took my flashlight to it and there was a lot of sparkle in there. That is when my stomach sank. With mixed emotions of sadness, and extreme anger, I had to force myself to stop for the time being. As of right now I am kind of at a loss at what to do next. I may pull the valve cover and check to see if I have a sticky lifter, or I might have to pull the head to see what the hell is going on.

[nepbug]

Good start.

That was a really good score on those BBS wheels, then that was a lopsided down-trade for the WRX wheels. I would've personally stuck with those BBS.

Colorado does have emissions, but not in all counties, look into the county you plan on living in, but if you're going to be in Colorado Springs proper, then yes, emissions is required. That said, there are a lot of Subarus here in CO, you should be able to find someone parting one out and grabbing their OEM cats if you want to go that route. Personally, I think a high-flow cat is a minimum, nobody likes being around a stinky car.

[Rain37]

Good start.

That was a really good score on those BBS wheels, then that was a lopsided down-trade for the WRX wheels. I would've personally stuck with those BBS.

Colorado does have emissions, but not in all counties, look into the county you plan on living in, but if you're going to be in Colorado Springs proper, then yes, emissions is required. That said, there are a lot of Subarus here in CO, you should be able to find someone parting one out and grabbing their OEM cats if you want to go that route. Personally, I think a high-flow cat is a minimum, nobody likes being around a stinky car.

Thanks.

I main issue with the BBS wheels is that they stuck out too far (about 1/2" passed the fender) and each time I hit a bump or go around a long bend, they would hit or rub the fender. I am not too bummed by it, I really like how these wheels look, they just need to be repainted,

Thanks for the info, it really helps me for planning ahead. If I can get this engine issue fixed, and I do move out to Colorado, I'll probably put high flow cats on.

[lord flashheart]

Sounds like you got yourself a bad tensioner. The phase 2 tensioners sometimes knock like that at it always scares the shit out of me. But the phase 1 tensioner doesn't do that. if you got metal in the oil that is a rod knock my friend. You never mentioned if you have a 25D or a 22 so I assume you have a EJ22. They are non interference. My vote says time for an engine upgrade.

[WPEC]

Thanks.

I main issue with the BBS wheels is that they stuck out too far (about 1/2" passed the fender) and each time I hit a bump or go around a long bend, they would hit or rub the fender. I am not too bummed by it, I really like how these wheels look, they just need to be repainted,

Thanks for the info, it really helps me for planning ahead. If I can get this engine issue fixed, and I do move out to Colorado, I'll probably put high flow cats on.

I love BBS's but most them is lower offset that would kill our car without spacers or rolling fenders.
04 STI BBS id awesome on our wagon , I would definitely get a set if I have a fat wallet.


Loving my Tulip tons

[peugoby]

Hope you find out the issue. It does sound like a rod knock - good thing is you can find cheap EJ22's pretty easily.

I really loved those BBS wheels you had on there...

[Rain37]

Yeah, I am afraid it's a rod knocking. Car wont idle at all and burn oil like mad.
I got a quick video for the sound. I hope to find more out as I tear it down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yDfPF0A9us

[Rain37]

Well, I finally got the head pulled off and it turns out all of the valves on one cyl were bent and two were stuck open (causing the clatter and the compression loss causing the car to have died in the first place). We just got the cyl head back from the machine shop and with some luck, may have her back up and running this weekend. I can't wait to be driving my baby again.

[Rain37]

Well, It's been a heck of a long time since Ive been on here. A little bit of a catch up. I installed the head (from the post above) and the motor still knocked. we ended up finding that one of the pistons had broken a rod. So I gave up on it, moved to Colorado, bought a 96 outback wagon with a EJ22, drove that for a while, my schizophrenia got bad enough that I either had to live in some kind of psychiatric ward or move home with my parents. So I moved all the way back home to Indiana, sold the 96 outback before I left, and immediately went to the junk yard in search of a good EJ22 for the Legacy that was still in my parents barn. I pulled the motor, disassembled the "New" EJ22 to re-gasket everything, broke a head bolt taking the heads off, accidentally put a few deep scratches in the head while trying to pull it off the broke head bolt, succeeded at pulling it off, got a special tool t get the head bolt out safely. I decided not to use the head I accidentally put some deep scratches into, and pulled the rebuild head off and put it on the new motor. Now the motor runs better than ever, and my next step in my project is to install 2" top hat spacers to lift it, and install 205/75R15 General Grabber AT2 on it.

I'll Try to figure how post up some pictures on here for you all soon.

[Rain37]

Let's see if attaching the pictures worked.