RacerX69

I put a Stahlbus valve on all my vehicles. Put one on my 05 Legacy when I did the first oil change. Never need a wrench to drain the oil. Comes with a cap, and the drain hose.

Heat it up with an oxy/acetylene torch. Turn the nuts while they are still hot.

Today I wept. I wept for thousands of souls I never knew. 20 years. WTC towers 1 and 2. Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The Pentagon. Take a moment today to remember those who perished. Never forget. Weep for them with me.

I welded a bung in the side of the oil pan on my racecar to place the oil temp probe. Saved having to adapt it elsewhere.

Got the heads off stripped down and checked. I'm gonna try and get away with all new valves, clean up the seats and lap on the new valves. The heads and block deck are clean and flat, a 0.001" feeler gauge wouldn't slip under the straight edge anywhere. There are some marks where the head gasket rings work against the block deck and head, but I can't feel anything with my thumbnail, so I'll clean it all up, replace all the seals and gaskets and put it all back together. New coolant and fuel hoses, new thermostat, water pump, cam drive pulleys, etc and try for another 200,000 miles.

An extensive list. But. All your photos are upside down. Oh, and if this is a for sale post, you're in the wrong neighborhood.

I didn't pull it apart to replace the clutch. The timing belt broke. This car is my daily driver, since I bought it new. At 100,000 miles I replaced the timing belt and spark plugs. The car was five years old. At around 110,000 one of the wheel bearings started getting noisy. I bought all four and replaced them. It has taken another 11 years to get to the second hundred thousand miles. I was gathering all the usual stuff, plugs, new accessory drive belts, coolant flush, and the timing kit. I overlooked one small detail. The belt interval is 105,000 miles, or 105 months. I was 27 months overdue. So I'll likely just get a clutch disc and pressure plate at Rock Auto, and grind the surface of the flywheel on my brake lathe. I should have the heads off in an hour or so, then I will know what needs repaired. I have a NeWay seat cutter, so if it isn't too bad I might be able to recut the seats and lap in some new valves.

I vanquished the Subaru Corrosion Dragon. Win! by Racer, on Flickr Win! by Racer, on Flickr The original flywheel, clutch disc and pressure plate. Win! by Racer, on Flickr Win! by Racer, on Flickr 190,030 miles. Probably good for another couple hundred thousand miles, but I will grind the flywheel, and replace the disc, cover, throwout bearing and pilot bearing.

Some of the fasteners I have removed had red thread locker on them. They felt like the threads were pulling out with the bolt. Gonna be a lot of thread cleaning to do.

Oh yeah. The only thing holding this thing together is corrosion. Cut my oak 2x4 down past the split and got medieval on it. I'm winning. Winning . . . . by Racer, on Flickr Graduated from tin can shims to putty knives. Winning . . . . by Racer, on Flickr The right side is pretty much free. The left still has about 3/16" to go. Gonna let it soak and go fix lunch.

Yeah, all of that. I've alternated between the bear hug and rasslin' method, then pulling up on the engine with the lift, stood underneath with the engine hanging free and the tranny suspended in the sling on the bridge, and pried on the only place possible at this stage, the opening where the clutch inspection cover is. The gap I've managed to open is pretty small, and it came at a high price. I have an oak 2x4 that I've used in my shop for 30 years or more, to support stuff, form metal over, and at times to beat on things I don't want to break. I managed to beat the cases apart this tiny amount hitting the few places available, but that old oak friend has splintered to bits. Maybe I need another oak 2x4. I can't get anything thicker than about a five thou feeler gage at the moment, but when the gap is large enough I'll start trying prybars and other prying objects.

Thanks. As I mentioned, the front of the tranny is supported by a bridge that sits on the strut towers. Same as a jackstand, only better. I can raise or lower the car on the lift at will, and it won't fall off of the jackstand. I can wrestle the hell out of the engine and it won't fall off of the stand. I did fail to mention that I had the whole thing about 2 inches higher than it needs to be to clear the motor mount studs, sorry, eh? I just made some shims from soup cans and slipped them in above the dowel pins. Gonna try and wrestle it some more after another soak in penetrating oil.

So I'm pulling the engine in my 05 2.5i goon. I want to leave the tranny in the car, have everything unfastened and removed that needs to be done. The tranny is hanging on a bridge from the strut towers and still connected to the rear mount. I have the engin loose, it wiggles up and down, and can measure about a 0.005" gap. I've soaked the entire mating surface with penetrating oil. The two studs at the lower attachment points appear to be free, I tried to remove them, but no room for a stud puller, and double nutting resulted in no joy. It appears that the two dowel pins about halfway up each side are where it is hanging up. When I speak the area with penetrating oil, then wiggle the engine up and down, it looks like some schmutz is working out, but I've been working on this since last Sunday. There is no place to pry the cases apart, so it has me stumped. Ideas anyone? Subaru Engine Removal by Racer, on Flickr Subaru Engine Removal by Racer, on Flickr

Looks like the reman engine is a no go. Eight weeks lead time. Eight weeks? In eight weeks the engine could be rebuilt eight times. Sheesh! I'm gonna pull the engine and open it up, see what I have. Just need to find a machine shop that knows how to deal with the uniqueness of a boxer.

Looking at remanufactured longblock assemblies. Saw this: https://www.enginesus.com/product/ej2-5-sohc-165-hp-rebuilt-engine-with-upgraded-head-gaskets-for-00-04-subaru-legacy/ Anyone ever hear of them?

A few of mine. Death Valley Overlook by Racer, on Flickr Rim Rider by Racer, on Flickr 177,000 Miles And Counting by Racer, on Flickr 177,000 Miles And Counting by Racer, on Flickr

Ah, I see, doh! Sorry, eh?

Thanks, but Delta Camshaft focuses on cams. I've used them dozens of times over the years. A nice lumpy bumpstick for the 20R in my my Toyota Hilux, and I've lost count of how many I have gotten from them when building L series engines for my race car. They also regrind the cam followers for the L series engine. Great resource.

Hey everyone, long time, no post. Lots of overtime at The Big Shed. Oh, and happy Covid, eh? Anyway, my 05 Legacy 2.5i wagon is nearing 200,000 miles. I have gathered all the stuff to do a major service, cam belt and associated stuff, oil, filter, even sprung for new Enkei RPF1 wheels and BF Goodrich tires. Enkei RPF1 by Racer, on Flickr New Shoes For The Goon by Racer, on Flickr I was getting excited about giving the Goon a full detail in and out, and head for another 100,000 miles. Yesterday morning I'm heading into the city for another Friday at The Big Shed. The odometer had just turned 199,000 miles as I pulled away from the house. It is about 30 miles to work, and I had just rounded the curve from I-5 South to SR-526 West, accelerate up the hill, shifted into 5th and as I was passing under the Evergreen Way overpass at about 75, the car felt like it just shut off. Nothing. Momentum kept the car moving forward, still in gear. The cruise control light came on and started blinking. Then the gong sounded and the CEL light came on, then all the other idiot lights. I turned on the 4 way flashers, and coasted to a stop just past the overpass. Got a flashlight and had a look under the hood. Nothing looked out of place. Got back in and tried the starter, but it was not easy to hear over the noise of passing commuters whizzing by. Called a tow, took it home and drove the Ram to work. Last night I connected the scanner and it had a P0340 cam sensor circuit code set. Checked the sensor, and harness, all OK. Pulled the left cam belt cover and found the belt had failed. 99,030 Miles by Racer, on Flickr Bummer. I replaced the first belt at 100,000 miles, the recommended interval is 105,000. This belt had 99,030 miles on it. The engine turns over freely, and I see this is an interference engine, so it looks like rebuild time. Can anyone recommend a shop in the Puget Sound region that is fluent in Subaru engines for the machine work? I don't need a repair shop, only a machinist. I will be pulling and stripping the engine myself, and will take the shortblock to get the machine work done. I read the list in the sticky, and didn't see anything, only repair shops, who will only be middle men. Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

I use a piece of wood placed between the pistons. When shop air is applied to the caliper both pistons should come out. Try doing a 4 or 6 piston caliper sometime.

Look for an open in the harness between the radio and the speaker using an ohmmeter.

I use one of these, with the rubber tip.

This is what I use for cleaning battery terminals and posts. (Actually I've worn out a few) Been using this on all my battery terminals for over 45 years. Never had any problems with corrosion or cranking/starting troubles. Cover all contact points, and all exposed terminal and post metal to keep it from oxidizing.

I'd have to get it up pretty high. I live up in the Cascade foothills, and there are several rock quarries nearby. The dump trucks throw rocks from their tires, and even when they are going the opposite direction on the highway the gravel flies. There is no escaping them. I'm on my 4th windshield, and it needs replaced again. It got broken just after I replaced it last time, a rock came off a dump truck going the opposite direction. I saw the rock coming, and was helpless to do anything but flinch. It pissed me off so much I refused to replace it until a cop stops me and forces the change. And so far I haven't been stopped for it. Maybe I should put vinyl film on the windshield too.

New front rotors and brake pads on my Legacy wagon today. The car has 177,000 miles on it, and I turned the rotors 4 years ago at about 110,000 or so when I replaced the pads on all 4 calipers. The fronts began exhibiting signs of warping recently, and had no more meat left for another pass on the brake lathe. For just a bit over $16 each for the replacement rotors, and $17 for the pads it was easy enough on the wallet. Should be good for another 110,000 miles or so.