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Still haven't heard about the heads yet, but I got the block mating surfaces cleaned up: http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4377 New waterpump, new oil pump and front seal (found a loose screw on the back of the old oil pump): http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4375 Got the oil separator plate removed (pretty gunky): http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4376 Cleaned up the engine compartment somewhat: http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4373 Removed and resealed oil pan: http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4374 There was no engine sludge in the bottom of the pan thanks to regular oil changes. Oil pan resealing had already been done in the car's history, and it didn't look like it had been done that well; there was even a chunk of threaded metal where an oil pan bolt hole had broken and was swimming around in the oil pan for years! : http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4378

Brought the heads to Bearing Service Company in downtown Portland. They are the machine shop recommended by my local service/parts shop and they did good work on my Scirocco 16V head in October 2009. Will hear from them in a couple days.

Heads are off! I'm seeing the common peeling away of the coating from the old headgaskets, also described here: http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-head-gasket-problems-explained/ http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4334 http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4335

http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4329 http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4327 http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4328 .....I used ratcheting come-along straps to hoist the engine up. This technique was not ideal, as the ratcheting action is one-way; once the engine went up, I had no way to safely hoist it downwards until I had a couple neighbors lend a hand. The long block - despite it's aluminum construction - is flippin' heavy! But thirty seconds later it was on the engine stand. I have been slowly disassembling, taking care to keep my parts strictly organized.

http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4324

Headgaskets are the primary reason for this overhaul but I'll be doing plenty of other while-I'm-in-there preventive maintenance as well. The need for new headgaskets is possibly borderline but is a good idea in the long run. The second owner had all of the dealer maintenance records from the first owners, and I could not be more pleased with how well it has been taken care of until the second owner overheated. The next hurdle is to get the driver's side lower bellhousing bolts off with no room for anything but a small 14mm combination wrench with far too little leverage, then get the drive plate unbolted from the torque converter.

Starter bump method to remove the crank bolt FTW. Even though I had already removed the battery from the car, I was able to use my Battery Booster Pack with jumper cable-style leads for an easy 12V power source. I also used sort of an inverse of this technique to loosen the camshaft bolts; by temporarily replacing the crank pulley & bolt and locking it up with a socket wrench against the car frame, I was able to *carefully* crack loose the camshaft sprocket bolts with my breaker bar, all the while keeping things very near TDC. But, uh, no starter required. BTW, the Haynes manual advises against using the timing belt as a resisting force for breaking free these bolts so don't try this at home ...but no slipped teeth or broken belts, and I'll be replacing the belt with a new one when things get put back together.

Santa was good to me this year http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4309

Tuesday was coolant flush day and the beginning of tearing things out of the engine compartment. http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4307 L to R: Initial coolant, coolant flush, and rinse results. I believe the coolant had the Subaru Cooling System Additive, here is some of the dark, pasty residue: http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4310 This car was babied for the first ten years of its life, regular Subaru Dealership Service including coolant flush and fill every two years or so. Yesterday was further disassembly. Labeling even the obvious stuff. http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4308

Thanks for the info. Although I have a great selection of quality metric tools, I do not have an impact wrench... yet. We'll see what Santa brings tomorrow night

Do I want to remove the timing belt while the engine is still in the car, or can it be accomplished just as easily once the engine is out of the car and on the stand? Seems I won't have anything to resist (un)torquing crank and camshaft bolts once the engine is out...

http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4272 Here is the engine stand I will be using for the headgasket project. I hope to start working on the engine right after Christmas. So I've got a few questions... Would there be any benefit to a lightweight crank pulley on this Automatic wagon? Also, should I consider having the cams reground for a little bump in HP while the heads are in the machine shop getting checked? Thirdly - my garage is not really that large, an oversized one-car garage. Would I be able to hoist the engine straight up out of the car, strap the transmission somehow such that it does not hang free from below, and push the car straight out of the garage so that I have some working room to get the engine on the stand and disassembled/reassembled? Not too sure what happens when the engine is shut down for the last time before removal, and the trans left in Neutral. Guess I'll have to leave the key in the ignition Can I even get the timing belt off if the trans is in neutral?

Zip-tying your tubes sounds like the best preventive maintenance you could have done while the sunroof was apart.

We had some nice sunshine today so I pulled the LGT out of the garage into the driveway for a proper wash: http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4260 Before: http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4261 After (still drying, and I lost my sunshine): http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4262 It got nicely clean, but it still needs some light polishing compound to really make it sparkle. That will have to wait until the engine work is finished. I ran out of daylight, so I put the LGT back in the garage and will finally get to the carpets ASAP. We have a Bissel spot carpet steamer, I think it will do just the trick. My uncle has an old-skool engine stand that I can borrow. Do Subie boxer engines require a special stand of some sort?

I found that the hose was somehow attached inside the A-pillar, such that removing the old and replacing with new hose would be more work than the solution that I tried: I gently heated the existing hose with a blow dryer while carefully stretching the end until it would refasten to the sunroof drain spigot. I then cinched a zip tie with a bit of silicone over the hose (behind the barb on the sunroof drain spigot). Seems quite secure now. http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4252 The front driver and passenger side drains each exhibited the same problem, but fortunately the rear drains were connected just fine: http://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4251 They were free from clogs as well, too bad I had the tear into the car so much to find out for sure.

Spent most of the day researching, and finally got out to the garage to do some work. Took off the windshield wipers and cowling and cleaned up some muck that was clogging the drain holes by the hood hinges. Next, I opened the sunroof and started investigating the water drains there. The front passenger side would drain, but water would dribble into the footwell by the dash. Found some online resources describing a problem where the drain tubing shrinks and shortens with age. Sure enough, after removing door trim and unfastening the headliner near the passenger side door, I could clearly see the the drain tube was no longer connected to the sunroof drain spigot. Water was just pouring directly into the A-Pillar and then into the cabin behind and alongside the dash. D'oh! http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oE1tSizlHPRZ8zX8a46V8yCFOfHyB0eeXUFf92WmuZo?feat=directlinkhttp://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oE1tSizlHPRZ8zX8a46V8yCFOfHyB0eeXUFf92WmuZo?feat=directlinkhttp://legacygt.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=796&pictureid=4248 Had to wrap up for the night, hope to investigate the three other drains and find a solution tomorrow. http://www.camroncamera.com/p13166574/h2d4ea1c7#h2d4ea1c7

Drove the LGT to the glass shop and back home again without incident. New OEM windshield installed A-OK. The glass guys didn't feel that I was getting water in through the cracked windshield since the 2nd-layer laminate was intact. I'll be investigating the sunroof drains as well as the cowling at the firewall below the windshield for debris and clogs. Will be out of town till Monday night so everyone have a great weekend!

Reminds me of clogged sunroof drains (and wet seats) on one of my old Sciroccos. I'll be sure to look into it further.

Oh, as for as the mod bug is concerned, that's mostly out of my system already on the Scirocco. Besides, the Subie is really my wife's car. Well, I might slip a few things in... **COUGH**customstainlessexhaustsportsuspensionnicerbrakes**COUGH** ...we'll see what happens...

Just finished a much-needed pressure-wash of the exterior and door jambs. Relieved to find a Legacy GT under there Full wash and wax after new windshield installed. Cabin floors are getting soaked from the crack in the glass, which is at the base of the windshield. Water is trickling down behind the edge of the dash to the floor The door seals look like they are in really nice condition, but I'm wondering if the window glass is being fully seated against them... the back seat driver side floor is wet as well, not sure exactly what is going on there. The moonroof looks like it seals great and it operates perfectly, so that is good.

Love the input, thanks everyone! I will be starting the rebuild project almost immediately (next week, anyway), so no worries about driving on bad oil... EXCEPT I do need to get it 2 miles to the glass shop and home again to get the windshield replaced. I was going to have it done via mobile service originally, but it was explained to me that in-shop repairs would be optimal. Quality local shop, no cheap glass from China.

Thanks for the tips. As it was explained to me by the previous owner, at the moment the car overheated, he immediately pulled over and shut down the engine. The car was transported home. The owner was so appalled afterwords when he learned about the notorious Subaru 2.5 HG problem (and he was out of money after spending cash on the car that he couldn't fix it) that the car sat at his place for ages... about a year and a half, I think. The good news is that the car starts up and runs great, no "peanut butter" or "mayonnaise" in the oil. But the coolant HC's were a bit on the high side (6-8ppm I was told by my local Euro/Japanese parts and service shop). I wheeled and dealed with the owner (I bought for more than I was hoping, he sold for less than he wanted So I talked it over with the guys at my shop, and I've decided to do the labor myself for a winter project.... for "fun" I guess I'll also be lightly upgrading the brakes (EBC slotted/dimpled rotors, some upgraded street pads, SS brake lines), changing all the fluids, waterpump, Evans NPG+, T-stat, oil pump, seals, timing belt (of course), etc. etc. A lot of work, but I will have the confidence that everything is fresh and that this notorious headgasket problem is dealt with right off the bat. In my other thread mentioned above, I explained that I had done all this work on my Scirocco 16V last winter, so I sort of know what I'm getting myself into. In that case the block stayed in the car, but the Subie engine is coming completely out. I am determined to keep the original block if at all possible. I believe it belongs to the car and will help it's resale value should we ever sell the car down the road. Stay tuned!

Just joined the ranks of LGT owners yesterday. (See thread: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/wa-pdx-pnw-wtb-97-99-legacy-gt-wagon-black-150181.html ) Was able to strike a deal with the LGT owner in my neighborhood after putting the car on the lift at the shop yesterday. Excited to get it cleaned up and on the road. Other than the floor being soggy (quite possibly from the cracked windshield), it is in very good cosmetic shape. Hope to clean it up to the 8.5+ condition mentioned above. As it stands now it is a dirty, mossy 7.75 There is no external sign of HG leakage. A test drive by one of the shop techs saw the temp gauge go way up, but couldn't get heat in the cabin... until the car was back in the shop and then heat worked great. Possibly water pump or T-stat problem? A hydrocarbon test of the coolant today is positive for HC, so looks like I've got some work to do