Chulew

When I did the belt on this car years ago when I got it, I think I used a vice grip with some padding but I can't recall the details and I know that puts stress on the sprockets.  This time, with 4 hands, I did the crank and driver side first and then clamped the belt guide (MT) down on the belt at the crank with as much force as I could to hold it (don't forget to correct this gap later). 

Thanks all, I'm feeling much better already! 

I ordered an OEM timing kit 6 months ago and just opened her up to do the job. I ordered a cam lock tool off Amazon when I ordered the kit (I found it in the box but don't remember ordering that). I also just got another cam lock tool from Amazon since I forgot I had already ordered one. Both tools do not fit in the 10mm cam bolt heads (my 10mm allen socket driver fits perfect, 3/8 is a bit loose). 

I decided to improvise and found some hardware to make it work but it came loose and my cams both slipped (top rotated counter clockwise and bottom rotated clockwise, both about 90 degrees). My crank marks are 12 and 3 o'clock (triangle at 3).

Did I bend my valve stems? Am I screwed? How would I know?

I am going to try again with better fitting hardware or try to find the right cam lock kit but both tools I ordered say they are for my car 07 OBXT DOHC. Can anyone confirm their cam bolts take the 10mm and what tool they ordered?

Thanks in advance!

So I'm in the middle of a clutch job and I was manually turning the crank with a wrench to put clutch plate bolts in and the crank stopped as if it hit something. I think I have been careful to only turn the crank clockwise (standing in front of the car) but maybe I inched it backwards a time or two but not far. The transmission is still disconnected. How much can the motor turn backwards with the timing belt on? I obviously don't want to force it but what might be going on?

A few clutches ago, I bought a bunch of throw out bearings to compare. There was one really beefy one compared to the rest. I’d like to find it again. Anyone made a note of what brand they installed, how long it lasted? I also think that neutral idle time contributes to bearing life since the bearing spins all the time, even in neutral.

Just had this happen. Had to limp home by starting the car I first to take off then shift without clutch. Clutch fork cracked. Get a borescope and peek through the fork boot.

 

Any recommendations on a beefier part? Also looking for the longest lasting throw out bearing for the reinstall.

2.5 turbo motors normally don't have the HG issues as the 2.5i's do.

 

Why would head gaskets be less of an issue for turbos?

So I couldn't find any leaks while idling in the driveway for a good period last night. The old oil in the crud inside the exhaust cover began to liquefy and drip but not a drop from the motor anywhere.

 

I think my valve cover seal was not actually leaking now even with my minimal silicone bead, there is zero evidence of a leak along the seal.

 

 

After a drive, there is still smoke coming up from somewhere between the turbo and intake manifold. Definitely oil based. The top surface of the motor around the intake is moist (the little bit I can see). The steering pump was recently replaced and this could residual ATF but this is the same amount and smell I had before the pump was done so I don't think that's it (time will tell, if it finishes burning off).

 

Oil wouldn't come through the head gasket on to of the motor would it? I've not had to add any thing but a little oil now and again.

 

At what point is it critical to do the head gaskets? I'm going to add the little blue bottle of stop leak which I failed to do 45k miles ago with timing job. I hope this is not the issue.

 

What does a head gaskets job cost and what else is worth doing if that is to be done? Should I just look for a younger motor to swap in for the cost of a major overhaul?

One thing I noticed doing this job is that all of the bolts were not the same length. There were 3 different lengths on the pass side and two different lengths on the drivers side. Make sure to stick each bolt back in the same hole it came out of.

 

2007 Outback XT; I only did the passenger side.

 

I removed the breather hoses (they almost broke and are very brittle) but I didn't remove my plugs (they were replaced recently). I got the other hoses to stay out of the way enough and I also did a couple of practice placements of the cover before adding RTV so I could be confident that I didn't rub any beads before mating the cover to the head.

 

I only noticed two different bolt lengths (not three - but maybe I'm wrong) but the passenger top rear corner bolt ended up not going in all the way before it bottomed out and looks like it could go in another 1/8" so I must have misread (mirrored) my own drawing but the longer ones went down the front of the cover. I did not bottom out each bolt since it said 4.7ft-lbs and I hit that before the bottom on most if not all bolts but the one I mentioned. Maybe this one isn't tight enough and another one is not biting? I also realize I don't know my alphabet since I started with the top center, then bottom, then alternating corners.

 

Anyone know which length bolts go where? Would I compromise the seal if I took out each bolt one at a time and measured it?

 

I didn't jack up the motor and only put RTV on the head, not the cover since I didn't have that extra room. I didn't read enough of this post to see I needed a larger bead. It was leaking this morning after startup and warming. Tonight I'll get my scope camera down there and try to find out where it's coming from. It seemed to be up front on the exhaust. I didn't pull the half-moons out and didn't goop all their surfaces, just the gasket surface; I didn't think to take them out.

 

I used a very minimal amount of Ultra Grey (the existing sealant was also grey) and cleaned the surfaces well. I would not recommend a razor blade since I've seen surfaces scarred with metal blades before. I used a piece of credit card (hard edged plastic) which will not score the aluminum.

 

I did get my 5/8" torque wrench on most bolts but for 2-3 I finally used a crow's foot socket/wrench for something! If you use these, the proper way to get torque right is with the crows foot at 90 degree angle so it doesn't add or subtract overall wrench length. This was a bit tricky.

 

I only let it idle to check for leaks since driving can cause the wind to blow the oil around. It wasn't smoking at all, just drops from the exhaust cover, but maybe it wasn't hot enough since I didn't actually run up the RPMs.

I wouldn't doubt it except that it had no issues (no CELs at least) for well over a year, maybe 18 months until the extra clutch shudder near idle began which I assume is from clutch wearout but could be many other factors.

 

 

 

Now reading about boost creep and potential catastrophic damage from running lean.

 

 

 

Is there any way to tell if it has an aftermarket tune? I have an Openport 2.0 but cannot find clear up-to-date instructions on how to use it. Accessport is not in my budget right now.

 

 

 

If I have a local shop check for vacuum leaks, clean the injectors, check fuel pressure and these all check out, would Brentuning work with my gutted cat? I read that it could be tuned out. Is their cat requirement simply a legal disclaimer?

Thanks for the reply.

 

 

Fuel pump makes sense. Fuel pressure isn't coming up on my OBDII outputs (using EngineLink which has lots of other outputs, just not fuel pressure). What's the easiest way to check this?

 

 

 

BTW, my P0171 light cleared two starts after I got gas yesterday. I suspect maybe this has been a trend I haven't noticed but will watch for it now.

 

 

As I understand O2 sensor info, there is only 1 bank since exhaust is combined. So "O2 Sensor 2" is downstream and "O2S1" would be upstream?

 

 

S1 (lambda is the only output I have) is always close to 1.

S2 (Voltage) seems to move around more between 0 and 1V when before with the P0171 light, it seemed to rail between low and high (no middle ground). What is normal?

 

 

How do you think my catless exhaust with untuned stock O2 affects things? I read something while researching this that indicated it could be a big problem to run without tuning for catless.

I have been intermittently getting P0171 lean code. It comes on while at freeway speed.

 

Here are the facts:

 

• Bought car 2.5 years ago with 114k (now has ~160k).
  
• Came with Cobb air filter (no box) with Denso 22680AA31A MAF sensor (stock sensor I think).
  
• Unknown if ever tuned (Sport & Sport# mode have always had issues under hard accel).
  
• 2 years ago: added Grimmspeed Lightweight crank pully, F1 clutch & lightweight flywheel.
  
• Stock downpipe (but cat gone since clutch job).
  
• Removed and checked the passenger motor mount (looked good - so probably both are fine).
  
• New plugs this past winter.
  
• Just swapped in a used MAF sensor (same as above) with no noticeable change (see data table image).
  
• Cold start, freeway load, & hot idle data snapshots in table below.
  
• Gas mileage/power seems unaffected but for a while, I've been noticing sometimes it shudders from a stop (clutch wear out?).
  
• What feels like drivetrain linkage slop at low rmps with no load (lightweight related?), or maybe one side of clutch is worn more and grabbing less and low RPM accentuates the effect?
  

I doubt that clutch wearout (if that is what I'm feeling off the line) would cause a false lean condition at freeway speed.

 

I thought maybe I was over oiling the air filter and ruined the MAF sensor but the one I just got off an N/A OB from the junk yard looks exactly like mine (slightly tarnished) and looks nominal (only one trip so far).

 

Any suggestions to troubleshoot this? I've sprayed carb cleaner around the motor (but only at idle) with no results.

 

I have a Tactrix Openport 2.0 but can't find decent instructions or any related forums alive for help (should have saved for AccessPort).

 

Thanks in advance!

Here's my live ODBII snapshot data

Next time I'm hoisting the engine out for sure. I would not have been able to get the transmission connected back up by my lonesome.

I do have a hoist and I'm thinking it would have been a bit easier doing it alone to go that route but I'm already separated but trans is still sitting on the long studs. I think I'm going to get the hoist on the front of the trans and then use the floor jack to manage the rear for tilt.

Is the consensus that this is the preferred method for DOHC over pulling the engine? Has anyone detailed that method? I'm replacing the clutch & flywheel this weekend.

2007 OBXT Limited 5MT Black

What's the risk of the input shaft seal leaking after this job? I'm gonna replace the rear main/shaft seal for good measure but is there anything to worry about as far as the input side?

Ok, have to take the front and mid exhaust off in one piece for non-turbo. Just watch those O2 sensors. Took the drive shaft off as in the video but reinserted it again later to plug the hole while doing the rest of the work. No leaking and we left the axles in. Using floor and bottle jack (me and my experienced friend), we had the bell housing cracked about 2 hours in (took maybe 20 minutes to bust it open). There is a place to wedge a large screwdriver across the top of the bell housing from the passenger side so we could pry back on it and get a screwdriver tip in the crack. This didn't do much for us in the end but it might be a start for some. Clutch kit coming UPS today. TSK1 sleeve was definitely needed. Also found a hairline crack from the right axel hole past the center seam underneath on the gearbox. It's got me a bit concerned but its not leaking. Who knows how long its been there.

I imagine that it only gets easier for a non-turbo 2.5i? Anything notably different in the steps besides ignore IC and turbo dodging? Can I reuse my tranny fluid if I replaced it only a few months ago with the good stuff? Also, I would love to add turbo kit but haven't done any research yet. I heard that going with a lighter (single mass) FW would give easier rev but might make it harder to maintain idle revs for steering etc. Is this an issue? I like to drive hard and would like more pep. Not sure how much work/$$ to add turbo but thought I'd gear this clutch job around that prospect. TOB is seized. Rule of thumb is replace FW or inspect and make call? Quoted ~$800 for stock parts and labor at a respected shop.

My wife can't drive a stick so no problem there. I've disabled the chime since I always forget stuff and have to unlock and re-lock the car and its embarrassing to have beep, beep beep, beep, beep beep. Just to snag something you left on your way out of the car. I still need to disable the DTL but that's another story (with safety implications too).

Is it necessary to get a thermostat with the whole water pump/timing install?

 

I reused mine with a new pump. Not too bad to replace by itself later if you had to (IMO).

Today, I am the happiest man alive...

 

Just did this mod to my 2008 LGT Limited, and for the most part the method is the same outlined in the first post.

 

DISCLAIMER - follow my directions at your own risk, I'm not responsible for your f*ck-ups!

 

On the 2008, the grey connector is still off of the steering column, but it's oriented in such a way that the wires you need to access are burried a little further up in the dash; so you'll have to remove the black rubber under panel and also the lower most dash panel. You'll also have to cut some electrical tape and sheathing back a bit to get enough wire for the vampire tap (disconnect your battery before doing this).

 

Test your wires before cutting anything! My wires were the same colors as noted in the first post, red / green stripe, and a light green.

 

It's like a dream come true, so happy to have taken the 1/2 hour to get this done!

 

I see one screw on the right for the lower dash panel but can't see what's holding the other side on. There is a small clip next to a nut (both pretty much behind/inside the hood release lever). You also said you had to take off the soft black rubber (tilt-steering frame) piece as well?

 

Is it really necessary to disconnect the battery if we have the correct wires? What about disconnecting the harness plug from the computer to free up some working room?

A little trick to remove the crank pulley is not to use a pulley holder. Instead use the torque of the starter motor to break the bolt loose since it's on at around 120ft.lbs. Use the socket (22mm iirc) and a breaker bar to turn the engine until the end of the breaker bar touches the floor. Then bump the key and turn the engine over. The pulley will clockwise but the bolt will stay stationary and break loose from the torque. Reinstallation will be easy with an MT car since you can lock it in 5th gear and pull the e-brake. An auto trans will require a prybar to hold the teeth of the flexplate when the pulley is torqued.

 

This worked great! Why not 1st gear with e-brake for tightening?

 

To break the crank bolt loose, I put a couple large screwdrivers in the access hole for the flywheel / trans case on the top of the motor. Those screwdrivers held the motor/trans in place nicely so that I could break loose the crank bolt.

 

Where is this exactly? Top of the motor???

 

There are two sets of timing marks painted on the cam pulleys. White and red. They are about 1/2 inch apart and the factory indent is between them but not splitting the difference. Seems to me that this would indicate that the belt has been changed twice before (one set for each belt change). At 131k this makes sense right? Why would any marks need be painted on though? When cam gear is TDC, both cam pulleys are also TDC (both sets of marks are offset). The belt is OEM (Subaru printed), looks almost the same as the new Gates and I can still clearly read much of the white printing although there is some cream clouding towards the center of the flat side of the belt (indicating wear or maybe just smudging the print?). At least one of the idlers has play (I'm replacing all three).

 

I am replacing the tensioner - it appears to have some discoloration just outside the blue ring (rust?) and also appears oily/wet in the well on top where the pin goes.

 

I don't subscribe to the "water pump must be changed with the timing belt" mentality.

Can someone explain why this is a rule of thumb?

 

I just took the belt off last night and have all parts off/out. The timing belt looks almost the same as the new Gates out of the box (read more below) and I think I could even reuse the water pump gasket - that's how new the pump itself seems. The pump idler feels just like the new one as well. The gasket popped right off. Coolant is immaculate BTW. I'm tempted to just put the pump back on and return the new one I got. I'd only be saving ~$100. What's the danger if water pump fails first?

 

This is a 2.5i BTW.