Leg09

That's interesting news. I hope I got a set of the good ones :-)

Thanks! Good to know I don't absolutely have to change these out unless something pops up. For OCV and throttle body I'm guessing I'm guessing carb cleaner or Brakleen should be okay?

Got all the seals in an OEM kit, though there's a lot more in the kit than I intend to replace including block seals, wrist pin clips/washers, valve collets and some items I haven't identified yet. On a side note, I do kind of wonder why there's no use of ultra black on the spark plug tube seals since they leak with just age. Good luck with your "refurb"!

09 EJ253 AT - picked up a replacement engine w/88K miles out of wrecked car, saw the motor run, seemed fine. Had the heads machined and installed them w/Fel-Pro gaskets yesterday. Putting Aisin timing kit w/water pump in today so I feel like I'm in the home stretch to mounting it back up again. While the engine is still on the stand with intake manifold off, I'm looking for advice on things I must/should replace or can figure on being able to re-use: PCV valve Oil control valve (Can/should this be cleaned?) Cam/Crank position sensors EGR valve Purge Control solenoid valve VVLS pressure switch Knock sensor etc. Thanks for any tips anyone may have.

Thank you for the advice! I guess the only remaining question is whether or not the old motor has any value in parts?

Thank you! I will probably take your advice and save myself the money. But I'm going to ask just so I can learn... So I have all the tools to take it apart and put it back together. What I don't have is experience to decide what MUST be done, and what can be left as-is while its apart. I do know I MUST check/repair crank, rods, and bearings. Is there a reliable process for cleaning out the metal debris from the block and heads? If they cant be re-used there's no point in going forward. Can the oil pump also be cleaned or is that a MUST replace? If pistons are okay, should rings be changed since it's all opened up? How can you tell if a valve job is necessary? Am I completely missing something else that's a major issue? I could use as much advice on stuff like that as anyone would care to give. If a junkyard motor is minimum $1500 to get going, maybe rebuilding the old motor for $1000 isn't a bad insurance policy for the next crisis, or puts me in a position to buy another good Subi with a bad motor for cheap? Thanks in advance for any advice.

So having pulled the motor, the oil pan has all kinds of shrapnel in it. I see definite play in connecting rod #4 but no play whatsoever in any of the others. Can't really tell yet about crank bearings but I'm hopeful though not sure how to test other than split the case. Mileage is 99K and car is in great condition otherwise. Trying to figure out next steps. I put a downpayment with an auto recycler on a replacement motor out of a 2008 Legacy w/88K miles. I saw and heard the motor run, sounds good so for $1000 I feel okay with that, but what to do with the current motor? How do I know if it's salvageable? I'd actually like to rebuild it, either to sell or as an insurance against the salvage motor going bad someday. It would definitely be fun to tear down and rebuild as a project, but with the bearing material all through it is it worth the effort? I don't know since I don't know how much work it will be. I do plan to test compression/leakdown sometime soon to get more info on condition. Any helpful thoughts or tips?

2009 2.5i AT base sedan. Son was driving home through neighborhood, and pulled over about a mile from home when he heard/felt loud noises and engine shaking. Called me and I went to see, and when he started it up I have never heard such loud banging and screeching, but it settled down in a minute or so to the point we chanced driving it another mile to a known good mechanic. He said rod knock and engine is toast, but it would probably make it home so I drove it a mile to plop it in my driveway. It had very little power going home and was barely able to make it. After reading up about rod knock and spun bearings, I decided to drain the oil (it was low, maybe two quarts and very black) and to my surprise there's no metal flakes to be seen. Now I'm wondering about a timing issue, maybe idler pulley went and if I'm lucky I may not have to replace motor, maybe. Se either way the engine is coming out, and that's what I'm working on. I got the driver side cover off and belt looks intact. The further I get with the work, the more details I will know and can share. Question is: Given the story so far, what would those among you with experience guess at being the problem? I am starting to doubt the spun bearing because of the lack of metal in the oil, and the other horrible noises the car was making and the drastic loss of power. From what I gather a spun bearing will knock and slowly destroy the engine, not give a catastrophic result like what we saw. Am I completely wrong?