2002 2.5L Subaru Legacy Outback Sedan - Timing Belt and Head Gaskets

[nvr-enuf]

Hey guys - my wifes 2002 outback 143K mile sedan 2.5L n/a automatic is in need of the following:

- Timing belt; way over due, I am on borrowed time, no need to yell at me

- head gaskets; leaking external for quite some time

- hyd belt tensioner; I have oil coming from the timing belt cover therefore when I change the timing belt I will change this device which I believe is a hydraulic tensioner. I am assuming this is the culperate that is causing the front oil leak

- rear main seal; in the back of the engine I am getting an engine oil leak therefore I am assuming it is the roughly $20 rear main.

 

I have read some "engine rebuilding" threads on this forum and it seems that the boxer engine is not like a sb ford or sb chevy:lol:. I am mechanically inclined and have a good garage including a car hoist w/ built in engine puller. I know one can replace the head gaskets and timing belt in the car but for the extra couple of hours, I am leaning towards just pulling the engine to make everything so much easier. As I said, I read some posts and looks like one can not just simply replace the main bearings without splitting the cases and opening up a can of worms therefore I will just leave the short block alone. If i am wrong, let me know. I would love to be able to simply replace the rings and main bearings.

 

I have contacted a local subaru mechanic to help ensure that I get the timing belt on correctly. I am trying to do all the grunt work and pay him really good for the expertise work. He wants to do it all himself at his location, hopefully I can work on him a bit since I want to oversee what is really being done.

 

Any other suggestions on what I should replace in addition to the list below, please let me know. The car is not performance orientented (sp?), meant for driving from A to B and back to A with out any issues.

 

List of items to replace or work to be done:

- rear main seal; I am assuming I can replace this with out splitting cases and assuming I pull the motor.

- heads; replace valve guides, ensure flat, maybe take off 5 thou to start with a clean flat surface. Maybe verify the valve are seating properly

- Head gaskets - replace with the latest verision, I have been told that subaru has changed the part number on head gaskets about 4 times. I really want to ensure this engine does not leak coolant externally or internally into the cylinder walls.

- timing belt including all bearings and tensioners

- water pump

- oil pump

- lower and upper radiator hoses

 

Perform all maintenance such as tranny fluid, diff's, coolant, etc.

 

So, any suggestions or guidance would be appreciated. I will either buy the parts from this service tech or from a website - I believe someone told me there is a website called genuine subaru parts. I want OEM parts just to feel good.

 

Thanks again for any guidance or suggestions.

 

scott

[nvr-enuf]

Oh, I forgot to ask a quick question; what is the CR on a 2002 2.5L engine? Is there sufficent valve to piston clearance to shave the heads slightly? I only intend to take off 5 to 10 thou

 

Thanks

SAS

[blackfang]

Chances are it is not the tensioner leaking but the cam/crank seals which are more prone to leak. Also it may not be the rear main seal as there is also a wrist pin cover that gets sealed and can leak oil. That is also known as a rear separator.

 

Whoever you take it to should be knowledgeable in Subaru's not engine when doing this repair because it can be easily screwed up if they don't have the right tools. Also if they take the engine out, all of those issues can easily be addressed while doing the HG repair.

[nvr-enuf]

Thanks for the reply. I intend on pulling the motor myself. Looks like I will have to work on getting that subaru mechanic over to my garage once pulled.

 

So I am assuming it is not possible to replace the rod main bearings with out spiltting the cases? Anything else you suggest to replace, check, or by pass / delete why removed from the car?

[blackfang]

IIRC, you have to split the case to remove them. I would look the engine over and also look the engine bay over as well. It is alot easier to replace parts in the bay when the motor is out.

[nvr-enuf]

Blackfang,

 

You are exactly correct, I was able to contact the subaru tech / mechanic and stated where I am getting oil leaks; front cover and rear main seal area. Before I could state what you had written, he stated exactly what you suggested. He also suggested to replace the oil pump o-ring.

 

What do you mean by IIRC?

 

When I asked him about replacing the main bearings he did agree that it takes to split the cases which tends to be a lot of work. He did think that we could replace the piston rings with out splitting the cases - I have not figured out how yet but he made it sound as if this was pretty simple. Also said that if I want to get rid of the infamous subaru piston slap at cold condition, that I would need to replace the two drivers side pistons.

 

Regarding compression ratio, does anyone know the safe limit to shaving the heads?

 

Thanks for your replies.

[blackfang]

IIRC= If I Recall Correctly