98 Subaru repairs on the 2.5 L engine

[john]

I have a 98 Outback w/ 2.5L engine. I've got several oil leaks and am
looking at doing the repairs myself. I wanted to see if anyone else
out there has done the following repairs and could let me know about
any concerns or what special tools I'll need as well as about how long
the repairs will take.

oil seperator (behind flywheel)
oil pan gasket
valve cover gaskets
water pump
oil pump gasket / O-Ring


Do you have to pull the engine/transmission for any of these fixes?

Any help or direction is appreciated.

 

[Jim Stewart]

I have a 98 Outback w/ 2.5L engine. I've got several oil leaks and am
looking at doing the repairs myself. I wanted to see if anyone else
out there has done the following repairs and could let me know about
any concerns or what special tools I'll need as well as about how long
the repairs will take.

oil seperator (behind flywheel)
oil pan gasket
valve cover gaskets
water pump
oil pump gasket / O-Ring


Do you have to pull the engine/transmission for any of these fixes?

I did all the stuff on the front of the engine
and had one of the valve covers off. You don't
need to pull the engine to do it. You will need
to take out the fans, radiator, battery and air
cleaner box.

Are you sure that you need to do the stuff in
the back? Front oil leaks put oil *everywhere*
and you might want to gunk and pressure-wash
the engine first to see where the oil's coming
from. Here's a link to my experience:

<http://groups.google.com/groups?q=a...off&[email protected]&rnum=1>

 

[Subbies Two]

x-no-archive: yes

I have a 98 Outback w/ 2.5L engine. I've got several oil leaks and am
looking at doing the repairs myself. I wanted to see if anyone else
out there has done the following repairs and could let me know about
any concerns or what special tools I'll need as well as about how long
the repairs will take.

oil seperator (behind flywheel)
oil pan gasket
valve cover gaskets
water pump
oil pump gasket / O-Ring


Do you have to pull the engine/transmission for any of these fixes?

Any help or direction is appreciated.

Depending on the mileage, service history and condition, you might want
to consider changing the timing belt and tensioner while you have the
front of the motor apart.

Be sure to Loctite the oil pump bolts. They have a nasty habit of
backing out.

 

[Edward Hayes]

Oil separator behind flywheel requires motor or trans to be pulled.

 

[Charlie Sachs]

I have a 98 Outback w/ 2.5L engine. I've got several oil leaks and am
looking at doing the repairs myself. I wanted to see if anyone else
out there has done the following repairs and could let me know about
any concerns or what special tools I'll need as well as about how long
the repairs will take.

oil seperator (behind flywheel)
oil pan gasket
valve cover gaskets
I wrote the same email earlier this summer. My leak was coming through

the crank seal. But I also changed the cam shaft seals (2) on my 2.2 '98
legacy. I used a Haynes manual. It is easy for a careful ammeter mechanic.
Be careful not to scratch the shaft surface while digging out the old seal.
You will need a compression tester to find TDC on #one cylinder.
Especially if you replace the timing belt. Changing out the water pump is
your call. I bought a kit with all the belt rollers but most were OK.
Charlie

 

[john]

I wrote the same email earlier this summer. My leak was coming through

the crank seal. But I also changed the cam shaft seals (2) on my 2.2 '98
legacy. I used a Haynes manual. It is easy for a careful ammeter mechanic.
Be careful not to scratch the shaft surface while digging out the old seal.
You will need a compression tester to find TDC on #one cylinder.
Especially if you replace the timing belt. Changing out the water pump is
your call. I bought a kit with all the belt rollers but most were OK.
Charlie

As far as the cam and crank seals, do I need any special tools to
replace them or to remove the pulleys so that I can get to the seals?
What tool(s) did you use to dig out the old seal and to install the
new one?

Also, is the compression tester really needed? Can't you just line up
the marks on the pulleys? That's what I did last time I changed the
timing belt.

 

[Henry Paul]

The last time you changed the belt, was it on the 2.5? That is an
interference engine so you must use care not to move the cams with the belt
off or you could damage valves and/or pistons.

I used a rubber strap wrench for mine, but I have the 2.2 single cam engine.
The cam bolts were pretty easy to break loose for me. If you have dual-cams,
Snap-On and MAC make a dual-cam locker to hold the cams in place while you
change the belt.
For digging out the old seals, I used a small flat blade screwdriver to work
them loose and then I fished them out with a flat chisel. To install the new
ones, I used a large socket and a small piece of PVC pipe the diameter of
the seal to make sure I got them in evenly to avoid leaks.

I also did not use a compression tester, I just used the timing marks on the
pulleys and timing cover.

 

[Jim Stewart]

The last time you changed the belt, was it on the 2.5? That is an
interference engine so you must use care not to move the cams with the belt
off or you could damage valves and/or pistons.

The Subaru service manual is contradictory in this respect.
Page 18 says never to move the camshafts after the belt is
removed, but page 26 shows the safe and unsafe directions
the left (driver's side) camshaft can be rotated.

In any case, the left side will give you fits because one
of the cams will be pushing a valve in, causing the shaft
to want to turn when the belt is off. There's no such
problem on the right side.

I used a rubber strap wrench for mine, but I have the 2.2 single cam engine.
The cam bolts were pretty easy to break loose for me. If you have dual-cams,
Snap-On and MAC make a dual-cam locker to hold the cams in place while you
change the belt.

Next time I'll break them loose before removing the timing
belt.

For digging out the old seals, I used a small flat blade screwdriver to work
them loose and then I fished them out with a flat chisel. To install the new
ones, I used a large socket and a small piece of PVC pipe the diameter of
the seal to make sure I got them in evenly to avoid leaks.

I also did not use a compression tester, I just used the timing marks on the
pulleys and timing cover.

I don't understand why a compression tester is needed either.
Just follow the procedures and line up the marks.

 

[Henry Paul]

I noticed on my 2.2 that one side seemed to want to stay right in place and
the other side wanted to move about a 1/4 turn if I barely touched it.

 

[darealclemshady]

Just a late follow up....

I got the job accomplished. Lining everything up w/ the marks on the
belt cover, etc worked out great. I believe the oil leaks are
history.....for now. Hopefully these seals will last another 100K
miles when I have to replace the Timing belt again.

It's been about 5 months since the repair mentioned above, and the car
has started idling roughly. The check engine light has come on w/
misfire codes for Cyl #2 and #4. It's been working fine all along
until just now. I replaced the coil, plugs, and plug wires, so I don't
know what else could be wrong.

Any ideas?