Hello, newbie needs a little help

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Hey all,

Old knuckle buster ford guy here, not older than dirt but close.
I'll apologize in advance because this is gonna be a long one.

I have an issue with a 98 outback basket case that I bought and I don't know what options I have for repairing it so I thought I should check out the Subaru forum and ask the people who would know.
Like I said I bought a 98 outback ej25(d?) DOHC Sitting in a guys back yard.
He drove it there and parked it to fix an oil leak and discovered he was in over his head.

I had to put the rear end back into it, find a power steering pump and a battery and reassemble everything that had been taken off including some of the interior.
he was starting to part it out.

I got it all back together and running and driving and oh boy did it leak oil!
I drove it home (not far) and noticed a ticking noise coming from the drivers side head area.

I got the valve cover off (major part of the leak) and I discovered the rear cam journal on the intake cam was loose and the bolts were backed out several turns.

Here's the issue... I tightened the cam journal down and tried to hand turn the engine and it was locked up so I pulled the front cover and timing belt off and sure enough the cam would not turn at all until I loosened the journal again.

I pulled the engine out and got it on the stand and it appears that the cam was slapping against the head and deformed the aluminum head and wore both journals out of round.
Conclusion...
I need a head.. preferably complete


The question is what are the donor options.
Will most years and models with the 2.5 dohc interchange or are this era 2.5 different from newer ones?
The car is high milage (200k) but ran good and drove real nice despite the tick and it didn't burn oil.
I paid $250 for the car and figured it needed all new seals anyway, throw in a gasket set,
timing set and water pump and have a good little car

I saw sets of reconditioned heads on ebay but there were "round valley" and "square valley"
heads. Is that in reference to the spark plug opening?
I believe I have round valley heads.

Finding a single donor head in my area (Taos New Mexico) has been near impossible and Im not sure what other Subaru models had the same 2.5 dohc.
reconditioned heads run about 800+ a pair.
It's almost as cheap to get a whole engine if I could find one.

Suggestions?
Thanks for reading and any insight/advice is appreciated.
 
Hey oldskool, Welcome! I'm another old Ford guy myself. My wife and I went to Taos in April and loved it.

I just joined the forum today and noticed a lot of posts without replies. I'm sorry I know less about Subarus than you. I hope you got it figured out.
 
The good news is you have the skills to fix it yourself. The bad news...a Subaru ain't a FORD.
If memory serves, that 98 engine is about 3 design iterations back from what is being built now.
And I believe the changes were extensive enough that the heads are NOT interchangeable with every Subbie 2.5L engine.
Hopefully someone will chime in and let you know what year model heads can be swapped for yours...
 
Hey oldskool, Welcome! I'm another old Ford guy myself. My wife and I went to Taos in April and loved it.

I just joined the forum today and noticed a lot of posts without replies. I'm sorry I know less about Subarus than you. I hope you got it figured out.
Hey, awesome, I finally got a reply haha I moved to Taos from Seattle a couple years ago and bought property here. I haven't found any salmon here here... I sure miss the PNW fishing and cool weather but not the people or traffic! Always nice to meet another Ford guy.
I have 2 dentside one tons.
 
The good news is you have the skills to fix it yourself. The bad news...a Subaru ain't a FORD.
If memory serves, that 98 engine is about 3 design iterations back from what is being built now.
And I believe the changes were extensive enough that the heads are NOT interchangeable with every Subbie 2.5L engine.
Hopefully someone will chime in and let you know what year model heads can be swapped for yours...
Hello,
Thanks for the reply and you are correct, Subaru ain't a Ford!
I ve had two earlier legacy wagons and both were non interference engines. I am not a fan of knowing these 2.5s can grenade themselves at any moment.
It's been a while since I started this thread and have decided to part the car out and stick with my old trucks... it's getting to hard to get in and out of a little car anymore.
 
I wanted to clarify.. when I said I don't miss the people from the Seattle area, I don't mean I don't like people..I left behind a lot of wonderful people and friends I miss. I lived there 30+ years and the sheer amount of the population just became too much for me.
I lived in a rural little farming area well on the outskirts there and the urban sprawl swallowed up my entire area.
There was hunting and fishing and peace and quiet that turned into Fishing shoulder to shoulder, my hunting areas were bought out from under me or worse yet...closed due to new homes built on, or next to huntable land and then THEY complained about the hunters that had been there long before them.
Construction, development and noise pollution just became unbearable
Im off grid and miles from pavement or a big sprawling city now!
 
I can relate. I'm on 3 acres an hour west of Fort Worth and they are building and developing so fast that I'll have to leave before I end up being annexed by Ft. Worth.
 

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