Topic: Orca's Slow and Steady Saabaru - keep on keeping on

[OrcasNotOilers]

It looks in dire need of an Italian tuneup...  drive harder?

This is the best advice I've had in years. I don't think it's from my driving, because...well yeah.

I looked into getting heads done and man, that's more than I had prepared for. I mean, they can't be that bad, right?

[OrcasNotOilers]

Ah wow.

Yeah that stuffs neat to see. I wish I hung on to my cracked clutch fork.
Just had a blower rebuild at work and didn't notice till the last minute but it had been spinning one of the lobe bearings for a while and had worn a perfect groove in the case

Nice! Always fun to see - I try to hold on to as much as possible. Here's all I have left of my Cherokee:

[OrcasNotOilers]

More pictures, and more questions. Serious amount of oil in cylinder #2, but again I'm unfamiliar with what I should be seeing in a 200k EJ. Taking into account the only potential 'symptom' I had beforehand was a slightly rough idle, should I be concerned? No smoke.

I feel like it could be (in order of preferred problems):
- it's a Subaru, suck it up
- head gasket, and just from me turning the engine on the stand more oil ended up in the cylinder
- valve seals
- piston rings

Input?

[GrantC]

I feel like it could be (in order of preferred problems):
- it's a Subaru, suck it up
- head gasket, and just from me turning the engine on the stand more oil ended up in the cylinder

^--- my guesses.

Oil that'd been getting in there with the engine running would be baked on, coked on, varnished on, etc.  (ie. the black coating on the other pistons).

That liquidy oil is just from engine stand somersaults.

I'd just do top end cleaner or some other solvent to gently clean off the piston tops.

[OrcasNotOilers]

^--- my guesses.

Oil that'd been getting in there with the engine running would be baked on, coked on, varnished on, etc.  (ie. the black coating on the other pistons).

That liquidy oil is just from engine stand somersaults.

I'd just do top end cleaner or some other solvent to gently clean off the piston tops.

Thanks, peace of mind to have a second opinion. It ran before, right? I have to remind myself of that.

[OrcasNotOilers]

I need some other reason to keep playing around in the garage once this is done, right? Hmmm...

[OrcasNotOilers]

All that time being so careful pulling the seals, only to find out that some donkey mallet-ed monkey wrench before me had carved the Grand Canyon into the outer bore. I mean, cammmahhhhn

[darthekai]

Just jb weld it.

[GrantC]

Outside doesn't move relative to the seal, so as along as the oil can't leak past it, it's fine.

It's the inside, spinning relative to the seal, that's a real seal destroyer if you nick it.

[OrcasNotOilers]

Outside doesn't move relative to the seal, so as along as the oil can't leak past it, it's fine.

It's the inside, spinning relative to the seal, that's a real seal destroyer if you nick it.

*fingers crossed*

Sooooo this happened, because I pulled some noobery and stripped mine.

I'm guessing the design changes from the tensioner bracket in the EJ251 (thanks to snackers) to the EJ253 are simply for manufacturing, draft angles and such. Functionally it's identical. Probably will get another 1-2 hp just from the weight reduction, though, right?

[OrcasNotOilers]

Had it running again on what I'm going to call a first attempt (dead battery doesn't count, right?) and it was running great. Clutch feels wonderful (I don't think I've driven a vehicle with a new clutch since...forever) and it was pulling really nicely.

And then I got back to my house after a couple rounds of the block and noticed a little more oil than I should. Insert slew of profanities accompanying all seven stages of grief within a span of 10 minutes, as I realize the terrible gouge I had discovered before was now really really leaking. So, back up on the blocks and everything disconnected, time to do a cam seal *again*. At least I know what I'm doing now, make it a lot easier when you've had the time to explore the engine before. Patched it more carefully this time with some JB weld, and will sand it down a bit tonight. The old seal did have some serious damage to the outer ring from sitting against the gouged seal face, and I have a feeling I pushed it in too far.

After I install it tonight, I guess we'll see...

Edit: also screw you photobucket and your photo sharing policies blah blah blah imgur ftw.

[OrcasNotOilers]

Does GrantC like to say I told you so? His words this afternoon were "Are you sure the cam seal is leaking..."

So even though I pulled my shoulder and had an extra ambulance ride tonight (+ some laughing gas) still managed to get the car back together. Started it up and ...still leaking.

Crawled under the car and....wait...is that bolt loose? Like really loose? Like embarrassingly loose and ohmygoodnessicantbelieveitsstillloose. Hey! No more oil fountain!

I'm tired.

I still stand by going about R&Ring the cam seal though - this is the one I had just installed:

Did the job properly this time and made sure the surface didn't have such a nasty edge to rip apart the seal.

[GrantC]

Does GrantC like to say I told you so? His words this afternoon were "Are you sure the cam seal is leaking..."

Haha, only when I'm right!

But...

Did the job properly this time and made sure the surface didn't have such a nasty edge to rip apart the seal.

At least this won't be in the back of your mind worrying you?

So, what bolt was it?

[OrcasNotOilers]

At least this won't be in the back of your mind worrying you?

My thoughts exactly. Though it caused me a little more physical pain than I'd like.

So, what bolt was it?

Bolt (b) - I believe this was when I considered removing the cams then said 'screw it', but hopefully didn't get far enough along to mess up the seal.

I've still got a weep above the exhaust though. Need to check some things again, but I'm running out of ideas. I really really hope it's not the HGs or the cam cap.
The internet has me thinking it could be VVL switch - but it doesn't show any signs of weeping on top of the heads. But it sounds a lot like this: http://www.toronto-subaru-club.com/forums/engine-na/191828-variable-valve-lift-oil-pressure-switch-failure.html..

[OrcasNotOilers]

Well, looks like I've figured it out - apparently I'm just an idiot and left those two bolts loose. Rage...

On the plus side it's nice to have this driving again, plus ALL THE SMELLS OF BURNING THINGS ARE GONE!!! Finally, no more leaks all around, or a clutch burning up - I can drive with the windows open again! So it's time to take it apart again, right?

Runs fine once moving, but a bit of hesitation off the line. I'm not launching it but I expect it to move a little faster than it currently is. Something something ECU? Seems strange to me, but I found this: http://www.scoobymods.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4321&d=1132538662

Which, summarized, says that

...if you notice hesitation from a standing start after the engine is warmed up there is the possibility that the ignition timing learning was not finished completely...

I'm a mechanical engineer, not an electrical, so this seems like voodoo to me, but it looks official enough to try.

(1) Warm the engine up until the radiator fan comes on.
(2) Put the transmission in 3rd gear then accelerate from 25 mph (about 2,000 rpm) with WOT to 40 mph (about 3,200 rpm)
(3) Repeat step (2) five times.

So there's a good chance you'll see me blasting up and down 91st street tonight.

[darthekai]

strange steps. Just unplug your battery for 15 minutes. It resets the learned trim tables.

[OrcasNotOilers]

Dear diary,

Oil done at 204461 (~500km after being put back together)
Audi endlinks at 204662.

Find a bigger RSB.
Diagnose the squeaking brake (pretty sure it's the cheesecloth dust shield rubbing against the rotor).
Explore extent of rust in rear towers...someday.

[OrcasNotOilers]

Vanity post. Picking up some Taber corn and walking back to the car - not sure what caught my eye but I liked it. With a proper lens on me and a bit of post- I think it would have been a real nice shot. 

[OrcasNotOilers]

Not much to update because the car runs fine. Though you can help me with this:

Couple of months ago: Highway driving, miss turn, curse, pull a Ueee (yuuueee, you-eee, U-E?) and head back to where I'm supposed to be. Loud noises from rear, almost like a rattle and grind. Freak out, slow down, make it to my destination fine. Everything seems to be fine, toss diagnosis at the music gear I had loose in the back, and head home no problems a couple of hours later.

The other night: Exit off Whitemud onto 91st, as I'm on 91st I hear a loud groan/clunk/something in the back, seems to depend on how straight I'm traveling. Do a couple of laps around the block to recreate sound, no dice. No equipment in the back.

Things in common - high speed, high brake, sharp(ish) turn. My gut tells me this could be just some noises from the sway bar bushings back there - I've loaded the suspension to the max, and as I straighten back out its the bar moving back to neutral position rubbing against poopy OEM rubber. I can't recreate the sounds. Brakes and tires seem fine. My fear is its diff related, but I feel that would be a scarier, more constant sound.

Any help here would be hot.

[seat safety switch]

The basics, I guess.

Lugnuts tight? Wheel weights still affixed? Wheel bearing okay? Axles seem like they're stuck in the diff firmly?

Is your muffler hitting the rear bar?

[OrcasNotOilers]

The basics, I guess.

Lugnuts tight? Wheel weights still affixed? Wheel bearing okay? Axles seem like they're stuck in the diff firmly?

Is your muffler hitting the rear bar?

Yeah, these are the kind of things that ran through my head at first. I've gone through most of these; haven't checked the axles or muffler but I'd imagine (?) those would be a more constant problem?

[RockThePylon]

Could be sway bar. I think you'd hear it more often though, anything with a high differential load on the suspension. Parking lots and stuff.
Probably not wheel rub if you're on stock tire size/offset.

But it sounds more like binding? Like something is trying to move and it's groaning through it's range of motion?

[OrcasNotOilers]

But it sounds more like binding? Like something is trying to move and it's groaning through it's range of motion?

Groaning is a great way to describe it. It sounds as if something's been forced into a position that's not its neutral state and is struggling to get back to that. But it seems to happen in a stick and slip type manner.

[OrcasNotOilers]

Shameless journal-type update

The groaning/squeaking hasn't reared its head in over a year. Who knows.

Finally got around to replacing the master clutch cylinder, again. I think the last one had blown a seal early on and was just continually slowly dying, and in my laziness I didn't replace it until now. The leak was slow enough that I just had to top up on fluid every couple of weeks, but was getting to a point where it was beyond soft. RIP clutch; I wonder how long it will take for me to hate myself for putting it off. Also $10 for the little bleeder bottle kit from CrappyTire is worth every penny - no more Gatorade bottles and spare tubing.

Front brakes in the coming weeks. Pregnant wife prefers riding in the Patriot right now so it gets limited use anyway...

[jellynuts]

Front brakes in the coming weeks. Pregnant wife prefers riding in the Patriot right now so it gets limited use anyway...

When she's tired of being pregnant, you can induce labour with the Saabaru.