Dying EJ N/A?

guyph_01 · Post by **guyph_01** » Wed Dec 07, 2011 2:04 pm

What if you get a EJ22 long motor and bolt it back to your EJ20 manifold etc in the car? Like i did with fitting the ej16 long block in the ej18 Impreza. Like you guys said it works fine. And Ej22 are really cheap. you could get away with about $300-500 if you do it your self. This of cause if this engine is no good.

taza · Post by **taza** » Wed Dec 07, 2011 3:15 pm

1. Its booked in for a compression test on all 4 cylinder on Wednesday.

2. The water pump is getting replaced the same day.

My parent insisted it go to a mechanic to get done and I not do it myself for these two things so I said if so they can pay

3. I am going to clean the O2 sensor 2night in petrol then put it back in 2moro.

4. I will also have a look at the condition of the spark plugs too.

5. If all is good after these I will do the head cover gaskets (rocker cover as I call it).

alang · Post by **alang** » Wed Dec 07, 2011 4:40 pm

[quote="taza"]Alright, now to set meself straight.

4. Clean the O2 sensor by letting sit in petrol over night. If any improvement that its not running so rich buy a new Bocsh O2 sensor.

They have a spray can for cleaning O2 sensors the stepson purchased one for his holden twincab it cleaned the unit up good save $320 for a new one.

Brumby Kid · Post by **Brumby Kid** » Wed Dec 07, 2011 5:44 pm

taza wrote: 5. If all is good after these I will do the head cover gaskets (rocker cover as I call it).

Yeah maybe worth it, I think they ment head gaskets. The one inbetween the Head and the block. Not the head and the rocker gear.

My 2c

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Wed Dec 07, 2011 5:52 pm

Go trade it on someone elses granmas Foz ? I am amazed how many dealers just like sideways at the trade-in, give a price, get the sale then find you near pushed the trade-in to the roadside

stick an EA81 in her

Post by **Alex** » Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:19 pm

Brumby Kid wrote:Yeah maybe worth it, I think they ment head gaskets. The one inbetween the Head and the block. Not the head and the rocker gear.

My 2c

No. It's leaking oil from the cam cover seals into the spark plug galleries.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

Brumby Kid · Post by **Brumby Kid** » Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:23 pm

Ok, yeah, what alex said. Probebly best to do a basic rebuild if nothing works. Welch plugs, Gaskets, new whatevers, that are in your price range.

taza · Post by **taza** » Wed Dec 07, 2011 7:42 pm

Just pulled the oxygen sensor once I got home from work. There was mm of flakes of carbon and black soot that came off when I pulled it out. Wiped it all off with a rag and its now sitting in petrol which is all black now. haha

Im guessing thats most probably the running rich issue :P

Just checked the spark plugs also which have been in there for 10,000k or so. They seemed abit worn and a small amount of carbon on the thread but nothing major so thats a good sign for starters

GOD · Post by **GOD** » Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:33 pm

guyph_01 wrote:What if you get a EJ22 long motor and bolt it back to your EJ20 manifold etc in the car? Like i did with fitting the ej16 long block in the ej18 Impreza. Like you guys said it works fine. And Ej22 are really cheap. you could get away with about $300-500 if you do it your self. This of cause if this engine is no good.

The manifold (and associated electrickery) in Taza's Forester will not match an EJ22 long motor. Post 1998 (or 99?) EJ gear has different ports, manifold bolt patterns, ECUs and sensors to the earlier engines.

Otherwise lots of good advice above. Take a deep breath, start with the small stuff and track down your problem before you go doing engine rebuilds or conversions. I had a similar panic phase when I found my first "good" car was burning oil - chances are it's actually not going to explode tomorrow.

Dane.

guyph_01 · Post by **guyph_01** » Wed Dec 07, 2011 10:08 pm

Oh yeah i wasn't sure if they would fit. I that case forget about the rebuilt. Buy a H6 front cut:D

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Wed Dec 07, 2011 10:58 pm

Brumby Kid wrote:Yeah maybe worth it, I think they ment head gaskets. The one inbetween the Head and the block. Not the head and the rocker gear.

Nope - you need to learn a bit more about the EJ's, which I'm sure you have from this, Alex sums it up below:

Alex wrote:No. It's leaking oil from the cam cover seals into the spark plug galleries.

Brumby Kid wrote:Probebly best to do a basic rebuild if nothing works. Welch plugs, Gaskets, new whatevers, that are in your price range.

I doubt welsh plugs would need renewing unless sea water was used as coolant -

guyph_01 wrote:In that case forget about the rebuilt. Buy a H6 front cut:D

Unless you're keen on lots of money on a conversion and quite a bit of time with out an operational vehicle to get you around I'd avoid a conversion for now - especially if your parents don't want you touching your water pump etc!!!!

Cheers

Bennie

taza · Post by **taza** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 9:36 am

El_Freddo wrote:Unless you're keen on lots of money on a conversion and quite a bit of time with out an operational vehicle to get you around I'd avoid a conversion for now - especially if your parents don't want you touching your water pump etc!!!!

Yeah thats the only issue. The H6 wouldn't be real smooth to put in a foz. Plus Dulagarl has overheating issues. Imagine what the overheating issues would be like for me here in WA!!! We've already had a few over 40 days.

Plus when I pulled the front end of the car apart to fix my ripped chassis after a bad offroad recovery my mother almost freaked. Then I made the statement that I was going to leave it looking like that

... and they don't have any friends that a very mechanically minded to help and teach me so if I f***ed up then a mechanic isn't really going to want to do half the job or fix up my mess. Plus getting it to the mechanic if that happens.

Im just going to wait and see the results of the compression test. Hoping for good news and if the engine has to come out and a few things fixed (not lots, just enough to get it working) then I will get it done.

Venom · Post by **Venom** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 11:30 am

Hope it all goes well mate, keep us updated!

taza · Post by **taza** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 9:17 pm

Well after putting the oxygen sensor back in, the foz is no longer running rich. There is nothing black coming out the exhaust so now its more like a petrol than a diesel. haha

Its running almost normal but there is a slight bit of white/grey smoke out the back. So im guessing thats rings/valves. Its not that bad and doesn't do it when idling, normal driving or even if you put your foot down. Really only when you rev the hell out of her (4500+rpm) and its quite faint.

Looking better but I will wait until the compression test is done.

If the compression test comes back not so great, because it is still burning massive amounts of oil. I might have the option to get an EJ251 N/A, with wirring loom, ECU, cat coverter and everything for $1200. Only 168,000km and just recently had a service done. But im going to wait before looking into it more until I see how the compression test goes.

Taza

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Fri Dec 09, 2011 4:38 pm

A couple of things here:

- AWD vehicles are just as capable of offroading as a "real 4wd" is - the thing that could hold it back is the low range, poor approach and departure angles, as well as ground clearance.
I say this as my Dad's on the same war path - the subaru is a very capable, cheap and reliable offroading vehicle. If I got one of these "real 4wd's" I'd be completely broke and be looking for the seriously hard core stuff - usually this type of 4wd'n is made tough by the big machines chewing it up because they're bored...

- You really, REALLY need to find out what the compression is, how the spark plugs look and to do a very thorough inspection for oil leaks. Yes 1 litre of oil is a lot of oil to drop over 500km, but stranger things have happened.
Yes it is good to get forum member's ideas of what the problem(s) could be, but now that we've given you some ideas you really need to check out what we've discussed and get back to us with the results.

I know you're parents are on your back about these issues, but until you check things out and get some solid, measurable results, you're going to be jumping to the worst conclusions before you probably need to be.

I'm hoping it's just a couple of small things. Also, revving the engine will always give a little bit of smoke. You also need to heat the engine AND the exhaust before looking at what's coming out, a cool morning/evening will see water vapour being produced.

Cheers

Bennie

NachaLuva · Post by **NachaLuva** » Fri Dec 09, 2011 5:15 pm

Hey Taza, do you always warm the engine up whenever you can, esp before going offroad? Its important not to rev a cold engine too hard...I never go past 3000rpm in mine till its properly warmed up.

Good to hear the O2 sensor was a simple fix...i hope you have other easy fixes to come.

We're all waiting to hear about the compression test. I know each cylinder should be similar but can someone please give Taza actual numbers? How much compression is good, how much is bad & how much variation between cylinders is ok...

taza · Post by **taza** » Fri Dec 09, 2011 5:24 pm

nachaluva wrote:Hey Taza, do you always warm the engine up whenever you can, esp before going offroad? Its important not to rev a cold engine too hard...I never go past 3000rpm in mine till its properly warmed up.

We're all waiting to hear about the compression test. I know each cylinder should be similar but can someone please give Taza actual numbers? How much compression is good, how much is bad & how much variation between cylinders is ok...

The actual numbers would be good. Whats good? 200psi? Would 150 be bad? I wouldn't have a clue.

Yes I ALWAYS warm up the engine. Even before I go to work in the mornings it sits for a few mins to come off cold. I don't even change gears over 2500rpm until fully warm.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Fri Dec 09, 2011 5:25 pm

nachaluva wrote:can someone please give Taza actual numbers? How much compression is good, how much is bad & how much variation between cylinders is ok...

It'll be best to get the actual readings first and go from there IMO.

Cheers

Bennie

Post by **TOONGA** » Fri Dec 09, 2011 6:18 pm

as a base Line 150 psi is average to normal, 200psi is a new motor (or near new)

as long as all of your cylinders are around the same mark for example 145 150 145 150 then your motor is ok. If one cylinder is down around 80 or 90 psi and the rest are around the 150 mark then there is a problem.

The motor I pulled out of Jetcar had less than 90 on 2 cylinders and the other 2 were 115 and 120 (turbo motor)

TOONGA

taza · Post by **taza** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 10:20 am

Water pump is getting done today along with the compression test. My mechanic also ordered a timing belt kit incase it needs doing. Since this may have to be done, im probably just going to fix everything on the bloody motor. Why fork out $800+ today on a motor that could come out for a 2.5.

Taza

The AUSubaru.com.au Forums

Dying EJ N/A?

*Update