Subaru Enthusiasts Car Club of the Sierras - View Single Post

sperry · 2009-01-28, 10:24 AM

So, I finished up the SVX over the weekend!

Here's the writeup I posted over on the SVX boards as I was doing the work (mostly I'm just showing off pictures with my super awesome faux-carbon fiber work bench top):

--------------------

Well, since no one wanted to buy my SVX "as is" with the cam seal leaking, I decided to tackle the oil leak and do the timing belt and water pump while I was in there.

But after going under the hood and getting a better look at the oil leak(s), I decided that the valve covers and main seals ought to be done as well, so I figured it'd be worth it to pull the motor and really clean it up.

I pulled the motor last week. Here's the mess I found:

Looks like the valve covers are leaking, the cam seals/plugs, and the power steering pump reservoir. So in my spare time over the past week, I got crazy w/ the engine cleaner, pressure washer, and various brushes.

Much better!

Now I'm just waiting on a few more bits to get delivered from subaruparts.com (I had all the seals, but the timing cover was demolished by a worn crank pulley, so I had to order that stuff up, plus I figured I should do the rear-main once I decided to pull the whole motor) and I can get to work on the seals, water pump, timing belt, and spark plug. Plus, I'm sure there's some more cleaning here and there that will need to get done.

--------------------

Update time!

I finally got my package from SubaruParts.com. It required me emailing them and asking why they "processed" my order on the 13th, but still hadn't shipped it a week later. When it showed up, it was packaged in a Jimmy Johns box!? Something tells me my order fell through the cracks then got rushed out the door after they got my email. I've ordered a million times from SubaruParts.com so I'm just going to chalk it up to someone having the random "one of those days" I guess.

Anyway... with my parts in hand I was able to reseal the valve covers, install the main seals, cam seals and cam plugs, spark plugs, as well as swap the rear knock sensor (I did the front a while back, but with the motor out I could finally get to the rear one w/o taking off the intake manifold). I was also going to do the PCV, but even with the motor out, I'm gonna have to get a crows-foot 19mm socket.

Here are some pictures from the work, I'll annotate them later but for the most part, they're in order.

Valve cover resealing parts:

RH valve cover removed:

Tore out the old gaskets... work slowly to prevent them from crumbling apart. I was amazed they were working at all!

New gaskets installed!

Old and new spark plugs:

RH valve cover complete!

I used some hi-temp gasket maker to glue the ignition wire brackets back down, since they were all broken off.

Front main, plus the assembly lube I used to install the seals:

RH exhaust cam seal replaced, plus the socket used to press it in:

New knock sensor installed:

Full gallery of all the pictures I've taken: http://www.seccs.org/gallery/index.p...ne%20Resealing

I also did the LH valve cover, but the pics look pretty much the same. I've still got the water pump to replace, and then the timing gear to put back. Then the motor is pretty much ready to go back into the car! Hopefully it'll be running by Sunday!

--------------------

To wrap things up:

Over the weekend I finished up the work on the motor and got it back in the car. I didn't take a ton of pictures since I was focused on just getting the motor back in the car and running (I especially wish I had taken pictures of the WRX motor mounts), but I did take a few:

Timing gear all back together. I replaced one of the idlers because it was pretty squeaky... I'm kinda thinking I should have just ponied up and replaced them all... but that's another $150-200 or so. Hopefully I'll get to 300,000 miles before they give out!

New o-ring on the power steering reservoir. No more pulsing in the steering wheel now that the pump isn't sucking air!

Cleaned up P/S pump. I swear, I thought the pump was black until I started scrubbing it!

New o-ring on the high pressure P/S line.

Motor going back in!

Accessories and belts good to go.

All done!

So after getting everything back together and filling all the fluids, the car fired after cranking over only twice. I had to top off the power steering fluid after cranking the wheel back and forth a few times of course. Other than that, there were no issues getting the car running. No fluid or exhaust leaks, and just a little burn-off of the cleaner that was left on the headers.

One thing that surprised me was how night and day the new motor mounts are! Going from basically one worn-out SVX mount (the other was torn in half) to two WRX mounts made a *huge* difference in responsiveness when getting on the throttle. The car feels much quicker, and it even seems to turn better w/o having that heavy-ass motor rolling around under the hood.

--------------------

Hopefully I'll be able to get out of work this week and actually make it to the meet tomorrow and bring the SVX. It feels like a new car with the new motor mounts and the lack of oil spraying all over the place.

2009-01-28, 10:24 AM	#33
sperry The Doink Real Name: Scott Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 20,335 Car: '09 OBXT, '02 WRX, '96 Miata Class: PDX/TT-6 The way out is through	So, I finished up the SVX over the weekend! Here's the writeup I posted over on the SVX boards as I was doing the work (mostly I'm just showing off pictures with my super awesome faux-carbon fiber work bench top): -------------------- Well, since no one wanted to buy my SVX "as is" with the cam seal leaking, I decided to tackle the oil leak and do the timing belt and water pump while I was in there. But after going under the hood and getting a better look at the oil leak(s), I decided that the valve covers and main seals ought to be done as well, so I figured it'd be worth it to pull the motor and really clean it up. I pulled the motor last week. Here's the mess I found: Looks like the valve covers are leaking, the cam seals/plugs, and the power steering pump reservoir. So in my spare time over the past week, I got crazy w/ the engine cleaner, pressure washer, and various brushes. Much better! Now I'm just waiting on a few more bits to get delivered from subaruparts.com (I had all the seals, but the timing cover was demolished by a worn crank pulley, so I had to order that stuff up, plus I figured I should do the rear-main once I decided to pull the whole motor) and I can get to work on the seals, water pump, timing belt, and spark plug. Plus, I'm sure there's some more cleaning here and there that will need to get done. -------------------- Update time! I finally got my package from SubaruParts.com. It required me emailing them and asking why they "processed" my order on the 13th, but still hadn't shipped it a week later. When it showed up, it was packaged in a Jimmy Johns box!? Something tells me my order fell through the cracks then got rushed out the door after they got my email. I've ordered a million times from SubaruParts.com so I'm just going to chalk it up to someone having the random "one of those days" I guess. Anyway... with my parts in hand I was able to reseal the valve covers, install the main seals, cam seals and cam plugs, spark plugs, as well as swap the rear knock sensor (I did the front a while back, but with the motor out I could finally get to the rear one w/o taking off the intake manifold). I was also going to do the PCV, but even with the motor out, I'm gonna have to get a crows-foot 19mm socket. Here are some pictures from the work, I'll annotate them later but for the most part, they're in order. Valve cover resealing parts: RH valve cover removed: Tore out the old gaskets... work slowly to prevent them from crumbling apart. I was amazed they were working at all! New gaskets installed! Old and new spark plugs: RH valve cover complete! I used some hi-temp gasket maker to glue the ignition wire brackets back down, since they were all broken off. Front main, plus the assembly lube I used to install the seals: RH exhaust cam seal replaced, plus the socket used to press it in: New knock sensor installed: Full gallery of all the pictures I've taken: http://www.seccs.org/gallery/index.p...ne%20Resealing I also did the LH valve cover, but the pics look pretty much the same. I've still got the water pump to replace, and then the timing gear to put back. Then the motor is pretty much ready to go back into the car! Hopefully it'll be running by Sunday! -------------------- To wrap things up: Over the weekend I finished up the work on the motor and got it back in the car. I didn't take a ton of pictures since I was focused on just getting the motor back in the car and running (I especially wish I had taken pictures of the WRX motor mounts), but I did take a few: Timing gear all back together. I replaced one of the idlers because it was pretty squeaky... I'm kinda thinking I should have just ponied up and replaced them all... but that's another $150-200 or so. Hopefully I'll get to 300,000 miles before they give out! New o-ring on the power steering reservoir. No more pulsing in the steering wheel now that the pump isn't sucking air! Cleaned up P/S pump. I swear, I thought the pump was black until I started scrubbing it! New o-ring on the high pressure P/S line. Motor going back in! Accessories and belts good to go. All done! So after getting everything back together and filling all the fluids, the car fired after cranking over only twice. I had to top off the power steering fluid after cranking the wheel back and forth a few times of course. Other than that, there were no issues getting the car running. No fluid or exhaust leaks, and just a little burn-off of the cleaner that was left on the headers. One thing that surprised me was how night and day the new motor mounts are! Going from basically one worn-out SVX mount (the other was torn in half) to two WRX mounts made a huge difference in responsiveness when getting on the throttle. The car feels much quicker, and it even seems to turn better w/o having that heavy-ass motor rolling around under the hood. -------------------- Hopefully I'll be able to get out of work this week and actually make it to the meet tomorrow and bring the SVX. It feels like a new car with the new motor mounts and the lack of oil spraying all over the place. __________________ Is you is, or is you ain't, my con-stit-u-ints?