Call up IAG in Maryland, ask for Adam (used to work for the same company I came up in) and bend his ear on this project. I guarantee he'd help you guys out. 1. Look for cracks on that piston. Especially the ring lands. The chances of them not being there are slim to none. I'd highly recommend an upgraded hypereutectic forged piston for the turbo application. Rods are fine at stock level power, but easy to upgrade now if a bigger turbo and more fueling is expected. The ring lands fail often. Good call on the new rings of course. 2. Oil pump - yes, get the JDM larger OEM pump (12mm), IAG modifies their offerings but the factory 12mm is fine. They don't like us over here, so we get the cheap and fail prone parts. 3. No, that oil pan is garbage. It's a part of the problem, same as the oil pump pick-up. Yes, you can get a cheap used STi pan and then get an aftermarket stainless steel properly welded (not brass brazed) pick-up that won't fail. 4. DO NOT DELETE THAT OIL FILTER HEAT EXCHANGER. It is being cooled with coolant, and in turn for street use actually heats up the oil to operating temperature more quickly in the cold months as well. It provides a more balanced temperature range for the oil under hard use. 5. ORDER AN AIR OIL SEPERATOR. IAG, Crawford, whatever. Just got one on that car after all this work. Factory PCV system blows and contributes to oiling issues. Make a video on porting and polishing the turbo if you plan to keep it. Delete the up cat (another prone to fail), but obviously keep the down cat. Plenty of info out there on it but it makes the car much more responsive and far cheaper for the media budget than a new turbocharger. Although, at this mileage I'd seriously consider tossing a new balanced CHRA in it. Seriously love this series. I know you don't. I know a lot of others don't. But thank you for doing this.
I would add that 4032 is a good material for forged pistons that aren't seeing crazy power, less thermal expansion than 2618 that leads to tighter clearances, less noise, and less wear. Another reason that reusing the pistons is bad is because the clearances to the cylinders will probably be too large after boring. Also, when boring, it is best to not only use a torque plate, but also to bolt the case halves together to make sure the cylinders are strained as they will be when they're assembled. The cylinders can change up to .001" when those forces are not present. Getting the valve clearances right is tricky- usually they'll tighten up around .001" when the heads are bolted to the block, so at least check them again after the heads are installed. And don't use too much sealant on the larger cam caps, there's pressure relief/drain channels that, if clogged, will cause the cam seals to pop out and leak. And finally reference the Subaru factory assembly manual, it is wonderfully detailed. Doing a motor like this without one would be doomed to fail.
Have you heard of the channel Gears and Gasoline? One of them has a WRX that just got a full IAG engine. If you like this channel you'll probably like G&G also.
As someone who has built and tuned a couple Subarus, I have to agree with everything you've said here. One time I was working on a 2010 Forester XT with a fresh engine combination, no oil cooler. Oil temps on the interstate were up to 240-250F. Slapped an EJ257 waterpump and oil cooler on there, and BAM oil temps around 205F cruising down the interstate. I cringe every time some one says "I'm going to delete the oil heater". My only other recommendation would be the Killerb windage tray and a full Aisin (for the love of god, not Gates!) timing kit.
I enjoy this series because i appreciate the fact that you can rebuild old school V8s and you're not afraid to work on a turbo charged Japanese engine and not criticize it
Ive owned many classic V8 muscle cars....also owned a 2004 Subaru WRX STI....300hp 4 cylinder rocketship that handled like it was on rails!...it was AWESOME!
As someone who pointed to some youtube videos to watch previously, let me say that the ONLY reason I even mentioned them is that I know this engine has a few quirks to assembly that can make your life suck or make it easy, and had no clue if you knew any Subaru people to ask when you ran into weird Subaru problems! What you did for disassembly was perfectly fine. You got the block apart and nothing broke, and that is what counts. As the saying goes, no harm, no foul.
We do a lot of Subaru heads at my shop. I have discovered that when you do the valve job, if you will trim .005- .006 off of the tip and keep the valves in order. Your adjustments will be extremely close.
This kind of videos, this kind of gentlemen gives me motivation to make an old car reusable, like a stock car who gets out of the dealership and to be an everyday driving car. Take care, Grettings from Swiss
Yeah, I know that Subaru's have horizontally opposed cylinders, but it's cool seeing something that is not the normal fare. I also enjoy the fact that this engine does have some life left in it and that you are using some of the original parts. I do have my preferences in my hobby which is motorcycle restoration namely that I love the inline 4 cylinder bikes (air cooled), but if asked to work on a two cylinder V engine (whether domestic or foreign) I would also appreciate the challenge.
I have an old 61 Bonneville with a parallel twin I've been working on. Worst part is all the Whitworth hardware, and the fact that I know nearly nothing about old British bikes.
I love the fine details of a build! The sandblasting and prep work has always fascinated me. When me and my dad did our 289, I asked if I could come by the machine shop to learn this whole process. Best couple of days I ever had and a wealth of knowledge I gained about our motor and motor builds
I'm just happy to see something new done! The more variety the better! It's good to see someone who has little to no prior experience with a certain type of engine or certain brand just throw themselves at it, it always results in seeing things you wouldn't see otherwise.
great video, amazing job. The Grey is a perfect outcome. Please consider uprating the head a little, and going up one size on the turbo. Thx for the update. I have never seen the grey come out that well. Waiting for the clear coat
I placed an order with your sponsor yesterday morning so we'll see how they deliver. They were the only place I could find wheel bearing and hub assemblies NOT made in China. I'm crossing my fingers the part matches the pictures and is truly a Japanese wheel hub and bearing assembly.
Stretch bolts only stretch out side of the thread they are screwed into. They stretch at the weakest point which is where the thread on the bolt exits the block. As they stretch the bolt goes past the yield point. It cannot recover from this so the thread deformation remains. When you screw the bolt back into the block, the distorted thread locks into the block and gives you low clamp torque, so the head gaskets will fail. If you really go at it then the bolt will fail as you screw it in and getting them out is a long project. Stretch bolts are used once and once only.
I’ve really been enjoying this series. The domestic builds are great, but it’s been interesting to see you step outside of your comfort zone. Keep up the fantastic work!
Given the variance in clamping on the heads, I have always gone with the ARP studs and either OEM or FelPro latest MLS gaskets. Bulletproof and necessary for the boosted Subarus
I love that you changed things up a bit with such a different type of engine. It's not all about the old school blocks. That being said...if you guys get the chance to do a Ford 427 or something like that, I wouldn't hate it 😁
The dark color of the aluminum casting is due to the chemicals used in the parts washer. Certain rust inhibiters used for ferrous metals will react with aluminum. You see that with bare aluminum pots and pans in your home dishwasher as well.
I can concur. The same happened to me when I used Zep purple degreaser on some aluminum parts. They also turned a similar dark color and I learned my lesson, 😂
I loved my Subaru Outback. It was my very first brand new vehicle. It was fun to drive (stick) and had decent power for such a big vehicle, and there was certainly little that it wasn't capable of dealing with, weatherwise. I comfortably drove through a blizzard at 70 mph in it once. I took very good care of it too, sticking to the recommendations on the factory schedule, and of course, oil changes at 3K, per my insistence. Even that wasn't enough to keep it from the dreaded oil-burner issue that was so common for a bunch of years in the early 2000's. It eventually clogged two cats and after the second one, I parted ways with it. A shame, as it only had 120K on the odometer and was in great condition in every other way. Almost wish that I'd kept it so that I could have rebuilt the EJ25 and given it a shot of power with a Manley stroker kit and a bit more cam. Would have been a blast.
I believe that engine case turned dark gray because the aluminum reacted with one of the products you use in your jet washer. This same thing happened to my dirt bike engine cases when I cleaned them in an ultrasonic cleaner. Only difference is it is a problem for me because I don’t like it. I think it looks fine on your engine case and would probably look quite nice an an engine bay. I don’t think that dark gray will look very good against the bright green frame of my KLX300R though, unfortunately. Might have to get them vapor blasted.
This was my thought as well. Chemical reacting to AL. A concern would be if it could cause any material issues.. likely only on the surface but perhaps impose brittle or soft condition. I guess a surface hardness test would give some idea. As always, quality content.
Those cast piston tend to crack ringlands (if you get pre ignition knock) and the rods are cast. If a bigger turbo in the future slap some forge pistons and rods. The MLS stock gaskets is great.
Ringlands more of an issue for the EJ25 and specifically the hypereutectic pistons in the STI. Knock will definitely be a killer, but the rods are the weak link here for sure.
@@haydenc2742 As a general rule, you really shouldn't be using copper gasket spray. Especially on any MLS or composite gasket which already has a rubberized coating or soft seal areas. I would basically only use it on an engine with crappy block or head surfaces that I wanted to seal up well or on a gasket I was reusing in a pinch.
Great work Davin! I always like seeing expert mechanics teardown a Subaru motor for the first time to get their opinion on the block itself. Older Subaru's always looked great to me but man do they lack that reliability.
This brings me back to my days of running a Subaru shop. I lived doing ej25 closed deck short blocks on EJ20 heads to make a high horsepower bugeye wrx.
That's awesome! I have had a bugeye for 13 years and it's still my daily. eventually I would like to turn up the horsepower. Are the ej20 heads pretty good for high horse power? They have 133,000 miles on them. I'm trying to save a little $.
The first 2 minutes are so awesome! So honest. If you're a car person, at some point you'll find a project you don't know. Take it slow, learn along the way, do it better next time. But try! And Learn! Such great messages in this WRX series.
I appreciate the consideration of the comments from the last vid. Was it painful to watch? Yes. But was it enjoyable content, also Yes. Keep up the quality!
Oil pump: Shim for higher pressure instead of going to STI for more volume. The volume won't help unless you replace the bearings with under sized (more clearance so you need the volume)
I would definitely replace the oil pick up tube since they are known to fail, killer b and iag make great ones, change the oil pan as well. And get upgraded pistons, as others have mentioned, stock pistons are known to Crack ringlands.
I agree Subaru probably had crappy QC on a few the oil pickups but it seems like kind of a marketing myth. Just because somethings brazed doesnt mean its crap. If brazing is done correctly, the joint will be stronger than the base material. (The pipe will tear before the braze joint fails). 90% of metal pipes on all cars are brazed. (I daily drive a WRX with 180k miles and used to be a production engineer at a supplier that made pipes for Honda and Toyota)
@@4pimp4 True! I worked in a machine shop 5 years, we al=ways brazed every oil tube on street and ALL the race car engine we build NOT One failed ever!!! Some ppl say this that the Other etc about brazing. They have NO idea what they are saying. ALL welding is known for superior strength then the other parts that are joined by weld brazing. Ive welded for 50+ Year and seen that if the #1 Trait of the welding industry!
The stock oil cooler is very effective, both at warming up the oil on cold climate and also on cooling the oil during severe driving. It’s a lot better with it. Also the head bolts on these EJ engines are not torque to yield, but it’s better to replace them since it can be overtorqued and yielded on a previous reassembly.
Great stuff Davin! 👏 FYI, Aisin makes the best aftermarket timing/water pump kits … oil pickup tube really should be replaced or upgraded and the o-ring on it is a critical part that’s easily confused with other o-rings in the assembly. 👍✌️ cheers!
I am glad to see you take the Subaru engine apart. I own a 2019 Subaru Impreza. Now I know what to look at in the engine. I put over 100,600 miles on the engine in the year 2022 so far. I'm having carbon build up problems. Your tore down the engine with no knowledge on the order it was suppose to be tore down. Well, I'm with Stupid just like you. Learn as you go. No complaints from me. I'm just going to watch and lean.
Hey Davin, I love the fact you are doing this Subaru especially because it might be a bit out of your “comfort zone” we only learn when we seek new things out, I am excited to learn this engine with you. Like always, you do a great job explaining things and being real when you make a mistake, again, that is how we learn. Love the show and how eclectic in its variety it is.
In regards to your monologue when the video began. I still would have you assembled an engine of mine any day of the week over some of the guys I have locally.
My experience with Subaru ej25 engines, owner of a 2004 Baja for 12 years and 410k miles. The oil filter relocation kit is typically used for filter access for easy changing, the oil pan and exhausted header block rotation of most oil filter wrenches, hands should be burned or smashed, the alternative is to use a K&N oil filter with the 1" nut. Water pumps are a change item with the timing belt, use blue locktite on all engine fasteners including the bolts for the timing belt components. Use a good synthetic oil like Mobil one, and a K&N reusable air filter. Do not use the graphite coated head gaskets those leak, the non coated ead gaskets are good to go! And the valve cover gaskets always leak after a year.
Subaru's don't really have oil pump issues. The issue is the oil pan. They have very low capacity sumps and will oil starve with high g forces. Definitely need to upgrade the oil pan. Upgrading to a larger volume pump will only make the oil starvation worse.
Hey Thanks Davin, with your help digging that 15 foot long 1 foot deep ditch through base material to help me run electricity to my shop. By the way great work on that Subaru engine, as that I think is similar to the old 1967's VW beetle engine's.
6:50 They're actually not. They're easily confused for torque-to-yield though because the short-hand identifying of that fastener type is the degree spec e.g. "turn the bolt 90 degrees" at some point in the process. In Subaru's case though, that degree value is for "crimping" the head gaskets. Subaru technicians will reuse your existing head bolts, and they've been doing so for 30 years without issue.
I have a 91 Nissan Sentra that has a very similar setup for the valvetrain. It has a ridge around the bores for the buckets that are between the cam lobes and valves. This keeps oil between the lobes and buckets. When I had to replace the timing chains and guides at about 375,000 miles I checked the valve adjustment and all 16 valves were well within specifications. That 1.6 liter engine never burned oil. The head has never been off and I have only had 5 oil leaks. Once was the oil pressure sensor, once was the valve cover gasket, and 3 times for the front main seal. That fails about every 100,000 miles. It only got parked because it was going to cost more to replace struts and springs than the retail value of the car. I still have it and I'm thinking about fixing it to see if I can get 500,000 miles out of it. It's already at 395,000 and it was running great when my wife objected to the idea of putting over $1400 into a car that was Blue Book rated at $1200.
Those head bolts are actually reusable and not torque to yield. In the FSM it tells you to use degrees as these bolts love to build up friction and "jump" when torqueing. This friction causes incorrect torque values, so they tell you to use degrees at the end of the process which will get it closer to what the clamping pressure should be. Also make sure to use a good engine oil or some sort of lube on the threads/heads/washers of the bolts to keep the torqueing as smooth as possible
Apparently, there is a mod/upgrade that closes the top of the block and helps prevent the cylinder walls flexing that is one reason that causes the head gaskets to fail. It'd be interesting to see how DIY friendly the job is.
Oiling issues are due to non-baffled oil pan and people hammering on these through the twisties with bare minimum oil level. Killer B oil pan and pickup solves this issue. Head gasket problems with EJ251D (naturally aspirated single cam 2.5L), not turbo EJ 205/255 207/257 series problems. Use ARP head studs. Found broken head bolts on both my EJ 205 rebuilds that had never been apart prior to me. My experience has been to get the shim over bucket close, then trim the valve stem to get them spot on after measuring gap with the head fully torqued- hence why the head studs are the way to go over torque to yield bolts.
I'm flabergasted by this rebuild ! I thought the Subaru engines were only upgraded VW flat fours - which I'm quite familiar with. How little did I know ! And reading comments down here from guys in the know, man, this technology is from another universe than the old 'merican V8s, big or small ! Well, Darren, I guess you're in for a lot of reading infos.
Gotta say, oiling issues also come from the stock oil pan and pickup. As you have the pan off, a windage tray and a new pickup would significantly improve oiling under load. Depending on your plans for power, a Killer B Oil Pan would be another very effective upgrade.
Subaru engines are very misunderstood. Props for looking at one even if it's not your first choice. Most people who work on Subaru end up loving the brand.
Although my Subaru Forester isn't a turbo, nor am I planning to rebuild it as it's my daily-driver & mechanically it's in quite good nick, I really enjoyed seeing how everything is supposed to fit together! Totally agree on new rings, bearings, & bolts, if your going to go to all the effort of a rebuild! Interesting what you said about a sand-blasting cabinet paying for itself as I have a '95 Mitsubishi Pajero J-Top (JDM SWB soft-top) Turbo-Diesel that I'm rebuilding/restoring (here in Sydney, Australia), so I'll definitely purchase one. Besides there's something really therapeutic about watching clean metal appear before your own eyes (bit like using a water-blaster to clean paving & driveways)!
Like to see a Corvair Flat Six eventually! Is there a oiling system fix for the engine? Reminds me of the Oldsmobile 455 where oil gets up into the heads and slowly migrates or doesn't migrate back into the pan at all!
In regard to the rod bearings, I believe that you're right in that head pump-up is to blame, aircooled vws also do this, seems like it's a boxer thing. However there are other factors, the rod bearings are smaller and critically, narrower than say a V8 or even I4 which means they see higher pressure on that film strength. So good oil supply is critical. I also think windage is a factor, less so on this EJ20, more so on the EJ25. And to that end IAG makes a nice windage tray kit. At very high power levels the case bolts can stretch and cause oil to bypass the mains and lose pressure to the rods despite having good pressure at the pump. Also, when you hone the block, use a torque plate to simulate the presence of the head, these blocks are pretty wobbly and distort when the head is attached. Either that, or just dingle ball it.
It's always good to learn something new. I like watching this although I have a different Subaru engine, an FA20 and not an EJ. But as both come with their own different pros and cons it doesn't harm to watch something about Subaru boxers in general. Mine was taken apart by my Toyota workshop as part of the valvespring recall and luckily has not grenanded since - about 3500km since the recall was done. When it comes to head gaskets I hope neither my FA20 nor my 7M-GTE will surprise me with that, althouh the latter usually is notorious for doing so :-D
Hey buddy make sure you keep the cam caps for each head the same as they are machined from factory and are all different. Check the numbers and letters on the heads to identify them 👍
3:04 Seriously with the head gaskets?!? This is an DOHC EJ204 WRX (or STI) engine, they don’t have that issue. It’s the NA SOHC Impreza/Legacy/Forester engines that have head gasket issues. I bet you think all Porsche’s have IMS bearing issues?
The block half you are showing us (at 1:00) almost looks like it has JB Weld or actually been welded behind that one bolt hole. Strange. Probably just shadows, eh.
8:22 you don't put a shim under the cap. The shim IS the cap. if you need to make an adjustment, get your micrometer out, measure the current shim then go hunting at the head shop or order some new ones.
You have to see how much you can over-fill it. I had an empty reading after a run from fair grounds giant Timmonium up to Kewaskum Wisconsin after repositioning on a level surface and added approximately (2) quarts
Thank you for the cool video, but can you just sandblast a block? Sandblasting takes away small portions of material, isn't that a problem for such precisely produced products like an engine block?
Might be a bit late but if running stock tolerances it would be best to run a new stock pump or if the old one is still in good shape you could just remove the pumps gear cover and re-torque the bolts with thread locker.
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this is actually my favorite type of redline rebuild video. all the fine details and interesting things about a specific engine.
Call up IAG in Maryland, ask for Adam (used to work for the same company I came up in) and bend his ear on this project. I guarantee he'd help you guys out.
1. Look for cracks on that piston. Especially the ring lands. The chances of them not being there are slim to none. I'd highly recommend an upgraded hypereutectic forged piston for the turbo application. Rods are fine at stock level power, but easy to upgrade now if a bigger turbo and more fueling is expected. The ring lands fail often. Good call on the new rings of course.
2. Oil pump - yes, get the JDM larger OEM pump (12mm), IAG modifies their offerings but the factory 12mm is fine. They don't like us over here, so we get the cheap and fail prone parts.
3. No, that oil pan is garbage. It's a part of the problem, same as the oil pump pick-up. Yes, you can get a cheap used STi pan and then get an aftermarket stainless steel properly welded (not brass brazed) pick-up that won't fail.
4. DO NOT DELETE THAT OIL FILTER HEAT EXCHANGER. It is being cooled with coolant, and in turn for street use actually heats up the oil to operating temperature more quickly in the cold months as well. It provides a more balanced temperature range for the oil under hard use.
5. ORDER AN AIR OIL SEPERATOR. IAG, Crawford, whatever. Just got one on that car after all this work. Factory PCV system blows and contributes to oiling issues.
Make a video on porting and polishing the turbo if you plan to keep it. Delete the up cat (another prone to fail), but obviously keep the down cat. Plenty of info out there on it but it makes the car much more responsive and far cheaper for the media budget than a new turbocharger. Although, at this mileage I'd seriously consider tossing a new balanced CHRA in it.
Seriously love this series. I know you don't. I know a lot of others don't. But thank you for doing this.
I would add that 4032 is a good material for forged pistons that aren't seeing crazy power, less thermal expansion than 2618 that leads to tighter clearances, less noise, and less wear. Another reason that reusing the pistons is bad is because the clearances to the cylinders will probably be too large after boring.
Also, when boring, it is best to not only use a torque plate, but also to bolt the case halves together to make sure the cylinders are strained as they will be when they're assembled. The cylinders can change up to .001" when those forces are not present.
Getting the valve clearances right is tricky- usually they'll tighten up around .001" when the heads are bolted to the block, so at least check them again after the heads are installed.
And don't use too much sealant on the larger cam caps, there's pressure relief/drain channels that, if clogged, will cause the cam seals to pop out and leak.
And finally reference the Subaru factory assembly manual, it is wonderfully detailed. Doing a motor like this without one would be doomed to fail.
Have you heard of the channel Gears and Gasoline? One of them has a WRX that just got a full IAG engine. If you like this channel you'll probably like G&G also.
@@ol_smokey9370 Thanks for the heads-up, I'll check them out
As someone who has built and tuned a couple Subarus, I have to agree with everything you've said here. One time I was working on a 2010 Forester XT with a fresh engine combination, no oil cooler. Oil temps on the interstate were up to 240-250F. Slapped an EJ257 waterpump and oil cooler on there, and BAM oil temps around 205F cruising down the interstate. I cringe every time some one says "I'm going to delete the oil heater". My only other recommendation would be the Killerb windage tray and a full Aisin (for the love of god, not Gates!) timing kit.
@@jeremiahjorenby2275 yes, windage tray with the pick up is required especially when buying IAG. Stock won't work.
I enjoy this series because i appreciate the fact that you can rebuild old school V8s and you're not afraid to work on a turbo charged Japanese engine and not criticize it
Ive owned many classic V8 muscle cars....also owned a 2004 Subaru WRX STI....300hp 4 cylinder rocketship that handled like it was on rails!...it was AWESOME!
As someone who pointed to some youtube videos to watch previously, let me say that the ONLY reason I even mentioned them is that I know this engine has a few quirks to assembly that can make your life suck or make it easy, and had no clue if you knew any Subaru people to ask when you ran into weird Subaru problems! What you did for disassembly was perfectly fine. You got the block apart and nothing broke, and that is what counts. As the saying goes, no harm, no foul.
We do a lot of Subaru heads at my shop. I have discovered that when you do the valve job, if you will trim .005- .006 off of the tip and keep the valves in order. Your adjustments will be extremely close.
This kind of videos, this kind of gentlemen gives me motivation to make an old car reusable, like a stock car who gets out of the dealership and to be an everyday driving car.
Take care, Grettings from Swiss
Don’t fall for trolls friends.
What a humble guy with all his knowledge he’s being honest and transparent I love these videos
Yeah, I know that Subaru's have horizontally opposed cylinders, but it's cool seeing something that is not the normal fare. I also enjoy the fact that this engine does have some life left in it and that you are using some of the original parts. I do have my preferences in my hobby which is motorcycle restoration namely that I love the inline 4 cylinder bikes (air cooled), but if asked to work on a two cylinder V engine (whether domestic or foreign) I would also appreciate the challenge.
I have an old 61 Bonneville with a parallel twin I've been working on. Worst part is all the Whitworth hardware, and the fact that I know nearly nothing about old British bikes.
I am a mechanic myself and I watch your videos all the time
I love the fine details of a build! The sandblasting and prep work has always fascinated me. When me and my dad did our 289, I asked if I could come by the machine shop to learn this whole process. Best couple of days I ever had and a wealth of knowledge I gained about our motor and motor builds
I'm just happy to see something new done! The more variety the better! It's good to see someone who has little to no prior experience with a certain type of engine or certain brand just throw themselves at it, it always results in seeing things you wouldn't see otherwise.
Thanks Davin and Hagerty for making Mondays one of the best days of the week.
great video, amazing job. The Grey is a perfect outcome. Please consider uprating the head a little, and going up one size on the turbo. Thx for the update. I have never seen the grey come out that well. Waiting for the clear coat
this is more fun to watch than you give it credit for. I would sit through more. Easily.
I'm enjoying this series so much.
🧐
I placed an order with your sponsor yesterday morning so we'll see how they deliver. They were the only place I could find wheel bearing and hub assemblies NOT made in China. I'm crossing my fingers the part matches the pictures and is truly a Japanese wheel hub and bearing assembly.
Davin, never boring.
Stretch bolts only stretch out side of the thread they are screwed into. They stretch at the weakest point which is where the thread on the bolt exits the block. As they stretch the bolt goes past the yield point. It cannot recover from this so the thread deformation remains. When you screw the bolt back into the block, the distorted thread locks into the block and gives you low clamp torque, so the head gaskets will fail. If you really go at it then the bolt will fail as you screw it in and getting them out is a long project. Stretch bolts are used once and once only.
Love this series so far. Can't wait for the next episode.
Love the redline rebuilds!
Subarus are kinda my thing but, i was actully enjoying the fact that they're not yours. Great vids, really enjoyable.
I’ve really been enjoying this series. The domestic builds are great, but it’s been interesting to see you step outside of your comfort zone. Keep up the fantastic work!
As an owner of an EJ253 and EJ257, the first minute of this video helped solidify my regret for owning these cars.
That gray color is actually awesome! Hopefully you can keep it like that with just a clear coat over it.
Given the variance in clamping on the heads, I have always gone with the ARP studs and either OEM or FelPro latest MLS gaskets. Bulletproof and necessary for the boosted Subarus
Davin, haters gonna hate.
I've been watching for years and would turn with you any day. Fantastic job every time.
I love that you changed things up a bit with such a different type of engine. It's not all about the old school blocks.
That being said...if you guys get the chance to do a Ford 427 or something like that, I wouldn't hate it 😁
The dark color of the aluminum casting is due to the chemicals used in the parts washer. Certain rust inhibiters used for ferrous metals will react with aluminum. You see that with bare aluminum pots and pans in your home dishwasher as well.
I can concur. The same happened to me when I used Zep purple degreaser on some aluminum parts. They also turned a similar dark color and I learned my lesson, 😂
A tip for the reassemly, measure the clearence from chim to camshaft for all. It could still be to much or to little after assembly
I loved my Subaru Outback. It was my very first brand new vehicle. It was fun to drive (stick) and had decent power for such a big vehicle, and there was certainly little that it wasn't capable of dealing with, weatherwise. I comfortably drove through a blizzard at 70 mph in it once. I took very good care of it too, sticking to the recommendations on the factory schedule, and of course, oil changes at 3K, per my insistence. Even that wasn't enough to keep it from the dreaded oil-burner issue that was so common for a bunch of years in the early 2000's. It eventually clogged two cats and after the second one, I parted ways with it. A shame, as it only had 120K on the odometer and was in great condition in every other way. Almost wish that I'd kept it so that I could have rebuilt the EJ25 and given it a shot of power with a Manley stroker kit and a bit more cam. Would have been a blast.
I believe that engine case turned dark gray because the aluminum reacted with one of the products you use in your jet washer. This same thing happened to my dirt bike engine cases when I cleaned them in an ultrasonic cleaner. Only difference is it is a problem for me because I don’t like it. I think it looks fine on your engine case and would probably look quite nice an an engine bay. I don’t think that dark gray will look very good against the bright green frame of my KLX300R though, unfortunately. Might have to get them vapor blasted.
This was my thought as well. Chemical reacting to AL. A concern would be if it could cause any material issues.. likely only on the surface but perhaps impose brittle or soft condition. I guess a surface hardness test would give some idea. As always, quality content.
Those cast piston tend to crack ringlands (if you get pre ignition knock) and the rods are cast. If a bigger turbo in the future slap some forge pistons and rods. The MLS stock gaskets is great.
Ringlands more of an issue for the EJ25 and specifically the hypereutectic pistons in the STI. Knock will definitely be a killer, but the rods are the weak link here for sure.
does that copper gasket spray also work well with MLS gaskets (as in two-three decent coats)?
@@haydenc2742 As a general rule, you really shouldn't be using copper gasket spray. Especially on any MLS or composite gasket which already has a rubberized coating or soft seal areas. I would basically only use it on an engine with crappy block or head surfaces that I wanted to seal up well or on a gasket I was reusing in a pinch.
Great work Davin! I always like seeing expert mechanics teardown a Subaru motor for the first time to get their opinion on the block itself. Older Subaru's always looked great to me but man do they lack that reliability.
0.22 this is something the car world needs to hear. It's ok to like different things.
This brings me back to my days of running a Subaru shop. I lived doing ej25 closed deck short blocks on EJ20 heads to make a high horsepower bugeye wrx.
That's awesome! I have had a bugeye for 13 years and it's still my daily. eventually I would like to turn up the horsepower. Are the ej20 heads pretty good for high horse power? They have 133,000 miles on them. I'm trying to save a little $.
The first 2 minutes are so awesome! So honest. If you're a car person, at some point you'll find a project you don't know. Take it slow, learn along the way, do it better next time. But try! And Learn! Such great messages in this WRX series.
I appreciate the consideration of the comments from the last vid. Was it painful to watch? Yes. But was it enjoyable content, also Yes. Keep up the quality!
Oil pump: Shim for higher pressure instead of going to STI for more volume. The volume won't help unless you replace the bearings with under sized (more clearance so you need the volume)
I would definitely replace the oil pick up tube since they are known to fail, killer b and iag make great ones, change the oil pan as well. And get upgraded pistons, as others have mentioned, stock pistons are known to Crack ringlands.
EJ20s dont crack ringlands, thats really never been an issue. It was an EJ255/EJ257 thing, and even then not *that* common.
Those pistons are not hypereutectic so do not suffer from ring land issues, and the oil pickup wasn't an issue back then either
Change the oil pickup! The factory ones and brazed and are a known failure point
One of the MANY known failure points. 😅
@@TML34
Right?
I agree Subaru probably had crappy QC on a few the oil pickups but it seems like kind of a marketing myth. Just because somethings brazed doesnt mean its crap. If brazing is done correctly, the joint will be stronger than the base material. (The pipe will tear before the braze joint fails). 90% of metal pipes on all cars are brazed. (I daily drive a WRX with 180k miles and used to be a production engineer at a supplier that made pipes for Honda and Toyota)
@@4pimp4 True!
I worked in a machine shop 5 years, we al=ways brazed every oil tube on street and ALL the race car engine we build NOT One failed ever!!!
Some ppl say this that the Other etc about brazing. They have NO idea what they are saying. ALL welding is known for superior strength then the other parts that are joined by weld brazing.
Ive welded for 50+ Year and seen that if the #1 Trait of the welding industry!
The stock oil cooler is very effective, both at warming up the oil on cold climate and also on cooling the oil during severe driving. It’s a lot better with it. Also the head bolts on these EJ engines are not torque to yield, but it’s better to replace them since it can be overtorqued and yielded on a previous reassembly.
Love your teaching style. Was able to watch the entire video without any irritation.
Great stuff Davin! 👏 FYI, Aisin makes the best aftermarket timing/water pump kits … oil pickup tube really should be replaced or upgraded and the o-ring on it is a critical part that’s easily confused with other o-rings in the assembly. 👍✌️ cheers!
Aisin is also an OEM parts supplier for Toyota and Honda
@@s0nnyburnett Exactly! 👌
I am glad to see you take the Subaru engine apart. I own a 2019 Subaru Impreza. Now I know what to look at in the engine. I put over 100,600 miles on the engine in the year 2022 so far. I'm having carbon build up problems. Your tore down the engine with no knowledge on the order it was suppose to be tore down. Well, I'm with Stupid just like you. Learn as you go. No complaints from me. I'm just going to watch and lean.
Hey Davin, I love the fact you are doing this Subaru especially because it might be a bit out of your “comfort zone” we only learn when we seek new things out, I am excited to learn this engine with you. Like always, you do a great job explaining things and being real when you make a mistake, again, that is how we learn.
Love the show and how eclectic in its variety it is.
Great introduction. RUclips has removed some people`s willingness to find out for themselves. Good point Davin
Great video can't wait for the full time lapse
In regards to your monologue when the video began. I still would have you assembled an engine of mine any day of the week over some of the guys I have locally.
So nice to watch you take your time with this!
That looks like a hassle , but you're doing much better than I ever would . My patience would have went south after seeing the bearings. Good on you.
I actually love this Subaru build!!!
My experience with Subaru ej25 engines, owner of a 2004 Baja for 12 years and 410k miles. The oil filter relocation kit is typically used for filter access for easy changing, the oil pan and exhausted header block rotation of most oil filter wrenches, hands should be burned or smashed, the alternative is to use a K&N oil filter with the 1" nut. Water pumps are a change item with the timing belt, use blue locktite on all engine fasteners including the bolts for the timing belt components. Use a good synthetic oil like Mobil one, and a K&N reusable air filter. Do not use the graphite coated head gaskets those leak, the non coated ead gaskets are good to go! And the valve cover gaskets always leak after a year.
I wouldn't mind if the videos were longer. They are really enjoyable. =)
This was awesome. This video series format is incredible. Keep these up.
Subaru's don't really have oil pump issues. The issue is the oil pan. They have very low capacity sumps and will oil starve with high g forces. Definitely need to upgrade the oil pan. Upgrading to a larger volume pump will only make the oil starvation worse.
Actually the cleaning/vapor blasting part is super enjoyable. Please put more of that. Also before and after shots!
Hey Thanks Davin, with your help digging that 15 foot long 1 foot deep ditch through base material to help me run electricity to my shop. By the way great work on that Subaru engine, as that I think is similar to the old 1967's VW beetle engine's.
6:50 They're actually not. They're easily confused for torque-to-yield though because the short-hand identifying of that fastener type is the degree spec e.g. "turn the bolt 90 degrees" at some point in the process. In Subaru's case though, that degree value is for "crimping" the head gaskets. Subaru technicians will reuse your existing head bolts, and they've been doing so for 30 years without issue.
Having done a lot of this work it was "good enough" ! loved it
you always give me energy to carry on 🙏🙏🙏 I am really appreciate it 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
Just a point of conversation on oiling. A aftermarket oil pickup and windage tray help tremendously with reliability. Killer B is your friend.
Nice! I'm liking the grey color it came out to be after the sandblasting and washing. Nice work. 👍
I have a 91 Nissan Sentra that has a very similar setup for the valvetrain. It has a ridge around the bores for the buckets that are between the cam lobes and valves. This keeps oil between the lobes and buckets. When I had to replace the timing chains and guides at about 375,000 miles I checked the valve adjustment and all 16 valves were well within specifications. That 1.6 liter engine never burned oil. The head has never been off and I have only had 5 oil leaks. Once was the oil pressure sensor, once was the valve cover gasket, and 3 times for the front main seal. That fails about every 100,000 miles. It only got parked because it was going to cost more to replace struts and springs than the retail value of the car. I still have it and I'm thinking about fixing it to see if I can get 500,000 miles out of it. It's already at 395,000 and it was running great when my wife objected to the idea of putting over $1400 into a car that was Blue Book rated at $1200.
Hope we get new videos like this one on Subaru WRX at least 1 per week. Thans for update!
Simply fascinating the dirty from clean .
The valve buckets and shims are identical to the parts used on many motorcycles though most of the newer models use the shim under the bucket system.
That "star trek triangle" is the FHI (Fuji Heavy Industries) logo, the parent company of Subaru.
This ej rebuild is my favorite so far
The gray color is because the cleaner you are using is a base/alkali formula. Good that you like it because it's a sumbitch to remove.
Those head bolts are actually reusable and not torque to yield. In the FSM it tells you to use degrees as these bolts love to build up friction and "jump" when torqueing. This friction causes incorrect torque values, so they tell you to use degrees at the end of the process which will get it closer to what the clamping pressure should be. Also make sure to use a good engine oil or some sort of lube on the threads/heads/washers of the bolts to keep the torqueing as smooth as possible
Apparently, there is a mod/upgrade that closes the top of the block and helps prevent the cylinder walls flexing that is one reason that causes the head gaskets to fail. It'd be interesting to see how DIY friendly the job is.
Oiling issues are due to non-baffled oil pan and people hammering on these through the twisties with bare minimum oil level. Killer B oil pan and pickup solves this issue. Head gasket problems with EJ251D (naturally aspirated single cam 2.5L), not turbo EJ 205/255 207/257 series problems. Use ARP head studs. Found broken head bolts on both my EJ 205 rebuilds that had never been apart prior to me. My experience has been to get the shim over bucket close, then trim the valve stem to get them spot on after measuring gap with the head fully torqued- hence why the head studs are the way to go over torque to yield bolts.
I'm flabergasted by this rebuild ! I thought the Subaru engines were only upgraded VW flat fours - which I'm quite familiar with.
How little did I know ! And reading comments down here from guys in the know, man, this technology is from another universe than the old 'merican V8s, big or small !
Well, Darren, I guess you're in for a lot of reading infos.
Gotta say, oiling issues also come from the stock oil pan and pickup. As you have the pan off, a windage tray and a new pickup would significantly improve oiling under load. Depending on your plans for power, a Killer B Oil Pan would be another very effective upgrade.
Subaru engines are very misunderstood. Props for looking at one even if it's not your first choice. Most people who work on Subaru end up loving the brand.
Although my Subaru Forester isn't a turbo, nor am I planning to rebuild it as it's my daily-driver & mechanically it's in quite good nick, I really enjoyed seeing how everything is supposed to fit together! Totally agree on new rings, bearings, & bolts, if your going to go to all the effort of a rebuild!
Interesting what you said about a sand-blasting cabinet paying for itself as I have a '95 Mitsubishi Pajero J-Top (JDM SWB soft-top) Turbo-Diesel that I'm rebuilding/restoring (here in Sydney, Australia), so I'll definitely purchase one. Besides there's something really therapeutic about watching clean metal appear before your own eyes (bit like using a water-blaster to clean paving & driveways)!
Awesome to see something Japanese on this channel! I'm the say way, I love everything!
Like to see a Corvair Flat Six eventually! Is there a oiling system fix for the engine? Reminds me of the Oldsmobile 455 where oil gets up into the heads and slowly migrates or doesn't migrate back into the pan at all!
After your cleaning and sand blasting it makes the engine block look like a plastic.
"It's my understanding that one of the issues with subarus is oiling" *cut to Davin absolutely bouncing the engine off the rev limiter* hahahaha
In regard to the rod bearings, I believe that you're right in that head pump-up is to blame, aircooled vws also do this, seems like it's a boxer thing. However there are other factors, the rod bearings are smaller and critically, narrower than say a V8 or even I4 which means they see higher pressure on that film strength. So good oil supply is critical. I also think windage is a factor, less so on this EJ20, more so on the EJ25. And to that end IAG makes a nice windage tray kit. At very high power levels the case bolts can stretch and cause oil to bypass the mains and lose pressure to the rods despite having good pressure at the pump. Also, when you hone the block, use a torque plate to simulate the presence of the head, these blocks are pretty wobbly and distort when the head is attached. Either that, or just dingle ball it.
I like your philosophy Mr. Davin. Good show.
It's always good to learn something new. I like watching this although I have a different Subaru engine, an FA20 and not an EJ. But as both come with their own different pros and cons it doesn't harm to watch something about Subaru boxers in general. Mine was taken apart by my Toyota workshop as part of the valvespring recall and luckily has not grenanded since - about 3500km since the recall was done. When it comes to head gaskets I hope neither my FA20 nor my 7M-GTE will surprise me with that, althouh the latter usually is notorious for doing so :-D
I love evriting whot you work and great job 👍💪
Hey buddy make sure you keep the cam caps for each head the same as they are machined from factory and are all different. Check the numbers and letters on the heads to identify them 👍
3:04 Seriously with the head gaskets?!? This is an DOHC EJ204 WRX (or STI) engine, they don’t have that issue. It’s the NA SOHC Impreza/Legacy/Forester engines that have head gasket issues. I bet you think all Porsche’s have IMS bearing issues?
The block half you are showing us (at 1:00) almost looks like it has JB Weld or actually been welded behind that one bolt hole. Strange. Probably just shadows, eh.
8:22 you don't put a shim under the cap. The shim IS the cap. if you need to make an adjustment, get your micrometer out, measure the current shim then go hunting at the head shop or order some new ones.
You have to see how much you can over-fill it. I had an empty reading after a run from fair grounds giant Timmonium up to Kewaskum Wisconsin after repositioning on a level surface and added approximately (2) quarts
Good Angle😉
Thank you for the cool video, but can you just sandblast a block? Sandblasting takes away small portions of material, isn't that a problem for such precisely produced products like an engine block?
Might be a bit late but if running stock tolerances it would be best to run a new stock pump or if the old one is still in good shape you could just remove the pumps gear cover and re-torque the bolts with thread locker.
That “swoosh Star Trek” symbol is actually the Fuji Heavy Industries logo. Subarus parent company.
That "swoosh" on the rods is the FHI (Fuji Heavy Industries) logo, Subarus parent company
Amazing content! Keep it up man!
id love to see davin build a vw or audi engine just to see the complexity of it and to see his reaction to it 😂
He's done a VW engine previously. The old air cooled one. Look it up.
9:50 That the Fuji Heavy Industries logo, Subaru's parent company and you'll see it all over the car.
Anyone here from Gears & Gasoline and their recent 500HP Subaru engine build? I love the difference between that and this lol
Please rebuild the Subaru WRX to mint condition. Hagerty should find it
I love mécanique ⚙️