I need an opinion for my 91 legacy engine.

[Rbees]

Hi, I have a 1991 Subaru legacy 2wd non turbo, automatic.

I was an idiot and messed up my transmission a while back and i finally saved up enough money for someone to rip me off and totally rebuild my transmission. something like 2 grand. i paid because i assumed it would fix my car.

However, My Front Stablizer Pully, You know, the one that usually needs to be torqued a lil bit more than normal, so i replaced it , i had thought it came loose, but once i had paid 80$ for a new one. i found out, that it still wobbles and makes nearly the belt to fall off of it.

So i Assume i need a new Engine or crankshaft or something.

This is where the "Loyal Subaru Fellowship" comes into play
What do you guys think i should do?...should i have someone rebuild my engine?....should i find a used one?....should i find a rebuilt one??.......How hard exactly is it to replace one??....Do i have any other options??.....I need LOTS OF INFO SO PLEASE FILL ME UP!

Thankyou my good friends! for your knowledge and wisdom, and may your guidance pass unto me so that i may learn and become wise in all matters of Subaru :_)

Your most humble student

Rbees

[evolutionmovement]

If the crank is bad, getting a newer engine will be cheaper, quicker, and easier. You could use any EJ22 and just swap over the top of your old engine. If you have an engine crane (or can rent one) it's an easy job. I put a rebuilt engine in mine by myself (although I highly recommend getting help).

Or I can send you my old crank for cheap for you to rebuild that one (maybe then have an extra engine). I have yet to check out the rod journals, but the main journals look perfect (as does everything else but 1 exhaust valve).

Steve

[94L_wagon]

Steve is right on. Changing the crank on these cars is a real PITA due to the layout of the engine.

You have to pull the engine, then set about tearing the engine apart, at which point you'd be a lot better off just putting a used engine in. Doing an engine rebuild is a lot easier to get wrong than dropping a used engine in.

However, there is another short-medium term solution. Its nasty, its not good, but it can potentially keep you on the road till you graduate and cost next to nothing. The reason the pulley wobbles is because the bolt has come loose and the key on the end of the crank has been worn away. You can have the pulley welded to the crank instead, and you should have a usable car.

You will have just signed a death warrant for the engine, because you'll never be able to change the oil pump or front crank seal, but until one of those fails, you at least have a car you can use until you have more money.

Even if there is a risk the welder screws it up - you've nothing to loose.

Good luck,
Dave

[professor]

Do that weld job Carefully !!! Tack weld in a few spots, then crank the engine over to make sure the pulley is straight, tune it with a hammer if you need to to get it to spin true. Then finish the job, making sure not to weld too fast or too much at one time. Cool it with some water if you need to between welds. You really don't want to melt out the crank seal right there, the engine would be finished then.

Have you eyeballed the bare crank end to confirm there is damage ?

[skid542]

Rbees,

I have good news for you. All is not lost. Dave is right, the wobble is most likely due to the wear and tear from it not being held secure. I had a problem of this nature but a whole lot worse. The whole pulley came off, shearing off the keyway, causing a bit of damage in the process. I did however get the crank pulley put back on sucessfully and have put at least 10k on since with no troubles. Here is the thread of what happened to me and how I fixed it http://www.bbs.legacycentral.org/viewto ... highlight=. Basically I did what Dave suggested but used JB weld instead. This gives time to rotate the crank and pulley and check alignment and all with a dial indicator while the JB sets up. I got mine back to within .001" on the face and +- .006" on the radius. It took some patience but it only cost me 3 bucks for some new JB Weld. Wish you luck man.

Lee

[Rbees]

i would like to try to weld it back on, however, my pully wobbles sooo much that the belt will slip off of it i've tightened it as good as i can, and still it wants to slip off, I'm going to take your guy's advice and get another engine, however, i've looked online and got alot of offers from different places for engines, how would i know who to choose from? does anyone recommend a good place??

Thanks guys for all your help

Rbees

[entirelyturbo]

It may be of benefit to refer to this thread: http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=15609

A few of these threads popped up after I just did my timing belt, so I went and tightened down on it some more, I'd say I have more than 110 ft-lbs on there now...

Couldn't one theoretically wedge something in between the gap on the crank and the keyway to keep it still?

[evolutionmovement]

Suby - only if you could get the new 'key' to match the chunk removed.

Get an engine with relatively low miles and good compression. I have a feeling that you could pull 50 engines from a JY and get 48 or 49 that would be like new except for seals and gaskets. Consider that most anyone would've junked my car for the exhaust valve when everything else was perfect inside. I recommend after getting it changing HGs, seals, pumps, and t-belt. It would give you the chance to see what the inside looks like, too. I'd bet anything near 100-120k would be like a brand new engine that didn't need breaking in and just as worry free if you change the recommended parts.

Mine went at around 246k or something and the cylinders have perfect even crosshatching easily evident like it is's a fresh engine, the cams show NO detectable wear, the valve seats seem perfect (except for some carbo build up, of course), and the crank main journals are also like new. I used Mobil 1 since I bought the car at 108k, but it can't all be the oil.

Steve