thebeerbaron

After cracking both heads in a couple places (seriously, I'm talented) I did some digging and some [url=http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?2472-SubuGurus-engine-assembly-options]pleading on the forum[/url] for advice on the best possible way forward. On the advice of a couple of respected Subaru tuners, I decided against building a so-called "hybrid" motor, which uses a 2.5L Subaru short block with 2.0L Subaru heads. instead I bought a brand-new 2.0L short block and ordered a set of refurbished 2.0L heads from a local specialist.

The short block was ordered last and arrived first. Funny how that works.

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It's very nice and shiny. This weekend I stripped the old motor of its remaining useful bits: the oil pan, oil pickup tube, and windage tray. Those will be reused. I also popped off the old oil pump to learn if there were any hidden seals that I would need to replace. There aren't. The front main seal sits in the oil pump, there is no crank seal in the block (as you can see in the new short block above).

Other than acquiring the new block, progress was rather minimal this weekend. It was a nice change from the frenetic pace of the disassembly. I took some time to learn the media blaster and parts washer (I never knew the shop had a parts washer - it had been hiding under a 901 transaxle). I blasted the coolant cross over pipe that sends fluid between the two block halves, the crank accessory pulley, and the exhaust heat shields. Then I hit the heat shields with some high-temp "aluminum" paint to pretty them up. It's not strictly necessary, but it's a nice touch.

Before:
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After:
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It's not obsessively clean, but it's clean [i]enough[/i].

You'll notice the pictures in this post are a bit larger than previous ones. This blog is great for access to the community, but the image size restrictions and general posting procedures leave something to be desired. Plus entries get hidden when people accidentally click the "blog this post" button on the forum. So I'm trying out [url=http://thebeerbaron.posterous.com/]posterous[/url]. It's much easier for me to post to and the photo quality is better. I'll keep the long weekly(ish) posts here, but succinct little things'll show up on posterous first.