Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Subaru Makeover

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This is the Engine Compartment of a 2000 Subaru Outback after the engine had been removed. The All-Wheel-Drive Subaru is well adapted to the hilly Palouse terrain and is well loved by many for their handling in icy conditions and good fuel economy and quality design. However it is not unusual for the 2.5 liter Single Overhead Cam Engine to develop leaky cylinder head gaskets at around 100,000 or more miles. The external Coolant and Motor Oil leaks can get bad enough that the engine needs to come out for new head gaskets and resealing. Compared to many other vehicles this repair is not that expensive since the engine can be removed and reinstalled in good time. Typically the Timing Belt is replaced at the same time.

Subaru Makeover

This is the front of the Subaru 2.5 liter engine after having been removed from the 2000 Outback. In this picture the Cylinder Heads have already been removed and sent to the machine shop where they will be resurfaced. This process makes the gasket surfaces of the Cylinder Heads perfectly flat so that there is no leaking when they are reinstalled onto the Engine with new Head Gaskets.

Subaru Makeover

This is the side view of the same Subaru Engine. The Cylinders and the tops of the Pistons are visible because the Cylinder Heads have been removed for machining.


Subaru Makeover

Here the 2.5 liter Subaru Engine has been reinstalled into the 2000 Outback after a thorough check over and Test Drive. 

Subaru Makeover

Hey, is it just me or is this Subaru smiling?
Job well done technician Kelcey!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Saab Story

Technician Ryan inspects the Clutch Assemby of this 1988 Saab 900 Turbo with a leaking Clutch Slave Cylinder and Line. Yep, that's right, the Clutch is in the Front of the Engine Compartment! Saab likes to do things a little differently. For the other 99%+ cars and trucks on the road the engine "faces" forward with the drive belts toward the front (or to the side in the case of Transverse Engines). But Saab has the engine facing backwards -the drive belts are at the Rear of the Engine Compartment (near the Passengers) with the Clutch connecting to the Transmission at the Front of the Engine Compartment (near the Front Bumper.)

Saab Story #2

Here we zoom in and take a look at the Front of the Engine Compartment. The circular shape in the middle of the picture is the Clutch Pressure Plate Assembly.