I built the shortblock a couple of weeks back. I was in a bit of a hurry and got the heads torqued, cams installed, AVCS installed, and the valve covers on. As I was cleaning up my bench, I noticed a ARP washer sitting under a rag...
I panicked a little, threw a wrench, and practiced a few farm words. While building the block, I'd had a little scare when I was torquing one of the head studs when the timesert shifted a little and made a popping sound. I was sure I had just stripped my newly built block, so I pulled the head back off and checked everything. Once I realized what had happened and that it was a false alarm, I put everything back together using one of two spare headgaskets I had - but in my fit, I forgot to put one of the washers on.
So I spent some time taking the head back off, burning another head gasket, and installing the washer I forgot. While the head was back off, I took a picture for your viewing pleasure.
These heads were rebuilt by a local shop with new valves, guides and springs. I wish I had a before picture, because these things were a mess.
Got the head torqued down AGAIN, with the washer installed, and started installing the cams.
I hate doing things over because of my own stupidity.
On a brighter note, my weekend started with a box waiting for me on the doorstep
I also got a box from Rockauto that had a timing belt kit with all timing idler pulleys. Fun fact - if you're ever replacing a timing belt or head gaskets on a Subie, its always a good idea to check and possibly replace the idler pulleys. I've had one grenade on me and ruin an engine. I had another one that started going bad and it made the timing belt jump a cog - what a pain that was. You have to be careful on some of the kits that are offered - some are just Chinese garbage. The challenge is that the stealership charges a ridiculous price for each pulley - like $80 bucks each. The OEM timing belt alone is over $100. Truthfully, I don't use anything but the OEM timing belt.
I found a kit that I like from Contitech that comes with a timing belt and all the individual idler pulleys. When you look at the pulleys side by side, the bearings are the same as OEM. The Continental timing belt that comes in the kit is German made. The whole kit was only $121 bucks plus shipping. I can sell the Continental timing belt on NASIOC for $40.
Also a few Subaru motor building tips:
First - when installing cam seals, this is the best/cheapest tool out there. The proper Subaru tool is spendy - this baby costs 80 cents and has a perfect collar that prevents the seal from being driven too far.
Second - Subaru recommends using a gasket filler when assembling engines. There's a lot of debate here on what to use. Some guys use ultra grey RTV, or Hondabond as an alternative to the Subaru filler. I REALLY like and prefer the Subaru ThreeBond stuff
Its much easier to work with than the thick Hondabond, and I've yet to have a motor leak with it. It also cleans up easier - you know if you have to pull the head off cuz you forgot a washer. The only challenge with it, is that it can be kinda runny. You don't have to use a lot, but when you're working around the AVCS cap, there are some oil galleys that are right next to where you're supposed to seal. I use a small ziptie right after torquing the cap to push through the galley and twist around to clean out the filler. If you shine a flashlight from behind the cap toward the front, you can see if there is anything blocking the galley.
Lets just say I learned this trick at the school of hard knocks - a seized cam is no fun.
Third - There are two OEM water pumps for the Subaru WRX/STI turbos. At some point Subaru started manufacturing a cheaper water pump with a stamped impeller. Crawford has a few tech docs that show the differences in flow between the two pumps. Hands down, the cast impeller outperforms the stamped one. You can still buy OEM cast impeller pumps for about the same price as a stamped one. With the additional volume and coolant line lengths in these conversions, it makes sense to me to go for the cast version.
So, I got 2 cam seals, oil pan, oil cooler, tensioner, water pump, and one of the idlers installed. For some reason my gasket kit only had 2 cam seals, so I have to wait a few days for the others to show up.