(finally!) got the new(er) EJ25 installed in the Outback.
got everything connected, ready to go.
as the last thing before turning the key, i added water (coolant...)

MASSIVE WATER LEAK AT THE CYLINDER BASE ON THE RIGHT BANK!!!

i don't see how this can be anything but an assembly f&ckup.
after all the time that's passed i'm sure i have no recourse with the seller.

i guess i'll have to pull it, dismantle thr right bank, fix whatever he f*cked up with the base cylinder gaskets, re-assemble, and re-re-install.

worked my ass off this weekend to get it done today and now i'm in just as bad shape as i was before i turned Bolt One.

sh!t.

i figured i could run it a few seconds even without a full complement of water. it started right up, sounded great. i shut it down. cr&p. i have a perfectly running LEAKER i have to pull and fix...

now *this* is a car that i could well consider a big T-IV for...

if there were an OBD-II 2,7-3,0 T-IV that can run a Subaru autotrans...

but i think circumstances will force me down the water path in the forseeable future...

followup: it was *not* head gasket issues, but it *was* assembly (dis-assembly?) issues.

seems there's a few stupid hoses that do nothing but move water from one place in the throttle bodu to another place in the throttle body. (like most modern engines, this one has more hoses, tubes, vacuum lines, wires, and linkages than any decent angine should...)

anyway - one of those hoses - a stupid 5" 3/8" water hose - at the back, underneath the throttle body, was simply *missing.* got it transplanted from the "bad" engine and at least it'll hold water now...

actually, it sounds pretty decent; it'll get a test drive tonight to see if it'll actually move then car...

with the Subie on the road, it means i will have safe-ish AWD/ABS winter transportation and won't have to keep the 911 in service during salted roads season.

and it means i can temporarily pause turning wrenches nights and weekends and fire the airbrush back up to ship product to the people who have been waiting more or less patiently - at least a couple of which are members here.

but since they're private commissions and involve "surprise" images for the intended recipients, i can divulge no further details here. hopefully, they'll share when they get their stuff...