i have just stripped ou the front of my93wrx and i mean stripped. i have got it down to the cam belt cover in the centre with the large pully in the centre.
first of all i can't get the 22mm bolt from out the pulley. i have tried to make a locking device for the pulley but it was put on by king kong i think.

it seems to be leaking from the area behind this pully in the centre. (i hope this is making sense) i can't pin point it though cause i cant' get the centre cam belt cover off till i get the pully off.

if the cam seals have gone how do you change them and any idea on the cost if you take it to a garage.
please please help

 

btt

 

Sounds like it is the front crank seal leaking possibly.

Couple of options to get that bolt undone.. put the car is 5th and get someone to press the brake pedal whilst you undo the bolt.. or remove the starter motor and place a bit of angle iron or similar in the flywheel teeth.

JGM

 

cheers for the advice mate, do they still come off anti clockwise or is a left handed thread. how much of a pain is the starter motor to remove then buddy

 

ok lads i have got the pully off, any ideas what the best way is to change the seals, has anyone done this before

 

Hi again,

Sorry missed your other reply but sounds like you got it off okay, right hand thread etc..
Starter motor is easy to remove once intercooler off (make sure you disconnect battery first).. more tricky with intercooler on.. not that you need to know that now anyway.

I have changed the rear seal which I believe is the same as the front only the clutch side of the engine rather than pulley side.

It is a rubber seal with a metal ring inside it.. I put a screw into the side of it, away from the crank and away from the block, in the middle of the seal and then pulled on it with pliers. This unfortunatly just pulled the screw out of the seal.. after a couple of attempts I was able to get a pair of thin noses pliers into the hole and grab the seal and pull it out.. hitting my head on the bulk head at the same time. lol.. I was sat under the car with my head and shoulders where the gearbox should be.

If you buy a replacement seal beforehand it will give you an idea of what you are trying to remove. Expect it to cost about £12 from a dealer if I remember correctly.

Assuming at that point you have cambelt off and crank pulley and crank cambelt pulley off etc to reveal the seal? and can see if it is leaking or not?

Worth if you don;t have a manual looking at
this in the Workshop manual bit under Scooby Pages.. download the Engine section etc..

JGM

 

cheers for the info mate. much appreciated.
did you change the cam and crank seals and the cam belt at the same time.
is it just pull the old seals off and push the new ones back on then mate, i don't want to be doin anythin to damage the engine cuz i really can't afford an engine rebuild.
do you know which section the changing the seals section is in the workshop manual.
cheers again jgm.
hope to hear from you soon
clarky

 

No idea as to which section other than more than likely the engine chapter although that is not always the case, it is the subaru manual after all.

Only think to watch is that you don't damage the crank/cam and block surfaces where the seals mate with etc.. don't scratch them with a screw driver of pliers getting the old one out..

Also it was difficult to get the new one in.. a light tap with a small hammer on a piece of wood on the seal if I remember correctly.

Also I believe cambelts are cheaper from either Roots direct or GGR.

JGM

 

ok then cheers mate.
i have already ordered the cambelt and the crank seal. its just the cam seals i am havin trouble finding, i think its a trip to the main dealer.
will the wrx seals be the same as the uk turbo 2000 seals because my main dealer seems to think that wrx's don't exist.
hope to hear from you soon and ill let you know how i get on fitting it all.
cheers for all your help with this mate

 

I have never heard of a cam seal leak.. unless they are clearly leaking when you get the cover off I wouldn't bother changing them.

The WRX seals should be identical to UK ones yes.

My cam seals are original and it has covered 145,000miles and no leaking last time I looked.. cambelt is due a change at 149,000miles so will check them then.

JGM

 

ok mate i have got some just incase. ill let you know how i go.

 

How is it going?

Pictures?

 

got my new cam seals todat just in case.
im going to do it on saturday hopefully as my evo drivin mate is also off work
he's crap with cars but makes a mean cuppa and is useful for fetching stuff.
ha ha.
ill try and do some pics as im doin it just incase some sn people need some kind of guide lines.
got my new rad back today, i was going to get it re cored while its out but they found a crack in one of the plastic side tanks so i bought a new one.
its all good fun, (wheres my money going ?)

 

is it worth using your screw method to get the seal out. i thought about using a hook thing for pulling it out

 

Well the important thing is not to damage the surface of the crank or block.. if you think you can hook it without doing so then go for it.

Not sure what a mechanic might suggest....?

It was a ba5tard to get out that is all I remember..


JGM

 

all done. just waiting to get the rad back from work now then she is back on the road


cheers for your help

 

Well done!

Were the cam seal okay in the end?

JGM

 

yeah so if you know anyone who needs a cam seal or 2 they are welcome to mine,
cheers for all your help with it mate much appriciated

 

No problem at all just glad you managed to sort it.

JGM

 

its just a shame i have got to sell it now. (said with very sad look on my face)

 

Oh no.. well at least you didn;t have to fork out a big bill for that to be fixed first!

JGM

 

true its just a shame to sell it cuz i have spent about 3k on it in about 9 months. new wheels exhaust ecu samco filter tyres seats stereo mats the list goes on and on.
too much optimax so i need to sell it and but somethi cheap.
and im only 21 so its 2500 a year insurance