Not a fan of pointing the oil filter down to install. I usually fill it up before I install. Makes a mess when it's sideways or thread down.
A smaller included valve angle, I bet the ports are nice in those heads. The best thing I see is hydrolic lifters. Yeah!
Oil filter pointing down doesn't concern me. My old Camry that the step-daughter now drives has about 225,000 on it and that filter always went on dry (open end points down). I do prefill my Subaru filters because I can. I wouldn't give either way a second thought.
Some of you guys are missing the bigger picture here, along with some details. With an inverted oil filter, it is not going to be the first thing the oil goes through, nor is it critical to pre-fill it. The oil pump is not on the front of the oil pump anymore. Notice the front of the crankshaft does not have provisions for it. It is like the oil pump on a 3.6. Google images will paint that picture. pillboy, Subaru has been using chain driven cams for a while now. Since 2001 in the 3.0. How many head gaskets have you heard of failing in the modern six cylinder? Most experienced Subaru techs will tell you the modern 6 cylinder is the most reliable engine since the old 2.2. That says a lot.... Keep in mind that what you see is merely a stepping stone for advancements that are being worked on. Namely direct injection. So, the long and short of it is, if you do not understand the process of product development in regards to something as involving as an engine, keep your trap shut. Those that do are excited to see where all of this leads.
We do an occasional 3.0 head gasket job, HOWEVER, its something like 1 in 200. And they are less prone to fail from running low on oil, because of the aweful chain slapping noises they make when they get even slightly low on oil pressure.
I keep forgetting about that 6 cylinder. I come from the land of LegacyGT.com where it seems everyone has stories of head gasket and turbo failures and no one (at least not many) has a 3.0 liter.
This is obviously tech they got from Toyota. Chain driven cams and that lifter design both look identical to the heads in the IS/GS/LS. Yeah, the ones we're putting valve springs into. Interesting tidbit - the rockers are held in place only by the cam.
I'm most excited about the variably valve timing on intake and exhaust and direct injection probably coming. But also whats with running coolant through the headers so that it created less emissions, wouldn't this make the cat cooler and less effective? i thought a cat was best when super hot..... hehehehe, d$%n pussycats......
