Head gasket time - tips? tricks?

[Scottbaru]

Hi guys, it's been years since I logged on, so I'm kind of a newbie again. I need some help. My son's '00 Impreza RS (2.5l SOHC) ran a little funny yesterday, and plenty of bubbles in the coolant at high RPM. I'm thinking of trying to change the head gaskets in the car, I've heard it can be done.

 

Is there a FAQ for this with a list of required parts? A guy in my shop is a mechanic on the side, says he pulled Legacy heads in the car long ago. He says a Subaru shop his friend works at does this regulary, they can swap heads in three hours.

[MilesFox]

there are only 6 head bolts vs 9 in older ea82's

 

I did an ej25d with engine out of car, and it was simple enough. the torque sequence is a little more complicated than ea82's, though

 

seeing how the engine came apart, it looks to be designed to work on it in-car, you dont have to worry about lifters and followers and o-rings falling out when you try to reassemble the heads.

 

I had the opportunity to timing belts on 2005 legacy, ej253 sohc, same engine as your impreza, and looks simple enough to do in- car

 

one thing i can 'suggest' is you can remove the pitch bar, the lower engine mount studs, and jack up the front diff to raise the motor up about 3 inches, so you dont have to bend over so far and have better clearance around the frame rails

 

be aware of all the coolant hoses and temp sensors whem pulling the intake. you may be better off to remove the TB first, this gives you WAY better access to the hoses and sensors, and the little timing window

 

you will need a 12 pt 14mm socket, 1/2' dr. Aside from a torque wrench, see if you can find and angle gauge since the torque sequence calls for a series of 180 and 90 deg turns after clicking with a torque wrench

 

if you get a head gasket set, it will come with all the cam seals, intake gaskets, and valve cover seals. a felpro gasket set from napa is roughly 200 bucks

 

timing belt set with idlers is about 300 bucks including all the idlers and a new tensioner(gates, high quality idlers)

 

going the napa route you will have about 500 in parts if you are doing EVERYHING, you could save on ebay stuff, but the ebay idlers may be so cheap that the old idlers would outlast the new ones

Edited February 26, 2010 by MilesFox

[Scottbaru]

Thanks, I'm over $600 in my cart at AutoZone, Felpro and good quality parts. Including water pump, spark plugs, air filter, a few other extras.

 

The head gasket kit is the rebuild kit, not the replacement kit, so it has some things I don't need. Fel-Pro site says the replacement kit omits the camshaft seals and valve guide seals, I'm not sure how many extra seals I'll get with the full kit. I can piece together the head gaskets, vavle cover set, intake and exhaust gaskets, and cam seals for $150. Would I be missing anything?

[Scottbaru]

Hmm, head bolts, another $136, needed? These do stretch, supposed to replace, but are people reusing and having good luck with that?

[idosubaru]

You don't replace head bolts on Subaru engines, they're not TTY (Torque to Yield) bolts. Google that if you're not familiiar with different style head bolts.

 

I would not use the Fel Pro gaskets for this motor. Some Subaru motors they are better - this is not one of them. Use the Subaru OEM gasket here. Frankly I'd go Subaru on all the seals too. There's hardly any money to be saved and aftermarkets are known to leak from time to time by quite a few people here. At the very least make sure the rear main seal is Subaru OEM since that's the on that's most problematic and engine has to come out to replace it.

 

Ebay has timing belt kits for around $189 i think - complete with belt and pulleys.

 

The 2000 EJ25's were subject to a 100,000 mile extended head gasket warranty. It's likely you're out of date but if you're still under mileage it would be worth a visit to the dealer to entertain getting this fixed for free or possibly a cut rate. Dealers have done them past the 100k mark before, though maybe at cut rates, parts only, etc.

 

Woah Holland, like the other side of the world, huh? I have some boxes in my trunk that I'm shipping over there!

[Mike104]

Here is link to a how-to for 2000 MY so should be of assistance:

 

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7867&highlight=head+gasket

 

Here is the general consensus I've gleaned from others on this issue:

 

1. Use Only SUBARU OEM re designed HGs

2. Do the timing belt stuff when you do the HGs

Timing Belt, Tensioners, Idlers, Water Pump, Cam & Crank Seals, SUBARU Thermostat, Reseal Oil Pump

 

Don't forget the valve adjustment too.

[Scottbaru]

Thanks, I read they were TTY on this engine, the torqueing method of angles seemed to confirm that.

 

No Felpro? I'm waiting for a price from the dealer, an hour away from here. $2k to have a shop do this, but I'd like to do it myself anyway. I'll check eBay.

 

11 year old car, I think the warranty was 8 years.

 

Yeah, Holland, but I travel a lot, too much in fact.

[MilesFox]

I have re-used the 2.5 head bolts. i get the impression that they are TTY withthe angle type torque sequences, but i got away with re-using them. if you know what it takes to break the bolts, you can be careful to re-use them. I would take a shot at re-using them, being confident in my skills.

 

If you go to the NAPA website, you can look up parts, and they will list the manufacture and countyr of origin.

 

My felpro hgasket set was a mix and match of mexican seals, felpro paper/rubber gaskets, and OEM subaru head gaskets. My set did come with valve guide seals, but i did not use them since i was trying to keep the labor down for someone who was paying me for the work.

 

shopping aftermarket vs subaru oem is ok, as long as you know what you are getting, there is a thread about parts manufacturers and who supplies what

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=108259&highlight=felpro

[Scottbaru]

Here is link to a how-to for 2000 MY so should be of assistance:

 

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7867&highlight=head+gasket

 

Here is the general consensus I've gleaned from others on this issue:

 

1. Use Only SUBARU OEM re designed HGs

2. Do the timing belt stuff when you do the HGs

Timing Belt, Tensioners, Idlers, Water Pump, Cam & Crank Seals, SUBARU Thermostat, Reseal Oil Pump

 

Don't forget the valve adjustment too.

I wasn't planning on a crank seals, is that common? My son has been trying to sell this car, I'm tempted to do the minimum, he's not likely to keep it.

[Mike104]

If you are planning to sell it you can just to the minimum. If they are leaking while you are there it would be best to change it. Think the seal is only $10 at the dealer so its not a big expense compared to the rest. Only need to do the front one unless your pulling the engine and the rear one is leaking.

 

How many miles on the engine?

[Scottbaru]

90k. Something is leaking a little, I think camshaft seal.

 

One thing about getting stuff from AutoZone: I can return what I don't use. I'll double check that before I buy.

[idosubaru]

replace any seals that are wet, they'll be prone to leaking. seals are cheap and easily replaced with everything a part anyway really.