sirtokesalot Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 my moms head gasket went in her 01 outback wagon. whats involved in doing the head gaskets on her car? how much stuff has to come apart? does anyone know of a good write up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertsubaru Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 (edited) Which engine? How many miles on it? Search youtube for How to change your head gasket on a Subaru. There are a few good videos. Edited June 17, 2015 by desertsubaru Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Pretty good video on youtube for the swap. he does it with the motor in the car. I prefer to pull it. It's an involved job but nothing terrible. Be sure to get the heads resurfaced by a machinist and use Subaru OEM head gaskets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 remove drive belts, power steering, a/c compressor, radiator hoses, and air intake hose/box remove intake manifold remove exhaust manifold remove timing components remove valve covers remove heads unbolt lower 14mm engine mount nuts for in car access or engine removal remove upper pitch stopper and all 8 bellhousing bolts/starter bolts/lower two engine to transmission stud nuts 1. resurface the heads 2. use Subaru Ej25 turbo headgaskets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThosL Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 This is either a mechanic's job or an advanced do it yourself type person. Do you have all the tools to do the job? Do you know all the torque settings for replacement of parts where that is critical? Do you have a sufficient garage or other place to do the job? How much experience do you have in doing similar jobs? Do you have any mechanically adept friends who could help you out? How much is your time worth, and would you actually gain by having a reasonably priced mechanic to do it? Look at all options and alternatives. If the engine is the 2.5, notorious for head gasket issues. How bad is it? Maybe re-torqueing the heads is an option? Subaru makes a silicate additive for minor leaks, and there are others with guarantees, with lots of youtube videos on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccrinc Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 remove drive belts, power steering, a/c compressor, radiator hoses, and air intake hose/box remove intake manifold remove exhaust manifold remove timing components remove valve covers remove heads unbolt lower 14mm engine mount nuts for in car access or engine removal remove upper pitch stopper and all 8 bellhousing bolts/starter bolts/lower two engine to transmission stud nuts 1. resurface the heads 2. use Subaru Ej25 turbo headgaskets Also remove radiator and fans. +1 on using the turbo head gaskets. Emily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtokesalot Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 (edited) it has the ej25 engine. i like to consider myself a bit of an advanced mechanic ive always done all the work to my own cars. we do have a service manual for the car i was hoping it could be done with the engine in the car as i do not have an engine hoist. its in my driveway now and my mom has my legacy for now. my brother cant get it into his shop for 2 weeks so i was looking into what needed to be done to see if i could maby get it done sooner. Edited June 17, 2015 by sirtokesalot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lstevens76 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 You can get an engine hoist for less than $100 from Harbor Freight (online or locally if there is one). You could possibly rent one locally for cheap as well. It's also easier with an engine stand (about $50 from harbor freight). Pulling the engine, if your willing to, not only makes the job easier but allows you to do more work (such as inspect/replace rear main, separator plate, reseal oil pan etc...) than doing it in the car. I went with a cheap full engine gasket set by evergreen, then fel-pro head gaskets. You could do essentially the same thing, but with the EJ25 Turbo OEM head gaskets and a cheap gasket set. Take a look at this thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/122588-diy-head-resurfacing-or-post-apocalyptic-machine-shop-techniques/ Now get a nice big piece of 1/2" or 5/8" glass (so its perfectly flat) and you can glue sand paper to it and use it to mill the block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 (edited) i indicated int he first post how to do it in the vehicle: remove lower two 14mm engine mount nuts. remove upper pitch stopped (1 12 or 14mm bolt/nut). with that done you can now jack the engine up a few inches and tilt it up on the given side you're working on. pull the battery, windshield washer tank, and air filter box and you can do the heads in the vehicle. Edited June 18, 2015 by grossgary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Also remove radiator and fans. good call - yes the fans. technically the radiator doesn't have to come out which might save a northeasterner an hour in drilled out sheared hold down bolts or using zipties to reinstall, but yeah definitely take it out for a new person and well with the coolant/hoses already removed it's almost zero extra work so silly to leave it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hzimmerman1111 Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 I am doing my second head gasket job. First one, engine in and would never do that again. Very tough and while possible, the clearances are very unpleasant. This time I bought a used low mileage engine from SW (2001 2.5) going in this Outback manual and that decision was made for me. I liked this youtube Note brand preferences. Big discussion topic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lstevens76 Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 What's funny is he says the same thing that I already knew and did myself. The Evergreen gasket sets aren't bad, except for the head gaskets. Cheapest way to do a head gasket job on most cars is with a Fel-Pro head gasket and an Evergreen Head Gasket set for all your other gaskets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
logic23 Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 (edited) USE THE DEALER 2.5 TURBO GASKETS. Anything else and you are wasting your time. 11044aa642 is the part number. DONT USE ANY AIR TOOLS/WHIZZ WHEELS TO CLEAN HEAD OR BLOCK YOU WILL MAKE A WAVY MESS. Send the heads to a machine shop to be milled and have the valves checked. We have found that most of the time the exhaust are valves leaking and from time to time the guides are loose/bad. Spend the $ and get a valve job. LIghtly sand the block to head mating surface with 400 grit wet paper and a long flat sanding block... keep switching directions 45 deg at a time. this will keep you from sanding the surface unevenly. stuff rags in the cylinders to keep debris from getting in. Evergreen has decent stuff the also offer an awsome deal on waterpump, timing belt and idler pulleys. All high quality stuff. go to amazon and you'll find them. Take out the alignment pins before sanding. take a 12 mm bolt and grind it down until it fits inside the pin. then you can grab them with vice grips without destroying them. Twist up and down and they will walk out of th block. BE CARFUL NOT TO SCRATCH THE ENGE WITH THE VICE GRIPS... the aluminum is very soft and east to damage. on reinstallation flip them around so the marred surface will be inside the block and the smooth side will be out for the head to mate to. they stick out 1/2 inch Edited June 26, 2015 by logic23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
logic23 Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 And yes take the engine out of the car... only dumbass dealer mechanics doing these jobs under warranty do HG in the car or only do one side. There is no way to propperly clean and prep the engine mating surface while the engine is in the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtokesalot Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 i decided to just wait for it to go to my brothers shop he has a hoist and all the right tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikec03 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 That is a very clear you tube DIY! For people who don't want to spend the time watching the you tube, the engine is a SOHC 2.5. He initially used a cheap no-name internet HG and had to redo the job 6 months later because of coolant leak into the cylinders. He now recommends OEM, Felpro, or Sixstar. The heads were warped over .004 even though they had been machined flat 6 months earlier [max .002 is the spec]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lstevens76 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 That is a very clear you tube DIY! For people who don't want to spend the time watching the you tube, the engine is a SOHC 2.5. He initially used a cheap no-name internet HG and had to redo the job 6 months later because of coolant leak into the cylinders. He now recommends OEM, Felpro, or Sixstar. The heads were warped over .004 even though they had been machined flat 6 months earlier [max .002 is the spec]. Yeah, but he even said that warpage was most likely the customer's fault. Regardless of a head gasket failure you have to get an engine hot, and keep it hot, to cause warpage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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