Mr. Carb Posted July 31, 2005 Share Posted July 31, 2005 I'm going to be doing my very first headgasket replacement. Never done it before, I'm a little nervous, but I think I can. Should I be looking out for anything while I do this? besides head cracks. This is an ea81 turbo engine. Are the headgaskets diffrent from none turbo ea81's? Sorry I haven't been on here in a while, working alot lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted July 31, 2005 Share Posted July 31, 2005 The head gaskets are different - not much though. My ea81t had a non turbo aftermarket head gasket on it when i took it apart. Seemed to work fine, but i am replacing it with an oem turbo one, its no more expensive over here anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Carb Posted August 1, 2005 Author Share Posted August 1, 2005 hmmm. ok. Sounds good to me. I'm going to pull the engine out and inspect it while I'm doing the headgaskets, get anything else taken care of too if it needs to be done while the engine is out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 Head gaskets arent a big problem. If you have a FSM it will make life alot easier. And if you can, do it with the engine out of the car. -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Carb Posted August 1, 2005 Author Share Posted August 1, 2005 sweet, I was planning on taking the engine out to do it, I didn't want to shortcut it and make it harder on my self! lol I need to find the fsm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 Oh yeah, its a EA81T so it maybe alittle more difficult to pull. Take your time, if that turbo's been on there a while it might not want to come apart. When you have the heads off, check between the valves for any developing cracks. You will need to get a torque wrench for when you re-assemble the engine. Make sure you follow the bolt pattern in the FSM for tightening the head bolts. You will have to remove the rocker assembly from the head in order to get to all the bolts. Dont worry too much about this, since its a turbo it should have hydrolic valves, and you wont need to adjust the valve clearance. Also when you get your gaskets, check to see if they require a sealant or not. Some do, some dont... it depends on the gasket manufacturer. You will also need to replace your intake manifold gaskets and I would recommend using sealant for it as well (intake manifold). -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Carb Posted August 1, 2005 Author Share Posted August 1, 2005 Ok, yeah, I plan to take my time. It is hydrolic lifters wich is nice. The turbo shouldn't give me any trouble, I've already swapped it out once recently and the car has maybe been driven 50 miles sense the replacement. I've gotta figure out how to deal with the automatic on the back of it as well, I'm thinking about just unbolting the torque converter from the flywheel and leaving it on the tranny side. Oh yeah, its a EA81T so it maybe alittle more difficult to pull. Take your time, if that turbo's been on there a while it might not want to come apart. When you have the heads off, check between the valves for any developing cracks. You will need to get a torque wrench for when you re-assemble the engine. Make sure you follow the bolt pattern in the FSM for tightening the head bolts. You will have to remove the rocker assembly from the head in order to get to all the bolts. Dont worry too much about this, since its a turbo it should have hydrolic valves, and you wont need to adjust the valve clearance. Also when you get your gaskets, check to see if they require a sealant or not. Some do, some dont... it depends on the gasket manufacturer. You will also need to replace your intake manifold gaskets and I would recommend using sealant for it as well (intake manifold). -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooziewhatsit Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 I've gotta figure out how to deal with the automatic on the back of it as well, I'm thinking about just unbolting the torque converter from the flywheel and leaving it on the tranny side. yea, that's how you want to do it. You can mess up the TC if you bolt it the flexplate, then put it on the transmission. I just did HGs on an EA82, and they weren't too hard. Hardest part was getting the old gasket material off. Search for my recent thread for some tips. good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSPFI Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 Whats FSM stand for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 Factory Service Manual. I forgot you had an automatic, that sucks. I just pulled an engine from an Auto for the 1st time. Didnt know the TC was full of fluid I'd say take the Auto out with it and put a 5spd in But that may not be practical. -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Carb Posted August 1, 2005 Author Share Posted August 1, 2005 Yeah, I'd love to put in a manual and get rid of that automatic but right now I'm just focused on getting the car running and through emissions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom63050 Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 hmmm. ok. Sounds good to me. I'm going to pull the engine out and inspect it while I'm doing the headgaskets, get anything else taken care of too if it needs to be done while the engine is out. Might also want to do the oil pan gasket and the rear main seal. And for that matter the front seal of the transmission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Carb Posted August 4, 2005 Author Share Posted August 4, 2005 Might also want to do the oil pan gasket and the rear main seal. And for that matter the front seal of the transmission. Yeah, I might have said this before, but I'm on a pretty tight budget so it's only getting replaced if it looks like it's been leaking or about to leak. Really I'm in a race to get the car passed through emissions and licensed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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