Headgasket!

[stock90]

My sister's 90' loyale (my old car) has a blown headgasket (still runs, but spews white smoke periodically). I hate to see the car go and would love to fix it. The interior on this wagon is spotless. Is it worth it? has anyone rebuilt one of these guys? how much did they invest? I searched but the search function on this forum kinda sucks. didn't show any results. Thanks for any advice. I'm fairly car savey, but am still learning alot.

[Snowman]

Welcome to the board!

 

If the car is in good condition and most importantly has little or no rust, it's definitely worth saving.

 

You've got a few options for getting the car back in good shape:

 

1. Replace the headgasket yourself. It's really not that hard and is a great job to learn on. A full gasket set for the car costs $175 (use ONLY OEM gaskets, the others are crap, and in most cases cost more), and you could probably do it in a long weekend. Now, this is only a viable option if you are confident that the shortblock is in good shape, and the engine hasn't been severely overheated. The bottom end on the EA82 engine is very robust, but the heads like to warp and crack if they get hot. You'll have to make a judgement call there...if it was overheated once and the gaskets blew, it's probably okay, but if it was repeatedly abused, it'll probably need different heads. Reman heads cost around $200-$300 for a set.

 

2. Drop in a good used engine after resealing it. You can get engines from junkyards or from board members for a couple hundred dollars. If the engine is a known good runner, this tends to work out well and does not cost a lot.

 

3. Rebuild the engine yourself. I've done a couple of these myself, and I've come to the conclusion that it's really not cost effective for most situations. to do a decent rebuild costs nearly $1000 for parts and machine shop work. When you factor in your time (I work as a mechanic, and my last one took me one long weekend to disassemble and clean and another very long weekend to put it together and get it in the car), tools you may need to purchase, and the fact that it may not last as long as a professional rebuild, I would tend to lean toward option number four.

 

4. Get a rebuilt engine from Colorado Component Rebuilders (www.ccrengines.com). They are the best Subaru engine rebuilder, and many board members will vouch for them. An engine for your car would probably be around $1500 or so. It's more expensive, but provides the most assurance that the car will run well for many years to come.

[stock90]

Thanks. The engine hasn't been overheated yet. The Gasket is "going" meaning there's steam coming from under the hood and out the tailpipe, but it isn't overheating. So I think the headgasket replacement would be my best option. The car is in incredible shape (all the bottom panels have been coated with rust-resistant crap- it looks like truck bed liner- and repainted) time is my only problem, school is pretty busy right now, maybe during thanksgiving. thanks again.

[Subarian]

The head gasket isn't a difficult job, but remember you're working with aluminum heads and block. That means you have to be careful when scraping off the old gasket material, and make sure you follow the factory torque sequence on the head bolts.

[211]

Good to see someone else is going through the same thing; not to wish it on anyone just figuratively speaking.

 

 

Yeah, I've been bugging these guys too for about 3 weeks, same deal, different car.

 

Here's your "search" function:

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=46164

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=46265

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=46545

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=46644

 

These are the threads I've started (in order), I'm sure you have or WILL have the same questions as I did, so save yourself some time and read along.

 

Big props to all who've helped ME so far.

 

Good Luck.

 

And yes, it's not that big-a deal to pull the motor, I'm REALLY glad I did!!!