EA82 head gasket replacement

[boozen]

This will be my first attempt. Can anyone help me prepare for this unforseen adventure. Any difficulties I should brace myself for? Thanks.

[[HTi]Johnson]

You'll need this when you put the timing belts back on. You should replace everything you can and can afford to. LIke clutch (if it's manual), rear main seal, front main seal, cam seals, oil pan gasket, water pump (if you don't know how old it is), oil pump (or at least reseal), timing belts, and timing idlers.

 

If you are on a budget, just do the intake gaskets (many say use dealer bought), head gaskets (many have good luck with the fel-pro 9392t here they are less than $20. You could order all your parts from them), you may be able to get away with re-using the exhaust gaskets. Rockauto.com has some very competitive prices, but it may not be worth it to buy only 1 or two parts.

 

Oh yeah, there is an oil seal between the head and camcase. That is a VERY important seal , without replacing that with the OEM one, your valves will probably tap like mad. There is one on both sides. The part number is 13089AA010. You should be able to order these from the dealer for about $3 each.

 

The haynes manual or Chiltons, is pretty good with How-to's for taking the engine apart and reassembling, the part Haynes is confusing about is the timing, that's why I sent you that link for "How to install timing belts". Good luck and don't be scared to ask questions during your project!

 

-Justin

[idosubaru]

EA82's are easy as pie to do headgaskets on.

get those o-rings he mentioned above. they are Subaru only or http://www.thepartsbin.com. autoparts stores won't carry it.

 

might want to look into what headgasket you want to use and whether or not your are going to retorque the gasket. Subaru says to retorque the OEM gasket. some guys do it the way Subaru says, some torque it tigther the first time and don't bother going back in for the retorque. this will be an important decision to make.

 

if you do plan on retorquing the gaskets, install the cam carrier without any sealant around it and don't install the timing belt covers, since you'll be pulling it all right back off after the first start in order to retorque. this will greatly speed up the process.

 

if you do it in the car, have some thick grease handy to hold the rocker arms in place as you install the cams. very easy to do...particularly on the EA82, the 6 cylinder ER27 is much tighter but not bad either.

 

replacing the timing pulleys or bearings is a great idea as well. unless they feel really good, but most are quite noisey and void of grease after nearly 20 years.

[mrroot]

Good luck! I just replaced the *heads* ( and a million other things ) on my EA82T. Some things I might say:

 

The heavy grease spoken of in the previous post is called Engine Reassembly Lubricant, and you can get it at any parts store. It's just thick grease that dissolves in oil - put it on *all* metal/metal contact surfaces. Also use it to hold parts in place during reassembly. I found it particularly useful on those damn oil o-rings in the heads - they want to fall out when you're installing the heads, so just gob them up with grease to hold them in place.

 

I have tons of pics which might give you some ideas of what you're getting in to. Check out:

http://www.mrroot.net/soob/

 

I definitely agree with the other guys: if you've got the money, just replace a lot of the major components. In order of importance ( if money's tight ) I'd replace timing belt idler and tensioners ( look on ebay - there's a guy that sells kits with everything you need for like $60 or so: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1986-1994-Subaru-1-8-GL-DL-Loyale-Timing-Belt-Kit_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33625QQihZ013QQitemZ230005080862QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW ), spark plugs/wires, dist cap/rotor, accessory belts, o2 sensor, oil pump, water pump, fuel injectors. After that, just start replacing whatever needs it.

 

Obviously replace all the fluids and filters.

 

The books say you have to jack up your engine if you leave it in the car. I found I didn't need to do this on my XT. YMMV, but I'd suggest trying to leave it in there if you can - speeds up the process and reduces the number of parts laying around your garage.

 

And read that post about doing the timing belts. Read it and follow it to the letter. Oh, and ditch the stupid timing belt covers. They're just a PITA.

 

It's a lot easier than it sounds. Just be methodical and label things as you remove them. Ziploc baggies and magnetic trays are your friends. Good luck and ask if you need help.

 

Cheers

[ShockingChicken]

Yay for Austin Soobs!

I just rebuild my engine, new heads, etc: Here's my thread on it. No pics posted yet (plenty taken: used them to put everything back on like it was!); I like your photomentary website of the whole thing!

 

How's it running?

[mrroot]

Yay for Austin Soobs!

I just rebuild my engine, new heads, etc: Here's my thread on it. No pics posted yet (plenty taken: used them to put everything back on like it was!); I like your photomentary website of the whole thing!

 

How's it running?

 

Hell yeah - we should all have a meet 'n greet sometime.

 

I posted to your thread with some [possible] answers to your questions.

 

Mine isn't running yet - ran it for a while, then saw a leaky injector so I'm replacing all four injectors. Hopefuly be running next week when the new ones come in!

 

Cheers

[boozen]

Wow! You guys are great, hats off, what a wealth of information, thanks! I am on a tight budget, but am willing to take the time to do a thorough job as ya'll have suggested. I'm looking at a little justy to ride in the meantime, any yea's or nea's on the justy's (it's a 90, 76k miles)? I'll post when I have my first question, which I'm sure this newbie will have. Thanks, so very much guys, Ken