rojo412 Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Bought this car used about 2 years ago, knowing that the head gasket job was done previously and thought "I have a winner here!"... I was wrong. Turns out, not every head gasket doer knows what they are doing. So within 40k of it being done, it needed it again. The car was losing coolant to the exhaust and overheating and a thermostat didn't fix it. A friend of mine at work is a Subaru guy, so he's helping me with the project, because I'm not a rich man and I hate paying mechanics an arm and a leg to do shoddy work. At least if I don't do it right, there's someone I can hold accountable Engine getting hoisted http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww313/rojo412/Legacy%20GT/100_3150.jpg http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww313/rojo412/Legacy%20GT/100_3151.jpg http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww313/rojo412/Legacy%20GT/100_3156.jpg There was a power steering pump leak that made quite a mess all over the passenger side. http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww313/rojo412/Legacy%20GT/100_3157.jpg Time to tear it down... http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww313/rojo412/Legacy%20GT/100_3161.jpg http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww313/rojo412/Legacy%20GT/100_3162.jpg http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww313/rojo412/Legacy%20GT/100_3164.jpg http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww313/rojo412/Legacy%20GT/100_3173.jpg http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww313/rojo412/Legacy%20GT/100_3174_zps6d74ae7c.jpg So it was taken apart. We discovered the nasty, rust-colored buildup in the coolant areas (sealant?), warped heads, the power steering issue, and a poor seal on the oil pan and the valve covers. Purchased new head gaskets, valve cover gaskets, head bolts, timing belt. The water pump looked and felt new, oil pump was fine. After some scrubbing... http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww313/rojo412/Legacy%20GT/100_3206_zpsd99e6c9b.jpg Time to re-assemble... http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww313/rojo412/Legacy%20GT/100_3207_zpsf525af2d.jpg http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww313/rojo412/Legacy%20GT/100_3208_zps37e8a17f.jpg It was at this point where we discovered that the timing idler sprocket and one pulley were a little whooped. They felt better when we took them off at first, but oddly got worse while sitting. Rattle in the bearings, didn't feel good... so I ordered a couple yesterday and wait patiently. More to come when I get the parts in next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twisty Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 does that year have the plastic oil separator plate on it too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rojo412 Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 Not sure... where would that be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r3v_v3ng3 Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 By the bell housing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyposeur Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Looks like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rojo412 Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 Once we get it on the hoist, I'll let you know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOHCEJ22E1 Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 What was done to the heads before you put them back on? How long was the car driven while it was overheating? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rojo412 Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 Not very long, a few miles while hot. Got the heads machined flat before re-assembly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOHCEJ22E1 Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Nice. The bearings will be fine. Post a video of the first fire up after re-assembly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rojo412 Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 Will do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Did the previous owners head gasket repair consist of a bottle of stop leak? LOL. Just looks that way from the crap in your coolant jackets. Looks like the OEM gaskets but he probably didn't have the heads machined and didn't do the correct TQ sequences. Btw did you have the block halves machined as well? The 8 2.5 head gasket jobs I've done 7 of them needed the blocks machined due to them having low spots. Remember because of the scrubbing of the surfaces both the head and blocks can develop abnormalities that if not corrected your new gaskets will fail again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Are you sire your bearings are good? It doesn't take much coolant in the oil to wash out the bearings. Another thing after looking at the cleaned up pics of the block and please tell me you DIDN'T use those Roloc discs to clean up the blocks surface? Those are the worse thing to use on aluminum and you'll make the surface worse than it was. If you did you should get them machined but if you don't want to then the next best option would be to get some wet sand paper 400/600/1000/1500 and a piece of metal square stock. Then using a figure 8 motion go though each grit until the perfect surfAce is achieved. Use water and also between grit changes mist some black spray paint on the surface, this will help see any low spots. After the 1500 grit if there's any low spots then you SOL, it's needs to be machined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmalo17 Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 I agree nearly all of the roloc discs are evil on our motors. But Subaru does permit one kind FYI. Subaru Service Bulletin 02-100-06R Plus, the compressor I used here could only sustain about 30 psi with the rotary tool. It would choke out with the slightest pressure on the block so I think we're at little risk of taking too much off. It was used just enough to clean the old gasket material and that nasty stopleak. I'll have to try that various grit sanding/black paint method next time. It does sound like the best solution next to machining. Seems time intensive but probably very effective. And who wouldn't want more piece of mind for jobs of this magnitude. For this block I already went with what that Subaru bulletin recommends. FWIW this is my 6th headgasket job. None of ones I've done have popped and luckily I have yet to have to machine block halves. Always open for suggestions and things to look out for though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rojo412 Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 So it's bad enough that the idler sprocket and one pulley needed to be replaced due to wobble in the bearings... The lower passenger side pulley mount hole (in the block) is stripped out! So what do people recommend for this? Helicoil? Stud? Any help is much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osei Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Chase threads with a tap. O. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rojo412 Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 It's stripped out. Not enough material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osei Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Since the pulley bolt is limited in size, very unlikely you can use a larger bolt. Not having had to drill out and use a helicoil, I'll let someone who had more experience in this area chime in. O. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyposeur Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 So it's bad enough that the idler sprocket and one pulley needed to be replaced due to wobble in the bearings... The lower passenger side pulley mount hole (in the block) is stripped out! So what do people recommend for this? Helicoil? Stud? Any help is much appreciated. I know how you feel. It's frustrating but I had this same issue. In fact, two of my pulleys stripped. However, don't fret! It's an easy fix. I just bought a really nice thread kit. It was about $20 or $30 and very high quality. You can get thread kits at Pep Boys or Autozone or whatever. But there is a really nice tool store here in town and none of the auto parts stores had the correct size so I went there. The kit i bought came with about 15 sets of threads. It came in handy later because a few of my exhaust mani studs were also stripped and they are the same bolt size. Take one of your bolts to the tool store or whatever and find out the size and thread pitch if you don't already know. Buy the corresponding kit. Get a matching size drill bit and drill out the hole. Do your best to drill square, but the bolt hole will guide you. Next, take your tap and tap the hole. I didn't have a proper tap handle, so I improvised with a 6mm wrench. Just go slow and do your best to start out nice and square with the block. I didn't use any cutting oil but after the fact I heard that it might be a good idea. Blow the metal shavings out with your mouth (close your eyes first or have safety glasses on) or compressed air. Then you load the plastic thingy with your new threads. It stretches out the threads. Then you screw it in. There will be a little tab on the end of the thread and you reach in the hole and pull it off with a pair of needle nose pliers. Blow out the metal Done! The threads are actually stronger than they were before. Hooray! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Yeah I know Subaru says its ok to use that style of Roloc disc but so did Toyota until they realized it wasnt the correct way to resurface heads/blocks and pulled the TSB. LOL. The problem is your using a tool that has only a 2" surface area and if the person doing the job sits in one spot longer it will create low spots. This can occur in many places over the entire surface of the head or block. It comes down to the RA surface finish. Toyota recommends a RA finish of 20 but no higher then 30 when installing a MLS head gasket and there's no way those Roloc discs can achieve such a fine finish. You might have been lucky due to the Subaru MLS gaskets also have rubber on them but after a bunch of heat cycles and the scrubbing becomes greater your luck using those discs will run out. Using the multi step wet sand paper for refinishing is far better because it will create a finer overall finish plus your able to see any low spots and make the judgement after the final grit if they need machining. It is labor intensive but it's well worth it when the engine is torn down that far. GL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 You really shouldn't use a wrench when tapping any hole. The T handle will evenly displace the load force and make a perfectly round threads where using a wrench will make the tap dig in on the top of one side and the bottom of the other making an oblong hole. I know it seems much but I've seen guys do this and they ended up having the new hole strip out, bolts break when installing them or have a loose fitting bolt. Even all three can happen. It shouldn't mAke that much of a difference using a heli coil but I thought I would pass this info along since we're talking about using a tap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twisty Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 You really shouldn't use a wrench when tapping any hole. The T handle will evenly displace the load force and make a perfectly round threads where using a wrench will make the tap dig in on the top of one side and the bottom of the other making an oblong hole. I know it seems much but I've seen guys do this and they ended up having the new hole strip out, bolts break when installing them or have a loose fitting bolt. Even all three can happen. It shouldn't mAke that much of a difference using a heli coil but I thought I would pass this info along since we're talking about using a tap. this is true. not necessarily 100% of the time will you have issues, but the possibility exists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyposeur Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Good to know guys. When I used the wrench I was super careful and supported the other side of the tap with my fingers. If I ever have to do it again I'll get the T handle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snederhiser Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Hello; Great job on the helicoil! I might add after the tap job, clean this out with carb cleaner. Clean the insert also, then apply a few drops of Red Loctite to the insert and tapped hole. Then assemble and use the bolt to chase out any excess Loctite. Let this dry and you are ready to go! Steven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Twisty, I know it won't happen everytime but I just wanted to help te guys who never used a tap from starting a habit that could cost them. I've used a wrench before in a pinch with success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twisty Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 hell, ive done it with an air ratchet with no issues. i dont recommend it, but i was tired and wanted to use power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.