Head Gasket

This car has been through it! A tornado and a hit and run.

I now have a head gasket gone bad. Wagner wants $2900, at least.

Can someone point me to a thread? Don’t honk this is something I can pull off, but I’d like to see what you guys have done.

Also waiting for TurnInConcepts to call me back.

Thanks all!

Ben

 

 

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https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/head-gaskets-281792.html

 

dgoodhue has rescued a couple LGTs and done head work:

 

https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/dgoodhues-2011-rrp-gt-project-281221.html?t=281221

if you're mechanically inclined, and the car isn't too rusty(ohio, GL...) it's really not bad to do yourself if you've got time to do it, it's just a lot of small things to take apart to get to the big stuff. i didn't have the time to do it myself, so i had someone do mine and it ended up costing around 4500. i needed a couple new lifter buckets and shims, replaced the clutch while they were in there, resealed oil pan, replaced a few hoses, bunch of seals and a bunch more little stuff. it can really add up, but if you're just getting someone to slap a new set of gaskets in and deal with the other stuff later you can probably save a fair bit of money

If you do not think this is something you can do, I would not talk you into attempting it. It is not a beginner or intermediate level mechanic work. You need to be comfortable pulling a motor out, apart and be able to put all the parts back together.

 

Your in OH, so I would guess it will need a few parts due to rust.

If your timing belt or clutch isn't recent, you should do those.

 

You (mechanic or machine shop) will want the to check the cam to valve clearance (really easy to check with a feeler gauge) There is a good chance that the valves will need to be adjust with new shims. You don't want to do the head gasket only to burn a valve due to valve clearance in the future and have to redo the job again.

 

$2900 seems reasonable for a mechanic to do the head gasket based on what I seen for 2.5i as the Turbo require more work.

I've done the headgaskets myself on this car, it was my second attempt at this on a Subaru having only ever performed work on my car based off YouTube videos.

 

I'd say go for it, if you have a second car to use while you get this done. If this is your main form of transport, probably worth paying to get the job done efficiently and get you back on the road.

 

Definitely agree there's a fair bit that needs to come off during the process just to get the engine out. Once you have the engine out, there quality YouTube vids covering the process of taking the heads off and then reinstalling everything back onto the short block.

 

I followed this in order to remove the engine :

https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/engine-pull-walk-thru-errr-talk-thru-258809.html?t=258809

 

The first time I changed headgaskets on a Subaru (4th gen) I made 2 crucial mistakes, doing it with the engine in the car on a SOHC EJ and not getting the heads machined flat by a professional machine shop. That time I ended up failing.

 

 

On the 5th gen I took my sweet time to do it right, had a machine shop resurface the heads.

 

Upgrade to sti exhaust cams for the extra 1mm lift while I had the heads out. Set all the valve clearances using buckets from some donor engines I had in the garage (bought cheap from a recycler ).

 

It took me quite a few weekends because I kept finding parts I wanted to change while the engine was out (hoses, gaskets, seals etc).

 

Worth mentioning the cost in getting an engine crane and a calibrated torque wrench etc can add up if you don't already have them on hand.

Edited April 16, 2021 by moral hazard