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EA82 Rebuild Issues


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I'm midway through an EA82 rebuild. Let me note that it's my first, so excuse any dumb questions.

 

I have the heads off. The area where the head gasket had contact is filthy. On both the head side, and the block side. I've been working the head all afternoon with degreaser and a wire brush. Does this have to be clean down to the shiny metal to install the new gasket? If so, it's a chore.

 

Next question: the walls of the cylinders (down to where the pistons are, which is as far as I can see) are caked with what I would call a thick grimey oily substance. Is this normal, or a sign of problems? The engine had 210K. should I just clean is out with a rag?

 

Lastly, (for now...) is there a gasket that separates the head and the cam tower? I don't know if these are just degraded, but it looks like there was only some gooey gasket-type material in between...the kind of thing that comes in a tube...

 

Oh, and one more thing, when it comes to the oil pan and the water pump, the manual lists some torque specs that are quite low...like 4 and 7 lb-ft. My wrench doesn't go that low. I was at a tool store recently and didn't see one either. Do you all do these to spec, or just sort of tighten them till they are tight?

 

Thanks again... with any luck we'll be good as new before the snows arrive.

 

belizeanbus

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Headgasket surfaces need to be down to shiney metal. Wire brush is probably not the way to go. The best way is to have them professionally surfaced. The next best is to use sandpaper on a surfacing plate or (if you are very careful) a random orbital sander; these last 2 do not guarantee a flat surface, though.

 

The cylinder residue is probably jsut carbon from burnt oil and gas and other suff that has accumulated over the last 200k miles. Clean it off and check for a wear-ridge; probably nothing there igf you can still see the crosshatching on the cylinder wall.

 

The "gasket" between the cam carrier and the head is a U-Squeeze-'Em one. The book recommends an anaerobic sealer (pricey: goo and activator cost me US$30) or others have used Permatex Ultra Black or Ultra Grey RTV, I believe. (FelPro gasket kit comes with Ultra Black.)

 

The pan gasket bolts are very low torque to prevent deforming the sheetmetal pan and extruding the gasket. No torque wrench to my knowledge registers that low, at least known of the click style. (A torsion beam one might be made for that low.) The torque ends up being "just a little tighter than snug".

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the heads and block should be cleaned. i don't know that wire brushing is the best idea, but i have done it in the past. don't do it anymore. the scotch brite kitchen pads work well, but all in all it is certainly a task that sucks. you definitely want it clean because head gaskets are not the kind of job you even want to risk doing twice.

 

the cam carrier doesn't have a formed gasket, it's from a tube like you said. use anaerobic sealant on this thing. anaerobic sealant dries without air (hence the name) and any excess will wash away by the oil, it won't get into anything and clog it. excellent stuff. kind of pricey, but worth it for applications like this. you can also get away with permatex gasket makers but i do not recommend that (but have done it in the past). there is also one metal reinforced o-ring at the lower corner of the cam tower at the oil port (one on each cam), replace this with a new o-ring from Subaru or www.thepartsbin.com is the only non-subaru place i've seen it for sale. do not reuse an old one. and if you use anything other than anaerobic sealant, be sure not to get any in this oil port, i know of one person that had to tear the motor back down and found this port clogged from using the other stuff (not anaerobic sealant).

 

post a picture of the cylinder walls. i've torn down a couple motors with 200,000 miles and they were all in excellent condition with cross-hatching still visible and just a light coat of oil on the cylinder walls....a testimony to the rigidity of these blocks (mine were ER27, same thing as EA82 just 2 more cylinders). in any event, i'd get a picture up here for us to look at, sounds kind of different. might just be dirty or something?

 

oil and water pumps don't need to be torqued that much, follow the specs. but make sure the bolts are all clean and the holes as well. dirty bolts and holes will give lower torque than you're reading. most people just torque these by feel, i've never heard of someone actually reading it that low, though im' sure people do. oil pans suck, they tend not to be flat and won't seal well in my experience. from here on out i put gasket maker on both sides of the gasket so im' not doing it again. the holes where the bolts are for the oil pan are typically indented slightly, giving bad clamping for even a new gasket.

 

use a water pump sealant type stuff (very tacky) on both sides of the water pump gasket as well.

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For the gasket mating surfaces, 3M makes a yellow disc that chucks into your drill that will clean the surface much much faster and better than doing it by hand. Your local parts store should have them.

 

On the cam towers and the block halves, use Permatex Anaerobic Sealant. A tube, which will more than do your engine, costs like $20 if I remember correctly, but unlike RTV, it won't leak for a while and won't form little chunks inside the motor that break off and get into the oil and clog the pickup screen.

 

I use an inch-pound torque wrench for doing the oil pan and other low-torque bolts.

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I just finished cleaning up my carbon encrusted heads tonight.They were absolutely filthy. Scraped off all I could get at down the galleries with a screwdriver , scotch brite pad for the mating surfaces, then took the heads down to the local "do it yourself "car wash where they have a hot water pressure washer.The heads look like they left the factory. Cant beat that hot steamy water.(Got soaked in the process)

Regards;

Jude

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