ettev Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 For the EA81 engine gaskets is there any benefit to staying with OEM vs. aftermarket. I know on the EA82's the OEM oil pump gaskets seemed to be better than aftermarket but how about on the EA81's? In particular I need to replace the front main crank seal, the oil pump gasket and the valve cover gaskets. OEM or aftermarket? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I used name brand aftermarket for mine when i had it. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 you are fine to use after markets on those. i personally used to use after market with these but since last summer i'm a mostly subaru man. i had an EA82 Fel-Pro crank seal last year that was very difficult to seat. finally went in but ended up leaking like a seive. replaced it with a subaru seal and all was well so the crank or engine block aren't to blame. i know it wasn't the installation. but i'm not saying that can't happen with subaru gaskets either, im' sure one bad one gets through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountaingoatgruff Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 i put a fel-pro head set on my ea81. i used their perma-torque head gaskets, valve cover gaskets, valve guide seals, exhaust gaskets and bought fel-pro crank seals. i used a beck arnley oil pump seal kit. the oil pump leaks just a bit but i think its cuz one of the bolt holes was stripped. i also replaced my water pump with a new cardone one, i used the gasket that came with it and a light smearing of water pump/t-stat sealant - no leaks there. i did go with oem gaskets for the intake manifold, t-stat housing (and oem t-stat) and tb base though. the felpro intake manifold gaskets and t-stat housing gaskets are just lame diecut paper while oem's are not simply paper and they have metal reinforcement in the middle. i used GD's rvt trick (coat the cork gasket with a thin layer of rtv silicone and allow it to fully cure before installation) on the valve cover gaskets and i was able to reuse them after readjusting my valves with no leaks so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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