9 replies to this topic

[mercuryrising17]

I am trying to decide what I should do at this point. My head gasket seems to be out again. I replaced them last year but didn't do anything to the heads. The heads looked a little worn but I re used them and never re surfaces them, I just cleaned them up really really good. Now that I have to replace them again I'm wondering if I should just buy a new set of heads ( o'reily has the for 316 a piece the cheapest I have found) or if I should just get a rebuilt engine for it and get it all out of the way at once. The car has 205k on it and I just can't decide if I should buy new heads and risk losing a piston or something soon and wasting the money and the time on the heads. My mpg has gone down lately but that could just be sticky valves I'm guessing.

Either way what is a great trustable place to buy rebuilt heads and engines. From what I've seen so far the net is full of empty promises on them and can be misleading about the parts.


Thanks guys you have been so much help over the years!

[The Dude]

I am trying to decide what I should do at this point. My head gasket seems to be out again. I replaced them last year but didn't do anything to the heads. The heads looked a little worn but I re used them and never re surfaces them, I just cleaned them up really really good. Now that I have to replace them again I'm wondering if I should just buy a new set of heads ( o'reily has the for 316 a piece the cheapest I have found) or if I should just get a rebuilt engine for it and get it all out of the way at once. The car has 205k on it and I just can't decide if I should buy new heads and risk losing a piston or something soon and wasting the money and the time on the heads. My mpg has gone down lately but that could just be sticky valves I'm guessing.

Either way what is a great trustable place to buy rebuilt heads and engines. From what I've seen so far the net is full of empty promises on them and can be misleading about the parts.


Thanks guys you have been so much help over the years!

No kidding. I had an exceptionally bad experience with a rebuilt engine. The ONLY thing that saved me was that I bought the engine THROUGH the installer and I used an instate installer. I ended taking the installer to small claims court. Since I bought the engine through the installer, the installer was legally on the hook. It is easy to drag an instate company into small claims court. If the installer had been out of state I'm pretty sure that he would've just flipped me off.

Most, if not all, rebuilt engines are "tested" after you have installed it in your car and turn the ignition key. If the engine is no good, or fails under "warranty", you are usually responsible for all install and de-install charges as well as freight expenses in both directions.

Buying a "rebuilt" engine seems like something of a crap shoot to me. Always buy the engine through the installer, so one party is legally responsible for the whole job. Always, always use an instate installer because the odds of ending up in smalls claims court seem pretty good to me.

Edited by The Dude, 05 January 2013 - 12:18 PM.

[Subruise]

this should be a lesson in doing things right the first time. if you cut corners like resurfacing then it stands to reason that something else got skipped/done incorrectly (like torque sequence for example). in all probability, your motor is fine. take it back out, disassemble, and do it right this time. you can even resurface your heads by hand, run a search. no reason in buying another motor when you have a perfectly good one that just needs a little diligence.

[mercuryrising17]

I did surface them by hand and had them completely clean and looked like they would be all right so I decided to chance it since I couldn't get it to a shop for 3 weeks and had to have the car back ASAP. I had the torque sequence correct but I did not re torque them. This probably has a lot to do with it but at the time I had advice that it was not needed. Do any of you re torque the head bolts after it has been ran for a while? This was my first ever HG job so I could have just not had everything quite correct but it was a great learning exp and should not be difficult this time around. Either way it got me by for over a year and now I have something to do for a few days

[ocei77]

this should be a lesson in doing things right the first time. if you cut corners like resurfacing then it stands to reason that something else got skipped/done incorrectly (like torque sequence for example). in all probability, your motor is fine. take it back out, disassemble, and do it right this time. you can even resurface your heads by hand, run a search. no reason in buying another motor when you have a perfectly good one that just needs a little diligence.

^+1

Don't know which engine you have, but if you have the 2.5, it is highly recommended by others to use the turbo gasket part number ending in 642.
2.2s don't seem as picky. Just be sure its an MLS from a reputable mfg.(oem,6 star etc).

O.

[Subruise]

what motor are you running? also what method of resurfacing was used and most importantly, in what way was flatness confirmed?


if you didnt use fel pro perma torque hgs, you gotta re-torque em.***only true if it is an ea82. this statement in no way reflects ej motors or otherwise. thanks Gary

ive done a whole whopping one hg job myself. i took my time as i had a motor in the car already. basically, if those heads had any trace of their previous life and ground flat, they wont be happy.

my ea82 is happy now. good luck buddy:popcorn:

Edited by Subruise, 05 January 2013 - 05:53 PM.

[grossgary]

original poster should tell which engine this is - we can guess but there are technically like 10+ new generation engines.

i'd be cautious about dumping tons into the heads too unless you feel really good about the history of the engine and maintenance.

ebay apparently has some options for heads, someone just posteda link in another thread with heads that are rebuilt or have new valve stem seals, etc.

you can resurface heads yourself if you reuse your heads - GD posted a fantastic thread here, find that.

heads generally have high spots and should be resurfaced. Subaru doesn't usually resurface them so that might be why you heard that, but that doesn't mean it's a great idea for long term use, they only need the engine to outlast the service warranty.

the "642" headgasket mentioned above is a turbo EJ25 headgasket and applicable to 2000 (and some 99) headgaskets. i'm not sure it is to be used on older DOHC EJ25 headgaskets. those are usually taking the 610 headgaskets.

Edited by grossgary, 06 January 2013 - 12:41 PM.

[ivans imports]

i thought about rebiulding heads for the public i have tons of cores and a head surfacer and valve grinder the problem is the hours realy add up whould have to charge 250 $ a head or better to make it worth while

[GeneralDisorder]

Heads can be rebuilt. If you really want to insure long gasket life you need to resurface the block as well.

GD

[Subruise]

i agree with GD on this one too (shocker.) when i did my sole hg job i cleaned the block as good as o could and ran a block sander over it to give a more uniform surface (ie FLAT) and something to bite into. another good tip, hit the block with some spraypaint right before putting the gasket on, the tackiness of the paint will hold your gasket for you.

im 15,000 miles into mine so far, and i drive it like i hate it sometimes.