ztrain727 Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Hello Folks - I am looking for some step by step help with repairing a '97 EJ22 head gasket in car. What I know so far... 1. Drain oil and coolant 2. Remove spark plug/alternator/starter wires etc. 3. Remove intake manifold and attached hoses 4. Remove external belts/pulleys 5. Remove timing belt cover, belt, pulleys 6. Remove heads (Valve covers stay on) 7. Resurface heads, OEM/felpro gaskets only, specific torquing procedure I am concerned with the timing belt removal and re-installation (I understand the '97 is an interference engine). Are there other points of particular concern? I know a few of you on here are very familiar with these engines (grossgary, MilesFox, Gloyale, others I'm sure) and have said it's probably among the easiest subie head gaskets to do. I figure the learning has to start somewhere. Background on the car: Bought a '97 legacy wagon with a new head gasket at 123k miles. 12k miles later it overheated and stalled out (I wasn't driving), lots of oil in coolant, no combustion gasses detected, no coolant visible in oil. Car still ran, I was stranded, so had a shop take a look, top off coolant, drove 300 miles home. Temps were stable all the way, but it's idling a bit rough. Many thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86BRATMAN Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 (edited) Take a peek at the thermostat before you dive into a job you might not need to do. Subarus are very picky about thermostats, if an oem subaru thermostat isn't in your motor you need to get one pronto and properly refill and burp the coolant system. Edited January 5, 2015 by 86BRATMAN 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ztrain727 Posted January 5, 2015 Author Share Posted January 5, 2015 86Bratman - I can take a look, but there is lots of oil in my coolant and my engine has overheated a few times from losing coolant. I don't think a thermostat can account for either of those problems. Whether or not it caused them is another question (i.e. thermostate -> overheating -> HG failure). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 You can do it in the car, but if you have other maintenance that needs to be done, Clutch or Rear Breather plate it's easier to pull the engine. Only another hour or so and much easier to clean the block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Is it an automatic? Is there coolant in the ATF? Pulling the engine is 2 bellhousing bolts and two bellhousing nuts extra. That's literally it. You have to unbolt the engine mounts and jack the engine up a bit anyway to get the heads off. Doing the gaskets and timing belt with engine out of car is so much easier, especially your first time around. I don't consider it any extra time, to be honest. Also your back is gonna be pissed off bending over the engine bay for hours screwing around with it or laying under the car reaching up. Having done it both ways, pull the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 These don't typically mix coolant and oil. Black crud in the overflow bottle is usually rubber from failing coolant hoses. There are some stop leak products that have a dark oily appearance as well. Possible someone poured a bottle in attempting to cure a problem before you bought the car. Do a leakdown test to confirm a bad head gasket. A breach in the combustion ring will be very evident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Search you tube for Subaru Head Gaskets, some pretty good info if you need to go there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 (edited) 3.5 Remove the exhaust manifold. imho, it is almost impossible to boil down a multi-step process to a simple 1,2,3, description. better to be complete and comprehensive. for rookies, they need details. Edited January 7, 2015 by johnceggleston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ztrain727 Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 (edited) Could anyone perhaps point me to any complete and comprehensive guides? Does Haynes outline it? I saw the video of the 2007 2.5 HG job on youtube but I'd assume things have changed, plus the 2.2's have exposed head bolts. It is an automatic and hasn't been leaking oil, just some power steering (ATF) fluid. The coolant smells like gasoline, has a white (almost pink) frothy substance floating in it that increased significantly after overheating. Seems like a head gasket to me. Not quite sure how else that could happen. I've read that cheap gaskets tend to fail around 10k miles, which is about what I'm at since buying it. I should probably get a leakdown test to see if/where it's leaking anyway. Edited January 7, 2015 by ztrain727 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Bought a '97 legacy wagon with a new head gasket at 123k miles. first, year = 97 model engine trans miles color it matters. second, sorry about my earlier post. i thought you were offering advice, not asking for it. my mistake. in your case, ej22 or ej25 makes a big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Froth/foam is a definite sign. Might as well just do them at this point. 2.2s are easy, but if you have the heads machined you'll want to disassemble them (takes 10 minutes per side) so they can be properly cleaned of metal shavings after machining. I don't know of a specific write-up. You have a good list there with the addition by John; be sure to unbolt the exhaust y-pipe. John has links to good timing belt write-ups in his signature. Read up on those and make sure you know the proper marks to line up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ztrain727 Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 (edited) Great! Thanks for the help! I will give it a go, take lots of time and pictures, and if I get stuck hopefully I can get some help here. I;ll read up plenty on the timing belt. If I resurface the heads myself (sandpaper glued to glass method) do I still need to remove the valve cover? Details on the vehicle: 1997 Legacy Brighton Wagon original '97 2.2 L (EJ22) to my knowledge Automatic 135k miles (HG done previously at 125k by unknown mechanic) Forest green (really?) Edited January 10, 2015 by ztrain727 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 If you surface the heads yourself you don't need to disassemble them. But you do want to find a small plug to keep grit out of the oil feed hole for the camshaft and rockers. A dab of heavy grease might do the trick. Just be sure to thoroughly clean any grit from the feed port afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 original '97 2.2 L (EJ22) to my knowledge 135k miles (HG done previously at 125k by unknown mechanic) hard to believe an ej22 is getting its 3rd set of head gaskets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ztrain727 Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 I know, right? Makes you wonder... I'll give it a shot and hope for the best. The car is scrap otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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