rideordice Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 ok, bought a 96 outback for 2200 with 170k and blown head gasket symptoms, am up in the air about what to do. if i could find a 2.2 with low miles and 500 dollars or less i would swap it in but i dont want to wait around for motor to pop up on craigslist or some where else. ive read that these 2.5 are notorios for blowing head gaskets but also that subaru has come out with revised head gaskets that seal alot better.. if i was to do head gaskets i would have the heads resurfaced and preassure tested. wanted to know since i will be pulling the engine either way can you have the block resurfaced with out disassembling it (pistons,crank). Am I wasting my time doing head gaskets? i need to keep this as cheap as possible. if i was to do head gaskets with the revised gaskets how long do they tend to last? any help or opions on this situation would be very aprecciated. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlandpiddler Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Dangit, I was after that car too! Good Luck! PP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 ok, bought a 96 outback for 2200 with 170k and blown head gasket symptoms, am up in the air about what to do. if i could find a 2.2 with low miles and 500 dollars or less i would swap it in but i dont want to wait around for motor to pop up on craigslist or some where else. ive read that these 2.5 are notorios for blowing head gaskets but also that subaru has come out with revised head gaskets that seal alot better.. if i was to do head gaskets i would have the heads resurfaced and preassure tested. wanted to know since i will be pulling the engine either way can you have the block resurfaced with out disassembling it (pistons,crank). Am I wasting my time doing head gaskets? i need to keep this as cheap as possible. if i was to do head gaskets with the revised gaskets how long do they tend to last? any help or opions on this situation would be very aprecciated. thanks. There is NEVER a need to machine the deck of the engine unless you want to raise compression substantially. f the engine hasnt been backed, once you fix the head gaskets its fixed. Cyl heads warp because of all the passages and stress on the assembly, where the block does not have those issues. You have themodynamic, pressure, and spring forces on a cylinder head. ALso at 170K its not the HG fault they blew, its more likely age. Anycar can blow a HG at that mileage, and they tend to do it too quite often. Look at it this way, the original HG lasted 170K youll get at least over 100K if not 200K on the replacements. Pet peve- high mileage aluminum engines be it honda ford gm toyota blow headgaskets, so if the car has over 150K on it, stop picking on subaru Ok done venting nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballitch Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 ya what he said. it would be safe to say the you can do your own HG's, this is the part number for the HG's you need to get. 11044AA610, trust me, i have them in my dads shop right now. im using them for my frankenmotor project. grab a haynes or chiltons manual form G.I. Joes or autozone, or whereever. follow the destructions, and post here if you are unclear on anything. keep in mind that you have DOHC (dual overhead cam) and that cam be a pain in the a$$ when you try to re-align the timing belt. while you do this HG, get new timing belt, cam seals and crank seals (front and rear) and a oil seperator plate (the aluminum one). the price for all that is about what you would pay for a used EJ22 in decent condition, but it wouldn't have alll the new seals and HG's. if you dont feel comfortable doing this, well, try to get comfortable, very valuable experience, just dont move the cams once you take them off the motor. if you want, take heads to a machine shop and ask if they can check to see if the heads are warped at all. if they are, try to have them machined to within spec. ~Josh~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJM Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 My 96 went 206k before the stockers went. Now its got 216k. I replaced the HGs with the 11044A642's...they are THE STi headgaskets and they hold up to well over 700 Wheel HP. As long as you use the stock headbolt TQ sequence, they will not fail. I did not resurface the heads or block. Total cost of the headgasket replacement was $80 for the HG's and cost of fluids. That was it. So, under $150 for the job. It was WELL worth the time and money spent. Swapping an EJ22E into the outback will NOT be the correct solution. It'll be even more gutless than it is now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnuman Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Replace the gaskets and cam/crank seals along with the O-ring for the oil pump, cam cover gaskets, and gromets for the bolts that hold the cam covers on. Also replace the Oil seperator, and the timing belt so you know when it will be due again. At that point you have headed off 90% of the potential problems with the engine. The other 10% covers wiring, and sensors. . . Parts for what I have described come to just over $250 at 1st Subaru Parts. Takes a long weekend at most (6-8hrs to pull the engine, a day to do a good job on the refrub, and 6-8 Hrs to replace the engine). On the oil pump, clean it real good and make sure the screws holding the backing plate are tight. They often back out over time, and are likely to be loose on your car. One gotcha: when replacing the bolts that hold the camshaft caps on, there are two sizes of bolt. the larger ones to the rear (4 per shaft) take 14ft-lbs, while the smaller ones that go on the cap that also holds the cam seal only takes 7ft-lbs. I have seen manuals that have these numbers wrong. From Subaru to boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJM Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Yeah, doing all the seals and gaskets would be the smart thing to do while its out and apart. I didnt have hte $...and I'm paying for that now with a leaky engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rideordice Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 ok, so with what has been said, sounds like new hg's will hold up just fine. but now there is some variation on which ones i should use.ball itch says to use 11044aa610 and wjm says to use sti hg's 11044a642. which is the best route? If one is better then the other ill use the better one even if it is not intended for my application, i just dont want to be tearing back in to this engine agian for the same thing, so i need to know that they will work for sure. also, i have dealed alot with the ea82 engines, and with those espically the the turbos, all of the heads are cracked. im not talking about the surface cracks, talking about the ones that travel down the head farther. are these heads at all the same way? should i be worried about them being cracked? and if so where is are they likely to crack at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJM Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 cracking and EJ heads just doesnt happen. I have 10k HARD HARD HARD miles on the STi gaskets and I've not had a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Thats the one thing that EJ's dont do is crack. Always go with the newest design HG, which most times will be the higher part number. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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