idosubaru

if you have an owners manual it should describe the transmission not shifting into 4th gear until it reaches a certain temperature. if you don't have the owners manual, then just follow along with what Manarius just said. if it only does it for the first 10-15 minutes at most and then shifts fine after that, then this is what it is doing. it may be a little rough around the edges doing it due to age but it's probably mostly normal. if you feel this isn't it, then keep it coming maybe there's something else. and it may be that you never actually drove it in weather that was cold enough to do that. if it's ever garaged, that may keep it warm enough to prevent it from doing that. did you do multiple changes of the ATF or have it flushed? one change only gets about 1/3 of the fluid out. but if it's pink, sounds good.

i'm almost positive that is not correct. most head gasket failures i've seen show this type of wear. even non-EJ25 engines show this. and in the ones that have been driven awhile i have seen significant amounts of material missing, like a crevice where the head is not re-usable....well it could be if you want to risk it and it could be welded/machined but i wouldn't do it. but the point is, for 1/8" of material to be missing, it is absolutely impossible for movement to cause this kind of wear. it is the leak, the heating, the gases, something else, but not movement. the ones with very little damage, just the maching marks missing, are the very beginnings of this process. like you just said and documented - this engine was at the very beginning stages and shows just very minor wear. if you could circle or indicate the leakage area, that would help some people. edit in a circle or something maybe to help everyone see it?

true, that is a start. correlation does not imply causation. at that mileage there's any number of issues that could have caused the HG to go. i do not know who did the work nor how it was done or what maintenance was done/neglected. just as you asked for documentation and proof, i'd want the same from people that have claims of HG failure. i have no way to verify and document that HG jobs were done correctly or their weren't other issues that cause HG failure present before hand.

to each his own should suffice here. none of this was to prove or be right or wrong, that's not my goal. we all work on cars and have differing oppinions and ways of making decisions. when i start seeing replaced head gaskets failing i'll reconsider, but until then it is of no benefit to me to consider something that isn't an issue yet. i'd like to have something more concrete to go on, but i do not.

agreed. that is certainly the first thing to look at for a head gasket that only made it to 50,000 miles. that was my/the first reply to this thread: the "PM" HG is pointless in this case.....because his only lasted 50,000. if you want to suggest PM HG replacement as part of his solution, then you'll need to change your numbers to reflect a 40,000 mile interval and i don't think he's interested in that. nipper and i are trying to persue the more obvious issues/concerns he may have.

we're just talking about different things. i'm speaking on broader terms, that headgaskets are not typical replacement items - see owners manuals of most production engines. think EJ22. all i'm saying is that headgaskets are not replacement items on the EJ2. you are correct, there are problem engines out there where PM HG replacement is a wise thing to do.

there are plenty of gas mileage threads. GD is right, 40+ mpg is hard to come by on an EA82 with typical driving. any time someone is claiming something that's above and beyond what everyone else is seeing it's hard to not question. as many details as possible would be helpful to convince someone that you're seeing something that noone else is seeing. that you live in flat country probably helps. the only legitimate 40+ mpg EA82 that i know of is a FWD MPFI 5 speed 1988-1991 XT. with some very delicate sustained 50mph driving i'd imagine a few others could come close, but few people drive like that.

for off road or bad weather the legacy will be a step down from the EA series stuff since it doesn't have any form of center diff lock. any EA series trans, PT4WD, FTWD, dual range would be much more useful for off roading and bad weather driving. but the legacy's have good engines and trans though. they would be considered new generation since they're the EJ series stuff.

by 1980's do you mean the EA82? the EA82 and EA82T headgaskets should be retorqued. install, torque, run engine to operating temperature. shut it down and tear it all back apart again to retorque the head bolts. Fel-Pro makes a permatorque gasket that is not supposed to require a retorque. they seem to hold very well for the many people on here that use them and recommend them over all others. what gaskets were used and were they retorqued? i do not know why you'd find the bolts loosing torque, that would be an interesting topic for another thread, have you ever asked, i'd be curious to see what everyone says about that? i know the turbo's tend to fail at the rear passengers side cylinder due to heat. there may be other similar contributing factors. the leak starting there and localized heat build up may possibly cause the bolt to loosen or just reduce the gasket material between the head and block, thereby making it seem loose eventhough it hasn't actually "backed out". 'ive seen a number of headgaskets that i've pulled where the headgasket was severly damaged, with much of the material missing, the missing material may put less pressure on the bolt head. it's hard to say which came first. another very important issue which is more evident on the older subaru's you speak of, is the threads. the older subaru's tend to have very corroded and dirty threads when you pull them apart. even engines in good running condition that i've disassembled with no head gasket issues will have corroded bolts. these bolts and the bolt holes need to be meticuloulsly cleaned to make sure they are actually torquing properly. the proper torque, sequence, and retorque means nothing if the bolts holes or bolt threads are not in excellent condition. i clean them and run a tap and die over each bolt and bolt hole when i do my headgasket jobs. for the sake of time, i'd suspect most mechanics do not do that. that being said, EJ engines are typically much newer and fewer miles and do not seem to have the amount of corrosion and dirty threads that i see on the older 80's EA stuff. headgaskets have to be done right to hold. the way they are done makes the difference between them lasting and not. as a side note, with cooling systems in excellent condition, the EA82 will keep it's headgaskets for the life of the vehicle. problem is, after 20 years or a quarter of a century, it's hard to keep a cooling system in excellent condition. with all those years, miles and multiple owners there's just no way to gaurantee the vehicle hasn't been run hot. heat kills gaskets and seals and headgaskets see it up close and personal when it happens. things often fail at the same point. the internal HG, the external HG, the dodge neon HG fiasco, they all fail in similar modes. they will fail at the weakest point of the system, so it makes sense that they fail in a similar fashion if there are pre-existing issues. engines that don't typically have HG failures...like the EJ22 will be more random. it will depend on things like which cylinder experienced bad ignition timing, localized heating...etc.

good point, i've never heard an exact date to look for, but i doubt it's January 01, 1995! i'd imagine there's a cutoff in there somewhere, all i can say is that most 95 2.2's are dual port.

this thread was not started to discusss whether or not the EJ25 has headgasket issues and whether they can or should be replaced as PM. his has already been replaced, he's beyond that point. he's asking about the expected life of a replaced head gasket. with the updated headgasket and properly installed it should not need to be done again.

good work kids!

10w60, what a strange weight oil. glad it's gone, now don't forget to attend to those turbo lines you mentioned might be dripping earlier. new hoses and clamps are a very good idea on those things.

what exactly happened to the engine to make it "crack the head"? if it just lost a head gasket -replacing that head and gasket should have you back in good shape. if you suspect any block issues, then buying a good used block might be the best bet. get a used block and put new head gaskets on it if you want to avoid head issues in the future.

never done it myself, but a friend swapped the air bag on my steering wheel for me, he said it's very simple. that's all i can remember, but i would think with some help from these guys and an FSM it should be easy to swap the cover. the passengers side is another story, but the steering wheel i believe it really easy.

this is true, but the "life of a replaced head gasket", the title of the original post, is applicable to both engines. there is no difference in the life of a DOHC replaced head gasket and a SOHC replaced head gasket, if properly replaced they should both last the life of the vehicle. the real tangent was the "head gasket replacement interval" comment. this likely needs to have a thread of it's own since it is not common practice nor is it mentioned in any FSM, owners manual or considered standard practice on any vehicle, Subaru offers no documentation of this, nor do i recall anyone in the US ever mentioning this. like i already said, the owners manual doesn't mention replacing the headgasket and there's a reason for that.

great, thanks!

it can be done, but it's worth the $10 to have it done unless you really can't spare $10. throw them in the trunk and pull over any time you see a little mom and pop shop, they'll often do it free or cheaper. the last set i had removed was free, first place i stopped at. now, if you're still wanting to do this yourself, and it is a PITA....lay the tire on the ground and drive the front end of the car up on top the tire and stop it just before it gets on the rim. you want the weight of the vehicle right at the lip, but all of it bearing on the rubber tire itself, as close to the bead as you can get. then start prying. the weight of the car will help break the bead. good luck and try really hard to have fun.

tack weld some razor blades so they stick out just beyond the corners of the stereo box before you install it. the next removal won't be nearly as profitable as they think.

if your car ran at all, it likely wouldn't make it very far. usually they just don't do anything. maybe there's an unlikely possiblity of a partial failure where it "hurts" it but doesn't destroy it...but i doubt it.

do not use an EZ out or bolt extractor, i don't know what they're intended for but they should be illegal, they are a POS. they break VERY easy. they're hard as balls but they're brittle and easily break. whats worse than a sheared off bolt? a sheared off bolt with an EZ out sheared off and stuck in it. left handed drill bit or other bolt removal options are out there. you'll find more and better info with a google search like he just mentioned. drill it out, retap, use a larger bolt.....helicoil if you must....

that's not always the case. i've seen plenty of mis-fire codes do both...run poorly or run fine. electrical goofiness.....

misfire codes are almost always plug, wire or coil pack related, i don't know why they're looking at the valves and such before the obvious stuff? if they didn't look at those, are these really Subaru mechanics or 8th graders with a Soobaroo sign painted outside their tree house? this is one of the most common EJ issues around, and it's normally cured with new spark plugs and wires. spark plugs have to be NGK (available at auto parts stores for $8 or from Subaru for $50), and the ignition wires have to be Subaru only, available only at Subaru. do not attempt to use non-subaru wires on this engine. if that doesnt' fix it then have your coil pack tested, or have it tested at the same time or test it first. or just swap in another one. just that you have a new engine doesn't mean the plugs and wires are perfect, they need to at least be inspected. did they reuse old ones, install new aftermarket (non-subaru) wires, is the coil pack the original? were the boots ripped or damaged on install? lots of options here. it "could" be something worse, but usually it isn't....of course used cars are suspicious too. why would someone sell a car with a new engine? there's no additive for your year vehicle. that only applies to later model EJ25's, not yours. if it's really a "new" motor it should have the updated headgaskets on it, but who knows really since you have no idea of the history and what he means by "new".

head gaskets are not replacement items, period. if they're saying that, it's some kind of rhetoric for PR, political, liability....etc just due to the 96-03 2.5 issues. this is really a circular discussion and you will get nowhere due to the fact that headgaskets are not replacement items in and of themselves. open up the factory service manual, the owners manual or any newer vehicle and none will even have the word "headgasket" in them. there's a reason for that.

Subaru only, there are some online subaru parts suppliers. do a search and look for subaruparts or 1stsubaru....i can't remember the names. some give internet discounts, so call and ask for internet pricing if they have it. get a price and ask if your local dealer will match it, sometimes they will.