Petersubaru

The subi HG's are poor quality and 100% replacement comes sooner rather then later on most 2.5..if the TBelt pulleys have not been changed out along with the TB, espcially the cogged pulley, then expect it to not last the until the next TB change.. I think, but not sure..the tranny problems were fixed by yr 2000..still had smaller front brake discs on the 2000... for your viewing if you have not already seen them... http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-timing-belt-idlers-part-ii/ and http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-head-gasket-problems-explained/#comment-72547

.. Thankyou

This is same block I wrote about before ( the wavy deck)..just back from the machine before I throw it out...the cylinders are wider at the bottom (3.6234) then at the top (3.6218) the top still being within spec ..any body know as to why the cylinder out of round is reversed?? ..first time for the shop to see this happen...

.. the only solution is to fix the problem..

..yrs ago I had people turn heads with the loud ticking if not banging sound from my motor..the seal or "O" ring that fits on the cam carriers were the problem..the small rubber/nitrile "O" ring seals the passage way between the carrier and head..Up until last May I was still useing that same old oil pump... still useing the same orginal lifters with 250K/mi..I use either a 5/20 or 5/30, depending on the season...

...reman rears with pads at... rockauto.com $31 each..

Is your coolant level low and did you change out the intake gaskets..I ask because many yrs ago I had a fel-pro intake gasket leak which filled the 2 cylinders with coolant in a matter of minutes..I to could not move the crank either way...

I get the idea..definitely on my list for next time..I will pump it up from time to time and leave it on all night if I have too..I should have done it last time, but, I said to myself "there is no need and the day is getting short"...

..I remember well your problems (belt sander finish)

..loyale EA82..

Checked with a magnifying glass..the metal is very thick..not even a hint of a potential problem..and besides it is only 1 spark plug that seems to turn excessively dark .. at the moment I am thinking the block could be the problem with the surface being to wavy..both machinists mentioned the problem and only one had the tool to take the measurements..which he thought would still be fine ...if you can picture the dial indicator running on the surface, starting at the center of the block (9 o'clock) between the 2 cylinders and representing .000..then moving the tool upward and between the bore and coolant passages to the 11 o'clock postion and the dial shows -.001 (dip).. next moving the dial to the 2 o'clock postion and the dial now shows +.003 from last position or +.002 (high point) from the center or starting point..and so it goes around the cyl like this always staying within the .0005-.001 ..still within specs for a cold engine, But what happens when the engine heats up and are these numbers going to remain as tight...

..never thought about the possibility of the IT manifold having problems..gaskets are OEM and the intake surface of the head has been also milled...new gasket and sealer for the throttle body was also done..will look into this..

That's why I posted because even I don't understand my situation...I use only OEM gaskets for everything except the HG..the coolant rises but no vacuum is created to pull it back in..so rings or a compression test would not be needed..from hindsight immediately after installing the HG, I wish I had put 100psi into that one cylinder to try and determine where it is leaking (live and learn)..the heads have been tested to be good useing the traditional 45psi ..the valves were also reground...as mentioned earlier another shop nearby uses 120plus psi to find problems and reading on the web has also brought up other shops that use much higher psi levels, some even useing hot and cold water to simulate different stress levels..

No problem..I am not into re-torqueing and have done several other cars with the same brand of HG's..torqueing is done according to the book plus 5lbs, useing a very expensive new "snap-on" torque wrench... the same procedure used 9yrs ago with the the same style of fel-pro was done last on this car by me useing the same heads...a side note..OEM of 2011 HG's for '86 loyale are not the same HG that originally came with the vehicle of the mid eighties... the engine leaks immediately apon the 1st start from the same cylinder hole..verified by a leak-down test..

..I don't believe in going the cheap route..2 sets felpro permatorque (blue)..1 set cortec (white)...

Looking for ideas...I wrote about my leaking head etc sometime ago and turned my situation into an on going experiment as to why??..the driver side has had 3 HGs lately with no success... at first I thought it was corrossion where the HG sealing ring sits..but not so and the problem is on the cylinder closest to the firewall....I still have not come up with any answers nor can the two machine shops ...the heads have been milled and are perfectly flat..they have been pressure tested on 2 different occassions by diff shops and don't leak even though there are some cracks that are starting to appear slightly under and between the valves..the block has been inspected with a machinist straight edge and found that .002 will not slide anywhere under... next the block was tested to see if it was wavy (can develope when scrubbing with a 3m green pad in one place for two long)..this test consists of useing a silder with a dial indicator that goes along the path of where the slider was placed..with the center of the block being dead perfect ..there was no more then .001 between the high and low points..in other words a wavyness of .0005 as average...so the block is also good and flat..inside of the cylinders where magnifluxed and obviously no cracks there... perhaps the DIY (me) can't put a head on properly, ..but I have done several already with success...could the 45-50psi be to "low" when doing the pressure test..there is a shop 50miles away that uses 130psi for 350 cu/in chevys...would a crack in the head open up when torqueing the head bolts and then seem OK when off the engine???..any theories..

..I am not surprised..never the less, sorry that it has not worked out for you

12-15K/miles, highway driving...the cable I installed did not look any different then what came off..but in this case and it may just be fluky, but no more oil lurking under the dash.. I do seem to remember that the newer cable had somewhat of a tighter fit..yet still no real answer..

..I don't really know why that happens, but the same happened to my loyale..oil on the carpet..I ended up geting a new cable and all is good ...

..spark plugs..could be since they usually become carboned up in your situation...or.. maybe still coolant leaking..just a very small amount..

Did the full HG repair with pulling the motor out..what a pleasure doing it outside of the car with the help I have received here..just so much easier to clean and care.....Wanted to say that I was very surprised to find the gasket material (viton or whatever subaru uses) in my coolant overflow bottle..it did explain why the coolant turned black, but not from oil mixing in.. also, I am bewildered, after changing my coolant yearly, as to why that so-called viton material would just peel off the steel gasket and only around the openings that coolant flowed thru...Also the top and back side edge of the block showed corrosion (small pitted areas)...Strangely, around the openings of the cylinder and oil drain holes were very solid and could not be peeled off...definitely a poor quality gasket..anyway, I went with the "six-star brand" and hopefully it will hold up better..time will tell...

...any idea to what your final torque setting was..

.. I drove up to Alaska and back with my '86 having a cracked head, not so serious since it leaked into the exhaust pipe...it leaked every so often..when the weather was cool or cold it leaked and once the weather was warm, it never leaked... you could try leaving the coolant pressure tester on over night with plugs out of the car or even a full day, pumping it up every so often..put some kleenex over the spark plug holes and turn the motor ..it would then shoot coolant unto the kleenex... it may be that this motor has had several HG jobs and the surface has become wavy from scubbing the decking clean..not really discerable with a straight edge and .002 feeler ...

I knew I had a leak in one of my other cars and even useing 100psi into the cyl. did not show anything..tried again with 125psi and then slowly and every once in a while a bubble would come out the rad.. ended up haveing a crack under the valves...

..I totally agree with what your saying...but this vehicle is moving on to another close family member and I just want to make doubley sure that it will not come back to bite me...