A brief history first. 95 Lego sedan. The most unmaintained car I have seen in my life. Interior was so trashed it took two days to clean up. The engine bay was so greasy and grimmey I had to bust out the pressure washer just to be able to clean it up enough to pull the engine.

 

The previous owners never maintained anything on it, and rarely changed the oil, let along anything else. 180k and I think the coolant may have been changed once. It was puke brown, and the head gaskets were blown (which is why I ended up with the car.) Coolant coming out of #4 spark plug hole.

 

So I get the engine out and torn down for the HG job and this is what I see. Even after my machinist milled them they still had some pretty hefty pitting (these pics are before he machined them.) But luckily it is on the coolant passages and not on the compression side of things. I would say it is do to lack of coolant maintenance which cause the PH balance to be way out of whack, that and just plain old coolant cause electrolysis between metals.

 

Any way engine is "rebuilt" and interior is all cleaned up, so now all I have to do is get some tires and license it and I'll have a decent daily. When I am done with it, the engine and wire harness will get pulled and used for an EJ project for whatever.

 

Enjoy (both heads were just as bad as each other)

 

 

 

 

 

 

You get the idea...no need for too many pics

I'm curious how well they cleaned up.

 

AFTER pics please.

 

Cooling system is always the most neglected, followed by auto trans.

 

The difference is you can service coolant without causing "new" issues.

 

If you service a long neglected tranny it's a crap shoot.

Wow, those are deep.

 

The difference is you can service coolant without causing "new" issues.

I dunno man. I could see with enough buildup that a flush and refill might knock some crud loose and cause a leak somewhere like the radiator or heater core.

I would just scrap that block myself. But I have a few extras

I would just scrap that block myself. But I have a few extras

 

Well I was willing to take a gamble. As I did this repair on a shoe string budget. So far it has held, but only time will tell. And it wasn't the block that was the problem it was the heads. As in no pitting on the block, just heads, but who knows :-)

 

Sorry no after machine pics. These are the only pics I took of the car. You all should have seen it. But I figured we all have seen enough subies in crappy condition that it would just be a waist of thread space, so I didn't take any, not even of the interior.

I'd check my grounds as well. Bad grounds can cause electrolysis, electricity in the coolant, and cause damage like that.

987687 SUPER COOL! It all ties together as the coolant becomes more acidic.

I'm curious if after milling, you used a thicker gasket or even if they are available. The reason is that they are somewhat popular for other long-lived engines such as the Toyota R22. As you know that engine has an iron block but alum/alloy head like the Subaru. The situation is, after machining per the corrosion the compression goes way up. The aftermarket Chinese heads are already (well the one I got) milled to where they need a thicker gasket.

( I was the guy in an old Toyo which sounded like a deisel but wasn't, It only had like 70 lbs more compression than it should) So it can't excactly be run right on 87 octane.

I'm curious if after milling, you used a thicker gasket or even if they are available. The reason is that they are somewhat popular for other long-lived engines such as the Toyota R22. As you know that engine has an iron block but alum/alloy head like the Subaru. The situation is, after machining per the corrosion the compression goes way up. The aftermarket Chinese heads are already (well the one I got) milled to where they need a thicker gasket.

( I was the guy in an old Toyo which sounded like a deisel but wasn't, It only had like 70 lbs more compression than it should) So it can't excactly be run right on 87 octane.

 

Ya I use Domestic Gaskets I have done about a dozen or so head gaskets using there products (use them for t-belts stuff as well) and they are the thicker graphite/metal gaskets. Once I found them I stop using anybody else. They are great to work with and I have yet to have a problem with their products (knock on wood.)

 

I always go to a style of gasket like that when doing a head gasket. But I also have my machinist only "shave" it enough to get it flat again. Usually only take about a few thousands or so.