I am rebuilding an EJ25 Phase two engine with DOHC Heads in my 97 2.5GT. I want to make the headgaskets as bullet proof as possible, any suggestions? I plan on using a head stud kit, and updated gasket from subaru dealer unless there is a better way?

In the past, I have blown 3 sets of head gaskets, thankfully all but one was covered under warrenty. Thanks in advance for the help!!

 

Steve

There is some sort of coolant additive that should help things. An official fix apparently. Do a search on the board...

you could have it o-ringed.

 

http://wac.addr.com/auto/obs/headgasket/headgasket.html

 

he talks about it about midway down the page...

IMHO the sealer will do nothing for a Phase I.

 

I explained why in this thread:

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12410

 

The biggest thing is to make sure the block and the head are perfectly straight and clean.

Hey Spruitt,

 

If you find a way to make the 2.5L DOHC head gasket "bullet proof", in the name of humanity won't you please tell Subaru of America? Those goobers could really use a clue.

Someone once mentioned to me that he had great results with copper head gaskets for high boost applications.

Would that work?

He may have been FOS too, not the most reliable information source, but it made sense, and i know of a guy who will make them for any application, not sure of the cost involved though.

Sir, sorry - All is Lost and your head gaskets will jump out of your engine as soon as you turn your back on them.

 

That's right, the engine that powered the most popular car in the US, by far, of all Subarus - 9x Outbacks - and garnered Subaru a reputation for reliability and durability is actually prone to headgasket problems far beyond any other car made.

 

Or not. Mine has 131K, still no head gasket problems, stay tuned.

I think non-proprietary HG's would be a good idea. Can't be worse anyway.

 

Point of Interest: My recently aquired Impreza, EJ201, has very thin metal gaskets, only two layers and less than 1mm thick.

Unless coated properly, copper and aluminum are not a good mix as far as corrosion is concerned.

May not be an issue for you, but engine would have to be removed to use studs for head mounting. It would not be possible from that point on to remove heads with motor in car. Many people pull engine for head service anyway, but option to do in car would disappear.

You all are great, I really appriciate all the replies!! Well, At least you made a non-laughing situation into one I can at least smile about. I understand that with the stud kit I can't do any head work without removing the engine. Has anyone you know used these with any amount of success? I also will look into the o-ring as brought up in an earlier thread. OK, HERE IS THE SOLUTION YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR...................... EVER SEE THE ALUMI-WELD PRODUCT ON TV? LETS ALL JUST WELD THE D*MN THINGS ON.....I KNOW, I'M NOT MUCH HELP. Best of luck to all.

 

Steve:banghead:

Originally posted by Ranger83

That's right, the engine that powered the most popular car in the US, by far, of all Subarus - 9x Outbacks - and garnered Subaru a reputation for reliability and durability is actually prone to headgasket problems far beyond any other car made.

 

There are a few thousand (tens of thousands?) of Ford Windstar (mostly 1995) owners who would beg to differ.

 

--K9Leader, who knew enough not to own a 1995 Ford Windstar

I am by no means an expert in o-ringing a head but I work on pulling tractors (don’t laugh they actually have some pretty interesting engineering in them) with some friends of mine in my spare time.

 

The tractors are inline-6 multi-turbocharged engines on methanol. The head gaskets are 0.060 copper, the heads are o-ringed, and the blocks are also o-ringed with receiver grooves. The wire used is stainless, the blocks are cast iron, the heads are aluminum. The tractors run 3 turbos in 2 pressure stages and run 7000 rpm and approximately 80-130 lbs of boost.

 

The tractors only run at full throttle for about 10 secs so it goes from cold to red hot in a few secs so it is a pretty extreme test of a head gasket over a very short duration. Head gasket failures are extremely uncommon.

 

I’m not an electrolysis or corrosion expert but there have been no problems with the copper/aluminum or copper/iron interface although the head is only on the tractor for a year and then it gets freshened up for the next year.

 

I know it’s comparing apples to oranges but that is the extreme situation that I’ve seen copper head gaskets and o-rings work in. I think the copper head gasket with o-rings would be an interesting experiment on a Subaru that is driven every day. I know the system can take some serious abuse but I am curious how it would stand up to the long term abuse of everyday driving. How would it seal in freezing conditions? What kind of life expectancy would it have? If it is a truly superior head gasket system why don’t auto manufactures use it, cost?

equipment I agree. Jimmy diesels have used steel O rings for years with little rubber o rings for oil and water passages. They can take a beating for half a million miles.

When I was a kid I had a Norton I fitted with a soft thick copper head gasket. Stopped all gasket problems I was having becuse of an extreme compression ratio.

Sealing head gasket surfaces is nothing new and I am surprised Subaru has done such a bad job of it.

The thin metal gasket of the new ones is a bit better as they are allowing the head to support the liners.

Studs would be good except for the head removal problem.