So spec says .002 tolerance for head surface.  Anyone try head gasket repair with larger tolerance or is that a must to follow?  Well the heads seem to be ok it is actual block surface that seems to be out on the .002 tolerance.  So hard to get anything in there to get it flat with the alignment pins.

Resurface the heads. Don’t think you can touch the block.

It's not ideal. Will probably seal for a while. Will it last as long as if it were flat? Almost certainly not. 

 

It's not really feasible to mess with the block surface with the engine in place. Unless you are going to pull it and tear it down... it is what it is. 

 

GD

I followed the post http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/122588-diy-head-resurfacing-or-post-apocalyptic-machine-shop-techniques/?hl=head

 

and had great results. piece of 1/4" glass (would have used thicker but it's all I could find), sandpaper and lots of wd40. I did need to buy a quality straight edge for the job, got one from mcmaster-carr for 20 or 30 bucks.

 

I took it from .005" to a little above .002" and didn't do anything to the block. Someone mentioned that the heads might be "crowned" naturally and will flatten out when torqued down, don't know if that's true. In my case I had a minor combustion gas leak into the coolant system that was possibly not head or block warping related, just a gasket failure.

Edited May 10, 20187 yr by jkinz