Engine Gaskets..

[kommentkat]

Hello, I wondered if Anyone that Replaced Subaru Head Gaskets Used that Copper Gasket Spray...or Just Installed the Gaskets DRY..?

I Always Used the Spray and Never Had Trouble....but TV U-Tube Subaru Repairs Just Show People Placing the Gaskets On....?? What do the Experts Think...??

[nvu]

I'm no expert, but I haven't used copper spray on gaskets and had good results over the years.

[jonathan909]

If you're using the right gaskets, dry.

If you're not using the right gaskets... you're not using the right gaskets.

[1 Lucky Texan]

maybe the copper stuff helps ameliorate NOT properly prepping the heads' surface texture?

[jonathan909]

Perhaps, but if so it sounds like a stupid shortcut to me.

[kommentkat]

>>  I dont want to have to Ever Do this Gasket Job Again..!.. ALL That Torque / Re- Torque ..Bolt Stretching on Aluminum Block 

Frightens Me....Waiting for Threads and Bolt to " Break Loose and Pull Threads Right Out....on that Last 3/4 extra Turn....!

If I Can Spray some spoob on There as an Extra Precaution...I Thought it would be Ok/Safe...? I cleaned Both Surfaces Carefully...and Bought

the MLSteel Gaskets This Time.... I Want to Do it....and Forget it for the Next 50 k miles.... That's Why the Question... Doesnt Hurt to ask

People that "Done Did It"...Right...?.....this is a Free Forum of Ideas....Right...?..

 

[jonathan909]

Absolutely.  Nobody here thinks any less of you for asking.  For my part, I too first came here with a "stupid question" that I couldn't get a straight answer to elsewhere, and I stayed because this is where I found clarity.

So forget the greasy kid stuff.  Get over your nerves and do it the way they tell you to do it.  If you start winging it, that's when you're going to be stepping outside of established parameters and getting into trouble.

[GeneralDisorder]

Save the money on the snake oil. Gaskets are installed dry. 

GD

[Ionstorm66]

Make sure both surfaces are clean and flat. A good set of precision ground stones or diamond hones can is the best way to see if the deck/head are smooth, and a good precision straight edge and a flash light to see if its flat.

 

When a head gasket is tightened on an aluminum head/block, the fire rings dig into the surface. You have to get that section back to being smooth and flat. If you have a good set of precision ground stones, you can blue that section of the head/block and run the stone over to see if its still there.

[idosubaru]

The widely accepted norm from people that have done *many* Subaru headgaskets (and not just 1 or 3) is no spray and to do the following:

Subaru gaskets or possible MLS equivalent
Resurface the heads (it's pointless to "test them" and you can resurface yourself - it's insanely easy)
Clean the head bolts and receiving holes in the block
Lubricate the head bolts

None of that really costs anything to do it the same way the most prolific and highly rated Subaru speciialists have been doing this for many years.  So there's almost zero reason to not follow that protocol except laziness, lack of planning, anecdotal types who just like to think they're finding some new trick to solve a well known quarter century old question.

I only do that so I can't comment on trying to deviate or follow some other method except that it just doesn't make sense to do so.