I have a 98 Legacy engine 2.2 with a leaking exhaust valve on #3 cylinder. I took off the head to have the valve checked/resurfaced and the head resurfaced.

 

I'm going to install a new head gasket on the 1/3 side. I didn't open the 2/4 side of the engine, since it had great compression and passed a leak down test.

 

Supposedly the engine has only 44k miles on it, I bought it from a wrecking yard but there is no way to confirm the mileage.

 

My question: Is it common do change only one head gasket on a Subie engine? (they sell gaskets individually so I would think so).

 

If you have changed only one side, did the engine last for "years" afterwards or did the other side need changing in a short while?

 

Your experiences appreciated.

But it is a common practice on big diesel repair. I have also done it on Ford commercial V8 gas engines.

The bad part is that you will probably have to go back in later to do the other side on this engine. Since a large part of the job is removing the belts and retiming you will actually save effort if you do it now.

If you just need the car now and are low on money or time....I have had to do things in my youth that I knew better than.

In college I recall replacing the rings and piston in only one cylinder just to get through until spring. Boy is that a lot of work for nothing. I also recall tearing down several engines just to find enough good parts to make one that would run. Sometimes you do what you gotta do.

Your experiences appreciated.

 

I used to do one HG on a supercharged 5.0 all the time. It had the wrong cam and created way too much cylinder pressure. At $50 a pop I would only replace the HG that failed, not the one that didn't. I was in it every 3 to 6 months though until I finally changed the cam. If the car has only 44k on it I'd do just the side that failed.

Yes, several times ... once in a four-banger Jeep, three times in the same POS MG Midget!

 

Sorry couldn't hep' mysef'.

Please stop quoting entire posts. Especially if they are only two posts up!

 

 

Replacing just the faulty HG is okay. No need to disturb the balance on the other side of the engine. I would replace the head bolts too, since they will have been stretched.

Where might one aquire some new head bolts? Any stories of reusing the old head bolts? I stay clear of the dealer when it comes to buying parts. I couldn't beieve how much Napa wanted for some engine seals!

-Chuck- Portland,OR

Please stop quoting entire posts. Especially if they are only two posts up!

 

 

Replacing just the faulty HG is okay. No need to disturb the balance on the other side of the engine. I would replace the head bolts too, since they will have been stretched.

Search some previous posts. There is no real need to replace head bolts. Some swear you do, others swear you do not. The factory manual does not require the replacing of headbolts.

Greg