David C Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 The motor in my 88 got slightly hot. OK blown head gasket time! Three cylinders at 150 lbs one at 96. This motor ran strong before the head gasket blew, burned no oil. My question is this, can I just pull the motor, replace one head gasket and keep on going, or do I need to do a more extensive repair? The low cylinder is on the left side. do I need to pull the motor to make the repair? thanks so much I love this car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 no way, don't pull the motor. i don't pull the motor when replacing 6 cylinder head gaskets and they are much harder. it's nice to pull the motor if you have time, space, extra cars, etc but the 4 cylinders are really easy to do in the car. i've pulled a couple motors to reseal them but done more in the car as it's faster. it's possible to replace one head gasket, but it's a good idea to do both while you're in there as it's a fairly big job in terms of the timing belts, exhaust manifold, intake manifold, etc so nice to bust the other headgasket while it's all apart. outside of rusted or seized bolts the 4 cylinder head gaskets are really straight forward and not difficult. there are no tricks or special tools needed to do the headgasket with the motor in the car. basic mechanics tools is all you'll need. i find a 10mm wratcheting wrench most helpful on the valve cover bolts, but that's more of a problem on the 6 cylinder motors. if by "left side" you mean facing the motor, passengers side that is the easiest one to do if yo'ure only doing one as it requires only removing one timing belt. so if you just want to replace one and have good compression in the others then that's nice. if you have good compression still in the other then you're probably okay to leave it. 150 is good compression so that sounds good if you'd like to cut down on the time. don't forget to have the head milled (usually around 40-50 dollars) to get it true. and definitely replace your thermostat, radiator caps and make sure your radiator is in excellent shape so overheating isn't an issue down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David C Posted June 27, 2005 Author Share Posted June 27, 2005 Thanks so much for the responce. The low cylinder is the on the left or drivers side. I tried to fine the compression value in my chiltons, no luck. I would like to fix this car right so I can get many more fun years out of it, but also money is a factor. where can I get a quality head gasket, no subi dealers in my area. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 i will have to oppose, i would myself pull the motor to do the head gasket. fo one if you are doing one gasket do both. for 2, it saves me from leaning over both sides of the car for extended periods for 3 you have plenty of room to work and clean everythin up 4, you can replae all the other seals such as the REAR MAIN, service the clutch if it has one and needs service, and all the front end work is easier to do such as engine seals and oil pump seals and timing belts 5 you dont have all the rockers falling out trying to put the cam towers back on! basically what im saying is having the motor out gives you more versatility and options to do to the motor, unless you ONLY ,JUST, want to replace ONE head gasket (and the litte o-ring on the cam tower) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 i will have to oppose, i would myself pull the motor to do the head gasket. fo one if you are doing one gasket do both. for 2, it saves me from leaning over both sides of the car for extended periods for 3 you have plenty of room to work and clean everythin up 4, you can replae all the other seals such as the REAR MAIN, service the clutch if it has one and needs service, and all the front end work is easier to do such as engine seals and oil pump seals and timing belts 5 you dont have all the rockers falling out trying to put the cam towers back on! basically what im saying is having the motor out gives you more versatility and options to do to the motor, unless you ONLY ,JUST, want to replace ONE head gasket (and the litte o-ring on the cam tower) All very valid points. First choice is pull it. It really does make it easier to do the maintainace and repairs you know it needs. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. If pulling it simply isnt an option then it can be done with the engine in the vehicle. Heck it could be done on the side of the road if one really had to do it! Cops would prolly haul it off before it was done though Last time I left a car on the side of the road; state troopers said i had 24 hours to get it before they did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All_talk Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 How hot is "slightly hot"? If it got hot enough it could have weakend the rings and will be an oil burnner once reassembled. I have a '87 wagon I re-sealed after overheating (and replaced one cracked head), that now runs fine but burns a fair bit of oil, but it got really F*ing hot. Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David C Posted June 27, 2005 Author Share Posted June 27, 2005 The neddle never touched the red.I shut in down right away. I think the head gasket was going before this happened. the motor never burned much oil and the compression is 150 in 3 cylinders. What should the compression be? I couldn't find it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 150 is right about spot on, that's very good actually. a cylinder or two that's 10 percent off the rest isn't that odd, yours sound good. didn't mean to deter you from pulling the motor, i do myself sometimes (just did the last one that way). didn't want you to feel you had to pull it. it's nice having it out and easy access to everything. only thing i don't like about pulling it is that it takes longer. for me, if it's one i'm taking my time on i pull the motor. if i need it up and running as soon as possible i do it in the car. having extra heads to install right away is nice, no need to wait for the milling or valve job. if you didn't even get into the red and shut it off you should be golden. no way i can promise anything but if it wasn't driven in the red i would be surprised if there was any engine damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David C Posted June 28, 2005 Author Share Posted June 28, 2005 How much time do think in takes to get to the point where you can pull a head? Mine is the drivers side. I have allready started soaking some bolts with Blaster. Those exhaust bolt look like they could be trouble. I would like to do this with out pulling the motor for time saving, and I don't have an engine hoist. NAPA sales the head gasket for 30 bucks a piece. Is this a good part? The local machine shop want 50 for the resurface and 50 for the preassure check. Is this nessary? I can check the head for warpage myself with a feeler, but do I need the other stuff? Thank You for the info! I really want to keep this car on the road. Well mabee some off roading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 gaskets depend who you ask, some swear by subaru some have done fine with aftermarket. one thing i would look for is a gasket that does not need to be retorqued. not sure on the 4 cylinders but i think subaru recommends retorquing the head bolts.....which is super annoying. some gaskets don't require this. i would have the head milled (might be able to find somewhere for 35 or 40 dollars if you call around). you can try checking it yourself, but they are always off by some amount, so best to get it flat. i can finish one head in a day (if i don't have to take it in to get it milled, i have extra's on hand ready to swap out when i do it). for the first time i'd plan on a couple days (weekend) just in case. this can happen quicker but roughly: timing belts, covers, radiator fans, pulleys can all be off in 2 hours. valve cover, rocker arms, cam housing and head can be off in another hour or two. add an extra hour or two for cleaning up parts, organizing and cleaning the head bolts and head bolt holes. hit the water pump pulley bolts (if it's driven by the serpentine belt) and radiator fan bolts (if they are electric) with pb blaster as well. keep two bolts in the cam carrier (but threaded half way out) and don't remove them until the cam housing is loose as it will be stuck in place on the head due to sealant. keep the rocker arms marked and ready to install in the same spot they were before you removed them. i get the cam carrier loose, then grab each rocker arm by hand and pull it out so they don't drop and fall on the ground. once the cam housing is loose and rocker arms out, take it off. loosen head bolts in the proper order. clean the head bolts and the head bolts holes really well. might take an extra 30 minutes or hour but it's worth it to have it done right. don't want to blow a new head gasket. do not forget to replace the little o-ring between the head and cam carrier. the one by itself in the bottom corner of the cam carrier. do not reuse the old one and do not try to use sealant in there. get a new one, they are 2 dollars and change from subaru. http://www.thepartsbin.com also carries them. when putting it all back together. have thick high grade grease ready to reinstall the rocker arms. they won't stay in place by themself. engine assembly lube is nice and sticky as well if you have that. load them up and let them hang off the lifters and carefully install the cam carrier (with sealant) without knocking the lifters off. i got it just fine first time i tried it. remove anything you can out of the way (battery, distributor cap, auto transmission hoses, a/c compressor), get anything out of the way. this can be tricky and it's annoying to redo it because you knocked a rocker off or rubbed your sealant. just a few tips to help you get started. gotta go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David C Posted June 28, 2005 Author Share Posted June 28, 2005 I checked out the parts bin head gasket, at 20 bucks is this OK? I don't live by a dealer but want good quality parts. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 there are sources to have subaru gaskets mailed to you if you wanted them. subaruparts.com or something maybe. i've called my "local" dealer and had them mail me parts because it's an hour out of my way to get there and back. i would check about retorquing before making your decision. the XT6 does not require it but i believe the EA82 4 cylinders do, so get some feedback from these guys that have done it. i'd try to find a head gasket that doesn't need retorqued. to retorque you tear it down, install head gasket, drive car until it warms up and then tear it all back down again to retorque the bolts. very annoying. there are aftermarket head gaskets that require retorquing for the XT6 but the OEM subaru gasket does not. that's alot of saved effort if time is a concern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David C Posted June 29, 2005 Author Share Posted June 29, 2005 Sounds like lots of poeple have used the NAPA head gasket. I think I will go that route and no sealent or what ever the gasket maker specifies. I will get the other gasket you talked about and should be set. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.