changed the exhaust gasket on my 88 turbo a/t full time 4wd wagon [ from napa] passanger side, 1 month later went out again ,some told me to use honda gaskets on the exhaust , i have several exhaust gaskets that will fit , both studs are tight , i have all the tools needed + time etc.. to do it , but just do not want to screw it up worse , what i mean is the studs may not go back in and strip out , it is not loud ,but noticeable , i am sure it will affect mpg , hp , any comments ????? thanks

I use the cheapy $3 ones from the local auto part store without problems. I like to stack washers up under the nuts to allow the studs to stretch more, thus holding more elastic force on the gasket. Just make sure the surfaces are clean- take a razor blade to the head surface and a file to the manifold surface. A belt sander is really the ticket for the manifold if you are careful. The scratchy texture is a good thing here. As long as both surfaces are flat and clean and you torque the nuts down EVENLY (meaning- snug one, then the other, then snug them more, then tighten them) You shouldn't have any problems.

I overlooked the part about the studs going back in-

 

I wouldn't pull the studs out and if you already did, I would make sure they are screwed in as far as they can go and I might even put some thread locker on them first. Then use antiseize compound on the nut so it won't tear the stud out next time you take it apart.

 

You should be able to clean the surfaces up enough using a razor blade unless you drove it a lot with a blown gasket. The exhaust can actually burn away some of the sealing surface if it has a passage through the gasket. In that case, you are up a creek and you will need to pull the studs and use a belt sander to flatten out the surface.

I used the copper spray gasket stuff on them, and actually reused two of the old gaskets (between the two cars I merged, I found a set that wasn't broken and was still all flat and smooth). I used a grinder on the wye pipe to make it nice and smooth on top of the flange and take the rust and old gaskets off, and the block already looked good. It's held for a few months so far.....

 

I've found that I usually end up taking the studs out of the block, rather than the nuts off the studs, when taking old ones apart. The subaru studs are pretty big diamter compared to most 4 cylinder engines, so it's not as easy to strip them, but I'd still be careful.

ok, when miles fox was here last time, he had to put in a bigger stud on one side and the stock one on the other side ,both are tight , but the stock side is the one leaking

problems with rust is when you take off the nuts it turns the studs too. then there is a chunk of aluminum on the htread that tears it up on the way out....