So last November I blew a head gasget going home from town. Well the car has been sitting since January. Could someone please walk me through the process of doing my head, exaust, intake , and valve cover gasgets?

I dont have the money to get the heads checked at a shop, so Im going to pull heads off a different ea81 and use them. do I need to get new studs for the intake, exaust, heads, and valve covers?

And can I do this without messing with the vaccume lines, like pull the intake/ carb off together?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank You:)

Edited August 11, 201510 yr by espey_16

i would invest in a haynes or chilton's manual. they are really handy for these type of repairs. what kind of car is it? you probably won't need any new studs, unless you break one (i broke the exhaust stud off and had to drill/timesert a new stud.). the intake/carb has to come off and most of the vacuum stuff as well. it helps to tag everything. there is a wealth of info on these subjects. the search function is real handy. hope all this helps.

Is an 82, EA-81 exactly the same as an 86, EA-81? I have an engine out of my old hatch that Im cleaning up, and I want to throw it in the 82.

Similar, but the intake valves are smaller on the '82, and it will have solid lifters instead of hydraulic. The net effect is 73 HP instead of 74. Not a huge difference on paper, but the power curve of the later engine is a little better as is the torque. As far as the block, it will work just fine, but may not exactly match up on the exhaust - you may have to swap around some of the spacers under the heads between the two.

 

The head gaskets are very easy to do though. Just dissasemble it and you will see. Very straight forward.

 

Be careful with the intake manifold bolts as they tend to snap off. I've taken to using an impact set on a low setting to break the rust bond without turning them far enough to snap them off.

 

GD

I got the intake off and the block was black , but 2 cans of degreaser later, and I can see the origional color on almost the whole engine. The engine Im going to use dosnt have a head gasget leak, so should I change them anyway since the engine is out and I have the "heads up gasget kit", and I need a couple of the gasgets out of the kit for the water pump and intake?

I got the intake off and the block was black , but 2 cans of degreaser later, and I can see the origional color on almost the whole engine. The engine Im going to use dosnt have a head gasget leak, so should I change them anyway since the engine is out and I have the "heads up gasget kit"?

 

I wouldn't bother. Save the kit till you really need it. Usually the EA81's don't blow HG's unless they are old and severely overheated. It's also not hard to replace the HG's in the car if you need to later. No need to pull the engine.

 

If your gasket kit isn't from the dealer, I'll warn you now to go straight to the dealer for the intake manifold gaskets. Aftermarket ones (even the Fel-Pro's) won't last more than a few months unfortunately. They leak, and besides just leaking and burning coolant, the manifold bolts will quickly rust in place in the block and when you go to do the gaskets again in 6 months you could snap them off. The dealer version is much like a head gasket in design - it's a metal gasket with graphite. Aftermarket are just cardboard and don't cut it.

 

GD

The kit I got is a fel-pro, could I put silicon gasget maker on the intake gasgets to prevent them from leaking in the future? And since my whole engine was covered in grease does that mean I have a valve cover leak?

The kit I got is a fel-pro, could I put silicon gasget maker on the intake gasgets to prevent them from leaking in the future? And since my whole engine was covered in grease does that mean I have a valve cover leak?

Just go get Subaru intake mani gaskets. That'll keep them from leaking for numerous years and miles.

 

Whole engine covered in crease could be leaks from many places. Just replace the valve cover gaskets that came with your head kit.

The kit I got is a fel-pro, could I put silicon gasget maker on the intake gasgets to prevent them from leaking in the future? And since my whole engine was covered in grease does that mean I have a valve cover leak?

 

No - it will not help. The gasket is the wrong material.

 

GD