haven t been on in a while..I saw a 97 outback for sale with valve job, head done and the head gaskets. the price is good but Im very fearful of the dohc. should i stay away or not ??

 

ty

Bill

bump....anyone have any direct experiences with the 2.5's & having them rebuilt?

how far rebuilt? i have done them to the point of down to swapping pistons from phase 1 to phase 2 and i do head gaskets probably once a week on diff subys and as long as you follow specs and take time you will rarely encounter a problem.

I have some with head gaskets. I am in need of a second replacement. Probably going to do it myself. I'll take lots of pics.

 

From my experience, check for oil leaks at the front and rear main seals. If the head gaskets have been done, look in the over flow and see if there is oily sludge. Be sure to do a timing belt. The DOHC EJ25 is an interferance engine, so bad things happen in the belt breaks.

 

Supposedly the new version of head gaskets fixed the problem with failures. I got 80K out of a set of head gaskets. There is a good chance mine were not replaced with the new version.

 

My GT is great other then engine issue. If you can get it cheap and get a few years out of it, go for it.

i would recommend one with new headgaskets over one with old in general, if it's a good deal of course. if yours was listed publically for sale, i think i saw it. although i'd really rather buy one with bad head gaskets and install them myself or have them installed. otherwise you don't know how badly the engine was overheated prior to the gaskets being replaced. if the owner is ditching the car or it's a vehicle being flipped i'd be more worried that it was carelessly overheated...but it's all guesswork really. assuming it wasn't overheated multiple times and driven hot the engine will be fine.

 

head work, head gasket replacement and a valve job are not the same as rebuilt. rebuilt typically means the engine block was addressed - main bearings, rod bearings, rings, all checked and/or replaced.

 

either way, engine work isn't anything to be scared of, anymore than an oil change, if it's done properly of course. there are corners that can be cut, so it would be nice if the person selling the vehicle had receipts showing the heads were tested, resurfaced and a complete valve job done. i'd like to see that new subaru gaskets were used too.

I had similar work done on my '99 Outback (EJ25 DOHC) at 105K miles. Head gaskets, head work, valve job, all engine seals, timing belt, water pump, tensioner, oil pump resealed. That's not a rebuild, but it's a lot of work.

 

At 118K miles, I'm replacing the engine with a warranteed, completely rebuilt, engine from CCR because a camshaft seized. Was the problem related to the prior work? I doubt it, as it was perfectly fine for over 13K miles.

 

Just my experience.

thank you for the wisdom and experience expressed Ill look at his reciepts and talk to the mechanic that did the work. I wish I had yur experience with the hands on experience.

Bill