84 gl wagon, ea81. So head gasket blew did not let coolant get into the oil. So i pulled the motor, took off the heads, and everything looks decent. Not much carbon, piston tight in the bore no grooves. Clutch is shot. Good time for replacement. So i ordered the oem subaru head gaskets. I want some opinons, on if you put the gaskets up dry, or with a gasket sealer.

Actually..i'm not as familiar with EA81 as EA82 but pretty sure they're similar in these regards. Fel-Pro permatorque gaskets are the most widely used head gaskets by those of us familiar with these older engines. Most of us add 5-10 pounds to the final torque value.

 

No - never use anything on a Subaru head gasket - from 1980 to now, always dry and perfectly clean surfaces you're working with.

 

If you use a Subaru head gasket they require a retorque which is annoying. If you end up doing that (poor guy!), don't install sealant on the cam cases or valve cover gaskets until the final reassembly, no point in doing that and cleaning it all over again.

well i didnt pay for the gaskets yet just had the shop order them i can always get the fel pro i just thought that the subaru ones would be better quality. Where could i get them, i belive my local auto parts can get a fel pro set but they dont say permatourqe

the permatorques will be denoted by a "PT" in the part number. order online from Autozone. Heck I might have a set I could send you for whatever I paid, minus a few bucks, whatever. I think I ordered 4 last time when I only needed 2.

 

the Subaru ones are good. For other models (all newer stuff) nearly everyone on here would say Subaru only, but the PT's are the preferred gasket here for EA/ER motors.

 

Basically saves you a retorque and done right you won't ever be doing it again anyway so it doesn't matter.

ok well thank you very much still a lot of cleaning to do and a lot of parts to order i was told that more often then not they will seal up with out resurfacing the head. Ill hope for the best.

Heads *should* be machined for finish but my guess and experience says it will probably hold.