Subaru Outbacks

[TurboMinivan]

Would you guys run these?

I showed your pictures to one of my lead Subaru techs. He explained that we have a straightedge for checking head surfaces. If the head isn't warped in any way, we just reinstall them and send the car on its way.

Do you have a straightedge you could use to check them?

 

[Rot Box]

I showed your pictures to one of my lead Subaru techs.

Do you have a straightedge you could use to check them?

Thanks for doing that I appreciate it. I have a machinist grade (starret) straight edge. I checked all over the heads with a .002 feeler gauge and from what I could see they're really flat and well within spec.

That said I had a huge case of the what-ifs last night. Between all the little cruddies that fell into the cylinders while pulling the heads off and the worry of not getting the heads torqued properly (Subaru's procedure is fairly elaborate) because I can't see most of the dang bolt heads I decided to pull the engine completely out. It took another hour and a lot of that time was spent assembling my cherry picker.

It's a long drive but the heads are scheduled for a complete inspection and resurfacing if needed at Gordon's in bountiful. Over the phone they seemed very competent and knowledgable when it comes to heads.. Anyone have experience with these guys?

 

[thefirstzukman]

Good call...

 

[Rot Box]

A few pics from today. With the engine on the stand I soon realized just how bad this leak was. Oil was everywhere!


Re-sealing the oil pan while it's apart just to be safe.

I used a green household scotch-brite pad and acetone very lightly on the block/head surface. I later found out this was a really bad idea. Turns out the fibers from the pad are very damaging to internal components of the engine. Crap!!! :-\ I thoroughly cleaned out all the effected oil and coolant passages and they look spotless now. Hopefully all is well. The surface itself should be fine I think.. More what-ifs!

 

[mbryson]

.....It's a long drive but the heads are scheduled for a complete inspection and resurfacing if needed at Gordon's in bountiful. Over the phone they seemed very competent and knowledgable when it comes to heads.. Anyone have experience with these guys?

I've heard good things about them but mostly just general stuff. It'd be good to hear something first hand from you.

 

[Gravy]

Gordon's did my new valves in my dirtbike. It's like 3 blocks from my house.
The guy who runs the place is a ornery son of a gun, but I like him.
That danged Corvette has been sitting outside his front door for 5 or 6 years with a flat tire.

 

[Rot Box]

Thanks for the feedback you guys. I'll be sure to report back on how well Gordon's did.

I mentioned the spark plugs were completely fried earlier. Turns out they are the OEM copper core plug so I'm not too worried. They actually faired pretty well considering they were original (I'm pretty sure they were anyway) with 100k miles.

I've read that re-sealing the rear covers behind the flex plate is a good idea while the engine is out. I guess it is very common for these to leak as the cars get older. I pulled the cover and used Honda-bond (love this stuff) to re-seal. Replacing the rear main is probably a good idea as well. Here's a crappy picture of the baffle plate that I resealed.

Random thoughts: So far I don't know what to think about this car. Blowing head gaskets is lame for a car with this many miles and that is definitely irritating. That said aside from the head gaskets everything else seems to be well thought out and well built. The drivetrain and axles are super beefy for a car that's for sure. This project has definitely been time consuming, but it is not a difficult vehicle to work on. AWDA seems to think their Six Star gaskets will be the last ones I will ever buy.. We'll see.

 

[Rot Box]

Left for Bountiful this morning to get the heads resurfaced. Stopped at a local gas station to fuel up and one of my auto mechanic friends pulled up to say hi... Hmm that's random..

Me: Check out these heads real quick if you're not busy.

Him: Subaru.. Weird (sarcastically).

Me: Yeah--I explain the story.

Him: How much is the new head going to cost.

Me: No just a resurface.

Him: Not much point in resurfacing a cracked head.. See here's a crack. Ohh and here's a few more cracks..



Me: F$#K.



I hate this car. It's official.

 

[Troop92]

That sucks, man. What'll you do now?

 

[Kevin B.]

Left for Bountiful this morning to get the heads resurfaced. Stopped at a local gas station to fuel up and one of my auto mechanic friends pulled up to say hi... Hmm that's random..

Me: Check out these heads real quick if you're not busy.

Him: Subaru.. Weird (sarcastically).

Me: Yeah--I explain the story.

Him: How much is the new head going to cost.

Me: No just a resurface.

Him: Not much point in resurfacing a cracked head.. See here's a crack. Ohh and here's a few more cracks..



Me: F$#K.



I hate this car. It's official.

But it's got the best resale value ever!

 

[Rot Box]

EDIT: Now that my blood pressure has finally dropped I'll sum this post up a little better haha


So as it turns out it is not uncommon for the variable timing heads like mine to crack from the spark plug hole out to the valve seats. Mine was cracked in three places Several guys on the Subaru board have said no big deal--they all do it--just run it if it's not causing issues. I am a what-iffer and prefer to not have heads with cracks.

Used heads are very difficult to find in good shape and re-man heads seem to be in high demand right now. I ordered a new head from Subaru (had to provide vin because there are many versions of the same head these years) and I'm going to have Gordon's install all the usable components from my cracked head into the new one.

Hopefully my other head is good!

 

[Rot Box]

Please post what gaskets you end up using and how it goes back together. I need to do this exact job on my 2.5 later this month.

I received my package from AWDA yesterday: https://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-head-gasket-kits/

I ordered the install kit and so far I really like what I see. I received all the head gaskets (I opted for the new head bolts as well), intake, valve cover and exhaust gaskets along with many other odds and ends. These gaskets seem to have an outstanding reputation and their staff was very knowledgable and helpful when I called. I wish I would have added cam seals and plugs to my order but I spaced it..


Fwiw the Gates timing kit on Amazon for $122 uses all the exact same pulley bearings as my car came with originally. No inferior bearings in this kit.. Belt is Gates which I've always had great luck with. I ordered an Aisin water pump separate because from what I've seen the Gates pumps are hit or miss in quality..

Three layers look a lot beefier than the single layer gasket I pulled out:

 

[Greg]

Sounds like you're in better spirits today! I read your post yesterday pre-edit and felt for ya. Hopefully you can finish the work, put the car back together with minimal issues and have a good AWD family car for years to come!

 

[Gravy]

Sounds like somebody overheated that motor a lot at some point. I feel for you, that sucks

 

[Rot Box]

I dropped my heads off Thursday morning and Gordon had them back to me Saturday afternoon. He even delivered them to my wife in Logan I talked with Gordon for about an hour Thursday and I can't say enough good things about him or his machine work. Great dude and both of these heads look impeccable.

I am really happy my other head was usable. This project has not been budget friendly.

I started installing the heads today. There are about two dozen different 'revised' procedures for torquing the bolts down and all of them have at least eight steps or more I followed the instructions that came with my gaskets but the last step is confusing so I need to call AWDA tomorrow and clear it up.


Anyway it is starting to look like an engine again.

 

[Rot Box]

It's alive!

Initial startup didn't go so well. Assembly lube, coolant, grease and everything else imaginable was burning off of the engine and smoke poured out/off of the exhaust. Fan belts were squealing and the idle was around 300 rpm---engine trying to die When you're trying to listen for bad engine sounds and all of that is going on it can be pretty nerve racking. Anyway I had to let the computer re-learn the idle speed which took some time. tightened the belts, burped the coolant etc.


Went for a test drive and everything seems fine... But I'm a little worried. Top radiator hose is hot, but the bottom is lukewarm.. almost too cold. Temp gauge reads normal, fans not kicking on (tells me it's hopefully not overheating) and the heater is working. I'm hoping it's just the radiator doing its job--it is pretty cold outside :-\

 

[Kevin B.]

Two heads on a four cylinder is just wrong.

 

[Spork]

Two heads on a four cylinder is just wrong.

Yea the wider than tall thing is strange also.

 

[Greg]

It's alive!

Initial startup didn't go so well. Assembly lube, coolant, grease and everything else imaginable was burning off of the engine and smoke poured out/off of the exhaust. Fan belts were squealing and the idle was around 300 rpm---engine trying to die When you're trying to listen for bad engine sounds and all of that is going on it can be pretty nerve racking. Anyway I had to let the computer re-learn the idle speed which took some time. tightened the belts, burped the coolant etc.


Went for a test drive and everything seems fine... But I'm a little worried. Top radiator hose is hot, but the bottom is lukewarm.. almost too cold. Temp gauge reads normal, fans not kicking on (tells me it's hopefully not overheating) and the heater is working. I'm hoping it's just the radiator doing its job--it is pretty cold outside :-\

Sounds like most engine rebuilds I've done! It's a sketchy few minutes when you start it up and try listen for something clearly wrong and things are happening that would normally be wrong.

If everything seems to be working fine, no major leaks, you have good oil pressure, etc then I wouldn't be too worried about the lower hose temp. It's cold out, you're probably taking it easy on the engine so its not getting hot, etc. Sounds like you're good to go!

 

[Rot Box]

Two heads on a four cylinder is just wrong.

Yea the wider than tall thing is strange also.

Haha yeah, there is nothing normal about it. The engine is probably four feet wide

Sounds like you're good to go!

I think so. 60 miles on it now so far so good. I think if there were cooling issues they would have shown up by now.