DIY headgasket questions.

[ianbot]

Hey guys i always browsed the forum but never posted anything. So I am victim to the dreaded "internal HG failure" and I love my car so I am deciding to replace it myself. I consider myself a very competent mechanic and I just replaced the timing belt, water pump/t-stat and front crank oil seal about 3 months ago so I have taken some of it apart before. I just want to throw a few questions out there to you guys. Oh, the stats:Phase 1 1998 Legacy GT 4EAT with about 130k on it.

1) what gasket should I get. OEM always seems the best choice. www.subarupartsforyou.com (http://www.subarupartsforyou.com) is where i get most of my stuff. I guess the same question goes for head bolts.

2) someone told me there is brush that cleans out the threads for the head bolts on the block and i should use it. anyone heard of this?

3) the car has never "overheated" yet, only once did the temp climb and i shut it off. this alerted me to the problem as well as the other symptoms (missing coolant, dirt in reservoir). since it seems the problem is gasket related is it THAT important to get the heads done at a machine shop or can i just replace the HG?

4) any potential pitfalls or tips from anyone? do you know any good write ups for this. a quick google search yielded one good one but his car was stick not auto. anything i am missing? I have three floor jacks, tranny jack, engine stand, lots of hand tools/breaker bars and a garage. obviously a hoist will be rented.

thanx

[SpeedmanRC]

I got OEM gaskets for my legacy...a SOHC but can't go wrong with OEM, from the same place online.

thread chaser? it's like a tap but it don't cut

I got my heads machined and pressure checked.

you leaving trans in car? if so auto just need to remove the torque converter from the flex plate.

[ianbot]

thread chaser. thats what it was. i guess a brush was a poor adjective, it IS more like a tap.

thanks for the tips. the trans will stay in the vehicle. i figure the less i remove the less that can/will go wrong.

[SpeedmanRC]

yeah, I took my trans out cause I found it it walked a bearing inside...so it was replaced.

yeah...went thru this like 4 months ago on my legacy and crazy thing is my dad's 97 GT needs HG's replaced.

[Huffer]

3) the car has never "overheated" yet, only once did the temp climb and i shut it off. this alerted me to the problem as well as the other symptoms (missing coolant, dirt in reservoir). since it seems the problem is gasket related is it THAT important to get the heads done at a machine shop or can i just replace the HG?

Best to ensure the heads are flat. Do it once, do it right. So get a shop to make sure the heads are completely flat and clean.

OEM gaskets are fine - the new ones are built properly.

The DIYs for headgaskets are all pretty much the same - it really depends on what else you're doing at the time. A timing belt change isn't a bad idea. There's so much you can be doing at the same time, that it's a pretty good (albeit expensive) opportunity to do some extensive maintenance and upgrades.

[ianbot]

The timing belt was done a few months ago (by me) as well as belts, hoses, water pump/t-stat and crank oil seal. I figure I'll do the rear main whilst the engine is out. Can't hurt right? I'm trying to avoid all the other stuff like valve seals because that just takes this repair to a new strata ($$$).

This might be a dumb question but where's a good place to get valve shims for an adjustment.

[ouch1011]

Dealer. But unless you have a lot of valvetrain noise, they probably don't need adjustment. I checked mine when I did the HGs at 153k and they were all within .001" of spec.