Ease of replacing 2001 Suburu Head Gaskets.........

[Ben Witek]

I have an outback with the smaller engine. The head gaskets need to be
replaced. I'm leaking anti-freeze. Any help on this????? Can I do it
pretty easily in my garage???? I am a moderate mechanic and am
thinking of taking it on instead of the $1500.
Thanks
Ben
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[K R Larkin]

Ben

that price is 3 times what I've been quoted for head gasket job here in SC.
Thats gotta be from a dealership, right?

 

[Ben Witek]

I am quoted about $200 for the set and $30 for just the head gasket.
How easy is this job? Will I be able to do it? How long might it take
me? Thanks!
Ben

 

[S]

Hi Ben!

Hi Ben!

I am quoted about $200 for the set and $30 for just the head gasket.
How easy is this job? Will I be able to do it? How long might it take
me? Thanks!

It's not too hard to do, but fairly cramped working between the head
and strut tower. I'd allow most of a weekend to do it if you've never
taken one apart before; probably about 4 or 5 hours to do both sides
for an experienced mechanic assuming no "problem-child" fasteners or
the like.
If it was my project, I'd start off by pulling the motor and putting
it on a stand; I simply _hate_ working in restricted areas (bloody
knuckles), and having the engine out of the car for the job will also
greatly reduce the likelihood of getting debris into the engine
internals. The extra couple hours devoted to extracting/installing the
engine don't bother me at all; I'm not on the clock. Saves wear and
tear on the lower back too.
Consider checking valve clearances, and installing a new water pump,
timing belt, and front seal while you're in there. Good luck.

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[Ben Witek]

Would the hardest part be pulling the tranny off the engine? I have
lots of experenic with Ford's but, imports scare me. Working on
getting a good manual. There really hard to find. I can decide what to
do yet, It drives fine and such, I may try pluging it and trading it
in. I want a Ford Pick-up!
-Thanks alot!
Ben

 

[Verbs Under My Gel]

Ben

that price is 3 times what I've been quoted for head gasket job here in SC.
Thats gotta be from a dealership, right?

US$500 for both heads, or just one side?

 

[Verbs Under My Gel]

Would the hardest part be pulling the tranny off the engine? I have
lots of experenic with Ford's but, imports scare me. Working on
getting a good manual. There really hard to find. I can decide what to
do yet, It drives fine and such, I may try pluging it and trading it
in. I want a Ford Pick-up!
-Thanks alot!
Ben

Absolutely not! These all-aluminum engines are rather
light...probably less than 200lb. Removing the radiator and fans will
give some room to slide the engine forward before lifting it out. Two
stout folks will be able to lift the engine by hand, IMO.

 

[S]

Hi Ben!

Would the hardest part be pulling the tranny off the engine?

4 bolts hold the bell housing to the engine, all easily accessible.
The starter should be removed as well. 2 nuts on the motor mounts,
and 4 nuts holding the exhaust to the heads. Leave the transaxle in
the car with a chunk of 2X4 stuffed between it and the lower cross
member (or sitting on a floor jack). And as Verbs suggests, two
reasonably healthy guys can pick it right out, altho a shop crane or
the like is probably a safer choice. You may have to use a little
"finesse" to get the input shaft to slide back into the clutch upon
re-installation; I generally grab the engine by the heads (with it
roughly in position, still hanging from the crane) and sorta wiggle it
up/down, back and forth a bit til I feel the splines engage (you might
have to rotate the crank or transmission a couple degrees to get it to
happen), and then push it back into place.
Rarely requires more than mild profanity ;-)
And I have had reasonably good luck using that flakey radiator leak
fix stuff (Bars-all ?) on "weepy" type leaks, might be worth a try
before going to all of the effort of replacing the head gasket(s).

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[Ed Fortmiller]

Subaru has recently released a sealer solution which you dump into your
cooling system for head gasket leaks. Might want to check with a dealer,
one person tells me they give it away for free. Seems like a bandaid type
fix to me but if it works the fix might be free.

--
Ed Fortmiller | (e-mail address removed) | Hudson MA
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