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1998 legacy 2.2 internal headgasket repair


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hey guys,a few months ago i found out my 1998 subaru legacy L wagon with a 2.2 engine and 230k (which runs great) had a internal headgasket leak and the radiator would lose coolant so fast would have to put antifreeze in everytime i drive it. at first i was gonna sell it because it's an expensive job but one of my mechanics said he would replace the headgaskets and machine the heads for under 1,000$ and all i would have to do is buy the gasket kit.May sound like a silly question but is the process of fixing and internal leak the same as an external? and if i was to go through this process what should be replaced as well? waterpump and timing belt for sure any other suggestions? thanks!
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It's the same process, just different symptoms when they fail. You don't HAVE to replace anything else in the process but with a 18 year old engine, you have to decide how far down in the rabbit hole you want to go, everything SHOULD be replaced at that age and mileage but its not financially reasonable in most cases. The timing components should be inspected and replaced as needed, the exhaust and intake gaskets should be replaced since they are cheap. If you are pulling all of the timing components off then do the water pump while you are at it, but don't bother with the water pump if the timing components look good enough to not replace. But like I said before, it depends on how much money you want to spend. If I were you, I'd just to the head, intake and exhaust gaskets and call it a day.
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It's the same process, just different symptoms when they fail. You don't HAVE to replace anything else in the process but with a 18 year old engine, you have to decide how far down in the rabbit hole you want to go, everything SHOULD be replaced at that age and mileage but its not financially reasonable in most cases. The timing components should be inspected and replaced as needed, the exhaust and intake gaskets should be replaced since they are cheap. If you are pulling all of the timing components off then do the water pump while you are at it, but don't bother with the water pump if the timing components look good enough to not replace. But like I said before, it depends on how much money you want to spend. If I were you, I'd just to the head, intake and exhaust gaskets and call it a day.

 

thanks man! think i might get timing belt and waterpump because of mileage and btw love the wagon you got..clean

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on a 98 with 230k miles id replace the timing belt and all the idlers unless i knew for sure it had been done within the last 30k miles. oil pump seal and tighten, check it for clearance gap and wear spots. oil separator plate on the back if it hasnt already been swapped to metal. cam seals, dust seals (if you care enough) and valve cover gaskets. at that time id also be looking at the oil pan seal/ lip to make sure there are no chances of it leaking when it goes back together as well.
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on a 98 with 230k miles id replace the timing belt and all the idlers unless i knew for sure it had been done within the last 30k miles. oil pump seal and tighten, check it for clearance gap and wear spots. oil separator plate on the back if it hasnt already been swapped to metal. cam seals, dust seals (if you care enough) and valve cover gaskets. at that time id also be looking at the oil pan seal/ lip to make sure there are no chances of it leaking when it goes back together as well.

 

At that rate, you mind as well get the master gasket kit for the motor which will run $200-300 and adds several hours of work to the build. I'll be doing this same process here in a few weeks and I'm planning for it to take a week or 2.

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My 2.5 failed internally, it was puffing white smoke on heavy acceleration. There was a little bit of oil on the underside of the motor, but upon further inspection after removing the motor, it was a combination of the valve cover gaskets and the oil pan leaking. I bought the full gasket kit and head bolts on Rockauto for less than $150 and took me about a week of time to replace it. Word to the wise, my gasket kit did NOT come with the coolant crossover pipe o-rings so I found some at Ace hardware for $1.39 a piece that worked like a charm. The previous owner (the original owner), knew the head gasket was going and put Bar's Leak Head Gasket fix in the coolant. Needless to say, there was silica all over in the coolant journals. After about an hour of cleaning the block and heads, everything was spic and span. When I reassembled the motor, the biggest pain in the arse was getting the camshaft alignment on the DOHC. The left side cams are pushing the valves open and one slight bump of the cam gear slams them shut. I have a cam gear holding tool that helped reassemble it. I used a new timing tensioner I had laying around because I didn't have a big enough clamp to reset the pin for it, but the belt looked good and the gears and pulleys turned like brand new (which I expected for the timing belt having been done less than 40k miles ago).
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If the engine is coming out and part, you should check the cylinder wall. If it's not scuffed. I would do an entire OEM engine gasket kit with timing belt kit with seals and water pump. You will need to deck the head and block, even if it didn't overheat.
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At that rate, you mind as well get the master gasket kit for the motor which will run $200-300 and adds several hours of work to the build. I'll be doing this same process here in a few weeks and I'm planning for it to take a week or 2.

 

ya, when i pull one its usually all or none.

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