Hairdog Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 Well it looks like it's time to change the dreaded head gaskets on my '05 Legacy 2.5 GT Wagon. It is my daily driver and all stock. I don't have any plans to significantly raise the HP other than maybe a down pipe,exhaust and maybe a tune. So I won't be needing any exotic parts for this repair. With that said I have a couple of questions. 1) What is the best brand head gasket to get? I want to do this one time and be done with it. So quality over cost is what I'm looking for. 2) What is the best complete engine gasket set to get? Might as well replace them all while I have it apart. 3) What is the best timing belt set that includes all the pulley's and water pump? I bought the car in Dec. with 132,000 miles on it. I'm not sure if this stuff has been changed either. Might as well get it while the getting is good. 4) Where is the best place to buy all this stuff? If there is an advertiser of the site that has all this then I'm down with supporting them. 5) Is the fancy Subaru cam pulley tool necessary to get the pulleys off? I plan to send the heads to the machine shop to get them checked. So I will be tearing the heads down before sending them out. Again, I want to do this job only one time. Any tips or tricks for doing this job would be greatly appreciated. I'm a newb to Subarus but been around cars and race cars my whole life. So I'm fairly mechanically inclined and don't think this will be too terrible of a project for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awfulwaffle Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 Headgasket failures aren't as common on the turbo motors. I popped one turning up the boost at 140K, but they're not known for just failing spontaneously like the N/A motors. Just saying you might want to check for underlying issues. That said, OEM and Fel-Pro have worked well for me. You might also look at replacing the factory head bolts with ARP studs. Most will tell you to buy an Aisin timing kit, or go OEM. Company 23 makes cam holder tools. If you don't feel like springing for those, take your old timing belt and a couple of pairs of vice grips, wrap the belt around the cam gears on one side and then serpentine through as many other pulleys'gears as you can, and clamp it in place. This works just as well in my experience. People will also tell you to buy TiC cam gear bolts because the OEM ones strip out/break. Never experienced it myself, I've reinstalled the OE bolts several times and cracked them back out every single time, but maybe I got lucky. https://www.iagperformance.com/TiC-FU-Cam-Bolt-Kit-Single-AVCS-EJ25-WRX-STI-p/1001-03-0033.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgoodhue Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 How do you know it is the headgasket? The HG failure aren't that common on the GT's especially stock. I would use the stock gasket. I would get the cam holders to remove the cam gear bolts, I don't know how I would have removed them otherwise. I thought the fuel line tool was helpful too. 6 star Bernie sells OEM timing components for cheaper than the online discount Subaru dealers. If you want save more money you can get Continental or Aisin kits. (skip Gates) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solidxsnake Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 Regarding #5: you have to remove the pulleys to remove the head, so if you've got the cash to spend on the tools, I'd recommend it. I use the vice-grip and old timing belt approach, and it's kind of a hack, but it works. I'd also recommend the TiC cam gear bolts having just two days ago stripped one of my exhaust cam bolts. I bought the Aisin TB kit from RockAuto. There's two versions (one with a cast impeller, one with a stamped impeller). One is listed as not compatible with the LGT, but from my understanding they're both fully compatible with any of the turbo EJ25 motors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 This sticky and others have lots of info. https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/idea-web-links-saved-various-parts-219238.html 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORULZleggy Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 Aisin Timing belt kit OEM Subaru Head Gaskets ARP Studs New T-stat I have just went through a full rebuild with parts and tune. Yes get a up/down pipe and tune if nothing else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08SpecB_DE Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 Subaru sells a master gasket set but it does not come with the half moons. There may be a couple other pieces but it's the most complete set you can get. I'd get the cam locking tools as well. You dont want the cams spinning if you try hitting the bolt with an impact gun. They are on there TIGHT, best chance to not strip them is to jam the locking tool against something like the crank bolt, then crack it free with a 2' breaker bar. I've stripped them before and had to weld an axle nut onto the bolt head to get it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORULZleggy Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 Subaru sells a master gasket set but it does not come with the half moons. There may be a couple other pieces but it's the most complete set you can get. I'd get the cam locking tools as well. You dont want the cams spinning if you try hitting the bolt with an impact gun. They are on there TIGHT, best chance to not strip them is to jam the locking tool against something like the crank bolt, then crack it free with a 2' breaker bar. I've stripped them before and had to weld an axle nut onto the bolt head to get it out. Get your half moons from amazon much cheaper. Master gasket kit ran me $217 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairdog Posted May 21, 2020 Author Share Posted May 21, 2020 I know it's the head gasket because it's pushing water out the over flow and I'm having to add water every 2 or 3 days. Plus when I have the cap off I have a steady stream of small bubbles coming up. So I would say I'm pretty confident it's the head gaskets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kzr750r1 Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 So the question is how many miles and do you want yo go farther and just rebuild it all. Good to just get the entire motor seal kit to be sure you have it all. Make sure to check out the valve seats and and at minimum decked. Be ready for 20 bucks a pop for the new buckets needed. Be careful to stay within initial goals and not go nuts. You can go down a rabbit hole really quick. Start now searching for a machine shop that knows Subaru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAH3 Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 Hi there, I have an 05 GT wagon with 5spd manual. Head gasket is starting to fail at 191k. Can anyone give us a ballpark cost to get this repaired? We'd do the timing belt as well. everything else is in excellent shape. thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awfulwaffle Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 Hi there, I have an 05 GT wagon with 5spd manual. Head gasket is starting to fail at 191k. Can anyone give us a ballpark cost to get this repaired? We'd do the timing belt as well. everything else is in excellent shape. thanks in advance. I'd budget 1000-1500 if paying someone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAH3 Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08SpecB_DE Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 Hopefully whoever does it, will make you aware of any rock hard vacuum hoses that should be replaced while its apart. $1,500 sounds a little low to me, I'd guess $2,000-$2,500 all said and done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tehnation Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 (edited) Do you know which side the leaks on? If this were me! I would pull the engine, tare it down, remove the pistons and do a thorough inspection looking for any cracks or ringland failure. I would also do a compression and leakdown test prior to isolate the cylinder and inspect that one even more. You are going to have to pull the engine, might as well be thorough about it while you're in there. I would also inspect both heads to make sure the valves are good and sealing still, I would probably have them rebuilt for good measure. Also make sure the issue isn't a cracked head and not the head gasket. Your motor has issues, which usually means some other problem is waiting around the corner to kick you in the balls right after you do a simple fix. These motors are never "simple". Edited August 22, 2020 by Tehnation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tehnation Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 (edited) If you have bad compression, then you will need more than a head gasket. Master gasket set is part number 10105AA720, buy it from wherever! Details of kit here https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/full-gasket-kit-content-10105aa720-203457.html Edited August 22, 2020 by Tehnation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tehnation Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 If you have air compressor, just smack the cam bolts with an impact gun, comes right off usually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAH3 Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 not sure which side leaks, that's the next step. appreciate the input from everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tehnation Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 (edited) I would definitely do a compression test first at least, just to make sure most of your short block is still healthy. No point doing all that work for a half dead short block. It will also tell you which cylinders were affected by the blown head gasket. The cylinders with lower compression will be the indicator. Hopefully it's only one cylinder. 2 or 1 on same side pray it's just the head gasket, bad all around or 1 on each side then your short block is poop, Edited August 24, 2020 by Tehnation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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