to do or not
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Joined: May 2004
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From: wiltshire
to do or not
started stripping engine down today as the dreaded headgasket has gone, thought i`d bite the bullet and go for it myself 
got most of the engine apart, going to do some more tomorrow.
reading alot on here and some other forums, alot is said about gasket thickness...i am lost lol
also if the heads look true or not you need a skim and saw a post from the scooby engine god that is david (api) he say never to do a skim
he also say do the gaskets on an older car and within weeks the bottom end will go.
only got the car cheap so going to go for it take my time and just bang in some gaskets, worse case senario if all goes **** up will sell it in bits
got most of the engine apart, going to do some more tomorrow.
reading alot on here and some other forums, alot is said about gasket thickness...i am lost lol
also if the heads look true or not you need a skim and saw a post from the scooby engine god that is david (api) he say never to do a skim
he also say do the gaskets on an older car and within weeks the bottom end will go.
only got the car cheap so going to go for it take my time and just bang in some gaskets, worse case senario if all goes **** up will sell it in bits
If it`s before 99, then you need the thick 1.3mm gaskets that are advertised, 99 and later you need the thin 0.6mm gaskets.
Lay a straight edge all ways across the heads and measure the warp with a feeler gauge, think 2 or 3 thou is ok, any more and they`ll have to be skimmed.
I banged a new oil pump on mine too just to be sure as i`ve heard they go weak with age. Could save the bottom end.
Lay a straight edge all ways across the heads and measure the warp with a feeler gauge, think 2 or 3 thou is ok, any more and they`ll have to be skimmed.
I banged a new oil pump on mine too just to be sure as i`ve heard they go weak with age. Could save the bottom end.
headgasket went on my v plate,i had heads skimmed,but was minimal just to get the surface flat and clean,bought good quality headset etc and all was good!that was year and half ago!car is also used every day and does get driven hard!
my advice is listen to peoples advice and dont skimp on the important things!
my advice is listen to peoples advice and dont skimp on the important things!
Speak to David at API PERSONALLY, phone him before doing any rebuilding.
He's a genuine bloke, knows his stuff and is very generous of his time
Also as honest as the day is long.
Can't recommend him highly enough.
For the sake of a few £££, why not split the block while it's out and replace the big-end bearings? THEN it won't go a few weeks after the rebuild
BTW: A LOT let go after the headgaskets have been done because people have the heads/blocks skimmed, then don't fit thicker head gaskets to keep the compression ratio the same.
He's a genuine bloke, knows his stuff and is very generous of his time
Also as honest as the day is long.Can't recommend him highly enough.
For the sake of a few £££, why not split the block while it's out and replace the big-end bearings? THEN it won't go a few weeks after the rebuild
BTW: A LOT let go after the headgaskets have been done because people have the heads/blocks skimmed, then don't fit thicker head gaskets to keep the compression ratio the same.
Thread Starter
Scooby Regular
Joined: May 2004
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From: wiltshire
hey guys thanks for the replies and the advice its very helpful, went to david a few years ago he done a rebuild on an ealier wrx i had (m reg), never had any change out of £3500!!
thats why im doin this one as cant afford that again, btw its a p reg wrx this time, its as if i should not have a wrx lol, had two uk 2000`s and a type r.
thats why im doin this one as cant afford that again, btw its a p reg wrx this time, its as if i should not have a wrx lol, had two uk 2000`s and a type r.
Thread Starter
Scooby Regular
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 657
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From: wiltshire
Speak to David at API PERSONALLY, phone him before doing any rebuilding.
He's a genuine bloke, knows his stuff and is very generous of his time Also as honest as the day is long.
Can't recommend him highly enough.
For the sake of a few £££, why not split the block while it's out and replace the big-end bearings? THEN it won't go a few weeks after the rebuild
BTW: A LOT let go after the headgaskets have been done because people have the heads/blocks skimmed, then don't fit thicker head gaskets to keep the compression ratio the same.
He's a genuine bloke, knows his stuff and is very generous of his time
Also as honest as the day is long.Can't recommend him highly enough.
For the sake of a few £££, why not split the block while it's out and replace the big-end bearings? THEN it won't go a few weeks after the rebuild
BTW: A LOT let go after the headgaskets have been done because people have the heads/blocks skimmed, then don't fit thicker head gaskets to keep the compression ratio the same.
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Thread Starter
Scooby Regular
Joined: May 2004
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From: wiltshire
If it`s before 99, then you need the thick 1.3mm gaskets that are advertised, 99 and later you need the thin 0.6mm gaskets.
Lay a straight edge all ways across the heads and measure the warp with a feeler gauge, think 2 or 3 thou is ok, any more and they`ll have to be skimmed.
I banged a new oil pump on mine too just to be sure as i`ve heard they go weak with age. Could save the bottom end.
Lay a straight edge all ways across the heads and measure the warp with a feeler gauge, think 2 or 3 thou is ok, any more and they`ll have to be skimmed.
I banged a new oil pump on mine too just to be sure as i`ve heard they go weak with age. Could save the bottom end.
stupid question maybe!! wheres the oil pump lol
They had the heads skimmed after they "apparently" needed remedial work due to corrosion. AFAIK, they fitted standard gaskets, so the Comp Ratio would have ended up too high. Which at the time, I didn't know.
Now I'm normally a fairly leisurely driver, (OK, a *****
), so it wasn't until the next summer, in France, that I overcooked the engine in 40 degree daytime temperatures, stupid speeds on a motorway for 30 minutes or more, a stop for a toll both, ripped away and the bottom end went
COULD have been just heatsoak, but the high cr wouldn't have helped, and it just detted itself to death.
Seriously: if you've had work done at API before, you KNOW how good David is. Just ring him for advice. He really does give free advice.
I did the headgaskets on my 1995 wrx wagon myself, had the heads skimmed and fitted 1.6mm multilayer steel genuine subaru ones. 20 months later no problems including a 1600 miles round trip to the ring a couple of weeks ago. Change the water pump too while you've got the cam belt off.
Last edited by slyv12; Oct 17, 2010 at 03:29 PM.
Thread Starter
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Joined: May 2004
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From: wiltshire
dont think they go on versions merlin, just want to make sure i get the right mm gasket i.e know its not .55 as they are later models either 1.3 or 1.6, think i seen somewhere if get 1.6 and its meant to be 1.3 it dont really matter??? lose a bit of power.
but other way round could be messy lol.
but other way round could be messy lol.
Thought you were trying to identify what engine you have in order to select the right head gasket for it?
EJ20K engines were fitted to 1997~1998 models and came with a Graphite Composite head gasket on the WRX(1.37mm ish compressed) and a MLS gasket(1.60mm) on the STi.
Assuming your heads/deck faces have not been skimmed in the past,then the STi MLS gasket would be ok.
If the heads (standard height 127.50mm) and the deck (standard height 201mm) faces have been skimmed in the past or need skimming to rectify warp, then you would have to measure the Combustion chamber vols,deck height and piston deck height/compression height in order to work out what thickness head gasket you need to maintain the correct static CR.
Mick
EJ20K engines were fitted to 1997~1998 models and came with a Graphite Composite head gasket on the WRX(1.37mm ish compressed) and a MLS gasket(1.60mm) on the STi.
Assuming your heads/deck faces have not been skimmed in the past,then the STi MLS gasket would be ok.
If the heads (standard height 127.50mm) and the deck (standard height 201mm) faces have been skimmed in the past or need skimming to rectify warp, then you would have to measure the Combustion chamber vols,deck height and piston deck height/compression height in order to work out what thickness head gasket you need to maintain the correct static CR.
Mick
Thread Starter
Scooby Regular
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 657
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From: wiltshire
wheyhey!! got the head off today and sure enough you can see where the gasket was leaking coolant into the bore, now got to give the heads a good going over and refit it all....its going to be a long weekend but bloody hell im enjoying it!!
