HI i have a 97 wrx gc8 done around 200000km
i bought it cheap with headgasket gone wel i assumed
stripped it down thinking headgasket has gone, skimmed the head built it back up and found oil cooler has leaked coolant into the oil sump replaced that ran it started overheating then bled it ran fine for a week then bam started overheating again tried to bleed it not working did a sniff test found headgasket has blown.

so just wondering when i strip it down again im going to check the block if it needs skimming shall i skim it and seen as i skimmed the heads already do i need a thicker headgasket? so annoyed took me like 4 5 nights to do cant work in day i have to work myself lol looking another 4 5 nights again FML

any suggestions or help appreciated im in hong kong want any parts gimme a email or post me here and i can sort some stuff out

 

Lots here.

First off, are you aware that if you skim heads/block you need to use thicker headgaskets on the rebuild? The extra thickness of the new gaskets should be the same as whatever was skimmed off the heads/block.....this is to keep the compression ratio the same.

Second, I am intrigued as to how yiou think you bled the cooling system?

AFAIK, THERE IS NO WAY to bleed the system, other than drain it down and start again, going VERY S L O W L Y..

Finally, from me anyway, if you do headgaskets, think about doing the crank bearings too: these cars have a nasty habit of destroying the bearings after a headgasket change

 

to be safe it wants fully rebuilding as water isnt a very good lubricant for a scoob engine as said above. i would also compression test and leakdown test the engine to find out which bore/s are causing the problem

 

Where can I get thicker headgasket? What do you mean there is nO way to bleed the system

 

As alkazar said Impreza cooling systems only need to be filled slowly & not bled. While the engines out at least a set of shells is wise.
Are you sure the heads aren't cracked?

 

i dont think so i hope not going to get them tested as well as the block, going to strip down tonight il get some pics up

 

should i use original subaru headgasket will it be fine or will the compression ratio be affected?

 

As I said above, you need to keep the cr the same as standard. Failure so to do will have a detrimental effect on the engine. Trust me: I've been there!

So, lets suppose that the OE gaskets are 60 thou* thick?
And you have had a total of 30 thou* skimmed off heads and blocks?

Then your new gaskets should be 90 thou*. Get it? The extra is what you had skimmed off, 60+30=90.
*Those figures are made up for clarity, but you get my point?

So no, an OE gasket would be no good if you have head heads/blocks/both skimmed.

Bleeding the cooling system on an Impreza isn't possible. Forget what you may have been told, you just can't do it. End of.
The only way forward is to drain and refill, S L O W L Y.
Do search on here for a full set of instructions. But forget bleeding it: it won't work and can lead to trouble.

 

where am i suppose to get a thicker headgasket? will the special cosworth one work?

 

You need to do your homework with how much needs to be skimmed, if any, first.

Then either post on here, or give some sellers a ring.

David O'Brian at API is always ready with advice, as is Allan Jeffery at Engine tuner. They could source you one, or point you in the right direction.

Or you could ring round in HongKong? Or send to Japan?

 

Thanks alOt will post up tomorrow afternoon for you guys 22 41 here got the intake ps pumP ac pump alternator intercooler and starter off going to take my time this time don't want to go wrong again this time such a headache I asked the skimmers how much they skimmed off but they said they didn't go past the mark? What mark? They weren't very helpful anyway going to send the heads to get leak test when I get them off I hope there ok :s

 

Phone Nick at Advanced Automotive for advice & supply of the correct parts on 01179 672344

 

has he got an email

 

check my head out i think its needs skimming again! hj3930

 

You can't KEEP skimming the heads. You can only take so much off before the heads will be unusable.

And you also NEED to know two things:
1. EXACTLY how much was removed*, and,
2. WHY they need skimming all the time, what is warping them?

*DO NOT use any company who cannot tell you this.

 

+1
If the heads are skimmed too much,you wont be able to get the Inlet Manifold bolt hole lined up let alone have the right compression ratio or squish.

Standard head height is 127.50mm IIRC, so measure the heads (see picture below) to see how much has been taken off and bear in mind that factory spec for the surface grind limit is 0.012" or 0.3mm which isnt a great deal.




I realise that you can run into cooling issues out in HK if the cooling system is running less than ideal ( my motorcross bike used to run red hot when ridden up Mount Davis ) so you might be better off starting with another pair of heads if yours are outside of the spec.

Mick

 

i measured and got 127.35 mm how much more can i skim?

 

As in post #16.
If you measurements are accurate then your heads have had a 0.006" (0.15mm) skim.
You can skim the same amount (0.15mm) off the heads to hopefully correct any warp to the flame surface which would take you up to the factory limit for the surface grind limit of 0.30mm.

Mick