head gaskets
 

i am looking into replacing the headgaskets on my type r and am trying to decide wether to buy the gaskets and the arp head studs myself and doing the work myself or wether to let a specialist do it .
i suppose my first question is does anyone have any idea how much this would cost to get done , bearing in mind the engine will already be out and no manifolds on.
also is there any recommended speciallists that people have been to and highly rate service , workmanship , we dont seem to have many in the cumbria area
i have only put my previous scooby in what i thought was the best performance garage in my local area and he proceeded to try to take the p**s so try to do as much myself as i can
thanks

Not really the job to tackle yourself if you are not to mechanically minded. The heads will need to go to a machine shop to get crack tested, pressure tested & machined as they are alloy & a weak point.

Have you got a straight edge? As you will need one to check the surfaces of the blocks.

Hope that helps.

Dan

i have crack detection fluid etc and facing tables and faceplates etc at work as i am a fitter and work in an engineering company but if it is not relatively expensive then i may just let th proffesionals do it and know it will be spot on
if just seems to be difficult finding a known good garage

Well there are a few up your way & it's not a cheap job to do. If you can tackle it yourself & get the pros to do the machine work you should be fine. Just make sure everything is spotless when you put it back together & torqued down properly.

they dont necessarily need to be near me as i can get it delivered to them , i just dont know how much this sort of thing will cost due to never doing one before

thanks for the reply dan , i will be in touch soon as i am on a rig in the north sea till monday/tuesday , so it will be wednesday before i can get chance to give you a call
:thumb:

£700 - £1000 to do properly but you already have the engine out so maybe a bit less.

where abouts are you dude

i am in cumbria , south lakes , i have emailed a couple of companies api and teg motorsport (which is a relatively local subaru specialist) but have had no replies as yet and have had a reply from legacydan which i will be contacting when i get home

No email here outstanding, I was away up 'til last Monday, but have replied to all outstanding enquiries. TEG are good, but don't generally like working on road cars, as they are more of a Rally team these days. Ask them though, I don't set their policy.

David API

i didnt receive any replies from anyone so i fear the problem was something at my location when i emailed out , i am currently still away so havnt had chance to do anything but i am now considering wether to do the head gaskets and possibly have to do them again when my little knock noise gets worse or just do the lot now when i have saved up a bit more , decisions decisions will have to see how much a full rebuild will cost , with or without the engine removed from the car