UGH! head-gaskets went

bear154

bear154

New member
ok..this has added to much already huge pile of stress. I bought my Leg Gt a little over a year ago. had a bunch of work done to it supposedly just before I bought it. I try to take care of it. the other day it died on the highway. the garage called today said, "bad news. headgaskets." now I swore the guy said they did them. anyhow. I lost my job and now am stuck trying to figure out how to deal with this on top of it. any suggestions as to how to get out of it cheap w/o just giving up my car??? my regular email is [email protected] is anyone wants to comm that way. thanks!

Aaron

 
It is very possible that they were done before. Many people don't use the correct head gaskets when doing the job. You really have to use Subaru head gaskets for them to last. There is also a chance that maybe the heads were warped and they weren't checked. If you want it done cheap, do it yourself. But the parts are still going to run you a bit. Good luck!

 
If you can do it yourself, that's the cheapest way. And you can read up and do it right.

Did the engine just stop running? Ie. it got so hot it seized up while driving?

If that's the case, you toasted your bearings. Don't have new head gaskets put in that engine. The bottom end won't last long.

You can swap to a ej22 like I did in my leggy GT, very easy swap, and the 22 is a much more reliable engine.

 
bear154 said:
ok..this has added to much already huge pile of stress. I bought my Leg Gt a little over a year ago. had a bunch of work done to it supposedly just before I bought it. I try to take care of it. the other day it died on the highway. the garage called today said, "bad news. headgaskets." now I swore the guy said they did them. anyhow. I lost my job and now am stuck trying to figure out how to deal with this on top of it. any suggestions as to how to get out of it cheap w/o just giving up my car??? my regular email is [email protected] is anyone wants to comm that way. thanks!

Aaron
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main question is to suss out HOW the headgaskets failed, and what other probs this may have caused. sure, the PO probably did replace HGs but then didn't deal with other probs caused by that failure, which you are facing now.

if HG failure caused overheating bad enough for car to die, then make sure heads are not warped. I suspect this is what happened in your case--the PO just slapped new HGs on and either didn't have heads checked or deal with it if they were. bearings would be suspect in this scenario as well.

if HG failure caused coolant to mix with oil, then your road breakdown was probly caused by toasted bearings thru out the whole motor, in which case just slappin on new HGs in your driveway def won't really fix it either.

sometimes with a major job like this, the "cheapest" solution is not really a solution at all.

 
Nigel Prodrive said:
main question is to suss out HOW the headgaskets failed, and what other probs this may have caused. sure, the PO probably did replace HGs but then didn't deal with other probs caused by that failure, which you are facing now.

if HG failure caused overheating bad enough for car to die, then make sure heads are not warped. I suspect this is what happened in your case--the PO just slapped new HGs on and either didn't have heads checked or deal with it if they were. bearings would be suspect in this scenario as well.

if HG failure caused coolant to mix with oil, then your road breakdown was probly caused by toasted bearings thru out the whole motor, in which case just slappin on new HGs in your driveway def won't really fix it either.

sometimes with a major job like this, the "cheapest" solution is not really a solution at all.
Click to expand...
my money is on this scenario.

 
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bear154 said:
ok..this has added to much already huge pile of stress. I bought my Leg Gt a little over a year ago. had a bunch of work done to it supposedly just before I bought it. I try to take care of it. the other day it died on the highway. the garage called today said, "bad news. headgaskets." now I swore the guy said they did them. anyhow. I lost my job and now am stuck trying to figure out how to deal with this on top of it. any suggestions as to how to get out of it cheap w/o just giving up my car??? my regular email is [email protected] is anyone wants to comm that way. thanks!

Aaron
Click to expand...


THanks guys. Yes, the car did shut down from overheating. I have a feling when it was done, they used a cheap set, not a subaru set. and as far as putting in a ej22? where is the best place to find one for a really good price? im thinking as much as the car is a great looking and handling ride, I may need to try to update/upgrade. the car is at Lake Region Imports getting looked at. A friend runs the place, so I'm praying he can help me out a bit.

 
Chris said:
If you can do it yourself, that's the cheapest way. And you can read up and do it right.

Did the engine just stop running? Ie. it got so hot it seized up while driving?

If that's the case, you toasted your bearings. Don't have new head gaskets put in that engine. The bottom end won't last long.

You can swap to a ej22 like I did in my leggy GT, very easy swap, and the 22 is a much more reliable engine.
Click to expand...
im fairly new the suby seen. been doing jeeps for years. where is the best place to find one for a great deal?

 
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Mike probably has one, PM him. mikeymayagi something like that is his name on here.

As far as swapping, anyone who can do a suby engine R&R can do an ej22 swap. It bolts directly in. Plugs right up. If you get one that doesn't have dual port exhaust you need a new header, but they're cheap.

It didn't shut off from overheating... it seized up. Needs a whole rebuild. Bearings, rings, everything.

 
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