EA82 Head Gasket...

Porty · Post by **Porty** » Sun Jun 07, 2009 7:46 pm

Yes its another EA82 head gasket thread..

Short story is ive blown my head gasket and im gonna hav a go at replacing it. I reckon just bout half the people on here have replaced a head gasket on an EA82 before, so i wont be short of advice. This rebuild is gonna take a little while because i dont hav all the parts ready to rebuild it straight away.. I have to do the, go to work, get paid, and bye parts cycle..

The guy i brought it off was runnin straight water in the cooling system.. Silly peanut..!

It was the right hand head gasket that went, it looks like it is only an external leak, but i was also getting bubbles in the cooling system..Guess ill find out more when it all comes apart.

That thread/bolt/grommet locking system that is used for bolting the cover on dosen't work well with the old plastic. Kept stripping them. You can see from one of the photos i hav replaced them with a nut/bolt combo..

Under the RH head after the car was nice and warm..

And top of the RH head just below the thermostat housing.

And behind the RH side timimg cover..

Just asking if anyone has any pointers or things to look out for when i start to dissasemble. Cant wait to crack her open...

Porty · Post by **Porty** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 10:31 pm

ok, quick update..

Progress is slow.. I only get time on the weekends to work on it..
I Just brought a s**t load of degreaser, so gonna start cleaning up some parts over the weekend.

few pics here..

Just when i thought she was dead, my suby sprouted some new life....

Looks like it has been leaking for a while... Think they were running chemi-weld with water...

Picture of the short motor..

And the engine bay after a lil tidy up..

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 12:50 am

my tip was gonna be pull engine out first.

Mouse · Post by **Mouse** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 10:48 am

I you are doing the head gaskets in the car its a good idea to undo the engine mount nuts and lift the engine to one side and put the head on and then lift it across to the other side to do the other head gasket . All you have to do is the engine mount nuts not the whole mount and just get underneath and lever them out with a tyre lever or large screw driver and the engine will move across the cross member enough to get the head bolts in comfortably.

Porty · Post by **Porty** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 5:25 pm

steptoe - yeah i umed and ared and thought bout pulling the engine out but in the end decided to keep it in, not for any real reason.

Mouse - yeah i heard rumors of doing something like that, guess it would make it generally easier and to help keep the rockers in place. Ill give it a crack when its going back together n post some pics.

I cleaned up the motor and a few parts over the weeked, also some parts ended up with a coat of engine enamel. haha. Ill post some more pics up soon. Cheers boys.

Porty · Post by **Porty** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 6:19 pm

Ok made a small start on the rebuild process today...
Replaced the bearing in the idler pulley yay...
Also ordered the timing kit and gasket set..

Started working on the cam towers.. I found that the pin-stripe of gasket goo in the recess of the mating surface on the cam towers is a little tricky to get out... Also Noticed that the rear cam journal has oil supply holes for lubrication and the front dosent..?

Heres a pic of the RH side cam tower..

Porty · Post by **Porty** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 5:50 pm

Ok got a bit more done today...

I figured out why there is an oil supply hole in the rear cam journal and not on the front.. After closer inspection of the camshaft i found that it is kinda hollow, there is small holes on each lobe, the front bearing and at the very front where it sits inside the camshaft support, oil is pumped through the rear journal, then into a small hole on the rear cam bearing it then flows down the centre of the camshaft and out all the holes, providing lubrication for the lobes and front journal... Well i guess thats how it works.....

Heres a pic of the camshaft..

Heres a pic of the front of the motor all cleaned up..

Gave the piston faces and mating surfaces a tidy as well...

The heads are now ready for the machine shop. Removed all the valves and springs, and cleanded the valve faces up... Some of the valve stem seals just fell apart and i barely touched them.. Found a weird surprise on one of the intake valve faces... Its seems like it has been corroded or something.? None of its brothers or sisters had damage.. Anyone seen this before..?

tony · Post by **tony** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 3:05 am

the intake valve corrosion would be the water getting in and affecting fuel burning process. I have a bit of bad news tho, if the original owner has been running ordinary tap water the new gasket may not fix the problem the corrosion may be in the oil passages in the head itself and these are generally not accessible and therefore not repairable, so your head gasket may be ineffectual you may have to pull it off again and source another head. however if the radiator water is not showing traces of foam and oily sludge you could be lucky.
I would be inclined to take the head to a cylinder head engineering shop and get them to test it. Might cost a few bucks but could save you some effort.
Also while you have it all apart it would pay to put a new oil seal in the end of the crankshaft it is pretty easy to get in and out and only costs a few bucks, if it springs an oil leak it can destroy the timing belts it happened to my car. Also replace the timing belts. you won't damage the engine if a belt goes but it is a pain in the arse to fix on the road.

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 8:23 am

Since it's exposed I'd be removing the oil pump and doing it's gaskets and seals . People say that these pumps can draw air through ancient seals that aerates the oil leading to noisy hydraulic lifters .

If you have the gaskets and seals its supposed to be an easy job .

Belt covers , I'm told the female threaded inserts strip because people over tighten them . One cheapie fix is to use cable ties through them and simply cut them off next time .

Also be V careful not to over tighten the belt tensioner bolts because they screw into the aluminium engine cases and if they strip it's a PITA to fix .

Also should replace all rubber coolant hoses while everything is apart because these are the achilles heal of all EA82's . If it's been run with straight water treat EVERY hard (steel) water line as suspect because they corrode between the hose and the steel line and leaks hurt EA82's unless found and fixed quickly . Probably have to check the water pump impeller as well because the vanes could have corrosion damage . To be absolutely sure replace it unless its in as new condition .

Cheers A .

Porty · Post by **Porty** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 6:16 pm

The gasket set and timing kit arrived today... The gasket set i ordered was a complete engine gasket set, so i will be doing the oil pump and front main seal..

I was planning on having the heads crack tested anyways cause one of the heads looked a bit sus.. All the bits for the cooling system are on the list to, just gotta wait till i hav the cash..

Also since i got the rear main seal and sump gasket etc... Im going to pull the engine.. Since i dont hav an engine crane, i hav pretty dodgey idea to pull the motor out that just might work.. haha

Will post some more pics when i get some more work done...

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 6:37 pm

Chain block ?

Possibly a good idea to do the rear seal as well , and the clutch if it looks in any was sus , at least the throwout bearing .

Cheers A .

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 8:58 pm

Get a mate around and you won't have a problem pulling the engine with some muscle - same for putting it back in, just make sure the clutch pressure plate is loose - you can tighten the bolts up through the starter hole once the engine is in. If its a complete EA82 I'd recommend 3 people for the lift

I don't know how hot your engine has been or if it was just a slow leak you've experienced - but I'd suggest you run your fingernail around each cylinder. My L had been over heated so badly that it had a cracked cylinder

I've still got the block but it will never see 'service' again...

Cheers

Bennie

Edit: make sure you jack the gearbox up so its supported - saves you lifting it to get the motor off

Porty · Post by **Porty** » Sat Jul 04, 2009 6:11 pm

OK. Got a bit done 2day... Gonna do some more 2moz...

I dont hav a chain block either discotayta, so i used a come-along...

Freddo, dont take this personally, but if you jinx this thread and i strip a head bolt, ur getting the blame.. lol

Ok heres the motor out, safe and sound.. The tree i slung off held in..

Replaced the front seal.. I think i might hav tapped it in a little too far, its not sitting exaclty flush with the front of the block... I needed to pull the front crank gear off, the rear came off without a fight, there was a tiny bit of surface rust on the shaft, after cleaning it they both went back on without any force...

The oil separator cover gasket was leaking, the real seal didn't hav any oil around it at all. I replaced both.. Then i broke the stupid cork oil separator cover gasket.. So i hit it with some blue shit... Hope it holds..

All cleaned up with new bits..

Crappy crap crap gasket... I know you should use metal ones so ive heard..

Heres a before and after shot of the bellhousing..

I dont really wanna have to buy a new clutch but thinkin i might hav 2.. The thrust and spigot bearings arn't too bad, not much play.. but the clutch plate has only 0.65mm and 0.55mm material on front and back... Guess thats nearly r**ted...??? Theres also some play in the main shaft, is this normal..?

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 11:00 pm

Good to see another clean freak at work. I have used new cork gasket as supplied by Subaru and goo, seals fine. I wasn't given the metal gasket option on the oil seperator and can't think why it would even be a thought, between two metal parts??

Man, that cable puller - used to be my tight arse budget engine puller outer for years until one day the safety mechanism got stuck and well... just as well no car, feet or anything other than an old tyre was below, and it was the dead motor that hit the deck not the new one. Man, find a cheapo chain block for safety sake !!

Porty · Post by **Porty** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:11 pm

Yeah my fault the cork gasket broke... yes i know there are things called torque settings.. I just tightened it way too much.. haha
I went a bit easier on the sump gasket..

I reckon my lifting rig will hold in for a bit... Only thing im worried bout is work cover drivin down the driveway... lol

Pulled the sump off... Gave it a Clean..

A bit of crud came out... There was no metal dags in it.... yay

Made sure i didn't over tighten the sump...

And half serviced the oil pump... The "complete" engine gasket and seal kit didn't come with the oil pump seal... Im gonna hav to order that separately...

Anyone got any tricks on getting the oil pump gear nut off..??

Porty · Post by **Porty** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 6:59 pm

Ok, member how i said one of the heads looked a lil sus...

Heres the pic... Its cracked between the valve seats and is heading down the inlet port...

I took it to the guy in the machine shop to see if it was worth patching up.. He told me that it was pretty much r**ted...

I went n checked the local wreckers cause i knew i they had a few EA82 MPFIs.. Just my luck they crushed one... And someone brought the other...

So called the wreckers in a nearby town... Told them i was after and RH side EA82 injected head... First head they pulled off they said had a crack between the valve seats as well... A few hours later they called me back and said yep weve got one... Buuuut when i got there everthing looked sweet... except it was off a carbied EA82 dam.. Wasn't a complete waste of time but, cause i went to the suby dealer and ordered my oil pump seal...

So im chasing a RH EA82 MPFI head.. If anyone got one for sale PM me or something... Cheers

Porty · Post by **Porty** » Sat Jul 11, 2009 5:14 pm

Went n checked the wreckers in cardiff 2day... There was only one that was open on a saturday.. Beresfield and 2 others were shut... Still no luck. Gonna try again during the week.. No one on here seems to have any spare either.. Just gotta wait till one pops up...

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:12 pm

I know there has been a thread before i think.. whats the difference between carby and mpfi heads? can you modify to suit?
Cheers
AP

Porty · Post by **Porty** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 9:52 am

The carby heads have one inlet port and MPFI have two... I geuss with a really funky imagination you could do it.. haha

Porty · Post by **Porty** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 9:26 pm

Ok, still havn't found another head yet, probably gonna get one this week, its all good....

I got a little bored today and decided to clean up the manifold....

Since im not very fond of the EGR i decided to remove it...

And the rest of it..
Nothing a 4inch can't fix....

Here she is with a little coat of after-shave....