Anyone used monotorque headgaskets on EA82T?

[Bodge]

G'day again!
I'll be ripping the heads off my L series next week hopefully. (Finally!)
The previous owner said he used monotorque gaskets when he installed the "new" motor not long ago. Reckoned he pulled off the heads for inspection to check for cracks and replaced the timing belts, oil pump, etc while he was at it.
When I received the vehicle, exhaust was pressurising the coolant and blowing it into the overflow tank. I am getting water in the exhaust also. Only getting occasional slow large bubbles once the thermostat opens.
He claims he never had it run hot so I'm hoping it is only the gasket and not cracked heads. I have a replacement set of heads on the way which I will recondition prior to pulling the motor just in case mine are buggered. (Have a spare motor with cracked heads which my old ones will go on if they test OK ).
I guess I'm wondering why the gaskets he fitted would have failed?
Has anyone else here used them, and did it work well?
Any thoughts about this apparent head gasket leak would be appreciated also.
Cheers,

[sven '2']

Unlikely to be the brand of gasket

More likely poor fitting, heads needing to be planed, old gasket residue etc.

Start again!

[Gannon]

I used monotorque gaskets on my EA82T and they held 10psi boost for ages, until i melted a radiator fan plug and overheated it.

Some people recommended using Holymar on the head surfaces when installing the gasket

[Bodge]

I have used monotorque before on other vehicles and found them to work well.
Not having to retorque the heads is bloody great!
Hopefully having my replacement heads resurfaced during their reconditioning should sort it out.
I really hope not to need to resurface the block as well, I don't want to strip down the entire motor.
Cheers.

ps - The bloke at REPCO also recommended Holymar when I voiced my concerns. Reckon I'll have to take his and your advice!
Thanks guys.

[shuffbag]

hey suparoo this is what happens when standard 82 gaskets are used at normal boost (1 week old gaskets)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISBSF6obSr4

engine builder got the wrong gaskets in and i didnt care to look befor throwing them in

[SCOOBIDOO]

Without being condescending ,there are 2 realitys i am going to bring everyone up to speed in this post regarding the seemingly problematic misconception of the ea82t eating heasdgaskets... those who retorque will not have any problems.

1/ mono-torque is the only ,and highest quality gasket to use short of full metal copper and of coarse MLS gaskets..(of which MLS cannot be had for this model engine)

Reason is the mono runs its metal re-enforcement directly @ the 50% position which is directly down the centre of the gasket,leaving less than 40% composite each side of the metal strip to blow out , greatly reducing the likelyhood of gasket blow out,all others run there metal re-enforcment on the 80-90% of 1 side side only! , which allows for composite blow out of up to 80% vunerability,monotorque is capped @ a maximum of 40%......in otherwords..use mono torque combined with the step 2 here and you can run 15 psi all day long.....with correct fuel and ignition mapping. no less than 11:1 on full boost....this leads us to the second reason for ea/t headgasket failure.

2/ retorque...retorque...retorque

Yes this is the word for the gumby ea82t guru who does not really believe retorque is an actual real word..... pretty much the lesson here is like wearing a condom....if you dont do it you know whats prolly gonna happen right , if you dont retorque after installing your new mono-torque headgaskets,expect bubbles when you open the radiater cap....you can also expect overheating...and engine failure....and it goes on and on and on......

mostly , individuals who experience headgasket problems on our old ea/t do so due to being to lazy to use the correct tool to retorque the heads...it is simple to do and the only part needed to be remove is the rocker covers...

if you dont have the correct tool you have to remove the cam boxs to retorque..and we all know that is too hard ....

[shuffbag]

i should say monotorques went in after that and were great!

[H-top]

hylomar......made by rolls royce

use it all the time at work, magical stuff!

[Bodge]

Um, hate to display my ignorance, so is ok to retorque monotorque headgaskets then?
I asked the fella at repco if I could do so to be double sure the problem wouldn't re-occur (thinking it might help in this case - might be a subaru thing?) and he told me that I definitely shouldn't.
Pretty sure I'll be asking the people down at ACL what they think since they manufacture the suckers.
If you have and it has worked out well then I reckon I most likely will, retail store staff not being the be-all-and-end-all in knowledge as we all know.
(by the way my "no retorque" comment was limited to personal experience with N/A vehicles and being glad to not have to bother with it when using monotorque gaskets - [hence the name, mono=1;)]and no claims of being any sort of guru were being made! I was just asking the question, not predicting the answer.).
And thanks again everyone for all your help, I need as much as I can get!

[steptoe]

I am confused.

Monotorque made by ACL. Am told ACL allegedly went bust. I check their website and it was there but sort of dormant. Ask for monotorque at old supplier and got a rude, no they went bust and cannot get them but we can sell you Doric brand.

Has anyone been able to walk in walk out with Monotorque gaskets in recent months ? From retail ??

Personally did not like look of that brand - shiny sticky looking ones like Monotorques with sealant lines - no address of manufacturer or country on packaging. Paid same price Dorics were for Permaseal with graphite surfaces prefer them - trusted brand name. Twice the price were genuines - bought a set of these for my better EA82T running now

On retorquing - been told by trusted machine shop guy - even one torques need retorquing to ensure things good.

Two engines so far used one torques - I have retorqued and thankfull that I did - they needed it.

Third engine with the genuines I started up and ran to op temp and let cool overnight as per Subie instructions then retorqued with my newly home made head bolt acces adaptor( as gen cannot supply) these, I was surprised to find were still at the 50ft lbs I screwed them up to on assembly.

On copper gaskets if you make them fit them I hear you can experience water leaks if not used regularly copper not a good water sealer....

sealants should not be used with graphite style gaskets

[SCOOBIDOO]

Your right to be confused jonno...
monotorque also have acl written on the packaging....and are still available here in adelaide....

And yes mono torques need to be re-torqued on an ea82t engine.

Or you could just forget the re-torque and see how long they last on a turbo engine,
but please dont forget to post your pics of the headgaskets when they fail..

[TOONGA]

nice work with the L series you could see the smoke and steam building the more work it did until it was a constant

I used mono torque gaskets on many an engine, not just subarus and we always laughed at the name and then re torqued the heads after intital run in

TOONGA

[Bodge]

Righto, will definitely retorque the gaskets!
Certainly won't believe the chap instore who told me not to and that it would damage the gasket!

I'm just wondering how I would make the tool mentioned to retorque without pulling the motor? (head bolt access adaptor)
Thanks for the advice.

[SCOOBIDOO]

[Bodge]

Thanks Scoobidoo, that tool will really make my life easier!
In your opinion would a third retorque be overkill or worth the effort? I really don't want to have to do this again, VRS gasket kit costs about $350 or $360, horribly expensive!

ps - I am pretty sure that the bloke I bought the wagon off didn't torque up the headbolts a second time - that must be why I have inherited this problem. Was tempted to retension the head bolts to see if the minor leak might vanish.

Also another L that I bought for parts had been thoroughly cooked and when I ripped a head off to check it out one of the bolts was only finger tight! Several others were really loose. Looked like a recent backyard head gasket job had been done by the amount of fresh excess gasket goo squeezed out from the cam carriers and rocker covers.

Cheers guys.

[SCOOBIDOO]

just retorque it once and go up to 55 max....47 is the spec but a tad more is ok....dont go over 55 though as this is the max thread threshold....sounds like that ea you bought suffered from no retorque...its so common on the ea engine....
lube the threads and washers when you first install the bolts

p.s...get your full gasket kits outta california usa..there $ US55 and timing belt kits are $ US51 complete with idler pullys..
....seek and yee shall find....

[shuffbag]

or get a friend in the industrie

[steptoe]

a friend in the industry still would not be able to do the TB kits anywhere near that price of SCOOBI's

I was told that due to Mistu pulling out of this country as far as making cars - ACL went under and no longer able to get the monotorques - maybe old stock. My permaseals were 2002 this year !

I made my tool shaped much like SCOOBI's there using 3/8" drive 17mm socket, also got a black impact 3/8 drive extension 75mm and ground its square drive furthr along shaft and removed about 12mm of it length to fit between engine and rails - otherwise lift off its mous and hold engine to one side. A 3/8 drive torque wrench u to 50 ft lbs also hndy if you can find buy borrow steal one to reduce clearance issues
or fit engine to a Baja BUggy

[shuffbag]

nah i could'nd beat those prices, but my last kit only cost $100