This dude is unbelievable! Just popped up in my feed and he is 💯 better than any other automotive channels I watch! GREAT VIDEO MY FRIEND 👍 I JUST SUBSCRIBED!😊
I agree 110% with your head resurface method. Also I was was WAS going to nag you about HOW THE HELL a clogged heater core could cause engine overheat (time stamp 1:17). But I stopped, did some research & learned (to my amazement) Subaru (EJ based at least) are designed to run coolant thru heater core 100% while engine is running. ((There exists no control valve to stop the flow in summer etc like in vehicles I'm more familiar with)) So I can see how a clogged core could INDEED cause problems that the design does not tolerate. So I apologize & glad I researched BEFORE "firing off" at you!!.
That’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever read. Most the clowns on the internet speak without knowing a thing, which is why I ignore my comments section now. All the Subaru owners who use stop leak are dooming their car for problem after problem. Then they wonder why the headgaskets blow in 50k when the originals lasted 150k This method works 100%, AS LONG AS YOU CLEAN ALL THE METAL OUT AFTER. The same goes for any machining process tho.
Please show how to do it in car your content is so in depth and entertaining I’m learning lots for the at home garage worker. My 06 Impreza has signs of head gasket failure so I’m very interested in doing this with out removing the entire engine!!
I attempted removing the heads without pulling the engine, but couldn't reach one of the valve cover bottom bolts. Gave up and pulled engine, though pulling the engine is not the worst job. Once you are down to the heads, there are only another 10 or so bolts to take out
Great DIY solution. One tip. Sharpie the head surface before you sand paper it. Once you start to sand you should remove all of the sharpie. If there are areas where you still have sharpie, then those are your high spots. This will tell you if you got all the material off or if there are issues with your method.
You posted this just days before I start a head-gasket/re-seal job on a 2009 outback ej253. Great timing! If the surfaces don't seem too bad, I may consider this budget method. If they are bad, I'll suck up that machine shop decking cost. Great post! (also your ej25 engine pull video came in handy as a reference!)
I've done something pretty similar with a mazda BP 1.8 head and block and it worked great. Used one of those pneumatic long sanding boards for the block to flatten it enough the MLS gasket sealed fine. A trick I learned for carbon and crud on valves from a grey hair.. use a brass punch and a hammer to strike the stem of the valve (on the cam side) which briefly shocks the valve open/closed helping it seat. Edit: also.. awww kitty...
Enjoyed watching this, a past machinist for many years. If head touch-up resurfacing with coated abrasives is something you do enough, might be worth picking up a good used Starrett granite inspection plate for a few hundred bucks.
I've found that dish soap with some water works better than WD-40 at washing the swarf away. With that i've basically been able to just keep grinding endlessly. Also if you're worried about cost, then you can get large sandpaper sheets without the glue and just get a can of spray glue.
I’ll give the soap a try next time. I’m not worried about cost, time is critical for me. I started doing this when I would offer 24 hour headgasket/ timing jobs. Most of the time it was for the external oil leak, 1 hr and I’d be putting it back together
Good technique thx for the tile idea 😆 may use glass but wish I had a long milled block like 2 or 3 ft by 1 ft however thick, Yayy N20s lol, just rebuilt the entire Mitsubishi made turbo on my sister's N20 in her f30 (14 320i X) plus a catted d/pipe and res delete. Wanted to get a Shuenk turbo kit because the wastegate flapper design is totally different and 10 times better then the stock setup that wears out, Ended up just getting an upgraded cartridge and replaced the wastegate flapper assembly.
Loved the video, I’ve been thinking about doing this for my neon I need to put back together. I’ve seen heads on neons be out .004 that didn’t leak on a turbo race car. But they knew they were running a risk at the time.
They headgasket is meant to compensate for flaws, that’s it’s job. But most manuals state that .003 is the limit. . I’ll be trying my skidsteer head this week (4cyl), to date, 3cyl heads (v6) are the largest I have done, so we will see….
@@steinfabgarage might be worth it to get a longer slab and sandpaper for a belt sander. I’ve seen people doing v8 heads I just don’t know what they were using at the time.
Any stone countertop shop will have lots of sink and cooktop cutouts. They will be more flat and also free. They have to pay to discard them so most shops would be happy to give you a piece or two.
Remove the spark plugs first. Also, pressure wash or clean the heads any other way before you do this. I have done this many times when I had no money, it does work. Also, aluminum heads need a much higher grit finish than that, at least 150.
Negative, you want a little roughness to hold the gasket. 7 year machinist here, and over 120 (60) cars done like this. Bmw N20 motors are notorious for slipping timing, the updated parts are LASER ETCHED to provide friction and reduce slipping
@@steinfabgarage Only for Iron blocks/heads with traditional head gaskets. Modern aluminum blocks/heads and MLS head gaskets require at least 150 grit to 180, sometimes more like 220 grit. The RA for aluminum with MLS is 30 to 20, or 180 to 220 grit. Look it up.
This concept is definitely a respectable way to "clean up" an aluminum head as long as you don't sand to much. However it is in no way an effective replacement for having the head surfaced at a machine shop. It's so much better than using those little 2 inch discs on a high speed air grinder that I wouldn't even compare it to that kind of butchering type of clean up.
As a 7 year machinist I can tell you, this IS a effective replacement for a machine shop. It pretty hard to sand TOO MUCH. Trust me, we used to mill .020-.030 tho off customer heads all the time. I HIGHLY AGREE with the BUTCHERING done with the 2” discs, we would see them come in “cleaned” by those and often have to have the head welded due to low spots around the fire ring (combustion chamber)
If you worked in a machine shop then you should understand that you have no clue if your sand paper method is keeping the head surface perpendicular to the crank shaft and cam. I doubt as much as .003 difference from one end of the head to the other would cause any valvetrain or bolt alignment issues but your not measuring anything so you don't know if it is off or not. Those tiny 2 cylinder heads are the best case scenario for attempting this in the first place. A 4 cylinder head could easily become off over .005 end to end by trying this.
@@crazyoilfieldmechanic3195 Y U Hate in on this man? I bet u never did a head job in your entire life!!! U might have GAVE SOME HEAD but mechanicly u probably never did any head gaskets a day in ur life!
Sweet video i forgot all about that way to do a head been a long time since i did that my son just got a 08 legacy with 116k i think then i found out they have issues like that plus i have found a few on marketplace with bad headgaskets and i need a vehicle i can put rools in like a wagon or suv but something good on gas work isnt so good right now and my 10 f150 has the tranny going out i cant change it wven if i liked the truck lol had heart surgery back on February 1st so trying to get back to working right now on our condo it coufht fire on February 16 on February 7 when my youngest brought me home he totaled my 08 sonata my oldest already did that 3 years ago but was a easy fix lol he had to get a car i havnt been able to get his explorer on the road tet have it filled qith new parts but with everything going on its been undoable lol i would love to see a in care video on getting the heads off would help me out if i decide to get one also looking at a couple older diesel something i can use black diesel in no dpf or what ever its callled lol thanks for the video!!!!!!!!
Thank you for the video, I plan on doing this on my daughter's 2011 outback soon, I pulled the motor. I set the timing marks before pulling the heads, 1 head all valves are closed, the other has intakes wide open. I'm guessing I'm going to have to close them before doing this, And reset the timing when installed. Would it be a good idea to lightly spray the head with something to see where the low spots are? It was getting very slight bubbling into the overflow tank. I just drilled a small extra hole in the thermostat to get her by for a few months until we could put the car down for a bit. Car ran excellent but ran a little cold. Thanks again
Wouldn't let me edit again, Meant to say both intake valves widen open, and on other cylinder next to it exhaust valve open. Guess I'll just mark it, roll the cam to close valves and move back afterward
Rotate the cams till there’s a 30 degrees in either direction with zero load. No, just start resurfacing it and it will be obvious. Time the block first, they don’t time at TDC, so with the block set, your free to rotate the cams, not the other way around as the valves will be open
@@steinfabgarage Thank you for the reply, Appreciate it. The block is still set, I noticed there was a notch,.and a arrow on the crank pulley, I went with the notch as that was the only way to get crank and cams to all match timing marks. 1 head is still set exactly as I pulled it, The pulley hasn't spun and still sitting as it was, So is the other, But I'll have to rotate that to close valves. I'll probably just mark it, Rotate, When reinstalling, Turn cam back to original mark and install...Put the belt on, crank over by hand a few revolutions, And cross my fingers..lol I was not aware they didn't time to TDC. I guess that's what all the extra paint dots/marks and arrows are for. I'll just want to make sure this thing is correct, As I never want to do it again. Thanks Again for your reply and your videos in general, A lot of help for sure.
Great video man, i do have a few questions. Will 80 grit work with mls RA requirements? also, I've found almost all aluminum blocks like to warp as well. do you surface the block too?
Yeah 80 grit is good for MLS ( I’ve used 60 so 80’is super safe) Razor blade the block surface so get the gasket material off, and your good, even if it’s out .002” that’s fine
Hey mate love your vlogs. What's your take on 2006 EJ20 versus EJ25 with respect to continued head gasket issues. Correct me if I'm wrong.. And I know you will! The EJ20 (non turbo) engines have a better cooling system as there is more water cooling the engine?
Here in the US, the only 20’s we got were turbo in the WRX, so I don’t have experience with the NA’s. But even the turbos were open deck VS the 25 semi closed deck. So yes I would say more coolant is good and leads to less head-gasket issues. Also, less power, less issues
Just out of curiosity why do you use 80 grit sandpaper? Seems like everyone online is using 200-320 grit with this method. Is there any chance 80 grit will leave too rough of a surface?
Because 80 leaves the gaskets a surface to “hold” on to. It’s the same theory as why port and polish is good for airflow, but bad for fuel atomization. Sometimes rougher is better
No, too smooth is bad, you want to “hold” the gasket, please look up “bmw N20 timing slip” the updated bmw parts are LASER ETCHED to provide friction. This is because there’s no key ways on the crank, everything is sandwiched, just like a head gasket. Same concept.
That's the coolest TH-cam channel I've discovered this year
This dude is unbelievable! Just popped up in my feed and he is 💯 better than any other automotive channels I watch! GREAT VIDEO MY FRIEND 👍 I JUST SUBSCRIBED!😊
Thanks for the love!!!!! These comments make me unbelievably happy!
This is the most useful and entertaining channel on TH-cam
I agree 110% with your head resurface method. Also I was was WAS going to nag you about HOW THE HELL a clogged heater core could cause engine overheat (time stamp 1:17). But I stopped, did some research & learned (to my amazement) Subaru (EJ based at least) are designed to run coolant thru heater core 100% while engine is running. ((There exists no control valve to stop the flow in summer etc like in vehicles I'm more familiar with)) So I can see how a clogged core could INDEED cause problems that the design does not tolerate. So I apologize & glad I researched BEFORE "firing off" at you!!.
That’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever read. Most the clowns on the internet speak without knowing a thing, which is why I ignore my comments section now.
All the Subaru owners who use stop leak are dooming their car for problem after problem. Then they wonder why the headgaskets blow in 50k when the originals lasted 150k
This method works 100%, AS LONG AS YOU CLEAN ALL THE METAL OUT AFTER. The same goes for any machining process tho.
Thank you SOOOO much for this! Everyone repeats the same mantra "take it to the machine shop". I figured there was another way. Now I know!
Please show how to do it in car your content is so in depth and entertaining I’m learning lots for the at home garage worker. My 06 Impreza has signs of head gasket failure so I’m very interested in doing this with out removing the entire engine!!
I’d pull it with that car, it can be done, but it’s soooooo tight. The bigger body 10-12 outback/ legacy is the only one I’ll do in car.
I attempted removing the heads without pulling the engine, but couldn't reach one of the valve cover bottom bolts. Gave up and pulled engine, though pulling the engine is not the worst job. Once you are down to the heads, there are only another 10 or so bolts to take out
usefull and informative: 10/10. cats: 11/10
Great DIY solution. One tip. Sharpie the head surface before you sand paper it. Once you start to sand you should remove all of the sharpie. If there are areas where you still have sharpie, then those are your high spots. This will tell you if you got all the material off or if there are issues with your method.
You posted this just days before I start a head-gasket/re-seal job on a 2009 outback ej253. Great timing! If the surfaces don't seem too bad, I may consider this budget method. If they are bad, I'll suck up that machine shop decking cost. Great post! (also your ej25 engine pull video came in handy as a reference!)
If there barely blown, this beats waiting for them to be milled. But sometimes a few day break isn’t bad, depends on your situation
I've done something pretty similar with a mazda BP 1.8 head and block and it worked great. Used one of those pneumatic long sanding boards for the block to flatten it enough the MLS gasket sealed fine.
A trick I learned for carbon and crud on valves from a grey hair.. use a brass punch and a hammer to strike the stem of the valve (on the cam side) which briefly shocks the valve open/closed helping it seat.
Edit: also.. awww kitty...
Enjoyed watching this, a past machinist for many years. If head touch-up resurfacing with coated abrasives is something you do enough, might be worth picking up a good used Starrett granite inspection plate for a few hundred bucks.
I have a machinist straight edge, I’ll look into the Starrett plate! Thank you
I've found that dish soap with some water works better than WD-40 at washing the swarf away.
With that i've basically been able to just keep grinding endlessly.
Also if you're worried about cost, then you can get large sandpaper sheets without the glue and just get a can of spray glue.
I’ll give the soap a try next time. I’m not worried about cost, time is critical for me. I started doing this when I would offer 24 hour headgasket/ timing jobs. Most of the time it was for the external oil leak, 1 hr and I’d be putting it back together
Love your videos bro im about to benge watch since im off thursdays and fridays!
Gotta love the 80 grit!
Good technique thx for the tile idea 😆 may use glass but wish I had a long milled block like 2 or 3 ft by 1 ft however thick, Yayy N20s lol, just rebuilt the entire Mitsubishi made turbo on my sister's N20 in her f30 (14 320i X) plus a catted d/pipe and res delete. Wanted to get a Shuenk turbo kit because the wastegate flapper design is totally different and 10 times better then the stock setup that wears out, Ended up just getting an upgraded cartridge and replaced the wastegate flapper assembly.
Life long tool maker he is spot on the tile is ok a large piece of steel that looks like it has two sides ground flat would be better
very helpful. doing this exact process to my 06 forester right now. very mild overheating, should be ok I think.
Just subscibed, very smart dude!
Good tonknow on that degreaser.
Seriously the best 👍🏻
Loved the video, I’ve been thinking about doing this for my neon I need to put back together.
I’ve seen heads on neons be out .004 that didn’t leak on a turbo race car. But they knew they were running a risk at the time.
They headgasket is meant to compensate for flaws, that’s it’s job. But most manuals state that .003 is the limit. .
I’ll be trying my skidsteer head this week (4cyl), to date, 3cyl heads (v6) are the largest I have done, so we will see….
@@steinfabgarage might be worth it to get a longer slab and sandpaper for a belt sander. I’ve seen people doing v8 heads I just don’t know what they were using at the time.
I wanna see you do it in the car!
Coming soon! Let me go buy another car real quick
+1. no rush.
Any stone countertop shop will have lots of sink and cooktop cutouts. They will be more flat and also free. They have to pay to discard them so most shops would be happy to give you a piece or two.
Remove the spark plugs first. Also, pressure wash or clean the heads any other way before you do this. I have done this many times when I had no money, it does work. Also, aluminum heads need a much higher grit finish than that, at least 150.
Negative, you want a little roughness to hold the gasket. 7 year machinist here, and over 120 (60) cars done like this. Bmw N20 motors are notorious for slipping timing, the updated parts are LASER ETCHED to provide friction and reduce slipping
@@steinfabgarage Only for Iron blocks/heads with traditional head gaskets. Modern aluminum blocks/heads and MLS head gaskets require at least 150 grit to 180, sometimes more like 220 grit. The RA for aluminum with MLS is 30 to 20, or 180 to 220 grit. Look it up.
This concept is definitely a respectable way to "clean up" an aluminum head as long as you don't sand to much. However it is in no way an effective replacement for having the head surfaced at a machine shop. It's so much better than using those little 2 inch discs on a high speed air grinder that I wouldn't even compare it to that kind of butchering type of clean up.
As a 7 year machinist I can tell you, this IS a effective replacement for a machine shop. It pretty hard to sand TOO MUCH. Trust me, we used to mill .020-.030 tho off customer heads all the time.
I HIGHLY AGREE with the BUTCHERING done with the 2” discs, we would see them come in “cleaned” by those and often have to have the head welded due to low spots around the fire ring (combustion chamber)
If you worked in a machine shop then you should understand that you have no clue if your sand paper method is keeping the head surface perpendicular to the crank shaft and cam. I doubt as much as .003 difference from one end of the head to the other would cause any valvetrain or bolt alignment issues but your not measuring anything so you don't know if it is off or not. Those tiny 2 cylinder heads are the best case scenario for attempting this in the first place. A 4 cylinder head could easily become off over .005 end to end by trying this.
@@crazyoilfieldmechanic3195 Y U Hate in on this man? I bet u never did a head job in your entire life!!! U might have GAVE SOME HEAD but mechanicly u probably never did any head gaskets a day in ur life!
@steinfabgarage
Thanks for your comment. I'm gonna do this. Will also do a lapping and valve seals too!
@@williamhorsley7799Good thing a hillbilly dumbass weighed in.
Bruh, I'd like this video multiple times if I could!
Sweet video i forgot all about that way to do a head been a long time since i did that my son just got a 08 legacy with 116k i think then i found out they have issues like that plus i have found a few on marketplace with bad headgaskets and i need a vehicle i can put rools in like a wagon or suv but something good on gas work isnt so good right now and my 10 f150 has the tranny going out i cant change it wven if i liked the truck lol had heart surgery back on February 1st so trying to get back to working right now on our condo it coufht fire on February 16 on February 7 when my youngest brought me home he totaled my 08 sonata my oldest already did that 3 years ago but was a easy fix lol he had to get a car i havnt been able to get his explorer on the road tet have it filled qith new parts but with everything going on its been undoable lol i would love to see a in care video on getting the heads off would help me out if i decide to get one also looking at a couple older diesel something i can use black diesel in no dpf or what ever its callled lol thanks for the video!!!!!!!!
A glass shop always has scrap glass you can get either free or like $5-$10, and will be SUPER flat
Great tip!!
Thank you for the video, I plan on doing this on my daughter's 2011 outback soon, I pulled the motor. I set the timing marks before pulling the heads, 1 head all valves are closed, the other has intakes wide open. I'm guessing I'm going to have to close them before doing this, And reset the timing when installed. Would it be a good idea to lightly spray the head with something to see where the low spots are? It was getting very slight bubbling into the overflow tank. I just drilled a small extra hole in the thermostat to get her by for a few months until we could put the car down for a bit. Car ran excellent but ran a little cold.
Thanks again
Wouldn't let me edit again, Meant to say both intake valves widen open, and on other cylinder next to it exhaust valve open. Guess I'll just mark it, roll the cam to close valves and move back afterward
Rotate the cams till there’s a 30 degrees in either direction with zero load. No, just start resurfacing it and it will be obvious.
Time the block first, they don’t time at TDC, so with the block set, your free to rotate the cams, not the other way around as the valves will be open
@@steinfabgarage Thank you for the reply, Appreciate it. The block is still set, I noticed there was a notch,.and a arrow on the crank pulley, I went with the notch as that was the only way to get crank and cams to all match timing marks.
1 head is still set exactly as I pulled it, The pulley hasn't spun and still sitting as it was, So is the other, But I'll have to rotate that to close valves. I'll probably just mark it, Rotate, When reinstalling, Turn cam back to original mark and install...Put the belt on, crank over by hand a few revolutions, And cross my fingers..lol
I was not aware they didn't time to TDC. I guess that's what all the extra paint dots/marks and arrows are for.
I'll just want to make sure this thing is correct, As I never want to do it again.
Thanks Again for your reply and your videos in general, A lot of help for sure.
Can you show us how to remove the head off a Subaru 2.5 2003 thanks.
Great video man, i do have a few questions. Will 80 grit work with mls RA requirements? also, I've found almost all aluminum blocks like to warp as well. do you surface the block too?
Yeah 80 grit is good for MLS ( I’ve used 60 so 80’is super safe)
Razor blade the block surface so get the gasket material off, and your good, even if it’s out .002” that’s fine
what do you recomend to flat/check the block deck? smaller tile? in engine bay ofcourse ;)
... roll that beautiful in-car footage
Hey mate love your vlogs. What's your take on 2006 EJ20 versus EJ25 with respect to continued head gasket issues. Correct me if I'm wrong.. And I know you will! The EJ20 (non turbo) engines have a better cooling system as there is more water cooling the engine?
Here in the US, the only 20’s we got were turbo in the WRX, so I don’t have experience with the NA’s. But even the turbos were open deck VS the 25 semi closed deck. So yes I would say more coolant is good and leads to less head-gasket issues. Also, less power, less issues
@@steinfabgarage Thank you
@@stephenbrown7167 thanks for checking out the video. I appreciate all my viewers 🤙🏻
Just out of curiosity why do you use 80 grit sandpaper? Seems like everyone online is using 200-320 grit with this method. Is there any chance 80 grit will leave too rough of a surface?
Because 80 leaves the gaskets a surface to “hold” on to. It’s the same theory as why port and polish is good for airflow, but bad for fuel atomization. Sometimes rougher is better
thank you!
You're welcome!
Do it the Collin way.
Does this work for inline 6? Sticking two sandpaper together?
I’ve never tried it, to be honest, I’d just take that to a shop
why not use glass?
Please do a video in the car!
Coming soon 😎
Could you also please do that budget rebuild video you talked about in a previous video? Love the videos!
Aww kitty!
She’s New Mexican, so she’s “all sad” 😞
Why does everyone use 80 or 120 grit for this... wouldn't you want it to be a flatter surface with 1000 grit or something?
No, too smooth is bad, you want to “hold” the gasket, please look up “bmw N20 timing slip” the updated bmw parts are LASER ETCHED to provide friction. This is because there’s no key ways on the crank, everything is sandwiched, just like a head gasket. Same concept.
Wanna see it in car
I’m still looking for the right car to film it on. Coming eventually! :)
In car
Too bad TH-cam doesn’t show the number of dislikes
Sounds like I got one from you! Thanks for watching 😉