Mechanic question: 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX 2.0 Turbo with bad head gasket

I have a neighbor with one of these with 120k miles on it. I guess it has a bad head gasket. He's got a quote to fix this that is quite shocking. Looking at it, I'm not that interested in working on this thing at all. H4, DOHC, I assume an interference engine, etc, I'm just not sure I want to know all the ins/outs of raising something like this from the dead?

Who would do this kind of work and what would one pay? Any referral shops that I could call or avoid? Some Subi raceboy shop should have this process down pretty well, I assume?

I've done this exact year, and engine at my shop.

Yeah, it's interference.

Right bank books out at 10.8hrs.
Left bank books out at 9.8hrs.
Both sides together is 13.7hrs.

B2-Bomber said:

I've done this exact year, and engine at my shop.

Yeah, it's interference.

Right bank books out at 10.8hrs.
Left bank books out at 9.8hrs.
Both sides together is 13.7hrs.

Click to expand...

So $1500 for labor and about $500-1000 for parts/machine work?

what subaru DOESN'T have a blown HG?

I'd do an RME-er cheaper than that. It would be more like $900 labor (both sides). And $500 or less for parts/machine work.

I replaced the head gaskets in my wife's Subaru recently. Not that exact car/engine but overall they are very similar. I'm not an expert but I learned a lot about them in a short period of time. A few things I'd recommend doing while the engine is out:

-Replacing the head bolts. Once stretched TTY bolts should not be re-used especially on a forced induction engine.
-Resurface heads and check for cracks. If I did it again I'd have the block resurfaced as well.
-Re-seal oil pan and the rear cover plates inside bell housing area. Subaru uses Fujibond (Three, Honda, Yamabonds all work here) sealant instead of gaskets/orings for many sealing surfaces. Given the age/mileage I'd replace it to avoid leaks that are very common on these cars.
-Once the heads are bolted down check the valve lash and re-shim if needed! Re-shimming is not easy on that engine but it is WELL worth doing when the engine is out.
-Given the mileage it either has a new timing kit or is 15k past due...

Recommend the owner changes engine coolant at the proper interval. Mine is every 30k miles... Most failures are said to be caused by old corrosive coolant.


Hope this helps,

Jimmy just replaced head gaskets and related hard-to-reach maintenance items while he was at it, on his GF's Outback.

The quotes are not unreasonable. It's a real PITA. I am very glad I didn't buy one.

It's a Subaru. Remove the gas cap and replace the car. Then go find some more tree hugging bumper stickers.