Seal kit replacement advice

[Dellul]

I'm looking at doing a full seal replacement down to the valve cover gaskets so just looking for advice on what seal kit to purchase , special equipment i might need or any other advice that may make the job easier. My car has done over 330ks now so a lot of ks, and a lot of oil leaks. I have had a full pressure test done to the engine and apparently it is still a good engine.

[Dellul]

So I'm gearing up to replace the valve cover gaskets this week. In the 2008 legacy/outback workshop manual i managed to download it states to apply a "liquid gasket" on 4 specified sections on the cylinder head . I am planning on doing this just wondering why on all of the tutorials I've found online no one mentions this?

[subyroo]

In the 2008 legacy/outback workshop manual i managed to download it states to apply a "liquid gasket" on 4 specified sections on the cylinder head.

Is this the manual you downloaded?
http://www.mediafire.com/download/in4uq1mvt38ao8g/GenMarket_Legacy_FSM_2008_(BP-BL_HTML_version).zip

[Dellul]

Looks like it, I have a pdf version. Pg.1109 mentions using a liquid gasket on certain sections of the head

[bigBADbenny]

It’s definitely a consideration for ej255 valve cover gaskets: gray 3bond is sparingly applied to the corners and convoluted areas as per the diagram in the FSM procedure.
There’s a lot of related considerations to successfully doing a valve cover job so I kept notes on the pitfalls:

Valve cover gaskets

Gray 3bond as per FSM instructions, don’t go overboard with the it.
In Australia, Burson stock 3bond products.

Inspect the rear lower corners for seated gasket after offering it up, but before tightening the bolts, failure to check will lead to a leak plus replacing the gasket.

Very carefully inspect the gasket is seated with torch & mirror before *nipping* up the location specific *shoulder* bolts in order as per FSM, again.

Prep with solvent or brake clean prior.

Ideally you’d let it sit and cure for a while on completing.

Iirc, the 3bond is required at the corners and convoluted areas, where it’s needed to help the rubber gasket seal.

If you have time, the trick is to offer up the gasket to the rocker cover, place it on a clean flat surface and let the 3bond set a little before offering it up to the head.

Using a torque wrench on accessible bolts will help calibrate your feel for nipping up the more inaccessible bolts.

The bolts have specific lengths and being shoulder bolts, specific locations on each head. The FSM has the locations and torque specs, or use a written diagram on cardboard and punch the bolts in their locations on the diagram.

Grind down a spare 10mm 12pt socket is in the plan for next time, plus assorted ring spanners.

Links to all year model market FSM workshop manuals: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=34980

[Shaheenis]

Bringing up this one from the archive. I paid someone to do my valve cover gaskets at 125K. 50K later they are leaking and since I am about to remove the up pipe to track an exhaust leak I thought it might be worth doing the gaskets again.

Is it just he valve cover gaskets and spark plug tube gaskets I need for this job (and some 3-bond)? Or are there other bits like bolt seals like on the EJ20 models?

Anything else worth doing while I am there?

Cheers,

Tim

[bigBADbenny]

Iirc the spark plug seals are generally supplied with the valve cover gaskets. Eg: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/193044421507
This is a good deal, OEM, under 1/2 dealership price, but be sure to confirm the part numbers also fit Libs…

The half moon seals will be tricky to spot for leaks, at the rear of each head, could be worthwhile wiping them clean a week prior to the valve cover job, reinspect before proceeding. They’re not afaik a known issue for leaking.

You might inspect the secondary air injection tube that wraps around the lhs head on ej255 engines for cracks, replace that if required.
I used some double sided tape to help protect mine from rubbing on the valve cover. Ej20x/y may not have secondary air injection…

One thing I’m tempted to try is to use the Porsche case half mating trick of laying a thread around the flat seating area to provide an extra seal. Not sure if practical or even possible, but there will be videos online of the process. I have spare valve covers somewhere to check the potential. Could be the go given the patchy reliability of OEM gaskets installed according to the considered FSM procedure: grey threebond in corners and convolutions. My mechanic slathered the gaskets in some blue RTV, thinking that’s what I wanted (I absolutely did not) and they’re already leaking 5kkm in lol.

Eg:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3120427 ... 173499758/
https://vansairforce.net/threads/case-h ... ling.7347/

Here’s a deep dive going into the importance of cleaning the surfaces: brass wire toothbrush and brake cleaner or similar are essential: https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/v ... st-6349858