How To: Resurface (EJ25/Subaru) Heads At Home - Backyard Machining 101

[@Southpaw226]

This man will do great in the apocalypse

[@Lagos3sgte]

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 low spots. This will tell you if you got all the material off or if there are issues with your method.

[@Lagos3sgte]

@ yes I do. I’ll correct it in my post.

[@Spiritof_76]

Or dye-chem. Doesn't cost much and easy to apply.

[@paulnicholson1906]

@@Spiritof_76 Prussian blue?

[@Spiritof_76]

@ Yes, the same. Dye-Chem is probably just a brand name.

[@jacoboprocedo]

Decades ago the old bastards taught me to use a marble slab and rubbing compound, like valve lapping compound. Works on my big cast iron 7.3 IDI international heads. Smart young man here.

[@Dj_sanwich]

Lol! Amazing! As a previous mechanic, I gotta say, you're breaking all the rules in the best ways.

[@reedsilvesan2197]

Im an old experienced mechanic, and I approve his techniques.

[@yannisx3209]

After cutting the necessary material to straighten the head, you need to finish the head with 180 grit sandpaper, to achieve around 0.80ra surface roughness so that the steel nitrile-viton gasket seals and also have enough grain to grab against blow out.

[@steinfabgarage]

Na

[@yannisx3209]

@steinfabgarage love your videos but yeah love it or hate it a 20$ more of 180 sandpaper, would makes a world of difference down the road. I used to work at a machine shop.

[@crzy11000]

@@yannisx3209 I don't know if you know he used to work at a machine shop for many years before he got into cars. He does use the copper spray on his multilayer steel gaskets though which may be why he has such good success with this method. I was shown to flatten stuff by a machinist that you should do figure 8"s on the sand paper. Do you use that method?

[@ColinWatters]

Some tiles have a pronounced bow so do check the tile is flat. I used a granite kitchen work top protector when flattening second hand wood planes.

[@FixTechStuff]

Yeah, can confirm. Use the straight edge to check them.

[@crzy11000]

@@FixTechStuff like he said in the video the reflection of light will tell you how straight it is. That is verry important. I guess he did not stress that enough in the video.

[@symbaleursuline]

That's the coolest KZbin channel I've discovered this year

[@williamhorsley7799]

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!😊

[@steinfabgarage]

Thanks for the love!!!!! These comments make me unbelievably happy!

[@dallasmcfadden4897]

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!!.

[@steinfabgarage]

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.

[@Bob-ew5ul]

@@steinfabgarage What do you think of the subaru coolant system conditioner?

[@zombie-yellow]

@@steinfabgarage previous owner of my 2005 Outback XT ran some coolant system stop leak to clog up a radiator leak... radiator still leaked but it clogged the heater core lol Fortunately, coolant was still able to run through it but barely... didn't blow up the gaskets, but still had to replace a heater core ! Not a fun job haha

[@dvoob]

It's fun to watch Dave's Auto Center rebuilds and this guy's rebuilds back to back.

[@motionsick]

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.

[@hw6271]

Interesting. Thanks

[@eriksanchez8501]

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!!

[@steinfabgarage]

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.

[@frugalberry]

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

[@jeremyfreeman1860]

Thank you for doing it in car! Throw a link up to your auto zone parking lot pull!!!

[@TechTronics7]

Life changing stuff going on here!

[@nikodimosmarkose6962]

Never seen this done before. I paid 700 to get the head decked and block honed. It only cost me 550 for the engine and transmission at the junk yard. Thanks for sharing this method.

[@pedlpower]

👍 I've done this to 2 Subies. First one went >100k before it was totaled. Second one is at 50k. Both no problem. Felpro MLS HG.

[@kamil8149]

What grid of paper? I think 80 is agresive

[@lordjaashin]

How did you calculate how much mm of material is removed during resurfacing onvsandpaper? How do you select how much thick head gasket to install to keep timing true?

[@pedlpower]

@@kamil8149 I don't recall.

[@pedlpower]

@@lordjaashin I didn't. It's just sanding to get the surface straight. It's not removing enough material to justify a thicker gasket. I've heard that back in the day guys would do it to steel heads on their concrete driveway. Average daily driver cars will tolerate more abuse than people think they will. YT has convinced people that every engine build requires a clean room and thousands $ in machine work.

[@crzy11000]

@@pedlpower stienfab garage does suggest a clean work area when doing this.

[@damianjones6546]

Wow, I have a 2004 Subaru Legacy. The water pump has never worked in the last 2 years. I have had no engine issues at all in that time! In fact I just towed a 3 ton trailer for 4 hours without any issues. Ok, the clutch took a hammering a few times. But for a non water cooled engine, it is a beast! Good job on keeping these newer Subaru's running 👍

[@frugalberry]

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!

[@NickGreiner1988]

Probably people who run machines shops who don't want people to know how to do certain things for themself, because then they would be less likely to pay a machine shop to do it. It hurts their bottom line in other words

[@Mike_44]

Yup.. that’s exactly how I resurfaced the block on my ‘01 Forester which had previously overheated. The trick is to pass the stone on top on the block/heads without putting extra weight on them, just let the weight of the stone do the job with several passes and measure for warping with a straight edge. Use 1,200 grit sabd paper. After I was done with the passes, not even 0.002” went under the straight edge on mine. After replacing its H/Gs with an MLS, that n/a 2.5L engine became a tank!

[@FixTechStuff]

Me and my dad did this on a 4 cylinder Isuzu head in 1990, we used a piece of I-beam, and went back and forth horizontally. Head was fairly warped and it came up perfectly.

[@paulnicholson1906]

that is the same tile I put in my shower. I have an old Jeep that I replaced the head gasket but it was a cast iron head so it didn't warp. Been going strong for years now. Cost like 15 dollars.

[@igorz104]

Dude… definitely one of the best videos I’ve seen on DIY, thanks for uploading all your videos, gained a subscriber

[@mikeblack6953]

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.

[@steinfabgarage]

I have a machinist straight edge, I’ll look into the Starrett plate! Thank you

[@skytrondeepfreeze6689]

Ya or just a peice of machinist check granite​@@steinfabgarage

[@James-of-all]

This is the most useful and entertaining channel on KZbin

[@ronaldbennett5996]

I love your videos. My 2010 Forrester lost a head gasket, and your video is the most informative one that I've watched. Yes, I would like to see you do a video of you pulling the head without removing the engine. Thank you for your content.

[@myronsherman8571]

So I just found this kid while searching milling heads at home for subaru. Im happy I did. Thanks brother for your channel 🙏 😊

[@TheBadspud]

I Used a piece of glass with rounded edges used contact adhesive to glue the sand paper down on both sides one side finer grit for finishing and put it on a wooden work bench didn't move one bit and valve grinding compound and lapped the valves with a drill and a bit of vacuum hose on the stem and put them through a dish washer actually worked bloody well runs like a champ ej25 heads on my 08wrx pushing 18psi through it 270,000 km on the odometer so far

[@IanSRutter]

You are up there with Mr Subaru. This video is on another level for doing head work. Thanks for this and demystifying resurfacing heads. Brilliant work. After resurfacing can you still use the recommended gasket, or because you have shaved off a few thousands off, you need thicker gaskets? And, would you say this is only for Subaru's or any car which have aluminum heads? Have subs. Bloody good work. Cheers

[@Djefff_]

kitten under the table is my fav part

[@Truthorshit]

Very good G! i didnt know the floor sander sheets were sticky backed, thankyou

[@FrancisFurtak]

Right on bro. I bought my first car in 1969. It was a Mercedes 180B $120. I had to borrow $60 bucks from my sister to buy it. I had no idea what I was doing but knew I couldn't afford to take it to the MBZ dealer to have it fixed. So the summer after high school I rebuilt the whole car. I had no idea what I was doing but knew I needed a good reliable car. It worked! Glad to see you are doing things right. How come you're not doing your BMW? I have to put a head gasket in my BMW 525 this spring. Keep up the good work. Where are you located?

[@Eric-xq7ji]

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!)

[@steinfabgarage]

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

[@viralbull8085]

Seriously one of the most usually tips out there in head work

[@poptartmcjelly7054]

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.

[@steinfabgarage]

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

[@realpremier]

24h headgasket job would stress me out 😂 how much did you earn for one job?

[@mundanestuff]

@@steinfabgarage If I could find 24 hour turnaround near me I would be throwing work at them (Upstate NY)

[@cztech2631]

The amount of stuff I've learned in one day of watching your videos is incredible. Keep up the good work and I really enjoy the videos you're putting out on Subarus

[@notoioudmanboy]

keeping me motivated to keep the wrenching up.

[@ricardocervantes6781]

I watched all type mechanics i be watching a video or two but man your videos is where its at 🔥🙌

[@Mikexxx531]

Great video, and great cats too! I'm subscribing. I'm curious - how well does this technique work with iron heads? How much extra work would it entail on a V-6?

[@williamhorsley7799]

Love your videos bro im about to benge watch since im off thursdays and fridays!

[@leahcim7]

New to working on cars. Would you want to do this to the block surface as well? Does that warp as well? Or not as much?

[@wynniedenny1036]

also wondering this

[@JohnDoe-ml8ru]

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.

[@steinfabgarage]

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

[@JohnDoe-ml8ru]

@@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.

[@CensorshipGenesis]

If you can't find large sheets of sandpaper. It's easy to get away with "belt sander" sand paper. Cut them in the middle, usually they are long enough for a regular four cylinder head. And cheaper. Preferably go for aluminium oxide sand paper. My 2 cents! 🙂

[@elesjuan]

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...

[@ClutchCobraKID1]

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.

[@junomonroy9253]

Bro thank you for all the knowledge watching all vids

[@gekkofrog92]

Mate, love the content. It’s first class. I want to see you to a Suzuki Jimny if you can get your hands on one state side. Got one here in the UK. Think you’d love working on that and it’d be great content!

[@gekkofrog92]

Also this is genius. Great ingenuity my man. I love your balling in a budget style!

[@AshtonNazzise]

I’d love to see you do a video on the fa/fb Subaru engines your videos are great

[@jonathanhernandez4304]

I was rebuilding engines since 1987. I started with methods like this and eventually became a machinist tgen engineer. I still agree with tge shoe string common sense ways, BUT; for the love of God please at least use a test indicator over the surface to see where you're at. A shinning smooth surface is deceptive at a glance. You could be. 020 tp. 085 out of flatness and not detect it using just a square or granite surface and light. You don't want to be reworking the head in 6 to 18 months.

[@GusM-DIY]

I’ve learned a lot from this video thank you!!!

[@johndooley8837]

The same procedure works for some exhaust manifolds as well.

[@jacquelinesears1770]

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

[@christophersherratt7299]

To have a nice setup go to a double glazing company they have old units when they have fitted new one's strong not like the tile I've broken so many being careless with tools but the glass is toughened units

[@stevenoe6395]

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!!!!!!!!

[@RicoCantrell]

Good tonknow on that degreaser.

[@steinfabgarage]

Seriously the best 👍🏻

[@50Quid-d3x]

Thats one small step for man... One giant leap for us DYI kind!

[@baghtal]

Here's a comment, how do i remove the heads in car? I've found one other video but two or more videos are always more helpful!

[@steinfabgarage]

In works :)

[@timothybishop1845]

That’s great bro but what happens if you gotta bigger head? Mines 4 cylinder. Put two pieces of sandpaper together?

[@bdcharles-dk7rd]

Mdf is good for the job !!!!!

[@HorsleyLandy88]

I just had a 4 cylinder head skimmed yesterday, cost £55 + tax. They did it while I waited, took half an hour.

[@barr0059]

Mad respect, honestly very good explication

[@motoflyte]

very helpful. doing this exact process to my 06 forester right now. very mild overheating, should be ok I think.

[@danfortuna7648]

Awesome video, thank you! Do you do any other gaskets/seals when you do a headgasket job? I'm guessing I will need some intake gaskets as well.

[@MikeAyotte-o9q]

Just subscibed, very smart dude!

[@sean155]

When you're broke, you're broke. A careful mechanic can do a lot to lower expenses and get a job done on a budget. This can work. Using a good gasket after and correct torquing of the head, it'll run. Is a machine shop better? Yes, they have machines made specifically for engine rebuilding engines. But if you are lacking funds and can do this. Do it.

[@cgriffith0187]

Thanks Colin! Great video!!

[@Zubbbz]

I loved your note about how a head being off my 3 thou will run, but its shit work. good for you

[@GIMPY1977]

Hello, love the video, ive herd upgrading to the gasket that the turbo car had is better? Do you happen to know?

[@crzy11000]

Watch ep 3 of his Hustle of the week series he talks about all of this at about 19:20 minute mark

[@UcranianoUKR]

Can you do a reseal of cam carriers without pulling the engine on fb20?

[@Einimas]

Nice! I've got heads machined rougher than this at a machine shop!

[@nabassu]

what do you recomend to flat/check the block deck? smaller tile? in engine bay ofcourse ;)

[@luckyluc135]

i can only get fel-pro gasket are they any good?

[@1936FordPickup]

Feel-Pro is top notch gasket company

[@crzy11000]

he does not use Fel-pro but in another video he talks about using some off of ebay kits but throwing all the rubber gaskets out and using subaru gaskets watch ep3 of Hustle of the week starting at 19:25 in that video.He says he uses $50.00 CNS head gasket kits from ebay. He also uses copper spray gasket on his gaskets in that video.

[@stephenbrown7167]

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?

[@steinfabgarage]

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

[@stephenbrown7167]

@@steinfabgarage Thank you

[@steinfabgarage]

@@stephenbrown7167 thanks for checking out the video. I appreciate all my viewers 🤙🏻

[@Shawn_313]

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

[@Shawn_313]

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

[@steinfabgarage]

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

[@Shawn_313]

@@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.

[@Tallguy2015]

When replacing head gaskets can you use the stronger gaskets from the turbo models? I’ve heard that’s a better fix.

[@midwest_encyclopedic]

It's not that they're stronger it's that they are multilayer steel (MLS) gaskets that allow some flex when the engine goes through heat cycles. And, yes. Use the MLS gaskets. I recently ordered the master seal kit from Subaru (10105AC380) and it came with the non-MLS gaskets. I did not use them.

[@sietafak]

Wow...that's amazing man!

[@mikec555555]

Why would a clogged heater core cause engine over heating? Don't all cars have a bypass loop for the heater core??

[@crzy11000]

no subies dont

[@Susan-n7m5f]

Thankyou for your informative video. 🦘

[@Dog.soldier1950]

Yup nobody at HD knows what’s on the shelf and the online info is often bad which is why i go to a local store if possible

[@GaborKukucska]

2006 Forester non turbo I see oil leakage on the passenger side where the head meats the block. Not seeing loss of coolant or power. No overheating Just hella annoying to have it drip on the exhaust and smoke up the cabin Can I do this job on the 2006 without having to remove the engine?

[@bdcharles-dk7rd]

What about the black Engine block

[@TheDeftones78666]

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?

[@steinfabgarage]

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

[@Walkercolt1]

Take the BLOCK AND the heads to a good machine shop. Pay the old guy $500 to surface the block and heads to +/- .01mm-he can hold DOUBLE that. I'd pay thru the nose for genuine Flo-Pro gaskets and BE DONE WITH IT! If he has a Sunnin Honing machine, I'd have him clean the cylinder bores too. Do it RIGHT or do it AGAIN. Flathead Ferds taught me that 63 years ago...

[@josephschnatterbeck6812]

Great video

[@upsdewd]

Thnx

[@THEJAPMANROBERT]

it was better to do a figure 8 rather than crosshatching?

[@Bass.Player]

Why would a heater core cause a car to overheat?

[@khalbalgo6023]

I suppose this only works on aluminum heads ? Most modern cars are aluminum heads. Mostly Chryslers still use steel on the bigger motors

[@steinfabgarage]

It will work on iron, but will dull the paper fast and require multiple paper changes

[@alexmoloney1560]

I wanna see you do it in the car!

[@steinfabgarage]

Coming soon! Let me go buy another car real quick

[@daos3300]

+1. no rush.

[@matthewcanavan8275]

Thank you

[@sangriabiscus2856]

Please do heads in car. Have 2009 Forester.

[@luccahagerman525]

usefull and informative: 10/10. cats: 11/10

[@manueldominguez8505]

That was good 😮😮😮

[@butterfury]

unironically based. seems easier on H4 cuz it's more like 2x I2.

[@leslielucci3182]

Where are you located? My 09 OB has leaking HG@ 132k miles.

[@StopTeoriomSpiskowym]

9:13 i think 80 paper is too big for this 100 and 150 or begin this grade. and check effects. 10:22 and you should 8 lines

[@James-of-all]

Bruh, I'd like this video multiple times if I could!

[@MishaelSandoval]

Did you make the in car headgasket video?

[@danielnino3861]

An you do this on a 2000 honda accord 2.3l lx with the ulev engine green in car? Like both head and block?

[@1rolmos]

Six star gaskets still fail!!! Best thing is to use the oem mls turbo gaskets.

[@8145dwerdna]

But what about the deck on the block?