My First Hiccup, finally put this to bed after the 3rd try Options

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When we returned from Rt66 '16 I pulled my exhaust system down for a little trimming and noticed water in the left bank muffler! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/WTF.gif) We did drive through a ton of water on that trip. Then when returning from Costco yesterday it acted as if it were starved for fuel when it stumbled during acceleration. The fuel filter was the same one that came on the engine so I ordered another one. When I looked at the filter to check which one I had I noticed the coolant level in the expansion tank/reservoir had dropped. Well, there you are. Head gasket time. Now, I'm wondering if the stumble was due in fact to the head gasket failing? Decisions; should I fix this one which presently has ~ 185K or buy a JDM replacement. After perusing the net I found a few peep's whose JDM experience was less than stellar. Apparently it is a crap shoot as to what you get and the 40-50K avg mileage is (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bs.gif) . So, for about 1K I can pick up another engine and hope I bought a good one or open this one up and hope that is all it needs since it wasn't overheated. What does the the Wasser family think?

EDIT: It's an EZ30D 6cyl

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I love how the engine cradle is also the drivetrain dolly...

Thx Rich, I can't remember who I stole that idea from. Musta been DBCooper or BIGKAT. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Cometic gaskets are all MLS, or multi-layered steel. On a properly prepped surface they're supposed to be far superior, if not bulletproof compared to stock gaskets, which are called "composite" gaskets, produced with a bunch of soft metal material that crushes when it's torqued down.

Google it - most of the serious Suby tuners use them on those 450+ hp WRX motors.

George, tell me more about the Cometic gaskets. Haven't heard of them before.

I'm running Cometic gaskets on the Alien. First because the heads were cut one too many times. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) I had a custom thickness made to bring the valves up off the pistons. Second because of the superior sealing. Weird things. Layered stamped steel riveted together to keep alignment while installing. They can stack them to what ever your needs are.

I'll need to find out what the stock thickness is then. I want to keep the CR stock which is 10.?:1. I'll look it up.

Yup, they don't sound like they'd seal, but they're good for some serious boost. It is really nice that you can get them in different thicknesses too, as deviations from stock deck height on a Suby motor also means varying cam timing from left to right banks. In my case, I had .004 taken off the heads at the machine shop, so I oversized the HGs from Cometic by the same number.

Quick question Kent - on the front of your cradle, does it bolt directly to the "early" style rubber outer engine mounts, or to the little stamped steel half-moon shaped pieces found on the later cars?

Here ya go George. A pic is worth a 1,00o words. Scroll thru these shots........ http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...776&st=120#