[JulianH]

OK, so the HG on my wife's 98 Forester(157k mi) has probably been going for a while, but it just started overheating the other day and the mechanic down the road said he detected combustion gasses in the cooling system, although it's not bad at this point. We've parked it until the repairs can be made, as I don't want to risk (additional?) damage. All the writeups and youtube videos have been really helpful in convincing me I can tackle this.

So this is what I'm looking at parts wise, please let me know if there seems to be anything missing/wrong:

OE gasket set
valve cover gaskets
OE timing belt idler+pulleys
OE timing belt tensioner+pulley+bracket
water pump (should this also be OE?)
head bolts(?)
t-stat(? just cause I'm already there)

While I'm at it, I'm going to check and see if the rings need to be replaced... are there any quality rings out there that are cheaper than the OE ones?

Thanks guys.

 

[huck_this]

OK, so the HG on my wife's 98 Forester(157k mi) has probably been going for a while, but it just started overheating the other day and the mechanic down the road said he detected combustion gasses in the cooling system, although it's not bad at this point. We've parked it until the repairs can be made, as I don't want to risk (additional?) damage. All the writeups and youtube videos have been really helpful in convincing me I can tackle this.

So this is what I'm looking at parts wise, please let me know if there seems to be anything missing/wrong:

OE gasket set
valve cover gaskets
OE timing belt idler+pulleys Don't really need to change idler and pulleys.
OE timing belt tensioner+pulley+bracket Comes with the pulley. Bracket is re-used. If it ain't leaking, it's still good.
water pump (should this also be OE?) Yes, the earlier ones are prone to failure.
head bolts(?) Nope, use the old ones. Just remember to put oil on the threads and under the bolt heads.
t-stat(? just cause I'm already there) Cheap. Change it

While I'm at it, I'm going to check and see if the rings need to be replaced... are there any quality rings out there that are cheaper than the OE ones?

Thanks guys.

:Banane35:

 

[JulianH]

Well, maybe I should inspect them first, but I figure if I'm already putting the time into getting it running again, I should replace the idlers, especially since they've been superseded by a dual bearing design. In fact, almost all the parts I've listed have been superseded with an eye towards improving reliability(tensioner+bracket too). I would be so pissed if an idler were to freeze up and throw the timing belt...

I can't post the link(<15 posts), but there is a good video at Youtube that brings up these points. The video ID is ezlP1AUzXKY

Actually, in watching that again it's only 2000 and newer that has a superseded bracket.

 

[kazzpar007]

:Banane35:

I'd go with everything but )my 2centz(

Replace all of the head bolts with NEW ones. There is a reason why the bolts are so expensive. Head bolts are "stretch to yield" type. This means when you torque the bolts (in staged sequence of course) the shank of the bolt actually stretches as the nominal torque is achieved. Think of it as the bolts are being spring loaded as you clamp the heads to the block. Would you reuse old stretched out springs? I've read too many posts on here where people either do the job themselves or goto a mechanic and the head gasket jobs fail. I bet my last dollar that on the majority of these failures, the head bolts were reused.... again just my opinion!! :Banane37: