Review on 🔩 HSHB9012 Cylinder Head Gasket Set Head Bolt for Evergreen Engines by Sean Moran

I was nervous at first about using parts but as my husband did the repair himself I didn't want all the extra Spend money on OEM stuff and then have it towed to the dealer anyway and pay for all the parts again (not that we ever have to, but that's my backup plan just in case). It has been six months since my husband installed this gasket kit on our 2006 Forester and the engine bay is completely dry! Before the repair, all kinds of engine leaks were visible - coolant and oil. You can't win for $150! He said all the gaskets fit perfectly and the MLS head gaskets are of excellent quality. He sprayed the HG with a Permatex copper gasket for extra security - just what he read somewhere to seal better in case of failure. He thoroughly cleaned and sanded the motor and head surfaces with 800 grit sandpaper to ensure everything was smooth and clean. Our rear line leaked badly and was probably the main cause of the oil leak and our HGs managed to go another 30,000 miles. In addition, removing the engine made repairs much easier. You should borrow/buy/rent a jack. I know you can make repairs in the engine bay, but your back and hands will pay for it and you'll work miserably in these cramped spaces. Because we don't plan on ever removing the engine again, and neither do you likely. I also highly recommend replacing the rear main seal and spacer plate, even if they "look good". Take your time, take your time We have 130,000 miles on the engine and are planning another 130,000 on at least these new and improved HGs and all new gaskets. We also replaced the water pump, thermostat and radiator/coolant hoses while taking them apart. I highly recommend Subaru OEM parts for this as you will know everything will fit perfectly. We had trouble getting the correct water pump (make sure you have the correct year and gearing) and the aftermarket hoses did NOT fit (we tried Gates and had to modify every hose). My husband had a factory manual where he could find all the exact torque specs for the car and he also did some research online prior to the rebuild. It started on Saturday morning and ended on Sunday evening with many breaks in between - about 12 hours in total. The hardest part of the whole rebuild was removing one of the rocker arm/valve covers as the bottom bolts had seized up and he had to cut and drill one out (which probably took a couple of hours and two trips to the hardware store to do). part alone). Start on Friday evening so you can remove the engine and then start disassembling on Saturday morning. That way you can go to the dealer and get the parts you might need as they are most likely closed on Sunday. Pre-order the bolts you will need for the rocker arm/valve cover and exhaust bolts and nuts - new ones are highly recommended here as old ones tend to rust and then loosen if not installed correctly and the check engine light comes on. That's all. Highlight everything and make sure everything is connected when you're done. We took photos of each connector and made sure everything was there. The engine starts perfectly and runs exactly as we bought it from the dealer! We were offered $2200 to fix it and did it in parts (gaskets, water pump, rear main gasket, muffler nuts and bolts, hoses) for $400. That's $1,800 for the work - count 12 hours, and that's $150 an hour, so it's worth working on over the weekend. Good luck and happy driving. Mileage 80,000 with new seals. Not a single leak or smoke from the exhaust, and on the freeway it easily hit 30mpg. Unfortunately someone hit the car from behind and wrecked the car - even the tow truck driver and later the insurance agent were impressed by how clean the engine was and how well it ran! We got a high price for our Subaru because the engine was in great condition. Reading some of the recent negative reviews, we either got a great kit (maybe they changed the quality of their gaskets) or I suspect the installation wasn't done exactly to the service manual specs. There is a specific tightening sequence for cylinder head bolts and I know my husband tightened it very carefully. Make sure you have the right tools, or if you're doing it professionally, have them remove the engine from the car. It was amazing how quickly my husband pulled the engine and reinstalled it - he did it with ease and although he is mechanical he is NOT a master mechanic. He says Subaru are great for the job but he also said don't attempt this job without a service manual and without doing your research online and it's worth repeating, take that engine out of the car! Because it's a boxer engine he said it was a lot easier to work with with it outside the engine bay and that's probably why our gaskets never failed because he was able to make sure the heads and top of the engine were flat and clean were and then completely bolted the head. It was well worth the extra time/effort to remove the motor and be able to rotate the motor a full 360 degrees. We also tagged each removed part and compared it to the parts in the shim kit so finding the right shims was no problem and nothing was lost. Hope this helps you DIYers out there. If you're going to do it professionally, it's probably best if you provide them with parts so they don't blame that gasket kit for the failed repair. Look for a reputable Subaru mechanic who has experience with these engines before trusting them to do a good job as not everyone is familiar with boxer engines.