2.5 HGs

[burgandy outback]

ok got this car and it was overheating and making air in the cooling system, and the coolant smells like BBQ briquettes, so i immediately say head gaskets, as I know that smell and the associated symptoms but on pulling them I can't find a REAL bad spot to blame, it was only making pressure into cooling system and not leaking it into the cylinders or base oil , there was slight rust on the RF cylinder wall but no coolant present, like it was damp inside but not wet any insights? also it recommends replacing head bolts, is this necessary? thanks

[Aerotech]

If you can see a real bad spot on a fiber headgasket, the car probably wouldn't be running too well, steaming at the tail pipe, trying to hydro-lock, oil turning to latte, etc. The symptoms you describe are a blown head gasket, you're on the right track, don't worry. The head bolts, I'm not sure... the torque sequence on these motors is torque to spec, then add 90deg, and another 90deg turns, which tells me they're stretch bolts... couldn't hurt to replace them, or just go with ARP studs.

[94.GT.Wagon]

I asked that same question about head bolts a while back and the general consensus was to go ahead and re-use them. I hope that's sound advice because I've done three HG jobs and re-used the bolts.

[burgandy outback]

well I decided to buy new ones and after installing the gaskets, which looked different i made a few calls to the gasket manufacturer and they said oh our bad the box shouldn't read 99 its for 05-07 2.5 and it was a little thin i thought, so undo everything and start over again, my local supplier is going to get me new ones free of charge ( i spend a lot there for my work) the give away was the intake set was wrong but only looked after i had installed the HGs grrrrrr