I have a two 91 Legacys and on one the driver's side head gasket is blown. I surmise this because compression is low on both those cylinders and the temp gauge is pegged at H. However, the gauge shows oevrtemp even though the engine is not hot to the touch. I suspect exhaust gases are reaching the temp sensor on that side. engine still fires and ticks over sweetly, but is rough running when gas applied.

My question is can the head gasket be replaced with the engine still in the car?

All the online references seem to point to benching the engine before doing this. I'm mechanically inclined, and have maintained this car and fixed many of it's ills. However, I'm not equipped to remove the engine. It looks like it could be done in-situ, and I have read posts warning against over charging dealerships that insist on pulling the engine unnecessarily for this task.

Has anyone done this at home and can advise me ASAP before I make a decision on do it myself or sell off the Soobie?

Thanks

 

You may get a better response here:

http://www.ultimatesubaru.net/forum/index.php?

Lot's of folks with older subies there...