818 Donor Kits; Donor Beta Program Open To Participants

[305mouse]

Early Forester's, SF (1998-2002) and SG5 (2003-2005) had HG problens with the NA motors. For the SG5 it was more so 2003 and early 04's.

[rjh2pd]

the early 2000 ej257 s had headgasket problems as well

[AJW Performance]

We have of course seen HG go bad in the past, but have never really pin pointed it to a specific year.
If the HG needs replacing, it for sure gets replaced prior to being sold through us. If a customer would like to have them replaced regardless of whether they test out positive or not, that is something that can be done within the maintenance package.

[PhyrraM]

From my experiences the only motors to have HG problems - from Subaru - on stock motors are the '96-'99 normally aspirated 2.5 liter DOHC motors. Subaru has upgraded the gasket and superceded the part number. It went from a composite gasket and is now a MLS gasket. If fixed correctly the problem does not return.

Many Subaru head gaskets are replaced improperly and don't last long - propogating the weak head gasket myth.

You MUST completely clean both surfaces and check both surfaces for flatness. Anything not in tolerance must be fixed or the gasket won't hold long. You would be suprised by how many shops don't do a really good cleaning and/or don't check the flatness AT ALL. Most (admittedly non-Subaru) shop just change the gasket and go. Subaru based shops, like AJW, know this so your usually good at a specialist.

In addition, if you are changing from a factory composite head gasket to a MLS type of gasket - both surfaces must be check for the proper surface finish. MLS gaskets require a finer/smoother finish than before.

[AJW Performance]

Funny you say that because many we have replaced have been replaced before prior by other businesses.
I have not seen any come back our way that we have done, or that have been done at a Subaru dealership; at least in our area they know what they are doing.
As PhyrraM suggests, I would not recommend bringing one to just "any shop".

[timmy318]

Anything going on today?

[JRL]

Sure - the middle east is aflame and the weather here is perfect

[timmy318]

Sure - the middle east is aflame and the weather here is perfect

Pretty good summary I guess , buttttt..... I was actually talking about the 818donors warehouse they got

[AJW Performance]

September News

As we expect donor spot number 10 to be filled over the next 48 hours or so we have almost reached our goal of 10 participants for the donor beta kit run. This means that we now can move to the next step of finalizing incoming donors, and preparing them for all participants. Due to the timeframe it took for the donor program to fill up, we will officially be releasing the kits for your choosing by November 15 2012, as opposed to the recent goal of mid October. This is because of the amount of time it took for us to reach 10 participants, and also because we will be at SEMA for a week in October, so that also pushes things back as well.

We will have plenty of Factory Five 818 pictures and details for you all upon our return, and will make sure to put them on the site and in a news letter. Choosing your donor kits in November will still give you 2-3 months of down time prior to the 818 hitting production, so everyone should still be within their goals for personal timeframes. Any questions let us know!

Quick shot of this week’s donors that are awaiting processing on the shelves. After the dismantling occurs (we have done 6 thus far), they are put into inventory (as pictured below) then gone back for further TLC once it is their turn for processing. Processing includes further prepping for the donor kit; cleaning, testing, and replacing parts.

We will be doing step one and two (dismantle and put into inventory as a raw donor) to all 10 before we move forward and put them into processing.









Thank you,

Andrew Wallace

www.818donors.com

www.ajwperformance.com

[RM1SepEx]

From my experiences the only motors to have HG problems - from Subaru - on stock motors are the '96-'99 normally aspirated 2.5 liter DOHC motors. Subaru has upgraded the gasket and superceded the part number. It went from a composite gasket and is now a MLS gasket. If fixed correctly the problem does not return.

Many Subaru head gaskets are replaced improperly and don't last long - propogating the weak head gasket myth.

You MUST completely clean both surfaces and check both surfaces for flatness. Anything not in tolerance must be fixed or the gasket won't hold long. You would be suprised by how many shops don't do a really good cleaning and/or don't check the flatness AT ALL. Most (admittedly non-Subaru) shop just change the gasket and go. Subaru based shops, like AJW, know this so your usually good at a specialist.

In addition, if you are changing from a factory composite head gasket to a MLS type of gasket - both surfaces must be check for the proper surface finish. MLS gaskets require a finer/smoother finish than before.

Anyone who doesn't check both surfaces for flatness and surface finish req for the gasket material with ANY motor is a hack... Aluminum motors are more suseptable to problems as the material isn't as forgiving to heat stress as cast iron.

[AJW Performance]

agreed!

[AJW Performance]

some tear down this morning:

[AJW Performance]

Starting another busy week here at the AJW Performance/818donors.com headquarters!

More cars en route, maintenance packages being setup for processed donors and more. Stay tuned

[timmy318]

That's awesome news!!!

[AJW Performance]

Some new valve cover gaskets today on this donor

[AJW Performance]

Last of the donors for the beta donor program are arriving over the next week or so;

Some 06-07's en route;

[AJW Performance]

Hello everyone,
We will be sending out an update next week for all participants, will post on this thread too.
We have been busy preparing donors and almost forgot to keep you updated over the past couple weeks!
Have a good weekend!
- Andrew

[timmy318]

Can't wait for y'all to ship stuff out!

[AJW Performance]

Hello everyone,
Good news for those who are awaiting their donor packages. We were able to beat our most recent deadline of November 15 for the release of available donors for participants to choose from. Our new goal is to release them this week, before SEMA. Our entire team is working right now to get this done. Donor report cards are being made, the last of the donors are being processed, and all their information and pricing is being populated.
That being said, for those who want their kits to ship out ASAP we should be able to do that for you by mid November.
For those of you who want their donors to stay here until your FFR 818 arrives at your door, as I said before that is not a problem.

I will keep you posted on what day this week the donors will be announced (it will be on the website).

Thanks,
Andrew

[AJW Performance]

Update:
Donor kits are being released this evening! The entire 818/AJW staff (all 5 of us ) is here working late at the warehouse tonight to get this program finished up for you all. Participants will receive an email within the next 1 to 24 hours (depends on what number you are on the list) in regards to the program and your donor.
Thanks again everyone!
Andrew Wallace

[timmy318]

Can't wait to see what y'all got!

[AJW Performance]

I hear ya! We are on to participant number 2 right now, so we are getting there!

[AJW Performance]

Couple shots from today ( Still here enjoying the dinner/ cocktail hour)

[Samiam1017]

Anybody know what exactly what there getting and how much yet?

[AJW Performance]

We are waiting to hear back from donor #2. #1 has picked, and our N/A Impreza participant (Silvertop) has also picked. I am going to touch base with #2 tomorrow.

[timmy318]

We are waiting to hear back from donor #2. #1 has picked, and our N/A Impreza participant (Silvertop) has also picked. I am going to touch base with #2 tomorrow.

Common guys! We're dying to know what you guys got!

[WonderDude]

Couple shots from today ( Still here enjoying the dinner/ cocktail hour)

Those are some real good pix of the 818S!

[AJW Performance]

Got some more coming; went back with the good camera, stay tuned!

[thestigwins]

Awesome.. Load em up!

[AJW Performance]

They are as we speak, using the 3g Verizon wireless card right now, shes lagging inside the building here. slowly but surely!

[timmy318]

They are as we speak, using the 3g Verizon wireless card right now, shes lagging inside the building here. slowly but surely!

lol

[AJW Performance]

Ok, some good pics:

[AJW Performance]

[NonProfit]

Nice shots! Thanks!

[timmy318]

Now this is where it's it!

[WonderDude]

Cool!

[AJW Performance]

no problem, not a professional photographer here but it will hold you guys over for a day!

I would like to comment that the windshield on the 818S is awesome, the quality, fitment, and build is superb.

[NonProfit]

Two requests:

Is it possible to provide a look under the hood and engine cover?
Can someone stand next to it and offer a sense of scale?

Thanks!

[timmy318]

no problem, not a professional photographer here but it will hold you guys over for a day!

I would like to comment that the windshield on the 818S is awesome, the quality, fitment, and build is superb.

Not to ask too much but could you guys get a close up of the windshield itself?

[AJW Performance]

I will ask Jim tomorrow, I know there are a handful of others from this forum that will be taking some detailed pics, so between us all we will get some of these questions anwsered for sure!

Good point on the scale, will do.

As far as my perception of it's size (fully opinionated) it is exacly the size I anticipated and visualized, no larger or smaller.
This car is getting more and more powerful, since it simply came together so well.