Hey guys Im gonna be doing head gaskets on my 07 forester XS with the EJ253 AVLS engine. A pretty common problem for the naturally aspirated crowd...



Only problem is I can't decide on what to use for head gaskets. I have spent quite a bit of time searching around on here and other Subaru forums but not finding many current opinions. Most are old threads from 2011-2014. So I thought we should revisit this for 2016 and find out whats working whats not, how long gaskets are lasting, new and unusual things, problems, whatever you have to comment on a given gasket.



I bought the OEM 633's and they seem outdated and an old design. Im kinda leaning towards buying some better MLS gaskets either the OEM 642's or the Six Stars. But I havent found too many opinions on either? Im not a fan of Felpro stuff so im not considering them really



I have been checking around and here are the common options.



1. Subaru OEM 11044AA633

- Original proper fitment OEM gaskets

- Single layer gasket with graphite coating

- Last revision done for these gaskets



2. Subaru OEM 11044AA642

- Original fitment on turbo engines 04-05?

- Multi layer shim gasket (MLS)



3. Six Star MLS gaskets

- Aftermarket gaskets made to solve HG issues

- Multi layer shim gasket (MLS)



4. Fel-pro Perma Torque

- Aftermarket gaskets made to solve HG issues

- Multi layer shim gasket (MLS)

- Two revisions

- FEL-PRO 26170PT (old design) Silver in color

- FEL-PRO 26415PT (new design) Blue in color