Head gasket symptoms?

J

jamesmbell

New member
Hello fellow subaru owners. I have a strange pressure issue going on with my subaru. Before I give you the symptom let me give you the back round issues previous to this. I bought this car with 65,000 miles on it. Before I had it in my hands the previous owner replaced the heads at 30,000 miles. I found this to be a little young in mileage to be done, but I bought the car anyway. In my time with this vehicle I have done no major engine maintenance. I am currently at 97,000 miles and finding issues with the cooling system. On a routine 50 mile travel to work I noticed a radiator fluid leak. As I expected it was just a hose, great I thought to myself it's nothing major. After replacing both the top and bottom hoses everything was grand for about another 50 mile trip to work again. When I arrived it was leaking anti freeze again. This time I couldn't find the leak, so I took it to the shop who replaced the hoses hoping that they may have not tightened them correctly. To my discomfort they said that it was coolant coming back out the resevoir due to a leak internally in the head gasket. I have recently talked with a number of people about this issue. My question is - Is this a pressure issue in the system? or Is this an internal leak in the head head gasket? Does anyone have any thoughts on this or perhaps some trouble shooting. If it is the head gasket, does anyone know some inexpensive garage's or friends who can help me work on this? Thank- you. 2000 Subaru legacy owner.~ Jamie~

 
shop's explanation of the leak sounds sketchy, haven't heard of that particular symptom of impending HG failure before (could be true, i dunno) mebbe some suby shop gurus here can address that issue in more detail.

typical HG failure signs are:

--coolant mixing with oil, look for choco mousse and/or cloudy oil on dipstick or under oil filler cap

--oil mixing with coolant, oily sheen on surface of coolant

--heavy coolant consumption, coolant level drops with mileage, often with a cloud of sweet smelling white smoke trailing behind the car

--coolant leaks around the heads, you'll get a sweet smell coming from engine compartment on shutdown. somethimes these leaks show up as white crusty builldup around/below HG area (dried coolant residue)

 
You have the 2.5 NA motor correct? The 2.5's are notorious for head gasket issues. This sounds like a head gasket issue.

On my 2002 2.5 I had the head gasket go just pass 100k miles. Coolant was gone and the heat gauge was rising slowly. Turn the heat up in the cabin and watched the temp go back down. The coolant will overflow out the reservoir when things get too hot and spill on the engine bay and skid plate.

The big signs to me are coolant overflowing, coolant smell at stop lights, temp gauge actually moving around for once.

 
I haven't actually seen my temperature gauge move at all, and besides the reservoir over flowing their have been no other symptoms.

 
It's the 2.5L NA motor. They used bad head gaskets or something to the point where they pop past 100k like clock work. Someone more knowledgeable can fill in the details, but Subaru actually put out a service bulletin about it.

 
It's the head gaskets. You have a phase II 2.5L motor. They leak externally. You may not see too much leaking yet, but if you are leaking some and the overflow is rising and not returning to the radiator, than it's the head gaskets. I have a 2000 RS with the same exact engine and am having the same exact issues. All 2.5 Subaru motors have head gasket issues, some go at 30,000 miles like your did, and some last till 70,000 miles. When replacing the gaskets, use only OEM Subaru gaskets, do NOT use aftermarket gaskets, they will fail again like yours have. Also, there is a very confusing torque sequence that you have to follow for taking the heads off and especially putting them back on! Make sure you check your coolant level in your radiator often. Check it when it's cold and make sure it's topped off. You can get away with driving it as long as your coolant level doesn't get too low. If it gets too low, you'll over heat it and if you do, theres a good chance the heads will warp, or worse. Hope this helps!! Good luck!

 
Does anybody know if the subaru product liquid head gasket fixer can damage my car any further, because i,ve used it and haven't had a problem since. I know it's not a permanant fix, but it will last me until I get it to a shop. Does anyone have any suggestions for subaru mechanics that are affordable in the New England area. I am currently living in Burlington Vermont. I'll be back in Maine at the end of the summer.

 
Does anybody know if the subaru product liquid head gasket fixer can damage my car any further, because i,ve used it and haven't had a problem since. I know it's not a permanant fix, but it will last me until I get it to a shop. Does anyone have any suggestions for subaru mechanics that are affordable in the New England area. I am currently living in Burlington Vermont. I'll be back in Maine at the end of the summer.
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EverGreen subaru is the best place to go. You can find their contact info at the top of the page.

 
Does anybody know if the subaru product liquid head gasket fixer can damage my car any further, because i,ve used it and haven't had a problem since. I know it's not a permanant fix, but it will last me until I get it to a shop. Does anyone have any suggestions for subaru mechanics that are affordable in the New England area. I am currently living in Burlington Vermont. I'll be back in Maine at the end of the summer.
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As long as you don't use too much and you only use it to get by, it will be fine. And I have heard lots of good about Evergreen

 
The SUBARU BRANDED liquid head gasket works decent on small leaks. Get it checked out by someone that knows Subarus though, and just tell them you have a coolant leak. Drop the words head gaskets and they might just tell you they're the problem because you've already sold the job to yourself
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cha chingggggg.

One symptom that I didn't catch anyone mentioning is if your heat goes away at the same time the vehicle overheats.

2.5L gaskets fail all the time. I've replaced dozens of them. Do it right and replace both sides if they really are the source of your issue. Don't do that "oh, you can just replace one side" bullcrap. That just means tons more money out of your pocket when the other side fails 10k from now.

 
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