Subaru Head Gasket Options
- Thread starter MRC01
- Start date
I've had several older ones, none leaked externally. Leaking externally started after Toyota helped redesign the head and gaskets.
Clutch and pressure plate already replaced since it started slipping at 77k miles. This is my wife's car, who didn't like using first gear, always starting it 2nd. I told her that would kill the clutch early, but she never believed me. Being married, I had to resist the urge to say, "I told you so"...
I decided to defer that for a few simple reasons:
1. No confirmation that the head gaskets have actually failed. The car does slowly consume coolant, but it has for years, with no change in the rate. And there are no other symptoms: no bubbles in radiator, no funky exhaust smell, no visual contamination of oil or coolant, no white smoke, no overheating, etc.
2. The head gaskets are a LOT more work and expense. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
3. The car has never had the Subaru coolant additive (I didn't know about it, even as original owner Subaru never sent me the letter). So adding this when I flush the coolant may fix or reduce the coolant consumption.
So, this time around I'll do the normal maintenance: coolant flush with the additive, replace the water pump, and the timing belt & pulleys. Then see how it goes, reassess to see if the head gaskets become necessary.
Good plan to minimize outlay in the absence of indicators that point to a more serious problem. Good luck!
I've done 3 sets of those on my past Subaru's. It's extremely easy if you have the time. I used OEM updated MLS gaskets on one and felpro MLS kit on two, both work fine. Had the heads decked and valves checked for all. I used the mitsuboshi timing belt kit on all 3.
I just pull the engine out to do it on a stand. Engine out on a Subaru is like 3-4 hours as you don't have to drain the AC, power steering etc.
Total expenses for parts and head work were ~$700.
All that being said i'm a bit of a stickler on maintenance. Mine were all external leaks and it was stinky burning oil on the exhaust all the time. If yours is internal maybe throw some Subaru head gasket stuff in there and roll on.
I just pull the engine out to do it on a stand. Engine out on a Subaru is like 3-4 hours as you don't have to drain the AC, power steering etc.
Total expenses for parts and head work were ~$700.
All that being said i'm a bit of a stickler on maintenance. Mine were all external leaks and it was stinky burning oil on the exhaust all the time. If yours is internal maybe throw some Subaru head gasket stuff in there and roll on.
While I could do it myself, and have done this type of stuff many times before, I have no interest in doing it anymore. And most other people wouldn't want to, or couldn't do it either.
We aren't talking about changing an easily accessible alternator or something similar. Its a fairly involved project that requires the time, skills, space, tools and commitment to complete correctly.
Drop off the car at the shop, then pick it up in a few days and you're back to your normal life....well not exactly right now, but you know.
We aren't talking about changing an easily accessible alternator or something similar. Its a fairly involved project that requires the time, skills, space, tools and commitment to complete correctly.
Drop off the car at the shop, then pick it up in a few days and you're back to your normal life....well not exactly right now, but you know.
these cars are junk. our 2002 outback had new cylinder heads-2 radiators -2 blown headgaskets all before 67k. .
the Subaru cooling conditioner is just a brand of stopleak sold in Europe. what a joke
I bought two 2003 Subaru Foresters about 8 years ago. One had 255K miles and the other 325K miles (and odometer hadnt worked in a couple of years). Neither one had ever had a timing belt or water pump or anything. Both were salesman vehicles for an oil company that did sales calls to coal mines etc. I paid $500 for both.
The one with 255K miles was parked due to overheating (needed gaskets). the other one had a tiny sign of weepage but never overheated.
I drove the 255K mile one for another 100K miles after getting the headgaskets done.
I traded the 325K miles one to a buddy mechanic for him to reseal my engine and do all of the work to my subaru. He never changed the belt or done anything to his.. last i heard it had nearly 400K
So with all that being said dont fix what aint broke just yet. And $4K will buy you alot of foresters.
The one with 255K miles was parked due to overheating (needed gaskets). the other one had a tiny sign of weepage but never overheated.
I drove the 255K mile one for another 100K miles after getting the headgaskets done.
I traded the 325K miles one to a buddy mechanic for him to reseal my engine and do all of the work to my subaru. He never changed the belt or done anything to his.. last i heard it had nearly 400K
So with all that being said dont fix what aint broke just yet. And $4K will buy you alot of foresters.
The 20 year old ones are junk, you mean? In that case you seem to be saying they "were" junk. They already got rid of timing belts and bad head gaskets a decade ago.
and now the new ones burn oil and have bad cvt trans
That is exactly what I found when changing the oil on our 2008 Outback 2.5 about two years ago. The head gaskets were leaking oil slowly at the head gasket at the bottom.
I went to some local shops and got quotes to replace the head gaskets. Our local Subaru dealer came in with the lowest quote at roughly $2200. They did the head gaskets, changed the timing belts, pulleys, water pump, thermostat and replaced a seal or two.
Before I had the job done, I had Blackstone do an oil analysis which showed no oil contamination. The only indication was oil leaking at the seam between the cylinder head and the deck.
The car is still running well as it is approaching 200K miles (knock on wood)...
Regarding Subaru quality overall, I know others have had bad experiences, but I have no complaints. Over 17 years and 100k miles this car has had no major issues. Just scheduled maintenance: fluids, tires, brake pads, etc. Except for 1 thing: the idle air control valve failed at around 85k, which was easy to replace. Overall reliability has been on par with Honda, Lexus and Mazda that I have owned.
We're giving this 2004 to my daughter and my wife wanted another Forester. Since I do all the car maintenance & repairs, I'm not gonna let her buy a car that I can't work on or I think will be unreliable. She wanted a new Forester and based on our experience with this 2004, I had no problem buying her a new 2018.
We're giving this 2004 to my daughter and my wife wanted another Forester. Since I do all the car maintenance & repairs, I'm not gonna let her buy a car that I can't work on or I think will be unreliable. She wanted a new Forester and based on our experience with this 2004, I had no problem buying her a new 2018.
My experience with 5 different N/A subies is, 1997 leaked coolant to combustion chamber, 2000, 2001, and 2003 leaked coolant externally. Most recently, the 2009 leaked oil externally. That gasket looked like it may eventually have gotten to mixing oil and coolant. I did the head gaskets with the timing belt on that.
that's a very poor track record for head gaskets. I will never buy another Subaru or let a family member buy one
I did the job today. While I had it apart, the head gaskets look good all around; no visible external leaks of coolant or oil. The coolant that drained out looked clean like new. The old T-stat & water pump internals also looked clean like new. No apparent corrosion or contamination. Coolant was leaking around the old water pump gasket & T-stat o-ring. That appears to be the source of the slow coolant loss. I replaced all that in addition to the timing belt. The old timing belt was also in near-new condition and the pulleys & tensioner ran smooth, but I replaced them all anyway. So it looks promising, like this engine might go another 100k now.
The only problem I noted was oil around the spark plugs. Some day I should replace those o-rings or gaskets. But it's not bad enough to be worth the effort of removing the valve covers to do the job.
Thanks for the tips, they helped arrive at a successful completion.
The only problem I noted was oil around the spark plugs. Some day I should replace those o-rings or gaskets. But it's not bad enough to be worth the effort of removing the valve covers to do the job.
Thanks for the tips, they helped arrive at a successful completion.
This is true. I’ve had it seal up coolant seepage from a pitted timing cover on an older Jeep that we did a water pump on.
it’s also hopefully plugged up a minor headgasket leak on my sienna with the 2grfe. It wasn’t an active leak, no fluid coming out when I found it, but a pingpong ball sized crusty build up was found at the back head. I cleaned it, ordered some Subaru conditioner and threw it in there. The next 7k oil change it showed no signs of any seepage.
its a brand of stopleak sold in Europe re branded as subaru
