Every Subaru around here that’s older than maybe 8 years old has cancer of the rear wheelwells, even ones that have been garaged
What were the worst years for Subaru head gaskets?
- Thread starter Elkins45
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Surface Shield or Fluid Film is a must around here on any vehicle or they won’t last 10 years. My 2013 Forester and 2018 Outback are both rust free.
I live in the land of plenty of snow but low humidity and rust really isn't a thing. I service an '02 Impreza and '02 Forester and there's no rust to speak of.
I think Subarus are junky but the pesky part about being on Team Reality is that I have to acknowledge, well, reality
I also personally believe a lot of Subaru HGs are leaking but not bad enough for people to recognize the signs. You'll read stories of the upper rad hose being pushed off which breaks the collar on the rad. People think they got lucky with just a failed radiator and replace it, but really the system is building dangerous pressure from combustion.
The other classic -- and even more common -- HG failure is bad oil leaks from the bottom of the head(s) at the oil return ports. People chock it up to "just an oil leak" but this is technically HG failure.
I can't recall ever seeing an EJ that isn't leaking here. On a car that's worth ~$2500 best case it's not worth doing HGs for just an oil leak, so people don't, and they don't consider it a HG failure
I think Subarus are junky but the pesky part about being on Team Reality is that I have to acknowledge, well, reality
I also personally believe a lot of Subaru HGs are leaking but not bad enough for people to recognize the signs. You'll read stories of the upper rad hose being pushed off which breaks the collar on the rad. People think they got lucky with just a failed radiator and replace it, but really the system is building dangerous pressure from combustion.
The other classic -- and even more common -- HG failure is bad oil leaks from the bottom of the head(s) at the oil return ports. People chock it up to "just an oil leak" but this is technically HG failure.
I can't recall ever seeing an EJ that isn't leaking here. On a car that's worth ~$2500 best case it's not worth doing HGs for just an oil leak, so people don't, and they don't consider it a HG failure
Mine has definitely started in that area.
Mine is dry underneath. The used CVT had a slow drip coming from the input shaft seal (common failure point) when I first got it, after I corrected the fluid level, the leak stopped.
If your brother is set on a Subie, on the Outbacks - consider a higher mileage 2010+. The 2010 OBWs had the MLS HGs from the factory and were much better. The gen 1 outbacks were horrendous - I got one cheap (1998MY) years ago. It was abysmal. But their AWD was impressive enough for me to get rid of that and get a ‘00 Gen 2 OBW. While a much better vehicle in comparison, that was hands down the worst vehicle I’ve owned with constant issues. Keep in mind, this was a single owner vehicle prior to me buying it and it was only maintained at the dealership where it was purchased new from. Yes it needed head gaskets, which imo is a 1 time thing and you move on. It’s the rest of the stuff that would fall apart that was irritating. You’ll have to check but I think the Foresters were typically changing +/-1 MY.
FWIW, I went from a 2000 OBW to a 2008 Rogue and it was a massive upgrade in reliability even with the POS CVT. I have a coworker with a 2012 purchased new that needed HGs at about 140k miles. He’s at about 160k miles and it’s been mostly reliable outside of that.
Another option for your brother would be a 2010+ R51 Pathfinder/Frontier/Xterra. Nissan fixed the SMOD by then and also the timing chain tensioner issue. You can get one with 150K+ miles for not too much money and as long as it’s not beat to snot, they’ll last him to 200-250k miles. They don’t have the Toyota tax and are plenty capable off road if that’s of any use to him.
this happened to our 2002 even after subaru replaced the heads and head gaskets. we blew 2 radiators out. i promply traded it in after no2
Check your injectors. If the pintle is worn & sloppy, that leaky injector will not only result in poor fuel mileage, but leaking fuel into a stopped cylinder will definitely cause misfires & consumption.
I've already replaced the fuel injector with a reman one about 7 years ago, coil pack also, plugs and wires..you name it. The only thing I haven't done is adjust valve lash, but that's more work than it's worth now on this car. I'm just going to change the timing belt and get rid of it in a few years.
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