I changed the oil on my buddies car and noticed a few drops of coolant, he said that he has to add about a gallon of coolant every month, its worse when the weather is warm, he does not see any steam or drops of coolant on the ground, probably because when you change the oil you have to drop a big plastic tray down, when I dropped it down I could see a few drops above, could he have a lower radiator hose that is slightly leaking, heater core blows hot air, car does not overheat, car seems to run fine, I just do not have any experience with Subaru's to give him any suggestions, any thoughts would be appreciated because he is a great friend.
Subaru Outback Losing Coolant
- Thread starter c3po
- Start date
- Status
other than the usual checks for various hoses and joint leaks, water pump leaks, radiator leaks, etc. the other possibility is the head gasket.
Q.
Q.
You told him there was a leak.
You can further inspect and diagnose it for him, or he can take it to a shop.
You can further inspect and diagnose it for him, or he can take it to a shop.
I can say that when I changed his oil there was nothing funny looking in the oil that came out, if it were a head gasket leak which some Subaru's have problems with, the oil would look like a milky brown color, he has me change the oil every 6000 miles and with losing a gallon of coolant every month I should be able to detect something wrong, I have also heard that these cars sometimes lose coolant from the intake manifold and it burns off, he does not smell any coolant leaks.
How old are the radiator and heater hoses? One or more of the hoses might have a fine crack in it that is letting coolant escape in the form of steam when the engine is at operating temperature, so the coolant leak is harder to see. That happened on a friend's Honda and it wasn't noticeable or traceable to the fine crack in the heater hose until the car finally ran hot on a rainy day last summer. The humidity in the air made it easier to trace back and find the cracked heater hose under the throttle body. Her car also ran fine and the heat/ac worked well up until the day it overheated.
Other than that, there has to be a leak somewhere. A gallon of coolant a month is a lot of coolant to be leaking. Engines do not consume coolant the way they use oil. It could also be a loose or defective hose clamp. Best to get under it and carefully examine all the hoses, and then check for gasket leaks and check the weep hole in the water pump to see if you have a bad water pump.
Other than that, there has to be a leak somewhere. A gallon of coolant a month is a lot of coolant to be leaking. Engines do not consume coolant the way they use oil. It could also be a loose or defective hose clamp. Best to get under it and carefully examine all the hoses, and then check for gasket leaks and check the weep hole in the water pump to see if you have a bad water pump.
I think you may have found the answer, as I believe from looking at his engine the hoses are original, he is old school meaning if it ain't broke why fix it, I am going with a loose hose clamp because a leaking hose would put steam everywhere unless it was the lower radiator hose, will have to get him over to the house so I can check it, if the hose clamp is defective won't it get worse.
These engine are known for head gasket leaks.
The radiators have a plastic top and leak at the top seam. Subaru has a fix for coolant "seeping" The cost is about $2.00 for a small can. A gallon a month? WOW, that is more than seeping. The genuine Subaru coolant additive fixt my radiator top seam.
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
These engine are known for head gasket leaks.
up to the latest SOHC 2.5l. The latest motor is/has been very good with no issues..
I checked into this carefully and that is what I found. The 2.5 DOHC had some serious issues.
Bill
These engine are known for head gasket leaks.
up to the latest SOHC 2.5l. The latest motor is/has been very good with no issues..
I checked into this carefully and that is what I found. The 2.5 DOHC had some serious issues.
Bill
Check the engine when cold. Start it up and let it idle up to full operating temperature. Mine drips coolant from the lower rad hose during warmup every time. Tightening it helps for a while, then it starts up again.
If coolant comes from the area where the cam covers meet the block, it might be a leaky head gasket that can be sealed with a stop leak compound.
If coolant comes from the area where the cam covers meet the block, it might be a leaky head gasket that can be sealed with a stop leak compound.
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2002
- Messages
- 39,799
I'd hope for the loose clamp thing. It's somewhat a "controlled leak" in that the pressure builds in the system before the swelling action of the hot coolant provides self sealing properties to the hose in question. Usually tightening the clamp fixes it. If you have the more contemporary "tensioned" clamps (no worm gear screw) ..then it's probably not the case. They never loosen or tighten
What year is this Outback? The early phase II 2.5 (sohc)'s (started in 2000 in the Outback) until ~2003 sometimes got an external head gasket peeping/dripping leak. I think it is usually at the LH (driver) head rear (firewall) side. Subaru issued a TSB about this, and offered to extend the head gasket warranty to 8 years from date of first retail sale or 100,000 miles if you had the conditioner installed under the recall. Some people are able to get it covered even outside the 8/100 range.
The earlier phase I 2.5L's (up to '99 in Outbacks) sometimes got an internal exhaust blowing into coolant failure.
This is the vin range covered for the phase II's (from Subaru article at http://www.endwrench.com)
This is what the Subaru coolant conditioner looks like (seems to be relabelled Holt's radweld from the U.K.)
The earlier phase I 2.5L's (up to '99 in Outbacks) sometimes got an internal exhaust blowing into coolant failure.
This is the vin range covered for the phase II's (from Subaru article at http://www.endwrench.com)
This is what the Subaru coolant conditioner looks like (seems to be relabelled Holt's radweld from the U.K.)
That's what mine looks like!
The shop where I work does Subaru in addition to Acura. The Subaru side does head gaskets all the time!
Another place to look is the thermostat housing at the lower front area of the engine. The gasket often springs a leak.
Another place to look is the thermostat housing at the lower front area of the engine. The gasket often springs a leak.
Porcupine73 has it right, there a couple of model year Outbacks with known head gasket/coolant leak issues. My wife had one, not sure what year it was, 200x. Head gasket replacement is the fix.
- Status
