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Wagons Subaru Crew Subaru Legacy & Outback Subaru Legacy/Outback Engine Issues
253 messages, Last post on Jul 22, 2009 at 2:29 PM
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Had my 2000 Legacy for 18 months and 22K miles. It is at 114K miles right now. Never overheated, never had any problems with it, no rough driving, the car checked out fine in October at the dealership. The coolant additive was added during the flush last February and as a part of the recall before 100K miles. Last week, during the regular oil change at the dealer, the mechanic noticed oil and antifreeze leaks, which were dignozed as headgasket problems. The dealer started working on the headgaskets. Replaced one of the headgaskets, replaced the other and this one kept leaking oil. The dealership mechanic took out the engine again, replaced the headgasket again, started the engine, the car lost a quart of oil in 30 seconds. Mechanic inspected it again and concluded that "short engine block is warped at oil galley and the headgasket goes inside the block". The mechanic swears it's not his fault. The solution - replacing the short block engine at my expense (very pricy - half of what the car would sell for in good condition). Do I have any recourse? on another forum somebody mentioned Consumer Protection Act, but I don't know how it would apply to me. The replacement engine block will be new. Can I assume it will be the "new and improved" one without the headgasket problems? I called the dealer more than a dozen times by now, don't know if I can trust him anymore. The other dealer who usually takes care of my car suggested that it might be the other dealer's fault. But how could he warp the engine in such a short time? If it was the previous owner that overheated the car, wouldn't have the problem surfaced a lot sooner?
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Replying to: lucymo (Jan 31, 2007 7:47 am) What probably happened is the previous owner let it overheat, and somehow the problem hid itself until now. The revised gasket material has been OK since 2002 or so. A new block would be true (i.e. not warped) so that's fine, I don't think it's different, it's just not overheated before. Sorry to hear about it. -juice |
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Replying to: lucymo (Jan 31, 2007 7:47 am) It is possible that they did not install the second gasket properly the first time around, potentially blocking one or more ports for oil and/or coolant flow. Start the engine under those conditions and several things could happen - a blocked, high-pressure oil port could blow the gasket even if the surfaces were flat at that point. Blocked oil or coolant flow could also create a hot spot in the block/head, and an uneven temperature situation is how you get warpage in the metal because it expands at different rates. That is why "air pockets" in the coolant can be so devastating - you get spots where the metal is not cooled evenly. Now, could the warp have occurred prior to the first gasket replacement? Yes, but hard to say since the shop did not check it! If both gaskets were suffering similar leaks when it was first taken in, and the other side is still flat, then I have my doubts about this being the more likely scenario. Back to the question of whether you can do anything about it..... probably not because of the lack of proof one way or the other. I would follow up with the protocols, though. If you can demonstrate a lack of competency on the part of the dealer, perhaps you can gain some partial remediation for your time and expense. In other words, is it not standard procedure in the industry to check the trueness of the surfaces before re-installing the gaskets? I mean, even I have enough sense to do that... and that is saying something!  Sadly, I doubt that you will come out of this situation fully satisfied, regardless of how well it goes from here on out.
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Replying to: xwesx (Jan 31, 2007 12:47 pm) It would not surprise me at all if the mechanic did not follow this (admittedly very difficult) procedure when installing the new gaskets. -juice
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Replying to: ateixeira (Feb 01, 2007 7:31 am) 
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Replying to: xwesx (Feb 01, 2007 10:13 am) -juice |
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My idler pulley seized. (2001 Outback H6). It tore up the AC bracket it is mounted on. I have a new one. Has anyone changed this before (and knows how), or perhaps has some input on removing the AC compressor and/or the alternator. Thanks
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Replying to: nagrom (Jan 31, 2007 9:58 pm) |
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Replying to: nagrom (Jan 31, 2007 9:58 pm) A co-worker has an '04 sedan with an H6, so perhaps he will humor me for a few minutes this afternoon. If so, I will go out there, have a look at it, and report back with the procedure should nobody else get back to you in the interim.
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