2001 forester head gasket issue

On a 2001 subaru forester, the head gasket blew at 127,000 miles. Not being a mechanic, my best guess as to what happened is that the thermostat failed, allowing the car to overheat. The heat caused the head gasket failure, which created more heat still, eventually causing the radiator to fail also.

My mechanic is of the opinion that the engine isn�t worth rebuilding due to the amount of heat that was generated when the gasket blew. I am inclined to agree with him. But I am now out a vehicle, it was a 2001 with only 127,000 miles on it.

I bought a subaru because I wanted a durable car that would last. I serviced it regularly, having oil changes, etc. when suggested by the manufacture. It was in for a oil service/ check-up only two weeks earlier where all points were looked at and fluids checked. This was totally unexpected, I received no warnings from subaru. I won't buy another one.

Replies to this message:

aatherton (Nov 23, 2009 6:59 pm)

#8 of 8 Re: Lost trust in subaru [loddo] by aatherton

Nov 23, 2009 (6:59 pm)

Replying to: loddo (Nov 15, 2009 12:06 am)

"On a 2001 subaru forester, the head gasket blew at 127,000 miles. Not being a mechanic, my best guess as to what happened is that the thermostat failed, allowing the car to overheat. The heat caused the head gasket failure, which created more heat still, eventually causing the radiator to fail also..."

No, a head gasket leak causes a slow loss of coolant. The loss of coolant should have been caught before it damaged anything. Most Forester owners replace the head gasket(s) when coolant loss is noticed, and go on with the car.
If your car overheated enough to ruin the engine, there was a more sudden leak from something else, like a hose or the radiator.

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