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Review of Subaru Head Gasket Problems

37 messages,  Last post on Jul 20, 2010 at 9:20 AM

You are in the Subaru Legacy & Outback Forum.

What is this discussion about? Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, Subaru, Auto Repair, Wagon

Messages Page 3 of 5

#14 of 37 Final Word by srobin

Feb 23, 2010 (8:46 pm)

Subaru completed HG repair on my 2003 Outback with 53,000 miles today. The Invoice states the cause as: "Improper Seating".
 
Split for 50/50 labor and parts for HG only. Timing belt, water pump, thermostat were not covered.
 
Total cost to me for Subaru's improper seating was $976.06 and three days loss of vehicle.
 
My advise is have your Outback checked before the warranty expires or consider this additional cost when you buy or consider another vehicle.

#15 of 37 Re: Final Word [srobin] by fibber2

Feb 25, 2010 (8:43 am)

Replying to: srobin (Feb 23, 2010 8:46 pm)
Did the $976 out of pocket include the accessory & timing belt, pump and thermostat? If so, it reduces the sting a little bit. While your miles are low, at the 7 year mark there is good sense in considering this service anyhow. They also did an oil change and a coolant change as part of the procedure. I'd estimate all this to ring in at around $500 or so if you paid for it as a conventional service visit.
 
I agree that none of this should have happened to you, but at least you got something tangible out of it. Hopefully, you will get many more years of good service from the car. I know how much I enjoyed driving mine in to work thru the snow this morning!

#16 of 37 Re: Final Word [fibber2] by ateixeira

Feb 26, 2010 (8:45 am)

Replying to: fibber2 (Feb 25, 2010 8:43 am)
I had all that done on my Miata and it cost me a whopping $1100. That plus some cooling system work.
 
No head gaskets, though.

#17 of 37 Re: Final Word [srobin] by jfl

Mar 25, 2010 (7:11 pm)

Replying to: srobin (Feb 23, 2010 8:46 pm)
Timing belts are good for 105k miles, so you don't need to replace it until you hit 158k miles. If a dealer tells you to replace it at 105k, let him know it was already done at 53k.
 
I'll hit 210k pretty soon and need my second timing belt replacement.

#18 of 37 should i buy a-05 outback with the head gasket problem? by loosenut

Mar 27, 2010 (9:55 pm)

craigslist has one listed for a real reasonable price,and-i'm reasonably mecanically inclined..
what is the real problem?is it the gasket,or is the head itself cracking??and what would parts average me?..
-i'm on a limited income-not unlike lots of folks out there today,..haven't worked on one,but used to fix my old air cooled vw back in the day,and the subaru flat 4 seems to be real similar..as well as the durability factor-not unlike the old bugs..just ondering if that might be worth my time..thanks..

#19 of 37 Re: should i buy a-05 outback with the head gasket problem? [loosenut] by xwesx

Mar 29, 2010 (11:38 am)

Replying to: loosenut (Mar 27, 2010 9:55 pm)
It is hard to say without more information on the car; it could be either problem! However, if the engine has not been severely overheated, the chances are that the gasket is the problem. I have replaced these on the 2.5L before and the job is fairly simple, if not labor-intensive. Including replacing several other parts (such as timing belts, pulleys, etc), I spent about $500 to do mine and had great results. You will probably need to replace the timing belt ($100), but the pulleys should be okay depending on mileage. My car was at 192,000 when I did the work.

#20 of 37 Re: should i buy a-05 outback with the head gasket problem? [xwesx] by loosenut

Mar 31, 2010 (7:15 am)

Replying to: xwesx (Mar 29, 2010 11:38 am)
many thanks..just havent done a subie --yet,and was curious.
--sounds-and kinda reminds me of the old-air cooled vw's..did heads on those about every other year-till i learned to drive it..air cooled=high rpm's..specially when climbing hills !...all motors are really like that-happyist when oil pressure-air flo-coolant,etc-is flowing at max-without blowing up !
thanks!!

#21 of 37 Re: should i buy a-05 outback with the head gasket problem? [loosenut] by xwesx

Mar 31, 2010 (9:40 am)

Replying to: loosenut (Mar 31, 2010 7:15 am)
I have a write-up on my head gasket replacement back in 2005. The site hosting it will not be up for much longer, but you are welcome to take a look for the sake of reference. This was on a 1996 Outback, but the 2005 is similar aside from the engine being SOHC rather than the DOHC on the '96. Scroll toward the bottom of the page:
 
1996 Outback Head Gasket Project

#22 of 37 Re: should i buy a-05 outback with the head gasket problem? [xwesx] by fibber2

Mar 31, 2010 (8:35 pm)

Replying to: xwesx (Mar 31, 2010 9:40 am)
Wes, I enjoyed your family home page. Hope you didn't mind me taking a look. Great house, beautiful family. Why are you letting the page die? I'm waiting for pix of the garden!!

#23 of 37 Re: should i buy a-05 outback with the head gasket problem? [xwesx] by loosenut

Apr 01, 2010 (2:32 am)

Replying to: xwesx (Mar 31, 2010 9:40 am)
verry nice,and EXTREMELY informative!..detail-for a work in progress,-was near,and sometimes -gave better tips than those people that write for hanes and sutch..--the carbon fiber camshaft was a new one on me,and someting to be aware of !..
--a great page !
--but---that one got away...and mebee i'm getting ambitious in my old age-just slightly past the mid-century mark..but,if a owner raves and loves a car that has gone through what that one did-well,i'm impressed!
the "crunched" car--was that the same one?? anyway,they did a good job building a survivable compartment!..
you're a braver man than me-gunga dinn !,as the closest i've come to weather like you describe-was a winter-mid -60'd,williston,north dakota..in the oil patch!..when it warmed to minus 20,we could work,as even running water would freeze in the pumps of the sizmograph rig..!unfortunately,no camera-and no picks!!..i did better later on,but still gotta scan them in,..they're on film..
 
many thanks for all the info!
wendell

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