'98-'99 Subaru head gaskets

Nov 11, 2003 4 Replies

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Bob Moulder 22 years ago

A couple of days ago I had the head gasket blow on my '98 Outback wagon and after googling it I found that this is a very common (and expensive--as in $2000!) problem with the "Phase 1" 2.5L engines. I bought the car second-hand from a friend who was the original owner, and put about 22k miles on it (currently 68k) before it happened. Every mechanic I talked to said the head gasket blowing is "a matter of when, not if." Was there ever a recall or customer service advisory for this endemic problem??

Another friend is interested in buying a used '99 Legacy GT wagon and I'm wondering if they also have this lurking time bomb under the hood.

-- Bob

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Ed Fortmiller 22 years ago

I know someone who works at a Subaru dealship and he has mentioned to me lots of head gasket problems with the 2.5 engine and no fix from Subaru for the problem. I also have a brother who had to have his head gaskets replaced.

What years are the "Phase 1" engine in? Has it been superceded and if so starting with what year?

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D H 22 years ago

I believe this refers to at least the 98 and some early 99 models of the

2.5 engine, (and maybe to some earlier years?) I know they changed the 2.5 engine very early in the 99 build year. The change involved going from a dual overhead cam to a single overhead cam. I believe another change included eliminating the platinum plugs when they went to the single overhead cam. I cannot verify that, but read it on another forum board.

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Pete D 22 years ago

Even the earlier 2.5 ltr DOHC motor had problems with the head gaskets. my

97OBW had a small leak but a full engine out teardown only cost me AUD$965, thats about US$600 at my local mechanics. I have noticed that the cost of US cars may be cheaper but you spend a lot more to keep them on the road. I think I will stay in Oz.

expensive--as

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Jim Stewart 22 years ago

An interesting observation and I'm not sure why it is so. I was looking at the maintance records for my daughter's Civic last night. The previous owner paid $1700 for major tuneup, timing belt, and brake job. I did all and more on the Outback for $400 in parts. Now I can't believe that a) the Civic is easier to work on than the Outback, b) the Civic's parts are more expensive than the Outback, and c) the mechanic/shop deserved to make $1300 in labor on a job that couldn't take more than 8 hours.

That's over $160/hr. My company only charges $100/hr for custom electonics designs. At some point the car repair trade decided they should be compensated like doctors and engineers.

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