How to tell if there is a head gasket leak (Legacy 2.5)?

It's safe to say that there is a head gasket issue on these cars. Look carefully along the junction of each head and the block on its underside, especially the driver's side firewall closest to the firewall. If you see any oil or coolant there, that spells trouble. It can leak externally well before there is an internal leak that would show up in your cooling system as vapors or worse.

the 2.5 is known for headgasket leaks. In fact subaru's "fix" is to include "stop leak" at regular intervals.

Most 2.5 gaskets leak coolant OUTSIDE (as opposed to into the cyl. walls or oil.

I know a few people that swapped the 2.5 for 2.2 to be done with it.

Keep an eye >Mom just got a 2002 Legacy 2.5L wagon. Extremely nice condition and passed

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Google < subaru "head gasket" leak > and get 16,000 hits. I bought my '01 Outback in Sept. 04 with 36,000 miles. At about 40k the dealer noticed the leak during an oil change and replaced it. The service mgr. said they expect this to happen.

toyota "head gasket" leak = 42,900 toyota sludge problem = 91,000

doesn't prove anything. some of those sites are trying to SELL a head gasket for your car. AND leak stop or something

Carl

1 Lucky Texan

"alien abduction" = 740,000 ;-)

Mike

From what I was told it was during the 2002 model yr the last HG went into production and in general most HG problem disappeared after that. You might want to follow that lead with a conversation with a Subie dealer/shop. For the engine of that yr that had Hg problems, the leak was typ left side rear cyl. On my 2000 I could see where coolant was leaking slowly but did show up as drops on a couple bolts at the bottom of the flywheel area.

Mickey

Good point, Carl!

Further googling leads to:

Subaru head gasket leak--59900 Fiat head gasket leak--33600 Yugo head gasket leak--10800

So we are to believe Yugo's the best one out there? :D

Rick

I get a lot fewer Google matches by entering a decent set of search terms. For

there were 792 matches. A Google Groups search of shows only 12 matches. Since I am interested only in the 2.5L engine in a Legacy, I'd only be looking for reports on that car. Not many showed up for matches. However, I assumed that the 2.5L was used in other models but don't know which ones. Obviously you never get posts from folks extolling that they had no leaks on a Subaru 2.5L for the entire life of the car so you could guage how many incidences there are at what mileages and how many occur in the population of Subary 2.5L owners. We'll have to watch for coolant leaks and watch the radiator level (and overflow tank level, too) to see if the problem crops up. I don't know if the Subaru dealer put in the recommended coolant additive but will tell them to add it. Presumably it is just their brand of a stop leak additive.

If the leak goes into the coolant system, would we hear gurgling from bubbles in the coolant?

I saw some mention of Phase I and Phase II engines and that one had the problem and the other didn't. However, I don't know how to differentiate between the different phase models of the engine.

> there were 792 matches. A Google Groups search of >

> shows only 12 matches. Since I am interested only in the 2.5L engine in > a Legacy, I'd only be looking for reports on that car. Not many showed > up for matches. However, I assumed that the 2.5L was used in other > models but don't know which ones. Obviously you never get posts from > folks extolling that they had no leaks on a Subaru 2.5L for the entire > life of the car so you could guage how many incidences there are at what > mileages and how many occur in the population of Subary 2.5L owners.>

NO ONE that I know of DENIES that a coupla generations of the 2.5L had a disappoiningly high failure rate for HGs (late 90s - bad internal leaks into the coolant, early 00s external weeping leaks, most notably on cars in colder climates). I've read it was as high as 2-3%. Those failures are completely different from 'user induced' falures regarding improper coolant filling techniques - admittedly tricky on soobs AND OTHER CARS.

Of course, if it happens to YOU it's 100% Subarus fault for making crap, and nowadays folks rush to the internet to complain about everything.

Subarus are not immune from problems. Neither are Toyotas or any other car. My God - folks bought Jaguars for DECADES even when they consistently won the 'most likely to strand you at the roadside' surveys! I've read there is a spate of bad power steering pumps failing in some Toyotas - happened to a friend of mine on a trip from cali. back to D/FW. He was stuck in West texas and no part could be found, had to return home in a loaner, go back to get the Toy, blah,blah. Does that mean Toyotas are crap? Would you buy another one if it happened to you?

Carl

I forget those details, but a search or posting at

would be a good resource.

Carl

Thanks for the site. I forgot about them.

Also, are the extended warranties worth their cost? I asked the dealer specifically for a plan that would include both inner and outer gaskets (i.e., to cover any head gasket leaks) and they came up with some "Plus" plan that costs $800 for 1 year. Too much for mom so I'm trying to determine if I can come up with it before the 1-month, 1000-mile warranty expires (they said the price would go up if we got it later). Some folks like them (that have used them) and others claim they are a waste of money. But $800 upfront would be cheaper than $3000 later (but then $800 is a waste if nothing happens). As with any insurance, you're betting there will be a problem and the insurer is betting their won't.

It's a gamble like any insurance policy. I say, put that $800 in a special 'car' savings account, add to it occasionally. (say you change you own oil, well, whatever it would cost you to have the dealer change it, put that in the account when you do it.) Likely, if something major happens, at least it will be partly offset by those funds. If not - well, use it on a down payment on you next car or ???

I DID once own a Windstar van and the ext. warranty paid for itself 2.5 times over!

Carl

I'm sure the Yugos out there rarely have head gasket leaks. They also have rear window defrosters to keep your hands warm while you push ;-)

Mike

One sure indicator of a leaky head gasket is milky colored oil. Check the oil with the dipstick. If it looks milky, i.e. white substance, that is coolant that crept throught a split in the gasket, and ended up in the oil.

Good luck.

With the car in question, a SOHC design, the typ failure is coolant leakage to the outside world, not internally.

Mickey

the 2.5's mostly leak coolant OUT (not IN to the oil)

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That's what it looks like is probably the case where the coolant leaks out. Hopefully that it is the case because loss of coolant would be slow and simply require periodic checks of the level in the radiator (or overflow tank) rather than a sudden catastrophic expulsion by overpressurizing the cooling system and pushing it into and out of the overflow tank.

Thanks for the tip on the milky white color on the engine oil dipstick. I wasn't sure it would show up enough on just the dipstick to tell. Also, when mom does oil changes, I tell her to ask the mechanic to check the oil for coolant.

Not intended to prove anything, just indicate that there's discussion about the issue.

There are more Toyotas on the road than Subies.