So...
I had today off since there was no work (thank God or whatever deity you subscribe to, since it was a MISERABLE day!) and spent the day looking for this:
I decided before dumping money into the car to get the inspection done. By state law it was supposed to be done today, and who am I to mess with state law concerning motor vehicles?! ;)
I knew it wouldn't pass because of the one little rust spot and an exhaust leak, but where else can you get a complete check for $29?
I mentioned the possibility of a BHG to the inspector, and told him to give it a good wringing out so I could decide to spend the $$$ fixing the motor. It passed everything but the rust and exhaust, and the emissions because the OBD-II didn't have enough driving cycles on it (battery keeps crapping out)
They said they had a testing kit there, but didn't want to mess with it because they stopped doing repairs years ago. I asked if there was another way to check and he said we can put the analyzer on it. "How much?" He said, "Start the car!"
We took the radiator cap off, and he took the Exhaust Gas Analyzer from the state's emissions tester and stuck it in the radiator filler neck! He said Rev it up! so I reached over the intake and hit the accelerator linkage and ramped it up to about 2500 RiPpeMs. We could see the screen from the front of the car, and in big black digits I watched the numbers:
51 at 900 RPMs, 125 at 1500 RPMS, and 172 at 2500 RPMS!!!! Yeah! I guess there are exhaust gasses in the radiator!What a cool check! Others wanted to charge me $50-90 for this check, and we did it using the inspection gas analyzer!
So, obviously the bottom line is, there is a leak from the HG to the coolant. Autozone had this stuff "...guaranteed to repair BHG or double your money back!!" The only thing I'm wondering is, in addition to 'fixing' cracks in the HG, what else does it 'fix' besides? Cooling passages in the block and radiator?
Other than a BHG, the engine appears in good shape. I got an estimate of $580 for labor and $34 each for the gaskets, and while you're there do the seals, belts, etc etc. This guy is a Subaru whiz, so I know it would be done correctly, but the total will probably be ~$900.
Hmmmm...