Greetings, all. I am, in most relevant areas, a newbie, so please have mercy on any ignorance found herein. I've seen that many people have posted the same and similar problems, and while I hate to waste anyone's time, due to my lack of vehicle know-how I think I need situation-specific advice. I have a 96 Legacy Outback with the EJ25 DOHC. Borrowed $3500 from the bank to buy it (as is, 165000mi on it), and not two months later, the heater starts blowing cold air as the temp guage shoots up. The mechanic tells me there's air forced into the coolant lines and he bleeds it out. No problems for three days. It happens again, and he says he's gotta replace the thermostat. Once again, one day later, the problem persists. Then we have the thing powerflushed. No dice. Not the heater core, either. Nor the water pump. (bear in mind, I know very little mechanically, so I'm taking all this advice from various people on their word). Finally, the more expert opinions I gather, the more they tell me the head gasket's shot. I've had to trial-and-error, nickel-and-dime the thing for so long that now I've blown a hole in the radiator getting back and forth to work. I have a friend and colleague who says buying a used engine and putting that in would be more cost and time effective than having the head gasket replaced (he's offered to do the job himself). I'm just now getting the car paid off, and I have around $2300 available to fix the damn thing. Suggestions?
- posted
18 years ago