Subaru Outback Wagon cooling system leak Engine overheating

I have never driven that since it's towed, I think the subaru people only test drove it for a few minutes. any way coolant may have gotten into the engine cylinders, is this what you are saying? maybe that's why subaru lean towards putting in a new engine or selling me a new subaru. the engineer told me he would buy a new subbie, I just need to pay 10 thousands more to get one, and I get warranty on it. subaru is willing to help 2500 dollars and the dealer is willing to knock off 3500 off their

Maybe another dealer will do the head gasket job under the recall????

On a cast iron engine I would say no, but these aluminum jobs are a different story. Excessive heat can cause the head and/or engine block to warp causing the head gasket to no longer seal. The engines seem to be designed for a near exact amount of coolant. When I put my dad's radiator back in and was purging the air from the system it would read very hot until we got the coolant level back to full.

No that is not true. A head gasket could blow first and the symptoms you get are the coolant boiling out of the system. They are claiming the radiator had a slow leak to start with, that caused the coolant level to drop, the engine to over heat and the head to warp (I assume) causing the gasket to blow.

Well, since the radiator is aluminum too (I assume again as mine is) it won't take as much heat as other radiators. I would get a second opinion from another Subaru dealer. They might do warranty work for you as well?

It IS possible that the head gasket failed first before the radiator. Are you certain there is something wrong with the radiator? I would get a second opinion on that as well.

Yes, there is a possibility of coolant getting into the cylinders. It can really gum them up good. It might be worth your while to move up to a model with an engine that doesn't have head gasket issues. There are a number of people in the group here that drive Foresters. You might see what they think. They are based on the Impreza frame, which seems to have fewer problems.

You can have the one you are driving fixed, but you might have the same problem again down the road after the warranty is gone. That's assuming you could get it fixed under warranty this time.

I agree. Regardless of the warranty, someone should do the recall.......

Subaru of America is determined to not cover my engine by warranty. the service center told me it is a set, they wouldn't listen to any arguement. they are leaning more towards selling me a new subaru.

so unless I can prove the problem is caused by engine (they insist it is not), I have only two choices. one is I repair the car on my own, two is I purchase another subaru with help from subaru.

How much chance do you think I have to convince subaru that they are responsible for this engine damage?

Subaru of America is determined to not cover my engine by warranty. the service center told me it is a set, they wouldn't listen to any arguement. they are leaning more towards selling me a new subaru.

so unless I can prove the problem is caused by engine (they insist it is not), I have only two choices. one is I repair the car on my own, two is I purchase another subaru with help from subaru.

How much chance do you think I have to convince subaru that they are responsible for this engine damage?

but the engine is already damaged. will recall do any help?

but the engine is already damaged. will recall do any help?

I would still get another opinion from another dealer and see if they will fix the head gasket. Since there is a recall on the head gasket, I would try to get it fixed under recall.

Other than the gasket is there any evidence of engine damage? I would say it needs to be inspected with the head off to know for sure.

I would go to another dealer and explain what happened and have them inspect it. Do you have more than one dealer in your area? It's worth a try. They might have something different to tell you. SOA might be making their claim based from what the dealer told them happened.

I would definitely take the radiator to some other garage for a second opinion. they claimed that the radiator was leaking while it was still in the car. I didn't see any leak with my own eyes. the dismounted radiator is still at dealers'. I will take it back tommorow.

I would definitely take the radiator to some other garage for a second opinion. they claimed that the radiator was leaking while it was still in the car. I didn't see any leak with my own eyes. the dismounted radiator is still at dealers'. I will take it back tommorow.

the replaced radiator and knock sensor already costed me over 700 dollars, I am not sure how much it will cost to take the head off just for inspection. you know how expensive the labor of subaru is.

I will try to call other dealers for possibility of recall work.

the replaced radiator and knock sensor already costed me over 700 dollars, I am not sure how much it will cost to take the head off just for inspection. you know how expensive the labor of subaru is.

I will try to call other dealers for possibility of recall work.

thanks for so many precious opinions!

do you think I should tow the car to another subaru dealer? the closest one is 20 miles away.

thanks for so many precious opinions!

do you think I should tow the car to another subaru dealer? the closest one is 20 miles away.

They might be trying to claim the radiator caused the problem to get out of warranty/recall work on your car. In fact, I would take it to a specialty radiator shop and have them check it out. If you can certify the radiator as "good", then you have some more ammunition to use in getting the work done on your car.