A family member has a 2002 Subaru Outback. Possible blown head gasket per dealership. Should we just get rid of it or fix it? I feel the car had problems when we bought it a couple years ago due to dishonest salesperson. I hate to keep putting money into it. It seems to use a lot of oil also. Fix it then sell? Or just get rid of it?
View 6 Repliesmy friends mechanic is telling him his 2000 outback (2.5 4 cyl) has a blown head gasket. there is NO water leaking/seeping out from anywhere outside the motor AND there is NO water in the crankcase motor oil. the thermostat has been replaced. the cooling fans work. I'm inclined to say it's a plugged radiator. he is considering replacing the head gasket (to the tune of $1500+) on advice of his mechanic. is it possible to have a blown head gasket and not be leaking coolant?
View 10 RepliesI'm wondering if the head gasket blowing could have anything to do with slipping into a muddy, half frozen pond (april 1st snow storm in maine was no joke). The engine was submerged but it was determined that no water entered the engine and given a clean bill of health. However a week later the car started to overheat. We discovered that there was no coolant in the car. AFter filling the coolant we drove it to the mechanic. But just as we pulled in, the car started to smoke. It was only then that it was determined that we had blown the head gasket. Could the cold water dip have cracked the radiator? Or caused some sort of seal to break? Or is this totally unrelated?
View 15 RepliesI got a 98 Subi Forester L, stick, 130k mi.
I've been thinking about what gs ragtop & tester mentioned about the silicate stuff and I'm ready to take the chance, but there's one thing bothering me: If that stuff is supposed to be drawn into the combustion chamber where the silicate comes in contact with the super hot temps that solidify it, thereby sealing the leak, that assumes coolant is going into the combustion chamber, right? Well, I've been driving this car with a blown hg for at least 2yrs maybe 3, (that in itself amazes me), and I've never seen any sign of coolant in the exhaust, no smoke, nor any rough starting issues to speak of.
So, my question is simply, HOW THE HECK DOES THAT HAPPEN!! How in the world can I lift the hood and watch exhaust gases bubbling up in the radiator, yet when I park on a hot, 95 degree August day with a fully pressurized cooling system, the next time it's started there is no sign of coolant. The physics of that defy me! I mean, it says that the head gasket magically blew a "one-way" valve in itself? What do you think? Am I missing something?
My Subaru dealer just told me that my 2004 outback with 88k miles has developed a head gasket leak. I haven't noticed any symptoms, and the leak started sometime between now and my last major service 10k miles ago. How serious is this? They want to charge me for it? If so, when? Is disaster imminent?
View 7 RepliesI have a 2006 Subaru Forester (auto trans) with 97,000 miles on it. It's behaving badly, and here are its symptoms:1. It is getting worse gas mileage now than it has in the past 5 years I've owned it. Up until the last few months, I've been able to get about 26 mpg on average. Since Sept. or Oct., I've only been getting about 21 mpg.2. It shifts rough on a cold start when it shifts into 3rd and/or 4th. No rough shifting is noticed when the car is started on a moderate or warm day (roughly 35 degrees outside or warmer).3. When doing mountain driving (specifically u to a hill at highway speeds that is about 10 miles long and a sustained 7%-10% grade), the engine temp rises to about 2/3 according to the gauge on the dash. (Under normal driving conditions it sits at about 1/3.)
I took the car to my mechanic and here's what they said:
1. The gas mileage on Subaru Foresters frequently isn't much higher than 22 mpg, so for the first 5 years, I owned the car I was just lucky.
2. The fluids need to be flushed and changed: differential, transmission, etc. - approximate cost $400
3. He's almost certain that the cause of the 3rd problem is blown head gaskets, and the cost of that is about $3000.
If the head gaskets are truly the culprit, is it a repair that needs immediate attention or is it something I can delay for a while?
I recently had an issue with my head gasket. It was repaired but then learned the real issue was that I had diesel gas in my engine. (Long story, fuel hauler put wrong gas in tank and service station sold the gas to us unsuspecting drivers.) After head gasket was fixed, tried to leave service shop but car still had issues - turned around and went back. O2 sensor and other fuel trim numbers were off. But couldn't diagnose problem completely so told me to drive home (30 miles) and come back next day.
That's when I found out about the diesel gas issue. My car got drained of bad gas and cleaned. Got car back but now is leaking oil. My husband thinks it is either from the valve covers or from head gasket. Can diesel gas in your engine damage the head gasket? Could I have done more damage by driving the 30 miles home with the bad gas? Or did the shop just do a bad head gasket repair? I only bought this car 6 months ago - used. It now has 88K miles.
I bought this Subaru outback with 100,000 miles- clean car fax, etc, did the timing belt, water pump, thermostat at 102,000. Now at 116,000, the head gasket is leaking ($2,200 estimate) so the repair shop is working on that and they called today to say the #2 cylinder is scored and the engine needs to be rebuilt. ($4,000 estimate). I'm not sure if I should have them proceed with he work- that's a bunch of money or look for another engine, or what to do !! Its a great little car- but geez- what to do-
View 5 Replies2000 Subaru Outback. The head gaskets have begun to leak slightly (oil and coolant), even though I brought it in for the recall at 80K and the dealer put in the additive. I recently (111,000 miles) put in another bottle of the additive coolant conditioner and the leak seems to have at least slowed to a trickle. Is it really essential to have the head gaskets replaced? Or could I just keep an eye on the oil and coolant levels and put a bit of kitty litter in my garage? Some of the information I googled indicates that the recall of this car is for an OUT leak and not an INNER leak--which would be worse. Is it true that an OUT leak is not as worrisome?
View 5 RepliesI brought my Outback to one mechanic due to overheating and a strange skipping feeling when accelerating. First mechanic said head gaskets needed to be replaced, I wasn't surprised since I have about 142k miles on it and it has been leaking oil, quoted between $1800 and $2000. I took it to another shop, recommended by a friend, and they agreed the gaskets needed to be replaced and there was also a misfire due to the spark plugs. This shop quoted me at $2200-2600 for the head gaskets, spark plugs, all wires and timing belt, all other engine gaskets, thermostat, engine oil and coolant. I still owe a good bit on this car (parents bought on the fly from a less than stellar used lot and now it is my problem), and my thinking is I do not want to bring on more debt by attempting to trade this one in and go for a new car. My question is, do I go with the second mechanic that wants to basically rebuild to top of my engine, or would I be ok limiting the repairs to the head gaskets and spark plugs?
View 11 RepliesMy 2004 Subaru Outback has had the head gasket replaced, the O2 sensor replaced, spark plugs replaced. Still I cannot go up big hills anywhere near the speed limit. I think it may be the catalytic converter is bad from driving it with a leaky head gasket.
View 5 RepliesI have a 2008 Outback and I just got news from my repairman that says there is a leak in the head gasket and one of my axle boots is cracking. The axle boot is not the major concern, but is it worth it to spend $ to get it fixed or should I say "Hasta La Vista" and look into buying a new car? I hit a deer and thoroughly damaged the front end about a year and a half ago and I am not sure if that has "shakin' things up".
I currently have about 85K miles on the car. I don't mind repairing the car if it doesn't turn into the Money Pit.
My mechanic told me that the burning smell I've been getting in my '02 Forester when I'm idling is a leaking head gasket. It seems to be a slow oil leak. If I keep an eye on my oil level can I continue to drive the car without doing further damage or having to worry about breaking down?
View 4 RepliesI drove my car after the check engine light came on, stupidly without looking at the temperature gauge. When the car died, I had blown the head gasket, melted the spark plugs and did some other pretty serious damage to the engine. So now I am contemplating replacing the engine instead of buying a new car since I drive very infrequently (I take transit to work and do a lot of business travel by air). The car is 10 years old and only has 72,000 miles on it. The body is in good shape as well.
View 9 RepliesI have a 1998 volvo s70 with 273k on it. I am pretty sure the head gasket is blown. The shop I usually take my car to said i need to take it to a dealer and that volvo usually wants to replace the engine on a car that old. Would you pay the 6k for a new engine or think about a new car?
View 8 RepliesI believe my head gasket is blown, but no one really knows what's wrong with it.. Car stalled & then smoke came out the oil tank an coolant tank an muffler? I just got this car used a month ago.. where to start..
View 3 RepliesIt seems my head gasket is blown. I've got tonnes of foam and froth in my coolant reservoir and my conclusion is that it is likely the head gasket. I cleaned it out once and after about 1/2 hour of driving its full of foam again.
I can't believe it. I checked with an Indi mechanic and he was surprized too. I'm checking at the dealer tomorrow but I'm outside of the warranty so I'm not holding out any hope.
i have a 06 explorer with the 4.0 V6. 4x4 XLT with 106xxx miles. i just bought this thing back in January. of corse, i didn't get an ext warranty. well the past couple months its been loosing power, its got a stumble and seems sluggish. its losing water. no water in oil, no oil in water, don't smell coolant in the exhaust. yesterday i went out and looked and found at front of head on pass side at front cyl, there was coolant from head gasket down the block and also in the valley of the block. i started the engine and once warm, everything was dry. shut it off after about 20 minutes and still nothing wet. this afternoon the only wet spot was in the valley which was dry after running yesterday. is there anything else i can check before tearing it down? with the water in the valley, it looks like it could be coming from the thermo housing.
View 6 RepliesI have read all I could find on replacing a blown head gasket and and after absorbing everything that TigerDan posted on here, I dove in and began. After disassembling all the topside junk I finally got the intake manifold loose and got down to the head. I began undoing the head bolts and found two broken bolts. The head won't budge so I am calling in a cherrypicker. I don't know what kind of mess I'll find when the head comes off. I assume the head will be warped or the block may be damaged.
View 6 RepliesSaturday I was driving to my friend's house. My A/C is broken (just happened 2 weeks ago) so my windows were down. I hear a loud boom. I hear a clicking noise when I accelerate but it stops when I take my foot off the gas.
I am 5 minutes away from his house and he's a mechanic so I just wait until I get there but as I'm turning left, I notice my car is smoking. When I get there, I couldn't even put it in reverse to park and there was smoke coming out of my hood. He and another mechanic friend said it was a blown head gasket.
I had it towed to a mechanic and he said it was a blown head gasket and quoted me $1,800. I know nothing about cars so there's no way I'm fixing it myself.
Is this worth fixing or should I just get a used car and sell it as is or for parts?
It has 230,000 miles on it and I drive 80 miles per day for work. No other problems except the A/C as far as I know.
I have an 82 Jeep CJ7 Laredo with a blown head gasket. Its been taken apart & I have the new gasket for it. I want to sell it, as is, but wasn't sure how much to ask for it?
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