Bgilman Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Hi everyone my names Branson. I've recently been given a 2000 Subaru Outback passed down to me through the family. It's been a great car both my older brothers have driven it and now it's mine for the time being. Only thing is I'm almost certain it has a blown head gasket. To make matters worse I believe it's been this way for some time. What I wanna know is, is it worth fixing? And if I do what is a reasonable price? I've heard of people paying $1500-$2000. The car has 139,600 And had the water pump/ timing belt replaced along with new pulleys and new radiator no more then 8,000 miles ago. Any advice is appreciated that's why I joined the fourm. Thank you in advanced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sapper 157 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Welcome to the forums! A quick search of the "Newer Gen" Form using the search feature in the top right of the screen should give you plenty of info to answer your questions. If nothing is found there or you still have questions, I would try reposting in the new gen form where they will be able to help you out. Again, welcome to the Soobie family!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 i'd want another engine if it's been severly overheated - but then you may never know if that one was ever severly overheated...so it's wise to try to confirm history if possible. JDM repair yours - $1,500. resurface the heads and use EJ25 turbo headgaskets.. you want all new timing belt, pulleys, tensioner, and water pump - just transfer those over to the new engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coryl Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 I'm on this site because of my head gasket research...many of us have that problem. You have a lot of miles on that car. That said, you've had the timing belt, water pump replaced, etc more recently. The car is worth only a few thousand $' if you sell it. I don't know your emotional attachment to this car, but if you have none, then I'd just leave it as is, drive it until it drops, and save for the next car. That car is 17 years old. Do not replace the engine, but if you can find a mechanic that will replace the head gasket for around $1000 or less then perhaps go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coryl Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 But that is only if you feel attachment to the car, and only if you feel it's been maintained properly by your relatives, and you feel the car is worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bgilman Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 Thanks everyone for the input. The car began to over heat only once before I pulled over to let it cool and added coolant. That's when I determined it was the head. Currently getting estimates on the job to see if it's worth it. If I can't get it done for a reasonable price I'll just drive it till it dies lol. Ps. Do you always need to get the head resurfaced? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coryl Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 You didn't mention that your car was overheating. No, you can't just drive that car then and add coolant because you are going to destroy the engine...head gasket totally needs replacing to prevent that from happening. You need to figure out if you have an attachment and want to maintain an old car, with many issues to come, and then also fix that head gasket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coryl Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 I'd say, do not go to the dealership to fix this on an old car if you decide to do it. Personally, with a car this age, go to our immigrant friends who own shops. Yes, they sometimes have broken windows on the front of their shops and do everything by pen and paper, but in my experience, they do quality work for an honest price. My dealership can fix my head gasket for just over $2000, yet my Middle Eastern friends who own a shop will do it for $1000 Canadian. Just saying. Grossgary has mentioned to resurface and to use EJ25 head gasket. I'd go with what he says. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Resurace, yes - it's an already failure-prone headgasket to begin with. resurfacing makes the surface perfectly clean and gives the proper finish the headgasket was engineered to seal against. It'll increase the success rate by an amount that's worth it on a $1,000+ job. Not resurfacing still has high success rates so it's not the end of the world, but it's a no brainer if you've got a choice. resurfaced: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-eRcu-0A19H0/TpUWAXtTjHI/AAAAAAAAAAs/cQOctqC8sls/s800/headcompare1.jpg just cleaned probably looks roughly like this: http://s20.photobucket.com/user/winterfourever/media/DSC01449.jpg.html you can clean up a head but it's still blemished, discolored, and has high and low spots. The main issue with resurfacing is you only need to spend $100 to resurface the heads. But may shops are going to say they "require" (even though they don't) a full $500 head rebuild (clean, lap, resurface, adjust valves, pressure test). You need to request a resurface only - you don't care about warranty because it's not needed here, but the auto shop is the middle man to the machien shop usually nd that creates convoluted chain of communication. easier to talk to the machien shop yourself, tell them exactly what you want, decline any "warranty", and move on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bgilman Posted November 2, 2016 Author Share Posted November 2, 2016 Update a friend of friend who works almost entirely on suabrus in his shop told me he'll do everything for exactly $1000. That's not including the machine shop resurfacing the heads. As of now I'm probably going to go through with it. What do you mean Coryl when you said "with many issues to come" what else should expect to replace. Also I want to clarify after it over heated and I added coolant I only did that to get it home. I have not driven it since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 A thousand dollars is a great deal. Key with resurfacing is to just find a shop that will only charge for that. Since you know the person doing the work that should be easy to navigate. Machine shops generally have rules like "We won't warranty unless you resurface, valve job, pressure test for $500". A shop relays that, doesn't want to resurface, or install unwarrantied parts and the cusomter opts out of the resurface. But if you can just tell the shop you only want it resurfaced and don't care about it being warrantied, all is well in the world. Subaru's are pointless to pressure test and just basically speaking resurfacing is better than not resurfacing. a blown head gasket. To make matters worse I believe it's been this way for some time. if you don't know how long it's been problematic/overheating - then some of us may wonder about the longevity of the engine. A previously overheated engine (of any kind) is prone to rod bearing/lower end failures and you end up with a huge door stop in the shape of a Subaru EJ25. not always fun to put $1,000+ into something and have that happen in a year. previous poster "more to come" statement just sounds like he means generic older car maintenance - brakes, struts, bushings, plugs, wires, hoses, belt, batteries, O2 sensor, and if you're int he rust belt - sticking calpiers and exhaust work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bgilman Posted November 2, 2016 Author Share Posted November 2, 2016 I'm gonna guess and say theirs no way of knowing the condition of the bottom end with out further tear down of the motor. As far as old car general maintenance goes I've already done a lot myself and am prepared to keep up with it. I would love to learn how to the head job my self along side an experienced mechanic but that opportunity has not presented its self. so as of now I'll stay away from tearing engines unless it's a dirt bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coryl Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 It's hard to say if one issue of overheating caused engine damage and yet if you caught it quickly as you mentioned and stopped driving, then I'd hope on the no side and I'd go with that yet no guarantee, Any of your family members had this overheating happen? If they did, then there is a probabability of engine issues as grossgary mentioned. That said, your car is worth over the $1G to replace the gasket. I'd personally do it for that price, and I'd feel it's worth the risk. Yes for a car that age, every component could be a probability for a fix. Your car will tell you. I'm not a he, I'm a she, and no I don't mean battery, brakes, and routine maintenance...every component of an old 17 year old car is up for a fix. I've raced my Evo and my Subaru for the past 7 years. I truly know a lot less about my Subaru than I do about my Evo. I've faught for us little people in the Mitsubishi world on their AYC pumps, and now I'm fighting to help us in the Subaru world too in head gaskets. I'm going to research further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coryl Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 Let us know what you plan to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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